The band titled Street Party will be launched on September 30 at the Government Campus Courtyard on Richmond Street, Port of Spain.

Charles, an acclaimed jazz trumpeter dedicated to preserving our history through music, decided to bring live music back to TT ’s streets after observing that such music no longer ruled the road on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.

He assembled his musicians and singers Lima Calbio, the soca artiste formerly known as Designer and David Rudder to lead a 1,000-member band that included Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and his wife Sharon. The band performed music from Shadow, Kitchener, Sparrow and a range of soca classics. The overwhelming response reinforced to Charles that there was indeed a void that needed to be filled.

“It lifted me just to see people lifted.

People say people don’t want live music on the road and they come up with all these excuses as to why people don’t want live music on the road. When we started playing Rainorama that was one of the high points, everybody started singing – from the Prime Minister go down,” Charles said in a media release.

The launch of Street Party will see performances from Etienne and Friends, with special guest David Rudder. In addition to food on sale, patrons will be served complimentary corn soup and doubles. Secured parking will be available at The Parkade at a cost. Charles will also stage a concert titled Folklore at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s on October 22.

Tickets are available at Queen’s Hall Box Office.

Pantin, who resides at Nelson Street, Port of Spain, won three titles at the Trinidad and Tobago Bodybuilders Federation National Senior Championships at Cascadia Hotel, St Ann’s, on Saturday night.

The 34-year-old was crowned champion in the classic bodybuilding overall, classic bodybuilding B and the men’s bodybuilding 90kgs category.

The extremely muscular Pantin said he is glad he can give the community something to be proud of.

“It feels good.

You are like a diamond in the rough because not everyone is bad who comes from places like that, it still have good people.

I am glad I can give the area a positive image,” he said.

Pantin, who trains with the Central Athletics team in Chaguanas, said he gets a lot of support from the community.

“Actually a lot of guys (in the area) support me and are proud that I am doing something good.” Discussing his titles, Pantin said his strict diet was pivotal to his success.

“I think what gave me the edge was the dieting.

I diet real hard for it and I came out with a lot of confidence and believed that I could have done it.

I trained an hour every day for two months straight. Dieting includes 50 grams of carbs a day, eating proteins and a lot of vegetables, and just eating properly as much as I could.” Pantin, who had to stop partying leading up to the championships, said he had to overcome some injuries before the competition.

“I had a few injuries like torn hamstrings, knee pain, slight hip dislocation, but I worked through all that and I still fought it.” The 34-year-old thanked all his supporters who helped him prepare for the championships.

Lewis was on the brink of creating history when he was unbeaten on 97 off 31 deliveries with the scores level at the start of the eighth over.

At this point, a boundary would have given Lewis the fastest hundred in CPL history and the second fastest in T20 cricket history.

With Lewis on strike, Pollard bowled a no ball to hand Patriots the win and subsequently deny Lewis the milestone as the Patriots raced to victory in only seven overs while chasing 129. The anticlimactic ending did not go down well with cricket fans throughout the region and the world with many expressing outrage with the actions of Pollard.

Lewis was disappointed but still contented after his knock. Lewis said, “It hurts (missing out on a century), but hitting 97 not out off 32 balls? I’ll take that any day.” Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, who has played against Pollard in the Indian Premier League for a number of years, expressed his disappointment on Twitter. Jadeja tweeted, “Kieron Pollard Bowls No Balls To Stop Evin Lewis (97* of 32 Balls) From The Second-fastest T20 Century. Bad Sportsmanship.” Former New Zealand fast bowler Danny Morrison, who was commentating the match said, “(Lewis) deserved a hundred and I’ve got to say, as positive and excited as I am, it’s a pretty disappointing way for Pollard to finish the game.” Even Pollard’s own Tridents teammate Tino Best “liked’ a post on Twitter criticising his captain.

But one person who defended Pollard’s move was his Tridents teammate and compatriot Nicholas Pooran. On Instagram, Pooran said, “Everyone who is criticizing this man for depriving Evin of his century I am ashamed of you all. I hope those cricket fans and cricketers who posting (expletive) about Pollard I do hope when you all are playing cricket and a guy is on 96 with one run to go I hope u guys give him his century. I am so disappointed in the cricketers and cricket fans for bashing this guy you all know yourself, and I hope you guys feel good by doing this. The saying is right “jealously kills” look at his life and what he has accomplished and then look at yours, if you guys “smart or know everything” do the math! Enjoy your life folks.”

The Breakfast Beyond the Boundary with Nescafe initiative took place yesterday and gave Mitchell the opportunity to have breakfast and interact with members of the Trinbago Knight Riders squad at Hilton Hotel.

Mitchell, who is a Barrackpore resident, met players Colin Munro, Robert Frylinck and Hamza Tariq and manager Colin Borde.

Fifteen lucky winners also won two tickets each to one game in the preliminary stage of the CPL.

Contestants had to apply online to win the competition.

Mitchell said it was a privilege to meet the Trinbago Knight Riders members and he is looking forward to the final.

“It was exciting, it was my first time getting to meet the players and it will be my first time going to watch cricket. To meet these foreign players was a good opportunity.” Mitchell, who is a UWI St Augustine student, believes either the Knight Riders or the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will win the title. Mitchell thanked Nestle for the initiative.

The winner of tonight’s match will qualify for Saturday’s final, while the loser will play in Thursday’s qualifier two for another chance to qualify for the final.

Bravo said his team will continue with the same mindset.

“We played 10 games so all of us are aware of what we have to do in order to get to the final.

It is nothing new, most of us as cricketers have been in this position before. It is playoffs, it is the knockout stage, but it is another cricket game.” Knight Riders and Patriots earned the right to play in qualifier one after finishing first and second respectively in the preliminary round of the tournament. Knight Riders finished with 16 points after getting eight wins and two losses, while Patriots ended on 13 points with six wins, three losses and one no result.

Bravo continued, “We have the same attitude, the same energy.

Once we approach it the same way hopefully we get the result that we looking for. Not because it is a playoff situation means your preparation must change or guys need to prepare differently.” Bravo said injured Kiwi Brendon McCullum, who suffered a fracture just above his left wrist on Saturday against the Barbados Tridents, will be missed.

“It is a big loss for us, Brendon has been good not only with the bat but the way he carries himself, he is a true professional off the field and I think his leadership skills definitely will be missed.

Very nice guy, the team will miss him for sure.” Australian Daniel Christian has been drafted into the team following McCullum’s injury. However, the TKR captain said aggressive opener William Perkins may feature in the team tonight. “We have William Perkins who is going to replace him.

We all know that he has potential so now it is time for him to step up.” FIXTURES:
Trinbago Knight Riders vs St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Qualifier One, Today, 8 pm
Jamaica Tallawahs vs Guyana Amazon Warriors, Eliminator, Tomorrow, 8 pm
LoserQualifier One vs WinnerEliminator, Qualifier Two, Thursday, 8 pm
Winner Qualifier One vs Winner Qualifier Two, Saturday, 9 pm

The latest victim is Ramdevi Singh, 76, a mother of two and grandmother of three of Imamshah Street, Chaguanas.

Singh’s husband, Martin, 79, a stroke patient, found her nude body face down on the ground of the living room with injuries to the head at about 9 am yesterday. She was in a pool of blood and had a piece of cloth around her throat.

This happened just two days after former director of the National Museum and Art Gallery, Dr Claire Broadbridge, 80, was killed at her home at Fondes Amandes Road, St Ann’s. It is believed her throat was slit.

In the case of Singh, police said there were so many injuries to the head it was difficult to say whether her killer/s slit her throat or bludgeoned her. An autopsy scheduled for today at the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James, will determine the cause of death.

Singh, a retiree with Guardian Life Insurance, lived with her husband who she took care of since he cannot speak or walk properly having suffered two strokes. After the discovery yesterday, Martin fell ill and up to last evening, he was receiving medical care at the Chaguanas Health Centre. Their two adult children and grandchildren live abroad.

Police said shortly after 9 am, Martin managed to walk to the front gate of the home and alerted two passers- by about the discovery.

There were no signs of forced entry and the house was not ransacked, police said.

One man, who requested anonymity, said at about 3 am yesterday residents heard a woman screaming but made nothing of it.

It was only hours after news of the killing broke, they made the connection that it might have been Singh.

Her brother Sen Vishnu said he received a telephone call at about 9.30 am yesterday informing him that “something was happening” at his sister’s home.

When he arrived, he saw police on the scene and was told she was killed.

“My sister was a former customer service representative at Guardian Life, so based on that alone she had good people skills,” Vishnu said.

“That continued even after she retired. She was very friendly.” As to where exactly in the house her husband was at the time of her killing, relatives are yet to know.

“He struggles to walk and someone has to hold his hands when he does. He used to be a businessman. This is very distressing right now.” Up to late yesterday, police including Sgt John, Cpls Radhaykisson and Ramoutar of Homicide Bureau (Region III) and Chaguanas CID were searching for evidence.

On May 26, pharmacist and businesswoman Rahzia Pamela Sieuchand, 65, was found stabbed to death in a bedroom at her home at Lange Park, Chaguanas.

The house was ransacked.

Sieuchand, who owned and operated a pharmacy at St Helena in Piarco, was a mother and grandmother and lived alone in the house. No arrest has been made.

Now that tempers have cooled, all concerned would do well to review the events that took place.

The footage of last week’s standoff is disturbing. Disturbing because residents seemed prepared to attack armed members of the police and defence force; disturbing because of the disproportionate use of force which members of the protective services appeared ready to deploy; disturbing because of how it showed no one was really in control.

The officers were responding to reports of residents blocking the Beetham Highway with debris.

Such actions are certainly grave matters which have the potential to endanger all who are entering and leaving the capital. As such, we endorse the call made by Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of crime, Irwin Hackshaw.

“Threats against police officers would not be tolerated,” Hackshaw said. “Persons who break the law by throwing debris onto the highway were going to be found and prosecuted for their actions.” Yet, while words are important, so are deeds. The footage gave the impression of a joint police/ army patrol on tenterhooks. The standoff was only dispersed when officers began firing – in rapid succession – warning shots into the air, in the process endangering themselves, their colleagues, the residents of Beetham Gardens and any other people in the vicinity.

In the footage, one officer can be seen dissuading another officer from deploying a canister, presumably some form of diffusion or even tear gas.

These jumpy actions were not the actions of officers who had the situation under control or who were all on the same page when it comes to this particular engagement.

We cannot defend lawless behaviour, nor will we condemn obstruction of police officers or violence of any kind directed at them. But when will we as a society do better? These exercises must be handled in a far more efficient way.

There must be clearer, more tightly controlled rules, and officers deployed to situations such as this one need to have better training and experience. Just because this conflagration erupted at the Beetham does not mean all standards of professional police conduct must be thrown out of the window.

The stigmatisation of Beetham Gardens’ residents is a matter of national disgrace. These citizens are not the only ones who engage in unlawful activity; are not the only ones who live in communities plagued by crime; are not the only ones who can be accused of having a caustic relationship with the police; who are stereotyped and whose redeeming qualities are excised from the national narrative.

A cursory scan of the deplorable comments left on social media in relation to this incident tells us all we need to know about the deeper issue behind this matter: bigotry.

How much longer will Beetham Gardens be neglected? How much longer will this community be ostracised, without adequate efforts at community-building and engagement? The true cause of last week’s drama was not protest action, it was the failure on the part of us as a nation to see human beings and to treat them accordingly.

This is in no way a defence of any individual who committed any wrongdoing against the police or the State. But it is a reminder that even when responding to those who conduct themselves poorly, we must maintain our own standards. Or else all falls down.

Joel Scott, president of the school’s PTA said construction work at the school stopped for more than two years and the school is 75 per cent completed.

“No body is telling us why the work has stopped. We went to the Waterfront to deliver a letter to the Minister and we spoke with Dr Lovell Francis and they kept telling us the work on the school will restart soon.” He continued, “It is four years the girls are housed at a building in Tunapuna and five years the boys are there with the girls.

The children have to be cramped up in a small building having very little space to move around. We are talking about 300 students housed at a building on the Eastern Main Road obliquely opposite Exodus Pan Theatre.” Scott said Garcia had given the assurance that the ministry has allocated $10 million to complete the school. However, he said during the July/August vacation nothing was done or started at the school.

He said the parents and students are fed up and frustrated with the situation and also promise to continue with the protest until someone addresses the matter.

“ We the parents had to come out in our numbers to clean in front the area of the school because this is where the PTSC buses come to pick and drop off the students on a daily basis. We paint up the area where the children assemble to take the buses. The ministry did not send a CEPEP (Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme ) crew. The holding areas for the toilets are not working, and the flooring in which the toilets stand it was done in plywood and it is rotted, and a health hazard to the children.” Scott said a minority of students went on the bus yesterday to attend classes, and they are hoping more parents will come out to protest to send a strong message to those who are supposed to oversee the situation.

The United States grabbed a total of 13 medals inclusive of eight gold, three silver and two bronze as they defeated Canada for the nation leaving with the most medals. Canada ended with 11 medals (four gold, four silver and three bronze) while Columbia’s team came in third with 10 medals, also with four gold, four silver but two bronze. During the final day events, the 1km Men’s Time Trial saw Colombia’s Fabian Puerta securing the gold with his time of 1:01.49, followed by his compatriot Santiago Ramirez 1:02.02 in second and TT ’s Alexander in 1:03.31 in the bronze position.

Speaking to Newsday about the TT ’s performance at the Pan Am Championships, manager of the local contingent, Joel Browne, stated, “I think things went nicely as we expected the sprinters to do well in the team event as they got the Pan Am silver. We were expecting to do a little better in the Keirin, however, with Bramble’s injury and the high quality competition, Kwasi Browne’s fifth positioning was not a bad result.” Focusing on the sprint and team pursuit, he said, “Our top sprinter, Njisane Phillip, got a puncture while doing the Flying 200M, and it is a bit difficult to recover from such a setback. Both the men and women’s Pursuit teams performed above our expectations, especially the female team as it was their first time.

“All things being equal, I think all riders did their best in the competition and we certainly hope they continue to work hard, especially the newest sprint team as they have a lot of potential moving forward and have only been training together for two weeks.” Teniel Campbell placed seventh in the Women’s 500M Time Trial with her time of 36.58 seconds.

Mexico’s Jessica Salazar took gold in the event with her ride of 34.39 seconds as she was closely followed by Martha Bayona of Colombia in 34.63 seconds.

Mandy Marquardt secured the bronze for the United Stated with her time of 35.18 seconds.

TT ’s Jessica Costa placed 16th in the race. Campbell placed ninth overall in the Women’s Keirin as the event was won by Bayona of Columbia. Marquardt, representing the United States, came in second while Mexico’s Daniela Gaxiola secured the final podium spot with the bronze.

The Men’s Madison event saw United States’ team defeating Argentina to take the gold medal after accumulating 35 points. Riders Zachary Carlson and Zachary Kovalcik held off Thomas Contte and Sebastian Trillini of Argentina as they only secured 27 points. Colombia rode away with the bronze medal with 26 points provided by their cyclists Jordan Parra and Edwin Avila.

The Pan Am Championships ended on Sunday night as the continental contest, which brought together over 150 cyclists from 20 countries, gave tickets for athletes to the upcoming track cycling tournament of the XXIII Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, scheduled for next year in Barranquilla, Columbia.

I thought about this as I joined and enjoyed TT’s Independence Day celebrations last week.

Not least given the other issue which dominated much of the news at the end of the week.

As British High Commissioner it’s not for me to get involved in domestic politics. But I do see room for an international perspective on the issues raised, from two angles.

First, your country’s democracy is derived from that of mine. So, how your democracy develops is inevitably part of our bilateral partnership and why I keep a supportive and watchful eye.

While enjoying the well-organised celebration of 55 years of independence from Britain, I also thought again how interdependent our lives are, nonetheless, in this globalised world. Simply put, this means what happens here matters in Britain, the Commonwealth and wider.

Democracy means society has a right to expect that no one is above the law. That all, whatever their position, should be held accountable in a timely way.

Or else the cancer of corruption spreads.

At the same time, in our democracies any citizen should feel confident of a fair trial, innocent until proved guilty, with a judgment based on the facts and the application of the rule of law.

In this interdependent world a determined effort to hold all to account and to implement the rule of law raises the international standing of a country. That means more trust and agreements, more trade and investment, more prosperity for all.

Successful attempts to distract or derail the due legal process with claims of bias do the opposite.

Some may accuse me of naivety, that I simply don’t understand how things work here. I return to my first point. TT has worked to sustain its democracy over the last 55 years. The rule of law, its practice and implementation, is the bedrock of any democracy. It’s only right — particularly as this country once again celebrates its independence — that the citizens of this country demand, foster and treasure this essential democratic principle.

TIM STEW via email