POTPOURRI October 2014 by Paradise Promotions

The Ultimate Seafood Experience at the Savoy’s Pescado From Seychelles to

… NASA?! Meet Marcus Isnard

A taste of high-end wines!

Living with Diabetes THE STORY OF MARTINE GONTIER

Mahé Chamber Choir A decade of Choral Music NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

www.potpourrimagazine.com

Cave a Vin’s Christine Weber

POTPOURRI

November 53

Do you choose love or fear? Fins out with Celia Ponzo

Save Water Every drop counts

Home Schooling Worth Considering?

BREATHE, STRETCH AND HEAL the way of the Yogi

Humanity and Religion Are they the same thing?

Les grossesses chez les adolescentes... Avec Lorea Rassool

The Team Chief Editor: (1) Marie-France Watson | M: + (248) 2512477 | E: marie-france@seychellespublications.com Marketing: (2) Ineke Camille | M: + (248) 2520937 | E: ineke@seychellespublications.com Freelance Writing: (3) Elaine Lafortune, (4) Darrel Antat, (5) Mawess Wirtz, (6) Kurt Gilbert, (7) Hanifa Francoise Photography: (8) Suzanne Verlaque | POTPOURRI Photography Studio Graphics & Layout: (9) Olivia Michaud | W: www.angelcreativedesign.com

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right on Beau Vallon Beach 1

5 Potpourri Magazine Seychelles

Potpourri Seychelles is published by Paradise Promotions Ltd Box 1539, Room 14, Docklands Building, Victoria, Seychelles Tel: + (248) 4325215 | Fax: + (248) 4325216 | www.potpourrimagazine.com Printed by: ATLAS Printing Press LLC.

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From the

EDITOR Dear Folks,

Photo credit: Suzanne Verlaque

You never fully realise the extent of the turmoil in the world until your 5-year-old son asks you if his grandmother is safe from ISIS in America and if, when we next fly somewhere, whether we will fly over Africa and get Ebola. Television in my home in the mornings is rarely more than background noise. My husband and I perpetually live in hope that in the middle of our family chaos we can ‘catch’ a thing or two on what is happening in the world. What we never anticipated was our son catching everything in the news and trying to understand it. His questions made us pause (after the initial panic), and realise that not only do we need to revise our morning television habit, but that we also can’t completely shelter him from the world. In the middle of our reassurance conversation that Grand-mere was safe and that we were never going to catch Ebola, I realised that I was not being entirely truthful. How far is the ISIS terror going to go? When will a cure for ebola be found? The world and its politics are far more complex for a statement such as “ISIS is bad” to stand alone as a matter of fact; the issue goes beyond the shocking and heartbreaking videos that surface on the news. With the world becoming more and more like the global village we know it is, international issues are often closer to us than we’d like them to be. Miles away from Iraq, in the living room of an island family, I find myself having to explain to my son what ISIS is; my job is to do it in a way that doesn’t taint his view of the world. It made me grateful to be living in Seychelles, where for the most part, our geographical distance keeps such turmoil on our television screens only. Speaking of parenting, in this issue, Nathalie Hodgson explores home-schooling. It is a choice many parents around the world opt for. Even Cindy Crawford, one of the most successful supermodels of the ‘90s, recently made the decision for her daughter. Is it something for you to consider? Find out on page 54. Those of you who follow this magazine should be well acquainted with Martine Gontier. She has been writing our featured artist columns for many a month – in addition, of course, to gracing our cover in November 2013. In this issue she opens up about her life as a diabetic – a boat many of us are passengers on. After reading her story on page 8, you will certainly be filled with admiration for her courage and positive take on life despite her situation. For those of you visiting our beautiful islands this month, may you have a memorable holiday and be blown away by the Seychellois hospitality.

Chief Editor

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Cover Model

Alexandria Faure

1. Photographer: Marsha Dine | 2. Creative Editor: Joel Rose 3. Hair & Make-Up: Gemma Mondon | Venue: POTPOURRI Studio

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Double Tree by Hilton Allamanda Resort & Spa

Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa, Silhouette Island

Kempinski Seychelles Resort, Mahe Island

Musings of an Island Girl

by Tina Houareau

Women Systematically Underestimate Their Own Abilities. I recently came across a very thought-provoking article on Ted.com. It is titled Why we have too few women leaders by Sheryl Sandberg, the American technology executive, activist, author, and Chief Operating Officer of Facebook. I hope it is one that will cause our readers to see this as a real problem in our society. Below is my favorite except from Sandberg’s eloquent speech: “Women are not making it to the top of any profession anywhere in the world. The numbers tell the story quite clearly. 190 heads of state -- nine are women. Of all the people in parliament in the world, 13 percent are women. In the corporate sector, women at the top, C-level jobs, board seats -- tops out at 15, 16 percent. The numbers have not moved since 2002 and are going in the wrong direction. I’m here to tell you, once you have a child at home, your job better be really good to go back, because it’s hard to leave that kid at home -- your job needs to be challenging. It needs to be rewarding. You need to feel like you’re making a difference. And if two years ago you didn’t take a promotion and some guy next to you did, if three years ago you stopped looking for new opportunities, you’re going to be bored because you should have kept your foot on the gas pedal. Don’t leave before you leave. Stay in. Keep your foot on the gas pedal, until the very day you need to leave to take a break for a child -- and then make your decisions. Don’t make decisions too far in advance, particularly ones you’re not even conscious you’re making. My generation really, sadly, is not going to change the numbers at the top. They’re just not moving. We are not going to get to where 50 percent of the population -- in my generation, there will not be 50 percent of [women] at the top of any industry. But I’m hopeful that future generations can. I think a world that was run where half of our countries and half of our companies were run by

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women, would be a better world. And it’s not just because people would know where the women’s bathrooms are, even though that would be very helpful. I want my son to have a choice to contribute fully in the workforce or at home, and I want my daughter to have the choice to not just succeed, but to be liked for her accomplishments.”

Photo credit; Joel Zamzow Tina Houareau is a Seychellois living in the USA with her young son. She is an Instructional Designer for Capella University, where she is completing her PhD in the same field.

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OPEN LETTER

“BUT FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH, I HAVE AN AMAZING BOX OF MEMORIES PACKED INSIDE MY HEART.” Dear girls, You may or may not know what love is yet to be all about and you may or may not know what a heart break feels like. Falling in love and being loved are two of the most amazing feelings to a girl’s heart and to all those butterflies in our stomach that are yet to fly. After 20 months of ‘fairytale’, love, ups and downs and a very painful goodbye to the baby I always wanted but couldn’t give life to, my partner who I still proudly call the love of my life - ended our relationship. I’m still a wreck after 6 weeks of not receiving any goodmorning and good-night messages or phone calls, not being touched by his hands, not being kissed by his lips or having one to hold and talk with the way we used to. Yes, it was my second serious relationship and yes, it’s surely another lesson learnt from all the mistakes that we both made but it’s not the end of the world, as I thought it would be. Of course it hurts a lot, especially watching the sunset on my own every single day, but it’s getting easier. I do miss him every single day for he is the love of my life and my best friend. For what I know he was an amazing man and he still is and will always be, regardless of the little things that I never liked about him. After all; he is human, I am human and we are all human, so we all have feelings and I shall not judge one, ever. Confusing and weird, we still talk whenever he feels the need to talk to me and that’s fine with me, it’s better than nothing. From 6 weeks of sitting home with a broken heart, I’ve realised that life is about living everyday with appreciation and a kind heart; a heart that can love, care and most of all give and forgive.

Eventually I have to move on and start over with my life and honestly I am utterly scared of falling in love again and giving all of myself to someone else, but you never know who I might meet along the way, so that’s for me to find out and for me to be loved again. As for the baby that I couldn’t give life too, just know that mommy would have nurtured you, combed your hair, carried you healthily and given you the best of all things and most of all; I would have protected and loved you endlessly as I do now, even though I never had the chance to hear your heart beat, so please forgive me for my sin. As for you, I want you be a happy man for I know how great you are.. but I miss my best friend and my LOO. My lovelies, if you are in love right now put this magazine away for a second; call or tell him how much you love him, how much you appreciate and care about him. It will make a difference in your life if not his. As for me, I haven’t had the chance to be heard or a chance to prove to him that a last chance could be worthy this time but for what it’s worth, I have an amazing box of memories packed inside my heart. “I’ve never been a positive thinker but believe me, I am one today.” A survivor

Do you have something you need to get off your chest? Something you desperately need to say to someone? WRITE TO US; marie-france@seychellespublications.com. All letters will remain anonymous.

Letter to the editor J’ai été émerveillée par l’article de Georges Gravé que vous avez publié récemment dans Potpourri. Non seulement parce que cet article paraissait enfin en français, mais surtout à cause de son contenu. Oui, il est clair que le monde ne va pas bien ces temps-ci, trop de guerres, trop de corruption, trop d’enfants et de filles sauvagement traités avant de les jeter aux poubelles ou de les utiliser comme objets sexuels. Trop. Et Georges a tout à fait raison de dire que ce sont les « riches », les soi-disant civilisés qui entretiennent ce massacre par leur hypocrisie. Moi, chaque matin, en prenant ma douche, je me réjouis de cette eau bienvenue et je pense à ceux qui n’ont même pas un verre à boire. Et j’espère alors que mes petits-enfants en auront quand même eux aussi. Les changements se manifestent tellement rapidement, ces tempsci. Changement climatique qui entraîne plus encore de malnutrition, d’inondations ou d’incendies dans tant de pays, printemps qui deviennent des hivers, montée de groupes fanatisés, déclenchement de bombardements qui tuent plus de civils que de militaires… la liste est longue et désespérante. Georges Gravé a beau être optimiste, il faut absolument mettre fin à ces massacres le plus rapidement possible, si l’on veut que notre soi-disant civilisation se maintienne. De plus en plus d’amis me disent qu’ils songent à la fin de notre époque. C’est quelque chose à envisager. Les archéologues d’aujourd’hui font sans cesse de nouvelles découvertes. Ils retrouvent des fossiles beaucoup plus anciens, témoins

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En réponse à Georges Gravé…

peut-être d’une époque, d’une civilisation disparues. Y aurait-il eu, il y a des milliers d’années, une humanité qui a été rayée de la carte pour manque d’humanité ? ! Est-ce cela qui nous attend, si nous ne faisons rien ? Je suis arrivée aux Seychelles il y a 36 ans et les Seychelles sont devenues ma raison de vivre. J’y ai vécu tant de merveilles. La beauté, en premier lieu, c’est évident, mais aussi la montée de l’alphabétisation, en même temps que la diminution de la misère. Le travail qui m’a été donné de faire m’a apporté bonheur et reconnaissance. Mais aujourd’hui, je me pose des tas de questions. La misère ne cesse d’augmenter, la drogue, l’alcool, la corruption deviennent de véritables fléaux. Et je crains l’évolution négative dans un autre domaine. Que devient le créole, la langue maternelle ? Comment les autorités espèrentelles que les Français reviennent en nombre, alors que le français disparaît partout. Plus une seule signalisation sur les chemins, presque rien dans les journaux, à la télévision, dans ces deux langues, excepté parfois des comptes-rendus des arrestations de voleurs ! Soyons positifs, oui, sans doute. Je serais ravie que des Seychellois me donnent des raisons d’espérer. En attendant, je continue à admirer la beauté et à survivre. Ex. Madame Koksinel, Colette Gillieaux.

Investing in the future, with Barclays

14 years after they took over the family business, Mary Anne and Tony Tirant have transformed the T&M farm into one of the most renowned commercial poultry farms in Seychelles. Before venturing into the production of eggs, Tony focused mainly on growing herbs for the local market. Agriculture was in the family and he had been encouraged by his father from a young age to farm crops, focusing on chilli and pumpkin production. He had began farming in his teenage years, had gradually built up a clientele and was making a decent living though agriculture. Yet, he always knew he wanted to do more than that. “When my father, who was farming free range chicken, decided to retire, I knew I had to take over the farm. It was a relatively easy decision to make as I was able to access the necessary funds to buy the farm from him,” explains Tony.

Turning challenges into opportunities Mary Anne and Tony were keen to bring their personal touch to the T&M Farm from the start, carrying out most of the chores themselves. Even now, they do not have any employees, but do get help from family members and casual workers - Tony’s sister and nephew drop by the farm nearly every day to help out with the chores. There are three casual workers who also call in when additional help is needed. When they started out 14 years ago, they took over a freerange chicken farm, with 2,500 animals. Now, they operate a modern commercial farm with more than 12,000 chicken. “The transition from one to the other took time, and included

planning, dedication and a lot of sacrifice. Barclays, our trusted banking partner, has helped us prosper with our endeavour,” Tony said.

A loyal client base “We were determined to succeed and have worked hard to make this farm successful, but as with any type of farming, there are always challenges. Free-range farming was great but we faced a lot of difficulty in sourcing good quality animal feed locally,” explains Tony. The answer came from Mauritius, where they found a supplier who could ensure a steady supply of livestock feed, and was ready to assist them in expanding the business. They again turned to Barclays for financial assistance. “The issue a lot of companies have when dealing with foreign suppliers is timely payments. I must say that was never a problem with Barclays – all payments to our suppliers are always made on time. We were a bit anxious at the time when there were forex shortages in Seychelles, but thanks to Barclays, we were never late for any payment,” recalls Mary Anne. With livestock feed secure, and a loyal client base ranging from cruise and leisure ships, to the biggest supermarkets on Mahé, including the STC Bakery and Supermarket, Mary Anne and Tony are now focusing their efforts on growing the farm. They take pride in the fact that T&M eggs are the most sought after in Seychelles! Mary Anne and Tony are optimistic about the future, although they are not entirely sure if the farm will remain in the family after they retire. For now, they are focused on, providing quality products and great service, and building a prosperous future with the help of their trusted bank, Barclays.

For more information, please visit our branches, Call our Contact Centre on 438 3939 or email sez.customerservices@barclays.com

LIFESTYLE

Living with Diabetes “Any idiot can face a crisis. It’s this day to day living that wears you out” ~ Anton Chekhov And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I would sum up my life as a type one diabetic. Okay, I am fully aware that in that one sentence, I painted a not-so-rosy picture of what living with diabetes is like, but if you bear with me, I promise my journey these past nine years, although not the most joyful of rides, has had its ‘blessing in disguise’ moments. So this is my life as a Type one Diabetic. In a nutshell. 25th March 2005 - A day which for as long as I shall live I will never forget. Ironically enough, I can’t say I remember much about that day-it was mostly a few stolen seconds of consciousness, seeing a group of distressed faces surrounding me, and somewhat dozing off again. It was Good Friday. I was 18 years old and I had (little to my knowledge)

just been diagnosed with Type one Diabetes Mellitus. I had collapsed at home in the early hours of the morning, and my parents rushed me to hospital, not knowing what could possibly be wrong. Understandably in a state of panic, the doctor hit them with what you might call the brutal truth. I was in a coma caused by high blood sugar levels. My mum often thinks back to that day, and remembers how the doctor, upon seeing the state I was in when they brought me in, asked whether I was a diabetic. To this my mum answered a very astonished “Erm, NO, of course not!” Doctor’s reply? “Oh, but this is a very diabetic person!” And so it began! As of yet, there isn’t a “why” and a “how”. To this day, I do not have a concrete explanation as to how it developed. It is just one of those things about life that I’ve learned to accept as inexplicable; a mystery, you know, like UFOs, the Loch ness monster-and well, us women in general. Just like most of us, I was terrified of needles, so just imagine going from that, to having to be injected four times daily just so I could go about my day. Nine years on, between the meticulous measurements to ensure the right insulin dosage, the syringe and needle, to the very user friendly ‘pen-set’for insulin injection, I can attest now that it is a piece of cake.

“How do you live with THAT?”

Yes, that is the first question I’m usually asked. My answer is a simple truth: I just do. There is no manual on how you do it, but then again, nothing life throws your way comes with instructions. My day usually constitutes of measuring my blood sugar level morning, lunchtime and dinnertime, and keeping a record of it. I take my shots as prescribed by my (if I may emphasise) extremely supportive specialist, and there you have it, I go about my day as does the average Jane really.

How do I do it?

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Martine Gontier

First and foremost, I remind myself everyday that my condition does not in any way handicap me. I see it as having made me a victor and not a victim. This is my biggest driving force to be anything, to do anything in life. I warn the people that I plan on spending a portion of my day with, be it work colleagues or simply new acquaintances, that they might spot me injecting myself and not to be too bothered about it. Other than that, you would not usually know I’m a diabetic. One thing I would love to point out though is the genuine interest people I have met have shown in not only my condition but also my wellbeing. This little part is for all of you who have been there one way or another throughout the years. Thank you!

LIFESTYLE

That said however, I have also had the responses which if I didn’t know any better, I’d say were scripted. I know every type one Diabetic can relate! At the top of that list would have to be “Did you eat too much candy as a child?” This I would say is the biggest misconception about Type one Diabetes. Type one diabetes is believed to be caused by a mix of genetic, immune and possibly environmental factors. As a child, strangely I was never drawn to candy or any other kind of sweet. Although researchers have identified some patterns, the root cause of type 1 diabetes is still unclear. But we know for certain it is not caused by an excess intake of sugar.

“YOU ARE NOT YOUR ILLNESS; YOU ARE NOT THE VALUE ON A GLUCOMETER; YOU ARE NOT SICK. THIS DOES NOT MAKE YOU WEAK! IF ANYTHING, YOU ARE ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE A FIGHTER, WHICH MAKES YOU A SURVIVOR”. “Does that mean you can’t have sugar?”

To this my response is usually: There are two things a diabetic cannot eat. The first is poison and second is cake with poison”. Basically guys, having type 1 diabetes does not necessarily restrict the type and amount of foods you can eat, especially foods with sugar. People with diabetes can eat virtually any food they want as long as they are mindful of portion sizes. A healthy meal plan for people with diabetes is the same for those without diabetes: mostly vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean meats with modest amounts of salt and sugar. If I could pass on any message to anyone living with the D word, it would be something along these lines: “You are not your illness; you are not the value on a glucometer; you are NOT sick. This does NOT make you weak! If anything, you are above everything else a fighter, which makes you a survivor. You are not this diagnosis. You are YOU! Despite everything you have to live with, you are still here, and you will be as long as you keep fighting. At the end of the day, you need to find the silver lining to every cloud. Nobody can tell you how to survive, so do it the best way you know how. Find beauty in the simplest of things, savour the simple pleasures of life, laugh at yourself, life is not as serious as we make it out to be. You’ve made it this far, so keep making it a life worth living and always taking time daily to be grateful for all the blessings of life”. Speaking of gratitude, this last piece is dedicated to my family - my biggest source of support these past years. When I felt like giving up because of all the speed bumps, you helped me carry the load, something which I will never stop appreciating. And finally, the ‘blessing in disguise’ I mentioned above? Being diagnosed with diabetes has given me a whole new perspective on life. It has taught me that although I may not have everything, I have all I need to be happy. That I may not have the best of everything, but I have it better than many. There’s always someone worse off. It has taught me gratitude. Most of all, it has gifted me with a kind of strength I never knew existed within me. My final thank you is therefore to this whirlwind of a condition that has taught me that life is not merely about surviving, but it’s above all about living.

Martine Gontier

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LIFESTYLE

Humanity & Religion If one is to take a gander at the definition of religion, these are a few things that you would come across: • • •

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a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. A specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices, generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects e.g. The Christian religion; the Buddhist religion. Something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience.

LIFESTYLE

Truth is, religion is this and more. Religion is a source of comfort for many due to the fact that having a deity that cannot provide a direct response to questions asked or direct judgment for actions carried out comes as a sense of comfort to some; as we are constantly subjected to scrutiny by our peers, some people take comfort in believing that there is a higher power that understands them and is willing to support them and forgive them. Moreover religion brings people together, allowing people of similar backgrounds & beliefs to encounter each other where they can share similar opinions and discuss matters they have in common. These are the upsides or religion. But if I dare say so, the cons outweigh the pros when it comes to religion, no matter what religious group one belongs to. Religion always has and always will be a major obstruction to numerous human rights. Before I fully dive into my disregard & lack of belief, let’s take a look at the religious groups of the world. According to estimations based on research there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world to date. This is because the word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief systems, but religion in itself differs from private belief in that it has a public aspect.

BUT IF I DARE SAY SO, THE CONS OUTWEIGH THE PROS WHEN IT COMES TO RELIGION, NO MATTER WHAT RELIGIOUS GROUP ONE BELONGS TO. RELIGION ALWAYS HAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE A MAJOR OBSTRUCTION TO NUMEROUS HUMAN RIGHTS. To make it simple, in order to have a religion, the belief must be supported by an assembly of people, so if you can muster the ability to convince a number of people of the potency and power of your beliefs, you have the ability to assemble the masses towards your religion. This is a tactic most often used by what we call ‘faith healers’ who put on what appear to be extraordinary and somewhat miraculous scenarios and present gimmicks to convince the ill and desperate of their powers. Mostly every religion has numerous narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life, explain the origin of life or the universe as a whole. They tend to generate a certain morality & set of ethics or namely ‘religious laws’ that encourage a certain lifestyle based from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature. What in their opinion is ‘right’ in comparison to what is ‘wrong’. Out of the 4,200 religions, we can narrow the list down to the top ten organized religions which are:

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• • • • • • • • • •

Christianity Islam Hinduism Buddhism Sikhism Judaism Baha’ism Confucianism Jainism Shintoism

If we are to break down each of these and look at their core beliefs we would find numerous explanations that each of these religions has to offer, but in my opinion, at the end of the day, they are all the same. They seek to both justify the meaning of life & to provide a safety net to fall back into in times of despair. But isn’t this hypocritical? If we are beings of free will why rely on a higher power to grant us wishes? Provide us with forgiveness or blame for the outcome of our actions but making claims such as “It happened as God intended” or “God works in mysterious ways”. By being an atheist I may have burdened myself with the reproach and judgments of my religious peers but I feel free from the religious manacles that tie them to their so-called sense of security. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t that I wasn’t granted a religious upbringing. On the contrary I was baptised as a Roman Catholic and had my first communion as well as confirmation, and all these events took place respectively at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Having been baptised as a baby, I had no idea of the occurrence and have no memory of the event except for photos but when it comes to my first communion and confirmation, I have full recollection of the events and even at the tender ages of 8 and 11 I was only doing it because I was told to, not because I wanted to. In my mind I saw no point or justification to these events, but held my tongue in fear of being scolded. As I grew up and realized that religious beliefs held me back I started to question their credibility. I researched not only the Old & New Testament, but the Quran among other religious writings and these only increased my disbelief in a higher power rather than amplifying it. I am constantly found in arguments with theists, mostly of the Christian belief and so far they have all left frustrated after I have presented them with numerous injustices harboured within their belief system, some have even resorted to label me a Satanist which I am not, because as stated, I am an atheist and do not believe or any deity whatsoever no matter what they represent. To me and my fellow atheist friends, religion is first and foremost a scam, regardless of a charity like outreach. Religions are founded on ancient beliefs and are rooted in crimes against humanity as well as sexism as which is the case for the main sects which are - Christianity & Islam. Although more moderate in their practices today, all religions, no matter what good they do, are based on exaggerated claims that cannot be proven. If you were to find a mistake in an important math formula, you would suppose it was human error and still trust the legitimacy of the book. But what if you found another, then 10 more, even hundreds? Would you still trust the information in the book? This is the danger of religion. It teaches that doubting one’s faith is a weakness, that questioning a claim is blasphemy & this in turn scares people away from the idea of seeking answers. Such is a mockery of human intelligence & our ability to reason, because as long as the lies of religions are told as truth, it will continuously interfere with modern science & any hope for a progressive and united society. I can spend, hours, even days ranting about why I’m against religion, but to keep it simple I can just quote Napoleon by saying “Religion is excellent stuff for keeping the common people quiet. Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich” Hanifa Francoise

PROUD WINNER OF THE PRESTIGIOUS

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PERSONALITY SPECIAL

From Seychelles to … NASA?! Every time one raises one’s eyes to the sky at night, many are awed by the beauty; many will wonder at the world that we do not know. Space exploration is a dream that many people possess. Question, is there life out there? Where is life there? Can we go visit another planet? Can we go live in a galaxy far, far away? Marcus Isnard is that one lucky Seychellois who now finds himself living our dreams by rubbing shoulders with the foremost scientists of the National Aeronautical Space Agency (NASA).

NASA is ... AMAZING!

Many of you might be wondering why this seems to be so farfetched. You would have to understand what NASA stands for and why the mere mention of it will elicit such awe in anyone

that is interested in science. Since October 1, 1958 NASA has been responsible for amazing feats of space exploration, the more wellknown of which are endeavours such as Neil Armstrong’s first-man-on-the-Moon mission and more recently, the robot that went to map Mars. We are talking about moments of history beyond compare!

Intelligent is an understatement

To say that Marcus is smarter than most children his age and that he is a force to be reckoned with does not even cover how intelligent one would have to be to get such an opportunity. Therefore, before I met the boy, I had pictured an individual closely resembling Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. Far from an awkward teenager, I was pleasantly surprised when Marcus turned out to be a very articulate boy who spoke with all the diplomacy and conviction of a young man that had just returned to us from university, which I found out was not far from fact since Marcus has accumulated enough credits to place him as far ahead as second year in certain subjects at university level … while still in high school.

How did the adventure begin?

Marcus spent his first years here in Seychelles; he attended Montessori, then International school and lived at Ma Joie. Interestingly, when I asked him whether he could afford to take time off for a holiday he replied, “I have to come home, I see the family only once every three years already” thus making it clear that he was Seychellois at heart. When he was six years old, his father was offered a job in the United States and he took it, thus displacing the whole family. The family relocated to Texas. Fast forward a few years and Marcus is now a student of the Clear Creek High School. One day he reads an article about a programme seeking to form a robotics team. Marcus went for the interview and felt like he fitted in with the others but there were over 200 applicants so he would really have to be among the best candidates and sure enough when the 50 selected applicants were selected, he was among them, the new member of the Robonauts robotics team.

An amazing opportunity

Unlike in Seychelles, the robotics programme is the norm in the States and is open to every student, as long as they can keep up an A average for all their subjects. When students are not able to maintain their grades, they are immediately dropped from the programme. The Robonauts was formed sixteen years ago through a partnership between NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the Clear Creek Independent School District. The NASA programme aims to promote STEM (Science and Technology Education) and the youth are grouped into 10-15 then assigned a mentor. The mentor is usually one of the leading authorities in their particular field and Marcus was lucky when his group got Ross Pettinger aka one of the men who worked on the programme for the Mars rover.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

PERSONALITY SPECIAL

“I HAVE TO COME HOME, I SEE THE FAMILY ONLY ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS ALREADY” THUS MAKING IT CLEAR THAT HE WAS SEYCHELLOIS AT HEART. Robonauts in force!

The team has made significant strides in advancing community awareness of robotics. They started 25 FLL (FIRST LEGO League), two BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology), and seven VEX robotics teams. During the summer holidays the team also runs a ‘Robocamp’ where children are inspired to love robotics by using it to teach science, mathematics and engineering principals. Students are then given the opportunity to join Robonauts’ FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) team. They are guided by their older and more experienced teammates in a continuous cycle over the years.

No time to waste

Every year the Robonauts start the season with team building exercises. They then begin the game challenge with brainstorming, prototypes and researching, with the aim of producing a quality robot. Marcus explained that in actual fact, two identical robots are built; one is a practice robot while the other is painted with the traditional NASA gold. Amusingly, it is the gold one that competes and even though they bring spare parts and dispatch the “Robonauts Robot Rescue,” or “R Cubed” team to ensure every FRC team has the ability to participate on the field, it gets damaged. A statement about NASA’s stand on aesthetics I am guessing: “Substance over looks!”.

A work station

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

SEYCHELLOIS OVERSEAS

“HE HAS HAD TO GIVE UP A LOT OF FUN TIMES AND HE AGREES THAT HE DOES HAVE VERY FEW HOURS THAT HE CAN CONSIDER TO BE FREE TIME BUT HE SACRIFICES SO THAT HE CAN IMPROVE HIS ABILITIES.”

A Seychellois astronaut?

A time for fun

Youth ambassador?

Worried that Marcus is going to turn into a robot himself from his packed timetable? Fear not. When I hesitantly asked him about what he did for fun then braced myself for something like, ‘I fix computers’, I was relieved when he told me that he plays Frisbee. Ultimate Frisbee is a sport where a team of 8 runs down a field, passing a Frisbee and preventing the other team from getting it. It may not be your average Frisbee but it’s basically, boys running around and throwing things.

Educate yourself

Marcus is a strong advocate for education. He argues that students need to be equipped with as much knowledge as possible. In comparison to the US, Marcus feels that the students here are a lot more laissezfaire because of lack of competition for work. The US may have more opportunities than the Seychelles but that doesn’t mean that there are none available in Seychelles. He thinks that the students of Seychelles only have to make sure that they hone their talents in all aspects and routes to success will open up. Marcus also credits the Robonauts for his skills at public speaking, organisation and time planning. The opportunity to develop other skills arose and Marcus jumped at those chances.

Meet his standard

Marcus’s achievements are spectacular and should not be trifled with but still he thinks that Seychelles has other youth that can aspire to meet and surpass them. He says it is cliché but the harder one works, the bigger the success. He has had to give up a lot of fun times and he agrees that he does have very few hours that he can consider to be free time but he sacrifices so that he can improve his abilities. He is willing to do the work

Marcus in his element

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

and he reaps accolades that youths across the world cannot claim. I left Marcus feeling that despite his youth, this boy is wiser than I, and at that moment all I wanted was a son that would grow up to be just like him. He is a boy who considered the importance of education at an early age and on his own, decided to take advantage of any opportunity presented to him. His parents don’t have to chase him to get him to study or do his homework; Marcus already sees the necessity for them.

Marcus says that it won’t be him, but that there are student exchanges that the local students can take advantage of, so all the little ones who dream of space travel or building their own transformer must not despair. As for Marcus, despite living the NASA dream, he is going to become an engineer and pilot just like daddy. He told me that this makes the most commercial sense. The plan is to gain entry to the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, but with achievements like his, is there really a doubt?

Marcus says he would love to share all he has learnt with Seychellois students and he would love to have the opportunity to speak to them. He tells me that even if he cannot do anything to inspire the youth now, wait a while; he is coming back and he is going to figure out a way to make his experiences count. Watch out for this boy, his heart is in the right place. He will make us proud. Mawess Wirtz Marcus and his parents

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

y old flatmate, Gigi, had recently moved to Sydney for work. Coupled with the fact that this is where a certain comedian is based there was nothing for it but for me to make another mad dash over for my birthday weekend. After chivalrously being picked up at the airport after my flight on the red-eye, I was whisked to the Marriott where a room overlooking the stunning Sydney Harbour awaited. We had a quick breakfast then strolled to Circular Quay where we took the ferry to Mosman. Apparently a visit to Taronga Zoo had been renée martin designs planned! THE ZOO HAS A STUNNING VISTA LOOKING Taronga must be one of the most well-appointed zoos in the world. The comedian OVER THE WATER TO SYDNEY HARBOUR and I took the cable car BRIDGE, THE OPERA HOUSE AND THE CITY from the dock, soaring over the entire zoo, which gave BEYOND. IT REALLY IS SPECTACULAR. us a bird’s eye view of the exotic animals. At the top of the hill we disembarked and made our way down past the various enclosures. Passing the lions and the majestic elephants, we watched a seal show then stopped for an al fresco lunch to take in the scenery. The zoo has a stunning vista looking over the water to Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the city beyond. It really is spectacular. That evening Gigi and the comedian took me out for my birthday to Toko, a swish Japanese restaurant in the heart of Surry Hills. The sashimi and soft shell crab was to die for, as were the Lemongrass Collins cocktails. He was performing at a Comedy Channel showcase so we tagged along and took in some great acts, including the hilarious Tom Ballard.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

The next morning the comedian drove me to the Blue Mountains where the air was crisp and at least 10 degrees cooler! Populated by eucalyptus forests, the mountains really do have a beautiful blue tinge to them, apparently caused by an optical phenomenon called “Rayleigh scattering”. We took some breathtaking photographs then had a wonderfully fancy lunch at a nearby bistro but all too soon it was time to drop me back at the airport so that I could make it back in time for work the next day. Until next time, if you can’t be good, be good at it.

Lemongrass

(that’s “Citronelle” to you and I)

Collins

You will need...

What to do...

2 tbsp of sugar ½ lime 50ml vanilla vodka A couple of lemongrass leaves Tsp lime juice Crushed ice Soda water to top 1 stalk of lemongrass, for garnish

Rub the rim of a tall glass with the ½ lime and then dip it into a saucer filled with sugar. Add the vodka and muddle the lemongrass leaves into it. Add the lime juice and crushed ice. Top up with soda water then stir with a stalk of lemongrass. Enjoy! Brigitte Monchouguy is a Seychelloise legal practitioner with a passion for social journalism. She is happiest when travelling, with interests in music, art, theatre and architecture. She also dabbles in mixology and will be sharing cocktail recipes along with her monthly escapades.

A Fresh Start - London to Mahé By Daniel Balkwill

THEN THERE WAS MAREK. HE WAS NOTORIOUS FOR ONCE BEING HOSPITALISED FOR ACCIDENTALLY SUCKING ONE OF HIS EYES OUT WITH A TENNIS BALL.

AUGUST 2013 | POTPOURRI

Dan works for Kreol Wines - a new wine shop located at Eden Plaza on Eden Island, specialising in Argentinian, Australian, French and South African products. Opening hours are 9-6.30 Mon-Fri, 10-6 Sat & 10-4 Sun.

h, school days. Halcyon days when you were unburdened by the rigours and stress of holding down a steady job, paying a mortgage and all of the other, frequently wearisome, elements of adult life. It was a unique and exciting time when a myriad of options were available. A variety of glamorous, fulfilling career paths beckoned. The world was your oyster. One shouldn’t look back whilst donning rose-coloured spectacles though. Let’s not forget exam stress, spots and bad haircuts. Don’t even start me on girls either! It certainly wasn’t all plain sailing. After primary education, I ended up spending five years at what a good friend of mine called ‘posh school’. It was a fee-paying organisation my parents insisted I went to even though it was based several miles away, whereas my peers mostly went to a secondary school just around the

corner from where I lived. I respected their wishes and appreciated the financial sacrifice they had made for my education but found a lot of my classmates spoilt and unfriendly. I ended up loathing the place. I studied hard though and made sure I got good grades but told my parents that there was absolutely no way I was going back there for the sixth form. To their credit, they listened and eventually agreed to let me change schools. St Marys Catholic School, Bishop’s Stortford was a mere ten minute stroll away from my house. Unsurprisingly, I was never late for registration in the mornings. I often went home at lunch time, had a few rounds of toast, played a couple of frames of snooker and watched a bit of TV with my mates before rushing back in time for afternoon classes. Despite the large amount of people in my year, there was hardly anyone I didn’t get on well with. There were quite a few interesting characters in our year. To pluck a few of them out at random, John used to often sit outside the sixth form common room playing his guitar and singing at the top of his voice. To be fair, he could hold a tune. It’s no surprise he’s gone on to become an accomplished singer/songwriter. Then there was Marek. He was notorious for once being hospitalised for accidentally sucking one of his eyes out with a tennis ball. Come to think of it, I don’t know what fate ultimately befell him but I hope he still possesses 20:20 vision. Our rugby team, which I was proud to be part of, was a band of brothers, almost invincible on the field and always experiencing various beerfuelled shenanigans together off it. I’ll never forget when we were on a rugby tour near Chester and recreated a scene in the film Top Gun where we all serenaded a young lady in a pub to the tune of The Righteous Brothers’ ‘You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling’. Mercifully for her, but to our collective chagrin, it transpired that she was deaf. As we are all now approaching forty, one of my former classmates decided to organise a school reunion. Everyone met up recently at a bar in Covent Garden in London. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it. It would have been brilliant to see everyone, comparing notes on how all our lives have evolved since those early days and enjoying each other’s company again. What I can do is to say what a pleasure it was to be part of that special class of 1993.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life. - Derek Walcott

Love After Love By Alexandria Faure The time will come when, with elation, you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror, and each will smile at the other’s welcome, and say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give Bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

Derek Walcott is one of my favourite Saint Lucian poets and playwright. This specific poem of his reminds me of a sincere and fundamental truth; that we are who we are, and that that is enough. To me the poem is a very touching text about loving oneself and accepting oneself. In the madness of modern life, it seems we are constantly seeking approval from society to be ourselves. Ruled by a sense of insufficiency and inadequacy, we seem to be chasing to be stronger, slimmer, better looking, more hard working and more successful, and yet by chasing all of these things we are denying ourselves something important; being ourselves. It’s popular opinion that the price of being yourself is a costly and exhausting one, with the all encompassing fear of loneliness, rejection and inadequacy. Yet it always happens that the price for being yourself can never be as significant as the price you pay for rejecting your basic nature. A price that can be paid in frustration, anger, depression and hopelessness, at the realisation of all that you might have become, but now can’t seem to attain. People, friends, and even family members can disapprove of you as you truly are. What this all results in is loosing yourself in all the other opinions of others around you. I’m learning that this isn’t healthy; we aren’t living our lives for others and we definitely shouldn’t be drowning ourselves in the opinions of others. I’m learning that it’s important to remember that we are not defined by anyone other than ourselves and that we should and can be whatever we want to be. Never mind whether you face disapproval, ultimately there has never been anyone like you since human life began and there will never be anyone else like you in the future of the universe. You are you. And being yourself is so important, more so than the fears that trap people into conforming. Whoopi Goldberg said it perfectly when she said : “You can be yourself and an individual if, you are comfortable with not everyone liking you or how you think. If you’re comfortable with going against the grain. If you’re comfortable with people making fun or saying really nasty stuff. If you’re comfortable with all of that, then you can be yourself.” It’s a brave adventure to be yourself, but it’s also a wholesome and authentic way of living. Don’t ignore yourself and don’t be a stranger to yourself. ‘The Individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself’- Friedrich Nietzsche

Alexandria Faure is a freelance writer and has a degree in Drama & Theatre Arts and hopes to pursue a masters in the near future. She is passionate about preserving the unique Kreol culture and heritage of Seychelles, and her hobby is researching different cultural aspects of Seychelles and the historical stories behind them. She hopes to share ideas and thoughts drawn from her life experiences in her articles.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

Quelle est ton histoire?(par Revenant d’un séminaire d’entreprise organisé par le groupe dans lequel je travaille, je souhaite partager avec vous un petit exercice tout bête et tout simple que l’animateur nous a fait faire afin de mieux nous connaitre, ou plus exactement, afin de nous connaitre différemment. Racontes moi ton histoire, était le thème de l’exercice. I want to know what your story is….7 billion stories in the world! I don’t care what you do or what you own. I just want to know who you are. I want to know your uniqueness, the experiences you’ve had and the learning you’ve gained. I want to know your story.

“FOR SOME REASON WE CATEGORISE AND RANK PEOPLE’S WORTH IN THIS WORLD BY WHAT THEY DO. DOES WHAT YOU DO MATTER MORE THAN YOU ARE? NO. WHAT YOU DO IS ONLY A SMALL PART OF WHO YOU ARE. DO WE CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER ENOUGH, AND ARE WE INTERESTED ENOUGH IN WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM EACH OTHER, TO STOP ASKING “WHAT DO YOU DO” AND START ASKING “WHO ARE YOU?’ WHAT IS YOUR STORY?”. What is your story? Everyone has one. Not two stories are the same. There are over 7 billion people in this world and none are like you. You are unique. Your entire life journey including your upbringing challenges, your hard learned lessons, your experiences, achievements and gifts, are all a series of footprints that have brought you to this very moment in time as you read these words. Every person you walk or drive past on the street has their own story. Every person in front of you

in line at the grocery store has their own story. Every friend and work colleague in life has their own story. The old man who lives up the street and wanders past my house each day has his own story. The girl on the bus sitting opposite me right now who has tears in her eyes, she has her own story. The boy in the library who never stop laughing, even when his mother constantly asks him to be quiet, he has his own story too. Think about the millions of moments, the series of events that leads each person to cross your path. Who are they really underneath that exterior? Where did they come from? What do they long for? What makes them tick? Life is a tapestry of people weaving in and out of your life; people come into your life for a reason, a reason or a lifetime. Everyone has something to offer and share with you. Imagine treating every person you encounter, no matter how fleeting, as an intriguing story waiting to be told. But the story can only be told if someone asks to hear it!! Will you ask? That person you see standing before you, no matter who they are, young or old, rich or poor, angry or kind, is like a blockbuster movie ready to enthrall you. But, first you have to buy a ticket. As I stood in a room full of people at a cocktail party once, I realized that every opening conversation was dominated by this question, “what do you do?” We seek to understand and define people by their “doing” in the world. For some reason we categorise and rank people’s worth in this world by what they do. Does what you do matter more than you are? No. What you do is only a small part of who you are. Do we care about each other enough, and are we interested enough in what we can learn from each other, to stop asking “what do you do” and start asking “who are you?’ What is your story? So, I’d love to ask you something, and I’m not asking a rhetorical question. I really want to know… Where were you born? : I am born in Paris en 1952 dans le 14eme arrondissement. Je suis Français, mais je me considère plus comme un citoyen du monde. Where do you live now ? : Je vis depuis plus de 8 ans aux Seychelles et j’adore ce pays. Je m’y sens chez moi. What makes you smile ? : Tous les soirs, lorsque je vais chercher mon petit Marius ( il a 5 ans) à l’école Française. Je rentre doucement dans sa classe, et lorsqu’il me voit, il se précipite dans mes bras. C’est un grand moment de bonheur et toutes les cellules de mon corps sont heureuse et sourient. What is the most important life lesson you’ve learned so far ? J’ai appris quelque chose de quelque chose de fondamentale. Rien, mais vraiment rien n’est stable dans la vie. Tout change, tout évolue, tout apparait et disparait, les émotions tristes ou joyeuses, les sentiments, l’amour même avec le

Georges Gravé)

GEORGES

temps, avec la vie…J’ai vraiment compris cela lorsqu’un jour je n’ai pas pu me souvenir du visage de ma grandmère morte depuis longtemps. Cette évidence me permet de vivre chaque instant de la vie à fond car je sais que tout est éphémère. What is you deepest fear ? Cela fait très longtemps, que je travaille sur mes peurs, et en ce moment je suis très vigilant lorsque je rentre à la maison le soir de vérifier si je n’ai pas fait de mal à quelqu’un sans même m’en rendre compte. C’est une vigilance de chaque instant. What is your greatest dream for your life ? J’ai deux rêves dans ma vie, le premier serait de voir la Paix s’installer durablement et définitivement sur cette terre. Le second, éradiquer la faim dans le monde. Je suis atterré de savoir que des enfants meurent de faim dans notre soi-disant monde moderne. Who are you ? : Je suis Georges, un homme simple qui aime les gens et la vie. There is only one way that we can normalize this « what is your story ? » question in our society. And that is by starting to ask it, and each of us individually being willing to answer it wholeheartedly, knowing that the person asking it genuinely wants to know. Voila, à vous maintenant de faire l’exercice. Posez-vous d’abord les questions, et répondez franchement, puis posez-les à vos proches, puis a vos collègues de travail. Allez, bon courage, belles rencontres et belles surprises! Georges Gravé is the Personal Development & Training Manager at the Maia Luxury Resort and Spa

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS WITH

BE RNA R D GE ORGE S

A sign on a shop door says ‘If you are caught stealing, you will pay 3 times the price of the stolen item.’ Can a shop implement this?

against pressing charges. That is why in many cases, the police actually welcome an out-of-court arrangement where the shoplifter pays the shop and the shop does not press charges. So, how does that work in practice?

Shoplifting is a worldwide phenomenon and shops have taken a range of precautions against it – from security officers, CCtv cameras, mirrors, alarm tags and so on. Many shops in Victoria, especially clothes shops, have seen a proliferation of shoplifting over the last few years. The typical shoplifter is – it is sad to say – young, female and very likely has a drug habit. Shoplifting is seen as an easy way of getting something to sell to fuel the next hit. Clothes are easy items to steal because they can be folded down tight and quickly hidden. Faced with this increase in shoplifting, shop owners have come up with a novel and cheap way of deterring the habit. They post a sign on the door warning the potential shoplifter that, if caught, they face not only a night in jail and a criminal case down the road, but an immediate financial penalty which can go up to several times the price of the item. This is an effective measure. It is amusing to realise how quickly a shoplifter who is caught red-handed and faces a night in custody can find a friend to come up with the cash to pay the shop! All of this is fine and dandy. But is it legal? And is it enforceable?

Forget the sign on the shop’s door. That is not a binding thing. It is only a warning, not a contract between the parties. So, if a person is caught stealing in the shop and refuses to pay three times the price of the item, the shop owner cannot force the person to pay. The shop cannot sue the thief on the basis of the warning on the door sign. However, what the shop can do is to lodge a case with the police against the thief. The shop can let it be known that if the thief pays three times the price of the item, the charges will be dropped. This often produces immediate results. It will be a stupid thief who does not accept the deal, because the alternative is that if found guilty, the fine imposed by the magistrate is bound to be many times more than three times the value of the item stolen. Plus, the magistrate may ask the thief to pay compensation to the shop as part of the sentence. So, to avoid spending a night in custody, having a case to defend and the prospect of having to pay a fine and compensation at the end of it, the shoplifter more often than not coughs up. The police are happy because the case is settled. The shop is pleased because the thief has learned a lesson, and the thief...well, the thief pays.

“It will be a stupid thief who does not accept the deal, because the alternative is that if found guilty, the fine imposed by the magistrate is bound to be many times more than three times the value of the item stolen”. Shoplifting is a criminal offence. The proper method of dealing with it is to call the police and let them deal with the matter. However, in some cases both the shop and the police may feel that instituting a case is a waste of time, especially if the item is small and the value low. The time spent in preparing case and going to court may well be felt not to be worth it. There is a lot of paperwork for the police to do, and the shop may decide

A word of warning is necessary here. This type of arrangement is not conventional. The police may opt to prosecute the thief anyway once a complaint is made. This is because the person may be known to the police as a habitual offender and they may want to deter the thief from his or her habit. So, the police may decide not to drop the case even if the offender agrees to pay the shop. If this happens, then the shop cannot force the thief to pay. The thief will have to go to court and pay the fine there at the end of the case. The arrangement can only work if the police, the shop and the thief all agree. Only in that case can the deal be done and the sign on the door work. But, even so, it is a good idea to have a similar sign on the door of shops. If it does nothing else, at least it serves to deter some potential shoplifters. And that is no bad thing.

Educated at Seychelles College and Cambridge University, Bernard Georges has two Masters Degrees – in the law of divorce and in canon law, the law of the church. He is best known as a lawyer, having been in private practice for over 30 years. Over the past ten years, he has also been a member of the National Assembly. He is currently a part-time lecturer in law at the University of Seychelles, where he teaches Constitutional Law. And, he is a budding writer. He has written and published two novels to date and he promises many more books on history, law and Seychelles.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

CONSUMER AWARENESS

There is no better way of doing business than with sacos. Choosing the best deals for you and your business When it comes to insurance SACOS understands your needs: • For You • Your Assets • Your Business • Your Children

Visit SACOS today at the SACOS Tower for General Insurance. For Life Assurance come by to SACOS’ offices on the 3rd floor of Block A, Unity House or talk to one of SACOS’ Life Assurance Agent. You can also give SACOS a call on 4295 000

SACOS - REST ASSURED, BE INSURED SACOS LIFE… BE WISE

With SACOS, you are also buying the right types of cover for the risks that you face and choosing a SACOS Life Assurance policy is the smart way of investing for your future. Your investments are secure with SACOS given the company’s solid financial base; being the proprietor of the SACOS Tower and large residential properties; and also its long term programme of further investments in property development. With SACOS, it is all about giving the clients the best deals with our special offers for the following • • • • • • • • •

Long-term businesses Introductory Businesses Lady Drivers No Claims Bonus ( Motor) SACOS Shareholders SACOS Tenants Motor Fleet Packaged Insurance Registered Members of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce

In addition, for the SACOS loyal clients, there are the SACOS Lotteries for Life Assurance Policyholders, Motor Insurance and Householders Insurance. With SACOS it is not just choosing the right protection for your business; or talking to a company who understands the risks you face; or investing for your future, it is an Insurance company being the best that it can be.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

CONSUMER AWARENESS

Know Your Wine by Kreol Wines (Eden Plaza) Vinalba Chardonnay Chardonnay is one of the most universally popular grape varieties, partly because of its hardy qualities which enable it to grow and ripen everywhere in the wine-growing world apart from areas with the most extreme and volatile climatic conditions. The very best examples are found in the Burgundy region in France and it is one of the traditional triumvirates of grape varieties, alongside pinot noir and pinot meunier, used in the production of champagne. The winery, Vinalba, is located in the Mendoza Valley, the most renowned wine growing area in the country. It is owned by Herve Joyaux Fabre and his wife Diane, who originally hail from Bordeaux in France. Since 2008, Vinalba has produced outstanding quality, well-priced wines that consistently win a host of prestigious international awards across the full spectrum of their range – a sure-fire sign of a class outfit. This particular chardonnay has great aromas of tropical and citrus fruits, is complex in the mouth with a long and fresh finish. Fruit; Green apple on the nose followed by a delicate hint of white peach on the palate. Oak; N/A Tannin; Low Acidity; Medium Ageability; Best consumed early whilst crisp, fresh and vibrant. Recommended dishes – Chardonnay is a versatile grape variety and pairs well with most white meat and fish dishes. Try it with fish pie or with chicken, pork or pasta in a cream-based sauce. Tip; Enthusiasts of the more full-bodied style of white wine should also try pinot gris/grigio and viognier. Price; Rs 245 – Kreol Wines

The Gadget World

with Elton Moustache (Director of Unified Technologies) sales@unifiedtechnologies.info

GREEN & TINY, LOW COST PC

Like many people if you want to watch a movie on your big screen you invest in a media center for your living room and most of the time, you feel disappointed as it does not play all your video formats. Others hook up their laptop to their big screen but that also is not very convenient.

If you are looking for something that will solve your home entertainment dilemma or even do more than that at an affordable price look no further. If you are looking for something that will solve your home entertainment dilemma or even do more than that at an affordable price look no further. The Lenovo Idea Centre Q190 is a tiny computer that you can hide out of sight behind your monitor or TV screen, which brings you the power of a normal PC. With its stylish, slim and compact design, this gadget proves that sometimes big things really do come in small packages. With its Intel Core i3 -2365M 1.4GHz processor with 4GB of PC3-10600 DDR3 RAM also running Windows 8.1, the tiny chassis is home to a 1TB, 5400rpm hard drive and offers support for wireless connectivity- making sharing media on any device from anywhere easy. The Lenovo Idea Centre Q190 is not just ideal for entertainment but also as an everyday use PC, using up minimal desk space. The capabilities of the internal components are nearly as important as the expansion options of this small form factor machine. Lenovo has not fallen short to address this, with a microphone and headphone 3.5mm jacks; a memory card reader and a total of six USB ports for your peripherals and expansions- three of which are USB 3.0 type. Imagine streaming movies, music videos and using Skype using your big screen T.V and home surround system. No need for a Smart T.V! Even if the Q190 is not the only tiny PC on the market it’s definitely one that merits attention for its cool features and relatively low price point!

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

CONSUMER AWARENESS

Garage Doors, Shutters and Security Gates SAF

A recently formed local company, SAF, is bringing high quality garage doors, physical security products as well as commercial and domestic shutters to the islands. SAF is an agent of SWS UK which is a leading company in the sector.

Garage Doors for Homes & Businesses

It goes without saying that a new garage door is an investment in any family’ s budget. You can rest assured that the SeceuroGlide range provides the highest quality products which will enhance your property value as well as add on to its appearance and security. The ‘sectional’ or ‘roller’ garage doors gives you a choice of panel designs, a choice of plain colour or wood-effect finishes, allowing you to match your door to existing paintwork or double-glazing for a coordinated look to your home. Each roller garage door is supplied as standard with a SeceuroSense receiver with built in courtesy light, your choice of two key fobs an optical safety edge and an internal manual override. The SeceuroGlide is also available as a manual door.

· I want my children to play safely outside · I want physical security products to protect my business · I am concerned over burglary statistics in the country

How it Works

The process starts with a free inspection of the premises which is followed by the submission of a quote. Two quotes in fact are provided; one with the airfreight cost and the other with sea shipment. Depending on the urgency or your budget, you can decide which option suits you best. Installation takes place immediately after custom clearance by SAF professionals.

Warranty

SWS standard guarantee is for a period of 5 years, while SAF provides a fit-in guarantee for a period of 2 years. Call SAF on 2596382 or 2523168 for more information.

Once you venture into the industrial side of things, SeceuroShield, SeceuroDoor and SeceuroVision are the names you will encounter. From classic to galvanised steel, a wide range of versatile options will ensure your exact choice is met.

Shutters for Homes and Businesses

There is no escaping the fact that security is a crucial part of the physical set-up of any establishment whether it is within residential or commercial premises. SWS UK Security Shutter range has been developed to provide an architecturally acceptable answer to the growing need for vandalism and burglary protection on both domestic and commercial property. The Seceuro range of roller security shutters offers an all-aluminum construction with variations including foam filled,which increases insulation properties, perforated and punched aperture with varying finishes that make this type of product versatile and durable for most types of apertures.

Security Gates & Grilles for Homes and Businesses

Designed to keep intruders out while letting maximum light in, they are perfect for vulnerable ground floor windows on doors, for domestic, retail or commercial premises. Elegant good looks with a heart of steel - the SeceuroGuard retractable security gate system combines a classic appearance with the highest level of protection.

Target Clients

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NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

EXPLORING EDEN

rieuse

u ‘Ile Rouge’ – C Island

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. It is and of Praslin coast of the isl Coco rth ue no iq e un th e to th d is close d together with Seychelles, de en Curieuse Islan bl , rth ns of the r its bare red ea the cultural ico remarkable fo which is one of ands. st isl re d fo ne lm tio pa de Mer e two aforemen y of outdoor experiences. th on t en es raie only being pr ered an arra de the Baie La paradise are off ils, which inclu rds, sea tra Visitors to this bi re nd tu la na of ed g the guid bird watchin il, tra are a few r ie ng m vi One can follow da di d orkelling an sé, the Anse Ba sn Jo s, se ue An eq il around to rb tra th Ba d pa rhen. w the marke abundant moo sitors who follo Vi e. bl birds and the la . ai es av ns that are natural treasur 1768 more distractio ll extent of its loured soil. In discover the fu e to its red co on so du d e an ug oner “La isl Ro ho le the sc e ed th m r na te ly af original n du naming it Curieuse was c-Joseph Mario n of the island, ise of explorer Mar imed possessio d rto cla an to t m ch an m en gi co Fr e e e th th ere was a nativ at was under th th s, ip lle sh he a yc e”, Se Curieus ds in the number of islan g of the Coco Fresne. Like a iped out. w ly ick qu as make harvestin w to at g th in n nd tio te , and la in popu island ds’ native trees set fire to the any of the islan m rieuse was d Cu ye In 1771 sailors r. ro te st la s de arly 250 year sier. The fire ne ea y, ts da nu til 1965. to er un y M en se cit de d in this capa fire can still be ne e tio th nc of fu ns it use at tio d indica 1833, an er doctor’s ho leper colony in ell as the form w as n, ai m also used as a re m m). the leprosariu er and museu Today, ruins of ucational cent ed an ow (n ine Anse José e Curieuse Mar ere declared th w s er at w ng undi use and surro In 1979, Curie . rk National Pa nged through use can be arra rie e: Cu er to th t lin ge as How to te’ D’or Pr at ride from Co A 20 minute bo s or boat charters. ator local tour oper

and diving are a g in ll ke or sn , es qu be Bar are available. at th ns io ct ra st di e few mor e marked trail th ow ll fo o h w rs ito Vis scover the full di on so nd la is e th around treasures. extent of its natural

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

L’agent maritime: un maillon fort dans la chaine logistique Qu’est ce qu’un agent maritime?

Leur domaine d’activité concerne largement la communication au sein d’une agence maritime, mais couvre tous les besoins des navires qui font escale au port de Victoria. Aux Seychelles, il y a plusieurs entreprises au port de Victoria qui en ont fait leur activité principale, notamment Hunt, Deltel & Co. Ltd, Mahe Shipping, Société Seychelloise de Navigation et Aquarius pour en citer quelques-uns. L’agent maritime intervient dans la chaîne du commerce international au moment où un navire fait part de son escale prévue au Port de Victoria, que ce soit un bateau de croisière, un navire de charge, un bateau de pêche ou un yacht.

Le travail d’un agent maritime

L’agent commence son travail bien avant l’arrivée du navire au port. Ce dernier communique une réquisition officielle avant d’arriver au port et l’agence répond avec un devis. Une fois confirmé, l’agent commence à tout organiser. En ce qui concerne les navires de charge et de pêche, l’agence a généralement agréé un contrat avec une compagnie et s’occupe de sa flotte entière. Pour les navires de charge, l’agent aide à assurer le déchargement des conteneurs maritimes destinés aux Seychelles et le chargement de ceux qui contiennent des marchandises d’exportation. Quand on prend en compte le nombre de conteneurs maritimes qui arrivent aux Seychelles chaque semaine et la valeur des marchandises qu’ils contiennent, l’importance d’un agent efficace devient bien évident.

Les qualités requises d’un agent maritime

Les demandes des navires de charge et de pêche sont généralement assez répétitives et prévisibles : demandes de pilotage et accostage auprès de la capitainerie, visites médicales, réservations d’hôtel et transport du personnel qui débarque du navire, approvisionnement en eau, en nourriture et en carburant, la facilitation d’un changement d’équipage sur le navire, des travaux de réparation ou de nettoyage, ainsi de suite. Par ailleurs, la liste de besoins est longue et les cocontractants sont nombreux, ce qui demande un bon sens du contact et de fortes compétences en matière d’organisation. Il faut surtout maintenir un bon rapport avec les fournisseurs de services - au moment d’un cas d’urgence par exemple, cela permet de réagir au moindre délai.

L’agent doit également être prêt à travailler hors des horaires réguliers, selon les besoins du bateau. Il est toujours joignable par téléphone portable.

L’AGENT MARITIME INTERVIENT DANS LA CHAÎNE DU COMMERCE INTERNATIONAL AU MOMENT OÙ UN NAVIRE FAIT PART DE SON ESCALE PRÉVUE AU PORT DE VICTORIA, QUE CE SOIT UN BATEAU DE CROISIÈRE, UN NAVIRE DE CHARGE, UN BATEAU DE PÊCHE OU UN YACHT. La particularité du travail avec les yachts

En ce qui concerne les yachts, il s’agit d’une affaire un peu plus particulière. L’agent dans ce cas doit être très sensible aux spécificités culturelles du propriétaire du bateau dont il s’occupe. Les demandes, qui dépendent du propriétaire, varient énormément: l’acquisition d’un bourgeois vivant destiné à l’aquarium de son yacht, l’achat d’une Mini Cooper de couleur blanche pour sa fille...qui prévoit d’arriver aux Seychelles dans cinq jours! (Et il faut savoir qu’il n’y a pas de dépôt de Mini Cooper dans l’Océan Indien) La réponse « Non. » n’est que rarement prononcée dans ce métier. Au bout du compte, si vous avez pu vous acheter une miche de pain dans un magasin aux Seychelles, si votre entreprise profite d’un groupe de touristes arrivés en bateau croisière, ou si vous venez de manger un sandwich au thon seychellois, c’est parce qu’il y a un réseau international d’agents maritimes qui ont bien rempli leur rôle à un moment donné. Isabelle Houareau

Le Port de Victoria, le 8 novembre 2005, Terence Lafortune

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

BEHIND THE BUSINESS

The Vintner’s Cellar A taste of high-end wines!

“WE TRY AND KEEP OUR PRICES AS AFFORDABLE AS POSSIBLE. RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE WINES RANGING FROM SR 95 TO SR 3,000. WHAT WE TEND TO DO IS TRY AND KEEP OUR PRICES AS LOW AND AS STABLE AS WE POSSIBLY CAN”.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

Christine Weber and her family have created an amazing wine selection within a friendly and welcoming wine-buying environment. The family’s passion for wine started less than a decade ago when an opportunity presented itself before them. Having the advantage of being established in the heart of Victoria, Christine, her husband and her daughter Emma certainly are making full use of their location. Even without a bounty of wine regions in proximity, their clients still flock to the area to pleasure their palates. Creating their little dynasty, the Webers’ desire to keep their wine business in the family; working together to build a business that one generation can pass to the next. Today, Mrs. Weber and family have a business to be proud of. If you’re a wine enthusiast, you will definitely drop by Cave a Vin after getting to know the owner up close. In this month’s edition we get to know more about Mrs. Weber, in her tête-à-tête with POTPOURRI.

How did you end up owning a wine shop? Initially, Cave a Vin was owned by a French lady. She had gotten to know my family and I so when she decided to sell the business, we absolutely wanted to buy it from her. It came, in a way, as a very good package, as she had been liaising with a producer/ supplier directly from France. At first, it was my daughter Emma who started in the business, but as the business grew; my husband and I joined her. Basically it is now a family business that we purchased about eight years ago. Before taking up the business we had to do some figure crunching to find out whether it would be worth it. I also did a bit of market research to see how we could further develop the business.

How fortunate do you think you were to have bought the business? We were extremely lucky. The previous owner, being French, knew her wine quite well, so she had all the high-end wines on the market. She

was also working with Le Grand Chais de France who supplies J.P Chennet, Baron d’Arignac and Grandial; some of the world’s best wines. They are a major player in the business of wine and spirits in France and abroad. In fact, they are perhaps the second biggest exporter of wines in France. So, by working with them, we do not have to go through a third party. When we bought the business they came down to survey it, to see if we could work together and they have been a huge support especially during the economic reforms. They have been faithful suppliers and with Seychelles being a small market, we have been blessed to not have an issue with ordering. We can easily order one case containing only six bottles to put into a container. Having been able to do a container with a little bit of everything, from wine to spirits to liqueurs, has been very helpful as well since we are able to bring samples to try on the market before we do the purchasing.

Where you well versed in oenology when you bought the shop?

When we first purchased the business, we did not know much about wines, but since we wanted to be more conversant with the product we were offering our clients, we attended a wine school.

willing to try a sweet sparkling wine or the mixed cocktails that we have on offer. Without a doubt, what clients buy all depends on their budget as well as the occasion they are buying for. How has the business progressed over the years? We started off in the little shop at Premier Building, and during that time we were doing only retail and a little bit of wholesale, though not on a massive scale. We found the need to extend as the business started growing, and now we have a new outlet at Unity House, where we are also dealing extensively in wholesale. I think we have evolved from having very selective wines originally, to now having a much wider range.

Who is your most loyal clientele?

We get quite a lot of locals who come in on a regular basis. We are proud to say that over half of our clients are regulars. It does not mean that they purchase a huge amount at one go, but they do come in often, especially when they have a special occasion. We do get a good number of foreign clients as well.

When choosing wines, how do you decide which ones to purchase?

Basically when we do the wine tasting and the ordering, we look into what would be the most suitable produce for the market. We gear more so towards the local market, so this is why we put our wines in most of the shops all around Mahe. We also have restaurants and hotels that we deal with but if you just come to our shop to browse, the wines you will see in stock are the ones the majority of our clients prefer.

Do Seychellois drink more wine today than they did in the past?

I have noticed along the years that our Seychellois palate has started to evolve. Nowadays we find more people who drink wine and who are willing to taste new wines, which are things that before, people did not really think of doing. My younger clients usually go for the spirits, which we also sell, but they might also be

How affordable are your products?

We try and keep our prices as affordable as possible. Right now, we have wines ranging from SR 95 to SR 3,000. What we tend to do is try and keep our prices as low and as stable as we possibly can.

Would you agree that Seychellois are getting more knowledgeable about wines?

Definitely! There are clients who will come in and just buy any bottle. But I will say that our education on wine is reasonably better as when my clients get used to one brand, they want to try another. I like to think that we are becoming more adventurous in our tasting. Whereas when we first started, a lot of our clients were a bit reluctant to try new things.

How do you foresee the future of the business?

This is a family business and it will hopefully remain that way. Just like any entrepreneur, I too want my business to grow as there is room enough in the market for everybody to grow.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

BEHIND THE BUSINESS

By Elaine LaFortune

BEHIND THE BUSINESS

What makes your store unique?

Our motto is all about taking care of our customers. I like to say, “Treat people like you would like to be treated.” We are willing to help our clients get something worth their money and we do help out if the client is unsure of what he/ she wants. We also allow tasting so that the client knows what is being purchased and if it is to their taste. To run a business you have to be polite, respectful and offer a good service. This is what we do. Our motto is not only good customer service, but a service that is affordable to everybody. People like to spend their money, but they also want value for it, and value for money is not only about the price of your product. It is the ability to make somebody feel satisfied with what they have purchased. We always try and bring in new products to make sure our clients stay contented.

There is this mentality that family businesses rarely survive long. What is your opinion?

The good thing is that each of us has our own sections that we are in charge of. My husband deals with the pricing of the products, my daughter is in charge of the warehouse and I deal with the sales department. So though we sometimes tread on each other’s toes, having our own separate sections make working together easier.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

How would you advise someone who wants to set up any business?

To set up a business you need to have an element of risk. When we started, I honestly did not think that it would grow into what we have now. This is where my husband came in as the risk taker. You also need to have a fall back plan, if all else happens to fail. But the most important, is having a passion and a drive in the field you are interested in.

Any last words?

I have already started working on my list for the Christmas holidays, so I should be stocked and ready with everything, especially the popular brands, by mid-November, just in time for all your Christmas parties.

FEATURED ARTIST

Mahé Chamber Choir A decade of Choral Music By Darrel Antat

The Mahé Chamber Choir is a group that needs no introduction. We’ve seen them at weddings, at funerals, at official launching ceremonies and other events of the like. With Raymond Clarisse at the helm, they have been delighting Seychelles with their amazing vocals for over a decade now and have been giving us performances that manage to strike a chord even with non-choral music fans. On the occasion of their tenth anniversary, Potpourri magazine sat down with Raymond to have him tell us their story.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

“By the time I went to study in Aberystwyth in 2001, I started to perform with the Elisabeth Madrigal Singers (MADs) and this offered me an opportunity to experience a different culture of choral music. During the summer holidays I would come to Seychelles primarily to work with the Seychelles Broadcasting Cooperation, but also to work with the Good Shepherd Choir and do choral music. It was mostly religious pieces, but I knew that there were different forms and themes of choral music out there. However, I was working with people who could not devote as much time to make the kind of music I wanted to.

high demand to perform at wedding ceremonies to the point where I remember that every Saturday in the month of July, MCC was singing at a wedding ceremony.”

What made MCC decide to venture into commercially performing at wedding ceremonies?

“Actually, it was the people who approached us. They had heard us and they liked our sound and came up to us and asked if we would mind doing it, and it just went on from there.

As luck would have it, when MADs was supposed to go on our choral tour in 2004, we talked about the possibility of coming to Seychelles, because we had never ventured that far down south, other than to go around Europe and the United States. Everyone jumped at the opportunity and on the 19th of June 2004, after a lot of work, MADs came to Seychelles. It was all made possible through the hard work of Good Shepherd church parish and other private individuals. The concert that was performed in Good Shepherd church, brought a lot of attention to what a group of choral singers can do, moreover it influenced the people who were already in the Good Shepherd choir. People like Aneesa Hoareau, Beverly Isaac, Amy Gomme, Marie-Christine Clarisse, Dean Delcy, and others who were familiar with us like Jim Hoareau and Antoinette Dodin. But they were people that were already in the choral culture.

By 2007 the priority was still to introduce new songs to our repertoire. New pieces that would challenge us more like ‘California Dreaming’ (The Beach Boys), ‘Bogoroditse Devo’ (Sergei Rachmaninoff ), ‘Elijah Rock’ (Moses Hogan) and the likes, so that by 2008 our now annualconcert had become one of the highlights of Christmas after four years of MCC. It had already found its place and became something that people knew was happening. Moreover we were being called upon to participate in events on a national scale; at the ‘Let Us Bounce Back’ ceremony after the tsunami that hit Seychelles, at the launching of the ABMP – ‘It begins with you’ campaign on SBC, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the independence of Seychelles, we were leaving the church benches and venturing to other places. And the friendship started to grow, so that by 2009 we did Kastor after 5 years of working together to celebrate what we had achieved so far.”

So it was right on the eve of my graduation, because I graduated on the 13th July 2004 and by the 19th of July 2004 I was already back in Seychelles with the experience of the concert barely a month old and still fresh. And I remember writing a letter, after Aneesa and I sat and asked ourselves ‘who were the potential people that we could do this with?’That’s when we started inviting other people along to join those that were already there. This included Andrew Denousse, Marcus Philoe, (who also came to listen to MADS) Charles Bijoux, Wilifred Mounac, Gary Mounac, Samia Agathine, Moses Delcy, Sheryl Barra, Brigitte Ah-Shung, Terence Gomme and Nichole Gamatis, who made up the first lineup of MCC which comprised of only 18 people at the time. And then it all started on a Wednesday that if memory serves me right, was at the end of July or beginning of August 2004. I couldn’t just give up what I had begun experiencing, it was like a consolation for me. I needed something to keep it all going for me and the Mahé Chamber Choir was born.

“THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO GET YOUNG PEOPLE TO DO SOMETHING WHICH I BELIEVE HAD NOT YET FOUND ITS PLACE HERE IN SEYCHELLES”.

We became the Mahé Chamber Choir because we are in essence a Chamber choir due to the number of people we have, and also because we are based on Mahé. Plus I wanted to separate the choir from the church. I wanted it to have an identity all on its own for itself.”

Along the way

“At first, since most of the choir didn’t read music, I was a bit apprehensive and I chose some simple and easy pieces for four voices so that we had the harmonics and sound well together when singing as a group and so we could capture the attention of people who were willing to listen. Then, quite quickly by mid-2005 we had new people come in to join the choir and it was already transforming into something else. So I ventured into some pop pieces like ‘New York, New York’ (Frank Sinatra), classical pieces, jazz pieces and negro-spiritual pieces like ‘I’m gonna sing’ (Moses Hogan). So by the end of 2005, I was reassured that the choir was up to the challenge of performing even better. In 2006, we were in

Objective

“The objective was to get young people to do something which I believe had not yet found its place here in Seychelles. There was the Choral Music Society and the National Choir, but my impression of it was that it was something that our mums and dads would go do after work. Or that it was something for people associated with the church. For me it was a little bit of the objective to be able to see a guy of seventeen and tell him that on Tuesdays you can go for football training and on Wednesdays, you can come sing in a choir. It might have sounded strange but I wanted to make young people feel that it’s also cool to do this; to create music of high quality with other young people in Seychelles. Ten years down the road, I think this is exactly what happened. For example, it’s never difficult to recruit new people. I know someone who’s a hip-hop dancer and wants to be in the choir. We have young singers like Trassy ‘Telsy’ Carolla, Aaron Jean and Antoinette Dodin who could have gone exclusively their own way but still make time to sing in the choir. At the same time, MCC has

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

FEATURED ARTIST

How the choir came together

FEATURED ARTIST

helped propel some other people forward into things that they probably might not have done before, like going on stage in a musical.”

MCC and the musical singing culture in Seychelles

“MCC is something different on its own, that has been influenced by something bigger. I mean, we sing classical pieces but at the same time, we participate in musical creation in Seychelles in an active way. We take pieces like Mr. Patrick Victor’s ‘Later Byenneme’, sing a choral version of it and it is played amongst the hip songs on FM. Or, we take Kastor by the National Cultural Troupe, we sing it as a choral piece and at the same time, it remains what it was. But then the next day we’re singing Mozart! So I feel we’re contributing to the introduction of some pieces that people didn’t know about, while at the same time participating in what is already here. Now, when it comes to the musical culture, particularly the culture of singing, I feel that people listen to themselves more. They know now what it is to be flat, or when they are going too high or when they are off tempo. They can identify their range, sing with more conviction, articulate and bring in their own techniques, that would help them improve. We have members who sing in bands but can still metamorphose and sing in a choir when it’s time. I think that MCC has played its part in making these things happen; to make the audience know that there’s not only singing just because you want to, but that even as an amateur choir, we can do good, controlled, improved singing. We are not professionals but we would like to let people know that there are people in Seychelles who can sing very well together as a group.”

Challenges

“Sustaining the choir for ten years has been one of the biggest challenges because ten years ago it was new. It was ‘wow’! But it’s difficult to keep it that way for that long, especially when you’re doing something repetitively. You need to have something that keeps the members there. Especially when they are growing up, becoming mothers, developing careers, having personal developments, going for overseas studies, getting married. Their priorities change when new things come along, and some people leave. So as a result, the biggest challenge is first of all, to keep the standard while not compromising what we set out to do and secondly, to keep the members interested. There have been concerts that, maybe the public didn’t realize, we struggled to get through because of all that.”

The evolution to musicals

“It was personal. I never studied choral music, but I studied theatre, television and film. I had done television for the first five years that I was back from my studies and I wanted to go on stage to do what was the second love of my life, which was theatre. I had MCC at my disposal and we could actually do this together. It was time to do something major to celebrate five years together and also to see for ourselves if we can use our musical talents elsewhere, other than just in the Christmas concert. So we took on the challenge of bringing Kastor back on stage. Admittedly, the last musical play to my knowledge was probably back in the late nineties. We had reached 2009 and there weren’t any musicals on stage, so we felt that it’s a very viable form of theatre that should be brought forward and said, why not do it? So we did it, and to my surprise, the members loved it and so did the audience. It was a gamble because we had to sacrifice the voice, refining and practicing well as a group. We were busy focusing on production work rather than vocal work. At first some members were very uncomfortable with the idea of having to go on stage; they didn’t feel that it was our core business. But they were team players so they did it and ended up enjoying it. Some other people saw a possibility in it. We have members like Aaron Jean, who is now (August 2014) shooting a movie in Sri Lanka and the first time he acted on stage was in Kastor. He was also in SBC’s ‘Senaryo Alternativ’. We also have members like Mathieu Sinon, who wasn’t in Kastor but we found that he’s an actor in his own right. The other significant impact was that Kastor helped us to convince other people of what they can be capable of with MCC. Trassy ‘Telsy’ Carolla wanted to join MCC after Kastor, because like many others like her, she felt that MCC was something she wanted to be involved with. And it made the artistic community believe in us, which is why we didn’t struggle to get support for things that came after.”

Crowning moments

“There are many. First and foremost is when we pick up a piece of music now, which ten years ago I would have thought MCC would not been able to sing, and even if we don’t sing it entirely professionally as it was meant to be, we still manage to perform it. And it’s so comforting especially when you have people like Mr. David Andre coming up to us and telling us that he never would have expected to hear ‘Camina Burana – O Fortuna’ (Carl Orff ) performed by a local choir. For me these are the nice moments combined with when I feel we achieved something musically great, and there have been many like it during the past ten years. It’s whenever we put our touch to a wedding or funeral or a ceremony and you feel the difference that MCC has brought to the event. For me the extra touch that we bring makes for very nice moments. And I think it’s also the fact that we’ve put together not one or two, but three musicals on stage, which is more than any other group has done in the past decade.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

Raymond Clarisse. Photo: Darrel Antat

FEATURED ARTIST

Moreover we are called upon to sing in places that I wouldn’t even have aspired for us to go, like the opening of the new Jj Spirit building ‘Espace’ or during the launching ceremony of the President’s new book. We are called to do things that show us that people know and appreciate us. We had the President come to the premiere of Kastor! For me, when the President of the republic comes and supports something that the young people of this country are doing, it is a great honour. Some people may say it’s political, but there are many, many events in this country that he could go to, and the fact that he chose to come to ours is a privilege indeed.”

On the horizon

“MCC has become a musical family. As much as we bicker with each other, there are people who’ve always been there and stuck through for ten years. Maybe they feel it’s time to move on, but others are waiting for what’s next. Now it’s time to aspire to more professional work in my opinion. And I think after the ups and downs that MCC has gone through, each and every member needs to take a step back. All the groups, bands, ensembles that ever came together in the world go through a moment when they say ‘You know what, we’ve seen each other enough and we need to decide whether we want to do this again, and if we do, can we be better than what we were and what we are, or are we going to destroy what we took time to create over ten years.’ So I think now it’s time to ask the people: Who wants to continue on this journey and who wants to say ‘this is it.’ For me personally, I couldn’t live without a choir. I think the future and my heart will tell me. The one thing I haven’t done and wish to do with MCC is a movie, I want to try shooting them for a musical on film.”

Beyond our borders

“I’ve heard a lot of international choirs. We’ve heard each other a lot and maybe it’s high time that we hear other people sing together collectively as a group in the presence of each other. So it’s important that we start thinking of these things and make ourselves heard by other people overseas. After ten years I think we have created a name in Seychelles. While I don’t think the next ten years means making a name for ourselves overseas, I do think that maybe it’s time to go beyond our borders. We will go wherever invited but we will begin with our first official trip outside Seychelles to South Africa where we will do an official choral exchange in November 2014.”

For those who aspire to start a choir

“Stick to the plan. Don’t change the dream and the objective. If you have people who can’t make what you have in mind happen, get rid of them and get other people. If people want to leave you and go, don’t beg them to stay. Always make it sound new and interesting; it’s the only way to keep people around because repetition is a drag and working hard is

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

“MCC HAS BECOME A MUSICAL FAMILY. AS MUCH AS WE BICKER WITH EACH OTHER, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO’VE ALWAYS BEEN THERE AND STUCK THROUGH FOR TEN YEARS. MAYBE THEY FEEL IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON, BUT OTHERS ARE WAITING FOR WHAT’S NEXT”. not fun. You need to have fun while you are working hard so you should feel like it’s fun to be there every day to do it. Always aspire to be better; one thing that MCC unfortunately doesn’t have is that they don’t know their potential. They don’t know how great they can be. Some people do it because they like the idea of it, some people do it because it’s a hobby - something they do after work - and some people do it because they want to be good at it. There’s always a very difficult mix of emotions to be working with, so be prepared.” Seychelles has proved time and time again that it does not lack in vocal talent and as MCC has showed us, choral music has an audience and has its place in our society. There are always challenges when keeping a group of young people together, even though they all have the same passion. There are different individuals with different things going on beyond their mission as choir members. Understanding the highs and lows and hearing the story, one cannot help but be impressed by the fact that the MCC has been keeping this amazing feat going for over ten years now. It is a story of perseverance, discovery and growth that hopefully will inspire others who wish to contribute and make a difference in music to come forward.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

FASHION

GET YOUR SHADES ON! If you live in Seychelles, you live in a place where the average number of sunny days hovers somewhere around 365 a year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; yes, the sun still shines on rainy days. Aside from the obvious protection factor, sunglasses are an easy way to further accessorise and, sometimes, when necessary, hide us from the rest of the world. While our sunglasses might make us feel like rock stars or supermodels, at the end of the day, what really matters is the lensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; quality and protection they provide. When you are thinking of buying a pair of sunglasses to wear outdoors, consider it an investment for your eyes and sight and choose a reputable store for the purchase. Locally, you are guaranteed the highest quality and latest models at Beyond the Sea, Eden Island.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

FASHION Marymonde Matatiken ~ 41 ~ Executive Director (JJ Spirit Foundation) What’s your number one fashion rule? Simplicity Which celebrity would top your ‘best dressed’ list? Michelle Obama

What’s your favourite item in your wardrobe? My black high

waist skirt

What colour is dominant in your wardrobe? All shades of brown Your favourite place to shop? In Seychelles it’s Chloe’s Boutique and while I’m overseas I go for Dorothy Perkins

High heels or flats? Medium heels A definite NO-NO is: Nothing above the knee A brief description of your fashion style would be: Simple and elegant

A good fashion sense means: What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today, when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

BEAUTY

Celebrity Hair Hacks

Why Genetics aren’t the Only Ticket to Rapunzel’s Tresses By Nouss from My Hair Affection We all have bad hair days once in a while. You know, the mundane Mondays when we find that our silken locks are unsightly, flat, and floppy. Or the post-lunch-ladies-roomrush, during which everyone in the office frantically fixes rain-drenched frizz and frazzle. The remedy? We can wait until the humidity breaks, drench our tresses with a deep conditioning moisture mask, or tie up the unruliness into a neat-and-tidy knot. With a little time, patience, tender loving care, and a few creative accessories (scrunchie anyone?), nobody’s the wiser. But that routine was far too familiar for Teresa Hill, who agonized over what she coined “bad hair genes”. Her mother had it. Her grandmother had it. Even her great-grandmother had it. And they all complained. “I was doomed,” she thought. “I either had to cut it off or live with it.” So, as soon as she landed her first well-paying job, she began to invest heavily in pricey salons and treatments. “You name it, I’ve tried it,” she said, exasperated. “But nothing worked for me. My hair was as limp, lifeless, and as dull as ever. All day. Every day.” What most women don’t realise is that Teresa’s situation is one that is shared by countless women in Seychelles and across the US, each of whom is fed-up and frustrated

“The bottom line is this – it doesn’t matter what you wear or how you feel on any given day,” Teresa concluded. “When your hair looks amazing, you feel unstoppable. Everything just falls into place.”

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with the amount of time and money involved in maintaining a reasonably presentable appearance. Whether short or long, straight, wavy, or full of bouncing curls, a woman’s hair is often her prime source of happiness, self-esteem, and self-worth. It also offers an added boost to most professional careers, with the right hairstyle commanding an air of confidence, authority, and approachability. Like it or not, Teresa had pinpointed the key component to long and luxurious hair – genes. Though women spend billions of dollars fueling an industry built on fad treatments and products that promise miracles in a bottle, there’s simply no substitute for born-with-it genes. Which is why her stylist recommended the trick so many celebrities are sporting – pure virgin hair extensions. “I was so excited! I trust my stylist implicitly and just went with his suggestion.” That was seven years ago, and she said it was the best decision she’s ever made. When I visited her

at her stylish third-floor NYC loft, she handed me a cup of tea and reclined on her plush couch - combing her fingers through long straight hair. She looked natural, in her element, and born-with-it beautiful. “It’s just so soft and natural,” she explained, “you wouldn’t believe how many compliments I get, now!” Her secret? Teresa stopped spending money on products that didn’t work for her and started purchasing the finest quality pure virgin human hair from My Hair Affection. “I’ve used countless brands and much prefer the quality offered by My Hair Affection,” she explained, which is a company that’s widely recognized for their true texture matching ability – regardless of hair type. Through My Hair Affection, anyone can purchase hair products that are hand-selected from trusted partners in Brazil, India, and Eastern Europe – all of which is organically enhanced to offer exquisite purity, luster, and sheen. So, what should you watch out for? Some products look comparable to virgin human hair but are actually lowquality synthetic look-alikes. Steer clear of synthetic hair, which simply doesn’t look or feel as authentic as natural virgin hair. “Other high-end extension brands also warn against swimming in pools while wearing them,” explained My Hair Affection spokesperson. “But that’s a telltale sign that their product is not of the highest quality. Authentic virgin hair, like your own, can be washed, blow-dried, curled, and styled just as you normally would. Immerse in any water – including salt or chlorine.” However, as with your own, the company recommends washing any salt or chlorine out afterward to keep strands rich in color and sheen. “The bottom line is this – it doesn’t matter what you wear or how you feel on any given day,” Teresa concluded. “When your hair looks amazing, you feel unstoppable. Everything just falls into place.” For product details: www.myhairaffection.com

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

Eva Longoria

We loved her feistiness in Desperate Housewives in her role as Gabrielle Solis. Many women loved her style even more. The glamorous side to her character is certainly something which Eva portrays exceptionally well in real-life as well. The 39-year old American actress hardly ever disappoints us regardless of whether she is heading to an NBA game or the red carpet. The best thing about her style is that it is a cross between Hollywood glamour and girl-next-door so that anyone can look ‘like that.’

with Ms Jules

THE CHOKER

Those of us who were out and about in the 90’s know the choker very well. Back then it was mainly in the form a velvet ribbon and resembled a tattoo necklace and was mostly worn by daring teenagers and young women. It’s a good thing the 90’S are a thing of the past where the choker is concerned. The good news is that these days, if you consider yourself borderline punk, a bohemian queen, or simply, elegantly understated, you can find the right choker for you.

Photo credit: www.dollskill.com

Some tips to rock your choker in 2014 • They work best when they’re not competing with a busy neckline and long hair. • Wear them with your hair up for the greatest effect. • If you’re going for a metal choker – gold or silver, try wearing it with a strapless dress or a plain shirt. You certainly don’t want too much going on around your neck especially if you want the choker to be the main emphasis of your outfit. • The black choker is still in and can revive your entire wardrobe, breathing new life into closet staples and old favorites. In fact, because of its neutrality, it can go with anything! • For the office, even if you’re in something as simple as a t-shirt, a choker necklace becomes the focal point and makes it look brilliant - throw in a linen jacket for a more professional look. • If your choker screams aggressive, pair it with ‘soft’ fabrics to soften the effect and look –unless you’re heading to a costume party and ‘goth’ is the dress code. • You’re one of those people who pull off any look? Have some fun with chokers and pair them with longer chains – this can dramatically change a simple white tee and jeans look into fabulously funky! • Always remember that the key in wearing a choker is to provide the right attention to the neckline. If you do not want to draw attention to that area, then avoid using a choker altogether.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

Photo Credit: www.freetopone.com

Get Her Look

Juana Alcindor (23)

MAKE-OVER

Martin Hoarau’s Hairdressing Occupation: Student Family: For the time being that’s just my parents, sister and boyfriend. General hair beauty routine: A blow dried ponytail. When was the last time you went to a hairdresser? Very recently – my hair was a mess! General make-up routine: I don’t wear make-up. A little eyeliner is a rare exception. Why I need a make-over: My hair is rally dry and damaged from excessive heat products. I’m no longer happy with it. Besides, it’s my 24th birthday soon and I want to look different.

BEFORE

What I am expecting from it: A change from the usual looking Juana!

Hair (with Martin) “Given her recent trip to the hairdresser’s there isn’t much I can do. Since she doesn’t want to go shorter, a healthy trim and change in colour should give Juana the ‘change’ she is looking for..”

For booking, call Martin Hoarau Hairdressing on 4325186

Make up (with Sophie) “I kept the colours soft given that Juana is not used to a lot of make up. I chose shades of pink – and a lot of it! Black Up products were used on her complexion and a lip liner did the trick on her pout.”

For booking, call Sophie on 2793300

for AFTER photo go to page 46

The Team

1. Hair: Martin Hoarau | 2. Make Up: Sophie Pool | 3. Photography: Alvin Abel NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

MAKE-OVER

R E T F A

Juana says, “This is not the person who walked in through the door. I love it and I feel beautiful”

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

HEALTH

VIEW FROM THE STATION

BREATHE, STRETCH AND HEAL.... the way of the Yogi By Jenny Gilbert In pursuit of our ongoing quest to help others engage with their vital healing force – the source of their wellbeing - we have seen our fair share of Yoga teachers eager to integrate their love of yoga into The Station’s daily activities. It is so very easy to be enticed by the allure of a bright-eyed, fashionable vegetarian, oozing their particular yogic wisdom, all with loving talk, mysteriously wearing the accessories that most yoga-conscious individuals do (not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you). Indeed yoga does have a certain charm and makes one feel amazing after only a few sessions. That’s a beautiful thing if it means that people are drawn to Yoga. Yoga is more than this however. It is the practice of abundance, grace, humility, gratitude, integrity, acceptance and balance (do these Virtues sound familiar?) without which yoga is impotent to even the most vehement follower.

“In Yoga, a central teaching is that to be alive means to be active and, if we want to avoid difficulties for ourselves and others, our actions must be benign – never from ego”.

The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Yuj’ which essentially means to join or unite. Whether this is to unite left/ right brain, body/spirit, poor/rich, earth/heaven, Yoga is for everyone. It brings an awareness that everyone is beautiful and every body is sacred. It is the grace that is given by the Universe to help us integrate our material lives into something that can and will, with practice, transport our spirit to a loving place working only with consequent movement and breath and consideration of our mind, body and soul in a way that keeps us connected to everything and everyone. In Yoga, a central teaching is that to be alive means to be active and, if we want to avoid difficulties for ourselves and others, our actions must be benign – never from ego. As if being led to take right action, it became abundantly clear to us at The Station that it was time to get real, to go to the source of Yoga and find a Yogi who would fit into our ethos here. But that would prove even more difficult as there are literally millions of Yogis in India and we needed a healing Yogi much more than an instructor. As the Universe would have it, after nearly a year of trial and error, our prayers were answered when, quite by chance, Prabir Podder walked into our reality.

In the lead up to his arrival I was in the throes of losing my 86 year old darling mum, who was slipping out of our grasp. I was heading to South Africa to see what I could do at such a late stage, armed with my knowledge and experience of the miracle potential of the vital healing force and my homeopathic kit and – as luck would have it – some simple, yet effective practices that Prabir believed would help. Prabir didn’t hesitate to put aside his woes about getting out of Vietnam to Seychelles with air-tickets not confirmed at the 11th hour. Instead he shifted gear into a very direct, confident and supportive role, suggesting ways that could help. Together with homeopathy and Prabir’s simple tips as a Yoga Therapist, I was able to allay my mother’s pain while taking her off pain killers to get her frail, wasted body moving again and her brain operative once more. For the week that I was able, my mum spent every day, all day, out of bed, walking, eating and most importantly, communicating normally, which is so very important for her. 1 week might not sound incredible but on arrival at my mother’s bedside I thought I would lose her within the hour. At these times, a day can feel like a lifetime and every moment is precious. Needless to say my family and friends close to my mother were somewhat sceptical about how she could have bounced back so quickly.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

HEALTH

Patanjali Yogapeeth in Haridwar and Svyasa University in Bangalore, where he earned his degree as a yoga teacher, instructor, consultant and therapist. To fully appreciate this, one needs to know that for almost 365 days per year, the student is steeped in a totally dedicated, disciplined reality where ego has no place. Times that by 4 or more years and you start appreciating the making of a Yogi. Then multiply that by the years of continued dedication to the way of the Yogi and one starts to recognize the strength and awareness of spirit that that these Yogi’s possess. By any account, one would be changed in an indescribable way, forever dedicated to this beautifully graceful and unifying way in a world without ego. From our skype chats, we knew also that Prabir would require austerity and minimalism to feel comfortable in his new position in Seychelles. We didn’t know the real meaning of this until he was shown into his living quarters and we were asked politely to please remove the lovely comfortable bed with pure cotton sheets and comfy pillows from his room, asking only for a board in their place. No, he didn’t need any pillow for his head nor bedding. He’d come prepared – brought everything he needed. Everything being contained in the 25kg in the hold and 7kg hand luggage that one is permitted to carry across the globe. I can now fully comprehend why the 200, 600 or 800 plus hours at a yoga school in India is so appealing to western yoga teachers. Tapping into this ancient wisdom must create a massive shift in consciousness never to be forgotten. Unfortunately, most yogis I know easily fall back into the ego-comforting western lifestyle to a large degree, albeit tailored to their new yogi status. Finally being in the constant presence of a ‘living Yogi’ (I like that term), I am easily able to put to rest my suspicions surrounding the practice of yoga that crept into my thinking, until now. It is so informative to experience the difference between a Yogi in awe of Yoga and a Yogi utterly, absolutely, totally, consciously living the way of Yoga. Such a living Yogi wants one thing beyond all else: to share this wonderfully transformational practice which supports universal peace and tranquility and, at the same time, encourages vitality of mind, body and spirit. Yoga offers such immense benefit to the global population that it can no more be singled out for the rich and privileged than can homeopathy. Like homeopathy, yoga is a gift, a support system designed to be practiced anywhere and by anyone at all in the pursuit of vibrant wellbeing. Yoga can be gently and naturally integrated into a lifestyle without forcing change on the individual. Its very nature is to enhance, not detract from one’s core values. It is non-threatening so can only gently peel away the useless, harmful habits we cling to over time.

I have no doubt that only energetic force can make any significant shift in such situations. Sadly we lost her a month later after she was put back on painkillers and went back to bed. I’m at peace with that – it does take special care and an unfailing conviction to do what we do and sadly the greater population of the world is still so very bewitched by, in fear and in awe of pharmaceutical drugs and allopathic medicine. I could write a book on this experience but let’s get back to our new resident Yogi. We knew nothing about Prabir except that his qualifications and experience with literally thousands of students over the years was exactly what would help to provide exceptional yoga instruction to our guests at The Station Hotel and would help us to grow the yoga community in Seychelles by providing tuition to yoga students, both local and foreign. We also knew that Prabir had qualified as a mobile technician but had lost his father to asthma. As an asthmatic himself, Prabir decided to start practicing Yoga. So effective was his personal healing through yoga practice that Prabir went on to study at world-famous institutions: the

It is my greatest wish that we should develop an alliance of yoga instructors, happy to pull communities together in harmony at the beginning or end of each day, helping to engender unity and tolerance, peace and tranquility – and vibrant health! I have my own mission to accomplish relating to Homeopathy but I know without question that Yoga must play a role in this mission. It really is only a question of prioritizing what makes things work in our lives and I now know that Yoga is very incredible tool to support self-awareness and conscious living. We don’t have to be clever to know that Yoga is a positive influence for humanity. It is non-judgemental, serves the entire world’s people and makes no distinction of creed or persuasion. Why not join the movement to make our beautiful islands glow with vibrant health? Whichever way you can, take one step in the direction of any yoga studio in Seychelles – there are a few of them all with dedicated, eager instructors ready to share their joy of yoga. Or come and learn how to teach yoga with us. Let’s breathe, stretch and heal together and make Seychelles the most tolerant, peaceful, loving, healthy and unified nation it can be. Jenny Gilbert is the founder and owner of Everglow Ltd, the island’s premier natural health manufactures and service providers. She is also Director of Wellness at Resonate Wellness at The Station. Homoeopathy is a well recognised system of ‘natural’ medical treatments for most diseases and conditions. Please visit resonatewell.wordpress.com or email reson8.well@gmail.com.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

AGONY AUNT

Dear Annalisa ......

Food; My Enemy Q:

Dear Annalisa, “My name is Mika, and I have a problem with food.” This is what I finally managed to say, looking at myself in the mirror. I have been stressed about my weight for many years. Ironically, the stress caused me to eat even more. I watched the numbers on the scale escalate and finally ‘addressed’ the problem by purging each time I eat. This happens at least once a day. While my weight started to plummet, I got weaker and my overall appearance is becoming that of a thin old woman. I need help to stop. Mika, 19

Dear Mika, You are spot on, on this one this, you do need help. You need help to address the “problem you have with food”; and you need help to stop the compensatory behaviour (purging) which you have developed as a result of the problem you have with food. And underneath all that you need help to address the issues with your “appearance”.

“OTHER MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS (E.G. DEPRESSION, OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDERS) OFTEN OCCUR ALONGSIDE BULIMIA. THESE MAY CAUSE TREATMENT TO TAKE LONGER OR MAKE BULIMIA HARDER TO TREAT.”. But first let me commend you on the greatest thing you have done today. You have acknowledged and accepted the dysfunctional relationship you have with food and the vicious cycle you have become caught in. This is always the first important step in behavior change. What you describe to be happening, is what in technical term we call: Bulimia nervosa.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

Bulimia is a term that means binge eating, and it is defined as eating more food than most persons in similar situations and in a similar period of time, and it is accompanied by a strong sense of losing control. Where binge eating occurs in normal weight or overweight persons who are also excessively concerned with their body shape and weight and who regularly engage in behaviours (e.g. purging, repeated laxatives, excessive exercise, fasting) as a mean to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating, the condition is termed as bulimia nervosa. It is a serious and potentially life-threatening eating disorder. Bulimia nervosa can be extremely harmful to the body, in that the bingeand-purge cycles can damage the entire digestive system. The purging behaviours can lead to electrolyte and chemical imbalances in the body that can affect the heart and other major organ functions. Other mental health problems (e.g. depression, obsessive compulsive disorders) often occur alongside bulimia. These may cause treatment to take longer or make bulimia harder to treat. Binges typically occur in secret, and may be triggered by a stressful event and the negative feeling/emotion that it arouses. Where food gives you a sense of comfort you may continue to eat, until you are uncomfortably full. Now feeling guilty and ashamed of binging may cause you to purge or use laxatives to avoid weight gain. This cycle of binging and purging, then becomes a habit. After bulimia becomes a pattern, it is very hard to return to normal eating without help. With that said, the help you require may be beyond this article; hence it is important that you seek professional help. A mental health professional can assist you with the relationship with food, and a nutritionist/dietician can assist you in developing healthy eating habits.

Annalisa Labiche is a practicing Clinical Psychologist with over 5 years experience. She completed her Bachelor of Art (Psychology) degree and Master in Psychology in Australia. She is exposed to a multitude of complaints such as relationship, parenting, family issues, psychological disorders, substance misuse amongst many others.

HEALTH & FITNESS

“But I Don’t Want to Get Massive....” “LIFTING WEIGHTS WILL NOT MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE THE HULK; NOR WILL YOU FIND YOURSELF MAKING REGULAR TRIPS TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM FOR RIPPING OFF YOUR FRIENDS’ ARMS WHEN YOU SHAKE HANDS”. • Strong is definitely sexy - Even moderate weight training can increase a woman’s strength by 30-50%! • Every day life will be easier - Kids, groceries, laundry….’nuff said? • Less cracks, creaks and groans - You’ll decrease your risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, arthritis, back pain, injury, etc, etc, etc, etc…. • A happier husband/boyfriend - Weight training will help your body produce more of the hormones which assist with wellbeing and de-stressing.

Ladies, ladies, ladies….as a personal trainer, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard this infamous line. It’s almost guaranteed to come out of every woman’s mouth as soon as you suggest the idea of lifting weights. What’s more; I’m not the only trainer who experiences this! Having spoken to a few of my “trainer buddies” (HOOAAHH!), it seems that ladies all over the world are afraid of pumping some iron! It seems that as soon as it’s mentioned you chicks seem to conjure images in your head of waking up looking like a man-mountain after just one session and not being able to get into your car without accidentally ripping the doors off! Oh, how I wish it were that easy. Speak to any man you know who lifts weights specifically to gain mass and they will tell you how hard it really is….and that’s for a guy! Men produce significantly more testosterone and growth hormone than women (the hormones we generally associate with gaining size). I can tell you with certainty that – barring some serious steroid abuse – you will not be looking like Mr Olympia any time soon. So now that you know that there is really nothing to be afraid of when it comes to weight training, here are some reasons why EVERY woman should DEFINITELY incorporate some weights in their regular gym routine! • • •

You won’t have to run until your feet bleed - High intensity resistance training can burn up to TWICE as many calories as standard cardio training! You’ll still be reaping the benefits on the sofa - Your body will continue to burn calories long after your session has ended; some studies show up to 38 HOURS!!! You’ll become a calorie-burning furnace - Your metabolic rate will increase; meaning you’ll naturally burn more calories in a rested state!

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

This is just a small insight into the benefits of weight training. Truth be told, this subject could fill 10 pages. For safety reasons and to ensure you gain the most from your workout program, it is paramount that you seek the advice and guidance of a fitness professional. You’ll only hinder your own progress if you’re training incorrectly and you could find yourself laid up for months at a time! So to sum it up, ladies, I can safely say that lifting weights will NOT make you look like The Hulk; nor will you find yourself making regular trips to the emergency room for ripping off your friends’ arms when you shake hands. You will however, be less stressed, more energetic, and sexier! Look out for my column in the next issue of Potpourri; where I’ll be discussing a fat-loss program designed specifically for women! We’ll look at each exercise and explain how to complete it in good form. Until next time…. Yours in Health & Fitness, Hassan “Girls have got balls. They’re just a little higher up, that’s all.” ~ Joan Jett

Hassan is a Master Trainer from the European Institute of Fitness, living on Mahe. For any further advice on health and fitness, you can contact Hassan directly on: Tel: +248 2568629 Email: h.al-ameri@hotmail.co.uk

Better Living

With Célia Ponzo

DO YOU CHOOSE LOVE OR FEAR? ‘’It’s impossible,’’ says pride, ‘’it’s risky’’ says experience, ‘’it’s pointless,“ says reason and ‘’give it a try,’’ whispers the heart. Do you have a dream? a wish? a desire? If you do, do you recognise yourself in the above quote where somehow every little part of you seems to deny you in realising your dream, and why is that? Essentially all human actions are motivated at their deepest level by one of the two emotions; fear or love. Ancient teachings state that there are only two words in the language of the soul. These are the opposite ends of the great polarity. These are love and fear. Every human thought and every human action is based in either love or fear. Think about every thought you have and see for yourself whether it is true, whether you are using a thought of love or a thought of fear. Human behaviour produces repeat experience after repeat experience; it is why humans love, then destroy, then love again; there is always the swing from one emotion to the other. For the first thing you worry about after saying ‘’I love you’’ is whether you’ll hear it back. And if you do hear it about then you begin immediately to worry that the love you have just found you will lose. So, essentially all actions are followed by a reaction. Every action

Fear wraps our bodies in clothing and love allows us to stand naked. Fear clings and clutches all that we have, love gives all that we have away. Fear holds close, love holds dear. Fear grasps, love lets go. Fear rankles, love soothes. Fear attacks, love amends.

Hopefully, by recognising and being mindful of every thought we have we can categorise it in a thought of either love or fear. The first step is to recognise this negative thought and try and replace it with a positive thought of love. Remember that you will always attract what you fear. That which you fear strongly you will experience. Emotion is the power which attracts. Emotion is energy in motion. When you move energy you create effect and if you move through energy you create matter. Thoughts are pure energies and every thought you ever produce leaves an energy that will never die. Like energy attracts other like energy so you are left with clumps of energies that are like kindled. Once energy becomes matter, it remains matter for a very long time unless its construction is disrupted by an opposing or dissimilar form of energy. This dissimilar energy acting upon matter actually destructs the matter. So if you are constantly living in fear and thinking negative thoughts you will definitely create a long chain of energy that will become your default way of thinking. Replacing those negative energies with positive ones will require lots of effort and will sometimes drain your energy as you are working against something that is so well deeply rooted in you. The first step is to be mindful of every thought and action you are taking, secondly accepting whatever state you are in and thirdly knowing you have all the power to change your reality.

taken by us is based on love and fear but not solely limited to relationships but decisions affecting business, industry, politics, religion, the education of your young, the economic goals of our society, choices involving war, peace, attack, defense and aggression. Fear becomes the energy which contracts, closes down, draws in, runs, hides, hoards, harms. Love is the energy which expands, opens up, sends out, stays, reveals, shares and heals. Fear wraps our bodies in clothing and love allows us to stand naked. Fear clings and clutches all that we have, love gives all that we have away. Fear holds close, love holds dear. Fear grasps, love lets go. Fear rankles, love soothes. Fear attacks, love amends. Why is it always that at the moment of decision does fear win more often than love? Think about it, we have all been taught indirectly to live in fear, we have been told about the survival of the fittest and the victory of the strongest and the success of the cleverest. So we strive to be the fittest, the strongest, the smartest in one way or another and if we see ourselves as something less than this in any situation we fear loss.

Célia is passionate to inspire happier and healthier lives by sharing holistic tips to her public. Her background is in medical anthropology and public health. She is currently working in the nutrition unit at the ministry of health.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

PARENTING

Have you ever thought of homeschooling? By Nathalie Hodgson Margaret Douglass is an expat Mum in Doha much like myself. However, she first arrived some eight years ago from America. Once we got talking I realized that it was her circumstance back then that created her journey to become the Founder and Head of the Doha Home Educators Group. This group consists of over 1000 members now, but what interested me the most was what it was all about; why do it and of course, what are the benefits. Margaret went from a full time job to becoming a full time homeschooling mum. She had no choice - there were just no placements left in the English speaking schools in Qatar. Since there is no law against homeschooling for expatriates in Qatar it was an option for her. After a lot of research and support from educators back in America, six months into the programme she decided to make it a long-term choice. She has never looked back and now has two boys in their chosen universities overseas. The homeschooling group is a community made up of a group of families living in Qatar and learning at home, who come together to celebrate our diverse world. There are field trips (both educational and social), book sales and exchanges, cooperative classes, swim days, movie nights, and group sporting sessions. I decided to tag along to some of the sessions and see what it is all about. I soon found out that most families decide to home school for all sorts of reasons, and then often continue simply because of the freedom it provides and because they like the affect it’s had on their children and family life. One Mum I spoke too said that she decided that her little one is just not ready for the unruly playgrounds, crowded classrooms and a formal educational curriculum. It is very true that the nurseries in Doha are more costly then the private schools and it’s really mostly playtime with friends; a very expensive babysitting service. She hated waking him up for a 730am school day when he was only 3 years old and mentioned that back where she is from school only started at age 5 or 6. Since my youngest is only in nursery I decided to do more research into homeschooling. I am a ‘stay at home mum’ anyway, so I thought I would put this year into dedicating more time to him. He does not have an extroverted personality like his sister, so maybe a year of homeschooling would be good for him – more ‘one on one’ time. So here is what I found:

Advantages and Disadvantages

Margaret had some good points to share with me. Homeschooling is not focused on mere accomplishments or outward successes; its primary focus is to develop a closer relationship with our children and a deeper passion for

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

learning. With a class of 30 kids or more in an average school classroom, there is only one style of learning that is used. That is the teachers, and if your child does not conform to that style they will miss a whole school year of learning to their full capabilities on that particular subject. This may darken the spark and passion for learning until another teacher comes along. The other advantage of homeschooling is you can holiday whenever you like. There are no set dates and you can continue to home school anywhere you like. Every environment is an opportunity to teach, no matter where you are. Children don’t have to sit at a desk to learn and therefore become independent learners and

A disadvantage could be that you are not a natural teacher or are worried that you did not do so well in a subject, so won’t know how to teach it. Don’t be intimidated by teaching, even if you were not good at math or failed science at school. If you can read and write you can teach your children. Curriculum and teaching materials assist you through each task (if need be). You can do each subject if you have the right enthusiasm, motivation, creativity and support. And unlike the class-room, the day’s lesson can applied in the real world that day. You know what was taught and how that math lesson can relate to today’s shopping list or being able to calculate air miles from booking a flight back home.

develop the passion to learn from every situation intuitively. There are no school bells, no time limits to stop and start learning, so it’s seamless, just like real life. I was advised by Margaret that like all things that are worth it, it will take more effort on your part. Especially if your child has already been in school for a while. Don’t be surprised if it takes a few months to make the transition into home education. Margaret told me to be patient with both your child and yourself because in the end, most who home school successfully find that the hard work pays off with a child who enjoys learning more, and is able to learn well. I love the idea that I can learn what my child loves to do and I can figure out how to create an atmosphere that inspires creativity and the freedom to learn and explore.

How Do I Start?

There is a whole world of information on the subject. Millions of parents and educators blog about their experiences, to help you get started with homeschooling with a whole library of net links to explore. Here are some of the starting points, taken from ‘Doha Mums Homeschoolers’ to get you started: 1. Read, read and read. Pick out the curriculums with good overviews and try not to get bogged down in the curriculum until you have a grip on what is available. 2. Network and socialize with other homeschoolers. Ask questions and spend time with them. Join online groups and networks. 3. Make a simple start. Follow a basic scope and sequence at first. As you get a feel for homeschooling and for what you are doing, you can make changes as you go.

The one thought that crossed my mind immediately was the social aspect of nursery; would my son be behind or less social if I started homeschooling? Well, I have found that since we started in September we have gone out to more group play dates then we would have usually (since we have joined the group and there are so many wonderful activities we can join). I also thought about the competitive aspect of not having other children to show his work to or learn from. I see him at our art lessons and on the playground and I don’t have to worry about my kid not being competitive!

What Do I Teach?

Since my son is only 3 years old we do around two hours a day. I have chosen a curriculum and planner from oakmeadow. com. This takes us through literature, math, science, arts and crafts, sports and environment studies. Choosing a curriculum helps you stick to a timetable and structure and if you don’t have any teaching background it takes you through exactly what you need to do for each task. So far he is loving the ‘work time’, which is what he calls it. Every morning he gets out his books and pens and sits down and says ‘Mum where were we up too? When we have our play days he says ‘Mum so no work today, we will have to catch up’. I was also looking into other all-inclusive curriculums such as www.K12.com, www. clavert.com or Worldwide Education Services. Please note that there are options to buy only one month, or one set from each subject. That way you can make up your own planner and have the right teaching methods and activities for your child to enjoy.

How much does it cost?

Taking into consideration the many factors of children’s ages, educational approaches, and individual gifts, talents and interests of

the parents and children, the budget can be low or expansive. Box sets or curriculums can cost up to USD1000 per term and that does not include any books or other resources. Most homeschoolers will choose a curriculum that allows you to choose individual subjects and be selective on which ones your child relates to or requires.

Nathalie Hodgson is Seychelloise living in Qatar. She is a yoga instructor, tourism consultant, freelance writer, Doterra oils wellness advocate and budding naturopath. Eager to spread as much love, joy and happiness to all that she meets and inspire endless possibilities for creation for a better more peaceful world. Get in contact with her on FB:EssentialoilsDoterraDoha

Here are some tips to save money:

• Make a budget based on your income. Buying a few good resources will make homeschooling a lot easier. When you first start, it is almost your right of passage to waste some money on things you ‘must have’ and never use. It’s best to use a box set curriculum at the beginning if you are really unsure of what you need. As the years go by you will get better at discerning what you need and you can direct your funds to cater for the growing interests of your children. • Research your curriculum before you buy. Do you really need a curriculum to teach that topic? Yes. Ask for reviews on products from other homeschoolers. Join a good homeschool network to find homeschooling parents who are more than willing to give their opinion on certain resources. Choose one that allows you to pay month by month, until you are certain that this style of learning is for you. • Only buy as much in advance as you need for one year. What worked for one child may not work for another, or the same child the following year. • Make the most of your librarian and your library card and Use ebooks. • Use the internet. This is a great place for getting loads of information. • Organise a group for extracurricular activities and ask for school prices. I truly believe that life is the best university and I may only do this for one year with my youngest until he starts ‘big school’ like his sister, but so far I am really enjoying it and he is too. Watching him learn and explore and knowing that I am a part of this accomplishment is truly wonderful and the best part of all is that he is having fun while doing it. And as Laura Thomas once said ‘I can teach my child math, but I want her to learn more than numbers. I can teach my child to read, but I want her to learn more than words. I can teach my child the names of the planets, or presidents, or nations, but I want her to know more than facts’. Happy parenting!

PARENTING

4. Get to know your children’s learning style. This will help you choose a curriculum. 5. Don’t worry about socializing at the beginning. It is not your top priority. 6. Take your time and resist the temptation to purchase your curriculum from the book store. There are many homeschooling resources that will suit your needs better and you should always do a trial before you buy. 7. Be prepared to make some sacrifices. Homeschooling takes a considerable commitment for it to work, especially in the early days. 8. Remember that homeschooling is not school at home -it is a lifestyle adjustment. Try to take your focus off academics and on to establishing good habits and close family relationships. Everything else will fall into place.

Janissa Turns

Jasmine Turns

Birthdays: Janissa Albest - 21st November Jasmine Albest - 28th November Message: “Our girls were born 5 years and 1 week apart. Janissa’s top priority is being the big sister and she takes that very seriously by watching over Jasmine constantly. Jasmine’s first impression each time she wakes up is the sweetest smile on her face the moment she sees Janissa. They share so much joy and have a lot of fun while in each other’s company. Girls yesterday, friends today, sisters forever! Love, Mummy & Daddy” ‘In collaboration with Chanterelle Bookshop’

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PARENTING

Les grossesses chez les adolescentes....

http://ionenewsone.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/black-pregnant.jpg?w=628&h=353

Près de 16 millions d’adolescentes âgées de 15 à 19 ans accouchent chaque année dans le monde. Dans les pays à revenu faible et modéré, les complications liées à la grossesse et à l’accouchement sont la principale cause de décès chez les jeunes femmes de 15 à 19 ans. Cette situation n’épargne pas notre île, où les grossesses chez les adolescentes sont fréquentes. « Pendant trop longtemps, nous avons pointé du doigt les adolescentes qui tombaient enceintes. C’est nous-mêmes que nous devrions pointer du doigt. Si une très jeune fille tombe enceinte, c’est que nous ne lui avons pas fourni toute l’information, l’éducation, la formation et l’accompagnement dont elle avait besoin pour éviter cela. ». Dr Pramilla Senanayake, ancienne Directrice adjointe, Fédération Internationale Du Planning Familial. Cette déclaration et les différents rapports des Etats, de l’OMS et des organisations internationales nous amènent à nous interroger sur ce phénomène social qui n’est pas sans conséquences sur ces jeunes filles, ces jeunes hommes, ces enfants, les familles mais également sur notre société. Les adolescentes doivent faire face à des risques pour la santé durant la grossesse et la naissance représentant 15 % de la Charge Mondiale de Morbidité des conditions maternelles, et 13 % des toutes les morts maternelles.

DE NOMBREUX ADOLESCENTS COMMENCENT À AVOIR DES RELATIONS SEXUELLES AVANT MÊME DE SAVOIR COMMENT ÉVITER DES GROSSESSES NON DÉSIRÉES OU DES INFECTIONS SEXUELLEMENT TRANSMISSIBLES. Dans beaucoup de pays, 30 à 60 % des grossesses d’adolescentes aboutissent à un avortement. Ce chiffre est disproportionné étant donné que les grossesses des adolescentes ne représentent qu’un peu plus de 10 % des grossesses dans le monde. Parmi les 19 millions d’avortements illégaux ayant lieu chaque année, 2,2 à 4 millions concernent des adolescentes. Ces derniers sont pratiques souvent tardivement et dans des conditions extrêmes. Une adolescente ayant une grossesse non désirée est vulnérable à d’autres grossesses non voulues. De multiples études ont mis en évidence que les mères adolescentes les plus jeunes avaient un intervalle plus court jusqu’à leur grossesse suivante, et avaient plus de bébés dans l’avenir que les mères adolescentes plus âgées. Ces adolescentes abandonnent souvent l’école en raison d’espérances sociales, de rejet ou par la pression sociale. Ce qui a de multiples conséquences pour leur futur .Il est primordial qu’elles puissent terminer leur éducation pour pouvoir trouver un emploi et s’assumer alors socialement et financièrement. Les familles de ces jeunes filles, sont alors souvent contraintes à les assumer financièrement elle et leur enfant, même si certaines aides sociales sont disponibles.

Le risque d’accoucher prématurément (avant son terme) ou d’un enfant de petit poids de naissance, de souffrir d’anémie est beaucoup plus élevé. Le taux de mortalité néonatale et de morbidité est également plus important. Ces risques augmentent plus les patientes sont jeunes. Ces patientes consultent généralement tard et négligent les soins prénataux. Ce qui n’est pas sans conséquences sur le déroulement de leur grossesse et les soins administrés au nouveau-né. Quelles sont les recommandations mondiales et les solutions proposées ? La réticence vis-à-vis de l’éducation sexuelle persiste. Les responsables politiques doivent soutenir fermement et publiquement les efforts visant à prévenir les grossesses précoces. Ils doivent veiller plus particulièrement à ce que des programmes d’éducation sexuelle soient mis en place. De nombreux adolescents commencent à avoir des relations sexuelles avant même de savoir comment éviter des grossesses non désirées ou des infections sexuellement transmissibles. Il faut ainsi mettre en place des programmes en lien avec des structures de conseil et de délivrance en matière de contraception. Dans de nombreux pays, les lois et les politiques mises en place empêchent la distribution de contraceptifs aux jeunes adolescents (Aux Seychelles : sans l’accord des parents pour les mineurs). Les responsables politiques doivent intervenir pour réformer les politiques afin de permettre l’accès à la contraception pour tous les adolescents. Il est important de savoir que souvent, les adolescents ne cherchent pas à avoir recours à des services de contraception parce qu’ils ont peur de la stigmatisation sociale ou d’être jugés par le personnel médical. Les systèmes de santé doivent pouvoir mieux répondre aux besoins des adolescents et être plus accueillants. Il faut sensibiliser davantage les communautés sur les dangers des avortements à risque. S’occuper de futures mères adolescentes demande une certaine sensibilité. Ces dernières nécessitent et doivent bénéficier de soins prénatals et obstétricaux spécifiques et de qualité. Toutes ces données sont extraites en grande partie de rapports de l’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé : elles ont été formulées sur la base d’une revue systématique de la recherche actuelle et avec la contribution d’experts venant du monde entier, en partenariat avec de nombreuses organisations internationales clés qui s’emploient à améliorer la santé des adolescents. Vous avez des questions, n’hésitez pas à contacter votre sage-femme ou tout autre professionnel de santé qui vous suit. Loréa Rassool est sage-femme ,formée en France et installée en libérale ( Cabinet Isis). Elle propose parmi de nombreux services : des consultations pré et postnatales, des cours de préparation à la naissance, du yoga périnatal, des consultations gynécologiques de prévention, différentes méthodes de contraception et de la rééducation périnéale.

NOTE : IMAGES ARE FROM THIS WEBSITE - http://www.cancerdusein.org/le-depistage/lauto-examen-des-seins

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The Smoothie Queen Mili’s Festive Smoothie! ~ Oreo Warrior ~ Hey guys! So it’s nearly Christmas! Pressies, yummies and smoothies! To get us into the festive season we are going to add a little naughtiness to our smoothie. And by naughtiness I mean, oreos! For those who didn’t know, oreos are vegan. When you are buying them just read the label on the back and see for yourself! Are you going all out with presents and goodies this Christmas? Please spend a minute to remember those who have a lot less and only dream of an abundance of food and presents. Why don’t you try and find a charity and donate clothes, money or anything you have for those in need. You can even find charities on line. Make a difference, help the less fortunate have a good Christmas too!

Ingredients:

5 oreos 2 bananas 1/2 cup Greek Yoghurt 1 and 1/2 cup of Milk ( i.e Soy Milk, Almond Milk, or any milk of your preference)

Method:

Pour your milk into the blender Add your oreos and blend for 1 minute Add your bananas and Greek Yoghurt and blend for another minute. If you find that your smoothie is too thick, simply add some more milk and blend. You can place an Oreo at the top for decoration and a snack, or you can crush some Oreos with a Pestle and Mortar and sprinkle the result over the top of your smoothie! How exciting. Hope you all enjoy this festive treat!

Emilie is our Smoothie Queen and she shares her smoothie recipes with us each month. She is a young pescatarian from the Seychelles who dedicates much of her time making it possible to provide us with not just super healthy but also amazingly delicious smoothie recipes! Catch Emilie in action on our website, potpourrimagazine.com where she shares videos on how to make her smoothies and she will help us improve our diets with her fabulous recipes.

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CONSERVATION

SAVE WATER EVERY DROP COUNTS! 2014 has been a surprisingly pretty good year for water supply – even during the Southeast monsoon season we only had a few dry weeks, and so we have all been enjoying a fairly steady supply of PUC treated water. Lovely! But having plentiful water does not give us license to waste it. Every drop of treated water that we use comes at a high price to our bank accounts and to the environment. We all pay for treated water and the more we use, the more we pay. We are paying for the energy and other resources it takes to collect, store, treat, pump and distribute water to our homes, schools and places of work. Some hotels and other businesses treat their own water or have their own desalinator, but these also cost a lot of money to run. The less water we use, the less it costs us, and the less it costs the country. Treating and distributing water has an environmental impact as well. The energy / electricity required to pump, treat and distribute water is very high. In Seychelles most of our electricity still comes from burning fossil fuels. This system is polluting and contributes to climate change. Large dams, reservoirs and other infrastructure can be ecologically devastating and as Seychelles continues to debate options for more water storage in our limited land area, engineers will likely find themselves at loggerheads with ecologists. Every time we open the tap for treated water, we are contributing to these environmental costs. And the message is the same as above: the less water we use, the less it will cost the environment and the country.

Rainwater is perfect for the garden, washing cars, clothes and flushing toilets. Saving water takes some effort, but the good news is that it has never been easier. Cruise around some of the local hardware and plumbing stores and you will find that they are quite well equipped with a range of low flow showerheads, faucet flow reducers, low flush toilets, and other water saving devices, which were not available just a few years ago. But you don’t even have to go shopping. There some very easy things we can all do to use less treated water and to reduce bills and environmental degradation. Take shorter showers - Keep an eye out for some fun and funky 4 minute shower timers that will soon be available thanks to a water saving campaign being implemented by Seychelles Breweries, S4S and PUC (by the way, you should be able to do everything you need to do in the shower in 4 minutes!) Turn taps off when not needed –This is a simple behaviour change issue. Don’t keep the taps running while you are brushing your teeth, washing dishes or clothes. Try a little experiment to measure how much water you are really just wasting down the drain when you do this. Then, think about how people in Mozambique survive on an average of just 4L of water per day and then practice turning off the taps. Harvest and use rainwater – More and more households and businesses are doing this to reduce their consumption of treated water. Rainwater is perfect for the garden, washing cars, clothes and flushing toilets. Plastic and fibreglass tanks are widely available but still a bit beyond the budget of many families. Contact S4S to purchase a low cost recycled 200L blue barrel for water storage (Limit of one per household). If you are building

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a house, think about a large water storage tank within the foundations’ structure – this is the best and most cost effective way to store water. Using river water is a good alternative to treated water also, if you have that option – it’s basically just rainwater flowing over the land. But if you are planning to drink either rainwater or river water, make sure you filter and treat it properly to remove debris and germs. Fix and prevent leaks – I can hear people laughing and saying why doesn’t PUC do this first? Well PUC is doing it! So now we should stop making excuses and get busy fixing our leaks at home – we are the ones who will save money. Check around your house and the pipes leading from the mains for leaks and fix them without delay. Listen for the hissing sound along pipes; look for damp spots along pipe routes and on walls. Changes in your bill can also indicate a leak. Remember - a slow drip can leak over 25 litres of water a day, so it adds up! In Seychelles we are fortunate to have regular rainfall and flowing rivers (most of the time) but we still need to learn to appreciate how precious this water is. Each of us aged 3 to 103 can play an important role in conserving water, so let’s do this! Contributed by Sustainability for Seychelles (S4S), a local NGO whose mission is to promote sustainable living in Seychelles. For more info about our work contact us: Email: info@s4seychelles.com Tel. 422-4072 / 251-9135. Address: Suite A9 Arpent Vert, Mont Fleuri. Website: www.s4seychelles.com or find us on Facebook. This article was sponsored by Seychelles Breweries.

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BON APPETIT

Fruit Bat Ravioli

This month La Plaine St Andre is pleased to reveal the secret of its famous Fruit Bat Ravioli. An original starter with an infinite range of tastes capable of going along with the most demanding of palates. Enjoy this tasty creation from our Chef with a fresh minted Pina Colada. Serves 4

INGREDIENTS PASTA DOUGH

1 Egg 1 Egg Yolk 180g Flour 2 Table spoons olive oil 2 Table spoons water ½ Tea spoon salt

FILLING

2 Fruit bats ½ Onion, 50g Bacon, 1 Garlic clove 1 Bottle Red wine 25g Dried raisin 150g Ricotta Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS

Start with the Pasta dough. Place the flour on a board or in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and crack the egg and the egg yolk into it. Beat the eggs with a fork until smooth. Using the tips of your fingers, mix the eggs with the flour, incorporating a little at a time, until everything is combined. Knead the pieces of dough together for 15 min. With a bit of work and attention they’ll all bind together to give you one big, smooth lump of dough. Wrap with cling film and set aside in the fridge for 30 min. Continue with the filling. Cut the fruit bats into pieces. Crush the garlic clove and combine all together with the dried raisins, salt and pepper then marinate in red wine overnight. The day after, remove the fruit bat from the marinade and keep the marinade aside. Heat your frying pan, put a little bit of oil and fry your fruit bats until golden.

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Slowly add your marinade to the fruit bat and boil for 90 minutes over medium heat. Cook your bacon separately with a half minced onion until fried. Peel the meat off the bat bones, discard bones and mince the meat. In a bowl, mix the Bat meat, onion, bacon and ricotta together. Season with salt & pepper. Roll Ravioli sheets to 1/16-inch thickness. Cut ravioli into 2 1/2-inch circles, or desired shape. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of the Bat fruit filling in the centre of each ravioli circle. Dab the edge of the ravioli with a little water, then fold and seal the ravioli to create a half moon. Arrange ravioli on a baking sheet. Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Place your ravioli in boiling water for 5-6 minutes or until they float. Take ravioli out of boiling water with large slotted spoon and place on warmed plates. Dress your ravioli on a plate and top with your favourite sauce, grate some fresh cheese over it, and enjoy.

La Plaine St. André T: +248 437 2010 E : reservations@laplaine.sc W : www.laplaine.sc

BON APPETIT

The Cocktail

Minted Pina Colada

A blend of Takamaka Bay white, dark & coco rum pressed with fresh mint & lime, creamed with coconut and finished with pineapple

YOU WILL NEED A highball glass and a long handled teaspoon Crushed or cracked ice One loose handful of fresh mint leaves Half a shot of fresh lime juice Half a shot of sugar syrup (two parts sugar to one part boiling water)

One shot of coconut cream One shot of Takamaka Bay White rum Half a shot of Takamaka Bay Dark rum Half a shot of Takamaka Bay Coco rum Three shots of fresh pineapple juice

WHAT TO DO Place the fresh mint, lime, sugar and coconut cream into the glass – mint first, Press the mint against the side of the glass with your long handled spoon, smearing it around the glass as you do so. Make sure that you are mixing the flavours as you smear the mint around the glass Pour in the rum and add a scoop of cracked ice – fill around ¾ of the glass Churn the rum and mint through the ice pulling the mint up from the bottom of the glass so that the flavour is evenly spread Fill the glass with ice and top with pineapple juice, add two straws and garnish with a mint sprig.

Takamaka Bay | T: +248 437 2050

Like us on

| E: info@takamaka.sc

| W: www.takamakabay.com

Tel:4372050 NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

OCCASIONS 62

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OCCASIONS

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OCCASIONS Photo credit; Mrs Masami

L-R: Mr Masami (GM Kempinski Resort), Christa Joubert, Yasmin Ghislain (Miss Regatta ’14), Lisa Rose (First Princess, Miss Seychelles…Another World 2014

Miss Kempinski Seychelles Resort 2014 On Saturday 11th October, 9 girls took the stage at the Kempinski Seychelles Resort to compete for the Miss Kempinski 2014 crown. A string of local artists including Telsy, kept the audience entertained during the pageant which was judged by a panel of 5, including Miss Seychelles…Another World 2013, Agnes Gerry. Christa Joubert emerged as the winner for the night. Miss Kempinski is an annual event organised by the Kempinksi Seychelles Resort. Christa Joubert with the rest of the contestants of the Miss Kempinski pageant.

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DINING

The Ultimate Seafood Experience at the Savoy By Stella Mein

Pescado

Some people are allergic to seafood. That’s an acceptable reason not to eat it. If seafood’s not your thing, because you simply don’t like seafood, then chances are you haven’t been to Pescado, one of the three restaurants at the recently opened Savoy Resort & Spa, Beau Vallon. The word ‘Pescado’ leaves nothing to the imagination if you are familiar with the Spanish language. It simply means fish, though admittedly, there is nothing simple with Savoy’s Pescado. Surrounded by 700sqm of water, in the form of an impressive swimming pool, the setting is perfect for a mind-blowing culinary experience on a beautiful island. If the weather is behaving itself on that day, request to be seated on ‘Silhouette’ island. The staff will know what you are talking about.

The Man in the Kitchen

Do not be fooled by Gennaro Avagnale’s youthful looks. Despite being 32 years old, Gennaro carries impressive culinary weight, harvested from several luxury restaurants in Italy and also from experience in Seoul, South Korea. In fact, in Seoul, Gennaro had a hand in creating the menus for three restaurants with the Buon Posto chain, an experience which must have come in handy with Savoy. The Pescado menu, a continuous work in progress, is designed to give a true international experience using ingredients from all over the world, but with an Italian touch.

Amuse Bouche

Where West meets East in Seychelles

Fresh produce is the rule of thumb in Gennaro’s kitchen and every idea and creation revolves around it as much as possible. Many ingredients are flown in from overseas to complete the international fusion the menu promises. Often inspired by the origins of the produce, from Korean seaweed to Napoli olive oil, the concept behind each dish is clear; blow the diner’s mind with intricate presentation, surprise with unique combinations, and finally, arouse the taste buds to a whole new level.

The amuse-bouche

First impressions are important, and as we found out, not lost on Chef Gennaro, who served yellow fin tuna which had been marinated for 24 hours in sesame oil. And what do you do with yellow fin tuna, you might ask? Well you roll it up in Korean seaweed which has been roasted with sesame oil on the grill, and you add cubed lemon jam, wasabi orange and mayonnaise. The final touches were crushed hazelnut for the crunch, micro herbs for your green serving portion and a dash of neopolitan oil. Given the Korean inspiration behind this dish we were kindly asked to eat it with our hands. Just when you think something could not possibly taste any better…

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Surprise Egg Sponge

Course i

The surprise egg sponge did exactly that: surprise. We guessed that there was an egg somewhere, but where? Well, the white ‘fluff’ on top is actually beaten egg whites. Once you cut the sponge, the yolk makes its appearance. Avocado and a coconut concoction make up the next two consecutive layers of this dish. Finishing touches for this dish include crushed black olives and one pomegranate seed.

Tuna made a second appearance for the night, but this time sitting in a silky coconut milk ‘soup’ called ‘Tuna in Black’. The tuna was topped with a breadcrumb and squid ink creation - hence the black moniker. Spicy grated beetroot provided the perfect balance for the creamy sauce. A final touch to this dish was fried noodles which also provided a crunch everybody loved. As is to be expected in a Seychellois palate, the combination of fish and coconut milk guarantees a real treat.

Octopus Curry

Course ii

When a table full of Seychellois are advised that an ‘octopus curry’ is to be served, there are certain traditional concepts of what that entails, so we were naturally curious. This dish truly had everyone mesmerised. Grilled octopus – as tender as any of us had ever eaten - was served with a curry sauce, pinapple and eggplant and red wine vinegar for a sour touch. This was all complemented by grilled garlic and a local favourite, bilenbi.

Culatello and Arancini

Course v

This was the first of the courses to be in two parts, and what a treat it was. We were served culatello, which most Italian chefs will tell you is the best of all cold cuts – not to mention one of the most expensive. Along with a pearl of melon, they were presented on a short skewer on a portion of buffalo mozzarella soup with basil. Its neighbor was a lemon arancini (stuffed rice balls which are coated with breadcrumbs) with salted shrimp that was melt-in-your-mouth good.

Culurgiones

Course iii

Sardinia, Italy was the influence behind our next dish -- culurgiones filled with lobster and potato. Chef Gennaro was reluctant to give away all the secret details of the ‘sauce’ part but we were told it was stock from the lobster. An old traditional form of pasta, culurgiones is a rare item to find on any menu, so it was a refreshing surprise to be able to taste something so traditional in an environment where modern, cutting-edge cuisine is the norm. This divine dish was finished off with basil, mint lime zest and lime olive oil.

Bulgogi and Kimchi

Course vi

At this point in the meal, we had lost count of which course we were on. To be informed that this was the last before dessert was strangely comforting. Chef Gennaro and his team however, showed no sign of slowing down and much to our amazement, another exceptional presentation was laid on the dinner table. This course was in two parts, bilgogi with kimchi and lamb cube with a celery potato puree. Bulgogi is a Korean dish and for the night it consisted of grilled marinated beef. At a mere glance it was evident a prime cut of beef had been used for the dish; the first bite confirmed it. Bulgogi made it onto the world’s 50 most delicious foods in a readers’ poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011. Kimchi, on the other hand, is also a Korean dish but consists of vegetables (mostly cabbage) with a variety of seasonings.

Tuna In Black

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DINING

Course iv

DINING

A Wine Affair

Pre-desert

Course vii

No meal is complete without dessert and chocolate lovers will tell you no dessert is complete without chocolate. It is hardly surprising therefore that Chef Gennaro ensured that chocolate was not missing from the two dessert courses we had. A chocolate tart with pear sorbet for once looked simple enough, but we were informed that the sorbet had some pepper in it for an extra kick. Any reservations about this went out the window when we had our first bite of the sorbet , an unusual jolt of spice with the sweet. As for the chocolate tart, well, sinful is always fun, isn’t it? To complete this dish, Chef Gannero used a splash of raspberry coulis.

Desert

Course viii

All good things must come to an end and a dinner is no exception. In true, ‘go out with a bang’ fashion, Chef Gennaro presented us with a three part final dish. From left to right, we have the ½ cone with star anise cream (filled with a variety of fruits including pineapple, blueberry and strawberry). The middle delicacy is a pistachio sponge with coconut sorbet and lastly, a madeleine truffle with white chocolate, chilli and lime zest. We are all baffled as to how we managed to walk out of Pescado that night; or get out of bed the next morning for that matter. If there could be such a thing as getting drunk on taste, we might as well have been out all night boozing. The meal was a journey of new discoveries and each dish took us to a new place. The powerful aromas from the experience stayed with us long after the bill had been signed. The restaurant is open daily from 7.00pm – 11.00pm. Call 439 2000 for reservations. The Pescado Kitchen Team

Chef Gennaro

No fine dining experience is complete without wine. It is the unwritten rule that should not be broken. Over the years, sommeliers have constantly re-modified the laws of wine. Should seafood be served only with white wines? Well, 21st century sommeliers such as Pescado’s George Ogada will tell you that the stone this was written on is now pebbles. There is a wide variety of gifts from the sea and along with it comes a wide variety of tastes – some stronger than others. Identifying this is crucial in selecting a wine that synergises well with the food in order to bring out the best in the other. In the Pescado cellar, you will be spoilt for choice with a wide selection of wines from all corners of the world including Bordeaux, Mendoza, Loire valley, Napa valley, and West Cape to name a few. George gave us a crash course into three wines guaranteed to entice your pallet to a whole new level. The Bellingham Ancient Earth Sauvignon Blanc Vintage 2013 Origin: Coast cape, South Africa Spot it: Pale gold with a vibrant green glow. It has the aroma of tropical pineapple, passion fruit and ripe fig flavor with the finishing of delectable freshness and feisty fruitiness. Pair it: Citrus-based marinade cold lobster or fish cordial starters Domaine Auzias cite` de Carcassonne Vintage2012 Grape, Chardonnay Origin, Languedoc region Southern France Spot it: This type of chardonnay especially the ones from France tend to be complex. If you love idea of a ‘buttery’ wine, this is for you. Be prepared for an aroma of vanilla, smoke and coconut. The creamy smooth texture provides a superb finish for this wine. Pair it: Tuna, smoked marlin and creamy pasta Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage 2009 Grape, Cabernet Sauvignon Origin: Napa Valley California Spot it: This wine is a classic example of intensity tempered by elegance and finesse. A lush, fruity core of ripe blackberry, juicy red and black currant and sweet crème de cassis fleshes out steadily on the palate, interwoven with black currant leaf, mocha and a savory hint of black pepper. There’s a refreshing brightness to the fruit from the beginning all the way through to the lingering, velvety finish. Pair it: Steaks, lamb, veal and pork dishes From exceptional and mind blowing food and incredibly wine experience, PESCADO is the place you will live to remember.

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

REVIEWS

Top 5 rental releases

(sponsored by GR Video Rental)

The Fault In Our Stars starring Shailene Woodley and Willem Dafoe

A beautifully crafted romantic drama which focusses on two loves, both of whom suffer from some sort of ailment; Hazel is permanently connected to a portable oxygen tank and Gus has a prosthetic leg. This movie is a quirky take on the romance genre, steering away from the generic ‘beautiful people’ nature of previous films in the same group and instead, looking into the lives of a desperately ordinary couple who go through trials that Hollywood has always shied away from. A mustsee for fans of The Notebook.

Expendables 3 starring Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham

with Kur t Gilber t

Think Like a Man 2 starring

Adam Brody and Michael Ealy

Godzilla starring Bryan Cranston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning

Film of the month Gone Girl Starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike. Dir. David Fincher David Fincher, the visionary genius behind Fight Club and Se7en, teamed up with Ben Affleck (the guy behind Matt Damon) to create another masterful piece of cinema. Based on a novel by Gillian Flynn of the same name, Gone Girl tells the tale of Nick Dunne, who reports that his wife Amy, has gone missing on their wedding anniversary. As is often the case, a media frenzy ensues and Nick Dunne is unwillingly forced into the limelight. Soon, his traumatized husband image is tarnished by suspicions when his stories start to contradict one another, causing the general public to start asking one question – ‘Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?’ The first thing that has to be noted is the writing. Flynn adapted his original novel into a screenplay, which Fincher loved so much that he decided to use it untouched. There’s a lot to be said for this, as it’s obvious that the writer’s formative vision remains untarnished and therefore is so much stronger when delivered by the actors. Speaking of actors, Affleck (who I’m not a huge fan of ) actually delivers a standout role next to some pretty strong co-stars, such as Tyler Perry and a riveting Rosamund Pike (who plays Nick Dunne’s wife, Amy). All of this combined with David Fincher’s incomparable ability to set up a shot, as well as a near-perfect score by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, makes Gone Girl one of the best films of 2014 and one of Fincher’s most solid contributions to date. Get it while it’s hot. If that’s not your thing: Catch Denzel Washington in his latest action flick, ‘The Equalizer’

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

REVIEWS

Album of the month

The Cinematic Orchestra - Motion There’s a lot to be said for the resurgence of jazz since the big pop sound of 80’s synth ballads effectively destroyed any semblance of organic, free form music; it took a lot for musicians to gain success outside of that box once the 90s came around. Nonetheless, a few wayward individuals retained their faith in the original American art form and focussed solely on breathing fresh air into a dying genre. By incorporating elements from contemporary fields such as Hip-Hop and Electronica, certain groups managed to recreate jazz for a modern audience, saving the ‘musician’s music’ from the clutches of a generic pop takeover. The Cinematic Orchestra is one of those groups. Founded in London in 1999, the group’s leader, Jason Swinscoe, gathered together some of the best like-minded musicians in his field and pitched a concept to them – one that he believed would change Jazz indelibly. Swinscoe’s angle was to combine modern sampling methods and instrumentation such as synthesizers with signature Jazz soundscapes, bridging the gap between the old and the new. The group’s first album, Motion, is the most raw, unadulterated example of this vision. The general feel throughout the record is one of fluidity; listening to the opening track ‘Dorian’ is akin to lying in a bath tub and doing that forward/backwards movement to get the water sloshing around. It’s a strangely peaceful sensation. Whatever you think of playtime in the tub, you should listen to this album as soon as you can. It really is one of the best of its kind. If that’s not your thing: Listen to ‘1000 Forms Of Fear’, Sia’s most recent Pop/Electronic masterpiece.

This time, 10 years ago... Kings Of Leon – Aha Shake Heartbreak Universally known as ‘One of my favourite bands’ by pretty much every westerner between the age of 18 and 25, King of Leon are without a doubt, amongst the most unique rock bands to emerge in the last 20 years. Coming out of the ‘vowel decade’ of 90’s rock (remember Creed, or Hoobastank?), Kings of Leon not only made a stand to take back normal, non-rounded singing voices, but also injected a strange mix of borderline-hillbilly musicianship to contemporary guitar anthems. For this, we should be forever grateful. And it all started (for most of us, anyway) with Aha Shake Heartbreak, whether it was through King Of The Rodeo’s unstoppable outro or the sombre, plucked strings on Milk. It doesn’t matter if you think they’re better or worse than they used to be, just that they’re here and so is their discography.

November’s Book Highlight

Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler Eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle McAllister has a favor to ask her hairdresser Dorrie Curtis. It’s a big one. Isabelle wants Dorrie, a black single mom in her thirties, to drop everything to drive her from her home in Arlington, Texas, to a funeral in Cincinnati. With no clear explanation why. Tomorrow. Dorrie, fleeing problems of her own and curious whether she can

unlock the secrets of Isabelle’s guarded past, scarcely hesitates before agreeing; not knowing it will be a journey that changes both their lives. Over the years, Dorrie and Isabelle have developed more than just a business relationship. They are friends. But Dorrie, fretting over the new man in her life and her teenage son’s irresponsible choices, still wonders why Isabelle chose her. Isabelle confesses that, as a willful teen in 1930s Kentucky, she fell deeply in love with Robert Prewitt, a would-be doctor and the black son of her family’s housekeeper— in a town where blacks weren’t allowed after dark. The tale of their forbidden relationship and its tragic consequences makes it clear Dorrie and Isabelle are headed for a gathering of the utmost importance and that the history of Isabelle’s first and greatest love just might help Dorrie find her own way. You would never tell that this was Kibler’s first novel. She has everything you could look for in a good book, sassy yet

NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI

humble characters, wonderful description, a unique and mesmerizing story and the ability to bring out the most beautiful of emotions in readers. The book follows three stories at the same time, the life of 17 year old Isabel and 18 year old Robert living in the prejudice soaked 1930s, the journey that 86 year old Isabel is now having with her beloved hairdresser Dorrie on her way to a mystery awaiting in Cincinnati and not to mention the story of the upheaval going on in Dorrie’s personal life at the moment. It’s a great intensity that the reader is made to follow and the anticipation for the problems to be resolved keeps you clinging to the book. The story may be fiction but it divulges the truth about what life was like in those days, when some people thought themselves better because they had fair skin. It’s heartbreaking because one can imagine that there must have existed hundreds of couples who could never have a life together because of the fact that they

were judged and discriminated upon by the society like Isa and Robert. It was a cruel time especially for the protagonists who in the end wasted their lives being unhappy because they could not live it the way they wished they could. From beginning to end this book engrosses the reader and has us hoping that the story will have a happy ending even when we know that it inevitably might not. It’s wonderful that even the last few pages send shivers down the spine and tears cannot be helped as one closes the book. Yours till the chocolate chips, TheMadBookBlogger www.madbookblogger.wordpress.com

Until next time my faithful booklovers, TheMadBookBlogger www.madbookblogger.wordpress.com

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NOVEMBER 2014 | POTPOURRI