Bike and pan made my weekend

Ah don’t think ah know young Peters, de biker who got killed on de road in an accident on Monday, but ah feel ah pain foh his loss. After Sunday’s performances at de Bikers Rally at Pembroke, my tolerance and respect foh Bikers rose from zero per cent to an all time high of 90 per cent. Ah don’t have space nuff to write bout even half ah de action dat ah saw at de Rally, just to say dat if anybody tell yuh dat yuh got to have wings to fly, tell dem next Bikers Rally, go see man fly-hi pon bike wid-out wings ,it was nerve racking and exciting.{{more}} 20/20 cricket is entertaining, but dat can’t ask de Bikers Rally foh bakes when it comes to excitement, ah pass me ah-drain-all-in test on Sunday afternoon. Mind yuh Bike racing remains ah dangerous sport so hats off to de riders foh not getting seriously damaged. Ah huge Big-up foh de Bikers Association foh ah job well done foh de In-de-pen-dance. Debbie and her sister oops, her mother Jackie did ah good TV promotion. And ah will suggest to de “Ministry foh Meking Sport” to get fully involved wid de Bikers Association, we got ah tour-is-him product to market dey! And ah begging our treasured Bikers to be careful on de roads, if yuh want to do stunts go down on de track. But thanks foh ah great show!

COME BACK DESPERADOS

Dat Pan Side from T’n’T, Desperados got to be de best steel band in de world. Ah hear dem pon radio and tape and CD but never see dem live. Well, Despers performed foh me live at Heritage Square on Monday night foh nearly two hours non-stop, foh free, dat was ah $50 show. Starlift was on earlier and dey did us proud but de evening was really and truly Desperados, what ah repertoire! From classics, to Waltz, Samba, Kaiso even our own Becket’s “Oooh La La “ got ah replay. Ah hope our youngsters involved in Pan learned ah ting-ah-two: How and where to place de pans on stage, how to blend and balance ah steel orchestra, how to play Pan and not pound and beat de instrument. How to extract dat rich tone and refined quality sound we heard. My player of de night was de Drummer! Ah always hear dat in an orchestra, de music is best held together by either de Euphonium, de Trombone or de Drummer; well dis Drummer guy did just dat, he was exceptional. He has tremendous rolling skills, he knows all de arrangements and everybody’s part and is able to phrase along wid any section of the band at any time, he does it so well and timely dat he literally energizes the other players. Ah know how much it cost Guv-ah-mint to bring dem here but it was worth it, ley de come again.

ONE BY ONE DEY LEAVING

Wid so many ah we more productive citizens passing away, ah come to de conclusion dat St. Peter and dem like dey open up ah new housing block in Heaven and looking to build ah community ah Progress-safe. Now don’t mix Progress-safe wid Progre$$-if. One is about touching people’s lives in ah tangible and progress-safe way, dat’s de former and foh dem qualities, dey get ah ticket to Heaven. But de latter is only Progre$$-if dey $ee $um-ting in dey dat dey could get foh dey-self first, dey also get ah ticket foh Heaven, dat part ah Heaven is called Hell!

Dis week we salute ah Progress-safe, nation builder Ceford Providence, aka Provy, every Providence gets de nickname “Provy”, Ceford was no exception. When Largo Oil Co opened up in Aruba and Curacao in 1940’s, ah group ah young, ambitious Vincy men, just out ah school took up de challenge and migrated, Provy was among dem. When his time was up, he returned in de early 1960’s, but like he was itching to get back to mek up foh his absence and seems like before he even open his suitcase good, he got selected to serve on the Cricket Association where he gave freely of his time and service. As if dat was not taxing nuff, he was right dey wid ah few public-spirited Civil Servants when dey got de Government Employees Credit Union started wid not even $100.00 shares. Today GECCU wid nearly $200 million assets, is serving its members, in many areas, as good as and at times, even better dan de Banks. We got to thank de pioneers Provy et al, who tilled de tuff, stubborn fields and planted de first seeds in de early days. Provy actually served as Manager for ah period, foh free, again! What ah laugh that would be today! As ah said before, he was ah Real Progress-safe and dey don’t tire, don’t retire, dey re-tyre and even in his autumn nobody could ah slow down Provy, so he and his wife Urcel found demselves past-de-time employment, running ah lickle Apartment at Indian Bay. Talking bout humility, dat was his hallmark. Ah want to say may he rest peacefully, but St Peter got nuff wuk waiting foh him up dey, trouble is, he’d luv dat!

And talking bout houses in Heaven, Lie-Za say she wants me to big-up Senator Francis foh handing over house keys to displaced residents of the Byrea area, folks living along the sea coast who would have survived many ah mini “Soon-ah-me”. But I personally want to big-up de Senator foh his Kerry-oh-key singing just below me, on Fri-dey nights, we got we own ULP near-Bar. Ah feel important to have both NDP and ULP headquarters in my East Kingstown village, Ah-position leader Eustace represents East Kingstown, de PM’s home is in East Kingstown, like dey’s something pull-it-tek-all-e sweet in East Kingstown, ah must ask Marcus De Freitas, he ran ah business in East Kingstown, Guv-ah-mint acquired his property, but earlier dis month Justice came his way and mek him ah million-here four times. And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.