08252023 WEEKEND

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The rebirth of an old favourite

By ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features Writer | acadet@tribunemedia.net

AS the island of Grand Bahama continues with its revitalisation efforts, one local restaurant is doing its part to attract both locals and visitors to Freeport’s shopping mecca, UNEXCO, located at the Port Lucaya Marina.

Decades ago, the original Brass Helmet was a popular hangout spot known for its open-air grill and great seafood.

Now many years later, the demand from their family and friends for a relaxed outdoor restaurant which serves great Bahamian cuisine gave its owners the courage to try their hand at it once more.

“Bringing this name back signals a rebirth on many levels and has been welcomed by many,” said Kim Simmons, senior accountant at the International Underwater Explorer’s Society (UNEXSO).

The Brass Helmet aims to be accessible for those who walk up, drive up, and pull up in their boats.

“We strive to provide a unique waterfront experience in Freeport unlike anything that’s currently on the market. Our location also offers the possibility of coming to the restaurant by boat. With space for four larger vessels or six smaller ones, it’s a pleasure to see groups or families now regularly pull up by boat, taking advantage of Freeport canals,” said Kim.

In the six months since its reopening, she said the Brass Helmet has already come further and grown faster than they all expected. Kim said they were also very fortunate to have found a great team that has made consistent service and

improvements easy. She said the team is hopeful this positive trend will continue, and is looking forward to catering to patrons.

At the Brass Helmet, the menu is designed around good local cuisine

and is inspired purely by community feedback.

Their breakfast dishes and daily lunch specials have proven to be especially popular, and happy hour from to 4pm to 6pm daily has been a success.

“Our barkeeper, Deandre, surprises guests with his ever-new and refreshing creations. Until now, we have had general positive feedback throughout on food and service,” said Kim.

“We look forward to updating our menu in the coming weeks to reflect the numerous requests we’ve received and begin regular themed evenings with live music.”

Bahamian author, life coach wins international award for self-help book

By CARA HUNT | Tribune Features Writer | cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

Tribune Business columnist, certified life coach and writer Deidre M Bastian can now add a new title to her already impressive resume; that of international award-winning author.

She recently received the Literary Titan International Gold Book Award for her new book, “Unplug…Take Back Your Power”.

The book is divided into 30 sections that encompass a range of topics, including finding inner peace, selflove, anger, and betrayal. The author strives to present a sensible manifesto for fostering a healthy, positive, and serene approach to life. Additionally, the book explores the importance of establishing boundaries with toxic individuals and conquering negative emotions and energies.

The Literary Titan Gold Book Award is bestowed upon books that exemplify exceptional standards in the presentation of original content.

The award covers both fiction and

non-fiction works, and appreciates the meticulous development of unique characters or subjects presented in an authentically engaging context.

The Literary Titan Book Award organisation, located in California, is an one of professional editors, writers, and professors who have a passion for the written word.

Deidre said she had been patiently waiting for a few weeks to receive a review from the editor-in-chief from Literary Titan.

Then, the following email arrived in her mailbox: “We are proud to present you with our Literary Titan Book Award. Your book was recently reviewed through our Book Review Service, and with that service, your book has entered into our Literary Book Award competition. Your book deserves extraordinary praise, and we are proud to acknowledge your hard work, dedication, and writing talent Your book will be added to our award winners’ page.”

Deidre felt excited, elated and also humbled when she read the email.

“This is when I knew that I was now an international award-winning author,” she told Tribune Weekend.

“Unplug…Take Back Your Power”, she said, was written in honour of her mother as she was still grieving her death.

“I attribute my humble blessings to God, and my mother always encouraged me to use my voice and my head to impact change,” she said.

“Ultimately, ‘Unplug… Take Back Your Power’ serves as a reminder to reclaim the aspects of our lives that have fallen victim to the pressures of modern soci ety and contemporary living conditions. It provides a road map for managing our emotions when they threaten to overwhelm us and also invites readers to draw on real-life situations and valuable insights.”

Deidre shared that in addition to the Literary Titan award, she was also awarded “Book of The Month” by

wellknown blogger Queenie Clem, also known as “The Literary Ambassador”, located in North Carolina.

The book is available on Amazon, One Rib Publication and the Logos Bookstore in Nassau.

The top 10 audiobooks on Audible.com By The Associated Press

FICTION

1. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, narrated by Meryl Streep

2. In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros, narrated by Carly Robins and Teddy Hamilton

3. The Primal Hunter 6 by Zogarth, narrated by Travis Baldree

4. None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell, narrated by Kristin Atherton, Ayesha Antoine, Louise Brealey and cast.

5. Not My Kind of Hero by Pippa Grant, narrated by Savannah Peachwood and Connor Crais

6. Esrahaddon by Michael J Sullivan, performed by Tim Gerard Reynolds, Michael J Sullivan and Robin Sullivan

7. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, narrated by Rebecca Soler and Teddy Hamilton

8. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, narrated by Miranda Raison, Bonnie Garmus and Pandora Sykes

9. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, narrated by Charlie Thurston

10. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, narrated by Lauryn Allman

NONFICTION

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear, narrated by the author

2. Outlive by Peter Attia, MD and Bill Gifford - contributor, narrated by Peter Attia, MD

3. The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz, narrated by Peter Coyote

4. 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, narrated by Richard Poe

5. Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins, narrated by the author and Adam Skolnick

6. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F(asterisk)ck by Mark Manson, narrated by Roger Wayne

7. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, narrated by the author

8. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey, narrated by the author

9. American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin, narrated by Jeff Cummings

10. How to Win Friends & Influence

People by Dale Carnegie, narrated by Andrew MacMillan

Steve Persaud

He’s a veteran educator and poet, but now this experienced guitarist has discovered a new way to teach people how to play his favourite instrument and compose their own melodies. He tells Denise Maycock all about his new book, which promotes the idea of using geometric patterns to discover new chord progressions.

FREEPORT resident Steven Persaud has released his new book, “Geometric Patterns, Angles and the Guitar”. The book was published by Modern History Press in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is available from Barnes & Nobel and on Amazon in Kindle and paperback versions.

“It was rated top among newly launched books,” said Steven, a musician and music teacher who lives and works in Grand Bahama.

“It’s all about letting guitarists create their own chord formation and it does not have to be geometric patterns,” he said.

Steven explained that chord progressions can express an emotion or tone, whether mysterious, sad, happy, or humorous. An online chord app can then be used to determine the names of the chord that were created, he said.

The book seeks to encourage guitarists of all levels to find their voice by experimenting and creating chordal ideas by playing notes on any part of the fingerboard to come up with their own chord shapes and patterns, and not necessarily familiar, geometric shapes. Guitarists who compose instrumental pieces will not be limited by conventional chord shapes but can come up with unusual chordal ideas that highlight their creative and compositional abilities against a background of shapes and patterns.

Retired District Superintendent of Education Hezekiah Dean said in his review of the book: “I have read this book repeatedly and found it quite interesting. It did not take long to recognise the genius it unleashed. As I explored Persaud’s ‘Geometric Patterns, Angles and the Guitar’ and applied its principles, I most certainly wished I had had access to it much earlier during my exposure to advanced guitar methods.”

Growing up in his native Guyana, Steven developed a love for music at an early age. His parents’ eclectic taste in music exposed him to a myriad of different genres. He later attended the Royal Academy of Music in London, England, where he studied piano and guitar.

“I realised even at an early age that the guitar was going to be an integral part of my life,” he said.

Steven has accompanied singers on the radio, at concerts, festivals and at weddings. But when he became a solo guitarist, it gave him the freedom of expression he craved.

“I wanted my guitar to sound as if two or more persons were playing and this led me to embrace classical, jazz, bossa nova and flamenco styles of music,” he said.

As an experienced guitarist, Steven played solo and background music at a poetry exhibition at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

On another occasion, he provided background music to the poems of Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore, who became in 1913 the first non-European and the first lyricist to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

“I realised that shapes and patterns helped me to remember the improvised music on both occasions,” he said. “Using this method was also very effective when I had to provide the music to my poetry on radio programmes,” he said.

Steven was also inspired to pursue a writing career. His poetry has been published in anthologies in North America and the Caribbean.

In October 2013, he won the QSC (The American Audio Company) “Obsessive” writing competition, in Portland, Oregon.

weekendthisin history

August 25

• In 325, the First Council of Nicaea – the first ecumenical council of the Christian church – takes place in today’s Iznik, Turkey, and solves the issue of Arianism, concluding that God the Father is of equal status with God the Son.

• In 1835, the New York newspaper The Sun runs the first in a series of six articles falsely claiming British astronomer Sir John Herschel had observed all sorts of life on the Moon through his telescope at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. Collectively

“This all created in me the need to share whatever knowledge I had acquired over the years, so teaching the guitar became more than an avocation, but a passion that has endured to this day,” he said.

Steven taught the subjects of Music and Language at the secondary level in Guyana for many years.

In the Bahamas, he was an English lecturer at the College of the Bahamas. He also partnered with the Rotary Club’s Big Brother and Sister programmes, teaching music to at-risk children at Columbus House for six years.

“The music was therapy for those children; it went well until Dorian came in 2019. But it was the genesis for me to put this book together to encourage guitarists and aspiring guitarists to use their own work and more importantly find some kind of pattern to come up with their own chordal system,” he said.

Some of Steven’s favourite musicians are classical composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Beethoven and Francisco Tarregas; American jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan, jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, jazz musician Charlie Parker, Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, and Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim.

known as “The Great Moon Hoax,” the articles announced the discovery of furry, winged human creatures about four feet tall, unicorns and two-legged beavers.

August 26

• In 1883, the volcano Krakatoa in Indonesia begins to erupt. The eruption is equivalent to 200 megatonnes of TNT –about 13,000 times the nuclear yield of bomb that devastated Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II. Some 36,000 people are killed by the eruption and in the resulting tsunami.

• In 1986, the murder of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin stuns New York City. She is found strangled to death in Central Park less than two hours after she was seen leaving a bar on the city’s Upper East Side with tall, handsome 19-year-old Robert Chambers. Nicknamed

the ‘Preppy Killer’, Chambers eventually pleads guilty to manslaughter and is imprisoned for 15 years. In 2023, he is once again released from prison after serving another 15-sentence on a separate drug and assault conviction.

August 27

• In 1875, tycoon William Ralston is found drowned in San Francisco Bay, just hours after he’d been asked to step down as president of the Bank of California following its crash. He was one of the first men to build a major financial empire in the American West. It remains undetermined whether Ralston accidentally drowned or committed suicide.

• In 1979, Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, is killed by members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who detonate a 50-pound bomb that was hidden on his fishing vessel Shadow V, which was anchored in Donegal Bay, Ireland. Three others are killed in the attack, including Mountbatten’s 14-yearold grandson, Nicholas.

AN 1888 lithograph of the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa.

‘I wanted my guitar to sound as if two or more persons were playing and this led me to embrace classical, jazz, bossa nova and flamenco styles of music.’

Best described as a number crossword, the task in Kakuro is to fill all of the empty squares, using numbers 1 to 9, so the sum of each horizontal block equals the number to its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the number on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Kakuro increases from Monday to Sunday.

CRYPTIC PUZZLE

Across

1 Dukes aren’t given to breaking promises (10)

6 Lay in some vanilla ice cream (4)

10 A deal leads to a game (5)

11 He struggles with valiant monstrous beast (9)

12 One who talks one round to composing some music (8)

13 See cat jump off piano (5)

15 Above and just behind the clock (7)

17 He plays by himself (7)

19 Take strong objection to marriage of Ted and Tess (7)

21 Book covering part of North Africa (7)

22 Last sign of the Greeks (5)

24 Height could mean a slight change of latitude (8)

27 Being villainous, use no fair play (9)

28 Limit where fires may be lit (5)

29 Made to go in tens perhaps (4)

30 He has to pay the price of publicity (10)

Down

1 Fruit sounding nothing like a peach (4)

2 Land of France in the depression is very off-putting (9)

3 Crow bar? (5)

4 Free in general (2,5)

5 People won’t be satisfied with this description (7)

7 Wooden pale (5)

8 Satisfied I raise no argument (10)

9 An outstanding singer perhaps (8)

14 Praiseworthy features of a railway? (4,6)

16 Desmond marries but doesn’t expect to be happy (8)

18 Detectives appear in new tennis events (9)

20 British naval man opposite to a landlady? (3,4)

21 Maybe it’s me as a painter (7)

23 Mischievous out of self-interest (5)

25 Sailor turns to playing cards (5)

26 Try and listen (4)

12345678

SMALL CROSSWORD

Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

26 Repeated greeting for a toy (2-2) 27 Feeling not quite so futile (9)

SMALL CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Leads a ship (8)

6 What grows on a person’s head (4)

settlement (6) 23 Row of similar guests (5)TODAY’S TARGET Good 10; very good 15; excellent 20 (or more). Solution next Saturday.

THE ALPHABEATER

LAST SATURDAY’S SOLUTION

L G M A I M I R L

8 Great fear (5)

11 Area of grassland (6)

12 State of untidiness (4)

14 Unreturned serve in tennis (3)

15 Take an oath (5)

16 Take a chair (3)

17 Final (4)

19 Cause to feel certain (6)

HOW many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters shown here?

20 Elevate (5)

CAN you crack the Alphabeater? Each grid number represents a letter – or black square. As in Alphapuzzle, every letter of the alphabet is used. But you have to complete the grid too! Use the given letters and black squares below the grid to start. The grid is ‘rotationally symmetrical’ – in other words, it looks the same if you turn the page upside down.

Solution tomorrow

elfin elfish fess file fine flesh flue fuel fulness fuse infuse isle issue lens less lien lieu life line lines ness self selfish shelf shine sine slue unless

UNSELFISH

21 Fail to hit (4)

22 Holder of a degree (8)

In making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each must contain the centre letter and there must be at least one nine-letter word. No plurals. Verb forms ending in S permitted’.

DOWN

1 A science (9)

TODAY’S TARGET

Good 9; very good 13; excellent 17 (or more). Solution tomorrow

For today’s solution call: 0907 181 2583

*Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

LAST SATURDAY’S SOLUTION

ACROSS 1 Baseball, 6 Asks, 8 Image, 11 Willow, 12 Kept, 14 Tap, 15 Thief, 16 Ate, 17 Spin, 19 Person, 20 Dried, 21 Huge, 22 Censored.

DOWN 1 Backwards, 2 Skip, 3 Billiards, 4 Law, 5 Responded, 7 Sweater, 9 Moves, 10 Grating, 13 Three, 18 Pour, 19 Pie.

Yesterday’s Easy Solution

Across: 1 Miscast, 5 Brass, 8 Jam-packed, 9 Tie, 10 Rash, 12 Violence, 14 Clammy, 15 Notify, 17 By halves, 18 Snap, 21 Can, 22 Cap in hand, 24 Erect, 25 Rightly.

Down: 1 Major, 2 Sum, 3 Away, 4 Take in, 5 Bad blood, 6 Attention, 7 Scenery, 11 Sea change, 13 Implicit, 14 Cubicle, 16 Temper, 19 Paddy, 20 Snug, 23 Apt.

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution

Across: 1 Rubbish, 5 Tessa, 8 Big dipper, 9 Ado, 10 Pupa, 12 Reticent, 14 Static, 15 Curate, 17 Eyesight, 18 Reef, 21 Par, 22 Exception, 24 Evens, 25 Illness. Down: 1 Rub up, 2 Beg, 3 Iris, 4 Hopper, 5 Terminus, 6 Stalemate, 7 Apostle, 11 Plane tree, 13 Tidiness, 14 Steeple, 16 Chichi, 19 Funds, 20 Opal, 23 Ice.

EASY PUZZLE

Across 1 Comfortable circumstances (4,6)

6 Shaft of light (4)

10 A dark brown fur (5)

11 Generously supplied (9)

12 Common sense (8)

13 Large stringed instrument (5)

15 Instance as warning to others (7)

17 Give power to (7)

19 Unfold (4,3)

21 Inclined to mercy (7)

22 Declare void (5)

24 Ponder (8)

27 Away from public view (2,7)

28 River of western Europe (5)

29 Edible flatfish (4)

30 Become thinner (4,6)

Down

1 Otherwise (4)

2 Vanquish (9)

3 Sloping sharply (5)

4 Regular procedure (7)

5 Inherent characteristics (7)

7 Laud (5)

8 A secondrater (10)

9 Follower of a teacher (8)

14 Feats of spectacular flying (10)

16 Announce publicly (8)

18 An ancient contact sport (9)

20 Violent windstorm (7)

21 Strive in rivalry (7)

23 Native country of Gurkhas (5)

25 Cherish (5)

26 Critical examination (4)

2 Baked goods (4)

3 Dead dress (anag.) (9)

4 Novel (3)

Yesterday’s Sudoku Answer

5 Promote (9)

Call 0907 181 2585 for today’s Target solution

*Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

7 The United States (7)

9 Regal (5)

BATTLESHIPS

10 Points the finger at (7)

13 Of Switzerland (5)

Yesterday’s Kakuro Answer

18 Operatic solo (4)

19 Broadcast (3)

FIND where the fleet of ships shown is hidden in the grid. The numbers to the right of and below the grid indicate how many of the squares in that row are filled in with ships or parts of ships. The ships do not touch each other, even diagonally. Some squares have been filled in to start you off. Solution tomorrow

2345678910

Call 0907 181 2586 for today’s Target solution *Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge. All puzzles use The Chambers Dictionary

● Alternatively, for six Extra Letter clues to your mobile, text DXBEAT to 64343. Texts cost £1 plus your usual operator

Experience an ice-cold Italian Summer in the Bahamas

By ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features Writer | acadet@tribunemedia.net

WITH a summer as hot as the one we’re currently experiencing; icy treats are more than welcome.

Shanique Lightbourne decided she wanted to help her customers cool down by putting a twist on the usual frozen desserts and beverages.

With a touch of creativity and the infusion of lots flavour, her Icebox Italian Water Ice brand mobile cart business strives to offer something new to the market.

Explaining the idea behind this venture, Shanique told Tribune Weekend her Italian Water Ice has “the smooth, rich, creamy texture of ice cream with the light, fruity flavours of a sorbet, and refreshing like a shaved ice.

“It’s dairy free, fat-free and guilt-free.”

Boozy flavours are also available, she added.

“We cater to parties, showers, weddings and corporate events. Our ice cart is versatile and suits any event or occasion,” she said.

The idea for Italian Water Ice, Shanique explained, grew from her former business, Da Shave Ice Shack. With this new venture, she wanted the opportunity to create more products with the refreshing flavours of shaved ice but which could also be handscooped like ice cream.

“My research brought me to an ice product called Philadelphia water ice and it was exactly what I was looking for. So I got started, purchased a commercial ice cream machine, an Italian ice cart, and rebranded the business to Icebox Italian Water Ice,” she said.

Italian Water Ice comes in a variety of flavours such as mango, strawberry lemonade, blue raspberry, lemon, cotton candy, bubble gum, pineapple, green apple, and others.

Alcoholic flavours include Pink Moscato, Jack Lemonade, Henny Berry, Sky Juice and more.

In addition to hiring her mobile cart, customers can also buy the Ice Cooler Drop-Off package for school parties and smaller events.

“Our most memorable experience was a baby shower we catered to, ‘Oh Navi’ for Mimi Evans, also known as ‘Auntie’ on TikTok. This shower featured some of the best vendors and we were elated to be asked to cater. The event was simply amazing, and Auntie featured our business on TikTok, which help tremendously and was greatly appreciated,” said Shanique.

The secret to making a good product, she explained, is that all the ice water is made fresh and to order.

“We only use the highest quality ingredients. Our product can also be customised to match your event or theme’s colour. A perfect example is our Bahamian Flag Italian Water Ice made to celebrate this year’s 50th Independence exclusively for Aliv,” she said.

Dwarfng an avocado tree

Good day, gardeners. How does your garden grow?

Continuing on from avocados, as I discussed a couple of weeks ago, and in relation to the topic of pruning as I mentioned last week, a common question that comes up is: “What dwarf avocado trees do you have?”

The only answer to that question is, none. There are reasons for this. There exists only one true dwarf avocado, which is named the Wurtz, until a marketer got their hands on it and rebranded it as the “Little Cado”.

All avocado trees, when healthy and in a good location, will grow to at least 30’ tall eventually.

The Wurtz tops out at around 15’ and can be considered a true dwarf. One problem for us in getting hold of this variety is that it is a hybrid of Guatemalan and Mexican species, which tend to be grown mostly in California and south of there, on the west coast. Another problem for us in getting these is they are not all that common.

Those two factors alone drive costs sky high, and transporting material long distances on top of a sky-high cost of the product makes it not feasible to get hold of, if one or more could be found. It is possible to keep an avocado tree to a manageable size, and there are two methods to this. Neither one will create a true dwarf, but rather will create a somewhat stunted, dwarf like tree. The first method that I’ll mention is to grow an avocado in a pot. It is entirely possible to have an avocado bear fruit in a pot, as with most any fruit tree that I know of. In order to stunt the growth to dwarf the tree, treat it almost as a bonsai, whereas each year or two it will need

repotting, and 20 percent or so of the roots can be trimmed at the time of repotting, then it can be put back into the same pot.

Now, here is what I suggest if one wants to have a fruiting avocado in a pot, especially for someone that lives in a contained space: start with a pot that is 14-18” in diameter. Grow in this pot for 3-5 years, pulling it out of the pot at least every second year to trim roots and provide some fresh potting medium. After 3-5 years go up to a pot that is 24”. This equates to 25 to 30 gallons, although a 30-gallon pot isn’t all that common. I’ve fruited mango and avocado, mulberry, Barbados cherry, starfruit, jujube, dilly, and many others in a 25-gallon pot. This ought to get you through for another 5 years, especially if the tree is taken out of the pot and root pruned after each fruiting season.

Eventually it can go into a 45-gallon which

is typically 30” diameter, or larger if you wish, I grow up to around 65 gallons, which is 36” diameter; 100 gallon or larger is possible, but once something gets into a 65 gallon or larger, it takes quite a lot of effort to work with it.

So after a decade, if you end up in a 45-gallon pot, you’ll have a “dwarfed” tree that bears fruit.

When growing in pots, it is essential to manage a nutrient programme to keep sufficient amounts in the soil for good growth and fruiting. One thing that must be done to keep any tree dwarfed or smaller than it naturally would be is to prune it after every fruiting cycle.

Take off up to 30 percent of the growth of an avocado in a pot, and you’ll have a fruit tree that is easily manageable right on your balcony or back patio. Of course, when anything is grown in a pot, it will require supplemental watering in dry spells.

Another method to dwarf a fruit tree is to plant it in a rock hole. This is equal to planting in a pot in that the roots are contained. Be aware that when in the ground, the roots of an avocado tree will be mostly in the top 6” of ground. They do

not develop deep tap roots. Root pruning, pruning of branches, and containing the growth is one way of stunting. or controlling the growth of a fruit tree to a manageable size.

Remember, anything can be grown in a pot. It keeps trees east to handle and control, and can still provide enough fruit for one or two people.

It won’t be enough to box them up for market, but it will be a way to have fresh fruit on your doorstep. While there is no true dwarf avocado available on the market in our region, by controlling the root growth, the foliage and branching, the nutrient content, and the moisture levels in a pot, one can grow an avocado for fruit without having to have a yard that will fit a 30’ or larger tree. Even when something is in the ground, don’t be afraid to prune it to a manageable size! Most fruit trees respond well to regular pruning. As always, I wish you happy gardening.

• Adam Boorman is the nursery manager at Fox Hill Nursery on Bernard Road. You can contact him with any questions you may have, or topics you would like to see discussed, at gardening242@ gmail.com.

What to stream and play this week: ‘Star Wars: Ahsoka,’ ‘Honor Among Thieves’, and ‘Immortals of Aveum’

BytheAssociatedPress

NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

• It would have been easy to dismiss “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” as another tired Hollywood effort to parlay whatever unused IP it had lying around. Yet directors and co-writers Jonathan M Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who helmed one of the better comedies in recent years (“Game Night”), turn “Honor Among Thieves” into a remarkably funny and refreshingly unserious fantasy adventure, led by comic performances by Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant. After playing in theatres this spring, “Honor Among Thieves” lands on Prime Video today.

• Adam Sandler has long been known for making movies with his friends. Now it’s his family’s turn. “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” which streams today on Netflix, stars Sunny Sandler, Adam’s teenage daughter, as one of two friends (Samantha Lorraine plays the other) driven apart by a squabble over a boy. Adam co-stars as Sunny’s father in the adaptation of Fiona Rosenbloom’s 2005 YA novel. Sandler’s wife, Jackie, and other daughter, Sadie, also co-star.

— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

NEW MUSIC TO STREAM

• Tim McGraw roars back with “Standing Room Only, ” an album with the wistful title track, and “Hey Whiskey,” which is almost a breakup song with booze. Another single, “Remember Me Well,” is a look back at a love affair in which McGraw sings “If you’re gonna forget me/Find someone else/If you’re gonna remember me/ Remember me well.” He says the songs are “some of the most emotional, thought-provoking, and life-affirming music I’ve ever recorded.”

— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

NEW SERIES TO STREAM

• The Jedi Ahsoka Tano was originally introduced in the 2008 animated film “Star Wars: The

Clone Wars” and then returned in “The Mandalorian,” played by Rosario Dawson. Now, Anakin Skywalker’s former apprentice leads a “Mandalorian” spin-off called “Star Wars: Ahsoka.” Ahsoka, a survivor of the Jedi purge, is investigating a threat to the galaxy after the fall of the Galactic Empire. Additional cast members include Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, David Tennant and Lars Mikkelsen. The series is now on Disney+.

• If you want to stay in space, “Invasion” season 2 is on Apple TV+ this week. The show, co-created by Simon Kinberg and David Weil, focuses on individuals across various continents whose lives are upended by the arrival of aliens on Earth. In season two, the aliens are getting more aggressive.

— Alicia Rancilio

NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

• The pitch for Electronic Arts’ Immortals of Aveum is simple: a first-person shooter with sorcery. Think something like Call of Duty, except instead of shooting bullets you’re firing off magic bolts, missiles and bombs. The protagonist, Jak, has just discovered his occult gifts, and he’s been recruited to fight in the millennia-long war between the two supernatural superpowers that run his world. Immortals comes from Ascendant Studios, a new production house founded by Call of Duty veteran Bret Robbins, and it’s a bit of a rarity these days — a fresh single-player adventure that isn’t just another sequel in a long-running franchise. You can start slinging spells Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC. —

Lou Kesten

“Dungeons & DragonsHonor Among Thieves”

literary lives – Marvin Gaye (1939 - 1984)

Sir Christopher Ondaatje

delves into the life of American R&B and soul singer and songwriter who helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, and brought the concept album format to rhythm and blues and to soul music in the 1970s, delivered by one if its finest voices.

“I don’t make records for pleasure. I did when I was a younger artist, but I don’t today. I record so that I can feed people what they need, what they feel. Hopefully, I record so that I can help someone overcome a bad time.”

– Marvin Gaye

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr, was born on April 2, 1939, at Freedman’s Hospital in Washington, DC, to church minister Marvin Gay, Sr, and domestic worker Alberta Gay (née Cooper). His first home was in a public housing project, the Fairfax Apartments (now demolished) at 1617 First Street SW in the Southwest Waterfront neighbourhood. At the time, most of these buildings were small, in extensive disrepair, and lacked water and electricity. The area was covered with one and two-storey shacks, and always overcrowded.

Gaye was the second eldest of four children. He had two sisters and one brother. He also had two half-brothers: Michael Cooper, his mother’s son from a previous relationship, and Antwaun Carey Gay, born from one of his father’s extramarital affairs.

Gaye began singing in church when he was four years old, accompanied on the piano by his father – a cruel taskmaster. The family were part of a Pentecostal church known as the House of God that was influenced by Hebrew Pentecostalism which advocated strict conduct, and adhered to both the Old and New Testaments.

Gaye developed a love of singing and expressing himself, and was encouraged to pursue a musical career after he sang “Be My Love” in a school play when he was eleven.

The tragic life of a Motown legend – Part I

His sister later explained that Gaye was often beaten brutally by his father, who whipped him for any shortcomings.

“Living in my father’s house was like living with a king, a very peculiar, changeable, cruel, and all powerful king.”

– Marvin Gaye

He added that if his mother had not consoled him, and encouraged his singing, he would have killed himself.

Gaye attended Syphax Elementary School, and the Randall Junior High School. He took his singing more seriously when in the Junior High School and sang with the Randall Junior High Glee Club. In 1943/54 Gaye’s parents moved into the East Capitol public housing project in Washington,

DC, Capitol View neighbourhood. Gaye briefly attended Spingarn High School before moving to Cardozo High School where he joined several vocal groups.

However, his relationship with his father worsened and he was often kicked out of the house.

In 1956, the seventeen-year-old Gaye joined the United States Air Force. He faked mental illness and was discharged shortly afterwards.

After his discharge from the Air Force, Gaye and his friend Reese Palmer formed a vocal quartet, The Marquees, who worked with blues and rock n’ roll star Bo Diddley, who assigned the group to Columbia subsidiary Okeh Records, but the solo single co-written by Bo Diddley failed to chart, and the group was dropped.

Moonglow’s founder, Harvey Fuqua, hired The Marquees and changed the group’s name to Harvey and the New Moonglows, and relocated to Chicago. The group recorded several sides for Bo Diddley’s label Chess in 1959, including “Mama Loocie” which was Gaye’s first lead vocal. They also found work

A 1959 promotional picture of Harvey Fuqua and the New Moonglows. Gaye is second from the right behind a seated Fuqua

as session singers for estab lished acts such as Chuck Berry.

In 1960, the group disbanded and Gaye moved to Detroit with Harvey Fuqua, where he signed with Tri-Phi Records as a session musician. During the Decem ber holidays, Gaye performed at Motown president Berry Gor dy’s house. Impressed, Gordy approached Fuqua on the avail ability of Gaye’s contract, and Fuqua agreed to sell part of his interest in his contract with Gaye.

Soon after this, Gaye signed with Motown subsidiary Tamla. Before this happened Gaye added the extra “e” to his surname, not just to silence rumours about his sexuality, but to create a separa tion between himself and his father. His plan was to pursue a career as a performer of jazz standards, and with no intention of becoming an R&B artist.

Marvin Gaye released his first single, “Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide”, in May 1961, with the album The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye following shortly afterwards. These initial recordings failed commercially, and most of 1961 was spent performing session work as a drummer for The Miracles, The Marvelettes, and blues artist Jimmy Reed. He was paid $5 a week. As he said later, he regretted not taking dancing lessons from Cholly Atkins. He was one of the few Motown artists to miss out on this teaching.

In 1962 and 1963 people were starting to take notice of Gaye. He was a co-writer of The Marvelettes track “Beechwood 4-5789” on which he played backing drums. “Stubborn Kind of Fellow” was one of his early solo successes, released in September 1962 and reached No. 8 on the R&B chart and No. 46 on the Billboard Hot 100. He reached the pop top 40 with his dance song “Hitch Hike” – reaching No. 3 on the Hot 100. “Pride and Joy” became Gaye’s first top ten single when it was released in 1963. Gaye’s second album That Stubborn Kinda Fellow, on Tamla Records (1963) included three of his 1962 singles; and then in October that year he performed in the Motown Revue – a series of concerts as part of the Chitlin’ Circuit on the north and southeastern coasts of the United States for black musicians.

His performance at the Apollo Theatre in June 1963 was filmed, and later that October Tamla Records issued the live album Marvin Gaye Recorded Live on Stage.

“Can I Get a Witness” became one of his early international successes.

When Gaye was 25, he recorded a successful duet album, Together, with Motown singer Mary Wells, which reached No.42 on the pop album chart. The album’s two-sided single, including “Once Upon a Time” and “What’s the Matter With You Baby” – each of which reached the top 20.

“How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”, written by Holland-DozierHolland, reached No.6 on the Hot 100, as well as reaching the top 50 in the UK. He was young and good looking and increasingly popular. Gaye began getting television exposure in 1964 on American Bandstand. He also appeared in the concert film The T.A.M.I. Show. He had two number one R&B singles in 1965 with “I’ll Be Doggone” and “Ain’t That Peculiar”. Both songs became million-sellers. He then switched to jazz-derived ballads in a tribute album to Nat “King” Cole who had just died.

In early 1967, Motown hired Terrell to sing duets with Marvin Gaye. Gaye would recall later that he did not know how gifted Terrell was until they began singing together.

In October 1967, Terrell collapsed in Gaye’s arms during a performance in Farmville, Virginia. She was rushed immediately to Farmville’s Southside Hospital, where doctors discovered a malignant tumour in her brain. It ended her budding career as a singer and Gaye was devastated by the diagnosis. Terrell attempted to make a few recordings but several operations failed to cure her problems. She died of brain cancer on March 16, 1970.

Gaye continued to perform and record, including his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”. It topped the charts in several other countries and sold over four million copies. But

he was disillusioned, and in a depressive period following a marriage to Berry Gordon’s sister Anna in 1963. He felt his success was not deserved and that he “felt like a puppet – Berry’s puppet, Anna’s puppet.”

Gaye and Anna Gordy separated in 1973 and eventually divorced in 1977. Unhappy with his career, despite his success with “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby” and “That’s the Way Love Is”, both of which reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, Gaye sought out a position on a professional football team, the Detroit Lions. He trained with them, but it came to nothing because if legal liabilities and fears of possible injuries that would affect his music career.

GAYE with duet partner Mary Wells.

GAYE and his first wife, Anna Gordy, sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy

Remembering The Bahamas’ third Governor General, Sir Henry Milton Taylor

In my youth, my mother always referred to the then future Governor General as “HM”.

She would never have imagined that this relative of her’s, Sir Henry Milton Taylor, would become Governor General of the Bahamas (1988-1991), but that’s exactly what he did.

Following in his footsteps, so did Dame Ivy Dumont (2001-2005), another descendant of Major Archibald Taylor’s.

When Marcella Taylor (19332003), her sister, Maris (1931-2002) and I went to Long Island to explore the ruins of the Taylor plantation house, they gave me two of their father’s books, one of which is “My Political Memoirs”.

Almost certainly, the most enduring event of Sir Henry’s political career was the founding of the first political party in the Bahamas – the PLP. Here’s how he said it happened:

Cyril Richardson and William Cartwright had the first meeting at HM’s home to discuss “the pros and cons connected with our proposed subject.”

Every night after that, they met to work out all the initial assignments.

Many proposals were considered, and the three friends drafted a programme that they believed would be best for the proposed political party.

To broaden the scope of the party-to-be, they invited people with a large divergence of political

opinion, but only six men agreed to come in: Holly Brown, John S Carey, Paul Farrington, Urban Knowles, Clement Pinder and Felix Russell.

“Many who had been invited were either not interested or afraid of economic reprisals, or did not believe it would work, but the team now had grown to nine members; we worked, each night, to get the organisation going, forming ourselves into committees, reviewing the drafts of the Constitution and Platform, choosing the name Progressive Liberal Party and electing the following six officers:

Henry M Taylor, MHA

– Party Chairman

John S Carey

– Party Vice-Chairman

Cyril St John Stevenson

– Secretary General

William W Cartwright, MHA

– Party Treasurer

Clement Pinder

– Assistant Secretary General

Urban H Knowles – Chaplain.”

The Constitution directed that the party be administered under the direction of an executive board, and Felix Russell, Holly Brown and Paul Farrington filled those positions.

“The founding fathers of the PLP, Stevenson, Cartwright and Taylor were among those who made up the first governing board. This board worked out details for the Constitution the Platform,

each of which was constantly re-written until final drafts were accepted.

An announcement, in the press, informed the public that a political party had been established.

Both The Tribune and The Guardian published the platform in its entirety.

“The PLP salutation was for a person to raise the right hand to the shoulder, with three fingers straight up, and close together, and say ‘PLP’, to which the response was ‘All the Way’.

On November 23, 1953, the Progressive Liberal Party became a reality and I was pleased that, after so many years, my dream had come true.”

comments, please send an e-mail to islandairman@gmail.com

PAUL C ARANHA FORGOTTEN FACTS

SIR Henry Milton Taylor, Governor General of the Bahamas (1988-1992).

SIR Henry at age seven.

animals

Animal matters Kim Aranha

Farewell to poor Lolita

The news of the death of Lolita the orca who was held captive in a ridiculously small tank in the Miami Seaquarium for her entire adult life is a real cause for reflection.

Her death showcases the thousands of idiotic misconceptions that caused this poor animal to suffer during her entire life; cooped up in a totally inappropriate tank, torn away from her pod, her family, just a baby, crying for her mama. No, I am not exaggerating; that is exactly what happens, and still happens with aquatic mammals the world over.

I look back at when my parents took me to the Seaquarium. I remember watching Lolita jump, splash and “wave” on command. I never stopped to think of what she was going through; the misery and sadness. Our squeals of delight were actually making her life hell.

How could we have been so ignorant about animals? Where was our compassion? When did the lightbulb switch on?

It is a disgrace that it took the world so long to understand that what we were doing to and with animals was totally unacceptable.

How could we visit a zoo and see animals held in small concrete cages, animals that had been snatched from the jungle, perhaps torn from their mother’s breasts after she had been killed? What was the world missing to ever condone this kind of behaviour?

The ridiculous theory that people need to see creatures up close and personal in a “jam jar” is archaic. With all the amazing videos that are available (and of tremendous quality), you can get closer than ever before and see more of the animal and in more detail than you ever could, and here is the best bit: whilst the animal is still roaming free.

My point of reference is that children the world over love dinosaurs; they know everything there is to know about them. They are enamoured

with the dinosaurs, collecting models of them, reading books and drawing pictures of them, and they have never seen one up close and personal. They have never seen one in the distance and they never will. The lack of actually seeing a dinosaur has not diminished their popularity, on the contrary, I suspect the opposite is true.

Lolita was getting close to freedom. The new owners of the Seaquarium had retired her and they were actively planning to move her to a sanctuary on the West Coast of the United States of America, near where she had been kidnapped 56 miserable years ago. This sad and moving story makes me stop and reflect for a moment about

PET OF THE WEEK

those poor dolphins at Blackbeard’s Cay, captured off Honduras, brought to the Bahamas and put in totally inappropriate pens in shallow water.

Fortunately, zoos and marine parks are becoming more aware of the suffering that wild animals in captivity experience and there is a definite move to improve circumstances and sensitize the owners of Nature parks and educate the spectators. How many more humans have to fall into the viewing area before getting the message to not lean over? Why is it that humans are so stupid? Honestly, give me animals any day.

It all boils down to money. The desire to be rich is so extreme that

people will do anything at the expense of animals to make a dollar, and for some reason or other the masses flock to these spectacles.

Poor Lolita and all the other orcas still in captivity have paid the ultimate price for man’s greed; anything to make money.

I mourn the loss of this magnificent animal, because to me, she represented all the mistreated, misunderstood and forgotten animals around the world. Not just the marine mammals, but those poor bears held in cages so small they cannot turn around for the bile trade. Bear bile, really? Where the animals are restrained in cages in order to extract bile for “medicinal purposes”, illegal in most countries but still legal in China. If the bile comes from a sick bear, the patient gets sick…sorry, but I can’t help but giggle.

The world is still a very cruel place with many people who do not care in the slightest degree about the appalling treatment of animals as long as they can make a few dollars.

Poor, sad Lolita. I hope there is an afterlife for those magnificent whales where they swim free and dive deep with their families…somewhere happy where all humans are kind and caring – a utopia were the humans care about the future of the animals and not just how much money they can exploit the animals for.

It is time to wake up and call a spade a blinking shovel and increase our knowledge. Stop turning away because it isn’t a happily-ever-after story; face the facts and make a difference by making your voice heard.

Come see Clement

By The Bahamas Humane Society

Two-year-old Clement has been at the Bahamas Humane Society since he was a small puppy. He was a little shy to begin with, but the dog walks are helping him come out of his shell.

Clement hopes that Forever Home Fridays will be his ticket to adoption.

From 11am to 3pm on Friday, various adoption dogs will be available for viewing in reception at the BHS.

Clement gets along well with other dogs, not so much with cats. He’d love a

home that will continue his lovely walks. If you’re that home, come into the BHS to meet liver and white Dalmatian mix Clement, or call 3256742 for more information.

• Forever Home Fridays, Second Chance Saturdays, and Happy Tails Tuesday are a chance for adopters to participate in a meet and greet in reception at the BHS. Come and meet the dogs! From 11am to 3pm. (Saturdays will start after clinic ends!)

TRAINER Marcia Hinton pets Lolita, a captive orca whale, during a performance at the Miami Seaquarium in Miami, March 9, 1995. Lolita died on Friday, August,18, at the Miami Seaquarium as caregivers prepared to move her from the theme park in the near future. (Nuri Vallbona/Miami Herald via AP, File)

Destination romance

Bridal trade show aims to show couples what the Bahamas has to of er

By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net

A “shocking and awe-inspiring” experience is what the Bahamas Bridal Association is promising to offer patrons attending its upcoming “Come for the Romance” event.

The trade show is the Association’s second annual event that seeks to primarily bring together local wedding professionals with international bridesand grooms-to-be looking to make the Bahamas their wedding destination.

The event will be held from August 31 to September 4 at the Atlantis Ballroom.

This is the second year the Association is hosting “Come for the Romance” and the team is enthusiastic about showing what the Bahamas has to offer in professional wedding related services and venues.

Sandra Sutherland, president of the Bahamas Bridal Association, said the first trade show and conference was such a success that they had to host again this year.

“This year, however, we have separated the conference from the trade show, and the conference will be held later in the year and will provide even more educational opportunities for our attendees than last year,” she told Tribune Weekend.

The trade show, Ms Sutherland explained, strives to be an educational experience for all travel advisors who attend.

“It gives them an opportunity to see the standard of work locals can provide, to meet local planners and vendors they might wish to partner with for weddings in the Bahamas, and also for local brides wishing to identify planners and vendors to bring their visions for their weddings to life,” she said.

“It is an opportunity to develop linkages and to share professional ideas.”

The morning session, which is a closed event for travel advisors, will feature both local and international speakers from the wedding industry.

The afternoon session, which is open to the public, will allow attendees to visit the many booths set up and meet with local planners and an assortment of vendors in the wedding, honeymoon and hospitality industry.

“The trade show targets planners

and vendors as participants, and bridesto-be along with anyone interested in participating in the wedding industry. Of course, this will be an ideal opportunity for those planners and vendors who are not a member of the Bahamas Bridal Association to come out and see what we are all about and consider becoming a part of our association,” she said.

The Bahamas Bridal Association is a group of local professional, certified wedding planners, vendors and allied partners providing destination wedding services throughout the islands of the Bahamas.

This year, the Ms Sutherland said the Association has been growing its membership in the Family Islands, where more and more international brides are looking to have their weddings take place and to have their guests experience the local culture.

At the same time, the group has also been focused on educating, certifying and growing the local wedding industry to be able to adequately service couples coming to the Bahamas.