This year, the tournament will be contested at the recently-opened National Racquet Centre at Tacarigua from April 8-13.

This year marks Charles Chocolates’ 29th anniversary of sponsoring this hugely anticipated event.

There are very few sponsorships worldwide that last this long, spanning all economic cycles, but Charles Chocolates’ steadfast commitment to this event is representative of their continued support for Trinidad and Tobago’s community through sport.

“We stand strong in our commitment and belief in fostering the personal and social development of the youth of Trinidad and Tobago,” said the sponsors, in a media release.

This tournament offers the participants the opportunity to compete at all levels, therefore building their competitive spirit in addition to encouraging good camaraderie and support of others.

And Sport Minister Darryl Smith and Education Minister Anthony Garcia have been invited to take in the action.

Over 84 schools are expected to contest honours with perennial champions West “B” who have dominated the games expecting a huge challenge from Central “A” and East “A” for the Rotary Challenge Trophy, But West “B” powered by athletes from Diamond Vale Government, Diego Martin Government and La Puerta Government will be hard to peg back.

The day’s action begins at 9 am with a march past headed by last year’s winners Mucurapo Boys RC.Also at the games today, administrators Elma Joyeau-Campbell and Vijay Jagrup will be honoured.

The event was a joint promotion with the resident gym, SYM Golden Fist Boxing Gym.

Nyrell Hosein of Biomel Boxing Gym continued to impress as he prepares for the second edition of the Caribbean Schoolboys/ Junior Championships to be held in Guyana later this year.

The 14-year-old won a 45-kilogrammes contest by an unanimous decision over Kevin Persadie of YTC Conquerors.

Romel Lezama of YTC Conquerors won the Boxer of the Night award, after winning a close contest over Akiel Outram of Biomel Boxing Gym. Lezama and Outram have been showing great improvement as they are preparing for the Continental Championships in Honduras in July.

Newcomer Keon Henry of East Port-of-Spain took the prize for Most Promising Boxer. Harry won by a split decision over Mason Ramjassingh of YTC Conquerors in a 90+kg contest.

Among those who attended the event were Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith, chairman of the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SporTT ) Michael Phillips, and advisor to the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs and sport service officer in charge of boxing at SporTT Rixon Powder.

The TT BA thanked sponsors Richard Isaac, Selwyn Meyers and SporTT for making the Caravan a successful event. There was a women’s exhibition match between Alicia King and Onila Ramdhanie, while national boxer Michael Alexander and Shakir Garcia also featured in an exhibition bout.

OT HER RESULTS – Sebastian Holder def Yannis Navarro; Blessing Waldropt def Edwin Felix; Tyrell Cadette def Joshua Sylvester; Nickell Joseph def Tyron Thomas; Abdul Taylor def Meshach Thomas

So said a release about his upcoming exhibition at the 101 Art Gallery which opens on April 8.

A fan of the great works of Turner and Dali, Holley works exclusively in oils on stretched canvas taking inspiration from the best and worst of Trinidadian society and environment.

Traditionally painting only for himself and without exhibiting publicly, his painting style is non-descript, not adhering to any particular set of rules and often influenced by his tumultuous disposition, the release stated..

The collection of artwork from the aptly titled Bruce Holley Art Exhibition is expected to be literally a massive eye-opener, sharing insights that would not and probably should not otherwise be known.

Ambiguous and suggestive, the artworks capture suspended skies, vast horizons, lurid masqueraders and hidden faces.

A visual, and if willing to be questioned by the viewer, also intellectual experience.

This exhibition will run until April 22.

Pascal Ward is one of the few people walking around with a smile on his face in the wake of the destruction of D Nu Pub at cor Ariapita Avenue and French Street, Woodbrook, by fire on the morning of March 26.

Ward’s joy comes from the fact that nothing from the decades of mas history was touched by the fire which gutted the pub. His thousands of dollars in equipment, tools and moulds were untouched.

The genesis of the Mas Camp Pub was from the fact that it was on that very spot that the great Peter Minshall mas band was produced and moved off every Carnival.

The producers of the band felt they needed a “watering hole” and so the pub was born some 30 years ago.

That Woodbrook corner holds a big chunk of our cultural history when it comes to Carnival.

The Ward brothers were into mas as much as they were into calypso and both business ran simultaneously for years up until the fire.

Unfortunately Ward has to move the workshop since there is no electricity on the spot and it is not very safe any more. Since the fire he has been painstakingly moving his moulds and materials from the historic spot bit by bit.

A visit to the burnt-out venue saw Ward quietly cleaning some of his moulds; his mood very sombre but he was thanking God for saving not only the equipment and materials but for keeping the mas history alive in his mind.

Fans came out to support the home side, and they were not disappointed.

From very early, WI number one cricket fan, Peter Matthews engaged fans in heated cricket discussions but settled down for a most enjoyable game of cricket.

Then there was injured WI star player Dwayne Bravo who made his appearance in the stand to look at his fellow players in action.

Also in the mix were Sports Minister Daryl Smith and SporTT chairman Michael Phillips.

During the halftime period, talented pannist Johann Chuckaree had patrons jumping and waving flags as he ramajayed on the pan.

As the match was poised for a WI win, the vibes increased.

Soca bard SuperBlue (Austin Lyons) came through the side entrance of the stand.

Also gaining a lot of attention was a Brit whose stark resemblance to popular British singer Ed Sheeran had heads spinning to take a second and third look, some convinced it was in fact the singer.

In the end, everyone was in high spirits brought on by the thrill of a WI victory for the first time in a very long time.

INFORMATION overload coupled with a world that is evolving faster than normal, sometimes point us towards hibernation to find that inner peace and rebound again.

Whilst being amongst people all of the time may be a noble thing, it is not totally healthy as sometimes your own vision becomes blurred which can negatively impact your journey of success.

Let me start by differentiating loneliness from solitude as there are mixed signals regarding each; loneliness is a negative state aligned to isolation, and affected people usually feel bewildered.

Solitude on the other hand, is a state of being alone… not lonely; it is a time that can be used for reflection and personal peace. It also provides an enriching opportunity to better understand your perspective for living.

It is best described as time –away from the maddening crowd within which you can drown both mentally and physically if not well managed.

Many of our clients at the International Women’s Resource Network (IWRN) have shared their experiences of solitude, some have found answers to questions which were lingering for years; some have established a deeper communication with their divine maker; some have been able to strengthen and/or rejuvenate their marriage/ relationships.

Because of how it is characterised, solitude has proven to be a healing mechanism for many emotional ills as you are at peace with you.

Enjoy some of the amazing benefits of solitude…firstly , you would be able to renew and replenish your brain cells to produce greater clarity and focus.

Through solitude, your concentration improves and productivity levels increase.

Cultivating a mindset of removing as many distractions as is humanly possible from your life, helps you to concentrate better, and you are also afforded a golden opportunity to find yourself and your voice. Your moments of solitude allow you to think deeply, and of course, your self-engagement skills and creativity will be sharpened.

Your “alone” moments provide a renewed approach in interacting with others, and in particular, your significant other. Because of the quality time you are spending with yourself, you gain a better understanding of the real you as well as your desires and expectations in life.

Some women have expressed difficulty in basking in their solitude which to a large extent, has to do with their socialisation and belief system. For these women, the IWRN recommends to start with one day per month of disconnection where you set aside your “me-time”; switch off cell phones, Internet, television, computer and radio and see the amazing results in terms of your efforts in dealing with distractions as well the increase in your productivity levels.

Wake up at least half hour or one hour earlier than other family members in the house, and use that time to meditate, problem-solve and connect with your divine maker. Solitude rejuvenates body, mind and soul.

Sandrine Rattan is a communications/ branding consultant, author and president of the International Women’s Resource Network (IWRN), thecorporatesuitett@ gmail.

com or intlwomensresourcenetwork@ gmail.com or 283-0318

Having been in the post some eight years, it reasonable to expect that he might be outvoted in their upcoming elections.

Granted this is not the US where a president can serve only two terms, Duke should reasonably expect that he could be democratically ousted. His opponents are allegedly waiting anxiously to boot him out.

Ever resourceful, Duke is moving into front position to fight the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) sending home 50 monthly paid workers and diverse others exceeding 150 people (Express, March 27).

In ensuring that he is still to be viewed as defender extraordinaire for these workers, Duke held a press conference outside the CDA headquarters to warn the “sinister” Government of his intended actions on behalf of the workers.

It has been established that the CDA is in debt up to $100 million and running a deficit of $1 million a month. Salaries far exceed income and retrenchment of some workers appears inevitable.

Let us now consider the personal employment pain facing Comrade Duke.

Should he lose the PSA elections, does he revert to his WASA position? The rule is that only bona fide leaders of trade unions are eligible to get time off from their substantive appointments to attend to union duties. Does Duke now have to resign from WASA in order to service the THA Minority Leader appointment? Lynette Joseph Diego Martin

There is only one factor to be blamed — parenting. Parenting today is not like it was long ago.

Many things have changed that have impacted on how children behave today. Some of these are: * In most homes both parents work.

* Grandparents are also out and many are not willing to assist as they also work or just want their freedom.

3) The single-parent home where the father is never a part of the family.

4) The divorced/separated parents.

5) The Internet, social media, music, television, technology on the whole — what our children are watching and who their role models are.

All these factors and more have impacted on the way children behave and those with behavioural problems “give trouble” in school.

So the Student Support Services was introduced by the Ministry of Education to assist in this area.

There are guidance officers and social workers and part of their role is to guide and counsel our “problem” children.

Not only those with deviant behaviour but also the quiet, withdrawn ones who the teacher might have referred and later found out the problem is incest or sexual or physical abuse.

The problem with the Student Support Services is that it is severely understaffed and so one officer may have four schools, so she visits each school one day a week and goes to the office on one day.

In each school there are many children who may have been referred and she will try her best there.

However, if the child is absent on the day that the officer visits, then a week goes by without a session.

I know of a case where the process was started and then the child was absent on the day of the visit.

The next week the officer was on sick leave. The following week there was a public holiday on the day of the visit.

And the week after that the officers were all called out to a school with a crisis.

So a month went by without a session, without any help at all for that child. How can there be any progress? So Community Police was contacted for assistance and a visit was made.

The officer promised to contact the school but after a week passed a phone call was placed by the school but the officer was not on duty.

Another week passed so another call was made with the same response.

A month has gone by without contact, feedback, or assistance.

So when our goodly Minister of Education says the child has been “referred” to the Student Support Services, that sounds really good but the reality is far from good.

Sarah Dean via email

The religious and moral case for capital punishment is quite complex. The Sixth Commandment does not speak against killing.

The Old Testament is filled with examples of the lawful killing of sinners by man and God.

Translated from the original Hebrew, the key word accurately should read, “Thou shalt not murder.” Murder is quite a different thing from justifiable killing, as in a just war, self-defence or capital crime.

The overriding moral principle is “retribution.” A basic tenet of the law is that one who commits a crime be made to give up something he values in equal measure with the loss he inflicted on his victim. For the theft of life under the most barbaric and premeditated circumstances, equivalence requires the giving up of something the murderer equally values: his own life.

SIMON WRIGHT via email