Sailor mas for Max

President George Maxwell Richards and his wife Dr Jean Ramjohn-Richards, will play mas on both Carnival Monday and Tuesday in Poison’s 2004 “Retromania.” They are members of  the all-inclusive section “Retro Sailors,” which has been designed and produced by their daughter, Maxine, and Vindra Sooklal under the banner of Peer Pressure Too. The 140-strong section of fancy sailors is already completely sold out. Reason being, says Richards: “I think they like sailor mas. Everybody always wants to play sailor, and it’s a first time portrayal of sailor mas in short skirts and short pants.”

This is the second production by the twosome of an all-inclusive section in Michael Headley’s Poison band, in which the majority of sections are now franchised/all-inclusive.  And why not?  The bandleader does not have the headache of  design, production, distribution of costumes and collection of money for thousands of masqueraders. Instead he/she is paid a per-masquerader fee which goes towards music, one of the bandleader’s few responsibilities.  On the other hand,  masqueraders like the all-inclusive idea since they do not run the risk of having their pockets picked, premium bar, and good food which include lunch and snacks on Monday, with breakfast added on Tuesday, are available on spot. Peer Pressure Too has modernised two traditional sailor styles of Carnival — the fancy sailor and the fireman, and added fuschia pink and red  to the traditional white, and “fireman” black. Strangely enough, the red costume has been the most popular colour for the women, while the men like the white.
 
The producers offered customised costumes to suit individual needs, shapes and sizes as they aimed to satisfy every masquerader in their section. “If you do not like your legs showing, you can have normal pants; if you do not want a bra top we will drop the length to the waist.  Our original thought was to show that the costume can be sexy, with the more mature women going with whatever length they wish,” says Maxine. “You hear a lot of people complaining ‘we can’t play mas this year as my bust is too big for the little bra cups’ or they do not want any more beads, so we decided to give each masquerader a chance to have what they are comfortable with.” Poison has not been too interested in the “Band of the Year” competition over the past few years, but says Maxine, “They seem to be trying hard this year in that direction. The music has always been good and can be heard by every one of the 30 sections.”
 
The two organisers are right now in the process of deciding menus for their members, which they assure “never include any one-pot meal, it’s always varied and special.”  They enjoy themselves in spite of the responsibility, to which they have this added this year, that of handling of their own bar, but says Sooklal, “We take turns managing things.” The costumes have been made from locally purchased materials and have been decorated to completion by Richards and Sooklal.  The headpieces were designed and produced by Harry and Sean.  Peer Pressure Too is so ahead of the game that distribution of costumes takes place next Tuesday at Park Plaza.