Trinidad at a Glance 6
Here’s the next installment of Trinidad at a Glance - the sixth.
- In season:
- I think the Sapodilla’s are all gone now and most of the citrus are all gone now. There are a lot of Mangoes however. I haven’t seen a Julie as yet, but it can’t be too far off. Tonka bean is also in season. When last allyuh had a tonka bean?
- Weather:
- Heat for so, lots of sun. Supposedly this has been one of the driest dry seasons to date.
- Hot topic:
- No water. This dry dry season has brought dry taps for a lot of Trinbagonians. Wasa has begun scheduling water supplies and delivering truck-borne water supplies to those in need. Today looks a little overcast though, so maybe we’ll get some rain.
- Car Series:
- PCD.
- In the Air:
- Mother’s Day. I still need to find a gift.
- Sports:
- The WICB has named the squad for the upcoming tour of England.
Journalist Sunil Ramdeen at WinTV Launch - New TV Station:
- WinTV. No, not a division of Microsoft, but another Trinbagonian TV station based somewhere in Central Trinidad. It’s being marketed as the first International tv station based right here in Trinidad and it promises at least 50-60% local programming.
15 Responses to “Trinidad at a Glance 6”
By Crankyputz on May 4, 2007 | Reply
Mangoes….may I send you my address?
I was sitting with a bunch of trinis yesterday who were bitterly complaining that the media is so Americanized, guess this new tv station brings hope for a bit of change.
By Silk Cotton Jumbie on May 4, 2007 | Reply
Change? I think not. American programming is where they will make money and sooner or later they will respond to the market.
Since I came to England, I have to say how boring I find English television. Ugh! The one English show I enjoy is only 6 episodes (1,1/2 hours though) per season (Judge John Deeds). Still like the old re-runs of ‘allo ‘allo though. Anyone remember that?
The best shows here are American (CSI, LOST, Law & Order etc).
By Mani on May 4, 2007 | Reply
Cranky, I think that is changing in a big way. Channels like Gayelle, and Synergy have done wonders. I think that WinTV will have a lot of local programming too. I think I will do a post on my love for Gayelle on Monday.
By Chennette on May 4, 2007 | Reply
Hey Mani…I am back in Trinidad for the weekend and I have sapodillas!!! And governor plums.
And silk cotton jumbie - there were many things I liked on British tv, but I could never get the hang of their seasons or “Series” as they called them. Don’t know when I’ll get to see local TT programming. Soon I’ll be back to Guyana and it’s pirated DVDs airing on all tv stations.
By Island Spice on May 4, 2007 | Reply
Hiya Mani.. Tonka beans? never heard of them. Mangoes.. gonna sit on the floor and eat some this weekend.. juice run where it may. How come yuh eh mention the blasted bush fires in the hills? my house smells like smoke all the time nowadays.. I praying for some rain yes. Set up yesterday and today and nuttin.
Didnt see the new station while i was surfing for free porn.. ha!
Have a good weekend.
By Mani on May 4, 2007 | Reply
Nah, Jumbie, they have some good local programming nowadays, especially on Gayelle. I’ll try to capture a bit and post it for all to see. Hope I don’t get sued.
Chennette, my uncle now brought us some sapodillas there. Geez, I thought they were all done. They actually play pirated DVDs on the TV stations? Good grief.
Spice, I forgot about the cable slip up. I should have included that in my controversy section, lol. For all you who don’t know, Columbus (the cable company here) is rearranging their channels and apparently unscrambled the slack channel overnight and into Wednesday morning for all to see. Many people got a rude awakening when flipping through their channels only to be confronted by, well you can guess. Spice, you in Trinidad too?
By Karabana on May 4, 2007 | Reply
Shoot! I’m gonna miss sapodillas again?
(Bubblenut’s gonna be there in a few weeks) *sigh*
PS: Try a spa gift certificate. After all these years of buying the usual (flowers, perfume, chocolate), I finally clued into the ultimate gift so that’s what I just bought for my Mom.
By D Trini in Me on May 4, 2007 | Reply
It better have water when I come next week! And I can’t wait to eat some sapadilla.
Yes Mani I will be visting home for 1 week and I can’t wait.
By Mummylicious on May 4, 2007 | Reply
Haven’t seen a julie mango yet? What planet you living on boy? I buss up a couple of those already. Plus i went to Tobago and got some governor plums too. Ah yes…next zabocas!
By Atasha on May 5, 2007 | Reply
Yucky sapodillas
I never liked them. Luckily we can get mangoes over here but they are not the same 
And thanks for the reminder. I haven’t gotten my mother a gift yet and what’s worse is I have to ship it to NY too!
Okay, now what is a Tonka Bean? have I been away from trini too long?
By Island Spice on May 5, 2007 | Reply
*nudge* dats two people ask what the arse is a Tonka bean..
Yes Mani, I live in Trinidad most of the time .. I’s half Trini too .. can I get on your blogroll now? hhahaha .. I seeing Cranky and I know she be in Canada tho she may be Trini by injection..
so I comin to check u over there in Boissierre village for some tonka beans, ok Mani
By TriniObserver on May 7, 2007 | Reply
Tonka Bean
I was in primary school the last time I dared to taste a tonka bean. I almost forgot that the thing existed and what it looked like. What a dry, dry, vile fruit! I only ever ate it out of pure “greediness”.
That inslandspice above me has never heard of the thing is instructive. It was a rare even in those days. The distinctive flora of Trinidad is getting scarcer and scarcer and there seems to be no thought in the world as to remedying this–even as Trinidad begins to look more and more like “Mid-Florida”. I hate central Florida (no, I do not live there, thankfully).
When last have you seen a PommeCythere, Star Anise, Pommerac, Chinese Tamarind, Tamarind or Five Finger tree?
Sapodillas
Not only does atasha not know what a Tonka Bean is, she hates sapodillas.
What part of her mind has she lost?
Sapodillas are some of the rarest, best-tasting things in Trinidad. What a sublime fruit!
I have only ever seen one Sapodilla tree in my entire life and boy was I fortunate.
“Foreign TV”
As long as I have known Trinidadians unspecified “foreigners” have always been the cause of their major problems.
Stop it already!
There is “no” local programming that can even approach the allure and professionalism of foreign TV–which is a shame.
For one, with all the million-dollar houses for sale and with oil at this price, you’d think that people would put money behind television.
Here are Trinidad’s two yet-insurmountable problems:
–Trinidadians are not introspective. Period.
They talk about themselves, but they don’t really talk about themselves. Everything is whispered or likely alluded to in conversation. Nothing is ever spoken about directly. Innuendo, whisper, rumor and suspicion are the order of the day. Everybody “knows” yet nobody “knows”.
–Trinidad is class-stratified. Nobody really knows how anybody outside of their own social class live–so much so that there isn’t really any fully developed defined narrative about it.
I could tell you more about the stereotypical “Italian” or “Irish” or “Jew” or “Hispanic” or “African American” or “WASP” than I could about the people popularly known as “Trinidad whites” for instance–or the Syrians.
But this is the stuff of TV.
The upper class is a complete mystery. Nobody knows the size or dimensions of this group of people much less how much they are worth and why they are worth it etc. And this is where TV begins. We’ll never get to the “poor” or “middle class” at this rate (the normal “rest of us” of any race).
Water
We meed a Sheikh al Makhtoum of our own. Trinidad needs to not neglect its intrastructure.
We cannot move forward into any future century and be competitive with such poor public planning, bad land use and crumbling infrastructure. We’re already behind.
It’ll all collapse soon.
There is too much emphasis on the dubious “needs” of competing social groups (Any more national holidays anyone?)and not enough on the basics of a modern society (rule of law, law and order, diligence, professionalism etc.).
So the drought is the least of our problems (more like a symptom).
Ca y’ Est.
By Melissa on May 7, 2007 | Reply
The last time I see a tonka bean was when I was in preschool. And you know how long I ain’t eat a sapodilla.
I agree that Gayelle and Synergy have done alot for local television. They may not be on the level of international programming yet but I do enjoy the shows they air, especially Gayelle.
I think they have created a space for the ordinary Trini to showcase themselves. I mean you could wake up tomorrow morning and see yuh neighbour or yuh friend on Gayelle.And I really like how the presenters seem to connect with their regular callers.
I know that people like to bash Gayelle and say that they too unprofessional but they have improved and with time they will get better.
By Chennette on May 10, 2007 | Reply
triniobserver - we have a sapodilla tree at home. Pommecythere and pommerac are also fairly common as far as I know - even tamarind and fivefinger…where exactly are you observing in Trinidad?
There’s a lot more class-mixing in Trinidad than in many other Caribbean countries. At least from my observations anyway. I just think some of yours seem very generalised and certainly not indicative of everyone else’s experience. But I expect I may be idealistic in some perceptions.
By TriniObserver on May 11, 2007 | Reply
Chennette, It depends on where you live.
I cannot speak for other Caribbean countries–although I suspect you may be right. That isn’t saying much, however.