Think about it
It beats me that after so many years of handing out National Awards on Independence Day we still have the spectacle of our Presidents fumbling embarrassingly to pin a ribbon/medal on the recipients.
It was a task in the days of Sir Ellis Clarke who, over the years developed his own deft way of doing the job. It was equally awkward for President Noor Hassanali who tried to be as calm as possible, and to keep his hand steady and not too close for comfort. It was a real disaster for President Raymond Robinson with his sight problems. He struggled as the audience watched, silently willing him to get on with it. Now I have never attended one of these ceremonies in the grand and gloriously decorated ballroom of President’s House. I watch it on television so I see very close up what is taking place and I keep wishing it could be better. At last Sunday’s ceremony I thought things would be different with the new President Max Richards, who as far as I am aware has no eye problems and whose carnival background gives him the facility of easy movement. Yet the fumbling continued. Why? Is it that the pins on the medal ribbons are so dull that they can’t penetrate the fabric people wear? This may in some cases be true and on Sunday it was particularly the case with the heavy brocade or some such fabric that bedecked Ms Joy Caesar when she went up to receive the Chaconia Medal Gold. But President Richards also had difficulty inserting the medal in the button hole of jackets worn by men.
In this day and age has no one at President’s House heard of velcro? Why do they not use it? In a flash it could be attached to the recipient’s clothing and we would be spared (especially television viewers) watching our President fumbling to pin a medal on someone particularly when care has to be exercised not to “stick” a busty lady. Let’s move on and do something practical for heaven’s sake. And while on the topic when will the Aide-de-Camp learn to pronounce the word “sphere?” Everyone receiving an award gets it in the “sphere” of one endeavour or service to country. But over and over again we heard the announcement that Mr and Ms So and So was honoured for service in the “spear” of community service, sport or gallantry. Well, a recipient might have had to use a spear to rescue someone but that is certainly not the intention of the award and I do not recall reading of anyone who ever used a spear to save someone from drowning or rescue someone from a fire. Perhaps Undine Giuseppi could explain the pronunciation of “sphere” and “spear.” From my school days I distinctly remember that in pronouncing sphere you had to pronounce the “h”. In short, the “h” was far from silent. Incidentally talking about “spheres” — this time the sphere of influence — something is going on, the significance of which escapes me. Over the Independence weekend Dr Ralph Gonzalves, the prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines was in Trinidad — again. Now he is a jolly, likeable fellow but is he not spending more time here than in St Vincent? Every time you turn around his picture is either in the newspapers or his face is beaming at you from the television screen lecturing to all sorts of people on all sorts of occasions and about all sorts of subjects. Is it my imagination? Is Mr Manning paying attention? Is Dr Gonzalves applying for TT citizenship? What’s up Ralphie?
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"Think about it"