The meeting at the Magdalena Hotel in Tobago was the culmination of a hysterical exercise to allegedly shame and blame the Government for mismanagement of the sea bridge.

The Super Fast Galicia has left in its wake more questions than answers. Deliberately sailing off into the sunset because the arm of the Government could not twisted has led to what was expected — suffering of the business community in both Tobago and Trinidad.

This was no Watergate exercise.

Yes, it is important to discover the who, the what and the why of the sea bridge debacle but instead we had a show where an unvarnished attempt was made to score political points.

I was very disappointed in the confrontational way, the lack of finesse displayed, when questions were posed.

Was the Prime Minister expected to cry into his handkerchief? Was he supposed to beg forgiveness? Again? It would appear that in the haste to contract a replacement for the Galicia, several things occurred which should have not.

The main area of concern for us in TT should be the murder rate that is being speeded by domestic violence, sibling rivalry, gang warfare and the consumption of too much alcohol.

Tourism cannot go ahead without addressing the crime rate well before we worry about the boats. We first need to attract people to even want to get onto the boats.

LYNETTE JOSEPH Diego Martin

The Guerrero family of seven sisters and one brother bring their passion for the hospitality industry to life and receive a special joy from their family-run business.

A village rich in history, with a population of approximately 1,400 residents and a reportedly low incidence of crime, eldest sister Brenda explains how many people arrived in Lopinot: “The Government was building a dam in Caura at the time and relocated all of the villagers. That’s how our grandmother’s family settled here.” The café is situated obliquely opposite La Veronica RC Primary School on the main road. Brenda and their dad taught at the school which was built in 1946.

On arrival, I was greeted by two of the Guerrero sisters – Marcia and Brenda who shared their journey. “Our siblings Arthur and Bianca were the brainchildren behind the official launch of the café in 2001. We made the collective decision to rebrand in 2011 and include cocoa in our menu items, gradually catering for events, retreats, workshops, dinners, lunches, overnight guests and more,” Marcia says.

“We cook with 70 per cent chocolate, pure cocoa mass, ground granules and pulp used in salad dressings and beverages.

There is a growing awareness for the appreciation of our local cocoa.

However, more locals need to take up the mantle. Though you may not get recognised for it as an individual, it’s all about service to our country,” Marcia states.

Café Mariposa creates cuisine made with ingredients primarily from their own backyard or purchased from neighbouring farmers, so as to reduce the food miles. According to Foodmiles.

com, the concept attempts to measure the distance food has travelled before it reaches the consumer and is an indicator of the environmental impact of foods and their ingredients.

As I peered over Brenda’s shoulder, past the feeding hummingbirds, I spotted the banana, mango, grapefruit and orange trees she spoke of in the distance.

As part of the first Lopinot cluster training with the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as UWI’s Cocoa Research Centre and their personal research, the siblings do all things cocoa: processing, innovation and cocoa dancing. They have won numerous awards for their creations, including Marcia’s Batido de cacao (chocolate drink).

She re-appears with freshly made mango and carambola [five-finger] juice with a hint of cocoa and continues, “Our parents facilitated us by allowing us to build on their property and by being good parents. We learnt how to support each other and everyone has their distinctive role in the business.” The sisters recalled happy memories of how the café [unofficially] began. “In the early days we sang for free to visitors.

Our father Benedict Guerrero, fondly remembered as Teacher Ben would say, ‘Girls, come, come, we have visitors, let’s sing!’ We would serve guests pone, ice-cream, sweetbread and the works!” Gone but not forgotten, the senior Guerrero left precious memories and values etched in their hearts and minds.

In 1984, they won the Cynthia Alfred Championship Cup at Music Festival in the Family Class for a Spanish composition written by their brother Arthur, whose family subsequently took home this prize. As Brenda serves some tasty, specially prepared fried ripe plantain “amarillas” with a flavour-filled pommecythere chutney sauce, topped with 70 per cent grated dark chocolate she continues with her entertaining stories from yore.

“We always felt that Lopinot needed a place to relax with family.

Apart from the historical site and bars, we wanted to create a family atmosphere.” Next came the beef and pork tortillas made from cassava and sweet potato flour and even after skipping breakfast, I quickly became filled. The café caters to diabetics, vegans, lactose and gluten- intolerant guests. “If you don’t eat flour, you have the option of tortillas made with corn, cassava, sweet potato or dasheen flour purchased from a vendor in Tobago.

For breakfast we also offer fresh jams made with mammy apples, five-fingers or guava which can be used to sweeten your porridge made from freshly-grated cassava or sweet potato,” Brenda says.

You may be asking just where did these women learn to cook? “By the time we were nineyears- old, our mother placed a stool by the stove and told us we had to learn to cook,” says Brenda.

“We all also have fond memories of our grandmother cooking fireside. She had a sweet hand and everyone came to our house for her bakes. In those days she lived in a modest tapia house with this basket hanging in the middle of the kitchen. She made comfrey tea from pommecythere, sour cherries and spices that would turn a shade of red. We especially savoured the whole pommecythere seed and when granny gave you this tea with a piece of bake with guava, wow!” Brenda beams.

“They never taught us Spanish, but we learnt it at school and the older folks would switch between Spanish and patois to keep us kids in the dark.” She recalls that the storytelling was the best part about growing up in the village.

“We did not receive electricity until 1967, but we had the privilege of famous parranderos like Sotero Gomez and Papa Guhn visit our home which kept us going and boy did they know how to tell stories! “ An educator for 34 years who retired as a principal, Brenda admits that she always liked teaching, but loves being her own boss.

“When I transitioned to the café, there’s no better feeling than seeing guests enjoy a meal prepared with your hands.” While Marcia, a former banker and missionary who lived abroad, shares similar sentiments: “I believe this is the best job to be able to touch lives!” They ended by singing a Spanish song a perfect afternoon. “We can’t take the music out of the business – that’s how we began and it brings a special feeling to our guests. We want our offspring to realise the value of our history and continue the legacy we wish to leave in honour of our parents. We would like our guests to remember ‘Mi casa es su casa’ and we care about what we include in our food. ” For more info: cafemariposa58@ gmail.com

There are two routes being considered — from Arima to Toco and from Sangre Grande to Toco.

Nidco said that currently it takes 90 minutes from Arima to Toco. From a layman’s point of view, is this a reasonable or unreasonable time? If the new road reduces the duration to 48 minutes in one of its options and to 35.3 minutes in the other, is spending between $2 billion and $5 billion really necessary at this point in time of economic decline for these minute savings? The figures get even more incredulous when we work out the cost the road per minute that will be saved.

If we use the lowest fee of $2 billion and divide it by the 42 minutes it will save, we get a whopping cost of $47.6 million per minute.

If we use the highest fee of $5 billion, it works out to be $119 million a minute.

If we use the second option of the new road taking 35 minutes instead of 90 minutes, and using the lowest fee of $2 billion, it works out to be $36.4 million a minute. And, for the highest fee of $5 billion, it will be $90.9 million a minute.

Let us be real here. On top of the new road, we will then have to build the new ferry terminal in Toco. That might be another set of billions of dollars. Then, new ferries from Toco to Tobago.

And additional staff to run the port and ferries.

Do we really need that type of infrastructural investment? Can we get more returns if we were to spend that money in other types of infrastructural development and/or otherwise? We definitely need to do something about the local travel between our two main islands. Is this proposed road the solution? Can more frequent and reliable ferry services from Port of Spain be more effective? What if we were to use the one in San Fernando (already exists)? What about if we were to add new ones in Manzanilla and Mayaro to Tobago, especially as decent road works already exist? Further, if we are to go through with the road to Toco, what will be the new duration of the journey from Toco to Tobago? How much shorter will it be than from Port of Spain and the other areas identified earlier? We really need a lot of public consultation on this project before we go ahead.

It will cost us the taxpayers a mint to repay.

IAN RAMDHANIE via email

For some they might say, “I agree”, a cold beverage be it fruit juice with no added sugar, sugary drinks, alcoholic beverages, milkshakes, water in plain or flavoured form or even buying a cup our local snow-cone, are great choices. Whereas, others could argue, “you are right”, but is difficult at times to drink water. Be that as it may, keep in mind that water is the best refreshing drink.

Today’s article will focus on the importance of water in the diet. The focus will be on the healthy population; for example, those diagnosed with kidney disease, congestive heart failure, etc are at times prescribed restricted fluids with their meals by the medical doctor, you are encouraged to remain compliant with the physician’s advice.

Essential nutrient Water is essential in the diet; it is a nutrient, just as important as carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. The body needs water daily, irrespective of the weather conditions.

Water loss normally occurs through sweat, urine, expired air from the lungs, metabolic processes in the body, and removal waste. You should note that water loss must be replaced to maintain fluid balance in the body. In some cases, water and electrolytes are lost through diarrhoea; when this occurs replacing the water and electrolytes are critical in maintaining health.

Mahan and Escott-Stump (2008) documented that water forms the largest component of the body. You should note that the total body weight, for example at birth, water accounts for 75 to 85 per cent, while for the lean adult accounting for 60 to 70 per cent, and obese persons 45 to 55 per cent. Generally, water has the critical role of aiding physical and chemical constancy of intracellular and extracellular fluids, maintaining body temperature, assisting with the physiological process of digestion, absorption, and excretion, and preventing dehydration.

From this you may wish to conclude that water must be added to the diet. It can be taken into the body as part of the food and beverages that you consumed. A good practical approach to consider is to drink water between meals throughout the day in plain or flavoured forms by including fresh fruit pieces, lemon or lime juice. Veggie pieces such as cucumber slices, carrot slices or adding a very small piece of mauby bark or cinnamon stick and so on. In addition, you can also add to your meal plan fruit juice, milkshakes, slices of fresh fruit (watermelon, pineapple), tossed salads, and soups.

Note: if water cannot be taken orally or by a feeding tube, it may be administered intravenously by the medical doctor in the form of saline solutions.

Nutritional content: Plain water contains zero calories; flavoured water will add to the caloric content. Please take a few minutes to read the food label. You are encouraged to drink water, and omit and/ or limit sugary beverages, and energy drinks which contain caffeine, sugar, and add a lot of extra calories to the diet (Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2017).

What happens when you don’t drink enough water? The recommendation is six to eight glasses of water per day. If you are not drinking enough water to replace body fluids loss, the possibility is that you can become dehydrated.

Dehydration can be described as excessive loss of body water.

The adverse effects of dehydration include that of: strong thirst, vague discomfort, loss of appetite, decreased blood volume which may affect normal circulation, impaired physical performance, increased effort for physical work, nausea, difficulty in concentrating, failure to regulate body temperature, dizziness, laboured breathing with exercise, increased in weakness, muscle spasms, delirium, and failing kidney function.

Water is adequate for hydration.

You are encouraged to hydrate before work, as it can make it easier to keep hydrated during the day; if dehydrated prior to starting work, it makes it difficult to catch-up with the body’s need for water during the day.

Also, maintain hydration by drinking water during the day, work performance can be affected when dehydrated.

If you work outdoors such as in farming, construction or at quarries, it is suggested to drink one cup water every 15 to 20 minutes; drink at shorter intervals which may be more effective than drinking larger amounts infrequently. Do not drink more than 48 fluid ounces of water per hour.

Note: overconsumption of water and other beverages can probably increase your potential risk for medical conditions.

In addition, keep hydrated after work, as you may need to continue to replace fluid loss..

Dr Claudette Mitchell, PhD, RD is an Assistant Professor, University of the Southern Caribbean, School of Science, Technology, and Allied Health

It was scheduled to depart from Scarborough at 6.45 am but at the time of writing (11.15 am) it had not yet left the port.

If even it left by noon it would have arrived at 4 pm, which is totally unacceptable and it may not have been able to make the return voyage yesterday.

I was informed the delay was caused by a failure to get the vessel’s engine started.

This delay frustrated many nationals who were in Tobago for the Great Race weekend and resulted in the stranding of many who had to make alternative arrangements.

In addition to this delay, the situation was compounded by a backlog at the ANR Robinson International Airport.

People in Trinidad were also in a quandary as the Port Authority was in no position to advise them on when next a sailing was scheduled out of Port of Spain.

Tobago is now essentially cut off from Trinidad because of the continued incompetence and ineptitude.

This latest failure comes on the heels of the Prime Minister’s meeting in Tobago to treat with the collapsed sea bridge that was a result of the failures in procurement of the Ocean Flower 2.

The T&T Express, along with the Cabo Star and water taxi, are the only vessels in operation on the sea bridge. The water taxi is not designed for the Tobago crossings and the Cabo Star is already plagued with a number of issues.

This administration — headed by a Tobago-born Prime Minister — that campaigned on a ticket of good governance and transparency has continued to bungle and botch the Tobago sea and air bridge connections without taking responsibility.

The Prime Minister continues to protect the line minister who has only distinguished himself in making excuses and passing the blame.

DEVANT MAHARAJ via email

Police said workmen saw the foetus while they were offloading garbage and members of the Besson Street Police Station were alerted. Homicide Bureau members went to the scene and interviewed several people including the driver of the garbage truck in which the bag had been placed.

The foetus was then taken to the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

Meanwhile, principal of Presentation College in San Fernando Dexter Mitchell said he was still going through the results but was able to provide details of the students’ performance.

He said although the O’level students have performed well, the only issue of concern to him is the students’ performance in the English B examination since 78 per cent out of 100 per cent passed the exam whereas in the English language examination, 98 per cent of students passed.

Mitchell said there had been significant improvements in some subject areas and added that in subjects like principles of accounts, principles of business, information technology and physical education he got 100 per cent passes. Expressing his satisfaction with the consistent performance of students, he acknowledged the tremendous improvements made at CAPE level.

He said in subjects like Caribbean studies, the performance of students moved from less than 20 per cent grade ones to 95 per cent grade ones this year in comparison to last year. He highlighted Joel Kissoon who attained 14 passes.

Those calling for their removal, barring the politics of trying to further embarrass President Donald Trump for his stance on the recent violence, are doing so on the basis of their perception of the Confederate cause in the American Civil War as an endorsement of slavery.

Those objecting to the removal of statues, such as that of Robert E Lee, et al, are essentially racist, including the President. But does it necessarily imply sympathy for the Confederate cause which undoubtedly favoured the retention of slavery in the American south? It may be seen as such considering how sensitive the subject is, but can it also be a call to avoid destroying important mementos of total American history, whether good, bad or ugly? One recalls the horror of the destruction of the ancient statues of Buddha in Afghanistan by the Islamic State because of religious ideology.

The question to ask is whether a people’s history should not be retained in all its aspects, more so as the First Amendment of the American Constitution allows for freedom of speech, freedom of thought with the understanding that distasteful as such freedom of thought and expression may seem to others with opposing views, that tolerance is the expected reaction? Again, would the elimination of statues which bring back extremely unpleasant memories somehow eliminate those memories? It may help to mitigate the effects, but can that action eliminate the deep-rooted negative psychology of slavery as Frantz Fanon has described in Black Skin White Masks? Won’t it be more rational and productive, difficult as this may seem, just to try to come to terms with this horrendous experience, learn from it, and be the better for it? For if this precedent is set of removing the symbols which remind us of an atrocious past, where does that leave the case of the American Indian whose glorious culture and way of life would have been virtually decimated by pioneers who are recorded as heroes in the annals of American history? The American Indians continue to experience discrimination as is inevitable with subcultures in mainstream culture, but their approach is to try and assimilate as far as is possible, taking the good with the bad.

What of the “hero” Columbus who discovered the New World but paved the way for Pizarro and Cortez and their decimation of the First Peoples and the Incas and the Aztecs? Yet life goes on in Peru and Mexico, despite the horrors of conquest.

Tucker Carlson in Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News made a telling point recently that the history of the world is a history of conquest and enslavement, beginning with Genghis Khan in Asia and continuing with Sulieman and the Ottoman Empire, and further with the Roman Empire and Hitler’s Germany, the Spanish Empire in the New World, not forgetting the British Empire in the New World and in India.

But what Tucker suggests is that you can’t eliminate the march of history even with its atrocities.

There is no other choice but to accept its inevitability and grow from it.

DR ERROL BENJAMIN docbenj742@outlook.com

Lack of potable water has spawned a million-dollar industry.

One company’s lack of competence has made many wealthy.

In the 60s, 70s (even presently), when WASA gave us hell but no water, no one perished for lack of water.

I remember water being sold at the Red Cross Children’s Carnival in the 60s.

Here is my concern. Bottled water left in a car is a fire hazard.

Light can be refracted through a water bottle and start a fire on a seat. Sunlight magnified by a water bottle can reach 250 degrees.

The sunlight will come through when the bottle is filled with liquid and act as a magnifying glass.

The clear liquid and clear material can develop a focused beam and actually cause a fire.

Take your water bottle with you when leaving the car. Prevention is better than cure.

Or the report will state, “Cause of fire, water.’”

AV RAMPERSAD Princes Town

In a statement issued on Monday, The UWI said De Souza comes to the position with a wealth of business knowledge and experience from a career which spans 40 years in the financial and banking sector.

“He served 25 years with the Republic Bank Group, spending the last five years as managing director and CEO of Republic Bank (Barbados) Limited. The career banker also held management and executive positions at Bank of Montreal, Toronto, Canada, and Citibank (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited.” The UWI added, “Driven by a service- oriented impetus and a desire to significantly enhance the Caribbean’s socio-economic fabric, Mr De Souza has utilised his immense financial acumen to spearhead numerous banking initiatives to develop the region’s corporate community and improve conditions for the wider general public.” Commenting on De Souza’s appointment, pro vice-chancellor and principal of The UWI, Cave Hill campus, Professor Eudine Barriteau said, “As the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management seeks to build on 25 years of tremendous achievement, I join the management and staff in warmly welcoming Mr De Souza to the Cave Hill campus community.

“He brings immeasurable reputational capital which we keenly anticipate will enable the School to grow from strength to strength.

He joins the University community at a critical time. We have just embarked on a five-year strategic plan dedicated to revitalising Caribbean development and the Cave Hill campus has reoriented its higher education model to transition to a smart campus catering to the human resource needs for a 21st century Caribbean.

We look forward to his implementation of the school’s expanded programming and the nurturing of existing relationships within this framework,” Barriteau said.