REVIEW

LONDON CELEBRATES TRINIDAD & TOBAGO’S

60TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE

WORDS | STEPHEN SPARK

Afull house at The Tabernacle in west London celebrated 60 years of Trinidad and Tobago’s independence on 3 October 2022. It was held in the presence of HE Vishnu Dhanpaul, T&T High Commissioner to the UK, and Garvin Nicholas, T&T HC 2010-2013.

The event, organised by Ansel Wong and a team of hard-working volunteers, was put together at the last minute without funding and in perilously uncertain times. True, there were some minor hitches and glitches – mostly caused by the propensity for Trinbagonians to talk at length (though always entertainingly!) - but the warmth of the applause proved it was worth the effort.

How did it come about? Ansel explained that he “was totally pissed off” that so many people told him they were celebrating Jamaican independence, but no one had arranged anything to mark T&T’s special anniversary.

As a positive and inspiring way to start Black History Month it could hardly have been bettered, because this was all about achievers, both young and old. The latter were represented by calypsonians De Alberto, Tobago Crusoe and Alexander D Great. Louis Lee Sing, former mayor of Port-of-Spain launched his book, Closer to the Church, with readings, signings and a fervent plea to the audience “Don’t let me come all this way without selling a book!” He was not disappointed, and Soca News will run a review in due course.

Ancil Barclay presented a Young Achiever Award to Symone Williams (“a Trini who happened to be born in London”) whose mas design and leadership of Genesis mas band are as respected by today’s London’s carnival community as her father, the late Vernon Fellows Williams, was in the past. Symone is now going into schools to pass on her skills. She ended her presentation by saying that an anniversary book will be published by the end of the year.

Introduced by Allyson Williams, Karla Cornwall is an abstract expressionist artist who started out in the fashion industry. Her art was “born out of a traumatic personal experience” and is bold, delicate, intriguing and beautiful. Her new work, Madam Trinity, will be installed at the TT High Commission once redecoration is complete, and it will be worth a visit just to see this intricate creation of threads, fabrics, synthetic wools and embellishments, including 60 feathered wool plaits, arrayed on an elegantly poised mannequin in (of course) red, white and black.

They may be young, but brother and sister virtuosi Steven and Jada Marsh have wowed audiences of all kinds by demonstrating that there’s more than one way to play soca – in their case, on cello and violin respectively. Their rendition of Brother Marvin’s anthem to racial unity, Jahaji Bhai, was greeted with well-deserved applause and Young Achievers’ Awards. Two other recipients were Janelle and DJ Piper, who had been at the side of the stage all evening taking care of the PAs.

But it wasn’t all about the mas and the music; the Trinidad and Tobago diaspora has a strong presence in the sciences too, as Professor (and pannist) Haroun Shah reminded us. He introduced two Middlesex University PhD students, Justin Soondar and Laura Singh. Justin has been researching the way peer mentors can help people who have become dependent on alcohol – as many did during the social isolation of Covid lockdowns. It was shocking to learn that during Covid, UK alcohol sales increased by 24.5% and that the costs of alcohol to society

amount to £21.5 billion a year in Britain.

Laura launched energetically into a presentation enticingly titled ‘Music in the Madness’, which looked at the effect of Trinidad Carnival on the psychological wellbeing of participants. The study involved some personal sacrifice, Laura told us: “I have to play mas to do this research!” Her study should open up an area of research that has been rather neglected until now: why people participate in Carnival, how they feel when they play mas and how long the ‘buzz’ lasts after las lap. Preliminary results seem to suggest that Carnival’s positive vibe is longer-lasting than the transient feelgood effect of a music festival like Glastonbury. Maybe it’s time for mas and mayhem to be available on the NHS!

Haroun finished the science session by highlighting some of those Trinbagonians who have made their mark in everything from aeronautical engineering to quantum chemistry. And, with Covid still very much in our minds, his own specialism of infectious disease research has been particularly relevant, especially in developing processes such as mass spectrometry that hugely reduce the cost and time of testing.

If that sounds a bit heavyweight at the 60th bi140140rthday party for a country best known for all-round excellence in bacchanal, it really wasn’t. The enthusiasm shone through and connected with the audience, making this an inspiring evening of celebration. Congratulations to all involved for making it happen – the future of the T&T diaspora looks to be in good hands.

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