Live at the Hyatt - Children of the Drum (T&T Carnival 2015)

Kees Dieffenthaller -
high energy and superb as always

Live at the Hyatt - Children of the Drum. 

It's a different Carnival experience. A little bit calypso tent. A little bit Best Village and Party Time (showing my age there). A sit-down affair that with the right vibe could become a stand-up affair. A great option for those who are not inclined to partake in the crush of fetes - all-inclusive or otherwise - but still want to enjoy the music of some of the hottest soca acts in a comfortable and non-threatening type of setting (non-threatening in the sense of no threat of beer being splashed on your kit or your weave, or of your lovely toes being stomped on etc).

This is Live at the Hyatt - Children of the Drum. Touted as a Las Vegas styled production, I would not go as far as that,  as I feel we could tighten up the production a bit more, but I appreciated the effort made to make it a show, and to include a bit of theatre  and drama to the musical performances . The show was well produced and the performances were all spot on.

This is the second year of this show, but my first time as last year I just could not make it. But I was not disappointed. Each night at the show, patrons are treated to six (6) great artistes, and last night we were treated to David Rudder, Bunji Garlin and Fay Ann Lyons, Blaxx, Destra Garcia, K.I. and Kees Dieffenthaller. The show themed "Children of the Drum" highlights the wonderful diversity that is Trinidad through song and dance, from Africa to India to China, with Nigel Rojas acting as the musical storyteller/narrator.

It also provides the right setting for our artistes to show their true talents. Fetes and competitions, in particular, can really boil down to this overwhelming desire to move the crowd by any means necessary, which can often compromise vocal delivery. I know my friends know how much this is a peeve of mine and that Soca Monarch debacle in particular. Every artiste last evening gave the packed out house solid performances with solid vocals. Bravo! Special kudos to Blaxx who hit us with some Luther Vandross which underscored my point that the competition really kills the talent - cause Blaxx can sing!

I think we need more shows like this to keep the level of our music high. I fear that competition and this compulsion to "raise the dust" has contributed (along with other factors) to the lack of creativity in our music. Loved this experience. It was smart, it was well-oiled, it was creative, it was comfortable, it was all-encompassing. I saw young people, old people, blind people, physically disabled people. It was beautiful. If like me, you get bored after one fete, with the "wave" "take it low", "anybody from Sando?" nonsense, but you want to enjoy the season, try this show.

If I had to give one suggestion above all else - maybe less performers in one night so we get a richer offering from each of them. Destra felt rushed for example. I would prefer quality over quantity, but that is just me. They were all so fantastic but all too short.

David Rudder is timeless. No other description necessary.

Destra Garcia - I am not a fan really but there is no denying the woman can SING.

It was a great middle ground for my mum and I to enjoy the season together, and I would say it is a great option for families and friends, minus the noise and everything else that comes with large fetes. There are different packages available whereby one can either take in just the show at TT$500 a ticket or opt for one of the other packages, which can include dinner, a room or both. The Dinner/Show/Room package is pretty good - saved me from facing the stove, from facing the highway after the show and gave us time to just relax together.

Welcome drink in our room before the show. Can never tire of this view at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad

The Dinner Menu last night for those who took the dinner package for the Live at the Hyatt show

I chose the soup as the starter. Very yum.

Creole Chicken with red beans and sauteed plantains.
Thanks to Keisha for sorting out my main. I don't eat fish
and I don't eat coo-coo so I had to mix and match. I could not eat it all, but it was so good.

Choco Shock Brownie with Belgian Chocolate ice cream.
The sweet was too sweet for me. If you love love love sweets, you would love this.

Mummy chose the Rustic Apple Tart, which was delish.
I am always wary of apple anything. I always get a tart apple dessert, but this was nice.
Perfect actually.

Kudos. I hope they don't give up and only aim to make it better next year. It is much needed and was much appreciated.

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Are you a 30-something Geriatric?

Disclaimer: This is by no means a sweeping indictment of all 20-somethings. I mean, I used to be one and I was pretty awesome then too! And if you ARE a 30-something geriatric, we need to talk, Dr Phil style!

I left the house yesterday to wander through London, ending up at Haagen Dazs for a bit of chocolate orgasm and having the misfortune to sit next to a young lady who apparently had parrot's bottom for breakfast cause God...the girl talked and talked and talked...and talked. I looked over at her friend to see if there were any tell-tale signs of wear and tear on her ears and saw none that were visible but I am sure she was traumatised. While I tried my darndest to ignore her conversation - about her upcoming wedding, her job as an events assistant, her fiance, Canada, who's coming to the wedding, what she had for dinner the night before, the rehearsal dinner - it was really hard not to feel like I was at her table. But one comment that stuck with me was when she was describing some guy named Anthony (??) and she said

"It's incredible. He's 32 and has soooo much energy."

I almost choked on my whipped cream - if that is even possible.

The girl is clearly young, and a bit daft, but when did 32 become geriatric? Energy at 32? OMG. The horror! I felt my insides shrivel up and die at that moment - my 30-something year old insides. I should not even be talking about heels and flip flops. I should be reviewing wheelchairs and walkers!

Cheers to 30!

I'm not sure who the 30-somethings in her life are, but 30 is awesome, baby! After this postgrad experience, being around undergrads and just-out-of-undergrad 20-somethings, I honestly have no desire to go back to being 22, 23, 24. Maybe 27 - cause that was an awesome year for me, and I remember my birthday party - I was smokin', but I am pretty okay being a ravishing 30-something, with all the wear and tear of experience on my face (though I am not feeling the grey hairs, Mother Nature), in my smile and on my wisdom and outlook - which for the most part is as as sunny as London is today and it is pretty damn sunny outside.

And just as an FYI, 20-something year old motor mouth - sure you might have a few things up on your 30-something counterparts, like perkier boobs, fewer laugh lines, higher metabolism, but if you want to talk about energy:

When we hit 30, certain things get worse -- our boobs, ability to pull all-nighters, and energy levels -- but our sex life is not one of them - Yahoo! (read more)

Sleep with one eye open if the woman next to you and your hubby at the breakfast buffet on your honeymoon is over 30. lol.

Anyway, the evening ended being surrounded by other London geriatrics, who all seemed very alive, and enjoying life, and many many cocktails and then today started with some soca in New York - Kes The Band on Good Day New York, representing my beautiful country, Trinidad and Tobago - a land known for its energy, joie de vivre and resilience.

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Soca in the Library

I came in to the library early to get some work done and somehow ended up watching soca videos on YouTube. Tabanca (Trini word for heartache). I remember when BET-J came down to Trinidad to film this documentary. This is just one part - keeping me company in London, which is supremely cold this morning. Tabanca! This is home.

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Trini Forever

Trini [ˈtrɪnɪ]

n pl Trinis

(Social Science / Peoples) Caribbean informal a native or inhabitant of Trinidad; Trinidadian

[a shortened form of Trinidadian]

Yesterday I was talking to a British dude, who told me his parents had retired to Spain because they hated England. No...loathed it. His dad did not associate himself with being British and was all too happy to escape the place. He does not support England's cricket team, even with their recent trouncing of the Aussies, nor does he support their (overrated) football team. He is not a fan of the UK and he does not boast of being English. Now while I am no fan of the weather, which is disgusting at best, to totally disassociate oneself from one's native country is really foreign to me.

Trinidad and Tobago is far from perfect. With rising crime rates and a new breed of ridiculous politicians, I often shake my head at the place. It really saddens me to see how much it has changed from when I was a wee lass. But...I love the place. I love the little mad twin-island republic with all my heart and that will not change any time soon. The RWB runs through my veins. My heart is RWB.

Photo by Donald Michael Chambers
via Getty Images

The spirit of a Trini is contagious. For good or for bad, you cannot really hate a Trini. lol. Some of the most ridiculously amusing people on the planet. God knows they made my daily existence, and the most mundane activities, a unique and fun experience. And being here makes me appreciate so many things that we take for granted back home and which really, in some ways, debunks the longstanding Western constructs of First World and Third World. A lot of the systems here are as bad or worse than the systems back home. God knows, and I can only speak about London, the people here can use some manners. I have met non-Londoners who are awesome and so friendly and warm but goodness...London is another story altogether. I definitely miss the warmth and exuberance of the people back home. Maybe it's the sun because to be brutally honest, the weather here makes me grumpy as well. lol.

And from a country where our PM is not only of Indo-Trinidadian descent but a woman, where we have an Indo-Trini boxing champ, a white swimming champ, and the Prince of Port of Spain, it's a great mix of everybody and everything. Not to mention 33 degree Celsius weather. lol. And better beer and food. Not to mention the best Carnival in the world. Brazilians will say it's Rio, but no Trini will ever agree with that. C'mon.



A small sample of the awesomeness that is Trinidad and Tobago
Top left, and moving clockwise -
Sir VS Naipaul, Nobel Prize winning author;
Richard Thompson, silver medallist, 100m, 2008 Olympic Games;
Dwight Yorke, former Man U and TT striker; 
Janelle 'Penny' Commissiong, first ever black Miss Universe, 1977 - breaking so many barriers of beauty;
Brian Lara, world record holding batsman and one of the best batsmen the cricketing world has ever seen; 
Machel Montano, soca artiste and my fave soca artiste ever (lol) 
Nicki Minaj, rapper - Barbados has Rihanna, we have Nicki.

 
But there are a lot of great things about the UK I imagine. London alone is arguably one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. It's hard to be bored in London. Why anyone born here would not want to be passionate about their country is beyond my understanding. I can only hold on to my own passion - the passion for the RWB.

So no matter where this journey takes me, my heart will always be in the southern Caribbean, and I will always be a Trini. Proud, beautiful and strong.

Soca - the energetic and fantastic music of Trinidad Carnival.
I can see myself in the party.

I am missing the Carnival (sob)

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Awesome Trini weekend in London

Well, the birthday had the potential to be a real stinker. I was depressed most of the week, and frustrated with an assignment that try as I might, would not let me finish. I had also hoped for some specific plans which also, try as I might, just would not develop nicely. So come Thursday, I was in a horrid mood, crying and wanting my momma. But willpower is a great weapon against idleness, and with a wave of my mascara wand and a couple emails, life was good again.

Friday night, I finally met up with the other Trini students at my school and we headed to the Trinidad and Tobago High Commission in London for a Christmas reception. I love Trinis. Always looking out for the poor ready-meal dependent students. The food was very welcome. The Trini hospitality more so. The High Commissioner was very pleased to have us raid his larder of all the goodies they had prepared for us. For most people, it was the first real meal in weeks. I thought I was the only one eating meals out of a box but nope...noone cooks. Lots of books, but no cooks. Great Trini food, with great Trini friends. Perfect.

Then the birthday. I had a really nice day on Saturday, starting with a mimosa breakfast. I totally LOVE mimosas. I had mentioned it to my cousin earlier in the week and lo and behold, there were mimosas as I waddled downstairs for what was supposed to be a cheese sandwich type of breakfast. Gotta love the cousin. I then got dressed and put all the books aside, incomplete assignment and all, and headed into London to mail off some Christmas cards to the 'rents and the sibling unit and family, including the nephew and spend some proper me time in the city. I have not done a London day since my first week here. So with okay weather, I toddled into Soho to meet a gf for lunch. I felt like having either Trini food, Cuban food or Thai and we ended up having Thai because neither of the other two were available. I man-gaped for the entire time I was there as well. Always good gaping in Soho. There was also a pretty decent market near my train station  before I got to London Bridge, where I saw a nice portrait I may probably get the cousin for Christmas.

Though I did not have a lot of time because my cousin sent me a text demanding I return home to have birthday drinks, we still managed to grab a couple cocktails and do a sprint through National Gallery, which is undoubtedly one of my favourite places in this wonderful city. I had really wanted to see the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square but sadly, my fellow students had burnt it to the ground earlier in the week. Needless to say, images of Churchill's statue being defaced and a young girl swinging from the Union Jack were alarming to me and I am not even British. You can be angry and yes, they have a right to be angry but this is your national heritage you're defacing. But that's just me...

Anyway....

Yes, I dug right in to that bad boy! Yummers!

When I got home...the cuteness. My cousin's kids had gotten me a card, cookies and there was also the sexiest looking chocolate cake ever. Mojitos and more champagne and good friends. My dad had called first thing that morning, and my mum called later that evening, with the sibling unit sending an email from work. And the two words that are music to any student's ears on their birthday - wire transfer! lol

The evening was spent with Trini friends at a Caribbean, though more Trini than anything else, party in London, which went into the wee hours, meaning, 1) I had a fantastic time and 2) I had to take a night bus to get home and of course, as with all my late night bus adventures, I missed my stop. I was sober. I was awake. I still missed my stop. I blame not knowing the area, not having chance to check the little grid on the bus shelter to see just where my stop was in relation to the journey because I was pelting down the street at 5 in the morning to catch said bus, I blame the cackling women who overpowered "Erica*" and I did not hear said stop being announced.

* Erica - the name I have given to the female voice used by London public transport. I love her especially when she says "Welcome to the Southern service to Sandwich". lol. Oh, I have also disvovered some new towns with stupid names - Hook, and also Ham. Really???

Anyway, after maybe about, oh, 10 stops I realised I had indeed passed my stop, but it was not an issue cause I knew where the bus was going and I decided to chill out and then get off at the stop nearest to my house and get my regular night bus, the one I was supposed to get at the stop I missed. The point of all this waffling on is I had to sit in this cold bus and then on the cold corner waiting for said bus, in nothing but one coat over a not so warm and snuggly outfit (one built more for the hot temps of a nightclub than the cold streets of London) and now I have a post-birthday cold that just came out of nowhere. This morning I woke up with a sore throat. This evening, without warning, I have a full blown cold. Funny. But I was a happy and sexy icicle. I needed it. I really needed the weekend and needed the birthday to not suck. I was really having a horrific week and to top it off with a sad, desperate birthday would have killed my spirit. And no offence to the Brits and Europeans, but I really really really needed to be around Trinis. The homesickness at this time of year is insane so to hear the sing-song lilt from every mouth, and experience the vibes that only a Trini can create, and bask in the warmth. thoughtfulness and good nature of Trini friends - I was a happy bunny. Where there is life, there is hope. Where there is a Trini, there is the potential for fabulousity, folks. Never forget it!

In any event, I have taken some meds for this stinker of a cold, and I am going to take a nap so I can wake up a bit more cognisant of my environment, to start assignment #100. School closes for the holidays this week. I should be hopping and skipping but I have to study during those 2 weeks. But at least I can sleep in late every morning. Small blessings.

p.s. Can I just say as well, that Bank underground station is the f...g worst!? It sure beats back the one at Elephant and Castle. My goodness. But Vauxhall is another stinker. I should do an entire entry on the underground stations. Waterloo and London Bridge are among the better ones, along with Westminster. But that's another entry isn't it? Mind the Gap, peeps.

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