The bar at its highest point represented the triumph of life over death and on this night the bongo would also be danced.

The limbo dates back to the mid to late 1800s in Trinidad. It achieved mainstream popularity during the 1950s. All over the world, it is today instantly recognisable thanks in good measure to the pioneering efforts of the late Julia Edwards who has died.

Edwards, who was born in 1933, first started dancing in 1947 with the Boscoe Holder Dance Company. She later formed her own dance troupe, in 1953, and began performing at venues across Trinidad. While performing at the Miramar nightclub, her dancers were recruited to appear in the 1957 American movie Fire Down Below. The film starred Robert Mitchum and Rita Haywood and was filmed in Tobago.

Edwards was not only asked to dance, but also did choreography for Haywood.

Edwards was also credited with introducing the flaming limbo in 1959 when she included it in a performance to mark the opening of Queen’s Hall in St Ann’s.

Her dancers also performed in 1962 at the ceremony marking this country’s independence.

Members of the Julia Edwards Dance Troupe also appeared on various stages throughout the USA, including Radio City Music Hall in New York. The group performed in other countries such as Haiti, India, Mexico, Senegal, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia.

Edwards also toured extensively with the Mighty Sparrow.

For her efforts, Edwards – dubbed the First Lady of Limbo – was award the Hummingbird Medal (Gold), like her contemporary Beryl McBurnie.

Limbo is often dismissed as a tourist-industry gimmick. But as with so many seemingly simple ideas, there are deeper currents.

The procedure of the dance not only hints at mortality and struggle, it also challenges the performer to exert stringent control, but to do so in a way that invites the viewer to both marvel and participate: marvel at the dancer’s skill, participate by rooting for the dancer as though the onlooker too is dancing along.

Today we hail the legacy of the Queen of Limbo, who more than any other helped cement the place of the art form within the global cultural firmament. It is hard to imagine a modern equivalent to her achievements in dance.

Sadly, in Trinidad and Tobago today the place of the arts is constantly being undermined. And the performing arts in particular are vulnerable. While there are classes and programmes designed to support dancing, these remain few and far between. Initiatives like the annual Coco Dance Festival are also constrained by resource limitations.

What were the factors that allowed Edwards to flourish? In the region at the time there was a strong movement away from colonial society to self-rule. Therefore, there was a political impetus behind culture and expression.

We were literally looking to define ourselves in dance, music, theatre and literature. Limbo fit neatly into this paradigm: disarming, but masking deeper, profound truths.

The death of Edwards, who was featured in the 2010 film Julia and Joyce by Sonja Dumas, truly marks the end of an era.

Edwards was not only a hard worker and a talented costumer and entertainer. She was a cultural ambassador. Our condolences to her family and loved ones. May she rest in peace.

Following the announcement by the TT FA during the recent visit of FIFA President Gianni Infantino that the Ato Boldon Stadium will become the new home of the TT FA, the relocation is the first part of the process which will lead to the establishment of a National Training Centre.

The TT FA, which has been based at the Hasely Crawford Stadium for the past four years, will also welcome the TT Pro League, the TT Super League (TTS L) and Women’s League Football (WoLF) to the facility with the three organisations being provided with operational space by the FA.

The TT FA believes the new location will help streamline its operations, while facilitating engagement with key stakeholders; including other FIFA Member associations,Regional and local Member associations, Government, Partners, Players, Officials and Fans.

The TT FA yesterday thanked the Ministry of Sports and the Sportt Company for its support in this significant development.

“We are thankful to the Ministry of Sport and Sport Company for fulfilling their promise to support football by providing us with the facility.

I think it is a tremendous accomplishment to have the key stakeholders in local football under one roof.

“It augurs well for the development of the game here in trinidad and Tobago and it is an indication of the administration’s drive and ambitions to take the game to greater heights and with the inclusion of the stakeholders,” TT FA president David John-Williams told TT FA Media. Pro League CEO Dexter Skeene indicated that the new move would be a boost to the overall development of football in TT .

“I would like to thank the TT FA and its president for opening their arms to the League and for his vision in bringing the major stakeholders in local football together under one roof. I think this will go a long way in improving the local game,” Skeene said.

In a reaction to the provision to the Super League, its Interim president Keith Look Loy stated, “The TT Super League is pleased to have finally received recognition from the TT FA.

TTS L now has a permanent home from which to operate and to develop the League, and we thank the TT FA for having facilitated this.” WoLF boss Sharon O’Brien expressed similar feelings, saying, “The fact that WoLF can now have an office from which we can conduct our business is a definite boost for the league and for local women’s football.

This will help us tremendously in carrying out our dayto- day operations and will be a positive step towards growing and developing the league, particularly from an administrative standpoint.”

These vessels once underway can lift their hulls out of the water by deploying “underwater wings.” Reduced drag from non-contact with barnacles and the hulls themselves being out of the water result in speed in excess of 100 mph.

Tobago could be an hour away.

MC DONALD JAMES Couva

The inaugural jazz affair will be staged at the scenic Blanchisseuse Recreation Ground tomorrow and is expected to attract both jazz enthusiasts and mainstream music lovers. The line-up of diverse local acts including Mavis John, Nailah Blackman, Adana Roberts, Adan Hagley and his band Quintet, Vaughnette Bigford, Ray Holman and Gyerlini Clarke. Veteran DJ John Gill will also entertain patrons.

One of the main sponsors of the event is bmobile. In expressing the company’s support for the event, VP Marketing Camille Campbell said in a media release: “We are happy to be lending our support to this innovative event as we see the tremendous benefits it can bring to not only the community of Blanchisseuse but to the artistes themselves who will get the opportunity to showcase their talents, right here at home.

“At bmobile, we always place tremendous emphasis on supporting local artistes, and by extension the arts and entertainment industry, because we believe that our entertainers can stand tall among the best in the world.

There is a popular sentiment that ‘foreign is better’ but North Coast Jazz highlights the fact that we can stage a first-class event featuring top performers who are 100 percent home-grown.

“It is important to us that we continue to do our part in helping to develop a diverse portfolio of exceptional events where the talent, creativity and entrepreneurial flair of our citizens are not only showcased but appreciated. We have high hopes that this festival will be a success and pave the way for similar entertainment events in the future.” The festival which is the brainchild of former mayor of Port-of- Spain Louis Lee Sing has been in production for the past year. It is being staged in collaboration with the Blanchisseuse Village Council and organisers say it is intended to kick-start the development of a bed and breakfast industry in the community, which will cater to both local and foreign visitors.

With a growing youth population in the area, the initiative is expected to further boost the economy by creating employment opportunities for the young people of Blanchisseuse and environs.

The partnership began in 2002 when Courts initially invested a mere $20,000 compared to the cheque presented during the press conference yesterday at the National Cricket Centre. Roger Rambharose, Commercial Director at Unicomer, said the 2017 champion team will walk away with $25,000.

The Inter-zone competition is set to begin on June 2nd at 6 pm throughout various venues across Trinidad where the runners-up will gain $15,000 while third and fourth battle for $6000 and $3000 respectively.

Rambharose stated, “The company recognized the critical requirement to identify and promote talent at the foundation level for the sport and we saw it necessary to promote the game of T20 in the far reaches of the country, where there is a very unique passion for the sport to be discovered.

“This investment today represents our commitment to developing our people and the provision of meaningful opportunities aimed at community engagement across the country.” Courts views the investment decision as their commitment towards community development as this year’s tournament was transformed into a new format, for the inclusion of more teams and players throughout the country, as well as encouraging community support for the game.

The development of young players throughout T&T was taken into consideration since each team must have a National Under-19 player on the starting 11 as well as a Championship player, from the team’s respective zone.

These mandatory rules were implemented to enhance the level of competition, keep an exciting standard and creating opportunities for prospects with potential.

Preliminary Fixtures: (Home Teams vs Runners Up)
Group A: Sweet Revenge Sports Club vs H.Y.O.
Marchin Patriots vs N.M.O. (Comets)
Woodland Sports Club vs Metro MGM Savannah Boys
C&B Sports Club vs Killdeer Sports Club

Group B:

Dinsley Sports Club vs Club Crusoe
Progressive Sports Club vs Chickland Sports Club
Squadron Sports Club vs All Stars Sports Club
Nazarite Sports Club vs Swansea

Director of the Single wicket Cricket Foundation Andre Phillips says he expects that there will be significant growth in the competition this year. Speaking at the launch at the Scarborough Library, Phillips says, “the broad vision is to make Trinidad and Tobago the mecca for single wicket cricket or all-rounder cricket which is the only way in which one can truly determine an all-rounder in the cricket game.”

He added, “In one of our proposals is Garry Sobers is the greatest cricketer of the 20th century. We are looking for the greatest cricketer in this century, and we are doing it through competition.”

He said the next stage is to create a program will begin in the next 12 months throughout the Caribbean and ultimately end with the international all-rounder competition. “If there is a venue Tobago can continue to rely on for cricket without input it’s the Roxborough grounds (Cyd Gray Complex). It has all the right attributes for the kind of event we hold which is sports entertainment on a cricket hub.” Last year, Trinidadian Mark Deyal was able to walk away the $15,000 prize and winner’s crown.

This year he will be defending his title against Marcus Daniel, captain of the T20 champions of Tobago, Jahron Alfred, Akiel Cooper and last year’s losing finalist Navin Stewart, among others.

The relay starts at 9 am opposite BPTT . The QBR has been the traditional curtain-raiser to the Commonwealth Games since the 1958 Games in Cardiff, Wales.

The relay started at Buckingham Palace in England on March 13, and will travel throughout the Commonwealth region, before the 2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony on April 4, 2018.

Gibbon, a two-time gold medallist at the 1966 Commonwealth Games, along with past and present national athletes will ride, jog and walk the route through Maraval, St James and St Clair.

Among those who will participate in the historic event, will be 1998 Commonwealth Games long jump bronze medallist Wendell Williams.

Members of the public can join the QBR as it makes its way along the route. On Tuesday, there will be QBR celebrations at Pigeon Point in Tobago, from 9 am.

Some of these are elderly men from the era when, as soon as a man entered someone’s house he would remove his hat as to do otherwise was considered impolite.

In 2000 at Lord Kitchener’s funeral at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-of-Spain, I noticed this unwelcome trend by men, especially calypsonians and other artistes, not removing their hats during the service.

More recently, at the funeral for Lord Brigo at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, some of the leading calypsonians, and others, continued to show disrespect for the church by not removing their hats.

I have not heard the church authorities condemn his practice but I believe the priests should make public announcements asking the offenders to remove their headwear.

Those who refuse to comply should be asked to leave. One cannot go into someone else’s place of worship and be disrespectful.

And we wonder still why our young people are growing up to be the way they are.

CLYDE ALPHONSO Diego Martin

The biennial UWI competition will have participants from the three campuses Mona (Jamaica), St.

Augustine (Trinidad) Open Campus and Cave Hill (Barbados). This year’s edition will have over 500 athletes from across the Caribbean taking part in 10 sporting disciplines: basketball, cricket, football, hockey, netball, swimming table- tennis, tennis, swimming, track and field and volleyball.

The assistant manager of the St. Augustine contingent is confident that the teams will do well. “ St. Augustine is the defending champion in the sports of table-tennis and football and I think we will defend the titles this year. Also, we have a very good cricket team which includes players such as Yannick Ottley, Vikash Mohan, Brian Charles, exciting young talent Amir Jangoo and Jerlanie Seales.” At the opening ceremony yesterday at the Roy Marshall Teaching Complex, there were speeches by the Head of the Sports Academy, Amanda Reifer and Vice-Chancellor of the University of West Indies Professor Sir Hilary Beckles.

They both spoke on the theme of the UWI Games 2017 “The Making of Champions.” Vikash Mohan (cricket), representing St. Augustine, won the second annual Vice-Chancellor’s Sportsman of the Year Award. Copping the Sportswoman of the year was Shimona Nelson of the Mona Campus (Netball, Basketball Javelin).

St. Augustine Campus started of their campaign against Mona in the male football category last evening.

We have simply run out of gas. We can make all sorts of contracts and hope to buy gas from Venezuela but these will not create any more TT gas.

Since 2003 our seemingly deaf-to-the-facts ministers of energy approved LNG Train 4 that consumes 800 mmcfd of gas. Then there was the enormous investment in the “cross-island pipeline” while the existing pipelines provided enough capacity for a reduced, steady and longer-term supply to existing industries, with potential production rates in reserve that would provide security of supply during localised interruption difficulties offshore.

The policy seemed to be to approve any proposed gas-consuming scheme with no regard for the ability to achieve the aggregate production rate required or how long this would be possible. We advertised this as proof of TT being an “investment friendly” nation, and have strutted around the world claiming to be advanced thinkers on a “business model” and world leaders in gas utilisation.

This apparently still continues in the face of evidence of the impossibility of ever producing enough gas in the foreseeable future.

Clear evidence of this is in the construction of the Massy/Mitsubishi methanol/DME plant, when MHTL has to shut down two plants for lack of gas. Why was this project approved by both PNM and PP governments? It’s all very well to say the PP government okayed the deal, but it was definitely started by the PNM government, which knew of the dire reserve shortage and is still saying nothing while construction continues. Other Pt Lisas gas plants are initiating legal action due to the four-five years of starved gas supplies they have had to bear.

Why isn’t the Mitsubishi project being stopped before the inevitable non-supply to it triggers another lawsuit and serious national discredit and embarrassment? If any attempt is to be made to manage this catastrophe, there must be consideration of the best use of gas. Newer plants are more efficient and from the same quantity of gas can produce more methanol and ammonia than older plants.

I hope somebody in authority is making a careful analysis of which plants bring the most benefit to TT , considering aspects such as age, efficiency, overall profit, tax, jobs, foreign exchange retained etc.

From this the priority for plant shutdowns can be derived and announced.

It’s no point keeping everything secret claiming confidentiality is required by the buyers of gas.

A newly built plant will face severe difficulties in such an analysis since it is new (and unnecessary) capital, leading to large deductions for plant wear and tear and consequent reduced tax payment. We really don’t need foreign direct investment (FDI) that shuts down other plants and reduces tax receipts.

People must remember that FDI is of no benefit to the nation when we are already adequately or over-supplied with whatever the proposed project offers.

No investor puts money into TT without being confident the project will yield many times the investment capital plus operating expense.

And those magnified US$ yields leave the country.

Our development history is littered with examples of bad planning and wasteful lack of planning. Examples are: The development of BHP Biliton’s export terminal in Guayaguayare when the BP facilities at Galeota had adequate capacity; the continued use of these terminals when adequate pipeline capacity to Pointe-a- Pierre exists; the removal of workboat docking from Pt Galeota to La Brea so the Government could build a white elephant “shipping port” at Galeota for an Anancy- story industrial park; The excessive construction of sports stadiums in Trinidad; the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba; the highway to Point Fortin which will be completed when the shine of Pt Fortin “development” has long faded from memory; eTeck Park; aluminium smelters; La Brea industrial park; the continuing destruction of green Chaguaramas with ridiculous fun parks, with no access road; The once dreamed of causeway in the sea to Chaguaramas costed at billions of dollars with no useful purpose. The list is endless. Of course many of these defects are better visible with the 20-20 vision that comes with hindsight, but why do they keep on occurring? This must stop. Somebody has to apply common sense before rushing into these terrible decisions. Stop Mitsubishi/ Massy now.

REG POTTER Glencoe