Give Fits his out-fit

I am advised dat ah Consul General is an official appointed by a Go-venom-mint to live in a For-reign country, to represent and protect dat Go-venom-mint’s citizens, as well as promote de country’s commercial interest.Ah was asking Lie-Za to tell which of our Consuls General she could vouch fah, say dey doing dey wuk. Most ah dem Consuls General are really on an overseas vacation wid full pay, allowances, attend cock-tails and picnics; dey do absolutely nothing and have nothing to show. She raised her hands and told me to stop right dey. She said ah could not be speaking bout Fits Huggins, de Consul General of Canada. How Fits has been always on de go if even it means calling in to de local Radio Stations to defend de Go-venom-mint.

How she giving Fits “ah 10 out ah 10” foh securing ah much needed brand new second-hand Ambulance foh us at home in SVG. How he went to Ha-Milton Ontario and begged de Paramedics Society dey to donate de Ambulance to de Milton Cato Hospital. She is upset wid de amount ah negative comments launched pon Fits, and by whom? Vin-sin-shuns in de Die-us-poorer. Dem overseas in de Rich people country, enjoying de best ah medical treatment, and rather dan posting messages of gratitude to de generous Donors, dey chose to beat up pon Fits, de messenger.

Wa de same Fits who did come up wid ah bright I-dare to walk around town wid ah big bottle, asking citizens to “drop ah dollar” in de bottle, towards de completion of de Argyle Airport. And dey did not hesitate to heckle and criticize him. Which reminds me of de Parable in de Bible, way ah talented servant whose master was pleased wid his performance on ah lickle project, showed appreciation and said to him: “well done faithful servant, you have been faithful over little, I will set you over much!” Fits master promoted him to Consul General. Is like we prefer our officials when dey sit in For-reign offices drawing big salaries foh doing nutten, getting entangled in all sorts ah miss-conduct, ah total embarrassment to SVG. Fits is doing a remarkable job, so “Give Fits his Out-Fit!”

DE ACCOLADE JOURNAL

Every year after Carnival, my near-bah Bernard “Sancho” Joseph would remind me dat he is deeply bothered about what happens to all dem beautiful Costumes dat we don’t see after Carnival, obviously dumped in ah Garbage heap! Apart from de winning Steel Bands nobody gets to dance or even hear dem after Vincy Mas. Not even de Calypso Monarch gets to appear after Dimanche Night. Vincy Mas is an industry. How else can we describe ah Festival where participants spend thousands of dollars building some of de most beautiful Costumes produced in de region, Calypso Rehearsals foh weeks, Steel Band practising night after night? After months of preparation, on Mardi Gras Choose-dey, everything ends abruptly, dey are ah few winners, but too many losers.

Well Last Monday’s launch of “Accolade Journal” was Sancho’s big day. Hopefully his long last dream will become ah reality. Participants from de components of Carnival and other Art Forms attended ah very informative and inspiring seminar dat outlined de Aims and Objectives of de Organization.

Ah number of motivating addresses came from folks like Ardon Tannis, ah Vincy US-based Country and Western Artiste; De Sage of Vincy Mas, Scully Hunte, Ayana Baisden, ah new Mas Designer on de block, Comrad Raggette of course. And we were graced wid de presence of Mama Culture Sister René, wearing several hats: Lawyer, Former Minister and an Icon. The message delivered at dis Seminar encourages people wid Talent to get busy, don’t sit back and wait foh someone to butter yuh bread foh yuh, seek help, seek information, and as Sister Rene said, Negotiate. And Sanchos’ Accolade Journal is committed to help invigorate and create possibilities. And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

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