One Nation

The days on the Rock seem to be getting better and better. This old guy, me, started the process of renewing my driving permit. Age 65 I go and get my medical done and the doc asks did you bring the form. Yes, I was Minister of Transport but I was never 65 before so I did not know the exact procedure. Off I go to the St James Licensing Office and could not have met nicer people. Photos needed, go next door, bam photos taken, back up the stairs, medical form and yellow form stapled with photo, form stamped and returned. Tomorrow I test the new Licensing Office in Caroni for its efficiency and will report back to the people of the Rock. I hope its not freezing as I only wear tropical friendly clothing ( no noodle strap). I then ask the clerk what was the cost of renewing, figuring a fee/tax had been imposed by everyone's friend. She looks at me with a big Trini smile 'yuh lucky, is free' of course I had to reply ' yuh mean ah lucky because ah get ole'. Anyway's,...

A good day on the Rock. I walked past a WASA pump installation this afternoon when all of a sudden a hose busted with water flying all over the place. I immediately called WASA and within 20 minutes a technician drove up to the installation and attended to the situation. Of course we can do it, and do it every time. There is no reason why we have to be inefficient. Whether it is water, electricity customs or immigration, licensing, pothole patching, why the drama every time? Why not simply get the job done? I heard of stories of the Immigration and Customs in Grenada offering refreshments to persons arriving by sea last weekend, apologising for any delay in the processing of the arriving vessel. This is called respect. It has nothing to do with 'oh immigration officers should not smile, they should not be welcoming in case you are trying to enter illegally'. That is old, old, old and has nothing to do with the 21st century. We hear of the horror stories of a visitor's f...

What a great day at the 2018 Panorama Semis! the Queens Park Savannah was revving on Sunday afternoon. Wonderful people, friends, slightly overcast, brilliant pan music, food and beverages aplenty. This year the rules were changed again for the millionth time. Last year we had all categories, small, medium and large playing on the same day. A nightmare ensued with the last large band playing to an empty facility and leaving the stage at 1.30 on Monday morning. This year it was reduced to just the medium and large bands, still a 10hr production. For me I go, enjoy have a great lime and when we are ready to depart we depart. I am not supporting a marathon event. It is the reason why you do not see the crowd changing, it is the same old geezers every year, I must say though very happy and contented geezers. If the organisers do not reassess the format then, like Calypso, the King and Queen of the Bands and the Parade of the Bands, the Panorama will suffer the same fate. Speaking of Cal...

A great thing happened today. I washed my car and it did not rain. OK, so other absolutely great things made history today, I am sure something was discovered that will change mankind, decisions by world leaders for world peace. None of that is of interest to me because the simple task of washing my car was what was of great import and I marvelled at the sun and dry weather. It is the little things in ones life that give the greatest joy. Tomorrow should be the same with a prediction of only 20% precipitation. Two days with a clean car is good. I am one of those who curse WASA who has leaks on the main roads with spray flying all around and dirtying up my clean car. WASA should have zero leaks, that should be WASA's goal, I don't think that they are interested in any of this as the leaks continue and the complaints from the citizens continue. I remember in the Manifesto of the ruling party a commitment was made to increase the truck delivery of truck borne water. Go figure! ...

There is something inherently wrong with how we are doing the business of the Rock. I listen to the music for the 2018 Carnival, there are some waste of time pieces, but some fabulous road music. When you think of how many songs are produced and how many winner tunes there are it is truly remarkable that every year you can have this. We have perfected the art of the massive fete, people base the success on the food, the outfits, location, performers, sound system, bar, decor. No longer just the bar and the music. Going to a fete is an all encompassing experience, and why not. I believe in evolution and simply Carnival has evolved. Today there are tens of thousands of people participating as against the masqueraders of the 60's and 70's. Of course things have changed but if Carnival had not moved with the times then it would have simply died. Using a GPS to find your band rather than walking across the city searching is a great innovation. OK as a result you do not see the res...

The weather in Tobago has been a bit of everything with each day starting off differently as to how it actually finished. Yesterday, a bit cloudy then into the most gorgeous Caribbean day, windy with blue  blue skies. Today, overcast, especially looking down to Trinidad, we will see what happens. There is a cruise ship in the harbour at Scarborough so I hope the visitors are not disappointed. We went to Pigeon Pt yesterday and parked up on the lagoon side with the Tobago ridge in full view. I still maintain that Tobago must be classed in the top ten Caribbean Islands for its natural beauty. How do you mix swimmers, kite boarding, wind surfing, fete boats, glass bottom boats and jet ski's? The simple answer is you don't. Sitting on the lagoon side of Pigeon Pt it was scary to see the mix. First off you cannot have motorised craft being operated within the same area as sail craft and people swimming. There have been approximately 8 fatalities and countless injuries, some with...

The good thing about being semi retired is you can have a home day anytime. Today was one of those days, did on the road chores, bank, minimal grocery and lunch from one of the new 'grab an go' restaurants on Saddle Road. Great concept, good healthy eating, if you want and reasonable. It's also very nice to have lunch at home during the work week, a luxury I never had in my working life. I might get very used to this new lifestyle even though I find it difficult not to get up in the morning and go to work. Let's see what happens, one day at a time. Did the EMA finally get their vote from the Ministry of Planning? All of a sudden the EMA is the talk in town. All of a sudden the EMA is insisting that the noise emanating from a fete venue be controlled and comply with the regulations. OK this weekend gone the fete venue chosen for noise testing was the Oval which happens to be across the road from the EMA headquarters. I fully support the EMA and their quest to have f...