Friday, May 8, 2020
Weekend
art books entertainment film fashion music history puzzles animals LOVE IN LOCKDOWN Page 12
Dream chasers New music duo sets sights high pg13
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Friday, May 8, 2020
photography
A ROSE-COLOURED LENS In full silhouette
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eauty is all around us in the Bahamas, on land and in the sea. But many of us are too busy with everyday life to pause and really see and enjoy the astonishing sights that surround us. Veteran photographer ROLAND ROSE captures both the ordinary and extraordinary and puts it in frame for us so we can see our environment in a new light. Shooting into the light, but with no detail in the subject matter .
(From top left clockwise) Sounding the conch horn; a Sacred Place designed by Antonius Roberts; sand flats Harbour Island; grey heron against the sunset; hauled sloop and anchor Potter’s Cay; fishing net in Abaco; centre: moonlight view.
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Friday, May 8, 2020
Inside Weekend
MY PERFECT BAHAMIAN QUARANTINE OINKA ROLLE Cosmetologist Q: What items are you stocking up on? “I’m stocking up on chicken, fish, fresh fruits and vegetables and pasta (my daughter loves it).”
2 Photography Silhouettes
4-5 Interview Meet artist William Knowles
7 Community Knit your worries away
8-9 Community Innovative chef in New York
10 Gardening Growing by the sea
11 Community Experts take tuition online
12 Community Love in lockdown
13 Music Duo debuts new single
14-15 Art
Q: What shows or movies will you be bingewatching? “I’m binge-watching “Blacklist”, “NCIS”, “Criminal Minds” and “Shark Tank”.
Q: If you could choose to be quarantined with a celebrity, who would it be? “Steve Harvey, because he’s funny, intelligent, Godfearing and a businessman; he knows the business from the ground up.”
Q: What do you miss most having to practice social distancing? “I miss my family gatherings...and my job. Beauticians are very essential. We are doctors, lawyers, therapists and beauticians all in one.”
Q: If you had to be stuck somewhere other than your house, where would it be? “It would be North Carolina in the mountains, on a four-wheeler, or having hot chocolate with my family in the cabin.”
Art in the time of coronavirus
16 Science Astronomers make discovery
17 Television Jazz in Paris on new drama
18 Entertainment What’s new in music and film
19 Entertainment What The Bahamas is watching on Netflix
20 Literary Lives The story of Elizabeth Bowen
22-24 History Neville Chamberlain in Andros
25 Books New releases this week
26 Puzzles 27 Animals
This new life of ours
28 Community Escaping into art
THIS WEEKEND IN HISTORY May 8
•In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River. •In 1945, President Harry S Truman announced on radio that Nazi Germany’s forces had surrendered, and that “the flags of freedom fly all over Europe.” • In 1978, David R Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to murder, attempted murder and assault in connection with the “Son of Sam” shootings that claimed six lives and terrified New Yorkers. (Berkowitz was sentenced to six consecutive life prison terms.) Today’s birthdays: Naturalist
Sir David Attenborough is 94. Actor James Mitchum is 79. Actress Melissa Gilbert is 56. Singer Enrique Iglesias is 45. Actor Domhnall Gleeson is 37.
Ghostface Killah is 50. Actress Rosario Dawson is 41. Audrina Patridge is 35.
May 9
• In 1924, J Edgar Hoover was
• In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson, acting on a joint congressional resolution, signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. •In 1926, Americans Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett supposedly became the first men to fly over the North Pole. (However, US scholars announced in 1996 that their examination of Byrd’s flight diary suggested he had turned back 150 miles short of his goal.) • In 1994, South Africa’s newly elected parliament chose Nelson Mandela to be the country’s first black president. Today’s birthdays:Singer Billy Joel is 71. Rapper
May 10
named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation (later known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI). • In 1933, the Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany. • In 1975, Sony began selling its Betamax home videocassette recorder in Japan. Today’s birthdays: Author Barbara Taylor Bradford is 87. Rock singer Bono is 60. Actor Kenan Thompson is 42. Olympic gold medal swimmer Missy Franklin is 25. - The Associated Press
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Friday, May 8, 2020
interview
William Knowles The current pandemic may have slowed him down, but this young artist won’t let anything stop him for long. He tells Cara Hunt about his dreams of one day working in films.
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ITH the current worldwide coronavirus pandemic, Bahamians of all walks of life have found their lives put on hold - among them aspiring artist William Knowles. The talented young man was nearing the end of his studies in Canada when the outbreak began. William was enrolled at Cambrian College, located in Sudbury Ontario, completing his Associate’s degree in Design and Visual Arts and preparing for his final graduation art show when the world shut down. “COVID-19 had a tremendous effect on my semester,” he said. “On my campus in the art studio is where I would set up to get my work done. Due to the lack of space where I live, I had to finish the last half of the semester on my computer with digital work and much of my physical work is stored at the studio at the closed campus, which is also why I didn’t have more work in the show,” he told Tribune Weekend. His show for graduation was far from William’s first exhibition. A 2017 graduate of St John’s College, his first show came about thanks to a former art teacher, Mrs Mortimer, who exhibited her students’ art pieces at the Central Bank of the Bahamas Art Gallery. That was a big step on the path to a future in art for a young man who showed a natural talent for drawing from his youth. Born in Nassau to fashion and news photographer Donald Knowles and journalist Lindsay Thompson, who now works as a senior information officer at Bahamas Information Services assigned to the Office of the Prime Minister, creativity was always in William’s blood. His mother spotted his artistic talent early on and helped him to flourish. Then one Summer, he took pottery classes at Atlantis, and never looked back. From there, his parents enrolled him in art classes held by local artist Sonia Isaacs – and he remained a student in her classes for more than eight years until he headed to college in Canada. He also caught the eye of well-known Bahamian artist Antonio Roberts, who gave him the chance to take part in the Artist Walk in Marina Village, Atlantis. William also joined forces with his father to paint the hurricane shelters ahead of Hurricane Matthew in 2016 with images of people pulling
back curtains and peeping out into the world outside. “All my life I’ve practiced expressing my creativity and shown interests in various outlets of media,” he told Tribune Weekend. “Coming to Canada to study Visual Arts and Design seemed like a good opportunity to get my foot into the door of the artistic world.”
His studies may have taken him far from home, but he carries the Bahamian culture with him wherever he goes – with Junkanoo forming part of his graduation show exhibit. “Within the grad show’s work there were a fair number of experiments with new styles and technique,” he said. “Especially with the colourful, Junkanoo-themed pieces. They are all intended to keep your eyes at constant movement. Much like the feel of Junkanoo, you can sort of hear the images and note the movement within them. As for the photograph and painting, they both show conceptual images intended for layered thinking.” The type of art he creates is rooted in the different areas of his life – his cultural background, his father’s talent for photography and his mother’s creativity. “The mediums of my artwork can vary from photography to painting, liquid inks, et cetera,” he said. “It’s hard to say where exactly I draw inspiration from. It always depends on my setting, mood, personal life, any factor can affect a different outcome. My style primarily involves not overthinking much, especially on things that compensate for the likeness of others. “I try to convey a message or theme in all of my artwork. My goal is always to make every aspect relate to each other and mean something.” There is obvious pride in his mother Lindsay’s voice when she talks of her son’s future. “We are extremely proud of William as he pursues his studies and crafts a career in film production. Hopefully he would return home at some point and produce films depicting the beautiful landscape of our islands,” she told Tribune Weekend. Film production is on the horizon for William. “My ultimate goal is to one day go into film studies,” he said. “So expressing my creativity as well as learn a bit about the art business plays well into feeding my journey into the film industry.” For now, everything has come to a halt, but with it comes a new determination succeed. As his mother says, “We were making preparations to attend his graduation ceremony, but due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the exercise has been cancelled. But graduate he will and get his degree.” Describing himself as a hustler who strives to do what it takes to be successful, William won’t let current circumstances hold him back for long.
Friday, May 8, 2020
WILLIAM’s Junkanooinspired art
WILLIAM and his dad, fashion and news photographer Donald Knowles.
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Friday, May 8, 2020
community
Knit your worries away Local artisan’s crafting serves as therapy and source of income By ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features Writer | acadet@tribunemedia.net
HOME décor pieces and accessories by Me Abode
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hile many brick and mortar stores are still closed during the current COVID-19 pandemic, small home-based businesses are seeing a surge in customers, especially if they have something essential and creative to offer, and they offer curb-side and delivery services, of course. Take for example Kerry-Ann Pat and her Me Abode brand of handmade home décor items and other accessories. She is currently seeing an uptick in orders for baby blankets and gift packages by Bahamians who are celebrating special occasions in lockdown. As she makes throw pillows and knits blankets, Kerry-Ann told Tribune Weekend she is not only creating new merchandise, but also practicising a form of self-care. Knitting, in particular, is a form of therapy for her, which is especially helpful during this time. “With a fast-paced, creative mind, I started having trouble sleeping. It was recommended that I learn to knit as a source of relaxation. Ever since then its been my mental escape; knitting
is my therapy. As I grew in skill and creativity, I carried my foundation with me, pulling everything I have learned, done and loved to become Me Abode; it’s my passion lifestyle,” she said. Kerry-Ann has always loved all things “homey”. Growing up as the middle child in her family, she was usually assigned the task of cleaning the living room from top to bottom. Over time, she learned how to rearrange the furniture to
give the room a new look. The response from from her family was encouraging, and as she grew up, her interest in décor increased. “My love for ‘homey’ things spilled into me sketching furniture designs and doing house staging for those who know me,” she said. “Just like fashion, styling your home is an expression of how you feel, who you are and what you like. I get to meet and talk with a lot of people, and if you listen carefully, there is always something new to create based on the uniqueness of each person’s appeal.” Just before the lockdown, Kerry-Ann received a request to decorate a home in the gated community of Nautica, inwestern New Providence. She was given a short window of time in which to complete the project, and although new aspects kept being added to the job, the initial budget remained the same. But all her hard word paid off. “Doing a fast-track project such as that allowed me extra time with the clients. At the end of the project, said client asked to invest in the business. They were that pleased with the end result. You never know who is watching you, so I’ll always remember them and their reaction of how happy they were,” she said. Kerry-Ann said she is full of inspiration as she continues to make her knitted wears, as well as bed runners, bag tassels, picture frames and coasters. “I write and sketch and stage corners of my home to sit pretty while I take pictures and post for our supporters. Going forward, I hope to accomplish growth, all around growth. Growth in creativity, sales, clients, supporters, giving back and doing my part in social rehabilitation,” she said.
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community
A Bahamian in New York
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ar from home, Bahamian Chef Rico Neely, Jr is living through the current pandemic in the epicentre of the coronavirus in the United States: New York. As of this week the state had 300,000 plus cases - more than any other place around the world - and 19,000 deaths. This grim picture is just one of the reasons why Chef Neely wishes he were home. “Home is the only place I can think of these days,” he told Tribune Weekend. “It seems as though Pandora’s box has been opened in New York.” Like people here in the Bahamas, Rico must abide by strict social distancing guidelines being enforced throughout the state. In addition to that, all schools and non-essential businesses have been closed in an effort to end community spread. “I must applaud the consular representatives at the Bahamas Consulate General New York for publicly mobilising their services, visiting the Bahamians at my alma mater, conversing and giving them a sense of comfort, knowing that their representatives are there for them as well as all others under their jurisdiction in what is this global pandemic,” he said. Rico has been based in New York since August 2016 after receiving a full scholarship from the Bahamas Public Scholars programme to attend Monroe College in New Rochelle, New York. He completed his bachelor’s degree in June 2019 and has remained in the US to pursue work and develop his brand. In addition to being a cook, he is also a fashion model and writer. Rico has worked at the highly rated Alvin & Friends restaurant and the multipurpose venue MIST Harlem in New Rochelle, as well as in Harlem as a line and prep cook. A few months before the pandemic hit New York, Rico decided to venture out on his own, hosting private cooking sessions for organisations, schools and interested individuals. As a result, he had the good fortune of collaborating with a plethora of A-list clientele. But now that New York has been heavily impacted by the coronavirus, Rico’s dreams have come to a screeching halt - but only for the time being though, he assures us.
CHEF RICO NEELY, Jr knows the importance of versatility. In addition to being a cook, he is also fashion model and writer.
“No matter how much I may miss or want to be home, I refuse to squander the opportunities I have that are conveniently afforded to me here in New York,” he said. “I feel as though everything I am doing now is accomplishable in the Bahamas, but this city has shown itself to be wonderfully welcoming to young creatives like
Pandemic inspires young chef to be innovative
By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net
myself; giving us a unique platform to reach, touch and inspire millions of people within seconds – something that would require a little more work and strategy to do in the Bahamas. Nevertheless, I do plan on returning home eventually to ensure New York’s easy accessibility is available throughout the Bahamas as well.” As a “born workaholic”, Rico said there is a silver lining to the pandemic: it has finally given him some downtime to reassesshis plans and goals. “It appears the excitement of our lives has been postponed to a later, more secure date; something many people cannot even see coming. Nevertheless, despite the cabin fever, this has pushed me to do an extensive self-reflection and discovery on myself,” he said. Those reflections have led him to come up with some new, innovative ways to shape his career as a chef, model and author. “Quite honestly, this pandemic has allowed me to stop and breathe – something many of us, including myself, had a hard time doing prior to the coronavirus,” he said. “Instead of stagnating me (because I’m unable) to have in-person cooking sessions with people, it forced me to be more creative and innovative with how I go about hosting those classes and sharing my love of food.” And after weeks of research and strategising with his team, he came up with a virtual ‘Cooking with Nuncy’ experience.
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Friday, May 8, 2020
the house staff to provide the same care and customer service they would have with sit-in customers,” he said. “While this has proven to be the demise of many restaurants, it has been something a financial saving grace for many others…Individuals working in the food and beverage industry are advised to work more diligently, with heightened care to capitalise on the cleanliness of their work spaces.” As Rico adjusts to this ‘new normal’ and charts his course forward, he encourages his fellow Bahamians to do the same. “Understand that life is a mere puzzle without a photo to guide us. Be versatile, be unique, but most importantly, be authentically you. Even when sickness in the world has created madness, use your health as wealth to spread faith and virtue, because faith in anything is a virtue,” he said.
‘C
ooking with Nuncy’ was also the name of a junior chef apprentice programme Rico started with his twin sister Ricah. It was part of their joint venture, the Queen Esther Foundation, which they started in 2017 when they were just 17. With the foundation, the twins wanted to honour their grandmother, Deaconess Esther Elizabeth Neely-Brown, who was a well-loved and cherished member of the Elizabeth Estates community. During Rico’s new online classes, individuals can learn how to cook their favorite dishes as well as try out new recipes with the help of Rico’s verbal and visual guidance. “In addition to that, because of the word-ofmouth... has actually opened many doors of opportunity for me as I have been working with a local transitional home for previously incarcerated women, providing workshops for job readiness and the food and beverage industry,” he said. “This catastrophic virus has undoubtedly challenged the way I think, look and operate my business and brand. By taking advantage of this new environment, it allows me to create new rules to go by to win.” Being innovative is this time is certainly a must, as the vibrant food and beverage industry New York is known for has definitely received a major blow. “Quite frankly, COVID-19 is the death of many restaurants in the state – one that has been brimming with food culture,” he said. “With hundreds of restaurants closing their doors to the public and settling on take-out orders only, it has challenged chefs and front of
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gardening
Down by the
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sea
n the shoreline of our islands there live some very strong, tolerant, and often very beautiful plants. These native plants are often overlooked in preference for showier, exotic plants in the cultivated landscape. The issue of salt and wind tolerance can pose obvious challenges to gardening by the sea. It comes down to survival and which plants are best suited to the sand, rocks, salt water, wind and heat. These conditions are no deterrent to the native flora and fauna. When considering plants to use on the seashore it’s always best to start with natives, if only for their durability and toughness. In every environment there are plants that are adapted over the millennia to thrive, sometimes in some very harsh conditions. Mangroves are one of the first coastal plants that can offer protection to the shore. They are not suited to every situation to be sure, but they are a very important plant for coastal ecosystems by providing shelter and breeding grounds to aquatic life and birds and they act as a barrier between sea and shore. I think that there ought to be a lot more of them planted where suitable around our more developed islands that have seen them destroyed and greatly reduced in numbers. Silver and green buttonwoods, seagrape, sea oats, sea ox eye daisy, sea purslane, railroad vine, beach creeper, sea lavender, sabal palm, silvertop palm, these are the types of plants that thrive near the sea. All too often I see building sites where all of the native vegetation has been removed. It is far more beneficial to leave at the very
NECKLACE pod and thatch palms thrive on the rock
offers a bit of shelter, usually a bit out of the breeze. Coastal native plants will mostly tolerate direct wind and salt spray; use them as a buffer between the sea and your piece of paradise for a low maintenance landscape down by the sea!
BARBADOS cherries do well in sandy or rocky soil
least a few native palms, a tree, a shrub or two. They provide shade, food and shelter to birds and beneficial insects that will in turn benefit the garden and benefit the wider environment. When it comes to replacing the landscape on a new building site, it may very well be some of the same material that end up replacing that which was removed. It is possible to grow fruit and edibles by the sea, but most often a windbreak helps out. It can help to plant fruits and edibles on the inland side of a house, or behind a windbreak of native vegetation as many fruit trees will get quite burned by direct salt wind. Citrus does
quite well in sandy or rocky soil near salt water, as do mango, Barbados cherry, sapodilla, mulberry and sugar apple as a few examples. I installed a good sized mango tree at a very salty location in Exuma some time ago, it has thrived and it almost doubled in size in the first year, it ought to be flowering about now. At that particular site there is a deep, sandy base which allows for more chance of success than at a location with a very high water table. Don’t let the salt air deter you from experimenting with more showy exotic plants, but be aware of salt water spray and direct salt air when it gets breezy, and try to place them in a location that
• Adam Boorman is the nursery manager at the Fox Hill Nursery. For questions and comments, e-mail foxhillnursery@gmail.com.
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community
Local experts from varied fields teach free online classes By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net
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o be instructed by experts in your chosen discipline is always advantageous. It is the reason why MasterClass – an online learning platform where celebrities teach their pupils about the specific skill set that made them famous – has become so popular. Inspired by this platform, which featured actor Steve Martin, screenwriter Shonda Rhimes and tennis star Serena Williams, a group of Bahamians as decided to launch a similar programme. Offering the instruction services of experts from a range of disciplines, the Bridge Masterclass series is being presented by GMG as a new online learning experience. It will take place from May 1 - May 31. The theme is “Cultivating the New Norm”. There is at least one training session each day. It features professionals in areas of the law, culinary arts, agriculture, creative writing, media, marketing, accounting, psychology,
health, fitness, disability inclusion, and more. Stefphen Sands is the coordinator behind the initiative. “The Bridge was inspired by MasterClass, which provides online classes for students of all skill levels and interests. The instructors are the best in the world. This learning experience adapts the global concept to a Bahamian context by attracting 31 plus professionals from various fields to share on different topics for 31 days,” he told Tribune Weekend. With so many people currently at home with more time on their hands than usual, Mr Sands believes this is the best time to participate in online classes and learn from local professionals. “The masterclass series is for anyone who has an interest in developing skills in any of the featured areas. We would also like to encourage participants to choose areas they are less familiar with to embrace cross-learning,” he said.
“As we are currently experiencing a health and economic crisis, it is important for us to have avenues of hope, growth and development. We must consistently be equipping ourselves to reach new heights in our personal and professional lives.” And the only thing participants need is to “show up” to class with an open mind. “Participants should attend all sessions with an open mind. Further, we recommend identifying a quiet space with a pen and notepad to be able to fully absorb the classes,” said Mr Sands. “GMG will continue to host these events, with one being done for high school students and much more. Our partner, Queen’s College Centre for Further Education, also consistently hosts personal and professional development courses and workshops.” Registration is free. All sessions will be featured on Zoom and Facebook Live.
PROFESSIONALS from various areas share their expertise
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community
Love in lockdown
Bahamian couples change focus By CARA HUNT | Tribune Features Writer | cbrennen@tribunemedia.net
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his is a stressful time for everyone. And with all weekend lockdowns, economic uncertainty looming, and the general fear about what the future holds, it can be hard for couples to muster up the desire or energy to ensure that they keep those home quarantine fires burning “My husband and I are just more exhausted than ever,” said Tonya, a mom of three. “We are both trying to work from home, keep the house clean, keep the kids from killing each other and do their school work. Since there is no school, our schedules are out of whack; bedtime is almost non-existent. After battling our daytime responsibilities, at the end of the day we just fall into bed exhausted. It doesn’t make for loving times, if you know what I mean.” But as they adjust to this new normal, Tonya and her husband adapting and coming up with new ideas for couple time. “After April was so rough, we decided this month to enforce a stricter bedtime with the kids and that at the end of each day we take a minute to have a glass of wine
and chat for a bit to unwind,” she said. Marie said it is essential that she and her husband have some downtime away from the demands of family quarantine life. “Connecting as a couple is important for your sanity and you have to find ways to make it happen. We can’t have our usual date nights out, so we try to bring date nights home,” she said. Take their recent anniversary, which was also her husband’s birthday. “We hired a personal chef who prepared a special meal for us which she dropped to our door, complete with wine, desert and appetisers. All we had to do was warm it up and enjoy. It was so nice to have a romantic night that felt special from the other days of lockdown,” she said. Meanwhile, Michelle said she and her hubby are on a classic movie watching binge. “One of the ways we try to connect is our movie Friday date night. Friday is the one day we get take-out for everyone. It gives us something to look forward to food wise. But it
is our new date night. You know how you hear about all these old school movies and you are like, ‘Oh, I never watched that, or its been so long since I watched that’, so those are the titles that we pick. Like last weekend, we watched all four ‘Jaws’ movies because I had not seen two of them and today I think the plan is to watch the horror classic ‘The Thing’. It’s been fun.” Crystal said that she and her hubby use Sunday mornings as their connection time. “This may sound bad, but Sundays were always just another rushed morning, getting everyone up and out for nine-thirty church. Now we let the kids sleep in - fortunately they are at the age where they don’t wake up at six am. We make a fancy breakfast in bed and are able to do our couples devotion and just talk. It starts the week off right,” she said. “We are stressed because hubby’s job temporarily laid him off, although thank God now that things are opening up again he will be back to work. But it can be stressful for even the happiest of couples, so yes, you have to make the time to focus on each other.”
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music
New duo debuts big Dreams of Super Bowl performance in future By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net
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HEIR new single may be called “Running Back”, but the Bahamas’ newest singing duo, KAiROS, is doing anything but. The new girl group, made up of Angel and Zaafira, are moving forward to their dream of stardom. And making strides towards that goal meant they had to get in the studio and work. Out of that studio time came their recently released single. “Running Back” focuses on the beauty and turmoil of young relationships. It highlights how these relationships can suffer due to the goals and ambitions of young people and emphasises the importance of taking time for your partner despite your sometimes hectic lives. The song came straight from the heart, said Angel. “It takes me on a roller coaster ride emotionally. I wrote it knowing what I was experiencing at the time and what so many other people go through. To me, it is so sad that there is no stickability and that we will not even see people through to their full potential, even though we chose them to be in our lives,” she said. Zaafira added: “Mentally, ‘Running Back’ takes me to a place where it’s truly OK to pursue your dreams while being 100 percent committed to love. This sometimes feels impossible today, but I’m a sucker for love, yet I will never sacrifice my dreams.” “Running Back” is the lead single from their upcoming EP titled “City Lights” set to be released this Summer. It was produced by Yontell and Yonzell Clare and written by KAiROS This is just the beginning for the duo, who say listeners can expect much more heartfelt music from them in future. Although fairly new to the local music scene, Angel and Zaafira have been making the rounds and building connections. Last year they released the ballad “This Is Love”, which featured well- known Bahamian
artists such as Wendi, Dyson Knight, Chase Fernander, Sleepy Lexx and P Dillion. The song was for the victims who lives were affected by Hurricane Dorian. It was the right and opportune time to make their debut, the duo said. And “opportune” and
“right” are also the meanings of the Greek word “Kairos” which inspired their group’s name. After searching for the right name and finding nothing that quite fit, they were inspired by a message by a female speaker while in church which featured the word Kairos. It immediately clicked. Angel and Zaafira said they consider themselves “inspirational bringers of light” who make music that transports people to a place which induces happiness. “We both believe that we were placed in each other’s lives to sharpen one another. Iron sharpens iron and we both needed someone to hold us accountable. We’ve been able to inspire each other to do better. Through prayer and faith, we believe it is God’s intended purpose for our lives,” Angel said. Zaafira, a descendant of Bahamian guitarist and singer Joseph Spence, started out in music as a solo artist and songwriter. “Everyone in my family is musically inclined and I always enjoyed singing. I started to officially pursue it as a career when Julien Believe asked me to assist him with writing a few songs. This later led to me releasing my first single, ‘Stupid Girl’,” she said. Meanwhile, Angel pursued a music career in US, steadily building a following. In addition to making music, she is a dancer with experience in ballet, hip hop, salsa and ballroom, and has been played the violin for over 10 years. KAiROS plan to keep working hard until they one day fulfill their big dream of performing at the Super Bowl and all around the world. Their music video for “Running Back” is now available on YouTube. To keep up with the duo, follow them on their Instagram page ‘Kairossings’.
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science
Astronomers find closest black hole to Earth, hints of more
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eet your new but shy galactic neighbour: A black hole left over from the death of a fleeting young star. European astronomers have found the closest black hole to Earth yet, so near that the two stars dancing with it can be seen by the naked eye. Of course, close is relative on the galactic scale. This black hole is about 1,000 lightyears away and each light-year is 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion kilometres). But in terms of the cosmos and even the galaxy, it is in our neighbourhood, said European Southern Observatory astronomer Thomas Rivinius, who led the study published Wednesday in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. The previous closest black hole is probably about three times further, about 3,200 lightyears, he said. The discovery of a closer black hole, which is in the constellation Telescopium in the Southern Hemisphere, hints that there are more of these out there. Astronomers theorize there are between 100 million to 1 billion
of these small but dense objects in the Milky Way. The trouble is we can’t see them. Nothing, not even light, escapes a black hole’s gravity. Usually, scientists can only spot them when they’re gobbling up sections of a partner star or something else falling into them. Astronomers think most black holes, including this newly discovered one, don’t have anything close enough to swallow. So they go undetected. Astronomers found this one because of the unusual orbit of a star. The new black hole is part of what used to be a three-star dance in a system called HR6819. The two remaining super-hot stars aren’t close enough to be sucked in, but the inner star’s orbit is warped. Using a telescope in Chile, they confirmed that there was something about four or five times the mass of our sun pulling on the inner star. It could only be a black hole, they concluded. Outside astronomers said that makes sense. “It will motivate additional searches among bright, relatively nearby stars,” said Ohio State
University astronomer Todd Thompson, who wasn’t part of the research. Like most of these type of black holes this one is tiny, maybe 25 miles (40 kilometers) in diameter. “Washington, DC would quite easily fit into the black hole, and once it went in it, would never come back,” said astronomer Dietrich Baade, a study co-author. These are young hot stars compared to our 4.6 billion-year-old sun. They’re maybe 140 million years old, but at 26,000 degrees F (15,000 degrees C) they are three times hotter than the sun, Rivinius said. About 15 million years ago, one of those stars got too big and too hot and went supernova, turning into the black hole in a violent process, he said. “It is most likely that there are black holes much closer than this one,” said Avi Loeb, director of Harvard’s Black Hole Initiative, who wasn’t part of the study. “If you find an ant while scanning a tiny fraction of your kitchen, you know there must be many more out there.” SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer
Friday, May 8, 2020
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television
Netflix drama ‘The Eddy’ explores jazz via multiracial Paris RIO RANCHO, NM (AP) — Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis wandered along the Seine and felt free. Louis Armstrong sought refuge from the Jim Crow American South at the Hôtel Alba Opéra. Dancer Josephine Baker wowed audiences at the Folies Bergère before joining the French Resistance during World War II. For African American artists, Paris long existed as a haven allowing them to experience their humanity, despite the city’s contradictions and racial tensions. A visit introduced possibilities and dilated dreams. “The Eddy,” a new Netflix music drama series that premieres Friday, seeks to pay homage to those encounters while also granting nods to the French New Wave film movement of the late 1950s, the refugee, the abused, and, of course, jazz. Set in the margins of Paris, the series follows African American ex-pat Elliot Udo, played by André Holland, as he tries to keep his jazz club, The Eddy, afloat while caring for his troubled American biracial daughter Julie, played by Amandla Stenberg. Elliot assembles a house band of musicians from North Africa, Haiti, Cuba, the U.S, and Eastern Europe and they regularly attract an AMANDLA STENBERG, left, and Andre Holland in a scene from “The Eddy.” (Lou Faulon/Netflix via AP) equally diverse crowd away from the cafe and whitewash those themes and it confronts issues black jazz musician in Paris — something many museum center of Paris. But it seems like eveof race and poverty from where jazz stems. of the greats before him never got the chance ryone and everything wants to shut down the That complexity and the themes around a to do. experiment, from the police to the underworld multicultural Paris is what attracted the politi“It’s amazing because, yes, Lee Morgan didn’t to meddling music promoters. cally active Stenberg to the project, she said. get to do that, he didn’t get a chance to play Meanwhile, ambitious Moroccan musicians Stenberg earned praised for her role in the 2018 a role where he’s really playing. Unbelievable,” seek Elliot’s attention by fusing French hip-hop film “The Hate U Give” about a high school stusaid Haitian-Canadian Omicil, who is making his and Muslim traditions. dent who witnesses a police shooting. acting debut. The idea for the eight-episode series came “It was super important to me. I don’t think Havana-born bassist Damian Nueva Cortes from a longtime dream of six-time Grammy that aspect of the show was necessarily based also stars in his first acting role. One episode Award winner G len Ballardto tell a story about into the script,” Stenberg said. “It kind of become focuses on his character struggling with hearta jazz band making music in modern-day Paris. a responsibility that Andre and I felt we needed break and addiction. It ends with an Afro-Cuban He organized a group with working musicians to honor and accurately portray through the improvisation at a Paris restaurant that’s both that included actress and vocalist Joanna Kulig celebratory and agonizing. , from the 2018 acclaimed movie “Cold War,” and lenses we were given.” But the series does seek to pay tribute to “I wrote that song for my grandmother,” Nueva Croatian percussionist Lada Obradovic. Cortes said. “And acting...it’s like I’m in a trance.” “The mission for me was to connect young lis- African American ex-pats who helped pave the path for a racially safe Paris. American audiences are accustomed to conteners and viewers to what jazz really could be,” In one touching scene, Elliot talks with his suming films and series around race from their Ballardtold the AP in an interview from his Paris daughter after giving her a copy of James Baldown self-absorbed lenses. “The Eddy” series apartment. “It started with me writing songs in win’s essay collection, The Price of the Ticket,” of seeks to take those viewers to Europe where 2008 about this mythical jazz club...Paris never his works on race and identity. race and ethnicity also play roles in how similar gave up on jazz.” “There’s plenty more where that came from,” populations navigate their existence. And that jazz club would show the real, new he tells his daughter while looking at her new Ballardsaid this gathering of different people Paris, Ballardsaid. natural hairstyle. Then, he looks up at Paris. “You in “The Eddy” is played out through jazz, note by Directed by Damien Chazelle of “La La Land,” know, there’s a whole history of us in this place.” note, with spaces for solos of the unexplored. the series engages with the rigidity jazz faces Multi-talented Jowee Omicil, who plays from traditionalists and modernizing forces, just saxophone in The Eddy, said he’s still pinching RUSSELL CONTRERAS like the 2016 Oscar-nominated film. But unlike “La La Land,” the Netflix series doesn’t seek to himself that he has the opportunity to portray a Associated Press
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entertainment Whitney Houston biopic in the works LOS ANGELES (AP) — A feature film about Whitney Houston’s life is in the works from the screenwriter of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The biopic is being shepherded by the Whitney Houston Estate, music producer Clive Davis
Radcliffe, Beckham to read first ‘Harry Potter’ fantasy book Just dance: Lady Gaga sets May 29 release date for 6th album NEW YORK (AP) — After scrapping the original release date for her new album
WHITNEY Houston performs at the 37th Annual American Music Awards in 1995. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
and Primary Wave Music, the partners said Wednesday. “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” will follow Houston from obscurity to pop stardom and promises to be “frank about the price that superstardom exacted,” according to the announcement. “From all my personal and professional experience with Whitney from her late teenage years to her tragic premature death, I know the full Whitney Houston story has not yet been told,” Davis said in a statement. He said Anthony McCarten’s script will finally reveal the “whole
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Celebrities including Daniel Radcliffe, David Beckham and Dakota Fanning will take part in chapter-by-chapter readings of J K Rowling’s first “Harry Potter” book. Rowling’s Wizarding World announced Tuesday on Twitter that all 17 chapters of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” will be read in a series of free videos and audio recordings. The readings of the beloved fantasy story is part of the Harry Potter at Home series. Stephen Fry, Claudia Kim,
because of the spreading coronavirus, Lady Gaga has announced that her sixth studio release will be out on May 29. Gaga announced the news Wednesday. “Chromatica” was originally supposed to be released on April 10. The album includes collaborations with Ariana Grande, Elton John and Blackpink, and features the single “Stupid Love,” which peaked at No 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Several artists have postponed albums because of the coronavirus pandemic, including Luke Bryan, Dixie
Whitney whose vocal genius deeply affected the world while she fiercely battled the demons that were to be her undoing.” Houston sold over 200 million records worldwide during her 25-year career and won six Grammys, 16 Billboard Music Awards and two Emmys before her death in 2012. McCarten, who has gotten Oscar nominations for his scripts for “The Theory of Everything,” “The Darkest Hour” and “The Two Popes,” said in a statement that he’s grateful to be working closely with the people who knew Houston best.
Noma Dumezweni and Eddie Redmayne are expected to narrate chapters. Radcliffe, who starred as Harry Potter in the films, kicked off the series. He read the first chapter “The Boy Who Lived,” which is posted on harrypotterathome. com. Other videos will be posted weekly on the website. Audio-only versions will be available for free on Spotify.
Chicks, Alanis Morissette, HAIM and Kehlani. Hundreds of live tours have also been canceled or postponed. Gaga’s last full-length studio album was 2016’s “Joanne.” In 2018 she released the soundtrack for “A Star Is Born,” which won her four Grammy Awards as well as an Oscar for the hit song “Shallow.” “Chromatica” will qualify for nominations at the 2021 Grammys. Songs and albums released between September 1, 2019, through August 31, 2020, are eligible. Gaga’s hits include “Just
THE COVER of “Chromatica
Dance,” “Poker Face,” “Bad Romance,” “Born This Way” and “Million Reasons.”
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entertainment BATMAN v Superman
packed with unaired footage from the 1997-98 season.
his own son. Starring Liam Neeson and Joel Kinnaman.
Skull Island (film; 8.1hKong 58m)
Top 10 . All Day and All Night . Into the Night (series; 2 (film; 2h 1m) 5 six episodes) Netflix movies and shows . Batman v Superman: . Dangerous Lies (film; in the 9 Dawn of Justice (film; 6 1h 37m) 2h 31m) . Vacation (film; 1h 38m) Bahamas 3 While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path towards committing his crime. Starring Ashton Sanders and Jeffrey Wright.
With Bahamians practicing social distancing, working from home, and the kiddies stuck in the house, it’s time to turn to Netflix for some entertainment. Here are the top 10 movies and shows Bahamians are watching this week:
1
. The Last Dance (series; ten episodes)
A docuseries that gives a definitive account of Michael Jordan’s career and the 1990’s Chicago Bulls,
Rusty Griswold takes his own family on a road trip to “Walley World” in order to spice things up with his wife and reconnect with his sons.Starring Ed Helms, Christina Applegate and Chris Hemsworth.
4
. Run All Night (film; 1h 54m)
Mobster and hitman Jimmy Conlon has one night to figure out where his loyalties lie: with his estranged son, Mike, whose life is in danger, or his longtime best friend, mob boss Shawn Maguire, who wants Mike to pay for the death of
When a mysterious cosmic disaster strikes Earth, survivors on an overnight flight from Brussles race to find refuge and escape the sun’s rays.
When a wealthy elderly man dies and unexpectedly leaves his estate to his new caregiver, she’s drawn into a web of deception and murder. If she’s going to survive, she’ll have to question everyone’s motives - even the people she loves. Starring Riverdale’s Camila Mendes and The Boys’ Jessie T Usher.
7
. Never Have I Ever (series; 10 episodes)
The complicated life of a modern-day first generation Indian American teenage girl, inspired by creator Mindy Kaling’s own childhood.
After the Vietnam war, a team of scientists explores an uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into the domain of the mighty Kong, and must fight to escape a primal Eden. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson and Brie Larson.
Fearing that the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the Man of Steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs. Starring Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill.
Extraction (film; 1h 10.57m)
Tyler Rake, a fearless black market mercenary, embarks on the most deadly extraction of his career when he’s enlisted to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord. Starring Chris Hemsworth.
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literary lives Elizabeth Bowen
The ‘grande dame’ of the modern novel Sir Christopher Ondaatje relates the notable story of the Anglo-Irish novelist and short story writer, best known for her fiction about life in wartime London.
ELIZABETH Bowen (1899 1973)
POET Sylvia Plath interviews Elizabeth Bowen for Mademoiselle c. 1953
“The importance to the writer of first writing must be out of all proportion of the actual value of what is written.” - Elizabeth Bowen Elizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen was born on June 7, 1899 in Dublin, Ireland. Her parents later brought her to Bowen’s Court, the family home, at Farahy, near Kildorrery, County Cork. When her father became mentally ill in 1907, she and her mother moved to Hythe in England. When her mother died in 1912 Bowen was brought up by her aunts. “Bowen’s father recovered sufficiently to re-marry in 1918 – but did not create a home for her. She took refuge in her own marriage in 1923, the event coinciding with the publication of her first volume of short stories, ‘Encounters’, 1923. It was the more important event for her. She chose as her spouse a middleranking educational bureaucrat, Alan Cameron, six years her senior. He was English, had a third from Oxford, and distinguished himself as an officer in the war. His eyes were permanently damaged by gas; he was unintellectual, and as devoted as a Basset Hound ... the marriage was apparently unconsummated. Cameron would eventually fade out as a drink-sodden unregarded parenthesis
to his wife’s brilliant career.” - John Sutherland, Lives of the Novelists (2013) In the early years of their marriage Cameron rose in the ranks of the Civil Service while Bowen’s literary career bloomed. They lived first near Oxford where she wove her early novels “The Last September”(1929), and “To the North”(1932), then to 2 Clarence Terrace, Regent’s Park, London where she wrote “The House in Paris”(1935), and “The Death if the Heart” (1938). Oxford loved her novels and the University later gave her an honorary doctorate. She became a member of the Irish Academy of Letters in 1937. She inherited Bowen’s Court in 1930. “Solitary and farouche people don’t have relationships; they are quite unrelatable.” - Elizabeth Bowen During World War II she worked for the British Ministry of Information and wrote
“The Demon Lover and Other Stories”(1945), and “The Heat of the Day”(1948), which chronicles the great romance of Bowen’s life with Charles Ritchie, a Canadian diplomat – seven years her younger – whom she met in 1941. The relationship lasted thirty years. “The wish to lead one’s lover must be a tribal feeling; the wish to be seen as loved is part of one’s self-respect.” - Elizabeth Bowen Her husband retired in 1952 and they settled in Bowen’s Court. He died a few months later. “The Heat of the Day” revolves around the relationship between Stella Rodney and her lover Robert Kelway, with the interfering presence of Harrison in the tense years following the Blitz in London. Harrison, a British intelligence agent who is convinced that Robert is a German spy, uses this knowledge to get between the two lovers and ultimately neutralise Robert. Stella finds
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ELIZABETH at Bowen’s Court, her ancestral home, in County Cork in 1962. (Photo/Slim Aarons)
herself caught between spy and counterspy – the narrative revealing the inextricable knitting together of the individual and the national, the personal and the political. It is probably Bowen’s best book. “Habit, of which passion must be wary, may all the same be the sweetest part of love.” - Elizabeth Bowen, The Heat of the Day When I met the retired Charles Ritchie in Chester, Nova Scotia in the late 1970s, I openly discussed his relationship with Elizabeth Bowen and his portrayal as Robert Kelway in “The Heat of the Day”. He strongly denied however that he was the subject of “The Demon Lover” – written soon after he had met Bowen.
CHARLES RITCHIE, Canadian diplomat and Elizabeth Bowen’s lover for 30 years. He denied being “The Demon Lover”.
Many writers visited Elizabeth Bowen at Bowen’s Court including Virginia Woolf, Eudora Welty, Carson McCullers, Iris Murdoch and the historian Veronica Wedgwood. “Elizabeth disliked the tragic, martyred image of Virginia Woolf which grew up after her death. When she read the first volume of William Plomer’s autobiography, ‘At Home’, in 1958, she told him that “only you seem to bring back Virginia’s laughter – I get so bored and irked by the tragic fiction which has been manufactured about her since 1941.” Victoria Glendinning, Elizabeth Bowen (1977) For many years Bowen struggled to keep Bowen’s Court going, writng and lecturing in the United States to earn money. She travelled to Italy in 1958 to research and prepare “A Time in Rome” (1960), but although
her books sold well the cost of living in two expensive houses was crippling. She was forced to sell her beloved Bowen’s Court. “In 1959, at the age of 60, unable to afford the upkeep of Bowen’s Quirt – a 17th century house standing on land her Anglo-Irish family had owned in County Cork ever since the Cromwell invasion – Elizabeth Bowen sold it to an authentic, unhyphenated Irishman named O’Keefe, believing he would live there and that his children would furnish the continuity she, the last of the Bowens, and childless, could not provide. In less than a year the new owner destroyed the gardens,
felled the trees, demolished the house.” Victoria Glendinning, Elizabeth Bowen (1977) Bowen’s Court – which had escaped being burned down during the Irish struggles – was wrecked by a Mr O’Keefe who had only ever wanted the property for its timber. After spending some years without a permanent home, Bowen finally settled at “Carberry”. Church Hill, Hythe in 1965 – the town where she had been a displaced little girl all those many years ago. In 1972 Elizabeth Bowen developed lung cancer. She died in University College Hospital on February 22, 1973, aged 73. The last of the Bowens now lies buried in an abandoned graveyard next to her husband, close to the gates of Bowen’s Court. NEXT WEEK: A composer and lyricist, widely considered to be the greatest songwriter in American history. • Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; Lives of the Novelists by John Sutherland Sutherland (2013): Elizabeth Bowen (1977) by Victoria Glendinning; and Love’s Civil War: Elizabeth Bowen and Charles Ritchie: Letters and Diaries 1941-1973 by Judith Robertson.
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history
Chamberlain at Andros A British prime minister is shaped by toil and trouble in the islands By PAUL C ARANHA | Forgotten facts
I
n my earlier article about Neville Chamberlain, I concentrated on the nottoo-well-known fact that there was a Chamberlain home in Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, but it is Mastic Pont, Andros that is most associated with the Chamberlain family. It all started with a visit to the United States and Canada in the summer of 1890, documented in an early edition of NASSAU magazine: “Joseph Chamberlain (18361914), who made his career in Birmingham as a manufacturer of screws, had attained an outstanding position in the political field (He served as the British Secretary of State for the Colonies 1895-1903). About that visit, J L Garvin wrote in his book, “The Life of Joseph Chamberlain”, the following extract, taken from a letter written by the great statesman to a friend: ‘On this trip, an incident occurred that may have importance in the fortunes of the Chamberlain family. At Montreal, I saw Sir Ambrose Chea, Governor of the Bahamas, an intelligent man, full of a new discovery, which is to revolutionise the condition of the islands. It consists of a plant, growing like a weed, which was the curse of the islands, till Shea found that it would give a hemp, equal to the best Manila. Now, the cultivation is beginning on a large scale, and English capital is being brought in. From his account, it looks like enormous fortunes could be made, out of this discovery, and the prospect is so tempting that, after thinking it over, I wrote to Shea, asking him for an option
NEVILLE Chamberlain (pictured here in 1921) was Britain’s prime minister from 1937 to 1940
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on 20,000 acres of land. . . I shall not touch the matter unless there is a large fortune in it . . .’ On his return to England, Chamberlain discussed the project with his sons, Austen and Neville, and one day, while chatting with them, he blatantly announced: ‘I shall be wanting you to go to the Bahamas.’ A writer in the Sunday Dispatch recently referred to that incident and remarked on the similarity of his younger son’s announcement 50 years later: ‘I think I’ll fly over and see Hitler.’ While the whole Empire is resounding with praise and admiration for the Prime Minister’s (Neville Chamberlain) amazing sagacity in handling the recent international crisis, and his almost superhuman efforts in the face of what appeared to be insurmountable difficulties to preserve the peace of the world, the people of the Bahamas reflect with pride that they have a special, and most personal, interest in his achievement, (more so) than their fellow subjects in any other part of the overseas dominions; for in the prime of his youth, Neville Chamberlain lived amongst them for nearly seven years, and was beset by problems and difficulties which brought out all the fine qualities which have distinguished him as a statesman. Joseph Chamberlain’s decision to send his two sons to the Bahamas to investigate the prospects of sisal-growing was acted upon immediately and, in November 1890, Neville arrived in the old Government House. Notwithstanding the hospitality, which was accorded to the young men in Nassau, they spent most of their time touring the out-islands. Before they returned to England at the end of January, the leading citizens of Nassau gave a ball at the Royal
BRITISH statesman Joseph Chamberlain, father of Neville and Austen Chamberlain
Victoria Hotel in honour of the two half-brothers. This ball was an historic event in the social life of Nassau and was long remembered by those who had the honour of dancing with the dashing young Englishmen. Upon their return to England, the sons made a very favourable report that and recommended that their father take his option on 20,000 acres of Crown Land at Mastic Point, Andros. Acting on their advice, he closed at once and in May 1891 Neville Chamberlain was again in Nassau, ready to start on the task of clearing the ground, planting sisal and establishing a factory for turning he sisal leaves into hemp. At that time, hemp was selling at from £20-£40 per tonne and there appeared to be an unlimited demand. Bahamas hemp was considered to be of a superior quality to that of Yucatan and, as the cost of production was estimated at about £10 per tonne, it is not surprising that colonists and investors alike looked forward to another golden age for the Bahamas. The plant, which had grown like a weed in the islands for years, had been considered more of a bane than a blessing, and while its commercial possibilities had been talked about from time to time, it was left for a man endowed with the vision of Sir Ambrose Chea to turn a troublesome pest into a valuable industry. The Governor himself told the story of his own introduction to sisal. One day when he was passing a native hut his attention was attracted by a piece of rope which had a home-made look. Upon inquiring where it had been obtained, the reply was: ‘It growed in de yard.’The Governor saw the plant, listened to the explanation of the primitive method by which the sisal leaf is soaked, beaten, and then dried by fibre decortication, and in less than no time, the gospel of sisal was
being preached by His Excellency, not only in the colony, but far beyond its borders. Capitalists were attracted from Newfoundland, England and Scotland. So many applications for Crown Lands were made that the price rapidly advanced, from five shillings to 16 shillings per acre, and a limit of 100,000 acres was set on the amount of land to be sold in the next ten years. Land in Andros is of three different varieties - locally known as ‘pine yard’, ‘coppit’ (coppice) and ‘swash’ (low swampy land), and the task of clearing it and planting it with sisal was indeed a formidable one. The island was sparsely populated and the chief occupation was sponging. Three white men, the resident judge and two parish priests resided there. When Neville Chamberlain arrived with his manager, Mr James R Knowles (a brother of Mrs W C B Johnson, the wife of the Speaker of the House of Assembly), they had to share a newly-built hut of only three rooms with 15 native carpenters until their own houses were built. In a short time, he turned a large force to clearing the land and making roads. Chamberlain rose at five in the morning and supervised the landing of stores and clearing operations, often lending a hand and swinging an axe himself. After breakfast, he spent all day in the field until teatime, when he went home and turned his attention to ‘smoking mosquitos’ until he retired to bed at eight. He made himself quite comfortable later in his own house, with a 12-foot verandah fitted with screens. Across the road, in another comfortable house, lived Mr Knowles with his family. The opening of a large store was a boon to the district as everything from cut nails to silk, was stocked, not to mention groceries. After two years, Mr A W T Cash was placed in charge of the store, which became a flourishing concern. By 1894, 800 labourers hailing from every island in the Bahamas were in the company’s employ. Handling money was a problem, until a small bank was opened. Mr Chamberlain’s training as an accountant stood him in good stead; each
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man had his passbook and received interest on his money, with Mr Chamberlain and his storekeeper, Mr Cash, keeping the accounts. As recreation, apart from reading, Mr Chamberlain enjoyed nature study and shooting wild pigeons and, very wisely, spent three months of every year in England, thus keeping in close touch with his family. His elder (half) brother, Austen, showed his interest in the plantation by coming to stay on Andros for some weeks in 1902, when he expressed himself as highly pleased with its progress and prospects. Austen called himself a ‘sleeping partner’ only and said that he was made very conscious of this at Andros, where he was relegated to the distinguished position of ‘the boss’s brother’. He paid his third visit to the colony the next year when he accompanied his father. The visit of the Rt Hon Joseph Chamberlain in October 1893 was an event of historic interest. He was warmly greeted, not only because of his position as a great statesman who had a large stake in the Bahamas (and had, by his example, attracted other capitalists to the islands), but as the father of a young son who had thrown in his lot with the pioneers in developing an industry expected to bring wealth and prosperity to the colony. At a dinner, given in his honour by the Governor, Joseph Chamberlain said he was glad to be a helper in developing the resources of the island and improving the condition of its people. He counselled them ‘not to be so sanguine as to imagine that this, or any other industry, could succeed, without bringing to bear on it, all the patience, skill and energy, of which they are capable.’ In recalling these words, it may not be out of place to dispel all doubts as to the cause to the failure of his plantation. It was not, in any way, due to lack of patience, skill and energy on Neville Chamberlain’s part. The inferior quality of his land was at the bottom of it, and we can imagine his despair when he realised that on most of his acreage the plants would never attain commercial value. It was that same spirit of enterprise and optimism shown by the early settlers that sent Neville Chamberlain here, where he proved his mettle and left his name on our long roll of empire builders. He himself admitted that one of the three qualifications he possesses, along with his business experience in Birmingham, and the example of his father, on his road to becoming Prime Minister of Britain is his experience in the Bahamas. In a recent (1938) publication, ‘The Chamberlain Tradition’, Sir Charles Petrie wrote: ‘When he became Prime Minister, he soon impressed the country with the freshness and detachment of his views, where foreign affairs were concerned and, although this can be contributed, in no small measure, to the influence of his father, some of it is, undoubtably, due to his experience amid the coral reefs of the Bahamas. The Empire is in his blood, by heredity and environment’.”
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books
New pageturners this week • A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth by Daniel Mason (literary fiction)
On a fated flight, a balloonist makes a discovery that changes her life forever. A telegraph operator finds an unexpected companion in the middle of the Amazon. A doctor is beset by seizures, in which he is possessed by a second, perhaps better, version of himself. And in Regency London, a bareknuckle fighter prepares to face his most fearsome opponent, while a young mother seeks a miraculous cure for her ailing son. At times funny and irreverent, always moving, these stories cap a fifteen-year project that has won both a National Magazine Award and Pushcart Prize. From the Nile’s depths to the highest reaches of the atmosphere, from volcano-wracked islands to an asylum on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, these are lives of ecstasy and epiphany.
• Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (young adult)
Camino Rios lives for the Summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people… In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in
which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
• A Girl From Nowhere by James Maxwell (fantasy)
Surrounded by fire, a girl with mysterious powers and a young warrior search for safety. Life in the wasteland is a constant struggle. No one knows it better than Taimin. Crippled, and with only his indomitable aunt to protect him, Taimin must learn to survive in a world scorched by two suns and frequented by raiders. But when Taimin discovers his homestead ransacked and his aunt killed, he sets off with one mission: to seek revenge against those who stole everything. With nowhere to call home, his hunt soon takes a turn when he meets a mystic, Selena, who convinces him to join her search for the fabled white city. Taimin and Selena both need refuge, and the white city is a place where Taimin may find someone to heal his childhood injury. As they avoid relentless danger, Taimin and Selena attempt to reach the one place that promises salvation. And they can only hope that the city is the haven they need it to be…
• The Hilarious World of Depression by Joe Moe (non-fiction)
For years John Moe, criticallyacclaimed public radio personality and host of The
Hilarious World of Depression podcast, struggled with depression; it plagued his family and claimed the life of his brother in 2007. As Moe came to terms with his own illness, he began to see similar patterns of behaviour and coping mechanisms surfacing in conversations with others, including high-profile comedians who’d struggled with the disease. Moe saw that there was tremendous comfort and community in open dialogue about these shared experiences and that
humour had a unique power. Thus was born the podcast The Hilarious World of Depression. Throughout the course of this narrative, depression’s universal themes come to light, among them, struggles with identity, lack of understanding of the symptoms, the challenges of work-life, self-medicating, the fallout of the disease in the lives of our loved ones, the tragedy of suicide, and the hereditary aspects of the disease.
27 Employed American journalist (4)
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22 The picture contains5aLabourer; 3 Gemini; 26 story (4) 6 Victim; 7 Runner; Friday, May 23 Desert is 13 big,Delegate; spread 14 Dispels; around nothing (4)
A K Z S A R D U N A N A M C I A P T H I E
8, 2020 P U D
15 Agility; 16 Morose; 17 Placid; 19 Chosen.
Best described as a number crossword, the task in Kakuro is to fill all of the empty squares, using numbers 1 to 9, so the sum of each horizontal block equals the number to its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the number on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Kakuro increases from Monday to Sunday.
i E D E l c n i G
● The Target uses words in the main body of Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (1999 edition)
HOW many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters shown here? in making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each must contain the centre letter and there must be at least one nine-letter word. no plurals or verb forms ending in “s”. TODAY’S TARGET Good 14; very good 21; excellent 28 (or more). Solution tomorrow
Yesterday’s call 0907 181 2585 Sudokufor Answer today’s target solution *Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.
BATTLESHIPS CRYPTIC PUZZLE Across 1 I’ll repeat what’s said for those unable to read (10) 6 Enough for a poet; no two ways about it (4) 10 I break a little back bone (5) 11 Break in (9) 12 A union offer? (8) 13 Niggard who would be sad if able (5) 15 Performer makes a start that is different (7) 17 One statue oddly placed (7) 19 Mussolini is in debt and impoverished (7) 21 Strong wind spoiled a celebration (7) 22 Hose in New York left running (5) 24 Ordered out from Las Vegas is able to save (8) 27 Where pirates flourished mostly (2,3,4) 28 Simple but revealing (5) 29 Departed to travel northeast (4) 30 As a grouch he has to go over to settle a quarrel (10)
1
2
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Down 1 I turn to a trifle (4) 2 Wild bear I’d let free (9) 3 Go for a long walk - or take up afternoon painting (5) 4 Reproduce? (2-5) 5 The start in latest development produces gossip (7) 7 One doesn’t have to have them (5) 8 Warn omelet is off but may still be eaten (10) 9 Comparatively timely help for the player (8) 14 Giving justification for fighting talk (10) 16 Supported in minute parts? (8) 18 Having a low place to live brings humiliation (9) 20 Aspired to become a literary giant (7) 21 Gifts of old money (7) 23 The Spanish can trace their language from it (5) 25 He told stories of love among wild apes (5) 26 A way through on foot (4)
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Yesterday’s Easy Solution Across: 1 Washout, 5 Cliff, 8 Detergent, 9 Pun, 10 Haul, 12 Devotion, 14 Durban, 15 Scrape, 17 Soft-soap, 18 Zeal, 21 All, 22 Come clean, 24 Dodge, 25 Remorse. Down: 1 Width, 2 Set, 3 Ogre, 4 Teeter, 5 Cut no ice, 6 In private, 7 Finance, 11 Unruffled, 13 Massacre, 14 Discard, 16 Hammer, 19 Lunge, 20 Scam, 23 Err.
Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution Across: 1 Declaim, 5 Sofas, 8 Posthaste, 9 Roc, 10 Tail, 12 Definite, 14 Canard, 15 Minded, 17 Forecast, 18 Knot , 21 Inn, 22 Animation, 24 Steam, 25 Taken in. Down: 1 Depot, 2 Cos, 3 Ache, 4 Meshed, 5 Specific, 6 Forbidden, 7 Succeed, 11 Ignorance, 13 Proclaim, 14 Coffins, 16 Assist, 19 Tenon, 20 Tack, 23 Ian.
EASY PUZZLE
Across 1 Next to each other (4,2,4) 6 The majority (4) 10 Combined firing of guns (5) 11 Lay siege to (9) 12 Leave-taking (8) 13 Portion (5) 15 Obvious (7) 17 Large marine flatfish (7) 19 Acknowledge (7) 21 Decorative design (7) 22 Newly made (5) 24 Scene of great confusion (8) 27 Superfluous (9) 28 Drive forward (5) 29 Chopped with an axe (4) 30 At risk (2,8)
Down 1 Middling (2-2) 2 Breed of large dog (9) 3 Alcoholic drink (5) 4 Liable (7) 5 Samson’s betrayer (7) 7 Severe (5) 8 Snakelike (10) 9 Small information booklet (8) 14 From now on (10) 16 Largest land animal (8) 18 Apiarist (9) 20 Undergo (7) 21 Childish chatter (7) 23 Furnish with an income (5) 25 Type of small airship (5) 26 Raw material of pottery (4)
FIND where the fleet of ships shown is hidden in the grid. The numbers to the right of and below the grid indicate how many of the squares in that row are filled in with ships or parts of ships. The ships do not touch each other, even diagonally. Some squares have been filled in to start you off. Solution tomorrow 1
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T C C G L R
cAn you crack the Alphabeater? Each grid targEt thE alp Ex number represents a letter – or black square. 09 ENdorphiN across: As in Alphapuzzle, every letter of the alphabet Oeuv (De Ouija, E dinner dopier the grid each is dine used.diner But you havedire to complete too!Wand, drip hide Alarm, use theENDORPHIN given lettersheir andheroin black squares below Tenuou hied hinder the gridhind to start. thehire gridhired is ‘rotationallydown: Gosha 09 Bunting, Cadr honied inner– iniron ironed nine symmetrical’ other words, it looks the *Calls Slivovitz, Expo opineif you opined orpine period yo same turnorpin the page upside down.Tutored, Stoat n phonier tomorrow pied pier pine pined Solution pinned pinner pion pride pried rhino ride rind ripe ripen Arein 18 4 12 13 21 15 20 40 23 4 B C 4 17 18 25 26 22 21 17 28 3 D E 21 1 15 3 16 34 10 30 19 7 F G 2 5 21 38 19 7 19 29 1 11 H I 40 29 6 23 4 15 12 30 4 23 J K 38 26 7 35 5 20 36 35 7 32 L M 13 Yesterday’s 34 27 27 24 3 12 9 31 36 N O 9 Kakuro 22 19Answer 25 35 29 30 3 19 1 P Q 33 34 21 6 5 2 21 36 8 19 R S 34 20 15 7 26 22 6 29 19 32 T U 21 11 37 26 31 4 23 39 36 9 V W 15 17 19 32 12 38 36 25 35 22 X Y 2 37 4 19 39 10 11 33 34 21 Z 1
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THE ALPHABEATE
TARGET Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday
D S H S P K
4
1
1 x Battleship
3 x Destroyer
2 x cruiser
4 x submarine
■
■
■
15
● Alternatively, for six Extra Letter clues to yo text DXBEAT to 84901. Texts cost £1 plus your usu
KEIJO 3
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The Tribune | Weekend | 27
Friday, May 8, 2020
animals
PET OF THE WEEK
This new life of ours Animal Matters | KIM ARANHA
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s far as I am concerned, we are now at Day 46 of curfews and the weekend lockdown, of masks and lines for shopping and social distancing, to where you walk around things to avoid coming too close, and crossing the street if you are about to pass somebody. I find when watching a movie and people hug in greeting I instantly think, “No, stop them!” How quickly things change and how quickly we get used to a new set of rules and guidelines. We have exceeded the 40 days and 40 nights of wilderness, though in all fairness we mostly have had it pretty good in the Bahamas. I am extremely busy every day, having established a vegetable garden of sorts, with radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and corn. I have, at my tender age, embraced baking, and am making bread, muffins and dream to tackle dinner rolls next…. And today’s excitement was homemade mango chutney. I paint, read, catch up with friends, keep a journal on life under curfew in paradise. I am busy and frequently tumble into bed exhausted, wondering how I am ever going to fit my old life into my new life….at some point real estate agents will be allowed back to work! But all joking aside, it is an amazing reflection on the human mind as to how quickly one adapts to a new normal. During all of these lifestyle transformations, my five stoic, brave, loveable and devoted dogs stand by, always just a few steps away. Chief and Buddy vie for who can get under the desk first to assist in the writing of this article and my journal (where incidentally they feature most prominently). I have to sit on an angle to the desk to write on the computer because there is a large, unmovable, hairy lump of sleeping dog that is quite simply not budging. The boys, as I call them, even though one is actually a girl, with the girly name of Bella, are really enjoying this stay-at-home approach to life. They love to walk foot-to-foot behind me wherever I go. Reading is a challenge because there are frequent demands made on me to stroke them, and if I cave in and pet one, the next one is right behind. The idiom “too many cooks spoil the broth” could quite possibly apply to my kitchen. They are there, noses in the air, sniffing, the moment I open the fridge. The naughtiest is Boss, who has to be watched like a hawk. If you turn you back he will figure out how to get something off the kitchen table. Former street dogs have a cunning like none other. He is already tall, but when in the process of stealing food, he seams to stretch a few extra inches in height and his
Photo by Linda Gill-Aranha
neck turns to rubber…that boy can reach anything. However, I know his weaknesses and work around them. Perhaps the most complicated is when you are trying to cook, and balancing a hot baking dish or full pot and the floor is littered with sleeping potcakes who have absolutely no intention whatsoever of moving one inch for you and go very conveniently deaf as they snore the afternoon away. You grab the dish and totter this way and that, tiptoeing around them, and finally reach the centre island, heaving a huge sigh of relief that the meal you were cooking did not end up all over the floor. Oh, the joys of being a dog! They have only had to adapt to having us invade their privacy by being home more hours, but in return they have had more cuddles and more quality time watching TV with us. When this world starts to slip back into its normal routine and more of us find ourselves going out to the office or back to work, we need to understand that this might confuse our pets and there may be cases of separation anxiety. We are the grown-ups here so we must prepare ourselves for this and not scream and complain if the odd mistake takes place. They have to transition too, you know. I know is sounds a bit crazy, but be sure to tell them you will be back,. You will actually be amazed how much these dogs of ours can understand. Remember, just because they cannot talk to you in human speech, they can and do communicate with us, constantly. There will be many things for us to adapt to in this new normal of ours, but we can and should relish that one of the things that remains constant in our daily life is the support and unconditional love our pet showers upon us. Stretch out your hand now and pat him or her... I bet they are close by.
Sweet seniors looking for restful home
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f you’ve been gardening during lockdown, you’ll know the wide variety of plants available to you to add to your backyard. The BHS is recommending you add Tulip and Sweetpea to your crop. This pair of older girls (10 and 11 years old respectively) are looking for a calm, mellow home in which to pass their remaining years. Though they look similar, they are in fact not related. Sweetpea is a Nassau girl, while Tulip is a Dorian rescue who hails from Freeport. The two are good friends and would love to be adopted together. Do you have room in your garden for Tulip and Sweetpea? If so, please give the BHS a call at 323-5138 or 325-6742 to arrange a viewing. The girls are keen to meet you!
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The BHS is Nassau’s oldest charity and as such we are feeling the pinch from the national shutdown. While we are an essential service, our fundraisers and Thrift Shop are on hold until further notice, so we need your help more than ever. To make a donation, please contact Donna at b_humane@hotmail.com. Thank you in advance from the bottom of our hearts and warm fuzzy paws!
28 | The Tribune | Weekend
Friday, May 8, 2020
community
‘Art took me out of my shell’
By ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features Writer | acadet@tribunemedia.net
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T FIRST glance, most people are unsure what Genaye Sherman’s colourful handmade bowls are made of. When she tells them its all ceramic, most are amazed. Under her Art(sea) Creative brand, Genaye makes bowls that can serve as statement pieces in any home. “I have always liked painting, I still do, but it turns out that I am a clay girl. I love working with clay, whether is pottery clay or polymer clay,” she told Tribune Weekend. “Lately, my interest has been creating eclectic bowls that are far from traditional. These bowls are non-functional, and they usually are hung on walls as decoration. They are very thin and they come in a wide range of shapes, colours and sizes that mimic features of the local Bahamian environment, like a wave rushing onto the sand or a coral reef,” said Genaye, who is also an art teacher at C I Gibson Senior High. Like so many other artists, the current lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has given her the opportunity to work on her portfolio and has served as a form of mental therapy as well. “For me, being an artist in quarantine has provided me with an outlet to work through some emotional unrest that I am experiencing with not seeing family members and close friends, feeling less productive by not going to work, and frustrations with not being as active as I would like to be,” she said. “Through my artwork, I am able to channel some of my emotions and abstract thoughts into more productive, tangible artistic creations. The process of creating work is meditation in and of itself. It allows me to take a step back and get a better understanding of what is going inside me.” Genaye feels through her art she can convey messages which may have been difficult to give voice to otherwise. “I find that art can convey a message for me, where speaking would have been a challenge. Another benefit is that art can connect people. I am not necessarily shy, however, I am
not an extrovert. For the past five years, art has taken me out of my shell as I have instructed dozens of paint and sip events, which has provided networking opportunities and has allowed me to connect with fellow artists and like-minded people. Some of these connections have led me to having my first storefront at Sleep Zone and Beyond in Palmdale, and having my pieces on consignment with the Craft Cottage,” she said. In 2018, she was excited to work with the Deltec Initiatives Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs and for the Arts, which resulted in her first solo show, “Fragile: Handle with Care”. She said this project allowed her to experiment and push the limits of hand-building with ceramics, as she created the egg-shell thin ceramic bowls that are made to be hung on the wall. “I am always looking for new ways to challenge myself as an artist. For me, the process of creating the work is just as important as the final product, if not more so,” she said. Since the commencement of the local quarantine, Genaye has continued teaching art classes to her high school students to the best of her ability. And while it has been a challenge to ensure a certain level of engagement and participation, she is fully committed to her students. “I have also reorganised my art studio, which somehow became a storage shed over the last few months, and I have dabbled in a new project of creating vision boards. I was excited to complete my personal board, which is incredibly crafty. This piece was very personal, highlighting short-term and long-term aspirations. The enlarged quote (on the board) is from Chris Gardner, played by Will Smith in the movie ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’. It says: ‘You want something, go get it. Period.’ I want to look at this quote every day to remind myself that this new way of living is not going get in the way of me achieving the vision I have for myself,” she said.