Enjoying the show from the stadium or in the comfort of your home, one could feel the clean, powerful energy emanating from the performances.

The major highlights of the show were the demonstrations of love and unity in the music industry.

For years the soca music industry endured the rivalry of some of the major players in the game and on that night the synergistic performances made soca music history.

Bunji Garlin and Machel Montano united in a musical collaboration that came as a musical gift to soca lovers around the world.

These artistes were music rivals for years and in an open but civil manner.

Promoters and other industry players had to be mindful of this rivalry when confirming the logistics of the performances at events where the two artistes were booked to perform. These two musical titans have since settled their differences.

Another display of unity was the side-by-side performance of Iwer George and Chinese Laundry.

These two radio station owners battled with each other for years. It was so bad, DJs rumoured that Iwer’s music was not being played on 96.1 FM for years because this station is owned by Chinese Laundry.

They also resolved their differences openly on stage at Machel Monday and allowed the world to see the power of love and unity.

“Love in the house,” as they say in the music world, was truly demonstrated at Machel Monday.

Who would have thought we would ever see the day when Bunji Garlin would agree to appear on Machel Monday.

This signals to the world that us Trinidadians/Tobagonians have a love that is expressed unreservedly in the culture of our people.

The concert somewhat reminded me of the Bob Marley One Love Peace concert in 1978 where he brought the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition of Jamaica on stage together to shake hands. Who knows, maybe we will see our political leaders together shaking hands at the next Machel Monday.

Well done, Machel Montano, your concert was a true animation of the words of your song, “Is love ah wanna see.”

Ronald Huggins St Joseph

There were pleas for us to take in more animals, tears and grief at the state of their suffering and neglect, promises that TT will be blacklisted by animal lovers, disbelief that this level of neglect could still be present in our society, astonishment that the laws for animal cruelty are derelict and largely not enforced, vexation that the updating of these laws to ensure owners carry out their duty of care have not received priority to be updated and enforced.

I ask again, when are we going to stop the shameless suffering? When are laws to prevent animal cruelty and neglect going to be revised, added to and passed so that animals can be treated with dignity and respect and kept safe from irresponsible owners who should be made culpable under the law? These laws will make for a civil society. And tourists will not be tortured when they come here.

Some have even posted pictures of the suffering and have told their friends not to visit.

Mr AG, please open meaningful consultation with stakeholders and interest groups and let the work begin to draft these laws and save these animals from the hands of inhumane humans and save our country from the bad reputation it has now.

Every tourist dollar counts in an economy that should be diversifying and now many are swearing never to return.

Kathryn Cleghorn president, Animals Alive

From pre-dawn hours, masqueraders came out in their numbers and jumped, pranced and wined until the sun came up.

Newsday’s photographer Vashti Singh was at Chaguanas and shares some of her best photos of the morning’s celebrations.

Among the bands to pass the judging point yesterday were Tribe, Fantasy and Passion to name a few.

In recent times it has become the custom for masqueraders to ditch their full costume and instead parade in Monday wear and although this was the same for many of the bands, there were still enough costume to give a hint of what to expect today when they come out in the full regalia.

As with all the judging points in Port of Spain, the Ultimate Rejects’ ‘Full Extreme’ appeared to be the clear winner for the Road March competition.

Acclaimed as one of the most enjoyable and affordable fetes in Central Trinidad, Shandies caters for a mature crowd which prefers a mix of oldies and new musical offerings.

Patrons got exactly that, and more, from the band First Impressions, led by Roland Alibocas, featuring frontline singer Kirland ‘Big B’ Jacob and newcomer Houston ‘Papa Steve’ Villaroel, as well as the Carolina Rhythim Section and DJ Spoil Child International.

Cups made from bamboo and transplanted bamboo plants conveyed the ambience of a genuine river lime. Feters were treated to a range of tasty food items, embellished with samplings from a suckling pig roasted on a spit during the lime. Mixologist Isidore Vincent was kept busy with his original concoctions.

“We have loyal followers since we always try to keep our price reasonable over the years.

In addition, we offer a unique package as we cater to a mature crowd during a hectic carnival season,” said Andy Maurice, who runs Shandies Promotions with his wife, T’Shian Reyes-Maurice.

Gold, green and yellow confetti was released at various times during the large band’s time on stage around 3.15 pm yesterday, to the delight of some patrons but to the consternation of others in the Grand Stand.

Yuma had one thing in common with seemingly every other band that crossed the stage – its DJ trucks played Full Extreme by Ultimate Rejects, featuring MX Prime, as the band’s masqueraders chipped, wined and jumped in front of the judges.

Rain fell intermittently but that didn’t stop the men and women from having fun in their Monday wear; essentially bathing suits with boots as foot wear.

Shortly before 4 pm, the mini band, Good Hope Associates, arrived on stage. Their presentation, Never See Come See, included a mishap-free portrayal of their 2017 King of Carnival finalist, the bronze and gold pheasant costume Argus Le Grand: All Eyes on Me.

The gold and aquamarine accents on the bird’s large wings glistened in the sun as masqueraders, Glen Dave Lakhan, moved about the stage.

During the finals last Tuesday, the larger than life costume fell after its support-stilts collapsed.

Lakhan tried to carry on but the weight of the bird proved too much for him, as the back of the costume dropped to the stage.

Lakhan placed last; 15th, in the competition.

Cast members arrived on Sunday to a warm reception from Tourism Development Company’s acting Chief Executive Officer Arveon Mills, and other senior tourism officials.

“WAGS” stands for Wives and Girlfriends of Sports Stars and one of the cast members is Sasha Gates who has roots in Trinidad and often times travels back annually for Carnival.

Sasha Gates is currently married to NFL player Antonio Gates who plays with the San Diego Chargers.

Other cast members arriving include Natalie Halcro, Olivia Pierson and Nicole Williams. The cast will be filmed playing mas in one of popular bands, visiting the Paramin Blue Devils as well as enjoying the serenity and beauty of some of our popular beaches.

While focussing on showcasing the energy and vitality of Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival, it is anticipated that the docu-series will provide potent glimpses of our twin islands’ natural beauty and myriad heritage attractions. “WAGS” is a hit among young viewers (18-49 adults with a 65/35 female and male skew) especially among Hispanic and other diverse populations – 32 percent African/ American and 26 percent Hispanic.

The audience reach is approximately 94,296,000 households and the past season peaked with 1.1 million total viewers. During its overall Season 2 window, “WAGS” was seen by some 15.2 million viewers and the total reach across WAGS and its affiliated spinoff series WAGS Miami was 20 million people.

E-shows also get exposure on E-subsidiaries in Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Standing under the whirling multi-coloured lights at O2 Park, Chaguaramas last Tuesday, it seemed as if one was getting set for a major music festival like a Cochella, SXSW and/or Womex. The soca concert, now in its fourth year, had a lineup of artistes who showcased that soca now stands on a global platform headed for stardom.

While there were no Rihannas or Adeles, there was a touch of something extraordinary to the performances – a cross between intimacy and professionalism.

The line-up included Jamaican reggae icon Barrington Levy, the Bajan line-up of Rupee, Alison Hinds and Edwin Yearwood, Ronnie McIntosh, MX Prime, Ravi B, Farmer Nappy, 2016 Soca Monarch winner – Voice, Nailah Blackman and Kes the Band.

While these are all acts many would have seen or heard before, the styles of performances showed an enhanced and growing soca. Hinds exercising her vocal dexterity and Kees Dieffenthaller doing a cover of Shadow’s Dingolay with a slower soulful touch to it at the centre of the audience, was not dissimilar to what one would expect to see at major music events the world over.

Lending even greater credence to soca events morphing into major music events, the gates opened promptly at 8 pm and the show started promptly at 8.20 pm with Farmer Nappy taking the stage.

He rang through his set, backed by the Barbadian Red Boyz band, warming the swelling crowd. There were no lapses to set up anything.

The only break that was had, was when he introduced Barbadian Marvay to sing his 2017 hit Know the Face. Nappy announced Destra Garcia would not be performing with him at last Fridays’s International Soca Monarch (ISM) finals and instead introduced Barbadian Nakeeta who gave an almost replica-like sound to Destra as the duo sang Technically.

After Nappy finished his set, which included songs such as Big People Party and My House, the crowd was kept energised as DJ Ryan Sayeed.

When Dieffenthaller came on stage at approximately 10 pm with Incredible, the audience was primed and ready for him to sail through the compendium of his songs along with his friends.

Blackman and Kees pitted the audience against each other as they sang Workout.

The event also bridged the age gap as a lot of the younger members of the audience sang verbatim as Yearwood belted out past hits such as Sweatin and Pump Me Up.

Hinds exercised her vocal muscles while singing Roll it Gal and then grooved the music- hungry audience with Iron Bazodee.

Rupee took the audience back as well with his hits Blame It on the Music and Tempted to Touch among others before delivering his new hits Tipsy and I’ll be Okay.

Barrington Levy sang most of his songs acapPella – encouraging the audience to sing with him.

As the concert drew close to an end, MX Prime and the Ultimate Rejects added the icing to a full palate of music with their popular Full Extreme.

Dieffenthaller said during one of his many performances that the future of soca is in good hands as he looked at younger performers such as Blackman and Voice but it was evident by Tuesday on the Rocks that the platform for soca’s global succession and staying power had been set by the likes of them.

The show ended at 2 am.

The young masqueraders had an enjoyable time as they donned costumes such as bats, pierrot grenade and dame lorraines as they made their contribution to Carnival 2017.

Remember that you need sun screen for your hair as much as you need it for your skin. Revel, gyrate, jam and have a wonderful time for the season. Please rinse the hair to get rid of the sweet sweat.

Today we consider the nervous system and hair loss. I will be discussing the effects of the impairment of the nervous system on the integumentary system, especially the hair. You may recall that the integumentary system comprises the skin and its appendages (including hair and nails).

Your brain is as powerful as it is important in all living species. This is why any dysfunction of the brain can be detrimental to the overall function of the human body. In my previous articles, I have written about several glands that regulate hair growth and development. All of these glands are managed by one master organ — the brain. This may be the reason why your head is placed at the top of your body.

At first glance, you would think the nervous system enforces an autocratic type of governance over the other parts of the body. However, it is our brain that co-ordinates our actions and sends signals to and from the various parts of our body.

It determines how and when we react to various stimuli. Accordingly, our body will react as the mind commands.

Let’s consider this in a more simple picture — think of stress which has been a very common and frequent term in considering hair loss. This is because it affects not only the physical but also the mental capacity of every person. In this situation, you will be more prone to develop diseases, and hair loss is no exception.

Stress and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) are considered partners in crime, when considering hair loss or balding. As I have discussed several times, DHT is a very strong irritant to your hair follicles, causing them to shrink. What stimulates the release of DHT? The answer is stress and other factors such as hormonal imbalance. These are all linked to how your nervous system functions.

There can be many causes of nervous dysfunction. These include genetics, lifestyle or accidents — anything is possible. For instance, a sedentary lifestyle and restrictive dieting do not only affect how you think and perform your daily tasks, but can also make you physically dry and unhealthy. Any malfunction of the integumentary system can shorten your hair cycle. Shortened hair cycle can cause hair diffusion which can later lead to balding, if not properly treated.

Always remember that there are things you can change, like your diet and physical activities. Keep your body healthy as far as possible.

It’s not all about workout and strict protein diet. It is all about balance. If you are not sure of what you should do to keep your brain and body healthy, you can always consult an expert — a trichologist to be specific.

Every part of your body is interconnected, and focusing on one part may not be as effective. This is why at Rayogee we maintain a holistic approach in treating and managing our clients’ hair and scalp.

I am taking this opportunity to thank everyone of you for your support and candid comments over the past two years. It has been a pleasure sharing the wealth of knowledge that has been useful to you, especially those who have been suffering with hair and scalp disorders. This article marks the last in the series and I look forward to continue sharing my knowledge and expertise through other forms of media. Feel free to follow us on Facebook using the handle “Germaine Williams Beckles D.T. N.C” and twitter – @ drgeeshair OR via the contact details listed below.

Germaine Williams-Beckles is a doctor of trichology (DT), nutrition consultant (NC), coach and trichologist.

Rayogee Wellness Lifestyle Woodbrook, https://www.germainewilliamsbeckles.

com, geesexclusive.

com or 627-4659. Email us your questions at info@drgees.com