Relatives of O’Shea Charles, eight, said when he was pulled from the water he had a faint pulse although he was unconscious.

They said two nurses tried to help the boy and was doing a good job but when two lifeguards arrived, they stopped the women saying the women were not known to them.

Charles was taken to Scarborough General Hospital were further attempts to resuscitate him were futile. He was pronounced dead on arrival. Relatives claimed that at the beach the emergency medical technicians “strolled” onto the scene with no urgency, and believed if both the life guards and emergency personnel had been more professional, Charles would have survived.

This game was part of a triple- header at the Jean Pierre Sports Complex, Mucurapo .

Fatima, who had a huge 31-12 lead at the halftime interval, were rewarded with 17 points from Luke Darwent while Adam Tang-Nian contributed 15. Jamali Chandler led the scoring for West Mucurapo with 12 .

There was another lopsided result on the day with Belmont Boys Secondary breezing past South East Port of Spain Secondary 56-34 .

The leading scorers for Belmont Boys were Israel Daniel with 21 points and Nkosi Corbin with 15, while Kevin Williams notched 12 for South East Port of Spain, who were down 21-12 at the half .

And, in the last contest, Jadi Antoine netted 21 points as East Mucurapo Secondary School blanked Woodbrook Secondary School 34-18 .

Over the next half hour, he had some comment to make about everything anyone else said, which could have been just a healthy participation in the conversation.

Then somehow the subject of religion came up and my wife informed him that I was a Christian, to which he announced smugly, “Well, as long as he doesn’t ram it down my throat…” His wife sat timidly at his side and smirked at her man’s brilliance and boldness. It was, no doubt, a subject she knew well from years of listening to him spouting his views on the subject, the essence of which was that religious beliefs were just so much mumbo jumbo and any intelligent person must automatically see them as such, and unbefitting the educated and the free-thinking. I was, therefore, an idiot.

I attempted to suppress an urge to put this guy straight, but the urge was too strong, and I stepped onto a long and perilous road with the assertion that he was out of date: nowadays the balance has changed and the believers are very much in the minority. It is, therefore, people like my neighbour who should be refraining from ramming their opinions down my throat.

The evening went from bad to worse as this self-appointed oracle of the 21st century went on to itemize a string of other things he also didn’t believe, from creation and the moon landings to what really happened in the World Trade Center affair. Nothing got past his razor-sharp perception.

Forget the “mainstream” and “traditional” media, he said. They were only telling you what governments wanted you to think.

But while listening to the “real” versions of these things, it slowly dawned on me that, perhaps for the first time in my life, I was a member of a minority group, not yet persecuted in this part of the world, but belittled, ridiculed and told to shut up.

So here I was, being berated for my beliefs by a similarly middle- aged, middle class Australian.

That’s a factor too: nationality. I’m British, which makes me fair game for snide remarks about people who think they own the world.

I thought about saying, but didn’t say, he would not have dared goad me about religion if I’d been a Muslim, for fear of having his throat slit as he slept.

So what do you do in my position? Personally, in this case I wasn’t in the mood to “turn the other cheek”, as the mickey-takers would perhaps expect. Sometimes respect has to be demanded, and to meekly accept the bully’s taunting is unproductive.

People such as my neighbour talk about religious intolerance as being one religion’s intolerance of another, while in fact they are intolerant of any and all faiths. But they tend to come down hardest on Christianity because, firstly, it’s the one they know a bit about (although usually only a bit). Secondly, to support their argument that religion in itself causes trouble, they must attribute blame where it is not necessarily due.

It’s the same principle that leads adults to scold both children in any playground altercation, on the grounds that there must be some guilt on both sides.

In the distant past we find the concept of the Holy War, including the Crusades, in which Christians fought because they believed it was what God wanted. But that was a long time ago, and for the “religion means conflict” brigade to bring it up now is like regarding all modern Germans as Nazis.

Back at the neighbourly get-together, the intimidated wife began to weigh in with some random ridicule, making fun of the goodygoody image Christians have acquired.

She smirkingly apologised for swearing, even when she was responding to my own exasperated, expletive-filled statement. But to simultaneously accuse someone of being a wimp and an aggressor doesn’t add up. She soon scuttled off to bed, leaving her brave general, who wouldn’t take a hint, to grind out his own war of words, when an armistice was the only viable solution.

He’s not a bad guy, as it happens; we shook hands and agreed to differ (at least I think he agreed).

There are as many different styles of Christians as there are human characteristics, and while drinking, smoking, swearing and fornicating may be nothing to be proud of, nor do they make someone any less sincere in their beliefs.

So, as so often, we come down to a saying that may be cobwebbed and corny but continues to exist because it’s true. It’s the old adage about conversation at dinner p a r t i e s : steer clear of religion and politics.

It’s good advice.

O my people weep with me”, are the words of a popular Catholic hymn. We think of Enterprise and other areas of Trinidad, not to mention swathes of families where there is so much violence, hardness and weeping. The victims are too many.

The Ester message tells us God wants no more victims: He who offered himself as an innocent victim longed for a world without victims. Christians don’t have a choice; we have to work for a world without victims.

Many say: “Let’s be realistic. A world full of victims is part of the natural human landscape.” In the nasty business of war, we call potential victims “soft targets” and actual victims “collateral damage”.

In our society, mentally ill persons are seen as non-persons who are vilified, manhandled, beaten and shot. The prisoner who dies in his cell under questionable circumstances got what he was looking for, a victim of his own way of life that got him there in the first place.

Is another language possible? Thomas of today’s gospel says yes. But he is a realist. He wants to test this ridiculous notion of resurrection, and he’s right! He gets his way as Jesus invites him to stick his finger into the holes in His hand and His side. Thomas then affirms the Resurrection, “My Lord and my God”: his language changes. And so must ours if we are a resurrection people. We need to move beyond “Unruly ISIS”, “dem mad people: us vs them.

Pope Francis suggests a necessary balm to soothe our harsh language – mercy. To the hardness of building walls he offers bridge building; to the harshness of populism and sclerotic nationalism he offers solidarity and opening borders; in place of the idolatry of money he offers a simple lifestyle where less is more. This language of mercy is slowly being embedded in structures of society: legal luminaries are quietly working to make mediation mandatory to reduce the backlog in the courts and offer a cheaper route to resolving conflict; there is a growing awareness that capital punishment is not an effective weapon in solving capital crimes; the rights of gay people are slowly being respected.

Our language of mercy often comes up against cries for justice. Sometimes the Church is seen as myopic and insensitive to the plight of victims who cry out for justice, not mercy. Their cries must be heard and justice must as far as possible be secured.

Very few people get justice these days as the courts are still clogged and crime detection rates poor. But sometimes the breadth of evil is so monstrous the only real weapons to use to bring closure are forgiveness and mercy. Cardinal Walter Kasper notes that over many years an artificial separation came about between justice and mercy and that in the Bible God’s justice is His mercy.

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, let us not add harshness and hardness to the world. Let us “put on Christ” and change the way we speak of and view the world.

The one thing which we totally inherited from the British, and have been unable to shed after almost 55 years of independence is our slavish commitment to colonial plodding as governance.

This chronic defect in our collective personality continues to drag us down and hold us back even as we can be brilliant, creative, innovative and successful in arts, culture, entrepreneurship and sports. But just add government or governance to any situation we need to solve or manage and everything comes to a stuttering halt. And nowhere is this defect more obvious than in our ongoing inability to find and appoint a commissioner of police for our beleaguered police service.

How is it not obvious to us that we need a modern, experienced and competent police commissioner with a track record in dealing with gang warfare, major international drug-running, kidnappings and horrific murders, as well as corruption within government, the police service and the business sector? And since it is obvious that our home grown police officers have neither the competence nor confidence to step up to this challenge, who should we bring in to solve our problems and to lift and lead our police service into a force working competently for our society? So we hired, at great cost, foreign universities and other agencies to find a commissioner of police for us. We waited to see the result: an officer experienced in solving the crimes with which we were beset— gang murders, kidnappings, drug running and the like? What came out of this exercise were two nice, gentle milquetoast mid-western Canadian officers, from a city which suffers from none of the horrific crimes we face daily. What could have been the rationale for choosing these two to deal with our gangland, drug-running, murderous and corrupt-at-every-level society? To head a police service which we were all apparently in agreement no local officer could rise to lead? And how come, after 50 years of Independence, and doing our own policing, we have been unable to develop a single competent, articulate and respected officer to lead our police service? Actually, this is also true of every aspect of governance, but in the police service the mental gridlock is more heavily ritualized and stuck in the 19th century.

Let us look at some comparisons: In January 1964, I went off to university in Houston. It was the time of civil rights activism and legislation. Anti-black racism was open and aggressive, and police once came to my apartment to shut down a student party, not for noise, but because there was a black fellow student from Nigeria in the house. The following day the same police officers came back to warn me never to do that again.

I never saw a black police officer in my almost four years in Houston, or in other towns I visited in the American South.

Why do I mention this? Because nowadays I am seeing on a regular basis, black police officers, including black chiefs of police from Texas and other southern states speaking at critical news conferences involving criminal matters. I am seeing strong, articulate, competent and confident people, handling aggressive media with ease and respect. These people could not even have been on the force in my time there. And my heart fills with pride for these men and how they have grown in one generation to become what they now are—competent and respected, notwithstanding the barriers that were placed in their path 50 years ago.

So how come that here at home, where we have had our police officers trained and serving for over a hundred years, we have not been able to produce a single senior officer who could ever stand in the shoes of those black American officers we see on our TV news? What is holding us back? You see me? If I had to select a commissioner of police for our service, I would go to those cities in the USA where drugs, gangs and violent crime are known, and recruit a police commissioner, and a couple of assistant commissioners.

I believe that such persons will be able to instil pride and discipline back into our police service, and would be examples for our young police officers to emulate and aspire to follow.

Whether such persons would be able to survive the overriding Victorian ministerial authority and obstructionism of this society is a n o t h e r qu e st i on altogether

On Thursday, Nadav Singh upset the number one seed Andrew Babwah 21-16, 21-7 in the boys Under-11 singles semifinals.

Number-two seed Jace Smith got past Jamahl Mason to advance to the final.

On the girls side of the Under- 11 singles draw, number one seed Amara Urquhart struggled past Sanna Guria in the first game 22-20, but got past the unseeded player 21-9 in the second game.

The number-two seed Nicha Fraser was not as fortunate, as she went down to unseeded player T’Shelle Barnes, 21-12 21- 8, to set up a final round showdown with Urquhart.

OTHER RESULTS (Singles): Boys Under-13

Semifinals Travis Sinanan def Samuel Lewis 21-6, 21-2

Girls Under-13

Quarterfinals Amara Joachim def Jada Smith 21-12, 21-9 Danae Mootoosingh def Janiah Boodoosingh 21-6, 21-10 Puja Chendil-Kumar def Lael Lutchman 21-5, 21-3 Danyelle Barnes def Janeil Boodoosingh 21-8, 21-7 Boys Under-15

Quarterfinals Reece Marcano def Reval Jaggessar 21-4, 21-11 Alkalif Blake def Kyle Gopaul 21-4, 21-6 Tian Ramdath def Luke Tagallie 21-7, 21-14 Zion St Rose def Jae Marc Tagallie 21-12, 21-10

Girls Under-15 Quarterfinals Kristy Diljohn def Keyanna George 21-15, 21-17 Adina Auguste def Zharia Hinds 21-18, 21-18 Cathline Ramroop def Danyelle Barnes 21-12, 21-8 Sadhika Jaggessar def Narissa Singh 21-17, 21-13

Boys Under-17 Quarterfinals Vance Juteram def Joshua Hussein 21-6, 21-9 Josef Gonzalez def Josiah Hitlal 18-21, 21-11, 21-13 Matthaus Joachim def Hizekieh Boodoo 19-21, 21-7, 21-8 Leon Cassie def Zion St Rose 21-9, 21-19

Girls Under-17 Quarterfinals Sandhya Cassie def Eban Sandy 21-4, 21-14 Chequeda Deboulet def Faith Mollah 21-8, 21-6 Britney Lewis def Shania Lee 23-21, 21-14 Waynetta Thomas def Ria Hassanali 21-8, 21-19 Boys Under-19 Quarterfinals Renaldo Sinanan def Ephraim Audain 21-2, 21-3 Nathaniel Khillawan def Vance Juteram 21-14, 21-19 Mikael Joachim def Aleem Ali 21-23, 21-10, 21-18 Stefano Bedasie def Mackensie Legen 21-10, 21-17

Girls Under-19 Quarterfinals Johanna Walker def Jewel Watson 21-8, 21-13

We look forward to the wonders of new life being formed and grown. The gentle movements and tiny footprints leaving little impressions on our stomachs while filling our hearts with love. But how many of us wonder what we would look like after pregnancy? A lucky few can bounce back and reclaim their former look. In my lifetime, I have known two such persons, who, in my opinion won the genetic lottery.

Unfortunately, the rest of us had to work very hard to reclaim the body we once knew.

My journey took me a year to gradually return to an image of me I could recognise. The hardest part is dealing with the mean comments that friends and family will make intentionally or unintentionally. We have all heard them at one time or the other. How many times have you heard, “after the baby my stomach never looked as big as yours,” or “Oh my, you have gotten so fat!”? These are just some of the insensitive comments that people make, that if internalised can erode your self-confidence.

But you can rise above their clouds of negativity and reclaim your self-confidence and body while being an awesome mother. A healthy diet coupled with exercise will give you the results you require. Please note that I stated diet before exercise, as your body after pregnancy must heal and therefore requires the correct fuel for healing, and for breastfeeding the baby.

Breastfeeding according to dietitians allows a woman to burn 300-500 calories a day. This will account for the rapid weight loss some women have after pregnancy.

However, one must remember that everything must be done in moderation and under-nourishing one’s body, especially while breast feeding, can lead to ugly consequences such as hair and tooth loss. Consuming a balanced diet can aid in weight loss and assist the body to heal. A health practitioner can guide you or recommend someone who can.

Exercise after the baby is important. Walking is considered an acceptable method of exercise that can be undertaken before your postnatal check-up, six to eight weeks after the baby. If you had a C-section, extensive vaginal repair or a complicated birth, talk to your doctor about when to start an exercise programme.

Before exercising you should consider the following guidelines:

· Take time to warm up and cool down.

· Begin slowly and increase your pace gradually.

· Drink plenty of fluids.

Wear a supportive bra and, if you’re breastfeeding, nursing pads in case your breasts leak.

Stop exercising if you feel pain

Exercises you can safely try:

Strolling or walking is an excellent low impact exercise that will provide an excellent yet gentle cardiovascular workout. This workout can be done with the baby and is often considered as bonding time for baby and mother.

Kegel exercise. Use this exercise to tone your pelvic floor muscles, which support the uterus, bladder, small intestine and rectum.

Contract your pelvic floor muscles, as if you’re attempting to stop urinating midstream. Hold for up to ten seconds and release, relaxing for ten seconds between contractions. Aim for at least three sets of ten repetitions a day.

Pelvic tilt. Try the pelvic tilt a few times a day to strengthen your abdominal muscles. Lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent. Flatten your back against the floor by tightening your abdominal muscles and bending your pelvis up slightly. Hold for up to ten seconds. Repeat five times and work up to ten to 20 repetitions.

It is important to note that strenuous abdominal activity is ill advised. The pelvic floor muscles, which are located between your legs and run from your pubic bone at the front to the base of your spine at the back, are weak after childbirth.

Doing exercises like crunches, Pilates or general ab work can put too much pressure on the pelvic floor and inhibit healing or even lead to a chance of organ prolapse. It is difficult at times for a new mother to exercise as a result of sleep-depravation, postpartumdepression and chronic tiredness. However, doing a little exercise like strolling with the baby not only assist in calming the baby but also aids in relaxing your body while providing you with a little quiet time.

Studies show that exercise may be just as effective as medication when it comes to treating depression, so the sooner you get back up and moving, the better.

Sessions, which started yesterda will take place in Trinidad at Saith Park, Chaguanas and in Tobago at Heritage Park, Turtle Beach from 9am today.

Interested players are asked to submit two passport size photos, one copy of birth certificate, one copy of TT passport or US visa.

Players must be born in 1999, 2000 or 2001 to be eligible for selection. Players should walk with one red t-shirt and one white t-shirt for the sessions.

The Under 18 initiative is a continuation of the TTFA’s Beach Soccer Programme.

The Senior Beach Soccer team recently finished seventh at the CONCACAF Championship in the Bahamas.

Young athletes from 70 nations and territories will experience a Caribbean carnival of Commonwealth connections as the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Youth Games bursts into life. The Bahamas 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games will be the largest international sporting event ever to be hosted in the Bahamas, and the largest-ever edition of the Youth Games, with up to 1300 athletes aged 14-18 set to make the most of an inspiring mix of sporting competition, personal development and new Commonwealth friendships.

Almost all events will be held in the same sporting precinct, the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, which includes the world-class 15,000-seat Thomas A Robinson stadium, host to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and Athletics.

The sporting action will also reach out to the communities and streets of the island, with the Cycling competition to be held on the streets of New Providence.

Chasing 218 to win, Central Sports opener Kamil Pooran gave them a solid start with a knock of 71 but with wickets falling around him, Babwah arrived to stroke 52 from 79 to steer them to the target for the loss of eight wickets. Jovan Ali (3/19) and Ansil Bhaggan (3/5) had threatened the Central Sports batsmen but Babwah and Pooran’s knock shifted the tie.

At Wilson Road Recreation Ground in Penal, Merry Boys are fighting to stay in the match with their openers looking solid at 71 without loss in their second innings against First Citizens Clarke Road United Resuming on 167 for six in reply to Merry Boys’ 152 all out first inninsg score, Clarke Road were dismissed for 213 with Yannick Ottley reaching 74. Merry Boys, batting a second time, erased the 61-run deficit by the close of play with Mario Belcon (34 not out) and Rishaad Harris (33 not out) looking at ease.

Summarised Scores: QUEEN’S PARK 437/8 declared (Daron Cruickshank 127, Justin Guillen 72, Terrance Hinds 70, Nicholas Alexis 59; Vikash Mohan 4/82 vs ALESCON COMETS 117 (Steven Katwaroo 26, Vikash Mohan 25; Darren Deonarine 4/18, Kevon Cooper 3/37) and 239/3 (A Gobin 96, Vikash Mohan 74, Steven Katwaroo 36 not out).

MERRY BOYS 152 AND 71/0 (Mario Belcon 34 not out, Rishaad Harris 33 not out) vs CLARKE ROAD 213 (Yannick ottley 74, Adrian Ali 73; Amir Khan 6/65).

POWERGEN 183 and 166 (Jeron Maniram 38; Shazan Babwah 6/65, Rakesh Maharaj 3/40) vs CENTRAL SPORTS 132/9 and 220/8 (Kamil Pooran 71, Shazan Babwah 52; Jovan Ali 3/19, Ansil Bhaggan 3/50.

In order to stop or curb crime one has to start in the classrooms. The children have to be taught ambition and not the kind that would take them into politics since that is a hotbed of crime, a hotbed where everyone gets away.

Our youth have learnt that the safest way to millions of dollars is to work for the Government and put yourself into a position where you can “do deals.” And if by some fluke you get caught, no big thing; the worst that could happen is the loss of your job, and the Government will have to pay you severance.

We jamming still.

GORDON DALLA COSTA via email