Frankly Speaking

Every now and then I bore many who read this by listing some of my professional life’s significant disappointments.

Letter-writers:  Prolific and Prominent Thoughts of the just-concluded Inter-Guiana Cultural Festival held in Georgetown, the Guyana Cultural Association, New York and its Labour Day week-end, Guyana-oriented Folk Festival and  the quite imminent preparations for the Mashramani 2013 Festival all combined to prompt these reflections and personal opinions on Festivals generally. 

On Monday of this week, during one of the Georgetown City Council’s usual inconsistent sporadic, “law-and-order exercises”, the “single-parent” pavement vendors – all female to “a man” – let go their normal protest-anthems.

However back-handed this might appear (below), it is a plug for all Guyana to go out and support all the (free) events that comprise this weekend’s Inter-Guiana Cultural Festival in Georgetown and suburbs.

The Human Condition – replete with human behaviours – attracts responses appropriate to the extent and relevant situation. 

Whilst again slightly escapist from our now-normal sordid national goings-on, I recycle much of this, after three years, to celebrate the youth of my generation, in the hope that the nostalgia could influence today’s Guyanese young to balance their captivity by the technology, with clean, healthy, innovative, even outdoor pleasures, at this time.

It’s amazing–and baffling at times–with what we Guyanese do with words, which, in long-time accepted English, have natural, traditional meanings.

Four, five days from today it’ll be time for the observance, the celebration, the jollification – soirees marking the anniversary of the 1838 emancipation of enslaved Africans from the British– owned sugar plantations of the British Guiana Colony.

I shall return to this my lead subject from time to time.

It’s escapist me again today. Avoiding our front-page daily, gory goings-on, I’ll wax somewhat “sentimental” again, briefly exploring issues hopefully still related to our collective Guyanese Soul.

What the Dickens has come over me today?  Daring to be overtly political? 

Dr C:  When music mattered more (?)       During the last fifteen years of my professional existence, there have been two or three Public Education Programmes which I was privileged and pleased to participate in but which still managed to cause me anguish.

Ho-hum my friends and readers.  Especially you Guyana-born, living-in-Guyana Guyanese. This contributor tires of both local goings on and the more negative behaviours and aspects of world-wide existence, the Arab, African, European mix of conflicts, slaughter,

As another American-inspired (now commercialised ) “Day” looms on Sunday, I feel compelled to re-visit these views I first shared here a few years ago.

I’ve been persuaded to participate in introducing to the wider Guyana, a new Non-Government Organisation (NGO).

I know that years ago I touched on the concept – and fear – of Guyana gradually taking on the dubious characteristic of a national kleptocracy.

Yes, I’m quite aware that I often bore certain listeners and readers, when I repeat that “I’ve never attended any high school or university”.

Another very brief sermon today.  I suspect that I might have even used the caption years ago and that I would have discussed, in layman’s terms, issues related to publishers’ priorities or prerogatives, editorial policy and the fact that, in the print media, bad news attract interest, attention  – and money Just a little more of the same today.

Most brief will today’s offering be. First, a fleeting but perhaps provocative flash-back at last week-end’s observance of the 174th anniversary of the arrival in Guyana of people from India.

Trying not to be caught up in the mere commercial hype surrounding the American-inspired Mothers Day observances, I chose to repeat these thoughts, first penned a few years ago, today, a full eight days before this year’s day dedicated to those females who are mothers of some kind.