Jordan Reynos broke the deadlock for the hosts in the 10th minute, before Switzerland responded with a pair of items, from Marco Michel in the 16th and Boris Stomps in the 21st.

That setback seemed to spur on the home team, as they rebounded in emphatic fashion, courtesy strikes from Teague Marcano (43rd and 51st) and Stefan Mouttet (45th). Switzerland’s Florian Feller trimmed the deficit to 4-3 in the 58th minute but it was a little too late for the visitors.

Earlier on the day, Chile needed penalties to get past Barbados 3-1, after a goalless scoreline at the end of regulation time, in the seventh- place fixture.

Vicente Martin, Franco Becerra and Sven Richter converted their efforts for the Chileans, with Che Warner replying for the Barbadians.

The third-place playoff, between Russia and United States, was goalless up to press time last evening, with the final between Canada and Japan carded for 8pm yesterday.

In Saturday’s action, Canada crushed Russia 4-1 and Japan blanked the United States 2-0 in the respective semi-finals, while TT whipped Barbados 3-1 and Switzerland cruised past Chile 4-2 in the fifth-eighth place semi-final matches.

Campbell picked up gold in the Ladies Senior Three Laps followed by stellar performances in the Ladies Seniors and Juniors Keirin and two of the Senior Ladies Events on the night.

The performances only added to Campbell’s confidence and track form heading into yesterday’s “cycling on the greens”, at Guaracara Park in Pointea- Pierre, as she dominated in both the Sprint and Endurance events, for Elite Women at the Cycling Extravaganza last Thursday.

Campbell, who has been pulling together a string of outstanding showings is keen on defending her Keirin title at the Easter Grand Prix on April 14, 15 and 17.

Dahlia Palmer, representing Team DPS, was Campbell’s closest competitor on the night as she secured second position in three of the events including the Three Laps, the Ladies Seniors and Juniors Keirin and in the first Senior Ladies Events.

However, Palmer had to settle for third in the last Senior Ladies Event as Dominique Lovell of Breakaway claimed the silver medal.

It was a mixed night for Olympian Njisane Phillip. He made a good start by claiming victories in the male finals of the 500m event and in his favoured Keirin event. Phillip ousted Keron Bramble in both events as the club-mates built a friendly rivalry over the recent competitions and together led Rigtech Sonics (40.20 secs) to a close victory of over Breakaway Cycling Club (40.80 secs) in the Team Sprint.

However, Phillip would only be able to rally a fourth place finish in the Elite Elimination Event. Adam Duggleby of the United Kingdom rode away with the main Elite Open International 20 Laps Event as Lorenzo Orosco representing Team DPS pushed over the finish line for second, ahead of Colombian Javier Gomez and club-mate Jyme Bridges.

David John-Williams, president of the TT FA, met with Infantino at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland in January to hold talks on local football.

And discussions on local football development will resume when the FIFA boss arrives in Trinidad later this month.

This will be the FIFA boss’ first visiting since he became president. He made a brief visit to Trinidad to meet John-Williams during the build-up to the FIFA presidential elections.

However, Infantino will visit Guyana prior to his arrival in Trinidad, according to the media release.

In a media release issued yesterday, the TTS L noted that its 21 member clubs, at a meeting on March 20, were presented with the MOU, which offered to allow the clubs/ TTS L to run the National Super League.

“In response, TTS L committed to forward a formal proposal counter offer to the TT FA’s rejected MOU,” the media release said. “(The) TTS L is not requesting TT FA membership for its administrative and commercial arm TTS L Limited but for recognition of TTS L as an autonomous, second tier league within the hierarchy of TT football, which is legally represented by TTS L Limited.”

Talking to the media after West Indies lost the fourmatch T20 series 3-1 yesterday, Brathwaite said, “I am happy that the hard work that I have been putting in off the field has transcended itself on the field, but me personally I always prefer team performances. If I can contribute to a win then so be it, if I perform well and the team does not do as well then it puts a damper on my personal performance and my spirit going forward.” Brathwaite had a solid series scoring 34 not out, 37 not out and 15 in the series. He also took five wickets in the series and was relatively economical throughout. Brathwaite has been struggling to find consistency, after hitting four sixes in the last over in the final of the World T20 tournament last year to lead West Indies to victory over England.

Asked if he was happy with the way the batsmen approached their innings in the series Brathwaite said, “I was not happy with the execution, but when players come off, the same shots that they get out with that goes over the boundary for six we say well played, that was brave, that was brilliant.

“As a management team we want to encourage players to express themselves, we just ask for a little more awareness than we have seen shown thus far in this series.

It is for us to go back to the drawing board individually again, come back against Afghanistan, repeat the things we did well and improve on the things we did not do so well.” Afghanistan will tour the West Indies from May 30 to June 14, where they will play three T20 Internationals in St Kitts, followed by a trio of One Day International (ODI) matches in St Lucia.

West Indies will face Pakistan in a three-match ODI series in Guyana starting on Friday, followed by a three-match Test series – in Jamaica, Barbados and Dominica.

In recent times, there have been increasing numbers of international celebrities openly sharing their lived experiences of depressive disorders –postpartum, clinical, suicidal, and bipolar (formally referred to as manic depression). Halle Berry has spoken about coping with suicidal depression having reached her lowest ebb following the breakup of her marriage; Beyonce has been open about struggling to feel OK and her reliance on her mother for emotional support; and Dwayne Johnson aka “The Rock” has made a number of YouTube videos for Oprah’s Master Class discussing the strategies which aided his recovery.

The untimely passing of comedian Robin Williams in 2014 made headline news across all media platforms around the world, and that encouraged others to open up about their own challenges. However, because stigma and discrimination is still so prevalent in Trinidad and Tobago there is a reluctance for the same level of openness.

There are those individuals, such as Caroline Ravello, who go against the status quo (at times to the detriment of her own well-being) to ensure that discussions on mental health is removed from its secret hiding place and positioned in the mainstream. By way of her weekly column, her Facebook page, and her various interactions with support groups, Ravello openly shares her experiences of living and thriving with bipolar disorder.

It was also refreshing to read the feature on Overcoming Manic-Depression by Nicole Cowie last week. I sincerely hope that this is just the beginning, and that many others will follow suit and share their own lived reality of mental ill health. After all, the brain is the most complex organ in the body controlling our thoughts, actions, memory, feelings and experiences, so it is time we all felt comfortable to talk about the disorders that affect it. The Royal College of Psychiatrist advises that as many as one in ten people are affected by serious bouts of depression, and that it can run in families.

There also seems to be a gender disparity, in that it affects women more than men – though the men are less likely to talk about their illness.Depression is an illness like any other, so why in 2017 is it still such a fight to get society to be receptive to open honest engagement with people living with the disorder? Last year, a group of us with a special interest in mental health held a successful Talk and Tea session in Port-of-Spain. Not only were we honoured to be given a peek into the private lives of those living with mental illness, but we were also privy to the effects it has on family members and care givers. Engaging and compelling conversations were had on obstacles, challenges, and their possible solutions, and participants shared their aspirations and priorities for a mental wellness vision.

In keeping with the theme of Let’s Talk, my rallying cry is for a cultural shift in thinking and behaviour so that mental health conversations are no longer taboo.

The research shows that those living with depression and other mental health challenges would welcome an increase in the number of safe spaces where open, confidential conversations can be had. So, bearing in mind that depression is for the most part an illness of social isolation and disconnection, acute loneliness and fragmented family support these safe space conversations will go a very long way towards aiding recovery.

They will create platforms to tackle stigma, raise awareness, encourage others to open up, and support self-care.

At present, there are a range of communities and support groups for those who wish to have conversations online for example –www.beatingthebeast.

com and www.moodgarden.org.

Others can be found on www.

psychcentral.com/resources. I am, however, not aware of any national, culturally appropriate online forums in TT , however, there are a number of Facebook groups such as Mental Health Matters, T&T.

Remember it is good to talk.

Dr Yansie Rolston FRSA is a UK-based disability and mental health specialist advisor. She is a social change trainer and facilitator who works internationally, at various levels of government, business, and civil society. Contact her at yr@efficacyeva.com

A LAW student seeking employment after graduation lands in a conspiracy inside the US Supreme Court in The Outsider, Anthony Franze’s latest legal thriller.

Grayson Hernandez gets a job with the court, but it’s in the mailroom. He listens to the various clerks discuss the cases and dreams of one day being in their company as an equal. One evening while heading home, he witnesses a mugging in the parking garage and intervenes. He ends up stopping the attack and saving the victim, who happens to be the Chief Justice of the United States. As a thank you, the head of the Supreme Court appoints him as a law clerk.

His happiness is short-lived, however, when FBI Special Agent Emma Milstein approaches him and asks for help. The case she’s investigating involves murder that may be connected to the Supreme Court. She wants him to be an informant, and he reluctantly agrees. As he secretly begins investigating his fellow law clerks and the justices, he soon realises that everything seems to be pointing at him being the one the FBI is seeking.

Descriptions of the law and how the Supreme Court operates are engaging, and Franze knows how to showcase the ins and outs of that world without diving into too much legalese.

Readers unfamiliar with elements of the justice system will still find this a satisfying mystery.

It’s like a mix of John Grisham and Scott Turow alongside the inner workings of the court system.

Toss it all together and the end result is this winning novel.

His brilliant use of imagery turns a novel into the equivalent of an exquisite painting.

His edgy characters and themes about history, culture and sexuality are simply unsurpassed.

Scott tells timeless stories that we want to hear, but are afraid to speak about. His novels and stories never grow old, they stay around to haunt us and remind us that issues – like good themes – don’t fade into the sunset.

This is why Scott’s novel Witchbroom has found a new life with its re-publication by Papillote Press. Witchbroom, a cultural narrative of Trinidad told by a hermaphrodite, was described by the late Sam Selvon as “rare and magical. The first (story) of its kind.” First published in 1992, it precedes Middlesex, a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides published in 2002 which is similar only in its brave exploration of sexuality in a novel form.

Looking back on his life, Lavren, the narrator of Witchboom, reconstructs his story by tracing Trinidad’s history. Lavren is a strong and unusual narrator because s/he can transcend the confines of being male or female.

Most stories appeal to one sex or another allowing the opposite sex to appreciate the viewpoint of the narrator and the limitations the narrator has because of his or her point of view. An author can bridge the gap that a narrator’s point of view often creates and pull in readers from the opposite sex through the use of theme, but by using Lavren, Scott elevates the narrator to a whole new level where sexuality does not matter. It is vaguely reminiscent of what Virginia Woolf pulled off in Orlando. A narrator not confined by sex can be quite powerful, as readers will discover when they meet Lavren.

As many of Scott’s narrators, Lavren has returned home to reflect on his past so he can understand something better about the present. There is usually a journey involved in the enlightenment of Scott’s characters.

Lavren discovers – as we all do – that the story of our lives begins further back than we are usually aware. These are the Tales of the First House, the stories that start out to sea and are rooted in colonialism and religion. They are legends and beginnings, Lavren tells us that have no dates and no beginnings.

Part Two, The Tale of the House on the Plains, serves as a bridge from the old world to the new world. Filled with expeditions, myths, and stories they offer a link from the past to the present.

The past always reflects on the present. It is, as Lavren says in the opening of the Tale of the House in the Cocoa, “inherited”.

As each chapters builds an historical record for Lavren, readers will note how Scott captures the imagery that becomes part and parcel of local culture.

In A Journal another narrator takes over, creating a whole new layer of the vision that connects past to present while reminding readers this is not merely Lavren’s story. It’s everyone’s story.

There’s The Tale of the House in Town and then back to the country for The Tale of the House in the Sugar, The Tale of the Last House. Finally, the story culminates in J’Ouvert where the sacred and the profane; the past and the present collide.

Witchbroom is not a particularly easy book to read, but it is well worth the experience – as all of Scott’s novels are. It is a breathtaking novel, filled with memorable characters and important history. Most of all, it is the story of how we are all the product of that march through time

The Polish-born, professional disc jockey who was raised in Germany is on a mission to bring unity through the use of the Caribbean music genres. With workshops and seminars in secondary schools across the region, her aim is “to grow students’ interest of what is outside of Caribbean.” To stir that interest, Mika demonstrated how culture is being interpreted in Europe by showing videos and playing music of European artistes who replicate regional music.

Students also did photography, mas design and sessions with local entertainers.

After a long, bureaucratic process to get approval from the Ministry of Education her mission began at Woodbrook Secondary, French Street, in January. With full energy and a bright smile she bounced into the school, first liaising with teachers who gave her their blessings. At first, students appeared uninterested, but as the programme progressed, the smiles grew and they were really invested in the workshop.

“The students really had fun,” Mika said.

They were surprised by the power of music and thrilled to see Europeans reproducing Caribbean genres.

“They began to realise that some of the white people try to adapt what the people in the Caribbean do, how they dance and how they dress, the only difference is that they are white and have a different cultural background,” Mika said. Mika holds a BA in Media and Communications from the University of Leitz, Germany –her thesis focused on Caribbean culture. Her first TT visit was in 2015 and she deejayed at Pier I, on a boat ride, at a radio station and explored the Carnival scene and fell in love with it.

Using her research and experience she included a Carnival and mas design workshop where students made costumes using materials donated by mas bands. Entertainment personnel were also brought in to educate students about industry careers. Among them were pannist Keshorn Julien; Fabien Alfonzo, music producer; audio engineer Jabari Winchester and Kernal Roberts.

They gave students a better understanding of the industry, Mika said. She said they were shocked when Roberts revealed his achievements, and wanted autographs afterwards.

She hopes more students will participate in the next programme. “Everybody has got a talent inside, it is all about finding that talent.. I hope the project will inspire students to get deeper into the creative industry,” she said.

As this was the pilot project she is open to modifying and altering the programme to include sports, natural science, art and other facets. She is asking principals, teachers, and possible participants to contact her. She is open to going to “at-risk” communities and hopes more sponsors will back her effort as it was mainly funded by her.

Mika said her sessions received positive reviews from students, teachers, Culture Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby- Dolly and Jeanelle Frontin, of Creative TT . The programme ended on March 8.

She plans to continue her love affair with Caribbean music by embarking on a research project about its distribution world wide and to further create acceptance of Caribbean music internationally.

For more info: 372-0077, email: djmikaraguaa@gmail.

com, www.mikaraguaa.com or www.caribbeanmusic-worldwide.

org.

Gerard “Panman” Balfour of Tobago will also be one of the artistes performing at the event.

A release on John’s presence at event said, “John became fascinated with the art of song writing at nine and, at 13, he began recording on an old laptop.

By 17 he created a group called Revo. In 2016 he made his international debut when he was featured on the Jus Now EP titled Alone.

John said in the release, “There are so many talented people in this country, but for some reason there’s nothing really in place for them. We have naturally talented singers, songwriters, painters, actors etc, who can’t make a good living doing what they love, and that’s really depressing when you think about it.” Chalmer hopes, one day, to make a difference through his music.

In addition to Chalmer, Balfour, the Tobago Soca Monarch for 2015 and 2016, who began playing pan at eightyears- old will also be featured.

The 28-year-old writer and producer is the arranger for the Pan Fantastic Steel Orchestra and a music instructor at the Ministry of Education. In the release, he said, his goal is to take Tobago ‘s indigenous music, the tambrin drums, to the world stage. He often records and performs with tambrin drums.

The Pleasure Pirates, another of Tobago’s icons, will also perform at L?v?. “The three pirates, Gilbert “Happy” O’Connor, Michael Duncan and Ian Baynes will entertain with their vintage calypso Caribbean Folk performance,” it said.

The Les Coteaux Folk Performers, limbo and bamboo dancers, will also feature at L?v?. “A mixture of gyrating hips, fit foot movements, melodious African drums, all choreographed in traditional Tobago-style, with a group of talented young women and men are the ingredients that create the legendary Les Coteaux Folk Performers.