As Trinidad and Tobago celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence today, the country’s future is at a critical crossroads, President Paula-Mae Weekes said in her independence address to the nation last night.

Describing the country as restless, President Weekes said the immediate landscape appears to be that of a wilderness, with increasingly brazen animosity; ugly, divisive politics; rampant unemployment, distressing reports of child abuse and troubling poverty.

President Weekes said there was a time when all Trinis could carry themselves with unbridled pride.

“There was a time, not too long ago, when as a nation, we were full of pride in ourselves, boasting an enviable literacy rate and booming industries, a place where respect for others and office was the default position and where integrity, decency and compassion were not unfamiliar— justifiably the envy of our Caribbean neighbours. Not that we were without our problems and issues; there has always been lawbreaking, corruption, societal dysfunction and ethnic division, but not to the extremes that now exist. For many years after Sniper first sang ‘Portrait of Trinidad’ in 1965, we citizens sang along lustily, without hesitation or reservation,” she said.
She lamented that the realities of Trinidad and Tobago today, however, were not what the architects of our independence intended.

“Those who have lived through all or most of this intervening period would be justified in asking —however rhetorically—how the France we get here? Mercifully, this junction also affords the nation the opportunity to look back at some of its former ways—with a view to revisiting the more salutary behaviours and practices which we may have unwisely abandoned,” the President said in her address.

“The significant and wonderful thing about a crossroads is it offers options—a choice of paths for the onward journey. The selection must be made with utmost care and caution. Trinidad and Tobago desperately needs to find where the good way lies and walk in it, and we do not have a moment to spare.”

The country’s head of state called for honest introspection by each and every citizen to return the country to some of the glories of its past.

“As a people, we have had more than enough time to put aside childish things—our laissez-faire attitude, intolerant viewpoints and perspectives, irrational conspiracy theories and appetite for the latest bacchanal; to stop the blame game, social media character assassinations, the pointless rehashing of old grudges, none of which has yielded any result other than increasing bitterness and disaffection,” President Weekes said.

“This is the point at which we must take up our precious Georgie bundle of enduring and admirable national qualities and legacies—creativity, diversity, generosity, resilience, energy and passion, among others—hoist it on our shoulders and set course for the future.

“To make Trinidad and Tobago a better place, each of us must look at ourselves and then make a change—a “Man in the Mirror” approach. Our fortunes cannot improve unless we first take ownership of our part in creating the present malaise and make the necessary adjustments to our thinking, attitudes and behaviour.”

Saying today would be a good day to set aside some time to envision and manifest our future, President Weekes added, “Just imagine what we could achieve if, on their next working day, whatever their personal circumstances, every public servant, every journalist, every police officer, every member of parliament, every CEPEP worker, began the day saying and meaning, “I am a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. I have and I take direct responsibility for its affairs.” And went to their job with purpose, with pride, with integrity, with discipline, without cynicism, without hidden agenda, without skulduggery, without partisanship.” (Source: The Guardian, Aug 30, 2022)

​Did you know that the guppy fish (Poecilia reticulata) was named after a British born naturist by the name of Robert Guppy who migrated to Trinidad?
Robert John Lechmere Guppy was born on 15th August, 1836 in London, England . In 1859 he came to Trinidad to join his parents and brother who had migrated to Trinidad some years before . Robert John Lechmere Guppy contributed much to the geology, palaeontology and zoology of the West Indian region, in particular Trinidad.
During one of his field surveys, he noticed a fish, which was called the “millions fish” at the time, but would later be named the “guppy’”. Intrigued by the small creature, he sent samples in 1866 to the curator of the British Museum, the legendary ichthyologist, Dr Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf Guenther.
Guppy was also the founder of the Victoria Institute (now renamed the National Museum) in Port-of-Spain at the time of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, and he served as the Institute’s president for years.
Angelo took the last photo in 2015 and was saddened by the state of neglect and disrepair of Robert Guppy's burial site in San Fernando , a man considered as one of the Icons of T&T. (Source: Patricia Bissessar, Aug 7, 2022)

Calypso icon David Rudder was conferred with the Order of the Caribbean Community, considered the highest award in the region.
The Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs said in a statement that Rudder received the Order at a ceremony at the Diplomatic Centre in Port of Spain on Wednesday (August 10), following a decision taken by CARICOM Heads of Government at the 43rd CARICOM Heads of Government Conference held in Paramaribo, Suriname in July 2022.
The Ministry said Rudder had been unavailable to attend that event and so the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, together with the CARICOM Secretariat, conferred the award at a special function on Wednesday.
Allison Drayton, Assistant Secretary General of Human and Social Development of the Caribbean Community praised Rudder for raising the spirits of the region. She noted that everyone felt Trini to the Bone as a result of his music.
In a pre-recorded address, Surinamese president and Chair of the Caribbean Community Chandrikapersad Santokhi thanked Rudder for his sterling contribution to calypso and to the region.
Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne presented  Rudder with the award and delivered from the podium a detailed Citation that praised his stellar contribution as a "cultural icon to the social fabric of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean as a whole".
The Minister lauded the wide span and longevity of  Rudder’s work, and included specific reflections on the profound impact of  Rudder’s seminal work in 1986 when his album “The Hammer” broke into the consciousness of Trinidad and Tobago and the world.
Dr Browne’s presentation also highlighted that the clarion call of  Rudder to Rally Round the West Indies remains cemented as an emotional anthem for West Indies cricket to this day.
In accepting the award, Rudder sincerely thanked the Caribbean Community and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for the honour and admonished young people to continue to learn and never to give up.
Background on the Order of the Caribbean Community
Initiated in 1987 during the Eighth (8th) Conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, the Order of the Caribbean Community is conferred upon nationals of the Caribbean whose contributions to the development of the region are considered to be outstanding.
At the 43rd Conference of the Heads of Government held in Paramaribo, Suriname, three other awardees were conferred the Order of the Caribbean Community, namely, Irwin LaRocque, former Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community; Sir Vivian Richards, cricketer; and Dame Billie Miller, former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Barbados.
The Order of the Caribbean Community represents the highest award in the region and is bestowed with great pride and joy. The award can only be held by 15 living awardees at any time. Prior to 2022, the OCC had not been conferred in 10 years.
Privileges and Entitlements:

• The Members of the Order of the Caribbean Community enjoy the following privileges and entitlements, amongst others:
• The award confers the styling The Honourable upon the recipient and Post-nominals OCC.
• Members of the Order are accorded the privilege of free movement among Member States of the Community and are issued with a travel document which is assigned similar status to a diplomatic passport.
• The right to reside in and be gainfully employed in any Member State, as well as the right to acquire and dispose of property, as would citizens of Member States. 

(Source: The Loop, August 11, 2022)

​Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - World Steelpan Day was celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago with the official opening of a new pan manufacturing facility.
The Musical Instruments of Trinidad and Tobago Company Limited (MITTCO) opened its doors in the e-Teck Industrial Park in Diamond Vale, Diego Martin on Thursday evening.
MITTCO is the brainchild of Akua Leith, the Artistic Director and Conductor of the National Steel Symphony Orchestra of T&T.  {source Pan4forlife.blogspot.com  Aug 13, 2022}

Have you ever tried using alternative flour (root flour) to bake, and your cake or bread just didn’t come out right? You’re not alone. When using root flour, there are tricks to ensure your cakes, cookies or other baked goods and breads come out looking and tasting yummy.
Chef Susan Thomas, who was introduced to root flour in 2019, has the tips you need to make your perfect treats with root flour.
Last month, Thomas’ doubles made with cassava flour was a hit at the National Marketing Development Corporation’s (Namdevco) root crop demonstration at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain.
The great thing about root flour, Thomas said, is its diversity. “Root flour can be used for making baked products as well as drinks such as smoothies, punches, ice cream, etc. It maintains its nutritional value throughout. You can combine different types of root flours for the texture, layer or flavour to get your product to a particular outcome,” Thomas said.
Thomas has successfully made dumplings and saltfish, various breads, cookies, punches, ice cream, brownies, pone, various cakes, sweetbread and doubles, all using root flour. She said, “When you are using root flour, sift the flour at least six times to allow as much air to be trapped within the flour to allow your product to turn out lighter.
Once you follow Thomas’s advice, you will be baking like a root flour pro. Thomas explained, “Add a ­quarter-cup more liquid, eggs, etc, to the flour, and allow it to sit for a little while, about three to five minutes, to rehydrate and gain more moisture to facilitate a greater yield.”
She added, “Add a little more rising agent, whether it is baking powder or baking soda, to the root flour depending on what you are making because the root flour tends to be heavier,” Thomas said.
Thomas went on to explain the types of root flour and what they can be used for, specifically in baking. Cassava flour, she said, is a dense flour and tends to become gelatin-like when a dumpling is being boiled, but it makes a great fruit cake.
If you are opting to use breadfruit flour, then this alternative flour is light and fluffy, and works well in making cakes, pancakes, crepes, waffles and breads.
She said dasheen flour is a dense flour and is great for sweet bread or pone, and green banana flour has a dark, rich colour and is perfect for brownies or any chocolate-like dessert. It is also perfect for making smoothies, as one tablespoon will thicken your smoothie. It also produces great wraps and is very diverse.
She said sweet potatoes are naturally sweet, so one must be careful when using them to make traditional items like pone, sweet bread or brownies. This, she said, “is important, especially when producing items with recipes that call for sugar to be added”.
“You must reduce the amount of sugar by at least half a cup or the product will be overly sweet,” Thomas said.
The chef said root flour is a very interesting flour to work with. “The health benefits in comparison to our traditional all-purpose flour can hardly be argued against. I would advise people to experiment with these flours and have fun doing so. It is indeed exciting and provides a very clear understanding of the flour itself and its very wide-ranging applications in the field of cooking,” Thomas said.
Thomas said there are times when root flour must be mixed with regular all-purpose flour, but not to panic, because the nutrition content you are looking for will not be compromised.
About Susan Thomas:
Thomas obtained her degree in culinary management and trained to become a chef at the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (TTHTI), commonly known as the Hotel School. She worked as a culinary arts teacher at SERVOL, then left to open her own catering business, Baked Home Style Caterers. She specialises in both local and international cuisine, as well as various traditional and non-traditional breads and cakes. She enjoys cooking and loves creating her own unique foods.
(Source: Express, July 8, 2022) 

RECENTLY Angostura heralded the arrival of its signature ultra-premium rum, Zenith. This blended rum is said to have been produced by two of TT's distilleries – Caroni 1975 Ltd and Angostura Ltd. The blend was aged in charred American oak casks once used for bourbon.
Only 195 bottles of this exclusive rum were produced. It's priced to go at $20,400 or US$3,000. It sounds like the kind of rum meant only for display, protected by a grid of lasers and a moat filled with starved piranha. The lucky buyer would probably keep it in an oak-panelled room next to the real shroud of Turin and plundered artefacts of the African continent.
OK, that's enough snark for one column. The announcement, though, got me thinking – why hasn't TT done more to leverage our heritage as a rum-manufacturing nation? Why aren't there more producers of fine rums that would add yet another piece to the sprawling, grand story that is Trinidad and Tobago? Rum manufacturing seems to be another potential gold mine we're content to explore only peripherally.
Before I picked up the good book my tipple of choice was always rum. As young men, my friends and I started our drinking careers with White Oak. White and sprite was the cocktail of the day. By just reminiscing about it I feel a wave of nostalgia and nausea wash over me. White Oak was, to us, the aviation fuel of rums. It got you off the ground quickly and at a reasonable price. The landing, however, was almost always rough.
As budgets grew modestly but our sophistication stayed the same, we graduated to VAT 19 and eventually Black Label rum. Later in life, we were introduced to 1919 and 1824 rums. I never learned the significance of those years other than the fact that they were probably the best two years of my life.
I've sampled rums from Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados and Puerto Rico; all of them are exceptional. Trinidad premium rums, I believe though, are among the best in the world. In my opinion, our blends are up there in the rarefied air with Cuba's premium offerings.
Yet, our sugar heritage was hastily jettisoned without consideration of the role a focused premium rum-manufacturing industry could play in transforming our one-note economy.
Barbados continues its sugar cultivation, exporting to the United States and producing precious molasses to sustain its rum industry. Through this industry, it earns even more foreign exchange by way of exports of its spirits.
Barbados is a fraction of the size of this country but its export ambitions are outsized. But then, it didn't have the luxury of resting all its hopes in an oil and gas industry.
Here in TT, our forex troubles show no signs of easing. To buy a paltry US$200 you need to go to the bank with your boarding pass, a vial of blood and the missing half of an ancient amulet. Unless we aggressively cultivate multiple avenues to generate foreign exchange, shortages will only be felt more acutely in the future.
Perhaps we've been brainwashed into believing agriculture is a legacy of our colonial past. We plant only houses and sprawling shopping centres which seed only more consumption and barren ideas.
Imagine if we could reinvigorate some sugar cultivation and focus on in-demand products like muscovado sugar. Such cultivation could also feed into the sustainable development of a larger, more diverse rum industry.
There could be other tourism product tie-ins such as Carnival, cocoa cultivation, chocolate manufacturing, eco-tourism, music, art and, of course, our literature. Rum should be imagined as a DNA strand of our cultural identity; rum and a story with legs that can take us places.
A rum-manufacturing industry targeting niche markets could also add another element to our tourism product. There could be tours of distilleries and rum festivals featuring premium blends as well as foods made with local rums.
In Bardstown, Kentucky in the US, the annual bourbon festival has been staged since 1991. For one week the town is inundated with visitors from across the country slavering for good music, food and, of course, bourbon. TT should be promoting a similar event to celebrate our rums; something perhaps a bit more sophisticated than a village table-top beating competition with a grand prize of a nip.
We have all the resources we need to tap into our full potential, but we're shackled by our self-limiting behaviours and ideologies. That's the great tragedy of TT. (Source:  Paolo Kernahan, Newsday, July 14, 2022) 

 Little has been published about U.S. actor and media personality Alfonso Ribeiro’s Trinidad-born American parents - Michael, a correctional officer, and Joy Ribeiro - or his grandparents, including his paternal grandfather Albert Ribeiro who was a calypsonian known as Lord Hummingbird.
Inaccurate information on Wikipedia and elsewhere states that his parents were from the Dominican Republic and his grandfather was calypsonian Roaring Lion.
Ribeiro, however, has sought to correct this in a number of media interviews, confirming that his grandfather was Lord Hummingbird.
In addition, on his Instagram page @therealalfonsoribeiro, Ribiero provided a glimpse of his family. Over the years, he posted separate photos of his father, mother, and grandmother, as well as one with his wife, Angela, at Trinidad Carnival.
Ribeiro is best known for the character Carlton Banks which he played on the hit television show Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and as host of America’s Funniest Home Videos.
He is quoted as saying, “I’ve got great memories of being in Trinidad. As a kid, we went every summer. That was always amazing. I’ve got great memories. I’ve obviously gone back as an adult many times to play Carnival. I even took my then fiancée, now wife, and we played Carnival and Bliss. I’ve absolutely enjoyed all my Trinidad connections, and it has been wonderful.” (Source: Dominic Kalipersad, May 26, 2022)

Growing-up in Belmont in the 1940s was a pleasurable and memorable experience.
At the end of World War II, Belmont,like other parts of Port-of-Spain experienced the resurgence of Steelbands. After an absence of more than five years ,Steelbands took to the streets on VE Day, May 8th,1945 and later on VJ Day and the Celebrations of the end of World War II. on August 14th ,1945
The early Belmont Steelbands were Rising Sun and Sunland,and later Stepyard, Dem Boys ,Dem Fortunates, Dixieland,Tropitones,Stromboli,Chetniks from Gonzales and Bataan from Olton Road. There were other smaller Steelbands.
Rising Sun ,was under the leadership of champion soloist Dudley Smith, a member of TASPO,with Flagman“Arthur Tramcar”Andrews. In later years , Prior Drakes a “Belmont boy” became the flagman for Invaders and in the 1970’s ,Dr. Ashton Parris another “Belmont boy” became the Manager of Invaders and arranged for Invaders Steelband to visit Washington D,C.
The first popular flagwomen were Yvonne “Bubulups”Smith and Mayfield Camps, both from the “Hell Yard” Steelband of 102 Charlotte Street. “Hellyard Steelband” in later years was named “Neal and Massy All Stars” Steel Orchestra.
Home of the Tropitones Steelband,which included many St.Mary’s College students,was the Thompson’s backyard in Darceuil Lane. Tropitones caused quite a stir when “dem white boys” first appeared on the streets one Carnival Monday. Four of the Thompson boys became Captains with BWIA, and five of their sons are qualified pilots.
I remember the J’ourvert morning when the revellers in Rising Sun, many waving small tree branches, were chanting an African Song (possibly an Orisha chant) as the band proceeded to down-town Port-of-Spain,as was the tradition.
On Carnival Monday nights,the Belmont boys travelled to Woodbrook to “jump-up”in Invaders, where the girls were. The girls were always chaperoned by an adult family member.
Mas men from Belmont included Harry Basilon, Harold Saldenha, Jack Brathwaite, and later Wayne Berkeley, celebrated metal crafstman Ken Morris, Fancy Sailor Band leaders Jim Harding ,and his protoge Jason Griffith. Popular Old Mas Bands were William “Sheppy” Shepherd, Keto Rodriguez, John Mollenthiel ,the Darceuils with Carl Blackman and Hugh Hill. Popular “Monday Mas Bands” were “Borroquites” of Bel Eau Road and the band led by John Mollentheil. I remember the occasion on which “Dem Boys” Steelband produced a well-received Costumed band , named “Viva Zapata”.
Important Belmont personalities included Sir Ellis Clarke,who became the President of Trinidad and Tobago,Sir Hugh Wooding.Sir Alan Reece, Sir Lennox O’Reilly(born in St,Lucia), Politicians Albert Gomes,Francis Prevatt, Anthony Jacelon and Frank Stephens, Commissioner of Police, Jim Rodriguez, Dr.Steve Blizzard, Harold and Kwailan La Borde, Edric Connor, High Court Justices Monica Barnes, James Davis, and Gorge Collymore, Dr.Harry Collymore, Professor Ken Julien, Professor Harry Phelps,Dr.Ralph Phelps, Kathleen“Auntie Kay”Warner, Dancer/ Choreographer Jean Coggins, Julia Edwards the Limbo Dancing exponent, and Kenrick Barnes ,who became a Colonel in the Jamaica Regiment,and was posted to London as the Jamaican Government’s Military Attache.(not verified) . He was the father of John Barnes, who represented England at Soccer on numerous occasions.
The best known Sports Clubs were Everton F.C.(1929-1933), Colts F.C.,Dynamos, Summerville,Belmont Dodgers, Luton Town F.C., Riversdale, Siwel and Cricket Clubs Shannon and Stingo,the Belmont Orphanage Boxing Gym under J.M.Douglas, which produced Boswell St.Louis, Easy Boy Francis and the West Indies champion “Gentle Daniel” James.
Sport personalities and athletes included J.R.N.Cumberbatch ,Eric Pierre,and later Basil Ince and Edwin “Pee-Wee”Roberts(two-time Olympic Bronze Medalist),in athletics. Alfred Charles and Arthur Maynard ,the legendary Everton F.C. back-line. In 1937,Alfred Charles became the first Trinidadian soccer player to play as a professional in England, Shay Seymour of Colts F.C.who also played professionally in England for many years, Geoff Chambers of Maple Club and coach of Dynamos F.C., Alan Joseph,who played as a professional soccer player in Venexuela, Horace “Pepper-wine” Lovelace, and Conrad Brathwaithe, Matthew Nunes who also played for a brief period as a professional in England, and Pat Gomez, the latter three were members of the only West Indies Soccer Team which in 1959 toured in England. Pat Gomez was the Captain of the team.
In cricket Belmont had Arthur Maynard ( Full-back of Everton F.C.)who scored 200 n.o. in his only International Cricket match. The Captain of the Trinidad Team, Rolph Grant, had declared the Trinidad Inning closed and thus deprived Maynard ,then on 200 n.o.,of the opportunity to become the batsman with the highest run score at the Queens Park Oval, then held by Patsy Hendren of England ,with a score of 205.
Then we had Andy Ganteaume who scored a century on his maiden and only Test appearance for the West Indies, Brian Davis, Charles “Charlie”Davis ,who scored a Century at the Lords Cricket Ground in London, Kenneth “Kenny” Roberts, Andrew Clarke, and Simpson Guillen ,who represented both the West Indies and New Zealand at Test Cricket. I was unable to verify whether Clarence Skeete ,who represented Trinidad at Cricket, was a “Belmont boy”.
We had Professional Wrestler “Golden Ray Apollon”, soccer and boxing referee George Cumberbatch, Harrison Skeete, the World’s Masters Weightlifting Champion for 18 consecutive years, until his retirement at age 82 (inducted into the World’s Hall of Fame of Masters Weightlifting), Mervin “Pee-Wee” Wong, a celebrated Cricket statistician and “Kanaka” the grounds-man who prepared matting wickets on the Queens Park Savannah,( At that time ,Cricket was played on Matting Wickets . There were no Turf wickets in Trinidad at that time). In Cycling we had Cecil Phelps ,Leslie King , and Barlow (St.Vincent),in Rifle Shooting(Bisley) Charles and Frank Lassalle, Gerald Stewart and “Jackie” Wilson,in Amateur Boxing Louis Barradas,Stunt Cyclist Gregory, Carl Blackman in Basketball and James Jackson and Timothy “Timmy”Patino in Race Walking.
Netball playing ladies included, the Bernard sisters, Rita and Phyllis, the Williams sisters, Jessica Smith, Dulcie Bowen, and Eileen Clunis. In Hockey we had the Fernandes sisters, Joyce, Jean and Paddy,Nola Boisselle, Irma Davis, Vilma Spencer and the Richards sisters. There may have been “stars” in other sports whom I do not remember.
Doctor’s offices in Belmont were Dr.Sam Carter, Dr.Brown, Dr.Hayes and Dr.Cyril Joseph,the father of Champion wrestler“Golden Ray Apollon”. In those days ,doctors made “home visits”. There were no Dentist’s Offices in Belmont. The Lambie’s dentist was Dr. Farrell, with his office being located on Duke Street.
Churches and places of worship included, St.Francis R.C.,St.Margaret’s E.C.,Belmont Methodist, Gospel Hall, the Wesleyan Church, and the Rada Community on Belmont Valley Road.
Belmont Schools were : Belmont Boys’ Intermediate(de Four), Providence Girls’(Sister Aloysius) , Haig’s Girls High School (Miss Graham), Belmont Boys’R.C.(Caesar), Belmont Girls’ R.C.(Miss Pollard and later Miss Luke), St.Margaret’s Boys’ E.C.(Maynard), St.Margaret’s Girls’E.C.(Melville Memorial),Belmont Methodist(Collymore), Ideal High School ( Ellis),originally at Oxford Street before relocating to Jerningham Avenue in the 1970s,Modern Academy(Mitchell) and St.Thomas High School (Young).
Some of the Belmont “boys” and “girls” who became priests or nuns, and whom I remember, include Frank Caesar, who is a Canon of the Anglican Church , Raymond Reid, Michael “Mikey” Pascall, who left the Priesthood,got married and migrated to Canada sometime in the late 1970s. On an occasaion , Father Pascall brought his “Old Mas” Band from Cedros and Icacos to “play mas” in Port -of-Spain. Also remembered were Cyril “Hook”Ross, Albert Clarke and his brother Hillary Clarke, Rex de Four,Carlton Hoskins, Monsignor Christian Pereira, the R.C.Cathedral’s Administrator and Vicar General, his brother John Pereira, the Abbot of Mount St.Benedict Monastery, Maria Clarke, Sister Paul ,who is the sister of Albert and Hillary Clarke, and Aloysius Ashby, Sister Aloysius, who became the Principal of Providence Girls Catholic School. There may be others whose names I do not remember.
Boyhood activities included the traditional games of Football and Cricket, of pitching marbles, flying kite, and “spinning top”. There was roller skating on the streets, backyard table tennis ,and weightlifting. Some of the boys “ran jockey” in the Dry River. During the Rainy Season, bathing in the rain was a habitual and enjoyable practice.
Many boys kept tropical fishes, pigeons or rabbits which were fed with grass called “rabbit meat” and with vegetable skins from the kitchen. This was an inexpensive method of converting waste into edible protein.
Saturday morning activities included cycling to Blue Basin in Diego Martin or to Dean’s Bay in Carenage. During the “mango season” it was visiting upper Belmont Valley Road “for mango”. The land owners on whose lands the mango trees grew, were tolerant with the trespassers on their lands. Today these lands are all covered with houses and access roads. Another week-end activity was catching fresh water fishes ,Guppies “millions”,Coscorob, and Hart’s rivulus or“jumping guabines”, in the upper and then unpaved section of the St.Anns River. A Saturday alternative was the 9.30 am or the 1.30 pm.movie show at the Olympic Cinema on Erthig Road or at the Royal Cinema on Observatory Street, where the Admission fee was one penny.
During school vacations children were given a “clean-out”,using a “bitter-tasting”tisane made from senna leaves, “worm grass”, and other medicinal herbs.
Our Sunday mornings, after church, were often spent playing cricket, kicking ball or flying kite in the Queens Park Savannah. Sunday afternoons were for casual strolls on the“Pitch Walk” around the Savannah and in the Botanical Gardens, meeting with girl friends, purchasing peanuts from “Mile-a-Minute”or listening to music rendered by the Police Band, under the baton of the conductor Major Rupert Dennison. A tramcar ride around the Savannah or the purchase of an Ice Cream cone for your girlfriend at the Queens Park Cafe was a proud moment. A visit to the Trinidad Dairies on Phillips Street for a Banana Split or a Sundae was a great accomplishment.
Another enjoyable activity was attending the Police Band Concerts at the Botanical Gardens on moonlight nights. What a fun time for all teenagers,boys and the girls who were always chaperoned.
The Cocorite Swamp was not too far away to cycle when “crabs were running”. In 1972 reclamation of the Cocorite Swamp was commenced, houses were constructed and the area was named Westmoorings.
Belmont was a true community which had developed over many generations. There was respect and love for each other and assistance was always available whenever needed. Before 1941 and the arrival of “Small Islanders”, mainly from Grenada, and St.Vincent and the Grenadines, to work on the construction of the US Bases at Chaguaramas, at Cumuto (Fort Read and its Waller Field Air Force Base) and smaller Airstrips in Central Trinidad( Edinburgh, Camden and Carlsen ) , there were few newcomers to Belmont.
Published in the Trinidad Newsday Newspapers
in May 2014 . Revised on 10th July,2022 Ian Lambie
Please appreciate that the above has been written from a rusty 89- year old memory. With most of my potential resource persons having already departed and with no one to assist me, I am hereby requesting that you forgive any omissions and inaccuracies which you may detect. (Source: Ian Lambie, July 26, 2022)

I spent my first twenty-three years resident in Belmont with my parents and siblings before relocating to Woodbrook in 1956. Nevertheless ,today, more than fifty-seven years later ,I still have a special affinity for Belmont.
Belmont has always been a residential area with the majority of residents being middle income Public Servants, office and store clerks and low income blue collar workers,with a smattering of upper middle income households in the north of Belmont.
Up to that time the majority of houses were mainly wooden structures with a Main House on pillars and a detached kitchen at ground level . It was only in the 1940s that running water,water closets and wash basins,were installed in new houses with the Main House, kitchen and occasionally a laundry room being built on the same level.. Most fireplaces were wood burning while some persons used coal-pots for cooking and baking. Kerosene stoves first appeared in Trinidad in the 1940s and cooking with electricity and LPG was introduced much later. Household refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and electrical kitchen appliances had not yet arrived. Tap water was not available in the Main House and the shower was often an enclosed cubicle in the backyard enclosed using galvanise-sheeting. There were no water closets. The facility was a pit latrine located some distance from the other buildings and there was no toilet paper. Discarded newspapers were used. In some living rooms of many Roman Catholics, hung a photograph of the Sacred Heart, Pope Pius XII, Jesse Owens, Joe Louis ,Haile Selassie and occasionally of Learie Constantine.
Without household refrigerators,the matriarch ensured that there were not much “left-overs”, and whatever there was,it was placed in a “safe” enclosed with fine meshed wire. Occasionally, for preservation, meats were smoked and fish salted and dried,“taza sale”.
The washing of clothes was manually performed using a wooden tub, cut from a pickled meat barrel,and placed in the back-yard,with a “jooking board”,and with blue,brown or Sunlight soap was used. There were no powdered detergents,or liquid bleach. The addition of Keens oxford blue made the white clothes whiter. In the backyard there was a mound of stones for “bleaching” the white clothes and a line for sun –drying.
Many backyards had one or more mango, zaboca, breadfruit, guava,sugar- apple,sour-sop, lime or plum trees,the fruit of which was shared with the neighbours. Occasionally there was a large tambran (tamarind) or chenette tree in the yard. There were “yardie” fowls.”clean-neck”, or “frizzle”, and Muscovy or “canal” ducks. Frozen chickens were yet unknown. It was not unusual to see an old chamber pot (pozee) containing an aloe plant on the dog house,if there was one.
In the 1940s the primary mode of transportation was walking, riding a bicycle or using the Tramcar which was in service until 1954. From 1941 to 1958, Trolley-buses ran the Belmont-South Quay route.
At the Transfer Station,located at the corner of Park and Frederick Streets, a commuter could transfer to a tramcar going to Four Roads,Diego Martin, or to a Woodbrook/St.James Trolley-bus. Around 1945 the “six-cents taxi” emerged ,and one of the popular drivers on the Belmont/St.Vincent Street route was Eugene Ducurew ,with his blue Ford Consul,Registration No. P 666. Another six-cents taxi driver was Boland Amar, who later became a successful businessman and agent for Toyota Vehicles.
Lunches were conveyed on foot, by pipe-smoking“Lillian”,from homes in Belmont,to reach the “breadwinners” at work “down-town”, before noon.
Christmas was the most significant season of family togetherness, feasting and merriment. The house had to be thoroughly cleaned. The exterior house walls and the fence “white washed”, using coloured ochres for colour and the woodwork painted. The furniture had to be polished and floors had to be scrubbed or polished using “Mansion” Floor Polish and shined manually. New curtains had to be sewn and hung, and linoleum purchased for the kitchen floor. Occasionally an imported Christmas Tree, cut from a live tree, was purchased from Grell and Company. These trees imparted the “Christmas smell” to the house. Residents ,and visitors to the neighbourhood, extended “Merry Christmas” Greetings to everyone and not the recently “copied” “Happy Holidays” Greetings from the USA. To us in Trinidad ,Christmas was and continues to be about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. We erected our creches at home and in later years a Public Creche was erected on “the greens” at the junction of St.Anns Road and Circular Road during the Christmas Season.
The Christmas ham was a dried and smoked pork leg or shoulder, encased in a tar jacket. After removing the jacket it was boiled in a “Pitch oil tin” placed on three bricks,over a wood burning fire in the backyard. It was then decorated with cloves. Another meat was often baked chicken or turkey, and a baked leg of pork,when affordable. The Christmas cake,was always a black fruit cake, made with fruit steeped in rum for many months,and baked in a galvanise “box” placed over a coal pot fire. In country districts, mud ovens were still used for baking. Making pastelles was a Christmas tradition, as it continues to be, and all members of the family participated in its preparation. Today many caterers prepare pastelles for sale. Today, pastelles are available from Trini caterers in those parts of the USA and in Canada where there is the demand from Trini residents.
Christmas beverages were sorrel, ginger beer, ponche-de-creme, cherry brandy, falurnum, vermouth rum, beer, with gin and whisky, when affordable.(Vodka was yet unknown in Trinidad). Apples, pears,and grapes were luxury items available only at Christmastime.(No Air Freight as yet) I cannot recall whether other exotic imported fruit were available.
Danish biscuits,chocolates,walnuts,brazil nuts and almonds were served. A block of Ice was often stored for use in an “Ice –box”outside of the building.
A traditional early Christmas Morning function was the opening of the Christmas gifts by the children of the house onthe return home after attending “Mid-night Mass”.
Boxing Day was a big day,with horse-racing at the Queens Park Savannah. It was a day for picnicking with family and friends from the country, who had travelled to Port-of-Spain, by bus or by train, for the occasion. They did not own vehicles in the 1940s. There were games of chance which included : “Alipang in de bag”, “Over and under the Lucky Seven”, throwing hoops over bottled beverages and the “Three Card” game. Occasionally there was a “Merry-go-round”,and a “Ferris Wheel” erected on the nearby Princes Building grounds.
Everyone enjoyed this annual “get-together” of camaraderie and fun. I am confident that the “Senior Citizens” who read this will have happy memories of these wonderful occasions which they enjoyed,with family members and friends, as I have. (Source: Ian Lambie, Juy 24, 2022)