05202016 weekend edition

The Tribune

Friday, May 20, 2016

art books society film fashion music animals food entertainment

Weekend

BELLES OF THE BALL Page 13

Taste of history Sunnyside rises in the east Food, pages 8&9

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 20, 2016

life through a lens PHOTO/RONALD G LIGHTBOURN

Ocean colour scene Haitian sloops grace Nassau Harbour

S

INCE his retirement, local author and historian Ronald Lightbourn has been able to indulge his lifelong passion for boats by watching the colourful parade of craft passing through Montagu Bay and the Narrows from his home at Dick’s Point, eastern New Providence.

A keen photographer, he began taking pictures of the vessels, both sail and power, making way and providing him with a glorious view. It was not long, he says, before he started falling in love with the unique class of sailboats called

One of two book covers of ‘Haitian Sloops in Nassau Harbour’

by Ronald G Lightbourn

Haitian sloops.

“Haitian sloops are by no means as beautifully shaped or crafted as Bahamian-made ones, but since the early 1900s they are all we’ve had,” he wrote in the foreword to his book, “Haitian Sloops in Nassau Harbour” in 2010. “And what they lack in shapeliness they make up for with their distinctive sails, home-made from advertising banners! The most resourceful I ever saw was made from a parasail that was past its expiration date!”

Mr Lighbourn says Tribune readers may wonder why the Haitian sloops stopped coming. “My understanding is that some were believed to be engaged in smuggling, and to discourage this, a law was passed forbidding wooden vessels from entering Nassau Harbour.”

Have you taken a selection of photographs that might make a Life through a lens feature page? If so please submit it to weekend@ tribunemedia.net for consideration

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Friday, May 20, 2016

Inside Weekend Interview

4-5 Cara Hunt talks to former BTC marketing vice president Marlon Johnson about his experiences in Belize

Entertainment 7 Hypnotist Dale K brings his show Atlantis

Food 8-9 Sunnyside Bar and Restaurant serves up a taste of history

Music 10-11 Bodine Johnson spreads “Good Feelings” with new music video

Art 12 Folk artist Elkino Dames exhibits alongside his students

Society 13 Belles of the Ball – BHS’s ‘Spring Affaire’

Weddings 14-15 Sexy meets modest at Five Season’s “Evening with Maggie Sottero”

Fashion 16 The hits and misses from the Cannes red carpet

Film 17-18 “Live Cargo” enjoys critical acclaim after Bahamas filming, plus latest releases reviewed

Books 19-21 Best-selling authors visit Nassau for a retreat, local teacher shines light on history, plus Bahamian novelist enjoys success in the UK, and more.

Mailboats 22-25 Captain Eric Wiberg on Abaco’s sons of the sea

Forgotten Facts 25 Paul Aranha on a wartime funeral

Animals 27 Kim Aranha on the Bahamas’ natural treasures, plus Pet of the Week

Cover Photo | Shawn Hanna

My perfect Bahamian weekend Nurse Anita Cates Family Medicine Centre

“Kalik, and it must be in a bottle, straight out of the ice.”

Q: Saturday breakfast or Sunday lunch?

“Breakfast has always been my favourite meal of the day.

In the UK I would have a full English breakfast as a treat – eggs, bacon, fried bread, baked beans, sausage, fried tomatoes, and black pudding.

But now my home is here, so now I love boiled fish with Johnny cake. I find it best eaten with a bunch of friends, good conversation and a side plate for the bones.”

Q: Wine, Kalik, rum or cocktail?

“Kalik, and it must be in a bottle, straight out of the ice.

A glass is never required.”

Q: Beach or sofa?

“I am definitely a home girl. I love curling up with a book, cooking and being amongst my ‘things’. The beach and the sea are great,

too. I like to venture out later in the day when the sun is less strong. But it’s more comfortable to cuddle on the sofa; no irritation from the sand!”

Q: What could you not do without?

“Water and sunscreen.”

Q: Weekend away: where would you go?

“Abaco or Eleuthera. I have family on both of the islands so I am torn, and cannot choose one over the other. Each place has its own treasures and places to explore.”

Things 2 Do this weekend Friday • No Filter Art Exhibition Time: 6pm-9pm Venue: John Watling’s Distillery, Delancey Street The show features new work by artists Dede Brown and Dylan Rapillard.

• FNM’s ‘All Together, All Aboard’ boat cruise Time: 7pm for boarding; 8pm departure Venue: Potter’s Cay Dock, western end Join FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis aboard the “NewG”. Tickets are $20 and are available at the FNM Headquarters on Mackey Street.

• Kaygeni live at Palm Cay Time: 7pm-10pm Venue: Palm Cay Marina and Beach Club Enjoy entertainment by singer Kendra ‘KayGeni’ James as you dine or partake in cocktails.

• “Crazy Love” on stage Time: 8pm (until May 22) Venue: Dundas Theatre The popular “must see” play from Grand Bahama comes to Nassau.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.

• Friday Night Live featuring Tebby Time: 9pm Venue: Pirate Republic Brewing Company

Enjoy drinks and entertainment by singer Tebby. Admission is free.

Saturday • B-FYTT Launch Party Time: 1pm Venue: Club One Fitness Centre This youth event is free to the public and will feature vendors and special guests, parents question and answer sessions, programme registration, and a B-FYTT class for ages 10-17 years.

• Primary School Student of the Year Foundation 20th Annual Awards Ceremony Time: 6pm Venue: Golden Gates World Outreach Ministries

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 20, 2016

interview After working in telecommunications marketing here in the Bahamas, Marlon Johnson pulled up sticks and moved to Belize two years ago. He tells Cara Hunt how life in Central America has affected him both professionally and personally, and how he thinks Bahamians can expand their horizons by working abroad.

Marlon Johnson W hen he left his position as vice president of sales and marketing at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) in 2014, Marlon Johnson did not have any other career plans.

Instead, the father of two sons and a daughter considered becoming a stayat-home dad.

“My daughter was very young and I considered staying at home with her, but at the same time I did ask people

to keep an ear open for any job openings,” he told Tribune Weekend.

When an opportunity to become the chief sales and marketing officer for Belize Telemedia in Central America presented itself, he thought, “Why not go for it?” He was thrilled when he got the position.

“For me it was a combination of being able to have international exposure and the opportunity to work in a competitive telecom environment,” he said of the appeal of the job.

Unlike BTC, which holds the

monopoly on cellular services in the Bahamas, there are several providers in Belize.

“When you work in that kind of environment it means that all of your services have to be top-notch. Your customer can show you with their feet if they are not pleased. You have to be on point or your customers will walk away,” he said.

Since his time at the company (he started in 2014), Belize Telemedia has seen impressive growth. According to the company’s preliminary earnings

report, the fiscal year of April 2015 to March 2016 saw revenues of some $157 million, the highest on record.

This was up some $13.8 million from last year’s performance. The company’s active base of mobile customers grew by more than 25,000 active subscribers as well.

Mr Johnson said he was instrumental in that increase, as he headed a successful revamped marketing and sales effort designed to provide more services for their clients.

The strategy included lowering

Friday, May 20, 2016

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prices or adding more value to existing products to remain competitive.

While the Bahamas and Belize are both former British colonies, Mr Johnson said the two countries are as different as chalk and cheese.

He noted that Belize has a more diverse population, given it is a Central America country in close proximity to South America.

There is no dominant ethnicity. Most Belizians are of multiracial descent. About 34 per cent of the population is of mixed Maya and European descent (Mestizo), 35 per cent are Kriols, about 10.6 per cent are Maya, and about 6.1 per cent are Afro-Amerindian (Garifuna). “It truly is a melting pot,” Mr Johnson said.

Another major difference is that there is no free education in Belize, While the school system is heavily subsidised by the churches and government, all students must still pay fees.

However, Mr Johnson said that the standard of living is one of the biggest differences he has experienced.

He explained that the majority of Belizians have a more modest income than Bahamians.

“For example, in the Bahamas you tend to think someone is considered ‘poor’, but in reality they are still able to take at least one trip to Miami a year, but in Belize there are people who cannot afford to even leave their district,” he said.

Additionally, Mr Johnson noted that owning a car is considered a necessity in the Bahamas, but is considered a luxury in Belize.

“When I worked at BTC just about everyone I knew owned a car, it is considered a rite of passage, but in Belize you have persons who can’t afford a vehicle who will travel 40 to 50 miles to work by bus,” he said.

And while Belize and the Bahamas share similar music, with soca and dancehall influences, Belize has a much longer tradition of carnival than the Bahamas.

said his time in Belize so far has been an amazing journey and one he would encourage other Bahamians to make.

“I think that living abroad really allows you to appreciate your own culture so much more, and it gives you much needed exposure. Sometimes Bahamians have this myopic view of the world, but you have to be willing to look outside of the Bahamas.”

He pointed out that this does not mean only looking to the United States. Other countries in the region, he said, can provide unique opportunities as well.

“For example, as a business owner, if you wanted to come to Belize and open a business as a Bahamian you could because they have an open investment policy, so there are opportunities if you are willing to seek them out,” he said.

In his spare time, Mr Johnson admits to being an internet junkie and a huge sports fan.

“I am a huge Miami Heat basketball fan and a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

The Steelers were a football dynasty beginning in the 1970 and ironically when I meet my wife she was a Pittsburgh Steeler fan as well,” he said.

As for the Heat, he said the fact that they are based in Miami means that he was able to cheer on his favourite team courtside many times.

“I have seen quite my share of their home shows, and in fact in the mid-2000s I was sharing season tickets with some of my friends,” he said.

“I think that living abroad really allows you to appreciate your own culture so much more, and it gives you much needed exposure.

Sometimes Bahamians have this myopic view of the world, but you have to be willing to look outside of the Bahamas.”

Mr Johnson said living and working aboard has been an eye-opening experience, both professionally and personally.

On the professional side, he said, he has enjoyed helping his company realise its profits and has enjoyed the networking opportunities that have presented themselves.

“One of the hardest things for me was that when I first started I didn’t know anyone so when issues came up I didn’t immediately know who to call. I didn’t have a rolodex like I did in Nassau. But I have to say that the team here has been very helpful.

And I am very proud to have

been a part of the company’s success.”

On a personal note, Mr Johnson said he has had to get accustomed to living without his family. They remain in Nassau and he travels home every two months or so.

He also misses his weekend nights at the Fish Fry with his friends and the early morning discussions at Starbucks.

Then there was the Belizian culture and food to get used to.

“I found that you really have to keep an open mind.

For instance, there was this soup that looked like sewer water that I wasn’t sure of but it ended up being delicious.

And so things like that you have to be open to experience,” he said.

He also noted that the cuisine in Belize represents a unique blend of its cultures.

“For instance, they serve barbecue chicken with tortillas and not fries, which of course comes from the Spanish influence on the island. That makes it very interesting,” he said.

Although working abroad it is an experience he didn’t specifically seek out, Mr Johnson

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Friday, May 20, 2016

entertainment

Award-winning hypnotist brings talents to Atlantis

BY JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

T

HERE is a possibility people will be clucking like chickens or walking like zombies when imagination expert and award-winning entertainer Dale K brings his hypnosis act to the Atlantis theatre next week.

For more than two decades, the Ontario native who now makes his home in Orlando has entertained and educated audiences from around the world with his contemporary approach to the art of hypnosis.

Local audiences and guests will have the chance to see Dale’s special art live on May 28 and 29 at the resort’s theatre. The show is an hour-long performance and begins at 8pm on both nights.

During his performances, Dale said he seeks to prove to audiences that hypnosis is simply the power of suggestion that consists of mind motivation rather than mind control. Using his creative abilities and abstract sense of humour, Dale said he will have audience members at the edge of their seats.

Although their eyes are shut and bodies relaxed, volunteers from the audience are wide awake, he explained.

It’s at this point that Dale introduces the power of suggestion, always in a humorous and unconventional manner.

His suggestions, he said, allow the volunteers to discover a hidden confidence and talents that propel them into the spot-

light for the entire show.

Angelo Hart, director of guest activities at Atlantis, said the resort is pleased to reintroduce Dale K, who has performed the Bahamas in the past.

He said not only is the show a one-of-kind performance, it is also a must-see.

“Dale has been doing this sort of thing for the last two decades, and what he does is bring guests on stage and hypnotises them with hilarious jokes for about an hour. He is very good at what he does and is very believable. So it is a very fun show for all ages, including kids and families,” said Mr Hart.

“Dale has done a lot of stints at resorts around the world and on cruise ships. He has been to Atlantis before several times, but we haven’t seen him here in the last few years. Now that we are moving towards the live shows here at Atlantis, we decided to have him back and reintroduce him to the population.”

The success of the Dale K performance hangs on the participation of the crowd as the show is very interactive one.

“Hypnosis has been his core performance from he has started. He has been improving over the last few years and getting much better,” Mr Hart said.

Based on the success of the two-night show, he added, Dale K could be extending his stay at Atalntis.

“This is litmus test for Dale K. We may look to bring him back for an extended period of time depending on how these shows go,” Mr Hart said.

Dale K hypnotises volunteers from the audience

08 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 20, 2016

food

Hog fish with peas n’ rice and a garden salad

A taste of history New Sunnyside restaurant serves up Bahamian, Greek and fusion cuisine

BY ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter acadet@tribunemedia.net

W

ITH one the Bahamas’ most beautiful historic homes and a varied menu to appeal to all palates, restaurateur George Dimopolos is aiming to breathe life back into the eastern part of New

Providence when it comes to dining options.

Like many other motorists, Mr Dimopolos noticed the old Sunnyside home on East Bay Street during his daily commute. While some saw a sad, neglected old structure, Mr Dimopolos saw an opportunity.

Already a business owner and chef at the Acropolis Café on Madeira Street, he decided to take a chance on a new venture. And he was completely hands-on about it.

“I decided to lease and renovate the building, fix it up and turn it into a restaurant. It was a lot of work; one year and three months to fix it. I did all the renovation work by myself and didn’t hire any contractors. I designed and built the bar top, the tables, the floors, stairs, chairs and mostly everything that is seen in here,” he told Tribune Weekend.

Today, the once neglected historic home has been transformed into a two-storey pink and green restaurant with a bright “Sunnyside” sign out front.

Mr Dimopolos said he worked

Peruvian steak with French fries and white rice

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Friday, May 20, 2016

PHOTOS/SHAWN HANNA

Cheese cake

Conchy conch fritters and fried calamari

Greek salad with grilled chicken tirelessly on making his vision a reality, putting in long hours to get the restaurant up and running for its opening. He said he feels a sense of pride knowing that he did it all by himself.

“This house has been here from the 1800s and there were many families that lived here. Everything was rotten and broken down, but I looked at the property and decided that it was a good location for a restaurant and decided to take it on,” he said.

Sunnyside Restaurant and Bar, which officially opened four weeks

ago, offers a wide variety of cuisines – everything from Bahamian conchy conch fritters and fried calamari, to Greek salad, gyros and burgers, to entrees like the pan-seared duck, grilled grouper and various pasta options and desserts.

“Bahamians love it, so it has been good,” said Mr Dimopolos. “I am a chef as well here at Sunnyside and I do some of the cooking when it’s busy here. I want Sunnyside to grow and be better, do a lot of catering, and we’ll just see what happens. This is for anyone who wants to sit down

and eat, relax and enjoy good food. You don’t have to have any special attire.”

Mario Walkine, manager at Sunnyside, said they not only serve up great food, but also a slice of history.

“We kept the name Sunnyside because it was called the Sunnyside home. When we remodelled we didn’t change anything from the original structure of the home. Just how it looks now is how it looked back then. It is not formal; it has a homey, but tropical, upscale feel,” he said.

Mr Walkine said the eastern part of the island is not as busy or populated as the west when it comes to dining options, and Sunnyside wants to change that.

“We have places like the Poop Deck before us and East Villa right after us. Nothing against those places, it is just that sometimes you want to have different choices, and what we provide are choices,” he said.

Guests can also book banquet rooms at Sunnyside that allow for up to 100 person for special occasions. “Whether it is a small business meeting or lunch, we can assist. We also have a location on the top balcony where you can see the Atlantis hotel and the ocean, feel the breeze coming off the water,” said Mr Walkine.

On Fridays, Sunnyside hosts special happy hour events between the hours of 5pm to 7pm featuring a live band.

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 20, 2016

music

Bodine spreads ‘Good Feelings’

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

S

INGER Bodine Johnson went all out for her birthday this year, releasing the music video of her latest single entitled “Good Feelings” as a part of her celebrations.

The video was shot, directed and edited by Farreno Ferguson. And it was all filmed at the Island FM Studio grounds on Dowdeswell Street.

The entire area was transformed into a backyard party scene for this purpose.

At this point in her career, with more than 15 years experience under her belt, Bodine can be considered a veteran on the Bahamian music scene. Starting out as a battle rapper, she became the first winner of the Bahamas at Sunrise rap competition and was later signed to the Dunamus Soundz Record Label

by Lavard “Manifest” Parks.

Soon after, she began performing jazz sons for the Ministry of Tourism’s Summer Jazz Festival, and eventually combined her sound with a signature jazz/reggae style when she was signed to BuffBoo Records and Frontline Productions.

Now as an independent artist, Bodine is working closely with former Baha Men member Rik Carey, of C Sharp Productions Bahamas, to further her career.

In addition to her new single, her most recent projects include the songs “All Day All Night”, which placed fourth in the 2015 Music Masters competition, and “Juicy Fruit”, a track she released for last year’s Goombay season.

For the “Good Feelings” video, Bodine said she wanted an entirely different look and feel. She wanted to tweak her brand a little bit to make it more relatable.

“Everyone can relate to a backyard party in the Bahamas. It doesn’t matter what is being served, as long as there is music and food you’re

good. I wanted to include some of the Junkanoo Carnival elements and that’s why costumes from Bahamas Masqueraders and Euphoria Madness are displayed prominently,” she told Tribune Weekend.

Bodine said “Good Feelings” is a reflection of last year’s Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival experience. She recalled being so happy during the season, meeting new people and enjoying the celebrations.

“I juxtaposed the feeling of the Road March with a line popularised by Ronnie Butler, ‘I ain gon’ lick nobody’, from his song ‘Burma Road’. For me it is homage to him.

Right now things can be so tense in the Bahamas with the upcoming gender equality referendum, a movement for self-love and respect, and of course political season is about to get into full swing. I wanted to write something that encompasses the true Bahamian spirit,” the singer said.

The single was released officially in February and the feedback has been exceptional, Bodine said. The has booked a number of shows to perform the new tune and the song remains in heavy rotation on local radio.

“I think people like the chants and the Bahamian feel in it. The song is bodacious, like me. It’s pulsing, the pace is varied, it is eclectic but still energetic and sexy at the same time,” she said.

Bodine also had some good news for her fans.

“My EP is finally going to be ready this year. I won’t give the name yet, but it will be here. Of course I want people to look out for the video for ‘Juicy Fruit’. It is going to be amazing,” she said.

• Bodine’s music is available for streaming on Soundcloud.com/ Be242 and Youtube.com/be242.

Fans can also keep up-to-date with Bodine via social media on Facebook.com/Be242, Twitter.com/ Be242 and Instagram @Bodinevictoria.

Bodine films her new video on Dowdeswell Street

Island FM becomes the scene of a backyard party for “Good Feelings” shoot

Friday, May 20, 2016

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12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 20, 2016

art

Bahamian folk artist collaborates with students for new exhibit

F

olk artist Elkino Dames is giving his students from LW Young High School the chance to show their work alongside his in a new collaborative art exhibition.

The “It’s Growing” exhibit opens next Thursday at Doongalik Studios from 6.30pm to 9pm.

“The inspiration for this show came from the child-like faith that exudes from my students as they created work using water based paints,” Mr Dames said. “I wanted to be able to hold a collaborative show to showcase their talents along with mine as my gesture of appreciation to them as they leave the protective walls of school and enter the world of work and maturity.”

The exhibition is divided into three segments.

“The first, ‘She is Intuition’, will encompass the body of my new work and is emblematic of female intuition, foresight and wisdom. The Book of Proverbs eloquently states: ‘her worth is more valuable than precious stones.’

We are also aware of the many writers who describe females as oracles and clairvoyants,” Mr Dames said.

“The second segment will showcase the students’ work and is based on the work of Marc Chagall’s ‘American Windows’ (circa 1977) which incorpo-

rates design elements of line, shape and colour.”

The third segment, “We Fly…We Swim”, will encompass more of the artist’s work demonstrating the beauty of nature in creatures that fly and swim.

Mr Dames completed his Bachelor of Education degree in Secondary Art at the College of the Bahamas in 2011, and he has participated in several group art exhibitions over the years.

He has been the art teacher and junior administrator at LW Young since 2008, and has also taught at the RBC Finco Summer Art Workshops for three years. His last solo exhibition, “The Beauty of Maturity”, was held in 2014 at Hillside House. Mr Dames said he is hopeful that students will visit the exhibition in order to increase their awareness of the burgeoning interest in the visual arts in the Bahamas.

Doongalik gallery owner Pam Burnside agreed: “There are so many naturally gifted persons in this country so we are always happy to give them the opportunity to showcase their talent. Creativity and the arts are a positive way to express oneself and make an honest living. We look forward to welcoming the local and visiting public to the exhibition.”

There will also be a silent auction of a piece of Mr Dames’ work during

“The inspiration for this show came from the child-like faith that exudes from my students as they created work using water based paints I wanted to be able to hold a collaborative show to showcase their talents along with mine as my gesture of appreciation to them as they leave the protective walls of school and enter the world of work and maturity.”

“We Fly...We Swim”

“She is Intuition” opening night, with proceeds being donated to the annual Art Supply Drive, a fundraising effort which provides art supplies for public school art programmes in Nassau and the Family Islands.

“It’s Growing” will be on display until Wednesday, June 15. Gallery hours are Monday to Wednesday from 10am to 4pm and Saturday from 9am to 1pm. For more information contact the gallery at 394-1886.

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Friday, May 20, 2016

society PHOTOS/SHAWN HANNA

Belles of the Ball Bahamas Humane Society celebrates a ‘Spring Affaire’ Skyler Wallen

Dr Amanda Pinder

Elena Russell

Elena Purrinos

S

pring was in the air as Nassau’s leading ladies slipped into their finest gowns, put on their best accessories, and opened their purses for a good cause.

The event was the 2016 Bahamas Humane Society gala ball, which saw many of the ladies show that they are not afraid to experiment or to get a bit more creative when it comes to their fashion choices. While many still opted for the classic black dress, others showed off gowns with bold patterns and bright colours.

The annual ball, held this year under the theme “Spring Affaire” at the British Colonial Hilton, is one of the BHS’ major fundraisers.

For the event, the ballroom was decorated by Michelle White, of Floral Arts, in navy blue and autumn orange, with tall arrangements of palms everywhere.

A five-course meal, which started off with a mushroom soup, was served.

There was also an in-house raffle for which the grand prize consisted of an all-expenses-paid weekend trip for two to Abaco. For the evening’s silent auction, the prizes up for grabs included a Vespa motorcycle donated by Bahamas Bus and Truck and paintings by Bahamian artists Antonious Roberts and Jackson Petit. All the prizes brought in much needed funds to assist the BHS with its ongoing work.

Laura Kimble

Nina Ray

Allenique Thompson

Danielle Albury

14 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 20, 2016

Friday, May 20, 2016

The Tribune | Weekend | 15

fashion

Sexy meets demure at the 2016 Five Seasons Bridal Runway Show A spotlight on Maggie Sottero designs

By CARA HUNT cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

B

rides-to-be will have the opportunity to view some of the hottest trends in wedding gowns at the fourth annual Five Seasons Bridal Runway Show this evening.

The event, “An evening with Maggie Sottero”, begins at 5pm with a bridal expo, sample gown sale at 5.30pm and fashion show at 7pm in the Prince of Wales ballroom at Atlantis. “ ‘Runway’ grew each year where we were forced to move to a new hotel to accommodate our growing number of attendees,” said Tennille Darville, owner of Five Seasons.

“For me, it’s evolved into what I intended from day one – the chance to show Bahamian brides the dresses from the best designers at affordable prices, and the very best vendors that I’ve worked with as a planner in the wedding industry.”

As has been its custom, the show highlights one particular fashion house during the finale. This year it is Maggie Sottero, one of the world’s most sought-after wedding dress manufacturers.

Ms Darville said the Maggie Sottero brand caters to every bride imaginable – the classic, romantic and modern bride.

Gowns by other popular designers will make an appearance on tonight’s runway.

“Lace dresses continue to be a staple in wedding dress designs, but the cut and appliqués that are being added have been setting the tone for the current trends. Most brides require a dress with lace, and I’m happy to say that we have quite a few dresses that meet their requirements,” Ms Darville said.

Another trend combines sexy elements with a more conservative look.

“Sheer illusion backs are sexy and yet modest, combining the two elements that most brides dream

of. There’s something about the combination of covered and sheer that makes them simultaneously demure and sexy. Designers have realised this and are certainly obliging the masses,” Ms Darville said.

And while strapless dresses have dominated the industry for the past few years, more brides are opting for a more covered look, choosing off-the-shoulder gowns, sleeved jackets and illusion lace sleeves.

“These choices are all making our mothers’ wedding dresses look like the ‘in thing’, and definitely very sexy and elegant. Not sure how long it will last, but sleeves are definitely making a comeback and Maggie Sottero thinks sleeves are the perfect combination of modern and romance,” Ms Darville said.

In addition to the designer dresses, brides- and grooms-to-be will also be able to browse booths by various vendors.

“In the wedding planning business we’ve seen quite a few unhappy clients that paid for services they did not receive,” Ms Darville said. “Clients usually forget what they received for free, but they will always remember what they didn’t receive if they paid their hard-earned money for it.”

She acknowledged that sometimes things can be beyond one’s control, but a great vendor will always ensure that their client is still smiling at the end of the day.

Having sent dozens of happy couples down the aisle over the past several years, Ms Darville said she gets a thrill from it each and every time.

“I’m such a wedding person. I live for each one of my clients’ weddings. I was telling a client who is getting married in two months that outside of maybe two clients I have become personally invested in each client we have had the honour of working with.

I honestly love each one of our clients, even before the wedding day comes, so I’m just as excited as they are when it finally arrives and we even stay in touch with them after the wedding is over,” she said.

Her favourite part of the day is when the bride makes her grand entrance and the groom sees her for the first time.

“It’s the look on his face or the tears that fall that gets us every time,” Ms Darville said. She also loves when the formalities are over and the couple comes over and says “thank you”.

“That moment for me is priceless,” she said.

Tickets for the runway show are $30 for general admission and $50 for VIP seating.

“There’s something about the combination of covered and sheer that makes (brides) simultaneously demure and sexy.

Designers have realised this and are certainly obliging the masses.”

Wedding dresses by Maggie Sottero

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By CARA HUNT cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

B

rides-to-be will have the opportunity to view some of the hottest trends in wedding gowns at the fourth annual Five Seasons Bridal Runway Show this evening.

The event, “An evening with Maggie Sottero”, begins at 5pm with a bridal expo, sample gown sale at 5.30pm and fashion show at 7pm in the Prince of Wales ballroom at Atlantis. “ ‘Runway’ grew each year where we were forced to move to a new hotel to accommodate our growing number of attendees,” said Tennille Darville, owner of Five Seasons.

“For me, it’s evolved into what I intended from day one – the chance to show Bahamian brides the dresses from the best designers at affordable prices, and the very best vendors that I’ve worked with as a planner in the wedding industry.”

As has been its custom, the show highlights one particular fashion house during the finale. This year it is Maggie Sottero, one of the world’s most sought-after wedding dress manufacturers.

Ms Darville said the Maggie Sottero brand caters to every bride imaginable – the classic, romantic and modern bride.

Gowns by other popular designers will make an appearance on tonight’s runway.

“Lace dresses continue to be a staple in wedding dress designs, but the cut and appliqués that are being added have been setting the tone for the current trends. Most brides require a dress with lace, and I’m happy to say that we have quite a few dresses that meet their requirements,” Ms Darville said.

Another trend combines sexy elements with a more conservative look.

“Sheer illusion backs are sexy and yet modest, combining the two elements that most brides dream

of. There’s something about the combination of covered and sheer that makes them simultaneously demure and sexy. Designers have realised this and are certainly obliging the masses,” Ms Darville said.

And while strapless dresses have dominated the industry for the past few years, more brides are opting for a more covered look, choosing off-the-shoulder gowns, sleeved jackets and illusion lace sleeves.

“These choices are all making our mothers’ wedding dresses look like the ‘in thing’, and definitely very sexy and elegant. Not sure how long it will last, but sleeves are definitely making a comeback and Maggie Sottero thinks sleeves are the perfect combination of modern and romance,” Ms Darville said.

In addition to the designer dresses, brides- and grooms-to-be will also be able to browse booths by various vendors.

“In the wedding planning business we’ve seen quite a few unhappy clients that paid for services they did not receive,” Ms Darville said. “Clients usually forget what they received for free, but they will always remember what they didn’t receive if they paid their hard-earned money for it.”

She acknowledged that sometimes things can be beyond one’s control, but a great vendor will always ensure that their client is still smiling at the end of the day.

Having sent dozens of happy couples down the aisle over the past several years, Ms Darville said she gets a thrill from it each and every time.

“I’m such a wedding person. I live for each one of my clients’ weddings. I was telling a client who is getting married in two months that outside of maybe two clients I have become personally invested in each client we have had the honour of working with.

I honestly love each one of our clients, even before the wedding day comes, so I’m just as excited as they are when it finally arrives and we even stay in touch with them after the wedding is over,” she said.

Her favourite part of the day is when the bride makes her grand entrance and the groom sees her for the first time.

“It’s the look on his face or the tears that fall that gets us every time,” Ms Darville said. She also loves when the formalities are over and the couple comes over and says “thank you”.

“That moment for me is priceless,” she said.

Tickets for the runway show are $30 for general admission and $50 for VIP seating.

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Wedding dresses by Maggie Sottero

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 20, 2016

fashion The Weekend Fashion Report Festival de Cannes 2016

HIT

FAIL

SPLIT

FAIL

FAIL

Jessica Chastain, The Huntsman: Winter’s War

Blake Lively, The Shallows

Kendall Jenner, model

Kirsten Dunst , Fargo

Kristen Stewart, Personal Shopper

Karin says: “It’s a tiny bit pageant-y, but I still love it.

This is the kinda maternity wear I can get behind (the really expensive kind, it seems). The bright sky blue is also a gorgeous colour on her.

And I do love a long, dramatic long train for big events like this. One thing we can rely on, Blake’s wardrobe will always be better than her films.”

Cara says: “I wanna love it, but I will just say that I like it. Something is a little off about it, not sure what. It’s a little too 1980s prom/beauty pageant-y maybe, and the hair is way too severe.”

Karin says: “Yes, she looks fantastic, but it’s just not a fresh look. This style has been seen one too many times on the red carpet (and with better ‘nude’ illusion). So while it’s sexy and elegant, it’s also a bit boring. (And I can note she’s looking more and more like Kris).”

Cara says: “Say what you want about the younger Kardashian, or rather Jenner girls, but when they bring it, they bring it. I really like this dress. It’s sleek and sexy, yet everything that needs to be covered is covered. She looks awesome.”

Karin says: “It almost works, you know. It’s kooky of course, but almost in an old silver screen glamour sort of way; a bit like the robes movie starts of yore used to wear. I think the more I look at it, the more it grows on me. At least Kirsten looks like she’s owning it.”

Cara says: “This dress is way to mumsy for someone so young. It’s like a bathrobe, just as shapeless and uninspiring. I know it’s probably considered high fashion, but I think the oversized flowers are simply hideous. Sorry, but it’s just not cute.”

Karin says: “Kristen had like five different outfits for Cannes, and only one sorta worked. This was not it. I know she’s trying to be edgy, but she can’t seem to pull it off without looking hideous.

The platinum hair just doesn’t work and the dress is a crazy Frankenstein mish-mash of three different dresses (and maybe one pantsuit).”

Cara says: “I just can’t with Kristen. Honestly, she just wears whatever and just always looks a mess. Hate everything about this look, and her hair is not cute and the top is trashy and the skirt is ugly. So there!”

Karin says: “A lot of the stars really brought their A game for this festival. I absolutely love this yellow colour with her red hair. It’s stunning.

Very Old Hollywood. The sweetheart neckline looks great and I love the simple, but sparkly necklace as well.”

Cara says: “That yellow is amazing. It’s a very flattering and attractive cut as well. It’s a simple, classic elegant dress.

Very movie star glam.”

AP PHOTOS

With Karin Herig and Cara Hunt

The Tribune | Weekend |17

Friday, May 20, 2016

film

“Live Cargo” enjoys critical acclaim after Bahamas filming

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review

‘Neighbours 2’ is a funny but illconceived retread NEIGHBOURS 2 92 MINS

HEAVEN help the next generation of American women if “Neighbours 2: Sorority Rising” represents what Hollywood thinks of them. In Nicholas Stoller’s sequel to his 2014 “Neighbors,” even the with-it girls — the ones too freethinking to join a cookie-cutter

Senior manager of the Bahamas Film Commission Angela Archer is pictured with director

Nadine (Hemingway) away from her own head and body,” she wrote in her review.

Film Florida and the Bahamas Film and Television Commission honoured director Sandler and co-writer Thymaya Payne at a private event held during Tribeca Film Festival. Sandler said he enjoyed excellent cooperation from the Film Commission and other organisations while filming in the Bahamas. He hopes to return for another project that suits the islands.

Dree Hemingway and Keith Stanfield star in “Live Cargo” try, nothing on the island is untouched by the effects of human trafficking.

In her review of the film, critic Katie Walsh gave the film a grade of A-. She points out that the film is directed by Logan Sandler, who spend part of his formative years in the Bahamas. This “insider information” is important to sorority — are so dumb they make the bros in the first movie look like elder statesmen. Smarts aren’t the point, of course — the reason these freshmen strike out on their own, renting a house next to Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, is that they hunger for their very own place to get stoned. But in their awkward attempt to shoehorn these kids into the first pic’s formula, Stoller and his writing collaborators care far less about creating believable characters than getting to the next laugh.

Those yuks are plentiful enough to ensure a reasonable box-office return.

But viewers prone to worries about Hollywood’s treatment of women — a fair chunk of whom are young students this film wants to attract — may be laughing less loudly than those around them.

In an uncharacteristically flat performance, Chloe Grace Moretz plays Shelby, who doesn’t fit the Barbie mould at the sorority she’s rushing,

the film, she said.

“During a nighttime Junkanoo carnival dance around a bonfire, we see flashes of jewelled costumes, feathered headpieces and dancing bodies, but it’s less about seeing it from afar than about experiencing it from the inside, the rhythmic release that carries

PHOTO/AP

he latest film released after being shot in the Bahamas has critics raving.

“Live Cargo”, filmed on location in Bimini, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in April. Since its debut, critics have given overwhelmingly positive reviews to the film, which stars Dree Hemingway, great-granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, who spent a considerable amount of time drawing inspiration from Bimini in his lifetime.

Featuring an ethereal tone and stark black-and-white cinematography, “Live Cargo” is set on a small island in the Bahamas that is being torn in two.

On one side is a dangerous human trafficker using stolen boats to move Haitians to the United States, and on the other is an aging patriarch, struggling to maintain order. This is the situation grieving couple Nadine and Lewis move into when they journey to the island, hoping to restore their relationship after the tragic death of their newborn child. They soon discover that, no matter how hard they

(L-R) Carla Gallo, Ike Barinholtz, Zac Efron, Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne in a scene from “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” Phi Lambda. She sticks with rush even after learning that sororities can’t host their own parties, and must go to frat houses to get wasted.

But at her first such party, the rapey vibe is so intense (is a “No Means Yes!” banner perhaps too subtle a clue?) she and new friends Beth (Kiersey Clemons) and Nora (Beanie

Feldstein) decide to start their own club.

The search for a party house to call their own leads them to the vacant home next door to Mac and Kelly Radner (Rogen & Byrne), who successfully ran Zac Efron and his crew out in the last picture. But how will three girls pay the $5,000 rent? Enter an unlikely mentor: Efron’s Teddy Sanders, whose bros have done an astonishing amount of growing up in the two years since we saw them (and, in the case of Dave Franco’s Pete, come out of the closet).

Mac and Kelly, getting set to have a second child, have just managed to sell this house and buy a bigger one in the suburbs. But this one is in escrow, with the new owners having 30 days to make random inspections and back out for any reason. Reasons like, say, a yard full of beer cans next door.

JOHN DeFORE The Hollywood Reporter

18| The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 20, 2016

film PHOTO/SONY PICTURES VIA AP

review

THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE RUNNING TIME: 97 MINS

IT’S hard not to have a few biases going into “The Angry Birds Movie.”

In the most cynical view of what gets made in Hollywood, an addictive app might just be at the bottom of the pile, languishing there in suspicious squalor with movies adapted from board games and amusement park rides.

Comic books get away with the “it’s really about characters” justification.

Even some video games have an essential story behind them. A puzzle game, though? You can’t even pretend.

The clever ones use this starting point as a blank slate on which to create something that is maybe cool, unexpected, or just not terrible. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are the current masters of this, implausibly crafting compelling stories out of the bleakest source material.

“The Angry Birds Movie” doesn’t quite achieve the relative superiority of “The Lego Movie,” but it’s definitely not terrible and even surprisingly fun and heartfelt at times.

It’s the directorial debut of veteran

Gosling-Crowe chemistry livens uneven ‘Nice Guys’ NICE GUYS RUNNING TIME: 115 MINS

Ryan Gosling, left, and Russell Crowe in “The Nice Guys”

TAKE two charismatic actors.

Give them characters that are, on the surface, totally incompatible. Plunk them into your basic whodunit, a mismatched team fighting fill-in-the-blank bad guys. Stir in some shoot-em-up action, and poof: You have a buddy cop movie, one of the most durable formulas in Hollywood.

Now, technically, Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe don’t play cops in “The Nice Guys,” by writer-director Shane Black (who knows a thing about buddy cop movies, having written “Lethal Weapon” back in 1987.) One’s a bum-

bling private investigator, the other a low-life hired enforcer. But the equation’s the same, and like a buddy-cop movie (or a porn film — more on that later) the important thing isn’t the plot.

It’s the chemistry.

Gosling and Crowe do have chemistry, and an obvious sense of humour which gets them far. They’d have gotten farther, though, if the movie, while at times hilarious, didn’t have such an uneven feel, particularly a nasty edge that simply clashes with the desired jocular tone. Yes, there’s such a thing as dark comedy, but this is a comedy that occasionally just makes you feel

animator Clay Kaytis (“Frozen,” “Tangled”) and storyboard artist Fergal Reilly (“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” “The Iron Giant”), who are working off a script from “The Simpsons” alum Jon Vitti. The concept is simple: how did the angry birds get so angry?

The short answer is they’re not angry by nature, more by circumstance.

And at first, the angry ones are sort of the outcasts of this happy, bright little society of flightless birds and endless avian puns (“pluck my life”).

The story is centered on Red (Jason Sudeikis), a loner bird who is consistently aggravated by the minor inconveniences and annoyances of life on Bird Island — like someone sneezing PHOTO/DANIEL MCFADDEN/AP

An app comes to life in “The Angry Birds Movie”

queasy. There were moments I knew I was supposed to be laughing but found myself scribbling in my notes: “hmm, funny but not?”

Then again, there are some inspired moments, such as when enforcer Jackson Healy (Crowe, paunchy and amiably violent) tracks down Holland March (Gosling — sweet, clumsy, effortlessly funny ) in a men’s room stall.

March is understandably wary, considering Healy had broken his arm at their last meeting, leaving him howling on the kitchen floor like a wounded cat.

The plot isn’t easy to explain (or grasp) quickly, but here goes: We’re in 1970s Los Angeles, a city rife with smog, porn stars and ill-fitting suits.

In a prelude, a young boy reaches under his parents’ bed to inspect their “Playboy,” featuring naked porn star Misty Mountain. Moments later, the same boy witnesses a horrific car crash in which a dying Mountain herself appears lying just as sexily — and naked — on her wrecked car. (Funny but not?)

What does Misty have to do with Amelia? Thanks for asking, but who

close to his popcorn, or a kid kicking a ball against his house.

His bad luck and short temper land him in group therapy for anger management alongside some other volatile types like the manic Chuck (Josh Gad), the dimwitted Bomb (Danny McBride), and the bruiser Terence (whose grunts are supposedly the work of Sean Penn — an even more dubious distinction than Vin Diesel as Groot).

And they all try to work through their issues with the free spirit instructor Matilda (Maya Rudolph).

Meanwhile, some pigs arrive by ship.

Even typing that sentence feels about as inorganic as the actual plot development, but, “Angry Birds” has to get to a place where the birds are fighting pigs, so why not make it a colonialisation parable?

At first it’s just a few pigs, led by Leonard (Bill Hader) — they’re fun and have gadgets and fire and party supplies. Then more come and then even more, and suddenly Bird Island is overrun by pesky pigs. Red is suspicious of their intentions, but everyone else is buying the snake oil. It’s only when the pigs abscond with the town’s unhatched eggs that the masses realise they’ve been had.

LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer knows? Amelia’s a missing young woman that March has been hired to find.

But Amelia herself has hired Healy to take care of the guys searching for her.

But there are bigger forces apparently engulfing Amelia: Corporate greed, and government malfeasance, and environmental activism — stuff like that.

Also: Why does everyone involved in Misty Mountain’s last porno keep dying?

Helping March and Healy figure it all out is March’s whip-smart tween daughter, Holly (an appealing Angourie Rice), who keeps showing up when she’s not supposed to. Holly, sort of a Nancy Drew but in an R-rated film, keeps ending up in peril, either to her life or her moral upbringing. It all ends up in an incredibly energetic, chaotic shoot-em-up. It’s fun in a manic sort of way, but it might have been more fun to clear away some of the dust — or smog — and just watch two charismatic pros spar with each other.

Maybe in the sequel.

JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer

The Tribune | Weekend | 19

Friday, May 20, 2016

books

Best-selling authors join ‘A Novel Evening’ for a worthy cause

I

nternational best-selling authors Lee Child and Ann Hood will be visiting the Bahamas this week to take part in a special event for aspiring writers.

From May 23 - 28, participants at the annual Salt Cay Writers Retreat will be honing their writing skills with the best in the literary industry.

Armed with their laptops, writers from countries near and far will board the Blue Lagoon Island ferry to spend each day rubbing elbows with literary agents and published authors, in the hopes of perfecting their manuscripts on the shores of Salt Cay, also known as Blue Lagoon Island.

It only seems fitting that some of the industry’s best wordsmiths would share their love for the art with the local public in the name of promoting literacy.

On Thursday, May 26, the Salt Cay Writers Retreat will be partnering with the Inner Wheel Club of East Nassau and Luciano’s of Chicago Restaurant to offer an evening of readings by three New York Times and international best-selling authors.

Also sponsored by Coldwell Banker, the Ministry of Tourism and Dolphin Encounters, the event, entitled “A Novel Evening”, will give guests the opportunity to meet the authors and have personal copies of their books signed while enjoying the harbourfront view with a welcome cocktail and hors d’oeuvres. A fully stocked cash bar will also be open on-site.

Proceeds from “A Novel Evening” will benefit Project Read, a free local literacy programme which offers confidential tutoring to adult nonreaders.

According to Project Read, it is estimated that as much as 25 per cent of Bahamians are unable to read and write at a “standard that allows them to function properly in our society”.

Project Read is dedicated to helping individuals acquire everyday listen-

Dan Brown working on young adult version of ‘Da Vinci Code’ “Jack Reacher” author Lee Child

“The Knitting Circle” author Ann Hood

ing, speaking and reading skills to expand their problem-solving abilities and job skill set.

“Having been a member of the Inner Wheel Club for more than 25 years, I was more than happy to support Project Read in whatever way I could,” said Luciano’s Director of Special Events Sue Lawrence.

“Promoting adult literacy is certainly a worthy cause, and Luciano’s is honoured to be able to offer the ideal setting to do just that.”

Novelist Lee Child, who is best known for his “Jack Reacher” thriller series, which inspired the film by the same name starring Tom Cruise, will read from his latest hit novel.

He will be accompanied by awardwinning author Ann Hood, who is known for her best-selling novels

“The Knitting Circle”, “The Obituary Writer” and “The Red Thread”.

Hood’s memoir, “Comfort: A Journey Through Grief”, was named one of top 10 non-fiction books of 2008 by Entertainment Weekly and was a New York Times Editors Choice.

Hood will read from her recent work.

Rounding off the novelists is co-founder of the Salt Cay Writers Retreat and accomplished author Karen Dionne, who will debut the first reading of her anticipated novel, “The Marsh King’s Daughter”, coming summer 2017.

“A Novel Evening” will be hosted

by Luciano’s of Chicago from 6.30pm to 7.30pm on May 26. Doors open at 6pm. Tickets are on sale for $50 and can be purchased from the restaurant on East Bay Street.

DAN Brown wants to let younger readers in on the secret.

The million-selling author is working on a young adult version of his blockbuster “The Da Vinci Code,” the US and UK children’s divisions of Random House announced Wednesday.

First published in 2003, Brown’s thriller about conspiracies and cults has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide and was adapted into a hit movie starring Tom Hanks. Brown, whose book comes out in September, said in a statement that he hoped the new edition would give young people “the same thrill of discovery” that he gets from the “mysteries of the world we live in.”

Numerous authors have adapted their works for the thriving young adult market, among them Lauren Hillenbrand (“Unbroken”) and Jon Meacham (“Thomas Jefferson: President and Philosopher”).

20| The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 20, 2016

books

Local teacher’s book shines light on Bahamas’ rich history

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ahamian high school teacher Audra Tynes has written a book she hopes will give students a greater appreciation for the Bahamas’ rich history.

“Freedom Fights: The March to Independence” is an anthology of stories and poems based on some of the major events that led up to Bahamian Independence.

Although the stories feature fictional characters, they are all based on historical events like the Burma Road Riot, the women’s suffrage movement, Black Tuesday, Majority Rule Day and celebrations on the eve of Independence.

Through these stories and poems, Ms Tynes hopes to further stimulate children’s interest in and knowledge of Bahamian history.

“By being aware of where we came from we can appreciate more where we are now and be more encouraged to move our country even further ahead,” she said.

Although the book is written pri-

marily with students in mind, persons of all ages can enjoy and benefit from reading the book, the author said.

Ms Tynes’ research for the book led to interview church, community and political leaders like Rev Canon Sebastian Campbell, Patrick Rahming and former Exuma MP George Smith.

“The book’s launch last week provided a forum to highlight the importance of knowing our history and what others did to ensure that changes were made in the country and to provide a cultural experience for students as Bahamian history and culture were celebrated,” Ms Tynes said.

Cultural Affairs Officer at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Lynn Terez Nixon, was the mistress of ceremonies for the launch. Dr Patricia Bazard read a poem and story from the anthology, and Vanria Jack and Rev Canon Sebastian Campbell addressed students on the importance of reading and studying history, respectively.

Choral speaking selections were rendered by a group from the Centreville

Primary School and from R M Bailey Senior High School.

Ms Tynes said she hopes that her book will be accessible to children and that they will become more appreciative of Bahamian history and more inspired to fulfil their dreams as a result of their reading. The author can be contacted at audrantynes@gmail.com.

Teacher and author Audra Tynes

Bahamian author pens self-discovery journey

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net A JOURNEY of self-discovery led emerging Bahamian author Alexis Forbes to write a book about his trials and triumphs over the last decade.

“A Lifetime of Memories”, the author said, is a collection poems and stories that are characterised by the various moods and emotions he experienced while trying to find his way in the world.

Many of Mr Forbes’ poems and stories were inspired by his life in the United Kingdom, where he read law at

the University of Buckingham, and in 2010 completed his Master’s degree in International Commercial Law at the London Metropolitan University.

The book contains depictions of the English countryside, along with picturesque descriptions of love, romance and raw human emotion. The poems and short stories date back as far back as 2003 and capture numerous special moments in the author’s life.

Mr Forbes said the challenges that he faced throughout the past several years inspired him to document his journey.

“I always wanted to write a book at some point in my life, and after having a series of challenges throughout the

Alexis Forbes last two years the book proved to be a great outlet for my frustrations. The idea of writing a book first came to me in 2001 in an English 119 or 120 class at COB when one of my lecturers, “Dr

Winner”, suggested that whenever I wrote my first book I needed to mention her, so naturally when I composed this book I did so,” he said.

The book touches on themes of family, perseverance, love and romance.

“There is a subtle theme that connects each story, each poem and each individual experience, which is one of truth. Raw, heartfelt and honest ought to be the buzz words of the text,” Mr Forbes said.

“The overall message is that life is a journey of self-discovery and we never know how we will respond to any challenge, but we hope we have what it takes to overcome.(The book) is a symphony riddled with mood-shaping, shifting language and will no doubt encourage you to read it over and over again.”

The book is available on Amazon and createspace.com. For more information e-mail mrforbes7@gmail.com.

The Tribune | Weekend | 21

Friday, May 20, 2016

books

Bahamian author a hit with British readers

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ahamian author Tanya R Taylor has captured British readers’ hearts with her new book, “Infestation: A Small Town Nightmare”.

The novel made it to number one on the Amazon.co.uk website during March and April 2016 in the Religious Drama category.

Ms Taylor, a resident of Nassau, is a best-selling author of both fiction and non-fiction. She has eight published books under her belt and is now releasing her ninth book, “Haunted Cruise: The Shakedown”, on Amazon.com and other online stores, including Barnes & Noble, Apple iStore and Kobo. It will be available as of Sunday.

Her popular book “Cornelius”, described as “a spine-tingling, paranormal tale that ties a painful history into the present day”, also made it to number one in November 2015 on Amazon.com in the Teen and Young Adult Multi-generational Family Fiction category.

Ms Taylor said all of her books have made Amazon Kindle’s Top 100 Paid Best-Sellers’ list in several categories.

She’s been a number one best-seller in Religious Drama multiple times. She has topped the best-selling lists in categories such Horror, Ghost Thrillers, African-American Historical Fiction, Psychic Thrillers, Teen and Young

Adult Historical Romance, Ghost and Haunted Houses, Time Travel, Religious and Inspirational Fiction, Classics and Allegories, Christian Fantasy, and others.

Several of her books, including “Real Illusions: The Awakening” and “Cornelius” have been listed on Amazon’s top 100 Paid Best-Sellers’ list with the “Master of Horror” Stephen King and also Dean Koontz.

Ms Taylor is sure her newest work, “Haunted Cruise: The Shakedown”, will be just as popular as the others.

She fans around the world who have signed up to be notified whenever she has a new release.

In “Haunted Cruise: The Shakedown” the protagonist Dellie Hayworth has landed a job with one of the largest ship-building companies after years of unemployment. She is sent off to sea with her marriage in shambles and seemingly beyond repair. For two weeks, she will reside on the luxury vessel “The Caesar”, in anticipation of what awaits her when she returns home. However, neither she or any other crew members can fathom what awaits them in the middle of the ocean.

Ms Taylor said she has been writing ever since she “could remember holding a pencil”.

She manages to juggle her writing and family time without any problem.

She said her background in finance and business probably helps to keep her on track.

And Ms Taylor is happy to spread her talent around. Her best-seller “Cornelius” was listed on the Catholic Board of Education’s Summer 2015 reading list in the slot for grades 11 and 12, and will be listed again this Summer. Additionally, she was invited to speak to the Creative Writing Club of Aquinas College last November. She is open to speaking engagements and has also taken on ghostwriting and editing assignments.

Ms Taylor’s other books scheduled for release in 2016

include, “Real Illusions IV: War Zone” from her popular series “Real Illusions”; “10 Minutes Before Sleeping”, and “CARA”. For more information, visit her website at www.tanyartaylor. com.

Author Tanya R Taylor

A tale of combustible friendship in ‘Girls on Fire’ review IT’S 1991 and Hannah Dexter is making her way through high school in Battle Creek, Pennsylvania, trying to fit in without attracting too much of the ire of queen bee and mean girl Nikki Drummond.

Then two things happen: The school is shaken when Nikki’s boyfriend Craig, a popular high school athlete, is found shot dead in the woods, an apparent suicide, and Hannah meets Lacey Champlain, the school renegade.

Hannah and Lacey bond over their mutual outsider status, and Hannah

quickly becomes malleable clay in Lacey’s hands: She renames her Dex, introduces her to Doc Martens and Kurt Cobain, and pushes her further and further away from good-girl status into wild-child terrain: drinking, sneaking out and even dabbling in quasiSatanism.

Author Robin Wasserman depicts the all-consuming, borderline obsessive nature of teenage friendships with a deft touch in “Girls on Fire.” Chapters labeled “Us” alternately tell the story of Lacey and Dex’s deepening bond and increasingly reckless behavior from each of their perspectives.

It turns out nothing is quite what is seems. Wasserman turns the usual high school stereotypes — the good girl, the popular girl, the outcast — by revealing unexpected relationships between

the characters.

The novel moves into shakier terrain when it expands beyond the world of Lacey and Dex into chapters told from the point of view of Hannah’s parents. And while the characters have more depth than their high school stereotypes initially suggest, they never quite feel fully fleshed out, either.

“Girls on Fire” depicts the dark side of teen years in a vein that echoes movies like “Heathers” and the highschool noir novels of Megan Abbott.

As the book progresses, Lacey and Dex’s combustible friendship erupts into a fight, culminating in a disastrous party, and alliances begin to shift among Lacey, Dex and Nikki.

Though at times more smoke than sizzle, “Girls on Fire” is an enveloping page-turner that could be a good

beach read for those who like some darkness with their sun rays.

MAE ANDERSON Associated Press

22| The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 20, 2016

mailboats ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CAPTAIN Eric Wiberg is a marine and naval historian, author and a maritime lawyer who grew up in Nassau in the 1970s and 1980s and is a regular visitor to The Bahamas.

In 2009 Capt Wiberg began the first of three books on U-Boats in the Bahamas and Bermuda and in 2012 began a blog focusing on mailboats and their contribution to Bahamian history. He is the author of ‘Tanker Disasters’, ‘Round the World in the Wrong Season’ and ‘U-Boats in the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos’ and is working on a book about mailboats in the Bahamas.

He is writing a series in The Tribune on the glorious history of mailboats, their place in island life, the characters that define them, the variety of craft, the dozens of islands they serve, the mailboat ‘dynasties’ and the challenges facing the modern fleet.

Abaco’s sons of the sea Captain Eric Wiberg continues his look at the Bahamian family dynasties who have shaped mercantile trade in the archipelago

C

aptain Ernest Dean was born the son of a fishing boat captain in 1915 in Sandy Point, Abaco.

His parents were James Alexander Dean (1889-1966) and Leah Hunt Dean who died in her mid-thirties when Ernest was eight.

His father’s fishing smack was a twomaster named Champion and he had a part ownership interest in the vessel. At the time Sandy Point was not connected with other communities in Abaco except by the sea and the people of the small settlement eked out their existence by fishing and sustenance farming.

A year after his mother’s death in 1923, nine-year-old Ernest was sent to assist the lighthouse keeper of Cay Sal Light in the far southern Bahamas, bordering Cuba. In exchange the boy would learn to read and write, as the ‘keeper, Chatham Albury, had educated Ernest’s uncle the same way.

At 14, Ernest served aboard his father’s schooner the Champion and by 17 the young man was in command. He would remain a captain, and very much a community leader, until his death in the early 2000s. Much of the material of

A 2010 photograph of the Captain Gurth Dean, of the family’s modern fleet, showing how cargo is loaded from the dock

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Friday, May 20, 2016

this article is drawn from his autobiography, “Island Captain”, co-written by Gary W Woodcock and published by White Sound Press in 1997.

Ernest first met Eula Clarke, of Cherokee Sound, when he was 18. She was the daughter of Wilfred and Lillian Clarke. They were married on November 19, 1936, a union that would last until her death almost 60 years later.

The wedding had to wait until Ernest had built them a house next to his father’s on West Bay Street, Sandy Point.

Together they kept a shop – or rather she kept a shop, as he was mostly at sea – called E and E Grocery and Dry Goods, the motto of which was - and is - “all under one roof”.

A home wasn’t the only thing that Captain Ernest built with his hands: in order to enter the mail freighting business he spent three years hand crafting, mostly alone, a 35-foot sailing vessel named Captain Dean after his father, himself and his infant sons. Begun in 1949 and not launched until February, 1951, the boat was made from handhewn pine from pine fields as far afield as Hole-in-the-Wall Light and madeira and dogwood roots from Gorda Cay. The roots of these hardwoods had to be dug out by hand, and when found unsuitable for the joinery required, were rejected.

He hand-cut the keel in the forest, then towed it with a small dingy back to Sandy Point from Cross Harbour, sometimes drifting windless for hours, other times tacking against the wind.

It was back-breaking work and only someone gifted with true determination would have completed it. With as much help from local craftsmen as they could afford, their income supplemented by Ernest’s fishing, the couple achieved it.

Ernest cut and bent the sails and headed to Nassau to convince the Colonial Secretary in charge of mailboats - a Bahamian - that he deserved a mail contract to serve Sandy Point, Moore’s Island and the Berry Islands. At the time there was no mail service to those small communities, and the one person who had tried, Charles Sawyer from Marsh Harbour in his quaintly named vessel Ought to Go, had failed to make a go of it. But Dean persisted, pointing out that the fishermen who carried the mails provided unreliable and intermittent service and young families like his could go weeks without fresh milk from the capital for their children.

Eventually the Commissioner relented, and the Captain Dean was put to work with the first mail service to

Improvising how to discharge a car from a mailboat in Sandy Point, Abaco, in 1990, with the crew of the Champion II on the right

The Champion II, a typical shallow dock mailboat southern Abaco and the Berry Islands.

The craft was sloop-rigged, 30 feet at the keel, 40 feet on deck, with a 15-foot beam and a five-foot draft. At first she had no engines but relied instead on the Trade Winds to propel her.

The Captain Dean plied her trade, eventually adding Sweeting’s Cay, Grand Bahama, to a busy route. Her owner said that “she was built strong because my life and the lives of my crew depended on her”. Carrying people rather than just cargo changed Captain Dean’s perspective: “I couldn’t think just about the money anymore. I was providing a service at reasonable fees and fares that these people hadn’t had before. They were depending on me to keep going … Passengers ate what the crew ate, basically fishing boat

food.” He made room for six to eight passengers as well as four crew to work the cargo and manage the vessel. As he wrote, “the government paid me only to carry the mail and set all the rates for freight and passage. Any passenger fares and freight charges were paid to me.”

Eventually an engine was added to the vessel. In 1953, Ernest Dean released the Captain Dean to his son James to go crawfishing with and purchased the larger, wooden-built, Margaret Rose. She was five feet longer on deck (45 feet). The vessel was also sloop-rigged and had a Perkins diesel engine.

Dean only ran the Margaret Rose for “a few years”, before trading up again, this time for the 112-foot mo-

tor ship Clermont, which had twin General Motors engines, but was “big, old, wooden, and leaky”. By this point Dean was supplementing his income by hauling live crawfish from the various out-ports to Nassau. He also tried carrying live conch, but it didn’t pay due to unscrupulous receivers who would take the conch on credit then refuse to pay, claiming the molluscs had died in his absence. The crawfish was packed on ice purchased at Butler’s in Nassau, Dean rationalising that if the ice melted the crawfish were in cold water, but if refrigeration, which was more expensive, failed, then the creatures died and rotted.

After less than a decade, in 1962, the Clermont sank off Abaco. Fortunately there were no passengers and the two

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Captain Dean II

Captain Dean III

Captain Dean V

Friday, May 20, 2016

lifeboats, with mail bags, managed to make it to shore. The Captain Dean then filled in as the mailboat again.

Right away Dean ordered the Captain Dean II, which was built by Johny Albury and Walter Hatcher in Marsh Harbour. She was wooden with a 60-foot keel, a 14-foot beam, and five feet of draft. As well as the main deck, where cargo was handled and stored, the passengers and crew quarters fitted out, etcetera, there was a top deck and pilot house for the officers to steer the ship. The boat was built entirely of native woods, 4 x 4 inch with two-inch planking. Rather than sails, propulsion came solely from two Perkins diesel engines. To have the hull fitted out with housing Captain (later Senator) Sherwin Archer towed the hull behind his vessel, the Anita Queen. Six years later, in 1968, the Captain Dean II caught fire and sank between the Berry Islands and Abaco. Two boats with seven people each, including a fouryear-old and a two-year-old survived a blustery night and were blown to Whale Cay, Berry Islands, using the flat oar blades as sails.

To Captain Deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s immense relief, everyone survived to be flown to Nassau from Chub Cay. Meanwhile Dean chartered the mailboat Captain Moxey to fulfil the mail run to Abaco and the Berry Islands, a common but exhausting practice of substituting boats that continues today.

True to form, Dean commissioned the Captain Dean III from St Augustine, Florida. The lumber mills were closing and more men were returning to their communities, becoming fishermen or farmers, settling down and providing a growing market for building materials, fuel for their small boats, and obviously groceries. But the boat yards in Abaco were no longer building large vessels, hence the look westwards to the United States for new builds.

Captain Dean IV

Captain Dean

The Captain Dean III was 90 feet on the keel, 18 feet wide and had a five foot draft. She could carry 16 passengers and had a large cargo capacity. She was wooden and had a large Caterpillar engine. Launched in 1969, she barely made it to Freeport because the seams had not properly soaked and sealed, but they made it. Plus sawdust and wood chips from the construction clogged the bilges in the Gulf Stream, with a northern wind. Eventually in 1973 the vessel was sold to interests in Bimini to provide mail service there, and was sunk on the Mackey Shoal Buoy between Bimini and the Berry Islands.

The Captain Dean IV was in the works soon enough, and Deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son, James, filled the mail run with his boat, Miss Dean, in the interim. This ship was also wood and very similar to her predecessor, only stronger. Ernest Dean handed command of the Captain Dean IV to his son, John, and in about 1977 the vessel was lost off Abaco in a storm. Fortunately a Mayday was sent and received by the US Coast Guard, who managed to hoist all 15 men and women aboard their helicopter. The ship was salvaged and towed to Miami, where it was discovered that several planks had been stoved in.

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Friday, May 20, 2016

Forgotten facts Paul C Aranha

“Dean was supplementing his income by hauling live crawfish from the various outports to Nassau. He also tried carrying live conch, but it didn’t pay due to unscrupulous receivers who would take the conch on credit then refuse to pay, claiming the molluscs had died in his absence.

The crawfish was packed on ice purchased at Butler’s in Nassau, Dean rationalising that if the ice melted the crawfish were in cold water, but if refrigeration - which was more expensive - failed, then the creatures died and rotted.”

After that, Captain Dean decided to built his next vessel, the Captain Dean V, of steel. It would be “the first steel boat in all of the Bahamas designed and built just for the mail service”. At that time there were steel boats operating in the Bahamas, but most of them originated in Europe or the US Gulf.

The Captain Dean V ran from 1979 to 1985, first under Ernest Dean then under John Dean.

It sank at the Frederick Street dock in Nassau in a fire that claimed the life of Captain Stanford Curry. Her hulk was sold to Haitian interests.

Captain Ernest supplemented his runs to Abaco and the Berry Islands with calls at Freeport, Andros and Cat Island when time permitted. On assurances that he would be given the mail contract, he constructed the Lady Eula, named after his wife. She was 90 feet on keel and had a single Caterpillar engine - “a very spacious and modern boat”. John Dean took over running her to Andros, Freeport and Cat Island.

At this time there were political moves by individual island groups to have their “own” mailboat and skipper, as in from that island.

Some resented being served by an Abaco skipper and entrepreneur. So, as he had done in Bimini, Captain Dean sold Lady Eula to interests in Cat Island. Due to a navigational error the boat was run aground on San Salvador and pummelled on the coast. Finally, in 1986, Captain Dean modified the scope of his ambition and built a smaller vessel, the Champion II (after his father’s fishing smack on which he had experienced his first command). She was 75 feet long: that way she could trade to the US without having to obtain a load line certifi-

cate required of longer vessels.

Decades after having built her by the sweat of his brow, Ernest Dean and his daughter came upon the original Captain Dean amongst a crowd of fishing craft at Potter’s Cay Dock.

It was 1993, 44 years after her keel was hewn in the Abaco pine fields. A man on board protested that the boat was not the Captain Dean, to which Ernest retorted “This was the Captain Dean. I should know, I built her.”

Captain Dean’s beloved wife, Eula, died in 1995. By then he was a revered patriarch in the community of Sandy Point, and his opinion on matters such as the new high-speed ferry terminus in his locale was highly valued.

His family continue to operate their store, was well known for fishing and for passenger vessels such as the Nay Dean and the Mia Dean throughout the Bahamas as well as to the US. In June, 1988, Governor-General Sir Henry Milton Taylor presented Captain Dean with the Queen’s Medal along with a Certificate of Honour.

In 1995 he was invested with the British Empire Medal, again at Government House in Nassau, this time by Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest.

Captain Dean learned of these awards via mailboat. When his wife’s body was returned to Sandy Point from Nassau, she was carried home - to the strains of ‘Amazing Grace’ - across the bar to the community by their son’s mailboat, the Mia Dean, which is still plying today.

NEXT WEEK: How the Hanna clan became substantial ship owners from Acklins.

Comments and responses to eric@ericwiberg.com

Nassau’s place to honour its military dead

A wartime funeral at the Royal Air Force Cemetery, Nassau.

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applaud the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and their local representative, Peter Young, for wanting the former Royal Air Force Cemetery to become a national heritage site.

During World War II, mine was one of the many families in Nassau who provided a homeaway-from-home for hundreds of RAF servicemen. I remember Jimmy Coombes and Jack Entwhistle as ‘regulars’, but I have forgotten the name of the one who had minor surgery and never woke up from the anesthetic. I used to be taken there to put flowers on his grave.

In those days, each grave was marked with a white wooden cross and a name-plate. I went back, in the mid 1950s, and had no difficulty finding the cross with this young man’s name.

In 2011, I was asked by the Bahamas Historical Society to help locate the graves of six members of the Free Czechoslovak Air Force, who served in RAF squadron 111 OYU and are buried in the Nassau War Cemetery. The results of this research can be seen on their website at: https://fcafa. wordpress.com/2012/01/06/notforgotten-bahamas-2/ The six Czechoslovak airman died at 3.02pm, on August 7, 1943, when the B25 Mitchell bomber (FY953 of 111 OTU) they were flying dived into the ground, just after takeoff, and burst into flames, killing

the entire crew – Sgt Vítezslav Briza, pilot, aged 23; P/O Jan Hadravek, pilot, 25; F/Lt Jaroslav Mares, wireless operator, 39; Sgt Karel Salz, wireless operator/air gunner, 31; F/Sgt Josef Sotola, pilot, 23; Sgt Jozef Turna, wireless operator, 26.

There are 56 graves, mostly of Commonwealth War dead, of the Second World War. The cemetery also contains three non-World War graves - of Sidney C Farrington, CBE, a Lieutenant in the RFC (19171918), who died in 1955 and is the only Bahamian. Hilary St George Saunders CBE MC, the official RAF Historian, and Group Captain Lionel Wilmot Brabazon Rees, VC, OBE, MC, AFC, the most-decorated of the lot.

After distinguishing himself in World War I, Gp Capt Rees, a Welshman and holder of the Victoria Cross, sailed a small yacht, single-handedly, across the Atlantic and settled on Mangrove Cay, Andros, where he dined with the author of ‘Out Island Doctor’, Evans W Cottman. In 1954, he was flown to the Bahamas General Hospital by a Bahamas Airways amphibious Grumman Goose and is mentioned by Lady Ranfurley in ‘Hermione’, a volume of her memoirs. The story of his life is recorded in ‘Caernarfon Through the Eye of Time’, by T Meirion Hughes.

• islandairman@gmail.com

26 | The Tribune | Weekend

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The Tribune | Weekend | 27

Friday, May 20, 2016

animals Animal matters Kim Aranha

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By The Bahamas Humane Society

PET OF THE WEEK

ast holiday weekend we experienced absolutely the most wonderful weather that any boat owner could dream of, and judging by the amount of boats in the Exumas, Rose Island, the Berry Islands, and just running along the north shore of New Providence, most boat owners took advantage of it.

I was fortunate enough to be on my son’s boat and we skimmed over the flat glass-like water on Sunday morning to the Exuma Cays. The ride down was wonderful, blue sky and fluffy white clouds. I remember thinking to myself that it is because of days like this that we put up with all the political nonsense that fills our lives most days in the Bahamas.

We went to Southwest Allen’s Cay and saw the wonderful family of iguanas. They were all lined up on the beach looking for food. They ate the grapes we brought with great gusto. The kids with us marvelled at these prehistoric looking lizards. They really look as if they belong back in a time before man; splendid, regal, and totally in command After an hour or so with the iguanas we went further south and enjoyed diving on the wrecked C-46 plane in the shallow waters off Norman’s Cay, a monument to the dark drug days of Norman’s Cay and the 1980s. There were lots of colourful fish swimming around and through what remains of the plane wreckage.

I was careful not to put my hands in any holes because that plane looked like the perfect home for a family of moray eels. What a pleasure it was to see the abundance of fish so close to shore. They darted around the old fuselage, totally ignoring the humans suspended on the surface watching them through dive masks.

From Norman’s Cay we made our way to the beautifully developed

PATRICIA VAZQUEZ

It was the best of days

A puppy for every month

Nurse sharks at Highbourne Cay Highbourne Cay. So different from the lazy little dock of my youth, but developed with taste and style. A walk along the dock rewarded us with the most splendid of sights. At the end of the dock, in about 12 feet of crystal clear water were at least 16 beautiful, big, sleeping nurse sharks. They looked as though they were lined up waiting for the first of the fishermen to come in with their day’s catch and then they would get the meal that they were patiently awaiting. While we were there several people snorkelled past the sharks at a respectful distance, but nevertheless enjoying the spectacle of seeing so many of these magnificent creatures on peaceful display.

Just this week on the American

May, June, July, August, September, November, December – not just the months of the year any longer! This cute collection of fluff is a litter of seven puppies, about two months old, who will soon be ready for their new homes. They’re bouncy and outgoing, and will all be spayed and neutered before going to their new homes.

They’ve seen how many puppies are out there and at the Bahamas Humane Society and they don’t want to add to the numbers! Do you have the time and patience needed to raise a young pup to be a loving, loyal family member?

Dog ownership can be very rewarding. If you’re ready for

this kind of commitment (time, energy, money), please come in to the BHS to meet the ‘Months Pups’ or call 325-6742 for more information. Adoption hours are 11am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm on Saturday.

The pups are eager to meet you!

• The BHS Thrift Shop will be holding a patio sale under its new Minerva Shack, right next to the main shelter in Chippingham, on Saturday, May 28, from 10am to 2pm. Great prices that are too good to be missed and all proceeds go to the Bahamas Humane Society.

Come and see what treasures you might find. All books will be half price on that day as well.

We swam and admired the sea life.

We saw sand dollars that were still alive and left them where they were.

We enjoyed the amazing beauty surrounding us, without disturbing it or destroying it. We felt absolutely no need to take it home with us. We could hold that beauty in our minds and our hearts.

Unfortunately, on our ride home we did not see any wild dolphins, but a friend of mine did and posted on Facebook some wonderful photographs of dolphins and their babies, playing alongside their boat… dolphins where they belong, free in the sea, not cooped up in pens performing unnatural antics to make gawking individuals laugh. My friend news there was a report of some mentioned how she had been praying woman who had to be taken to to see dolphins, and her prayers had hospital with a small nurse shark attached to her arm. Some people may been answered and the kids were have felt some pity for the lady before delighted.

What struck me most about that it was reported that several people absolutely amazing day was that most were flipping the baby shark around and snapping photos. The woman was of the incredible things we witnessed involved animal life; that a huge holding it by its tail, and frankly got amount of the wealth of the Bahamas exactly what she deserved. The only sad bit is that the pool baby shark who is tied up in the nature and the wildlife and the creatures who live in was minding it’s own business until a this country. Yet so few young people bunch of ignorant and crass humans came along was dead, through no fault are being brought up to admire, of his own. That lady will likely be respect or appreciate this wealth of charged with cruelty to animals under beauty. We have so many natural US law. treasures in this little country and so In the afternoon, we went to few people value what we have. Alas, another beach at Leaf and Long Cay. so few people care to preserve it.

28 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 20, 2016

gardening

Bush to garden Wild flowers and plants can be both resilient and attractive.

Jack Hardy explains which native bush plants can be domesticated and where to find them.

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once saw spider lilies on sale in Toronto as house plants and thought to myself that these hardly make the garden in the Bahamas, let alone the house. But there are some denizens of the bush and green land that deserve a place in our yards if we consider them on their merits rather than their provenance.

Plants we consider wild usually have lower need for water and fertilizer because there is plenty of competition for both in the bush. Wild plants are native and therefore not subject to many diseases and insect predations that plague exotics. Here are some plants to consider for domestication: Pigeon berry (Duranta repens) is a fine candidate to be elevated to one’s garden. The plant grows to eight feet and is substantial. Its sky blue flowers are formed in pendant clusters and give way to masses of attractive orange berries. Even without flowers and berries the small shrub is attractive.

Pigeon berry (Duranta repens) The flowers appear in spring and the berries can last into fall.

Wild guava (Tetrazygia bicolor) grows to five or six feet and has very attractive lanceolate leaves that appear embossed around the edges. The compound flowers are produced on upright panicles and from a distance appear to be white. Closer inspection will reveal lemon yellow stamens that add to the beauty of the flowers, particularly as the white and yellow are enhanced by background dark green foliage. Wild guava is not related to the fruit tree and does not produce anything to eat.

The flowers are produced in midspring and last well into summer.

Wild allamanda (Angadenia sagraei) is a vigorous vine with bright yellow flowers that are far smaller than domesticated allamanda but are produced in profusion. Although a vine, wild allamanda can be free-standing without supports and remain as a compact entity. One very attractive way to use wild allamanda is to plant it below a shrub that has insignificant flowers, such as cinnecord. The vine will grow throughout the foliage and turn the shrub into a remarkable ‘flowering’ specimen.

Giant milkweed (Calotropis procera) is a sprawling small shrub that has large leaves. The flowers are produced towards the end of branches and are well worth close inspection for their individual and collective beauty. The corolla of each flower is white or ivory with purple highlights and is stunning in design. Giant milkweed flowers throughout the year and is tolerant of

Wild potato (Ipomoea microdactyla) most soil conditions.

There are many cultivated tabebuia trees in Nassau and the Out Islands, but nowhere near as many as the wild version that grows by roadsides in profusion. Tabebuia bahamensis bears clusters of trumpet flowers that vary in shading from almost white to deep pink. When not flowering the plants can be identified by the compound leaves containing five ‘fingers’, giving us the plant’s common name – five fingers. The leaves are shiny green on the top surface and grey on the lower surface.

Bay rush (Zamia pumila) was once an important food item in the islands, a source of superior starch. The plants are poisonous but the poison washes out when the grated flesh is steeped in several soakings of water, and bread can be made from the resultant flour.

Were the plants not poisonous it is certain that wild hogs would find bay rush attractive and leave very few for human consumption.

There is a side benefit to growing bay rush in your garden for it is the host plant used by the pretty butterfly Atala hairstreak. The female lays her eggs on the zamia leaves and yellow and brown striped caterpillars hatch and feed to their content on the foliage before pupating. Once you have attracted hairstreaks to your garden they will stay with you.

Two wild vines are particularly beautiful. The devil’s potato (Echites umbellate) bears pinwheel flowers with five feathery creamy yellow petals that recurve. It is a strange but

fascinating arrangement. The source of the foliage and flowers is a potato-like tuber that is poisonous to humans. Just as Atala hairstreaks use zamias, sphinx moths use devil’s potato in their breeding cycle, attracted by the flower’s scent that is only put out at nighttime.

Morning glory flowers can be seen almost everywhere in a host of different colours, but my favourite is the wild potato (Ipomoea microdactyla) that bears lovely carmine red flowers in abundance. It is often found growing close to the ground but will climb when given the opportunity.

Now the problem – where to obtain these plants? Some nurseries specialise in wild plants and are likely to have most of my selection available. Giant milkweed grows readily from cuttings, and bay rush puts out ‘cones’ in season that bear seeds. Devil’s potato and wild potato can be dug up if you find them in sandy soil, their preferred habitat.

Pigeon berry can be grown from seed, but wild guava and five finger present problems. Wild allamanda is available at most nurseries.

By far the best source for identifying native and exotic plants is Linda Huber’s “Flowers of The Bahamas and Caribbean Basin”, widely available at a very reasonable price. Linda’s photos are wonderfully precise and leave you in no doubt when matching images to names. If you do not have a copy of this invaluable book I suggest you treat yourself.

• For questions and comments e-mail j.hardy@coralwave.com.