For the Tobago Plantations Seniors Classic 2003, the promoters and Tobago Plantations have extended a sponsor’s invitation to Alan Mew, a local golf professional from Trinidad and Tobago.
Mew lives and works in the UK and is now qualified to play on the European Seniors Tour. In a recent interview Mew was asked about his life now and his hopes and expectations for his return to home soil.
Q: Where did you originate from and what did you do prior to moving to the UK?
A: I was born in Trinidad, and brought up in Pointe-a- Pierre, at the time I was working as a professional golfer and a builder. I have continued working hard at both professions since I arrived in the UK in 1983.
Q: Do you still have connections in Trinidad?
A:Unfortunately my family have moved from Trinidad. My parents are in Toronto, I have one brother in the UK, another in Australia and a sister in Prague. However I still have friends and many fond memories about the place and I am very excited about my return.
Q: Is this the first time you have been back?
A:Unfortunately I haven’t made it back since 1983. In a way it adds to the excitement and I hope I can make my return a successful one!
Q: Where do you play in the UK and how did you find the move to the UK?
A: I play at Stoneham Golf Club near Southampton on the South Coast. At first I found it extremely wet and cold compared to what I was used to, the South Coast is meant to be the warmest part of the UK.
Q: How is your form leading in to this event?
A: It is sometimes difficult juggling the day job with being a pro golfer but I still practice and take lessons as often as possible to try and improve my game.
(Alan’s partner, Maureen, commented that the putting aids and golf clubs that litter their living room shows how dedicated Alan is, even if it makes housekeeping a nightmare sometimes!)
Q: With Tobago Plantations being a new course you obviously haven’t played it before?
A: No I haven’t but I have heard great things about it, not least from the other professionals who played last year. I have played golf in Tobago before but I am looking forward to this new, and I hear very challenging, course. I hope I get some local support to cheer me on.
Q:Who would you like to be drawn with in the event?
A: Eddie Polland from Ireland and Martin Foster from England are both players that I respect as well as being great characters, I would love to be drawn with either of them.
Q: Junior Golf in Trinidad and Tobago is really taking off, and Stephen Ames has put his name to the Golf Academy at Tobago Plantations, what advice would you give to these aspiring Golfers?
A: I think its important to seek good instructional advice from the start to help technically and eliminate any bad habits early. This is why the Tobago Plantations Academy system is so important. After that it’s a question of a lot of hard work, time and effort spent practising the game. Everyone has room for improvement — even Tiger Woods!
LONDON: Indian Spark looked a slightly unlucky loser on the first day of the turf season at Doncaster and can make amends in the April HBLB Conditions Stakes at Nottingham today.
Jim Goldie’s sprinter met with interference in the early stages at Town Moor because of his rails draw but he fairly flew once Kieren Fallon found a way through and he failed by only a length to catch the winner Piccled. Today’s smaller field compared to that 20-runner handicap will hopefully keep Indian Spark out of trouble and enable him to come with a telling late run to take the spoils in this ?14,000-added contest over the minimum trip. Even at the age of nine, Indian Spark packs plenty of punch and is equally at home in handicaps or conditions races such as this one over five furlongs.
The richest race on the card honours a popular old stayer in the ‘Further Flight’ Stakes and this Listed event over a mile and three-quarters can go to an up-and-coming sort in Barathea Blazer. Probably his best effort so far came on his final start as a three-year-old in the Tote Ebor at York last August, which Further Flight won in 1990, when he was a close third to Hugs Dancer. He stuck well to his task that day in a tight finish and looks the type to take a hand in the Ebor and similar races this season. Having only raced eight times in his career so far he should be a stronger horse with another winter on his back. Calbrae can give weight all round in the feature race on the Polytrack at Lingfield, the Littlewoods Bet Direct Handicap.
The three-year-old, trained by David Elsworth, had her final three races on this surface after finishing third in two efforts on turf at Newmarket. She almost lost her maiden tag when short-headed by Dusty Dazzler over this five furlongs in December, but she can open her account now. After staging a Flat fixture last Monday, it is back to the jumps for Newcastle where Brown Teddy looks the best bet in the ‘Order Northumberland Plate Badges Now’ Novices’ Hurdle. The six-year-old is chasing a treble following two victories since the turn of the year at Musselburgh and Huntingdon this year. Chasing looks likey to be his eventual aim but in the meantime Richard Ford’s charge can make hay while the sun shines in moderate timber events.
SELECTIONS:
NOTTINGHAM: 9.10 Billy Allen; 9.45 Clarinch Claymore; 10.15 In Xanadu; 10.45 Barathea Blazer; 11.15 Thunderclap; 11.45 INDIAN SPARK (NAP); 12.15 Vanished.
LINGFIELD: 9.20 Merlins Pride; 9.55 Golden Dual; 11.25 Tight Squeeze; 11.55 Calbrae; 12.25 White Plains; 12.55 Mutabari.
NEWCASTLE: 9.30 Didifon; 10.05 Mister Chisum; 10.35 Son Of A Gun; 11.05 Brown Teddy; 11.35 Red Rampage; 12.05 Moonlit Harbour.
DOUBLE: Indian Spark & Barathea Blazer.
The bullet riddled bodies of a 25-year-old ‘bouncer’ employed with Island Club Casino, and a Beetham Estate woman, were found dead in a car at Brisby Street, Gonzales, around 12.45 am yesterday.
Police suspect that Keith Barrow was hijacked and robbed, while Ria Blackman, 20, the female passenger was killed to prevent her from identifying the killer or killers. Reports revealed that around 12.45 am yesterday, residents of Brisby Street heard a barrage of gunshots. On checking they saw the body of Barrow slumped in the driver’s seat with bullet wounds to the head and face, while Blackman was slumped in the passenger front seat of the car with bullet wounds to her head and back. 58 persons were murdered for the year so far. Police investigators said yesterday that the panQts pockets of Barrow were emptied by the killer or killers.
Barrow worked as a ‘PH’ taxidriver, and was last seen alive late Sunday plying the car for hire. The owner of the car lives at Duke Street, Port-of-Spain. The bodies were viewed by District Medical Officer, Dr Pounder and ordered removed to the Forensic Science Centre. Blackman was wearing a white pants and red flowered top. Her body was identified at the Port-of-Spain Mortuary around midday yesterday. The car in which the bodies were found was towed to Police Headquarters and checked for prints. When Newsday visited the Fatima Trace, Laventille, home of Barrow yesterday, his girlfriend Kerra George, 20, said that around 7 pm on Sunday, Barrow told her that he was going to work PH. She added that Barrow was supposed to write an exam in two weeks time to gain entrance into the Defence Force. He was excited about the possibility of being in the army.
She claimed that Barrow was not involved in any illicit activities, and was a hard worker. She said that around 10 am yesterday, she was told the sad news of the death and visited the Port-of-Spain Mortuary to view the body. Yesterday, she was in a state of shock over the killing and added that she was unsure how to deal with the grief. She called on the police to find the killer or killers. Enid Barrow, the mother of the dead man said that the last time she saw her son was on Sunday, when she visited him at his Fatima Trace, home. She described her son as a peaceful, friendly person. As tears swelled her eyes she added that her son did not deserve to die, and called on the police to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice. At Island Club Casino, employees expressed shock over the killing and added that although Barrow was a ‘bouncer’ he was liked by patrons who visited the casino.
Around midday yesterday, the parents of murder victim, Ria Blackman, went to the Port-of-Spain Mortuary and identified her body. Yvonne Blackman, the mother of the dead girl said that her daughter left home on Sunday saying she was going to Laventille to visit a friend. She also told her mother that she would return home early Monday. Blackman said yesterday that her daughter was a good person who did not deserve such a violent death. She called on the police to solve the murders. Officers of the Belmont Police Station are investigating.
THE interrogation of two watchmen who witnessed Caroni’s Brechin Castle fire on Saturday morning, has revealed that a window was deliberately left open to allow the arsonists into the Sevilla Club building.
Police said yesterday that they were certain that the fire was an “inside job”, the motive for which investigators yesterday told Newsday, has begun to surface. Today, experts from the Forensic Sciences Centre and the Government’s Electrical Inspectorate, will visit the scene to carry out further investigations. It was around 1 am on Saturday when the Industrial relations department offices, located at Sevilla Club, went up in smoke following an explosion. Two watchmen were discovered by police tied up and according to their reports, were apparently beaten. Staff at the offices, which also housed the company’s Human Resources Department, have been processing VSEP applications from daily and monthly-paid employees, the deadline for which is tomorrow.
The company is yet to respond officially to queries about the apparent destruction of those VSEP applications in the fire. A VSEP plan is being initiated by Government in its bid to restructure the company’s production of sugar which involves the doing away with some 9,000 employees to facilitate closure of one of the company’s two factories. Police said yesterday that they interrogated the watchmen at weekend. They said that they have now discovered that the watchmen were not tied up with duct tape or wire, but with a jersey. They also learned that minutes before the offices were set alight, a cane field a short distance away at Esperance Village, Phoenix Park, was set ablaze. Police said that their investigations have led them to believe that the arsonists committed the act, then proceeded to Brechin Castle, where they doused the offices with a flamable substance. The reasons for the cane fire was aimed at diverting attention of Caroni Estate police to their real objective.
Police have found containers at both at the scene of the cane fire and at Sevilla Club. They have since cordoned both areas which were being keep under guard by both Caroni and regular police. Snr Supt Philip Carmona and Sgt Corbett are spearheading investigations.
FORMER Foreign Affairs Minister Ralph Maraj said former permanent secretary Lennox Ballah was someone who possessed a “wealth of knowledge” in foreign affairs, and whose experience will be sorely missed. Ballah, 74, died at 7.30 pm Saturday at the Community Hospital in Cocorite. According to reports, the former permanent secretary fell ill in February.
He was recently appointed a judge of the Law of the Sea Tribunal, which is headquartered in Germany. Speaking with Newsday yesterday, the former minister, Maraj, expressed shock and sadness at the news of Ballah’s passing. Maraj recalled that while he was Foreign Affairs Minister, he was well acquainted with the former permanent secretary. “He was very pleasant and someone who you could learn from. He possessed a wealth of knowledge,” Maraj stated. He said Ballah gained significant international recognition in the field of foreign affairs, due to his expertise on conventions pertaining to the Law of the Sea. The former minister said while there were others who had knowledge in this area, Ballah’s knowledge was “unsurpassed”.
Born August 26, 1929, Ballah received his education at the Fyzabad Intermediate School, Naparima College, the Government Training College, University College of the West Indies, London University, Middle Temple and Columbia University. He held teaching positions at Fyzabad Intermediate School (1951-53), St Benedict’s College (1957-58) and the Government Secondary School in Ghana (1958-62). Ballah joined the Trinidad and Tobago Foreign Service in 1965 and served as counsellor to this country’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations from 1967 to 1971. He was also a qualified barrister-at-law.
In August 14, 1996, Ballah was elected president of the Council of the International Seabed Authority, a new arm of the United Nations, for a period of one year. Ballah was the nominee of the Latin American and Caribbean States and got the nod over the nominee of the western European and other states, Germany’s Joachin Koch. The Council’s responsibilities includes monitoring activities regarding the exploration and mining of the deep seabed. Prior to his death, Ballah had resided in Westmoorings. Funeral arrangements will be announced later.
EIGHTEEN years after his death, legendary steelband leader, Rudolph Charles was remembered in prayers and speeches last Saturday at the Witco Desperadoes panyard up the Laventille Hill.
The function attended by mainly elders of the band attracted a small but appreciative audience, including the Member for Laventille West, Eulalie James. Among the speakers was the President of Pan Trinbago, Patrick Arnold who described Charles as not only a great steelband leader, but one who knew how to keep the Laventille community together. “He made sure that Laventille has only one steelband, Witco Desperadoes, and this in itself was leadership of a kind”, said Arnold. Roy Corridon, fondly called ‘Babylon’, Dennis Ash and Percival Pitt who brought greetings from the band, Starlift, all spoke highly of Charles. Rudolph was the ace panman who was an inventor, an innovator and a pan tuner. He invented the rocket pan, the quadro-phonic and the 9 and 12 basses. He led Witco Desperadoes for 24 years until his death in 1985. Tribute was paid to the West Indian Tobacco Company for its sponsorship of Despers, since 1965.
WITHIN the past 13 days, between Wednesday March 19 and yesterday, there have been 14 murders committed in the country, bringing to 58 the number of persons murdered for the year, according to the Homicide Bureau.
The last murders recorded in the country up to yesterday evening, were that of Ria Blackman, 20 of Sea Lots and Keith Barrow, 25 of Laventille. Their bodies were found with gunshot wounds to the head in a car at Gonzales at around 12.45 am yesterday. Also killed this past week, was top Jamaat Al Muslimeen member and “community leader” of Laventille, Mark Guerra, who was shot through the head in Wallerfield.
The following is a list of the murders in chronological order.
WEDNESDAY 19
– Dexter “Neckie” Mahase, 26, and Kerwin Romain, 29, two men identified by police as notorious drug dealers, are ambushed and shot to death inside Mahase’s Acono Village, Maracas, St Joseph home.
– 22-year-old fruit vendor Roland Bodhai of Endeavour Chaguanas is abducted and taken to the Caroni Cremation site where he is strangled. The motive is believed to be robbery.
– Rhonda Zamora Backhorie, 33, a mother of four, is fatally stabbed in the chest with a penknife during an argument with a male relative at their Couva home. The man has since been charged for her murder
SUNDAY 22
– Mason Victor Ellis, 38, of Upper Sixth Avenue, Malick is shot in the head and killed by a gunman following an argument. At the time, Ellis was said to be intoxicated.
– Mark Guerra, 35, aka Abdul Jaleel is shot in the head in Wallerfield and his BMW Sedan riddled. Guerra a top lieutenant in the Jamaat Al Muslimeen was Special Project Supervisor with the URP and considered a community leader by Prime Minister Patrick Manning. He was the father of 14.
TUESDAY 25
– Glen Martin Rajpaul murders his wife Gillian, sets their Penal home alight and then hangs himself inside the burning house
WEDNESDAY 26
– Nizam “Sheriff” Mohammed, 29, a coconut vendor is shot dead at College Road, St Augustine.
– Ralphie Ramcharan, 41, is found floating in a river in Barataria. The man whose hands were bound was chopped to death.
– Ashley Mathlin, 18, ambushed by five men while walking along Bournes Road, St James. He was badly beaten and then stabbed to death.
FRIDAY 28
– Norman Durgadeen Paris, 55 shot himself at Agricultural shop in Rio Claro, after shooting his lover Christine Knights, 39. Paris’ actions was as a result of him claiming to have contracted AIDS
SATURDAY 29
– Anthony Stewart, 71, a businessman is found murdered inside his business — Nana’s Place at La Romaine. Reports are that he was trying to ward off a bandit who broke into the business place.
SUNDAY 31
– Ria Blackman, 20 of Sea Lots and Keith Barrow, 25, of Laventille found dead in a car at Gonzales.
Two police officers and two estate constables have been posted on a round the clock basis to guard the burnt out Industrial Relations Department at Sevilla Club, Brechin Castle, Couva.
Newsday learned that today an electrical inspectorate and officers from the Forensic Science Centre will also visit the burnt out site to carry out investigations. The entire site has been cordoned off and only the police and fire officers are being allowed entry into the site. A senior officer said yesterday that the burnt out site is being protected as part of the investigations. The two young men who were questioned in connection with the fire were released from police custody yesterday. Sources revealed that all the acceptance VSEP forms which were signed by over 4,000 of the 9000 Caroni workers, were believed to have been stored at the burnt out site. Police believe that the motive of the arsonists was to destroy those forms. However sources said yesterday that those forms are stored at Brechin Castle.
The decision to move the forms to Brechin Castle came about because of previous information received that an attempt would be made to destroy the acceptance forms. The fire occured around 1 am on Saturday after two guards at Sevilla Club were tied up. Fire officials have already discovered that the blaze was caused by an inflammable substance which appeared to have been scattered on the floor of one of the rooms at Sevilla Club. Wednesday is the dead-line for submission of forms by Caroni workers. Police investigators said yesterday that although the two persons who were questioned were released, the investigations will continue.
THREE men were arrested and thousands of dollars worth of stolen electronic equipment seized during a sting operation at Royal Castle, Penal, on Sunday.
Police said two of the men are believed to have been involved in a robbery four days ago at an electronic store owned by Tory Gosine, 31, of Eastern Main Road, St Joseph, from where a quantity of speakers, DVDs, amplifiers, pre-amplifiers and other music accessories were stolen. The St Joseph police had information the men were from Penal and the Penal CID requested their assistance.
Around 1.30 pm, a party of officers including Sgt Trea, Cpl Monsegue and PC Badgree went to a 23-year-old man’s home at Wellington Road, where they allegedly seized a large quantity of music equipment. The man told police two men gave him the items, which he was suppose to sell and give the money from the sales to them. He claimed he did not know the items were stolen. The police then made the man call the two men who gave him the items and arranged for them to make the money transaction at Royal Castle, Penal. The police pretended to be customers as they waited for the two suspects to turn up.
Reports stated after the police witnessed the transaction they nabbed the two suspects. The two men, ages 28 and 30, of Ramsaran Street, San Fernando and Vistabella, along with the other man, were taken to the Penal Police Station where they were expected to be charged. Meanwhile, South Western Division police arrested four men in connection with various crimes, including att-empted murder and robbery during a 11-hour exercise over the weekend.
Police also recovered a loaded revolver with six live rounds of ammunition. The exercise, led by Cpl Minors and including PCs Taitt, Khan, Ramdass and Moraine, was carried out between 9 pm on Friday and 8 am on Saturday in the Siparia and Fyzabad district. A 22-year-old man was arrested and charged with attempted murder in connection with an incident last month where Kelon Reeves was chopped on his head. The suspect was also charged with posession of marijuana and malicious damage.
A man who attacked two security guards and was shot in the right leg, escaped while being escorted to the guard booth by the two guards at around 10 pm on Sunday.
Reports revealed that around 10 pm, guards Darren Jackson and Marlon Scott, both from Commercial Protective Services were on duty at Sasebanse Transport at Spring Vale in Claxton Bay, when they observed a man jumping over the wall. As they approached the man, he struck Scott on his right hand with a piece of iron. Scott fired a shot at the man which struck him in the right leg. The man was arrested, handcuffed, and was being taken to the guard booth when he pushed estate constable Jackson to the ground and escaped with the handcuffs. A report was made to the Couva Police Station and a party of officers led by Sgts Duncan, Burke, Cpl Ajith Persad, the Head of the Central Division Task Force and PC Khelawan Ramsook went to the scene.
