thepancollective

you're invited to the wedding

Saturday the 5th of August 2006 was the first time She asked for a commitment.  

Saturday 2nd of September 2006 will be the second time ... and not the last. 

rubbish

Whenever I have a job to write something for tourism (as I do now), I find it a challenge to fully comply with the client's request to 'make T & T look good'. All glossy colour, nothing ugly. Of course, it's not impossible to make T & T sound pretty - we still have a lot to offer in many areas. But ... it's very unlikely that a client would say: "Make sure to include the parts about carelessly strewn garbage floating in water, cluttering forest floors and choking our mangrove areas. Oh! And emphasise that the proposed smelters will slowly kill our flora, fauna and general population!"

Reading tourism-type descriptions of T & T, I realise that no matter how many forests are ravaged, wild animals slaughtered and green spaces invaded by concrete monstrosities, our ecological statistics remain frozen in a tourism time warp, simply to make T & T look like the premiere exotic eco-destination: 'X amount of birds, butterflies, reptiles' ... 'Y amount of rare species of this or that' ... 'Z amount of exotic flora'. How can these figures remain constant in light of 'development'?

What steps are being taken and what is being put in place to clean up our image? Can our 'tourism truth' continue to lie in pretty cliches, unchanging statistics and glossy, tropical images Photoshopped to seduce foreigners?

something to do on saturday

For those of you who would love to wake up early on Saturday morning and do something different, there's always the Greenlight REvolution. Have a click on the link and see if it appeals to you. Since it will involve being outdoors for at least two hours, from 8 - 10 a.m., let's hope that the weather will be ideal (i.e. light grey skies to filter out harsh sunrays and keep us cool ... but no rain to drench our placards or our guitars). Of those who have said they are coming, two have specifically REquested 'RE' words that they like from the list. If you are coming to be a part of the project, you can also book a word beforehand ... or you can just turn up on the day and choose one word at random. Who knows ... the random word you get may be just the word you need to apply to yourself: RELAX ... (been working too hard? stressing yourself out about a certain situation when you really don't need to worry?) RECONNECT ... (with yourself? with someone who's been on your mind?) REFOCUS ... REWARD ... REFLECT ... REUSE ... REGENERATE ...

Some people may wonder about the reason for the whole REvolution. The only true answer will come from experiencing it. 

slight pepper? (and aftermath)

Is it arrogant to say ahead of time that the Soca Warriors will make a meal of Paraguay in today's match? I don't think so. This morning as I took my usual morning walk down the road to buy papers, the air was thick with confidence. I could not help but notice that all the men who passed me on the road (women didn't seem to be out yet - except for one woman in a blazing red jacket) had on what appeared to be brand new, shiny red t-shirts. Clearly one cannot wear the same old red t-shirt for history in the making.

As I passed by the guard in a nearby school, I called out to him: "You have on your red from early!" His face broke into a proud smile: " Exackkkly!" As I passed by one man who had SOCA WARRIORS emblazoned across his chest, I said to him: "Go, Warriors!" He laughed with casual confidence: "Yes! Yes!" I passed a few others along the way and what struck me about each of them was the common facial expression: a quiet, pensive, gritty determination, mixed with studious mental focus ... as though thinking ahead, projecting energy, envisioning the Warriors scoring many goals ... and, at the same time, visualising the match between England and Sweden as having 'the perfect' outcome (for T & T). We don't mind whose hair Peter Crouch pulls in that game, we don't care how many goals the referee says don't count (even though they do) ... once the score is such that T&T is guaranteed to move ahead.

Mummy just said to me: "They'd better win so they could stay on longer in Germany ... because if they don't, they'll be coming back the same day as Vanessa (i.e. my sister who's holidaying in the States). If so, she'll have to overnight in Piarco." 

"Or hitch a ride with Beenhakker," I added.

But ... I have a strong feeling there will be no Warriors in Piarco and no traffic on the road that day.

P.S. (Aftermath): Well, we didn't make a meal of them, but ...it doesn't hurt to think that we could have. Congratulations to the team. You may not have scored goals, but you scored points in many other ways.

loving the rain

Everything glistens in a special light ... stretching roads are silver ribbons ... jewelled drops linger on leaf tips ... heavy thunder speaks from clouds, sending dogs scampering with tails between legs under tables ... sleep is sweet with the drumming of Nature's wet fingers on rooftops.

(Short video of another rainy experience)

birth of a day

Two days at Balandra for a friend's birthday turned out to be just what I needed to relax and reconnect. And this morning, perhaps as a 'birth of day' gift to all of us, we were treated to a spectacular sunrise over the ocean, viewed from the window of the beach house (see short sunrise video here). Being there, we felt as though we were somewhere else other than Trinidad, especially as the beach lower down from the house was one we had never come across. Because it was fairly tucked away from public thoroughfare, it was clean and quiet. We enjoyed the tranquil green river, perfect for floating in the inner tubes of large tyres (the ones I drive around with in my car trunk for exactly that purpose) ... and the sea: blue and clear with enjoyably rough and playful waves. I think the Salybia/Balandra/Toco coastline in Trinidad has the best beaches. The drive: scenic, rural, still charmingly untouched by the concrete and condos of modernity. The sea: beautiful, often deep blue or green with stark white wave crests, quite rocky in areas, a bit rough, often with strong currents, but enjoyable nevertheless. You just have to be careful.

If you are one who loves to collect beach rocks and driftwood (as I do), that coastline is where you will most likely find your greatest treasures. I got quite a few this weekend: those black rocks with the striking white markings and also many heart-shaped finds.

calm ... before the storm?

Yesterday afternoon (prior to attending a public consultation in La Brea hosted by the EMA), two friends and I went to Union Village to have another look at the criminally cleared 1,000 acres of land (once peaceful virgin forest and dams). We chatted with one or two villagers, bought some plants from a young woman whose home overlooks the ravaged expanse and learnt that there was a beach a little further up the road that ran by her house. As we had some time before the meeting, we drove to the end of the road, which took us to a kind of cliff overlooking the peaceful waters featured in the photograph. To our right was a simple, well kept wooden house with curtains blowing in the wind, bareback children running around in their shorts or diapers, playing with a motley band of protective pothounds and little white puppies. I looked at the large window of the house which overlooked the bay and said to my friends: "Imagine waking up to that every morning." One of them made the comment that the people probably take it for granted as they are used to it, but I don't think so ... They must know what they have. The children certainly looked very free and were shining happy. Maybe what they, in their innocence, don't know is what they stand to lose if the smelter is indeed 'a done deal' and their houses (along with all others on that quaint little street to the beach) are cleared away ... perhaps overnight, as the forest was.

love notes

KC Dinner Mints are quite like a staple in the Trinbagonian 'diet'. Most (if not all) of us know them and most (if not all) of us have eaten them and used their wrappers in some form or fashion. Recently, in writing about these mints on my blog, I 'caught a vapse' and decided to turn it into a project/investigation. I am going to: follow a virtual trail of KC Dinner Mint wrappers (firstly by inviting people to leave their minty KC stories or memories here) ... and find out the story behind the messages on the wrappers - who writes them and how/why it all began. I'm interested in seeing where this investigation/project leads.

Those of you who live abroad, even if you've not been to TT in decades, must be familiar with these mints. They've been around for as long as I can remember myself ... with their wrappers bearing often corny but endearing messages of love. Sometimes these love notes are gramatically challenged (as in "A women in love"), sometimes enthusiatic declarations ("I'm gonna love you"), soppy romantic cliches derived from popular music ("Love me Tender"), simple appreciative statements ("Stay sweet and kind") or short phrases inspiring a little more thought and inner reflection (as in "Be thankful" featured in the accompanying photo).

These mints are simple and affordable (about $1TT for four). They say that those who eat the cascadoo will return to Trinidad to die. What happens to those who eat the KC dinner mint? It may just be an unassuming confectionary item - not as legendary as the cascadoo - but certainly a local treat that must be experienced once you are here.

those dirty people

As the saying goes, you're either 'infected or affected'. There is no need to go into explanations about how the HIV/AIDs issue pervades societies around the globe, touching the lives of everyone from unborn babies to old people.

Last night I was at the 2006 International AIDs Candlelight Memorial (concert and candlelight walk) in Arima. I had been asked by a friend who was organising the event to do a candlelight display in one of the tents (see here for that story). Whilst there, I was chatting with someone who said that she had invited someone she knew to come to the event. The person had adamantly declined, saying she did not want attend anything involving "those dirty people". The thing is, unbeknownst to her, the person sitting next to her at work may be 'one of those dirty people'. (God forbid) she may be one and may not even know it if she has not been tested. And what if her best friend became 'a drity person' - would he or she cease to be a best friend? Would her sister cease to be her blood relative simpy because of 'dirty' status?

It is for this very reason (and others) that events such as HIV/AIDs candlelight memorials are held annually. Those who have been lost to AIDs are remembreed and honoured, support is shown to those currently living with the virus, community awareness is raised and attempts are made to decrease associated stigmas. Overall, it is hoped by organisers of these events that communities will become more involved in the fight against the disease.

Which brings us to the big question: what is the real disease? HIV/AIDs or ignorance and prejudice?

inviting you

On Thursday 25th May 2006 at the National LIbrary in Port of Spain there will be a photography exhibition entitled "The Caribbean in the Age of Modernity", organized for the 31st Annual Conference of the Caribbean Studies Association. See attached invitation here: Download online_invitation_to_exhibition.doc The image shown here is one of four of my photographs which will be shown, along with the work of other photographers and artists (listed on the invitation).

This site also gives more insight into what the exhibition and conference are about. For me, the theme 'Caribbean in modernity' conjured up images of the construction crane which has become such a common part of the landcape, sticking out like eyesores all over the skyline and rapidly replacing old buildings and trees. I find them to be strangely picturesque, annoying and invasive all at once. In keeping with the theme of modernity, I used my digital camera (not film) and did not take straight shots. I combined two shots per image to make my statement. In the photo featured here (Once upon a time), a crane from the new port is reflected in the glass of the building across the road. To show 'the good old days' being taken over by the construction boom, I inserted a piece of another photo (of a rural family from Kernahan liming in the porch of their simple wooden house). The arm of the crane seems almost continuous with their roof ... yet the two worlds are vastly different. The values inherent in the family's simple, humble world are being quickly swallowed by the construction and fast-paced, commercial madness. It will be interesting to see what other interpretations of 'The Caribbean in Modernity' are.