When they explain why kidnappings are not reflected generally in their monthly published stats as a crime, and why criminals here are kidnapping so many citizens annually but do not appear to be seeking ransoms, then they could perhaps achieve the credibility they have lost in recording and dealing honestly with the crime of kidnapping. They must have some idea as to why kidnappers here appear to be so dumb and exceptionally stupid.

GA Marques via email

Yawning is the result of sloth and sluggishness and has been termed as coming from the devil.

Sneezing is the result of sound brain and sound health and is therefore termed as coming from an angel.

Whenever a person yawns he must cover his mouth with cloth or hands as something injurious may enter there or as people around may dislike it.

In the case of sneezing it is the duty of Muslims to praise Allah by uttering, “All praise is for Allah.” It is the duty of a Muslim to reply, “May Allah be kind to thee.” Prophet Muhammad said that “Allah loves sneezing but hates yawning.”

AHAMAD KHAYYAM Curepe

This brought to mind my letter on “P” cars running as taxis, published August 27, 2011.

We have a way of treating urgent matters with “rationalised caution” as if the harm done to one person in the interim, or two or three people, is okay until a solution is found, somehow.

But this is clearly wrong.

No one should be put to unnecessary risks.

Also, cars stop anywhere to take up passengers so that CCTVs at designated stops would only work if “PH” drivers are obligated to ply at those places only.

As you note in the editorial, some moves were made to regularise PH activities and hopefully everyone will start taking the issue very seriously.

ELIAS GALY via email

The family was well-know through the eight siblings’ involvement in sports, as well as the positive reputation of their well-respected pipe fitter/fabricator father and church-going mother.

Fire Sub-Officers and siblings David Bobb, 47, and Suzanne Bobb-O’Brian, 45, told Sunday Newsday their father was a no-nonsense man who worked hard, and who had brothers who were high ranking in the Police Service.

“Mummy made sure we had a Christian upbringing. She also made sure we got out the house and went outside to play,” recalled Bobb-O’Brian, adding that they both ran in their school sports, and in Zonal Sports.

“We had the blessing of our mom to do anything we wanted to do.

She would always quote the scripture, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” she continued. So, with respect and admiration for their parents, and a desire to make them proud, Bobb and Bobb-O’Brian did their best in everything they tried their hands at.

However, it was the younger Bobb-O’Brian who first entered the Fire Service in October 1996.

She explained that as the seventh of eight children, all her older siblings being boys, she grew up as a tomboy, and was a member of the track and field club, Dover’s Sports Club.

She said while she liked teaching, she did not want a desk job. She felt that she needed to do something physical and preferably outdoors, therefore she aimed for the protective services.

“I tried for the Police Service but I didn’t pass the exam. I was actually glad because I didn’t like the idea of having a gun in my hand. I grew up in church and to me, it felt like something evil,” she said.

She signed up for the Fire Service and was accepted.

Bobb-O’Brian is currently working at Savonetta Fire Service School as a physical training instructor, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), and lecturer in practical firemanship including fire prevention, hose, and fire extinguishers.

However, over the years she worked in a variety of sections, learning the culture of each fire station, how to interact with different personalities, and taking courses on the various features of being a fire officer. “The key thing is to know the different aspects of your job and to be the best officer you can be,” she advised.

Bobb, on the other hand, had his passing out in June 2000 and has been working in various departments at the Chaguanas Fire Station throughout his career. He noted that from 2001 to 2008, he was a fire fighter on the line.

However, he took and continues to take a number of available courses and was placed in the Fire Prevention Department where he is now head of the Investigative Section.

Bobb noted that before entering the service, he worked at Petrotrin in Pointe-a-Pierre as a temporary employee.

“I was getting older and looking for security in my life because I wasn’t able to get loans or anything without a permanent job. Listening to Suzanne tell stories about her experiences and interactions in the service, the physical and medical stuff, helped me decide to sign up too,” he said.

According to Bobb, he always liked the idea of helping people, knowing what he was about and giving his best. He also loved football and had played for St Benedict’s College, and Petrotrin’s football club so having a job that required him to be physically fit appealed to him.

He too looked into joining the Police Service and Regiment but he stuck with the Fire Service.

He recalled his days of training as a new recruit saying, “As you mention that you have a sibling on the job, I think the officers use it against you in a sense. You get some extra care, or extra love,” he said.

Bobb-O’Brian laughed, saying that every morning she would send him the message: “Tell him I say good morning.” The instructor who delivered the message would usually give him extra push ups for the message, a fact of which she was well aware.

“I told her to stop sending messages but every morning as a rule she would do it. They just liked seeing me do push ups. It’s not something bad. It was all in good fun. It’s part of the whole training culture.

Even now it’s still done. They become stronger,” Bobb said with a chuckle.

Bobb, the sixth child, said his younger sister had a good reputation in the service and, as expected with those who had family members in the organisation, other officers would pay particular attention to the incoming relative to whether or not they match up to that reputation.

“Suzanne was always one to work hard and do her best, wanting to go out there and do as much as she can. As the sibling coming in they wanted to see if I matched up or was slacking. They didn’t have to worry about that. I was right there working hard, serving the public to the best of my abilities because people’s life would be in my hand, and they gave the both of us the respect we deserved,” said Bobb.

He pointed out that some people believe fire officers just “boil a pot” or play football while waiting for a fire to be reported.

However, he said there were a large number of courses available for officers.

He said for the first five years of his career, he took every course that was offered – including advanced first aid and EMT so that he would be able to help people in more ways than one.

Bobb said he also has a passion for children and so gets involved in mentoring, or anything involving children. He has been his station’s Santa Claus for the past three years, was on the committee that created Scarlet the fire mascot, and he even donned the Scarlet costume at one time.

“I have been very active in the service and I love every part of it,” he said.

Bobb has one son, Josiah, who at age 11 wants to do everything he did including running, playing football, and then joining the Fire Service.

Bobb-O’Brian has two boys.

Darell is 14 and wants to be a soldier like his father. Theron is 12 and likes sports and outdoor activities.

He wants to be a fire officer like his mother.

There was no sense of urgency, no sense of ‘I am a star’ that sometimes accompanies fame. It was hard to believe that this was Rupee, whose 2004 “Tempted to Touch” rocketed to the international charts giving even greater presence to the Caribbean’s music.

The 41-year-old artist, who looks not a day older than when he stepped out of the local Carnival scene nine years ago, hopes to replicate his success of “Tempted to Touch” with his new single, “Tipsy”. The artiste and his new single have been signed to Ultra Records.

After almost a decade away from the local music scene, Clarke has returned to local stages, receiving, “nothing but love” from audiences who remembers him for hits such as “What happens in de Party”, “Everybody” and “Slow Motion”, among others.

He has done collaborations with fellow Barbadians artistes such as Rihanna and Alison Hinds, and has worked with Shaggy, Sean Paul, Thara Prashad, Fay-Ann Lyons, T.G E.N.T, Lil’ Kim, Kevin Lyttle, Daddy Yankee, Wisin & Yandel, Khatera, Shirin and Elish.

For the star, his main aim at the moment is charting, ensuring that the presence of soca is felt on the world’s charts and that it is one day recognised and awarded by the Grammys.

He told Sunday Newsday, “Words aren’t adequate or do justice to the emotion and the feeling that I get coming back into the Carnival scene fully after nine years. The overwhelming support, the love, the genuine appreciation, it is mind-blowing. It is almost like I never left.” The Trinbagonian love giving weight to the old adage absence makes the heart grow fonder.

He decided to take a break in 2006 because he felt a need to step back a little bit, reassess the market, do some travel and fulfil the then deal with Atlantic Records. While away from the local Carnival stages, Clarke spent years touring the globe going to spaces such as Dubai, Panama, Honduras, Romania, China.

The artist has assembled a new team, working with Top Tier management composed of Omar Stephenson and Hector Carter from the US. “These guys were instrumental in getting behind me, making sure I get music out early especially for Crop Over last year. That was always a big issue for me, travelling so much and not being able to put music out on time. We released “I’ll be Okay” and “Come to my blessings” early and it got tremendous love in Crop Over.

“We also put out a song right after Crop Over with Black Shadow called “Tipsy”. Having these people around me.

These are people who are honest and genuine. They are not yes men. They have really whipped me into shape,” he said.

He described returning to the TT stage as a homecoming.

As a proponent of fusion, Clarke welcomed to move toward experimentation of various sounds by local and regional artistes but also said he was also big on keeping the authenticity of the sound. He saw marrying the two as perfect. “I have always been a big fan of experimentation but I have also been a big fan of maintaining a cultural sound and genuine sound.

That is why you hear a sound like ‘I’ll Be Okay’ in 2017 – which is full percussion, guitar. I think there is a platform for everyone to showcase their different energies and fusions…” While soca has experienced a new wave of growing global popularity, Clarke said the music would not be fully recognised until it is seen and respected as a business.

“The billboard charts, the Grammys, the American Music Awards, one of the major factors of those things happening and you being nominated for them are record sales. This is, at the end of the day, what the industry runs on.” Clarke said he found in the last seven to ten years that artistes were not taking the business side of music, seriously.

Because of the advent of social media, artistes were giving away their music for free, Clarke said, “sending it out to as many people as possible in an effort to get the song popular and get forwards and perform live, which is good in a sense but you are not selling the product that you got into the market to sell.” Ten years ago, he added, it was difficult for an artiste to sell their music, but now artistes could put their songs on Itunes and get 70 cents return on a dollar, and this could be done without printing a CD. “Until we start to do that, you’re going to find that the rest of the world is not going to take us seriously,” he said.

This is one aspect of his global experiences he wants to share with artistes in the region. It is his wish to one day mentor and aid in the growth of the business of soca, although he was uncertain as to how that mentoring would take place.

Although Clarke faced some dishonest promoters and other forms of dishonesty out on the road, those negatives did not take away from him spreading the sound of soca.

His many travels, particularly to China, are influences he hopes to infuse into his music going forward. And while he, “certainly [does not] intend to be behind the microphone for the rest of my life,” it won’t be long before the stages of Carnival will again be blessed with the smooth voice of Mr Ice Cream.

Jahmoun told Sunday Newsday the song, “Only You”, was one that evoked emotions from listeners, and that it was a great way to let people see that he could do different types of music and actually sing.

Written by Mical Teja and produced by MadMen Productions, “Only You” is a song that can resonate with many. “Only You can mean anything. If you’re not feeling yourself lately, you’re down or want to give up, only music, only your best friend, only God… can take you out of that mood. It’s open for interpretation so it could mean different things to different people,” he said.

Jahmoun added that the chorus stated that no one knows what tomorrow may bring so it encouraged everyone to ‘jump up as if it’s their last time.’ “The song is now getting popular because people are now listening to the song properly and understanding what it says. One person said he thought it was a gospel. It is an emotional song and people could connect to it because of things that happen to them in their lives,” he said.

Jahmoun would be performing in position 11 in the semi finals of the 2017 International Soca Monarch competition to be held at the Arima Velodrome on February 5.

He said while he was excited about getting into the semis, it was not the same excitement he felt when he placed for the first time in 2011. Then, he even made it to the finals with his first soca song, and the first song he ever wrote, Digital Bumper.

This time, he said, the excitement was for the exposure, rather than the competition. He said he looked at it as a platform to get his name and his music out internationally, and a way for the world to see the talent in Trinidad and Tobago.

Jahmoun’s soca career began in 2011 after his good friend, Ronnie McIntosh, encouraged him to start singing.

Previously, the radio announcer from Cocorite would play around, singing the songs of other artistes while on the air. This led to a number of opportunities to sing soca music, but Jahmoun was not ready at the time.

It was in 2010, when McIntosh told Jahmoun it was time to get serious and to ‘try his own thing.’ “I actually took what he said to heart. I went home and started to write whatever came to my head, which ended up being ‘Digital Bumper’,” he said.

Joel Feveck, aka Zan, helped him make some adjustments to the lyrics and Johann Seaton of MadMen Productions produced the song, which made it to the 2011 Soca Monarch finals.

He noted that, while “Digital Bumper” was successful, being in the radio business did not help his soca career. “If you’re working at a radio station and the song isn’t good or it doesn’t resonate with people, they’re not going to play it. You’re not going to get the love that you expect just because you are in the radio fraternity,” he stressed.

However, Jamoun said he had the patience to wait for his next hit, which would come at the right time for him.

In the mean time, he would like to continue singing more meaningful, more melodious songs in addition to collaborating with others to write.

The game is centred around Trinidad and Tobago Carnival and is a traditional roll-the-dice-andmove game. There is a singular path that everyone has to follow.

However, since his target audience is locals who live abroad and have children that are not very aware of the culture of their parents, he did not include street names or landmarks that would date or place the game.

Le Platte told Sunday Newsday the idea came to him about three years ago. He was reading a comic book and noticed that the publishers created a simple board game using some of the comic’s characters and the idea for a local game came to life.

Being a video gamer, Le Platte first thought to create a digital game for mobile phones or computer.

However, he did not have the necessary skill set nor the time to dedicate to experiment and learn those skills.

However, as an illustrator and graphic designer, he knew a board game was within his reach so he started sketching and brainstorming game ideas. “I didn’t want it to be something generic. It had to relate to Trinidad and Tobago so it was always going to be a toss up between Carnival and Folklore – those are the two major elements I am most interested in,” he said The decision was made when he heard a heated argument between two individuals who were actively involved in Carnival. They were arguing about the traditional Carnival character, jab-jab, whether it was “the one with the horns that is covered in black oil” or “the blue one that blows fire.” They, of course, were both wrong as the jab-jab’s wears colourful garb and carries a whip. There were mixing it up with the jab molassie.

“With that I said, ‘Alright, Carnival it is,’ and I decided there had to be some kind of learning aspect to the game,” he said.

Le Platte said he has always loved mas. He played in primary school and in secondary school he helped make mas for his Art teacher’s mas band. The teacher suggested he visit Peter Minshall’s mas camp where, in 1996, he started helping out with the making of costumes. He then moved on to designing costumes for children’s bands, and later started photographing and documenting Carnival, producing several Carnival photo books.

“I have always been involved in Carnival so coming up with this new creative outlet, I was excited about it. At the time I started I had no idea where it was going to end up. I just played to my strengths,” he said.

Le Platte noted that originally, Santimanitay was a personal project for him and his friends to play. However, as the design of the game developed, and as those who played the prototype gave enthusiastic feedback, Le Platte decided to have it made professionally.

“I got some internal momentum from that and began to push to get the visual stuff done. I wanted it to be a product of Trinidad and Tobago, not just my product.

Thankfully I know a lot of talented artists and I got James Hackett and Nabeel Mohammed involved,” he said.

Play It Le Platte said he wanted individual player pieces that the players would get invested in, pieces that people would fight over, not generic plastic pieces.

“I like good stories and I like telling stories so the characters had to have back stories. Each has a reason to get to the stage first. Whether you can relate directly to the character or you know someone like that, you would want to play with that particular piece, so the game would be more immersive. Also I did not want the person to play an actual Carnival character but a distinct piece, related to mas in some form,” he said. The characters include male and female masqueraders, male and female tourists, a mounted police officer, a corn soup vendor, that person that jumps up in every band that passes, and the man picking up glass bottles ‘because conserving the environment is important.’ Le Platte credited 12-year-old Eric Jones, a second generation Trini living in the United States, for helping him develop the character’s attributes. Jones visited his mother’s homeland last year and experienced mas for the first time. While here, Jones played the game and loved it, and with that limited experience of TT Carnival, he was instrumental in the development of the game pieces.

For example, if “D Piper”, the bottle man, lands on a Midnight Robber space, he is not challenged because he has nothing the Midnight Robber would want. However, if he lands on a Snow Cone space, he has no money to buy any and so he has to go backwards.

“Apart from learning about Carnival, players take on the roles and develop their own stories as the game goes along. It makes for very funny, very memorable interactions,” stated Le Platte.

Some of the spaces include The Midnight Robber, where players have to win a challenge to move forward; Hard Luck, where players have to return to the starting point; and Snow Cone, which he described as “the bacchanal space”, where players can roll the dice again and move forward by that amount or send someone back by that amount. “That is where friendships start to get tested,” he laughed.

Then there are the cards, Warrahoon (Wild Indian) and Pierrot Grenade, which are the action and trivia cards. When a player lands on certain spaces, they can access to those cards which include “doh back back” and “vex money”.

What next? Already, Le Platte has plans for the future of the game. He envisions game editions based on different types of Trinidad- styled Carnivals around the world, like a Santimanitay Caribana edition, with aspects specific to Canada.

Also, people have already begun asking for a digital edition of the game or a cell phone app. “I’m not sure about just doing a digital version of the game because I was trying to get away from that being on your phone thing.

The kind of ole talk you can get involved in around a table is not the same because an app is usually a solitary thing,” he said.

However, he is considering a companion app to make the board game more interactive, such as a timer for questions, keeping track of characters, or an augmented reality app where persons could scan the board and things would pop up on their devices.

Unfortunately, Santimanitay: Race to the Stage is not yet available for purchase as the shipment of games was delayed. However, persons can learn more about the game at www.

leplattestudios.com.

This desire gave birth to D Guardian’s Carnival Limited Band in August 2015. The band first partnered with La-ta-caille Kids for 2016’s Carnival at the Downtown and the Queen’s Park Savannah competitions in Portof- Spain. The band won small band of the year in the Downtown competition and second place at Queen’s Park Savannah. The band went on its own to St James and won the title of best creative.

This year, McKenzie will present the circus in all of its various forms, with its 2017 presentation, Ma Ma Lok D Circus Comin. But at the heart of what McKenzie does is always the development of the artform.

He said, “It was a dream of mine to do something for the kids.

I am used to dealing with children. I am a commission officer with the Trinidad and Tobago Cadet Force. I deal with children from ages 12 to 18 there, basically.

“They come. They learn how to draw the patterns. They learn how to construct backpacks.

They learn how to design as well. They have a hands-on experience,” he said. Children ages three to 18 are a part of the band.

McKenzie said the children were often excited about the experience of, “learning to create something from scratch and seeing the end results,” and he hopes to do many children’s events. In this year’s band, McKenzie, will also pay tribute to murdered Japanese pannist, Asami Nagayita, whose was found dead in the Queen’s Park Savannah last February. The section is called “D Sweet Sound of Music in Tribute”.

McKenzie intends to do a children’s pageant after Carnival, “where they will be learning and doing stuff under culture and arts.

“It is a different kind of pageant. It is not just about beauty but rather learning the culture of your country. So they will be visiting various pan groups, mas camps, they will be doing self awareness about different ails and ailments.” The pageant will also teach them about traditional mas, with the finals culminating in July. The children, he said, would also be creating their own designs for it.

This year, he anticipates 187 children would partake in the band. The band has 13 sections.

She was enrolled in Pan Piper’s Music School in St Augustine, which was affiliated with Carol La Chappelle workshop.

There she learned piano, guitar, pan and vocals. The school’s productions incorporated dance and theatre and at age seven Nurse took on leading roles.

She wanted to play all the steelpans, including the cello and double bass, and continued her arts training into her teenage years and did more personalised training in piano and vocals.

She joined a group called Youth Pulse and there she was exposed to R&B and jazz.

“I just fell in love with music and performing,” she said.

At age 14 her mother suggested that instead of singing people’s songs she should write her own. Initially Nurse was reluctant but when her mother challenged her she gave in. She explained that their relationship is such that they insist every generation should be better than the next. At that time she had some inspirational writings which she had planned to compile and release.

At age 18 she started working with a calypso/ soca producer on her first album, which was a mixture of gospel, inspirational and classical. The album, however, did not work out.

“I felt so disappointed,” she said.

Nurse got a scholarship to study medicine at Yale University in Connecticut, but opted to remain in TT to study psychology at the University of the West Indies. She was not passionate about that field but felt it was conventional and what everyone wanted to hear.

However, she continued with her music and one producer kept urging her to record.

“I loved performing but I had no interest in being a recording artist,” she said.

While doing demos the producer passed away and Nurse took that as a sign that she should not be pursuing this career.

She tried to figure out what she wanted to do and always felt like something was missing. When her mother opened a cosmetic store Nurse helped her out. While there a friend asked if she was interested in being a vocal coach and she agreed, a vocation that she “fell in love with”.

In her new role she met a number of talented people who were also very frustrated because they did not understand the business of music and entertainment and were being short-changed.

“You have to put value on what you have to present. You cannot expect other people to put that value,” she stressed.

It was not only something she was passionate about but an experience she could relate to as a young frustrated artist.

Her clients ranged from eight to their 30’s and the Artist Development Programme was created to suit their needs. The programme included vocal training, acting classes, the business side of music and cardio to build stamina and the lungs for vocals.

“It was a very holistic programme and one not being done in Trinidad,” she said.

With ten adults and a few younger students, she launched Rosemand’s Vocal and Performance Academy in 2014, named after her late grandmother.

However, the older students were not so enthusiastic to put out the work and she found herself giving a lot of energy but not getting the returns.

The passion she had at the opening of the school was starting to die. The following year she launched the kids and teen programme and she eventually decided to dissolve the Artist Development Programme, though she would still continue working with up and coming artists.

For the children she developed a simplified version of the programme, teaching them vocals, theatre, interview skills and helping them build a portfolio with photos.

For her the major thing was to build platforms for her students. It was her intention to build the individual first and then the performer.

Among the school’s many projects was a music video cover and a Christmas production last December entitled “A Christmas Story” at the Central Bank Auditorium.

They are currently working on a nine-episode variety television series which they hope to launch in March, as well as a 70s musical theatre production scheduled for July.

Defending champions Central FC played St Ann’s Rangers yesterday and needed a victory to regain top spot going into the last round.

Connection, with one game left against Ma Pau Stars, are on 43 points, two points ahead of Central (41 points) who also have a game against San Juan Jabloteh (27 points).

The decisive Connection goal arrived on 56 minutes when Hector, who replaced Grenada international Jamal Charles immediately after the break, guided a half volley out of goalkeeper Javon Sample’s reach and into the far netting.

It was a captain’s goal in every sense. Hector’s side desperately needed to find a way against a very physical Jabloteh side that seemed unwilling to let up.

A superb one-handed save by Jabloteh’s recent goalkeeper signing, Sample, 18 minutes into the contest kept out a curling Alvin Jones free-kick that was destined for the far top corner—it was Connection’s best chance of a tense first half. However, even with Sample, at full stretch, Hector broke the deadlock after connecting on Neil Benjamin’s improvised cross which looped high inside the area—under challenge from defender Akeem Benjamin.

Twelve minutes later the 32-yearold Hector executed a spectacular volley off a right side Jones cross, but a magnificent Sample was equal to the test, not once, but twice after also denying the midfielder on the quick rebound.

Hector, needless to say, had done enough when his side most needed with his seventh league goal this season.

Earlier at the Couva venue, Akeem Roach continued his rich form by scored twice to help Club Sando hold off bottom-placed Point Fortin Civic 3-2 in a feisty affair.

Roach stretched his lead at the top of this season’s league scorers’ list— three goals ahead of the pack—with 14 goals while his side improved their fifth position with 24 points, one less than fourth-positioned Ma Pau who face Morvant Caledonia United today from 3:30pm at the Larry Gomes Stadium.

Roach, 20 years old, snatched the winner just after the hour mark after the scores were tied at two-all at the break.

Kevon Piper opened the scoring in the 23rd-minute, hitting off the underside of the bar to beat Civic goalkeeper Miles Goodman and give Sando a 1-0 lead after a left side Akeem Humphrey cross strolled freely across the six-yard area.

Then two minutes later, with new national coach Dennis Lawrence looking on from the stands, Roach unleashed a rocket from 25-yards out that Goodman was no match for to put Sando 2-0 ahead.

Civic, however, pulled a goal back by the 33rd minute when Akeem Redhead’s fierce angled strike deflected off defender Nicholas Thomas and into the back of goalkeeper Kelvin Henry’s net.

Teenagers Nion Lammy and Darnell Hospidales then combined to level Civic 2-2 at the stroke of half-time with the latter guiding squared pass onto the underside of the bar before it sunk into the back of the Sando goal.

Roach struck in the 65th-minute by finding the 3-2 winner with a clinical finish into the bottom corner of Goodman’s net after controlling a Nical Stephens cross off his chest.