10072022 WEEKEND

entertainment

“Sher wood’, “The Redeem Team” and “Luckiest Girl Alive.” (Britbox/ Netflix/ Netflix via AP)

New this week: The Redeem Team,Mila Kunis and Quavo + Takeoff

By The Associated Press

Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music plat forms this week.

MOVIES • Lena Dunham (“Girls”) adapts Karen Cushman’s young-adult novel in “Catherine Called Birdy,” a spirited medieval coming-of-age tale about a 14-year-old girl named Birdy (Bella Ramsey) in medieval England. Her father (Andrew Scott)

Olympics after the team’s disappoint ing bronze finish in 2004. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, both team members, are producers of the documentary, which digs into coach Mike Krzyzewski’s leadership and Kobe Bryant’s considerable impact on the team.

• Mila Kunis stars in the Netflix thriller “Luckiest Girl Alive,” based on Jessica Knoll’s 2015 best-selling debut novel. The film, streaming Friday, takes some of the mystery

featuring Jung Kook of BTS. Some other singles are the brooding ballad “That’s Hilarious” and the slinky “Light Switch.” Still not sure? listen to the lovesick up-tempo “Smells Like Me.”

• What do you get when two of the three rappers from Migos release an LP? We’ll find out today when Quavo and Takeoff give the world “Only Built for Infinity Links” with out third member Offset. The lead single “Hotel Lobby” has a video

and relatives. Decades later, offic ers return in force to solve a pair of killings, with their presence rekin dling past bitterness. James Graham (“Brexit — The Uncivil War”), who grew up in the real-life town of Nottinghamshire and witnessed the turmoil, wrote the series on the BritBox streaming service.

• “Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show” returns Friday for its second

wants to marry her off for some much-needed money, but Birdy’s plans repeatedly foil him. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called the film “part ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary,’ part Mel Brooks and all joy.” Though still playing in select theat ers, “Catherine Called Birdy” begins streaming today on Prime Video.

• From some of the same produc ing team behind the hit Michael Jordan documentary series “The Last Dance” comes another look back on a basketball high point.

“The Redeem Team,” debuting today on Netflix, follows the 2008 US men’s basketball team as it seeks a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing

stylings of “Gone Girl” and “The Girl on the Train.” Kunis stars as a New York woman with a seemingly perfect life that unravels when a true-crime documentary starts look ing into her dark high-school past.

— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

MUSIC • For his third album, pop singer-songwriter Charlie Puth is going with a very simple title — “Charlie,” due out today. It’s his first full-length project since his 2018 Grammy-nominated LP “Voicenotes.” You’ve likely already heard at least one of the 12 tracks — the earworm “Left and Right”

inspired by ”Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and another club-ready single is “Us vs Them,” with Gucci Mane. Then there’s the Birdmanfeaturing “Big Stunna” and the memorable lyrics: “I was sick before carona/ice cold like pneumonia.”

— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

TELEVISION • Lesley Manville, Joanne Froggatt and David Mor rissey lead an ensemble cast in “Sherwood,” a drama series inspired by a 1984 miners’ strike in Notting ham, England, that pitted the town against police and divided friends

season and none too soon. Jack McBrayer (“30 Rock”) is the beam ing center of the show that aims to help preschoolers appreciate the value of small acts of kindness. Shouldn’t the adults in this fractious world be watching, too? The Apple TV+ series, co-created by McBrayer and Angela C Santomero (“Blue’s Clues,” “Daniel Tiger’s Neighbor hood”), will welcome guest stars including Tony Hale, Stephanie Beatriz, Kristen Schaal and Kumail Nanjiani.

Elber

Taking Bahamian art up to global standards

A new multifunctional platform opens at Baha Mar

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

THE

CURRENT Art Gallery at Baha Mar is expanding its space with the opening of a new museum, Eccho, that will support the gallery’s mission for showcasing local art that is up to par with international standards and resonates with a global audience.

Eccho is an acronym for ‘Expressive Collaborations and Creative House of Opportunites’. The space will serve as a multifunctional and dynamic platform that sup ports a wide array of cultural programming.

“Our mission is to position Bahamian art to a higher, professional global standard by forging unique and mean ingful partnerships with other arts institutions in the local community,” said Christian Wong, curatorial and design coordinator.

The grand opening for Eccho is scheduled for October 20, from 7pm to midnight.

The museum’s opening will feature new artwork by Dede Brown and Kachelle Knowles for their joint exhibi tion “BEGUILE”.

It will also showcase artwork by American contem porary artist Shepard Fairey and serve as the unveiling of a partnership with the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, featuring “Hard Mouth,” one of their past permanent exhibitions.

Live music will be provided by the Essence band and DJ CamTheComfort.

This showcase is expected be the first of many for Eccho – a concept which has been in the works for the last year.

Eccho will host exhibitions, dinner parties, festivals, artist talks, music and fashion events. It will also be avail able for space rentals.

“We are planning 10 exhibitions, six artist talks, dinner parties, a festival for the 50th Independence of the Baha mas, the Culinary and Arts Festival, six concerts, and more,” said Christian.

She added that The Current will continue to build relationships with the regional and international art community, bringing greater visibility of contemporary Bahamian art to new and broader audiences.

In addition to this, The Current facilitates art lessons and workshops, moderated lectures, and artist talks, and satisfies the cultural responsibilities of the Baha Mar Resort Foundation.

It also offers a boutique featuring a bespoke collection of original handcrafted Bahamian goods, prints, apparel, accessories, home décor, ceramics, jewellry and one-ofkind gifts. Every item at the boutique has been carefully selected from the most talented local artisans and craft speople in the country.

Lynn Parotti will be the first resident artist in the space until the end of the year.

Artwork will be on sale for the opening exhibition.

KACHELLE Knowles

SEAFAN Figure Merge #5 by Dede Brown

DEDE Brown

SHEPARD Fairey

LYNN Parotti

ARTWORK by Kachelle Knowles

Celebrating local playwrights

– ‘Short Tales’ concludes this weekend

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

TheShakespeare in Paradise family caps off its celebration of the return of live theatre to the Dundas with tomorrow night’s final performance of its “Short Tales” 2022.

Over the last two and a half weeks, the theatre troupe has been staging nine new plays from seven Bahamian playwrights.

This year’s “Short Tales” installment kicked off on September 19, with plays featuring fun with witches, mermaids, gangsters, arsonists, YouTube influencers, and regular people in some extraordi nary circumstances.

“Usually, ‘Short Tales’ is 10 plots because it’s 10 plays. This year, we have nine plots. Each play is the inspiration of the playwright who submits it, and there’s no telling where these writers get their ideas from,” said Patrice Francis, Ringplay Pro duction’s Board Member of Communications.

“Some of the ‘Short Tales’ end the way one might expect; others have unexpected plot twists, but at the end of the evening, audiences will most likely see a character they recognise because, in many ways, these tales mirror our society and our world. That’s what theatre does.”

Patrice said the actors were excited to return to the live stage with ‘Short Tales’. And the production and technical crews were equally as enthusiastic.

“Writers are inspired to write. Directors are splitting their time between having fun and wish ing the actors would stick to the vision. Students are filing in; adult audiences are spreading the word. In essence, it’s bustling at the Dundas in the Philip A Burrows (PAB) Black Box Theatre,” she said.

In addition to “Short Tales”, the Dundas has been showing Shakespeare’s “Richard III”,

directed by Erin T Knowles-McKinney; “First Comes Mourning”, written by J Ben-Hepburn and Patrice Francis and directed by Philip A Bur rows, with musical direction by Adrian Archer. The theatre company also screened their short film “Tell Me” at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas on October 4.

“At present, we are unable to use the Winston V Saunders theatre, our main facility, because we need a new air-conditioning system in that space. We have been making an appeal for $150,000 to begin the replacement of the AC, but in actual ity that main theatre’s initial renovations will cost approximately $250,000. We are grateful for the pledges we’ve received and hope that this festival’s four offerings (‘Short Tales’, ‘Richard III’, ‘First Comes Mourning’ and ‘Tell Me’) will inspire those who are able to give and keep on supporting,” said Patrice.

The inaugural production of “Short Tales” was staged in 2018. Patrice said the series seeks to encourage local playwrights to craft shorter plays with less characters because for some, present ing a full-length story for the stage may seem daunting. “Short Tales” is produced annually for Shakespeare in Paradise by Ringplay Productions, a Bahamian theatre company founded in 2009 by some of the most experienced local theatre professionals.

Inspired by Philip Burrows’ and Dr Nicolette Bethel’s experience at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare in Paradise was designed to be an international theatre festival held every fall in Nassau, At its inception, it had the following goals:

• Celebration and development of Bahamian theatre

• Education and exposure to a range of produc tions from classical theatre traditions around the world

• Community outreach; offering opportunities to individuals in the cultural community who have passion and talent, but limited access to training and experience.

“Dr Nicolette Bethel wanted to create an opportunity for playwrights, directors and actors to collaborate in a way that develops all three crafts. At some point, we have to think about the next generation of Bahamian creatives and so the establishment of ‘Short Tales’ for Shake speare in Paradise provides a platform for new

this weekend in history

October 7

• In 1914, Georgia Tech, coached by sportsman and actor John Heisman (1869 –1936), defeats Cumberland, 222-0. It is the most lopsided score in the history of US college football. He invented the hidden ball play, and originated the “hike” or “hep” shouted by the quarterback to start each play. He led the effort to cut the game from halves to quarters and is credited with the idea of listing downs and yardage on the scoreboard. In

promise and they feed off one another. In some cases, they are paired with mid-career and veteran performers so the opportunity for informal men torship is available,” said Patrice.

“To be in a play with other people is an immer sion in team work and creative collaboration. It’s hard not to take care of one another if you’re in a play together. This is live performance; if a line is dropped, someone else picks it up or helps an actor find the way back to the script. It’s beautiful to witness these short tales grow from an initial reading to tiny performances with developed characters, props, a set and an audience to pro vide in-the-moment feedback.”

and returning writers, actors and directors to hone their talents,” said Patrice.

This year, “Short Tales” playwrights included: Sarah Burnett, Stephen Hanna, J Ben-Hepburn, Patrice Francis, Indeira Greene, Arthellia Isaacs, and Myra McPhee. Directors included: Terneille Burrows, Renee Caesar, Leah Forbes, Dorian McKenzie, Julie Ritchie-Bingham, Anthony “Skeebo” Roberts, Selina Scott-Bennin, Craig Smith, and Stephen Smith.

“There is no substitute for the benefits of involvement in the arts. Specifically, to be involved in ‘Short Tales’ is to get a true sense of what it means to be a part of an acting company of more than 30 performers. Most of these per formers are young, enthusiastic actors with great

1936, just two months after his death on October 3, the Downtown Athletic Club trophy was renamed the Heisman Memorial Trophy, and is now given to the player voted as the season’s most outstanding collegiate football player.

• In 1949, less than five months after Great Britain, the United States and France established the Federal Republic of Germany in West Germany in their three western zones, the Democratic Republic of Germany is proclaimed within the Soviet occupation zone in the east. East Germany existed alongside West Germany until 1990, when the two Germanys reunited.

October 8

• In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire begins in the barn of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary

And theatre-goers need not despair after tomorrow night’s conclusion of “Short Tales”, as starting now until October 2023, Ringplay Productions will be featuring a Bahamian play wright each month, mounting a play as a way of celebrating the country’s 50th anniversary of independence next year.

“Patrons can see one play per month, and after October 2023 it just makes sense to keep on going as that will run us into Shakespeare in Paradise 2023 and beyond,” said Patrice.

Tickets for tomorrow night’s final show can be purchased on Shakespeare in Paradise’s Event brite page or by calling the Dundas box office at 393-3728 or 394-7179.

When buying tickets, people can select the $25 add-ons ‘I Love the Dundas’, to contribute to the repair and renovation of the theatre – or ‘Feed the Cast!’ to feed two cast members for a week of rehearsal.

(Legend has it a cow kicked over a lantern). An estimated 300 people die in the two-day blaze which destroys 17,450 buildings, leaves 100,000 homeless and causes $200 million (approximately $4 billion today) in damages. It also destroys the original Emancipation Proclamation.

• In 1927, the famed comedy English-American duo of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy appear for the first time as a team in the silent film “The Second Hundred Years”. The two comic actors appeared in a total of 107 films between 1921 and 1951.

October 9

• In 1290, the last of 3,000 Jews are expelled from England following a royal decree issued by King Edward I. The expulsion edict remained in force for the rest of the Middle

Ages, more than 350 years. The first Jewish communities had come to England with William the Conqueror in 1066. Jews were prohibited from practicing any art or craft, but were allowed to lend of money for profit, which the Catholic Church at the time strictly forbade for Christians.

• In 1967, the Argentine socialist revolutionary and guerilla leader Che Guevara, 39, is executed by the USmilitary-backed Bolivian army. His hands were cut off as proof of death and his body was buried in an unmarked grave. Thirty years later, his remains were found and sent back to Cuba. A major figure in the Cuban Revolution who opposed US domination in Latin America, and the right-hand man of Fidel Castro, Guevara remains a countercultural symbol of rebellion to this day.

Local author explores the ‘darker side’ of family in new mystery novel

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

From

where Androsian author Joan Shan nell Evans is standing, too many families today are being torn apart and lives are being destroyed, all because of anger, bitterness, jealously and the inability to forgive one another. This mismanagement of nega tive emotions, she said, bursts through the seams of a family’s fabric.

She hopes her new mystery novel, “The Darker Side of Love”, is able, in some way small way, to bring healing to those who need it and help them navigate their difficult familial situations.

The book follows the story of a family dev astated by the sudden unexplained illness and subsequent death of their mother Caroline. The cause of death is initially unknown and tensions rise over a dispute for an autopsy. Once the cause of Caroline’s death is revealed, the already strained family relationship is torn apart as suspi cions arise among them.

The book is centered on the themes of familial bonds, unity and support in times of great loss, as well as the need for forgiveness, even in the face of your deepest hurt.

“The book started as a challenge by a family friend to write a short story to enter a competi tion,” Ms Evans told Tribune Weekend.

“When I sat down to write, I did not have a storyline or a plot, just an idea that it would be family-centered because that is what I knew best. However, the story evolved as I wrote and before I knew it, it had exceeded the short story requirement.”

Ms Evans’ book had a long journey to publica tion and she experienced some setbacks along the way,

“The Darker Side of Love” was first released in e-book format in January 2020. However, the company that produced it went out of business and publishing of the book stalled.

“I sought later to have it reissued, this time in all formats. Finding the (right) fit with a company took some work, but on the third attempt, the book was finally published in e-book, paperback, and hardcover on January 25, 2022, by Book Vine Press. That, however, turned out not to be the end of the journey for the book. I was approached by another company wanting to do more with it. The book was signed over to them and a special edi tion was reprinted and released on July 14, 2022

by Page Turner Press and Media,” Ms Evans explained.

Since its rerelease this Summer, the book has been receiv ing great responses, especially from inter national readers, the author said.

Ms Evans said she feels this is because she has written about a topic that many can relate to.

“I found it important to share this truth with my readers because I see too many families being torn apart and lives being destroyed by anger that leads to bitterness, jealousy and ‘unforgiveness’,” she said.

“The overall message of the book is faith in God is what holds you together when everything around you is falling apart and what frees you from the prison of ‘unforgiveness’ and allows you to love unconditionally.”

She said she found it important to share her story with readers in hopes of helping families who may be struggling.

Ms Evans is the author of three books from dif ferent genres: poetry and drama, inspiration, and now with her latest release, mystery fiction.

The poetry book’s title is “My Restoration”, and it is dedicated to the memory of her late father, Samuel H Evans. The book of inspiration is a devotional called “The Beauty of His Presence”.

Ms Evans has also written a children’s book series and a biography, both of which are in the process of being published, with the children’s book being released soon.

“I have been writing since the age of six when I had my first poem published in my school’s maga zine. I wrote and served as editor for my high school newspaper and wrote for my hometown’s

AUTHOR Joan Evans

monthly newsletter. In later years, after relo cating here to Nassau, I wrote for my church’s magazine and also served as one of the editors. I also wrote and acted in short plays at my church in Andros and here in Nassau as a member of the church’s drama team,” said Ms Evans.

Her work has been published in anthologies in the United States by the National Library of Poets and received the International Society of Poets Merit Award in 1994.

“I have two major gifts from the Lord, one is to write and the other is financial management, and the Lord in His providence allowed me to utilise both gifts together when I served as an executive member of the United Passion Week Production team. That team produced two major musical productions: Easter Song in 2012 and later the Christmas production, ‘Tell the Story’, in 2016,” she said.

Outside of her writing, Ms Evans was a com munity activist in North Andros. She worked in church ministry for 39 years, starting when she was a teenager.

She has also worked with the Evans & Co legal firm for seven years, though not as a lawyer; in the Accounts Department of the Department of Social Services for nine years, and now she serves as the CFO at her home church, Abundant Life Bible Church.

gardening

The rain lily

Good

day, gardeners. One of the closest plants that we have in local gardens that may resemble the tulips or narcissus (spring blooming bulbs) of northern climates is the rain lily, in the genus Zephyranthes and belonging to the amaryllis family. The Zephyranthes, as it is in the amaryllis family, is also a bulb. This plant is one of those that tends to just show up uninvited, and most often it is very welcomed.

To be honest, I have no clue how this plant spreads so easily. Most likely is that the birds ingest the seeds and spread them. These plants tend to find exactly the right spot to thrive and if you have them and did not plant them intentionally, then that is exactly the right spot for them.

If you have planted some and they did not thrive, then I would suggest finding a location that is lower and that gets more water when it rains. Favouring low spots in the garden where water collects, the rain lily is a cheery delight when they are showing off. One guess as to when they give best display…. Yes, it’s after a good rain, hence the very relevant name. Shown in the photo is a field of rain lily in Savannah Sound, Eleuthera. As just mentioned, typically these plants volunteer themselves in low laying areas where water may collect, and they enjoy a well-drained soil rather than an area that stays saturated or under water for extended periods of time.

A great use for these is around ponds or water gardens. Rain lilies prefer full sun, or at least six hours of direct sunlight. They can grow well in part shade or part sun, depending on whether you are a glass half full or half empty person. I’m not sure which would be which, but I hope that you get the gist. I have grown them successfully in full shade, but they tend to flower a lot less when grown in the shade than under the sun.

A friend in Freeport sent me a photo a few weeks ago of these plants all along both sides of a walk way, and it was stunning. He had not planted a single one, and it seems that after Hurricane Dorian there were a mass of them that took hold in his yard, and they have thrived.

There are several shades of colours ranging from pink, pink with cream, yellow, and white, with several varia tions in between.

The rain lily is very resilient when it is growing in a location that suits its cultural needs and they can be mowed after a flower with no nega tive repercussions. Mowing them after the flowering stage may help to cause them to propagate faster by promoting more bulb offshoots and mowing while they are in the seed stage will help to spread the seed in a wider radius than if left untouched.

The rain lily is, in my opinion, a valuable plant to have in the yard. While they are not propagated or grown on a mass scale on the commercial market, if you have a neighbor that has some in their yard,

I suggest befriending them and get ting a few bulbs from them to plant in your garden. In regard to the soil, other than being well drained, they tolerate sandy or mucky soils, and even rocky soils quite well. Pre ferring low-laying areas to higher ground, the rain lily is a true color delight when in flower. They can be grown in containers, but they are best when they are massed to create an explosion of colour after a good rain.

Most people will even forget that they are there as they do tend to disappear and then when they spring back up again and show off, it ought to turn a frown upside down. If you have some in your garden, spread the love and share them around! 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

A FIELD of rain lily in Savannah Sound, Eleuthera.

history

How to look for ancestors

It

is always rewarding to hear from readers of this column. Usually, they send me an e-mail, but today I had a long telephone call about finding ancestors in a graveyard. The caller had been told that I have files on several burial places in the Bahamas and asked did I have anything on St Matthew’s?

As it happens, St Matthew’s is where I started photographing inscriptions on graves and, yes, I do have pictures of every grave that had an inscription. Unidentified graves were not photographed. With a few clicks of my mouse, I was able to provide the desired information.

Did I have anything on the West ern Cemetery? Again, yes, but I had not found the name in question.

Why had I taken thousands of pic tures, in a dozen or so graveyards?

Simply because it was hard work for me to search the four cemeteries between Lover’s Lane and Church Street and I wanted to make it easier for others.

The result was a two-inch thick hardcover book called “In Loving Memory”, which is available to the public at the Department of Archives on Mackey Street.

In it, one can see who was already there, in circa 2005. Of course, more recent arrivals are not included.

There are no books about the other cemeteries that I have pho tographed, but I offered to send the caller PDF files of ‘my’ various graveyards, to avoid long hours in the hot sun.

The huge Western Cemetery between Augusta and Nassau Streets was a much bigger challenge, but I had hard-working helpers with digi tal cameras. St Mary’s churchyard (next door) is so much smaller and easier to do.

I ‘did’ All Saints’ churchyard at Mangrove Cay, Andros, because some of my Forsyth relatives are buried there.

St Andrew’s in George Town, Exuma, is included because I was there and had nothing else to do. The same is true about two cem eteries in Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera.

Many old gravestones had to be washed (very, very carefully) to make the inscriptions legible. A

friend and I spent hours washing one Loyalist headstone and gave up in despair, but it dried out overnight and the next morning, was in pristine condition.

I had to take individual pictures of each word in the grave of the Rev Herbert William Deval (1908-1944),

canon of Christ Church Cathedral, in order to re-construct his inscrip tion. Not so with the inscription of the Rev Arthur George Edward Wallop (1860-1898), priest-in-charge of St Mary Magdalene, Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera.

THIS plot, in the Jewish Cemetery, is the best-tended and most restful of all.

Sometimes more than 100 pictures of a single grave had to be taken, so as to piece together the text using Photoshop.

There are a lot of websites where one can find family tree information, but it may not be correct. Ancestry. com informs me about cousins who turn out be my nephews.

• For questions and comments, please send an e-mail to islandair man@gmail.com

THE GRAVES of Rev Herbert William Deval (1908-1944), canon of Christ Church Ca thedral; above, and Rev Arthur George Edward Wallop (1860-1898), priest-in-charge of St Mary Magdalene, Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera.

Literary lives – Andrew Lownie

Inside the ‘Traitor King’ Part II

Sir Christopher Ondaatje continues to write about the English author and his book Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

“The Royal couple arrived in the Bahamas on board the Canadian cargo ship MV Lady Somers on Saturday 17 August. They inspected a guard of honour in the 95°F heat – the Duke sweating profusely in the heavy khaki uniform of a majorgeneral – before being sworn in by the Chief Justice and driven to Government House, where the Duch ess gloomily inspected their new residence, and the Duke played nine holes of golf.

– Andrew Lownie Traitor King

Four years had passed since King Edward VIII abdicated to marry the twice divorced Wallis Simpson, and in August 1940 the Duke and Duchess of Windsor arrived in the Bahamas and would reside in the islands for the remainder of the Second World War. The Bahamas in the 1940s was, in stark reality, a seething cauldron of Nazi sympathisers, British spies, money launderers, gambling mobsters and drug traffickers, Lownie writes.

Government House was an 1801 Spanish colo nial house of white stone with seven bedrooms, six bathrooms and twenty-four other rooms. It sat on a ten-acre garden and had just been refurbished at a cost of £7,000 – but the Duke argued that another £5,000 was needed to make it a worthy residence for the King’s representative in the Colony, and to ensure some dignity. There was no laundry room and all washing was carried out in a small stream in the garden and dried on rocks.

Within a week, the Royal couple had moved to a villa three miles outside Nassau and the Duke proposed that, with the government’s concurrence, he and the Duchess would take advantage of the hot weather and go to his ranch in Canada – Bed ingfield, in Alberta. Officials were appalled that the Duke of Windsor wanted to leave the island as soon as he arrived.

It was not a good beginning. The Duchess made no secret of her disgust at the posting, and Gov ernment House.

“The place is too small for the Duke. I do not mean that in any other way but that a man who had been Prince of Wales and King of England cannot be governor of a tiny place ... the appointment is doomed to fail for both concerned.”

– The Duchess of Windsor

The locals nicknamed Government House “the red-light district” in honour of Wallis Windsor’s past.

They were openly admirers of the Germans and stupidly outspoken against the British govern ment, admitting that their tenure in Nassau would not be long. They expected to return to England “in high capacity” when England made terms with Germany. They were warned repeatedly that they should be circumspect in dealings with the German government, but the Duke seemed to be intoxicated most of the time, and the Duchess

simply ignored these warnings. She regularly flew in a hairdresser from Saks Fifth Avenue, and flow ers from Miami, and sent her clothes to New York for dry cleaning.

Lownie writes about how Franklin D Roosevelt, the president of the United States, had his own concerns about the couple, who began a close friendship with Axel Wenner-Gren (1881 – 1961) and his wife. He was a wealthy Swedish industri alist who had founded the Electrolux Company in 1919 and was suspected of being a Nazi sym pathiser. They had recently purchased a home in Nassau and intended to maintain a permanent residence there. Wenner-Gren had first come to the Bahamas in 1938, attracted by no income tax and because it was a useful base for his operations in North and South America. He had founded the Bank of the Bahamas, bought a 700-acre estate on Hog Island (now Paradise Island), where he employed over a thousand labourers, and enter tained Hollywood stars Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich.

Wenner-Gren’s activities caused great concern because of his ambitions to develop links with South America and Mexico – a dangerous prec edent if the United States entered the war as an ally. In September 1940, an Anglo-American agreement had been signed, exchanging 50 US destroyers in return for bases in Bermuda and the Bahamas. The islands were soon to take an important wartime strategic significance. It was on Wenner-Gren’s yacht Southern Cross that the Duke and Duchess made their first trip to the United States after arriving in the Bahamas.

While in Nassau, the Duke and Duchess had been staying at the much larger mansion West bourne, owned by Sir Harry Oakes, the richest man in the Bahamas, who had made a fortune from a gold mine in Canada. He too had been attracted by the absence of income tax. He was a generous benefactor and had financed the airport, the waterworks plant, the botanical plant and the local bus line for workers. He became an impor tant friend and ally of the Duke.

Back in the renovated Government House, the Duke immersed himself with government duties –which were mostly ceremonial – but continued his efforts for a peaceful settlement of the war with Wenner-Gren and his suspicious activities, much to the displeasure of Churchill and the United States. Strong rumours circulated in Nassau that when Hitler defeated England, he would then install the Duke of Windsor as the King.

The Duke made no secret of the fact that he looked on Nassau as a sort of “Elba” for himself, that his appointment as Governor was an insult to

THE DUKE and Duchess arrive at Government House in 1942. (Photo by Ivan Dmitri_Michael Ochs Archives.)

him and that he continued to have political aspira tions. The Duchess was known to have an intense hate for the English, because in her eyes they had kicked them out of England.

But things were to change, and change quickly. On December 7, 1941 the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on the United States’ naval base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, by the Impe rial Japanese Navy. America finally came into the war. Within a week, Wenner-Gren was on the official US economic blacklist. His estate ShangriLa on Hog Island was closed, as was the Bank of the Bahamas (in which the Windsors had an inter est). America’s entry into the war had silenced the Windsors’ defeatist sentiments, but fresh contro versy was to follow them.

Andrew Lownie does not pull any punches. His retelling of the events is well researched and dramatic. The entry of America into the war had ended any talk of a negotiated peace. But it also made protection of the Duke ever more impor tant. In a country where there were no passport checks, and defence limited to only thirty “coastal watchers”, there was a real danger of kidnapping –particularly from a submarine.

The Germans would be very glad to get hold of the Duke and use him for whatever sinister purpose they chose. Churchill in particular warned against such an attack by 50 trained submarine men during darkness. There was also a growing concern that occupation of the Bahamian islands could provide a base for attacks against the United States. America, in turn, had set up air and sea reconnaissance stations in New Providence, as well as intelligence posts throughout the islands. Long secret negotiations took place between London, Washington and Nassau, in which the Duke took some part, and it was announced that a major base would be constructed under lend-lease by the Americans on New Providence Island using local labour. The Bahamas was now to be a staging point for transport planes built in California en route to service in North Africa.

As Lownie describes it, with full understand ing, the Duke then turned his attention to his governorship with ambitious plans to reform – but he was a weak contributor. He attempted to deal with unemployment and working conditions but found the Governor’s powers limited, and the local merchants, labelled the Bay Street Boys, were self-serving, corrupt and kept non-whites out of public life.When the airbases were completed in September 1942, he did, however, arrange for 5,000 Bahamians to work in the US, mainly Florida, as agricultural workers under a new initia tive labelled “The Contract”, which lasted six to nine months and required men to remit twentyfive percent of their earnings home. The scheme not only helped the United States, which was short of labour, but it provided employment and taught agricultural skills to Bahamians. Almost 6,000 people, a 12th of the population, had been involved.

The Duchess, on the other hand, threw herself into war work with surprising enthusiasm. She was automatically president of the Red Cross and of the “Daughters of the British Empire”. She helped with the YMCA and the Nassau Garden Club, taught locals the basics of hygiene, diet and nurs ing, and promoted courses in domestic service. Shocked by the high infant mortality rate among the non-white population, she set up a clinic for mothers with syphilis. She worked tirelessly giving her hitherto aimless life some purpose.

Doubt continued, however, about their loyal ties. American Naval Intelligence had uncovered information that considerable Nazi funds had been cleared through the Bahamas to Mexico, and that

the Duke was suspected of being a Nazi agent. The Duchess continued to be bitterly anti-British.

Andrew Lownie then relates the horrifying event when, on the morning of July 9, 1943, the bloodied corpse of Sir Harry Oakes was found at Westbourne, one of his homes on New Providence Island. Four triangular-shaped wounds were vis ible by his left ear, he had been set alight, feathers from his pillow were scattered over his body and his genitals had been almost burnt off. He had been discovered at 7am by Harold Christie, who had dined with Oakes the previous night and had stayed at Westbourne because of a thunderstorm. Christie claimed at the subsequent trial that he had wiped the blood from Oakes’ face and given him a glass of water. Then realising that his busi ness partner was dead, he telephoned the wife of Oakes’ business manager, his brother Frank, the Commissioner of the Bahamian Police – Reggie Erskine-Lindop, and finally to Government House. The Duke was woken and told the news just before 8 am.

Not knowing what to do, the Duke immediatelyordered a blackout – but he was too late. Éti enne Dupuch, the editor of the The Tribune, was already filing the news story. It was sensational news.

Then, after at least two hours of discussion with the Duchess and Harold Christie, the Duke made a serious error of judgement and telephoned Captain Edward Melchen – the head of the Miami City Police Homicide

SIGRIST HOUSE, located on Prospect Ridge, is the former residence of the Duke and Duchess. They lived there while renovation work was being completed

THE DUKE and Duchess of Windsor in Nassau. Wallis is wearing her Red Cross uniform

Department, and invited him to take charge of the investigation. Melchen immediately flew to Nassau, bringing with him Captain James Barker – the head of the fingerprint department. By early afternoon they were at Westbourne.

A lot has been written about the murder of Sir Harry Oakes in the Bahamas, but Andrew Lownie’s summary of the events that took place in 1943 is the most concise and accusatory, starting with the Duke of Windsor’s ill judged decision to appoint the two unqualified Miami detec tives whose investigation was “flawed from the beginning”.

The police quickly identified Harry Oakes’s son-in-law Count Alfred de Marigny – a thricedivorced Mauritian playboy who had married the eldest of Oakes’s five children, Nancy, only two days after her eighteenth birthday. His relations with Sir Harry Oakes were strained, and the next day he was arrested and charged with the murder. What was not revealed was that there was a disre spectful relationship between de Marigny and the Duke, who left Nassau for the United States with the Duchess before de Marigny’s trial opened. Although evidence was strong against de Marigny, false fingerprint evidence by Captain Barker was exposed and the jury, by a majority of nine to three, returned a verdict of not guilty. Neverthe less, de Marigny and his friend Marquis George de Visdelou, who had provided an alibi for de Marigny on the night of the murder, were ordered to be deported.

“The trial and verdict had been a disaster for the Duke, showing his lack of authority and judgement and revealing how he had tried to frame an inno cent man. To date, no one apart from de Marigny has been charged for the murder and speculation continues with a regular stream of books, each with their own theory of the killer.”

– Andrew Lownie

Lownie completes his own chapter “Murder in Paradise” with motives and suspects, as well as other mysteries that still remain. It makes for engrossing and convincing reading ... questioning the involvement of the Duke of Windsor, Axel Wenner-Gren and Harold Christie, all of whom had financial and personal reasons for shutting down and not re-opening the case. They had a lot to lose and a lot to hide.

The murder remains unsolved.

On March 15, 1945 the Duke resigned as Gov ernor of the Bahamas – several months before his term was officially up. It was dubbed the “Second Abdication”.

At the end of the war, the Windsors returned to France and spent the remainder of their lives essentially in retirement. Although he campaigned

strongly for a job, he never held another official role.

In the final chapters of his superb book, Andrew Lownie summarises the life without purpose that the Windsors spent in the years after their disas trous appointment in the Bahamas. The French government exempted him from paying income tax, and the couple were able to buy goods dutyfree through the British Embassy and the military commissary. They bought a weekend retreat, Le Moulin de la Tuilerie, at Gif-sur-Yvette – the only property they owned themselves, and in 1951 the Duke produced a memoir, A King’s Story, which was ghost-written. They were part of café society in the 1950s and ‘60s and migrated back and forth from Paris to New York. He supplemented his income by writing articles for the Sunday Express and Woman’s Home Companion, as well as a short book, The Crown and the People, 1902-1953. They gave personal interviews, visited both US Presi dents Eisenhower and Nixon at the White House, and returned to London occasionally. They were visited by Queen Elizabeth II and his sister, the Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood. The last royal ceremony the Duke attended in England was the funeral of Princess Marina in 1968. He was invited to the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969, but declined.

In the 1960s, the Duke’s health deteriorated and he was operated on for an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta in Houston in December 1964. In 1971, the Duke, a heavy smoker, was diagnosed with throat cancer and was treated with cobalt therapy. On May 18, 1972, Queen Elizabeth II visited the Duke and Duchess in France while on a state visit. He was very ill and she spoke to the Duke for only fifteen minutes. Ten days later the Duke died at his home in Paris a month before his seventy-eighth birthday. After lying in state at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, his body was buried in the Royal Burial Ground behind the Royal. Mausoleum of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at Frogmore. Frail and suffering from dementia, the Duchess died in 1986, and was buried next to her husband.

“There can be little doubt that if the Duke of Windsor had not renounced the throne that he would have tried to use his influence to seek peace with Hitler in 1940. Without the support of the King, after Dunkirk, even Churchill might have been unable to resist the pressure from Lord Hali fax and others to negotiate with the Germans. If so, the history of the world would have been very different.”

– Andrew Lownie Traitor King

• Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; King Edward VIII: The Official Biography (1991) by Philip Ziegler; and 17 Carnations: The Windsors, The Nazis and the Cover-up (2005) by Andrew Morton.

THE DUKE and Duchess at the Orchard Garden Hotel in Nassau

THE DUKE and Duchess of Windsor arrive in the Baha mas in 1940

Hurricane protection for all

By Kim Aranha | Animal Matters

Well,

I guess many of us look at the calendar and see that the first week of October is over. Are we beginning to feel comfortable about the weather and the fact that the Bahamas has been very lucky with storms passing above and below us? Poor west coast Florida received a wicked bashing, as did some of our Caribbean cousins. As we heave a sigh of relief, I need you to remem ber that it’s not over yet.

I clearly remember us getting a hurricane here on New Providence in November, because it arrived on my mother’s birthday. It wasn’t an enormous one, but it was a hurricane nevertheless. We really should never give up being vigilant. Let’s face it, even a strong cold front can cause us a lot of trouble.

Of late, flooding seems to have become a bigger issue everywhere. I do not remember it being so preva lent as a child. I do not know if we have climate change to thank for that or if we owe it to construction, and the lack of thought that goes into it when people design communities and start building. It is paramount to ascertain where unwanted water is going to go to. Construction designs should always be very mindful of water and flooding when the ini tial plans are drawn up. It appears that here in the Bahamas there is a minimum of attention paid to drain age. We have flooding after a single downpour and there are serious pud dles on all the new roads.

The United States has a huge problem with storm surges and, of course, wooden buildings that fly apart in a strong wind. This is an enormous problem that isn’t always addressed because of the insistence to build quickly and cheaply.

Here in the Bahamas, we do not allow trailer parks for the very same reason because they cannot with stand strong winds and get blown over, killing or maiming the people taking cover inside them.

Storms are all too easy to ignore and they punish us for our inattention.

So saying, we have a huge problem here in our country as there are no shelters for families who have pets. Many people risk their lives because of this. It is time that a few shelters be recognised as pet friendly. The Bahamas Humane Society is here to advice and assist.

I know I would not want to leave my pet behind to face terrifying winds, flooding and other potential dangers. People perished in Abaco because they would not leave their fur friends, and before I get vilified for this observation, allow me to point out that for many people their cat or dog is the closest friend they

have; the one that gives them uncon ditional love and is always available without comment or question. In some cases, they are their lifeline.

I was delighted to see how well Florida has handled the pet situation with Hurricane Ian. I was so pleased to hear Governor Desantis tell Flor idians that that they should not leave their pets behind… great call. When it comes to animals there can be no politics, there is only one way to go, and that is compassion and caring.

The rescue photos for the west coast of Florida were exceptionally heartwarming: large dogs being lifted into boats and helicopters with their families. One old lady was clutching her small dog with all her might for fear that she would slip away from her. Perhaps that little dog was the only thing that lady had left after the storm.

Alas, I fear that as there was a large number of human fatalities, there will be many animals lost and they of course will not be recorded. I wonder when we will actually view our companion animals as being important enough to be actually counted as missing or dead. When we will be able to get away from that ridiculous “it’s only a dog, it’s only a cat attitude”?

I was so heartened to see the kindness and gentleness these poor stranded animals were treated with in Florida; the rescue workers really gave the impression that these pets were as important as their families who clung to them so lovingly.

As we begin to look forward to winter, cooler weather, more breezy days, and the absence of fear of hur ricanes, maybe we need to get people to ask their representatives for animal friendly shelters. Somewhere when you can feel safe with your pet.

When the BHS builds our new shelter, we want one of the cen tral buildings to be big and strong enough to double as a hurricane shelter whenever necessary. People need to know that there is some where safe, clean and well-organised to go to where they aren’t expected to leave their good friends behind to cope on their own.

A MAN with his dog rescued from an Orange County neighbourhood. (Photo cour tesy of the Orange County Government)

A RESCUER carries a cat to safety following Hurricane Ian. (Photo courtesy of the Orange County Government)

Inspired by yoga and selfreflection, Caribbean fusion singer finds a way to stay ‘Grounded’

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

As

a genre-bending artist, Sherwood

Rahming has finally found what keeps him grounded and allows him to keep exploring his craft in new and exciting ways.

The Bahamian artist, who sings Caribbean fusion music with a smooth voice, has a new album out, which he told Tribune Weekend, was inspired by the last few years of his life, figuring it all out.

“I’ve always been the kind of person to explore ideas about shap ing my own life path, and creating my reality to be what I want it to be. I found that a lot of yogic princi ples resonated with me, and a main theme that stuck most was taking time for stillness and self-reflection, and recognising that even as things change around us, there’s some thing within us that’s watching these changes and remaining present,” he said.

“And so, a lot of the songs on this album are about me watching things in my life change, and figuring out what’s what within all that.”

His new album is aptly called “Grounded” and was released on September 9. It includes the tracks “Acts of Grounding”, “Supercon cious, “You ‘Een Ready”, “Liberate Me”, “Be Blessed”, “More About Me”, “Gatti Go”, “Danger”, “Born Again” and “Obeah With Me”.

“ ‘Obeah With Me’ may be one of the more standout tracks at a glance. This song was definitely inspired by Exuma. It fuses rake n’ scrape with up-tempo Afro-beats and delivers an aggressive vocal performance, chal lenging ideas of how we view African spiritual practices,” he explained

The jazz-infused “Liberate Me” is another favourite.

Sherwood describes it as an easygoing reggae-inspired song with lush background vocals provided by Judah Tha Lion.

“The falsetto vocal in the chorus is catchy, and the trumpet solo by

James Hutcheson Jr adds to the live liness of the arrangement,” he said.

In addition to being a recording artist, producer and sound engineer, Sherwood has operated a small studio, called Hoom Studios, fulltime for about seven years.

Sherwood first got his start in late 2011, working with production soft ware and figuring out how to record himself as a creative outlet.

“Early on I was learning how to make beats for me to rap and sing to, and honing my skills as an engineer. I picked up the guitar somewhere around 2016 to use in my production, and really got more comfortable with it in late 2017. So now and then you can catch me playing guitar for a few other performers and for myself at shows,” he said.

“Sonically, I’ve been heavily inspired by artists like Exuma, D’Angelo and Fela Kuti. I dove deep into Exuma’s ‘Snake’ album, absolutely mystified by the raw ness and subject matter. D’Angelo’s ‘Voodoo’ is so musically intelligent, it inspired me to get creative with my

arrangements. And Fela Kuti’s bold presence reassured my confidence in approaching things as authentically as possible.”

Sherwood said it’s naturally a good feeling to put out music and have it be well-received by the lis tening public.

And even though he started in this field over 10 years ago, he still feels like a newcomer, and knows there’s still lots of ground to cover as a music artist.

“Before the release (of ‘Grounded’) I had a few private listening sessions in my studio where people were invited to come over and listen to the album. People came through and we got a chance to talk a bit before and after. It was a nice way to connect with a few of the lis teners who I know have been really appreciative of my music in the past. I also had a performance at Bon Vivants prior to the album release, where listeners got a chance to hear some of the new songs live,” he said.

Sherwood said the feedback so far has been great.

“So many people have reached out to tell me how much they’re connecting with different songs. It’s always nice to put music into the world and find that it helped some one because it resonated so much. Some have mentioned it was exactly what they needed and that they get lost listening to the album, which I think is beautiful,” he said.

Going forward, he hopes to pro mote his new album as best as he can. Sherwood said it can be a little challenging to keep up with all the social media activity, so right now he is doing his best to stay consist ent in that area. At the same time, he is planning ways to put on special shows next year.

“Grounded” is available on all major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music. Catch up with Sher wood on Instagram and Facebook @ sherwoodrahmig.

SHERWOOD Rahming