Pilates .......

There are some days when everything seems to go wrong from the minute you get out of bed, and yesterday was one of those days. I will not go into details but suffice it to say that yesterday was a very crappy day added to which I got home late with a splitting headache. Since the hour I got home was too late to go walking, I decided to try my pilates DVD. From my limited recollection pilates seemed to me like yoga and I desperately needed to de-stress from the challenging day. After popping two advil and waiting for the effects to take hold of my brain, I was ready for some soothing exercise.



Well, I have no idea what I thought pilates was going to be but it was anything BUT soothing! The scenery and music on the DVD was beautiful with lovely shots of the ocean in the background and the gentle voice of the instructor detailing what the purpose of the exercise was. There would be no number of repetitions, she said, instead we would focus on proper form and balance which will in turn result in long, lean muscles.

The first part of the workout, Energy Boost Pilates, was nice and got the blood pumping, even though I grunted through a few moves I was still able to do them.





When it came to the second part of the workout, pilates abs workout, that is where the fun began! There were two instructors to follow, one in blue was for advanced moves and the other in green was for the novices like me. To tell the truth I could not even do the abridged version on several of the moves, maybe I am just not flexible enough but my legs could not reach all the way over my head!



Anyone looking at me would have had a good laugh; it was not a pretty sight! There were more grunts and groans and sweat as I struggled to hold some of the positions and all I could think of was THIS is not easy. At least with walking you start at point A, finish at point B and that was it. In addition to the positions of the workout that I had to contort my body into, I also had to remember when to breathe; breathe in on the roll down, breathe out on the roll up! Breathing apparently was the key!





Eventually I made it through the end of the DVD and was glad when it was all over. Now I was never a fan of doing exercises at home with a tape or DVD, to me it is seemed so easy to "cheat" by either not doing the exercise properly or simply switching off the television when you have had enough torture. But, knowing that it is that easy to cheat actually made me want to give it the extra effort. No one was looking at me, well except my husband who was probably having a good laugh, but I felt as if I stopped when it got difficult the only person who would be cheated was me. Although my legs may not have reached behind my head or I could not hold my balance on a few of the moves I made sure and attempted each one!



I am sure those accustomed to pilates would think the moves are “easy”, however I am yet to get to that stage. Thing is, I liked it, even with all my complaining I felt great after! So even though today is a day “off” I think I am going to try pilates again!

I have a different pilates DVD to tackle this one is called "Pilates Conditioning for Weight Loss" and looks even harder than the other DVD ; wish me luck!

India lime this weekend...

Peter Samuel has now joined forces with Brian Mc Farlane for the presentation "India.. the story of Boyie". I received the following invitation and information via email:

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! to one and all. First let me apologise for the long time without any news. Things are hectic as usual and plans are underway for carnival 2007. First off, we’ll be participating in Brian Mac Farlane’s presentation “India“, an exposition of colour and dynamics that I’ m sure that you’ll enjoy.

There will be the usual lime at the mas camp for all masqueraders and friends on Sunday 7th January from 4.00.p.m. where you can see the designs up close. The mas camp is located in the same place as lat year (2006) 40 Alberto Street, Woodbrook, and will be open from 4.00.p.m. on Monday 8th January.

Due to the increase of alcohol prices our all inclusive package would now be available for only those who request it. Prices will include separate wear for Carnival Monday. Music for the band includes, Tony Prescott and Surface, DJ Cin, Laventille rhythm section and Malick tassa drummers.

For further information please do not hesitate to call me at 688-9452 or e-mail hydrofit@wow.net.

Best wishes to all,



Peter Samuel

Conquering New Ground

There was no lacking motivation to workout yesterday; in the morning the hubby and I had a tiff over the fact that he sees all my effort as being “lame” and “sorf”(his words) and he stated that if he went running with his friend it would be more beneficial to him. Now, he is the one that is always pushing me to do more; to run when I feel like walking, making me do an extra lap, challenge me to some sort of fitness contest hence the reason I call him drill sergeant. But in my book the name calling is not positive motivation and being the strong willed, independent Scorpio woman that I am I told him some choice words of my own and that he could go run with his friend, going walking on my own yesterday.

So, I changed up my route and went to the Aranguez Savannah. I have to admit when I first got there and took a look at it up close it looked bigger than I remembered and when I tried to take a photo of the entire area before I started walking I could not capture the expanse in one shot.

Looking straight ahead...
the track extends beyond the trees in the distance


Looking to the left


Looking to the right


What I did like was the paved walking/jogging track and that there were lots of other ladies walking solo as well, I wonder if their husbands told them they were “lame”? Anyway, the walk was excellent and without someone demanding that I run I did it on my own in intervals during my three laps around that massive Savannah. I can’t describe how great I felt when I was done.

To add to the celebration of empowerment from doing it on my own, I blasted soca on my way home in the car. Is it my imagination or is everything sounding good now? I am liking the “No chorus” song by Fireball and Maximus Dan, I love Partice and Machel’s “Light it Up” and I was even grooving to Crazy’s “Cold Sweat”. The music pumped me up to do as many crunches as I could today, I lost count but I am over 100 now, Yay!

Today is day 5 of week one and I don’t think I want to stop. My next challenge is Lady Chancellor Hill!

Harts on Fire!

I should start calling Squeezle "Eye on Harts",her keen eye and swift fingers have pointed out yet another section gone in Harts, Zeal (the one that replaced yellow El Dorado) is sold out!In addition Aaru large headpiece,Benin female,Herland wine,Oceana Blue and Blue/Green are all sold out. I have been sleeping on Harts while sections were queitly being sold out! The remaining sections which are still completely open are Arcadia, which is the cheapest section, Nirvana and Xen all of which are cute costumes at a reasonable price.

What is with this renewed vigour in Harts? It's the fourth day of the new year and they are selling out sections daily! Well I have to say Harts used to the band completely sold out come December back in the day and the few remaining sections are all pretty decent,I would gladly play in any of them, so for anyone who had an eye on Harts , look sharp they are selling out faster than you think.

Bands are selling out people, can you feel the Carnival excitment?!

Body Art!

This advertisement in a local News Paper recently caught my eye and I filed it away as something to look into that might be useful to all those looking for Body Art for Carnival.



The kisok is located at MovieTowne and yesterday I had a nice little chat with the guy who runs the Bodyart by airtoo business in Trinidad; his name is Robert Reid and he also has a myspace which you can link to here.

Kisok at Movietowne

In addition to doing both temporary and glitter (sounds fabulous doesn't it) tattoos, they also sell all the equipment for those wanting to invest in doing this as a business as well as they do functions and events; I am thinking TRIBE can hire them do do tattoos for us masqueraders since they only take minutes to apply.The flames in the photo below look hot for Fireman; I can see the guys rocking something like that minus the skull.

Finished air brush tattoo


These tattoos are waterproof, lasts from three to five days , are done using stencils (Robert assured me they have a wide range of over 300 stencils) and the cost ranges from $30.00 to $65.00TT. In addition if you need a link to an airbrush artist he can also supply you with someone who can do airbrushing which is different to these tattoos.

Some of the of stencil designs




And one especially for HOTTIE!


I am liking the glitter tattoos, sounds like something that can replace the body jewelry that I normally buy to decorate my navel. If this tattoo lasts for five days it is a better deal than the stick on navel jewels that always fall off by the end of the day.

If you want more information of how the Body Art is done, and need to see more photos visit the official airtoo website:
www.airtoo.com


So for all those looking into some body art for Carnival you can contact:
Robert Reid
868-689-1681
868-365-1681
robert.creid@gmail.com

Bodyart Trinidad Limited,
1B Coronation Street
St James
Trinidad & Tobago

Jungle Lime

Image Nation will be hosting a "Jungle Fridays" after work lime tomorrow at 39 Buller Street, Woodbrook from 6pm.

"finger food and other eats are free... drinks yuh have to pay for... come.. lime... see our costumes... stay (and play) for the fantasy... all are welcome".

That was a personal inviation to all interested from Strony Smurf!

The Third Day is the HARDEST!!

Yesterday was the first working day of the year for me and the third day of the six week plan. After getting home somewhat late with a quick grocery stop for fruits and vegetables, I really was not feeling like going walking. I started hatching a plan to do my aerobic work out at home by using a video or running up and down the front stairs or even skipping. I needed to pass this by my hubby, the drill sergeant, so I asked him if five days of aerobic workout needed to be five consecutive days. He did not answer.

As soon as I got home I put down my things and immediately started getting dressed, at least I would try the skipping I was telling myself, knowing deep down I was not up to walking at all. My muscles were sore, I was tired from a long day at work and I did not feel like going out again after driving home. So, I broke out the jump rope and started skipping in the yard. Soon enough the hubby came to join me and while I was doing nice, clean jumps like a boxer, he was lifting his legs way up high and cracking me up, to his credit he did last longer than me though.

I must say the skipping invigorated me, I kept trying to beat my husband in how many jumps we could do and after that session believe it or not I was ready to walk. We did one turn around campus, power walking along the way and stopping in front of the library to skip; I kid you not! The students passing and seeing us doing a skipping contest were probably baffled as to who we were and what we were doing.

In the end it turned out to be a great work out and no pics of me today, but here is one of the “drill sergeant” skipping in our yard:



and on campus:

Sold Out Sections...

Three days into the New Year has brought two sold out section in Harts and TRIBE. Cow Mas and Imp have sold out (finally) with only Bat and Majorette female sections left open, along with Pierrot Grenade Front line. For the life of me I cannot see why Bat is still struggling when that costume is so cute in person, the only reasonable explanation is the back line headpiece and price killed that costume.

Now, on to Harts;11 out of their 19 sections of Harts are sold out, Elysian Fields and Xanadu are now closed. As usual Harts is slow and steady in the game, though I wonder if those remaining eight sections will really sell out before Carnival. Who knows, we still have a month and two weeks to go so anything can happen.

Thanks to squeezle and gtwarrior for being alert bloggers and pointing out the sold out sections to me. Much appreciated!

No Machel at Bliss!!!!

Well I took my fast self and call TRIBE to find out some costume business and then asked, by the way, if Machel will be at Bliss only to be told "No!" The horror, the blasphemy, so what am I going for? steups!

Honestly, I did not plan on eating much since I am taking my fitness plan seriously (though I was looking forward to the fruit tent) and I am not drinking any alcohol either so I was banking on Machel's performance to give me a natural high for the night. Now, does it really make any sense to pay $400.00 for a "regular" party to me? TRIBE you are NOT making my dreams come true with this move.

So, I called my girl friend/liming partner to break the news and her suggestion is that we go to Amnesia instead. The only caveat is that I am unwilling to fork out the $450.00 and to add insult to injury that price is 'limited advance" which expires on Saturday; after Saturday the price goes up!

And after my Amnesia experience last year I am not too keen to attend this year either! Looks like I will have to rethink this party plan, unless some kind soul gives me a free ticket because I am not willing to pay $400.00 for no Xtatic in the first instance and the second, well I am not willing to pay $450.00 period!

To be continued......................

Boycott, what Boycott?

Seems like the threats to boycott Panorama finals in South are not being heeded by all bands... if any at all. No fears for semis on Feburary 4th, as reported in the following Guardian article, the big bands are preparing for a South Panorama:

BY SEAN NERO

PAN LOVERS around the world can rest assured that their favourite large conventional steel orchestras have no plans to boycott Panorama 2007.

Leaders of Phase II Pan Groove, Neal and Massy Trinidad All Stars, PCS Nitrogen Starlift and Witco Desperadoes Steel Orchestras told the Guardian, while Pan Trinbago’s decision to stage the final of the National Panorama Competition at Skinner Park, San Fernando, was not entirely favoured by their members, band executives had no intention to withhold musical services from one of Carnival’s premier events.

Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, chairman and arranger of reigning National Panorama champion Phase II Pan Groove, said: “I have nothing to say. When I talk about things that affect us in an attempt to make it right, I get kick in the buttocks. I don’t care if Panorama is held in Alaska or on the moon, Phase II will be there!”

Describing himself as someone who accepts change, Sharpe said many past decisions by Pan Trinbago had severely and negatively affected pan people, but they don’t complain.

He continued: “Pan is my livelihood. That’s why I complain. But when I do, I don’t get any support. So if pan people are looking for me to make noise, they are wasting their time. Phase II is going Panorama and needs a sponsor to help the band get there. That’s what I have to say.”

At a special sitting of Parliament on December 18, 2006, Culture Minister Joan Yuille-Williams unveiled plans for Carnival 2007, as recommended by Carnival Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Pan Trinbago, National Carnival Bands’ Association (NCBA) and the Trinbago Unified Calypsonian Organisation(Tuco).

Pan Trinbago’s proposal requested use of the western end of the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, for the semifinal round of the series, then the historic move to Skinner Park, San Fernando, for the final.

Despite the Government’s declaration that the Grand Stand would be out of bounds for Carnival 2007, to make way for a state-of-the-art Carnival Entertainment Centre, many panmen have been unable to accept the decision, since the traditional venue is still in tact.

So some panmen have been quietly soliciting support for a Panorama boycott among steelband heavy weights.

Barry Mannette, PCS Starlift captain, said: “No, no, no! My band is going to Skinner Park or anywhere else that Panorama is being held. We have spoken to sponsor PCS. They usually handle trucking arrangements and have already given that commitment.”

He revealed that Starlift had already begun Panorama practice sessions and was preparing to receive its full complement of pannists from tonight.

Beresford Hunte, leader/manager of five-time National Panorama champion Trinidad All Stars, was first among the said leaders to raise the controversial issue.

He did so at his band’s annual dinner and first awards ceremony on Saturday night at its Duke Street, Port-of-Spain, headquarters.

His message to members of Trinidad All Stars was “wherever Panorama is taking place, Trinidad All Stars will be there. Whether it’s Skinner Park, the Savannah or behind the bridge.”

Desperadoes captain Bertram Glasgow expressed similar sentiments to his Trinidad All Stars compatriot.

But, according to Glasgow, Desperadoes is being cautious.

We have attended all the meetings called by Pan Trinbago and kept our silence. We did that deliberately. We know everyone is waiting for Despers to take front in any kind of protest. We are not taking front. If all the other bands not making noise, we not making noise.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Pan Trinbago president Patrick Arnold said: “All the big bands are preparing to take part in Panorama and I appreciate that. The most important thing in a competition are prizes.

We need to have proper stages built and sound systems so bands could put forward what they have practised properly. We are artistes. We would like to know we are not out of pocket in transport. If the prizes structure is accepted ($1 million), it will take care of transport. Wherever we go, the bands must be able to put there best foot forward.”
©2005-2006 Trinidad Publishing Company Limited

The link to the article is here, but what I have realised with the Guardian is that they link remains the same but they change the stories daily so sometimes I link to the rest of the article and the next day it is gone! The only way to get the correct article for the date is to go back in the archives.

The second day is even harder!

Still fighting the flu I made it through my second day of the six week fitness plan yesterday. It was much harder to push on through the pain with sore leg muscles, but at least there was no itchy leg syndrome to contend with!

Yesterday I upped the ante,vowing to steadily increase my work out each day; I did a full hour of aerobic activity instead of 45 minutes, which consisted of walking/jogging the whole of UWI plus two rounds around the grassy area near Admin. building, doing sprints and running up and down the stairs; it even started raining during th eworkout and apart from a brief stop as the rain came harder, we pushed on. The hubby wanted me to run more than walk but two things kept me from running non stop and they are strapped to my chest! Even with a sports bra there is just so much bounce I can take when running with these breasts. If only men knew the challenges we face due to our sex they would have a bit more emphaty instead of trying to work me over like I was an army recruit!

So if anyone was passing and saw two crazy people racing up and down the front of UWI that was me and the hubby doing sprints !

Then I came home and did some abs on the beast and legs with the thigh master! If you have one of those thigh master machines stashed away in the recess of a cup board somewhere, dust it off and use it! After I found mines I went online I looked up a variety of exercises that it can be used for. Check out the site here.

Carnival Virgin Survial Guide

I know I sent this in an email last year, but for those who were not fortunate to get the email or only discovered the blog after I sent it out here is some advice for all you mas newbies a.k.a VIRGINS!:

Here is a compilation of tips and advice for Carnival Virgins (and even those not so Virginal). Hope you find them useful!

Saucy

www.saucytrini.blogspot.com

• First and most important never wear your full costume on Monday unless you are a two band/section H.O. Tuesday is the day to look fresh and glam. Most people who do this look washed up on Tuesday. For some reason Tuesday is the time to show off your costume.

• If you plan on wear mas stockings to prevent your toes from suffering, cut off the toe part so your toes will be free. Some people cut the stockings to the ankle but I find that sometimes causes a run so when I cut my toes off I use clear nail polish to "seal" the edges.

• On that note I always carry a small "survival pack" on the road, it's usually a small pouch and in it are items like my sample sized sun block, wet wipes, safety pins, pain killers, clear nail polish (for stocking runs on the road), my cell phone, vex money, powder, oil absorbing sheets and lip gloss. A husband/boyfriend also known as a "man purse" can be utilized for carrying of the pouch as well.

• Sun block, sun block and MORE sun block. Apply after bathing, apply when waiting on the band to move off, apply when you stop for lunch, apply often, apply liberally, ...just make sure you apply it. You don't want to look like a Tobago bun bake by Tuesday morning. Carry some sun block with you in a small vial or a sample size so you can re-apply as necessary.

• Face jewels look pretty, but if you get sunburn you can end up looking like your face has polka dots all over. The flat, metallic jewels in shapes such as stars are the major culprits for attracting sun like a magnet. I have found using crystals are much better!

• You do not need a full face of make up for Carnival to look polished; getting individual false eyelashes gives an instant "made up" look to your face. All that is needed to complete the look is your lipstick, eye shadow to match your costume and a touch of face powder to give your face a "fresh" appearance.

• To keep makeup in place, for those who love the made up look, the key is NOT, I repeat NOT to go out with a bare face. Use a lightweight moisturizing sunscreen with a HIGH SPF (45+) like Neutrogena. Then, spray a VERY HIGH (60+) sunscreen all over your body and go lie down for a little while and let it absorb into your skin. Ideally it should be in an air conditioned room, but if A/C is not an option, just place yourself where you can get the coolest breeze in the house. Then get up later and apply your makeup. Your skin feels like it has been freshly washed because everything is already absorbed! To make cosmetics last, use PRIMER for damn near everything. There are eye shadow, mascara, and lipstick primers among other things! THEN apply your regular makeup over the primer. It lasts! Primers can be purchased at Clinique, Sephora, from any upscale makeup line, and even CVS drugstore

• To the "big girls, thickies, thick ting" if a mas band doesn't carry your size underwear but they have your bra go to a cloth store or Samaroos, look for a reputable seamstress and have your underwear made. Get your correct sized stockings, when your 'hose bussing holes you are going to look busted. If you wear anything over a DD, try to see if the particular band you are playing with will let you use your own bra (if you have a way of getting it there). Sometimes these bands don't cater to those with the melon jugs and having your bubbies dragggggggggggin on the ground isn’t sexy at all.

• Makeup must always be in tact. In order to accomplish a fresh face all day it is advisable to get your face professionally done by a competent makeup artist. This also helps in preventing your face from becoming sun burnt as the makeup protects your face plus you look 10 times better than when your costume nice but your face like "plain Jane". You don't want to be seen on TV with your face looking like you frying chicken by the KFC stand in the Savannah all day!

• Footwear. Ladies please, please, please wear comfortable shoes, sneakers or whatever you desire to wear on your feet. If wearing sneakers, make sure you "break them in" at least 1-2 months before carnival if you can't well there's always "Dr Scholls". Some people often play mas in gym sneakers because they are already "broken in" and comfortable so it gives support all day. The worst ting is to see people walking in the band barefooted or in their socks alone because the sneakers hurting their damn foot. If you are wearing boots I got advice to tape your toes with cotton for extra comfort.

• If you want to have much stamina, start doing brisk walks round the Savannah, in your yard, on the treadmill, up the street. Wherever you can go walking, do it because it helps come Monday and Tuesday. It helps you to loose the weight plus build stamina because come carnival you want to be able to go until the music truck switch off. Try to start walking about 3 to 4 months before Carnival it really does help, STAMINA FUH SO.

• Deodorant... please, please, please wear it, preferably the clear, non-residue leaving stuff. Walk with a mini one in your lil bag on Monday and Tuesday, trust me you will appreciate it... (And you will be able to tell those who haven't put on any!)

• Drink lots and lots of water... for every alcoholic drink, drink at least 8 oz. of water...dehydration sucks big time

• EAT BREAKFAST!!!! ...nuff said

• Wear stockings...unless you have you have own body guards on the road, they will help with keeping a barrier between you and the "bodily fluids" from the masses'

• Make sure you have a ride to and from Port-of-Spain on Monday and Tuesday... because the last thing you want to be doing Tuesday evening is trying to get a ride home, with your feet hutting like mad!

• Soak your feet in Epson Salts & hot/very warm water Monday evening when you get home. Your feet will feel like brand new come Tuesday to go the whole day.

• Don't play cutesie cute and let the Koreans sand down under your foot when you go for your pre-TRINI carnival pedicure. You need the rough padding under your foot for those two days on the road or else you will be bawling for murder with pain if you go with your tender, newly scraped heels.

• It's a good idea to designate a pre-arranged meeting area in case you or anyone else in your "crew" gets lost. Also, have the address of where you are staying and a contact number for someone close to you on hand. I have met foreigners who were lost, intoxicated and could not remember the name of the guesthouse/hotel or friend they were staying at.

• You do not have to wait until the costume collection day to pay the balance on your costume. All bands accept part payments towards your costume periodically, for example you can make payments monthly. Not only does this ease the burden of having to pay up the balance of $2000.00 in February but it also saves time when you go to collect your costume.

• Several sections of the more popular mas bands offer two costume choices for female masqueraders; a regular costume (also known as backline) and a more elaborate version which they call frontline. Frontline masqueraders lead the section as you cross the Savannah stage and the costume is more expensive than the backline.

• A backpack is a costume accessory that is usually made from feathers, fabric, beads and for the first time this year ribbon and tinsel. These materials are mounted and decorated on a frame of either wire or stiff cardboard, which is carried on the back/shoulders of a masquerader by straps which are hooked under the arms and across the back. Usually seen with frontline costumes, the backpack is sometimes what differentiates between a backline and a frontline.

• Even though Carnival is a time to "free up" always make safety your first priority. DO NOT accept drinks from strangers, DO NOT wear expensive jewelry and DO NOT wander away into lonely, dark areas. If you need to use the toilet always go with a companion. Some bands provide mobile restrooms, if yours does not many bars that line the parade route allow you to use their facilities for a fee, take along a friend as some of these bars may have seedy characters loitering around.

• To prevent sunstroke make use of the cool-zones provided by the band, drink cool liquids and always wear proper headgear; headpiece and/or bandannas or hats.

• If you have to purchase something to eat, try to stay away from anything that has mayonnaise as an ingredient, looks like it was cooked earlier and has been sitting in a glass case all day or the vendor/premises does not look sanitary. I look for food that either comes in a sealed package or is prepared fresh, that is if I cannot make it to a reputable food outlet.

• Taking along a camera? Leave the expensive digital at home and walk with a disposable instead. Trust me cameras can be easily lost, broken or stolen.

• For the ladies, if you are expecting your period around or on Carnival day it is advisable to wear a tampon instead of a pad. If you must wear a pad, wear the ultra thins. If you have a regular cycle or you are on the pill you can "delay" your period until AFTER Carnival. This article explains how it is done by taking your pills back to back without stopping or using a hormonal medicine called 'norethisterone' which is taken three times a day for three days before your period is due and then for seven days to delay the period. At the end of the seven days, the tablets are stopped and your period starts as normal. Your doctor can prescribe this medication and I can vouch for it working as I have used it before with no side effects.

• Mas stockings are not your usual panty hose, which do not have the strength to stand up to the rigors of Carnival Monday and Tuesday leaving the uninitiated with runs and tears. The proper stockings are sheer to the waist tights that are made with lycra. The super shiny, orange stockings that they make for "tan" people are a no- no. You can get a variety of non shiny, flesh toned stockings locally at Micles and Samaroos.

• Not many people think of wearing underwear UNDER their stockings, a simple cotton thong is excellent for having your nether regions be able to breathe. Even though the pantyhose are lined with a silver of cotton at the crotch area I find it is not enough protection between your genitals and the pantyhose. You do not want to end up with a yeast infection because the pantyhose are made from a synthetic material that traps heat and moisture, ideal breeding ground for yeast.

• Do not forget to WAX if you plan on going sans stockings, or for the least SHAVE!! No one wants to see your pubic hairs showing in your thong as you throw back a wine or lift your leg up!

• For ladies with larger breasts I recommend tape to keep your breasts from popping out of your bra while you are jumping up. It's very simple to do, use the tape much like those "stick on" bras, taping from one side of the breast to the other so the tape cups the breast in a U shape and keeps it firmly supported. You can do more than one row of tape until you feel them firmly taped in place. After you are done taping try on your bra and make sure none of the tape is showing, if any of the edges of the tape are peeking out, you can trim them with scissors. Please DO NOT use duct tape, and do not tape over your nipples! I use a wide, stretchy bandage called elastoplast but there is a tape made specifically for this called Fashion Tape, or Bondage Tape. Be careful when removing the tape, use baby oil to moisten the edges and gently remove.


PRE AND POST CARNIVAL BEAUTY TIPS:

Skin firmness:
Women are naturally plagued by cellulite, regardless of if you are skinny those annoying bumps show up on your legs or butt and exercise does not always help. I know there are several creams, lotions and potions out there that claim to firm, tighten and lift areas prone to cellulite. Mas stockings helps to give your legs a smooth look.

Tanning:
If you are of the lighter pigmentation coming out of winter to hit Trinidad with pale, pasty skin is not cute! I vacation a lot and I am always browsing my vacation forums and I have read about self tanners, bronzers, mystic tan and tanning beds being utilized BEFORE going on vacation. Some of the posters swear having a tan gives you added protection from the sun so you won't burn. To me the tan just looks healthy and makes your skin look great. From my reading I know tanning beds are not recommended because of skin damage, but the spray on tans and self tanners are.

Hair:
The decorations on the (any) backpacks and the position of them may cause some snags and breakage. A stylish chignon or a simple, elegant plaît is an easy way to protect your hair. Not everyone has the fortune of hats like Fireman and Cow Mas.. Most of the costumes' headpieces have some sort of headband as its foundation, which means that your hair is going to be subject to the same constant sun that your skin is—perhaps even more, since you're in a crowd, and assuming you don't tower over everyone else, your body would be shaded at least a portion of the time, whereas your exposed area of hair stays exposed, unless you're sure to constantly stand in the shade one must make sure their hair is as protected as your skin.

I can't endorse any particular product, but lots and lots of anti-frizz (silicone based) works wonders against all the moisture in the air (sweat, cool zones, wildness of people just flinging water in the air in sheer excitement and drunkenness. Anti-frizz may not provide sufficient hold or control for all, but a good rule of thumb is to make sure your products are alcohol-free. You're probably putting enough alcohol into your system on the road; you might as well not have your hair dehydrated before you even leave your house. Can you imagine the brittle mess you'd have to deal with come Ash Wednesday morning?

Also, have your ends trimmed after Carnival, apart from it being logical, it's almost always necessary if you are going to the beach and/or pool because the sun/salt/chlorine combination strips hair of moisture. In addition to the post Carnival deep conditioning, get rid of abused ends (kind of like pruning a tree of the yellowed leaves—it makes the nutrients be better distributed to the more "deserving" parts). And, it goes without saying that pre-Carnival hair should always be well-tended and the picture of health, because there is NO WAY that it makes sense to invest that much in the rest of the package and forgetting the tresses. So, have your hair trimmed a few weeks before the trip.


Post Carnival Skin care:
After the two days of subjecting your skin to the fierce Caribbean sun what do you do to pamper your skin ? I will share my secret, even though I slather on sunscreen I always manage to get a "tan" and my body feels as if it is radiating heat. To cool down I use an aloe vera gel by Banana Boat that soothes the skin. To help my skin get back its original colour I use Vicco Tumeric. Now don't laugh, I know it sounds like some "cheap" little lotion you buy at Pennywise but it really works to fade the tan quickly. I first used it after Carnival a few years ago since my mom is always buying new stuff to try and she had a tube of Vicco around. I also exfoliate with a body scrub (not recommended if you have sunburn!). I would love to hear how others get their skin back in condition after the brutal exposure to sun on those two days.

Feet:
In my earlier post I listed a tip that says to soak your feet in warm water and Epsom salts after pounding the streets all day, soaking your feet helps ALOT after Carnival. If you have a foot spa use some aromatherapy oils like cucumber or mint in the water to soothe the feet. Also, again, I stress that you keep your pedicure simple, no toe nail extensions or long toe nails. Your toes will be getting constant pressure against the sneakers/boots and you don't want to loose a toe nail after Carnival!

Teeth:
I thought I would throw this one in here because so many women, and men, want to get photographed or make their way onto television or some other form of media. If this is your goal, and even if it is not, the easiest way to look "young and fresh" when you are smiling from ear to ear is with nice white teeth! You can get your teeth professionally whitened but there are many products that you can use in the comfort of your own home such as whitening toothpastes, Crest Strips and the Natural White 5 minute tooth whitening system.

Carbs not all bad....

Well I looked up what the Glycemic Index is per the Guardian's fitness article yesterday and discovered that some carbs are good for you; the key, as with all things, is to eat them in moderation and pay attention to portions. I was going to cut out all carbs from my diet but then I was wondering what to do with the orzo,couscous and jasmine rice that I happen to like so much. So I think I am going to try and eat some of the "good" carbs while cutting out the "bad" ones like rice,refined flour, potatoes and sugar.

This article explains the whole Glycemic Index quite well and lists the foods that are better for you:

There is a lot of talk these days about a new meal planning tool called the Glycemic Index (GI). But there is also a lot of misunderstanding about the GI, which has actually been around for more than 20 years.
It is a good idea to get to know and understand the Glycemic Index, because choosing foods with a low GI rating more often than choosing those with a high GI may help you to:

• Control your blood glucose levels
• Control your cholesterol levels
• Control your appetite
• Lower your risk of getting heart disease
• Lower your risk of getting type 2 diabetes

The basics The Glycemic Index is a scale that ranks carbohydrate-rich foods by how much they raise blood glucose levels compared to glucose or white bread.

When you eat food that contains carbohydrates, the sugar (glucose) from the food breaks down during digestion and gives you energy. After you eat, your blood glucose level rises; the speed at which the food is able to increase your blood glucose level is called the “glycemic response.” This glycemic response is influenced by many factors, including how much food you eat, how much the food is processed or even how the food is prepared (for example, pasta that is cooked al dente – or firm – has a slower glycemic response than pasta that is overcooked).

Good carbs, better carbs

Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating recommends eating a high-carb diet with 55% of each day's calories coming from carbohydrates. Not all carbohydrates are the same, however.

The Glycemic Index ranks carbohydrate-rich foods according to their glycemic response. Foods that raise your blood glucose level quickly have a higher GI rating than foods that raise your blood glucose level more slowly. In general, the lower the rating, the better the quality of carbohydrate.

Not only do low GI foods raise your blood glucose more slowly and to a less dramatic peak than higher GI foods, but most low GI foods are all-around healthier choices. Low GI foods are usually low in calories and fat, while also being high in fibre, nutrients and antioxidants. Choosing low GI foods more often may help you increase levels of HDL (healthy) cholesterol in your blood and might help you control your appetite, as they tend to keep you feeling fuller, longer.

Choose wisely

Try to choose low and medium GI foods more often than high GI foods. A GI of 55 or less ranks as low, a GI of 56 to 69 is medium, and a GI of 70 or more ranks as high. Use the chart below to help you make healthier choices.

Here are some tips to help you lower the Glycemic Index of your daily meals:

• Base your food choices primarily on overall nutrition – including vitamins, minerals and fibre.. Don't dismiss healthy foods such as white potatoes just because they have a high GI. Their other nutritional benefits make them good choices.

• Try to choose at least one low GI food at each meal.

• If you choose a high GI food, combine it with a low GI food, for an overall medium GI meal. For example, half a bagel (high GI) with a bowl of chili (low GI) , or corn flakes cereal (high GI) topped with a spoonful of All Bran (low GI) and some strawberries (low GI).

• Limit the amount of processed, refined starchy foods, as they tend to be low in fibre and other nutrients and have a higher GI.

• Try new foods that have a low GI. Experiment with beans, legumes and lentils by including them in dishes such as chili, soups and salad.

• Eat whole grain, pumpernickel and oat bran bread more often than white bread.

• Eat fresh fruit and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables have a low GI, so they break down into sugar slowly in your body. Canada's Food Guide recommends five to ten servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Enjoy a variety!

• Choose parboiled, brown or white rice more often than instant rice.

• Eat pasta, rice, yams, lima beans or baked potatoes more often than mashed, boiled or instant potatoes. Eating potatoes cold, as in a salad, reduces their GI (but go easy on the mayo dressing).

• Use vinaigrette instead of a creamy salad dressing. It's lower in fat, plus the acidity of the vinegar slows digestion, lowering the meal's GI.

Remember that the Glycemic Index is just one part healthy eating. Don't forget to:

• Eat at regular times
• Choose a variety of foods from all food groups
• Limit sugar and sweets
• Reduce the amount of fat you eat
• Include foods high in fibre
• Limit salt, alcohol and caffeine.
• Choose heart healthy fats such as canola and olive oil.

LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX FOODS (55 or less)
(choose most often vvv)

Skim milk
Plain Yogurt
Soy beverage
Apple/plum/orange
Sweet potato
Oat bran bread
Oatmeal (slow cook oats)
All-Bran™
Converted or Parboiled rice
Pumpernickel bread
Al dente (firm) pasta
Lentils/kidney/baked beans
Chick peas


MEDIUM GLYCEMIC INDEX FOODS (56-69)
(choose more often vv)

Banana
Pineapple
Raisins
New potatoes
Popcorn
Split pea or green pea soup
Brown rice
Couscous
Basmati rice
Shredded wheat cereal
Whole wheat bread
Rye bread

HIGH GLYCEMIC INDEX FOODS
(choose less often v )
Watermelon
Dried dates
Instant mashed potatoes
Baked white potato
Parsnips
Rutabaga
Instant rice
Corn Flakes™
Rice Krispies™
Cheerios™
Bagel, white
Soda crackers
Jellybeans
French fries
Ice cream
Digestive cookies
Table sugar (sucrose)

To calculate the Glycemic Index of other foods check this site.

Feel the burn!

Although yesterday was a holiday I stuck to my resolve of following the six week fitness plan for Carnival. In the afternoon the hubby and I made our way to the University of the West Indies (UWI) campus to start walking, the first phase of aerobic activity. Let me tell you, in addition to our walk/jog around the campus we also ran up and down the stairs and finished with a sprint which leaves my legs feeling quite sore this morning! I prefer to do brisk walking but hubby likes to run so we mixed it, alternating running and walking around campus

The work out was difficult for me only because I suffer with itchy leg syndrome when starting any type of running or walking. It never happens when I am in the gym using the machines such as the bike or treadmill, but once I am walking or running outside my legs start to itch like mad after a few minutes. Don’t laugh, it is a documented phenomenon and there are several explanations for why it happens. One is that it is an allergic reaction to exercise (though I don’t think this is the case with me) another theory states:

The itching is not on the skin, it's inside the actual limbs. There are millions of tiny capillaries and arteries inside our muscles which expand rapidly due to the demand for more blood that is brought on by exercise. When fit, these capillaries remain open allowing maximum blood passage, but when unfit and inactive they tend to collapse, allowing only minimal blood passage (which is sufficient for a sedentary person however). The rapid expansion of these vessels causes adjacent nerves to send impulses back to the brain which are interpreted as an itch. That's why after a few sessions the sensation tends to go away.

So basically the itching is a sign that I have lapsed on my workout and it will cease once I do some more walking. I read on another forum that a personal trainer said it is a sign of burning fat! The strange thing with me is that it never happens when I do aerobics in the gym, only with walking or running outside.

Anyway, I suffered through the itching and managed to finish my walk/jog and returned home pumped up to face the “beast”. Unknown to me my husband has a variety of fitness machines that were stashed by my mom in storage so yesterday we freed them from their state of inertia!

The Beast


It looks simple enough but try doing abdominal work on that baby and you feel the burn! I did three sets of 8, each set consisted of sit ups, leg lifts and crunches. After which the sweat was bucketing out every pore on my body. After that I attempted to use this rolling machine that my hubby uses to do some more abs but that was very difficult, and I only managed a few attempts of trying to make it all the way down and back up on the roller. I finished up the workout with some leg and upper body work using this thigh machine we have that can be used for either part of the body.

I did not even get around to using my Pilates DVD , maybe I will try that today though my legs are sore as hell! But I am really happy I started back exercising after my gross lapse over the holiday season! No more excuses for me not feeling like hitting the gym or that it is raining (though I have to start back the gym next week for weight training per the fitness plan), I got my ass out the house and started working out even though I could have found a million reasons not to; it was a holiday, I have the flu, it’s that time of the month, I overlooked them all and saw only my goal at the end of six weeks… FIRE for them in Fireman!

Fire Bam Bam!

Carnival Shape Up

It's the first day of 2007 and I have vowed to make no resolutions for this year EXCEPT that it's time to get serious for Carnival !

My no carbs for 47 days (until Carnival Monday) rule starts today and exercise is on from this afternoon (I pulled out my Pilates DVD finally!).

So I was especially happy to see this article in today's Guardian fitness section. Copy, print and follow this routine like it is your bible!!

So despite my warnings, you were intent on devouring that artery-clogging black fruit cake and the tempting bottle of ponche de crème given to you by your grandmother.

Now that Christmas is over, you are worried about shedding those extra pounds you gained during the yuletide season.


Carnival is looming around the corner and you have approximately six weeks to fit into that costume you ordered since September.

You are probably conjuring up images of slabs of fat hanging over your wide carnival belt, or wondering if there will be a shade of stockings dark enough to hide the dimpled quantity of cellulite stored at the back of your legs, which now gives your thighs a cottage cheese appearance.

Dark stockings and glitter can only take you so far. You now have to be prepared to pull out all the stops which would entail tightening your diet and sticking to your fitness programme.

Strictly speaking, if you are playing mas, you should have stepped up your fitness and your nutritional programme since September.

However, asking the average Trini to train and eat properly during the Christmas season is a monumental task.

Nevertheless, if you are prepared to work hard, we can have you looking fairly decent in your carnival costume. Bear in mind, these are general guidelines. You may desire a more specific programme relative to your body type.

Week one

During the first week in January 2007, I want you performing only aerobic training. You could jog, walk, bike, run or perform Tae-Bo for at least 45 minutes per session.

Use a heart rate monitor to ensure that you are within your training zone. Your degree of intensity in any of the above mentioned disciplines will depend on your present level of fitness.

Do five aerobic workouts in this week. Abs must be done five times per week during the next six weeks.

At this point, start eliminating junk foods which include chocolates, fried foods, soft drinks, ice cream etc from your diet. Choose your carbohydrates carefully by using the Glycemic Index rating as a general guide.

From the Glycemic Index, you will notice that white flour (white bread), white rice, mashed potatoes etc all have very high ratings.

Stay away from these foods. Quality carbohydrates with low glycemic index ratings include: sweet potatoes, yams, oats, brown rice etc. If you want a specific diet consult a certified nutritionist. For the full six weeks be disciplined with your eating habits.

Week two

In addition to some aerobic training, you are now going to add weight training to the equation.

At Carnival time, two body parts that are usually quite noticeable on women and men are legs and abdominals.

Women in particular need to work legs very hard, because most female costumes begin life as a bikini. Men sometimes feel that there is no need to work legs, because most times they wear baggy short pants.

They are wrong; women will still notice your leg size even when you are in your baggies. Apart from that, what about your calves?

Unless you intend to play sailor mas, it is a good idea to work your legs.

In week two concentrate on basic movements which include squats, clean and press, bent knee dead lifts, barbell curls, military and bench presses. Weight train for approximately 1 hour, four times per week.

Continue your aerobic training with at least two long sessions (45 minutes) on the days that you don’t weight train and on your weight training days put in at least 20 minutes of aerobic training just before you start your weight training workout.

Week three

Begin to refine your weight training workouts. Work whichever body parts (muscle groups) are giving the most amount of trouble, with a wide variety of exercises Use the same format as in week two for your aerobic training.

Week four

In week four, I only want two weight training sessions and in both sessions I want you to continue to work difficult body parts. Increase your aerobic workouts to four long sessions (45 minutes each) for this week.

Week five

Most big gyms carry weight training circuit workouts with specific machines. Circuit train four times in this week and ensure that you keep your heart rate elevated, as you move quickly to each station. Work all muscle groups during circuit training (45 minutes).

Week six

Perform three long sessions (45 minutes each) of aerobics for this week then cease all aerobic training.

For the rest of the week and remaining days till Carnival Friday concentrate only on various weight training routines and include some basic movements: squats, clean and press etc.

Consult your doctor before starting any exercise programme. Keep training.
©2005-2006 Trinidad Publishing Company Limited

Happy New Year!!

I am on the slowest dial up ever spending the New Year at a house lime and just wanted to shout :

HAPPY NEW YEAR BLOGGERS!!

Heart of Mas

Interestng interview with Peter Minshall in today's Sunday Express, the interview is conducted by B.C. Pires and to NOT have the article here in it's entirety would be a travesty.The following is the entire article taken from the Express:

Artist and masman, Peter Minshall, on Savannah, the heart of the Carnival.

Q: How should we approach Carnival and the Savannah?

A: What can we do that all mankind will say, "How gracious, how generous, how thoughtful of Trinidad and Tobago to give the rest of us their incredible riches!" First, we have to understand in our own heads what our incredible riches are. Start with as simple and, on the face of it, as ordinary a thing as a savannah. Which other city in the world has, at its heart, not a park all pretty with roses, but flat land with, at the other end, the Northern Range rising magically? To have a savannah in the middle of your city is a richness to be treasured, to keep in touch with the divine. Forty years after Independence, in the Savannah, we have benches that look as though they were constructed for a penitentiary, so that criminals could not mash them up!


How should they be designed?

The Savannah is so totally taken for granted. There used to be a low railing all the way 'round it with two bars, you could rest one foot on. What can we do with our Savannah in the New World? Look at the lovely shape (shows hand-drawn outline stressed to reveal the shape of a heart)! Dare we make a brilliant stainless steel railing with some sort of brass or alloy couplings? So it's different, exciting and tells any passerby immediately, "This place is special to us. We decided to give it a frame." Beautifully designed, strong but light. Re-check the entire paved perimeter of the Savannah. Come on! We can do better than pitch or concrete! What sort of yellow brick road or silvery slate grey thing goes there? That's just so you look at the Savannah and understand it is a treasured place, that there is no park as beautiful in the Americas. I don't think that is beyond us, to reach within ourselves, for ourselves and the world. We could replant some of the trees taken by storms to recreate a grassland, people with trees, surrounded by a fine, burnished (heart-shaped) railing. We need to respect that beautiful word: "Savannah"!
Peter Minshall


Carnival is connected to the Savannah?

I believe my father, as head of the tourist board, was one of the first people who took the Carnival to the Savannah. We inherited a colonial grandstand for viewing horse racing - which it's kind of reasonable to have if you're going to have anything in a savannah. The parade of the bands (went there) when bands were 300-to 400-strong. The Carnival went gaily through the city without blockage at the Savannah. However, even when I was an adolescent, late Fifties, early Sixties, I remember the so-called "bourgeois" bandleaders quarreling like mad that these steelbands with their 1,000-strong throngs of sailors were "getting in the way" and not adding anything to the Carnival. The "lower-class" steelbands were edged out. Flag Wavers of Sienna. (Edmond) Hart! One of the most brilliant bands, ever, about 300 people, a bunch of flags going clockwise, a bunch going anti-clockwise, another bunch going clockwise inside, rustle and bustle and kinetic splendour. The audience went wild. The bands were small enough to move quickly, the stage (small enough) so a little imp, a little robber could come along in-between-but already the stage was being built to accommodate bands, and not the little people of the Carnival. The stage built for it encourages the growth of the band, a money-making enterprise (which) gets bigger and bigger. This vast, arid environment is not the place for the small, the delicate, the beautiful-the individual. The bands (become) commercial juggernauts. The bar truck, the toilet truck, the this truck, the that truck, the wet-me-down truck. The costume, if you want to call it that, has been reduced to a minimal formula. The calypsonian, who is supposed to see the whites of the eyes of his audience, on this vast desert, is forced to bring on ridiculous side shows, so much so that some calypsonians get more marks for the side show than the song. Sometimes when I hear, "Great is the PNM and it will prevail!" I think, "My God, it has!" Yet I have to retract that thought because, if it wasn't the PNM, it would be somebody else. A little island people, coming into its own but not thinking its own thoughts-Las Vegas has upgraded its image to the quality of Cirque du Soleil. We, who once had the quality of Cirque du Soleil in the palms of our hands, are downgrading ours to the lowest level of Las Vegas. Let nobody fool themselves to think we're going the way of Brazil. Rio Carnival is fine. Yes, there are a few naked women but they're doing the samba. They are not dancing wine-the-place-down soca.


Should there be a Carnival Centre in the Savannah?

The grandstand is being broken down but they're going to do a spectacular, contemporary, GRANDER grandstand in its place. They're going to build a mausoleum for the thing now that it's pretty well dead! A glass coffin, so we could look in at its last breath. There is a bottleneck at the Savannah. Doesn't that say something to you? Get the hell out of it! It is no longer serving your culture. The Carnival is sick and dying, you haven't even looked at why, you just say, "We want a jewel in the crown!" To say what? What a fine government we are? And you're fooling the people because you're killing the very thing the people brought into being, their Carnival? And the tragic thing is, the people believe you!

What about Panorama?

The theatre that is Panorama is muscular and visceral and tribal and community-based. Its naiveté is a large part of its beauty: all those silver fringes, that shivering tinsel, all those people pushing those carts on wheels-this happens nowhere else in the world! And you are going to take this vibrant, muscular, visceral thing-and (in pained voice) put it in a glass box? Is Panorama going to be a museum piece in Stuttgart or London? Is it that black people so want to be white they have forgotten who they are? That their potency and vitality is going to be so condomised it is left lifeless! I understand you think it may be a bow to the Carnival to give it a spectacular glass building but it's the worst thing you can do. It's like taking the thing that is dead and letting it lie in State now. Expand Panorama and impress the world with your knowledge of yourself: around the Savannah! Create a ring of steel so powerful it will reverberate throughout the Caribbean-I need a concert hall for pan! I cannot believe the universe has blessed us with this instrument and it is still in a yard. If we can throw $30m to the returning team from Berlin, we can throw $30m for an architectural prize for the best steelband concert hall in the world. I do not think it is beyond the imagination of a great architect to build a house of steel to house instruments of steel, a fine concert hall that looks as though it's clad in steel and relates to a Savannah that's ringed by a small railing of burnished steel, that, at Carnival time, rises up with steel pylons and a crop of canopies and pavilions. The slapdash evolution of the Grand Stand and the North Stand at least worked as an ad hoc common-sense extension of the street, a "pavement" on either side with people watching the mas moving down the road in the middle as it were-what I'll call avenue theatre-but to box it in architecturally as a deliberate, conscious act, is pure madness. It is the determined entrapment of the very spirit of freedom that the thing is supposed to celebrate.

So how do we save Carnival?

In 1986, 20 years ago, a crack team, Roy Boyke, Hollis Liverpool, Efebo Wilkinson, myself and I forget who else spent hundreds of hours discussing this and concluded the Carnival should be taken out of the Savannah. Minister of Culture Joan Yuille-Williams asked me, "Peter Minshall, what should we do with Dimanche Gras?" And I said to her, "Let it die!" It has no theatrical future. The world has changed. Champs in Concert is a hint as to where that Sunday night should go. It's not stealing from the steelbands,, we're thanking them: as usual, you pointed the direction we should go in but no one followed your lead. It should be the Night of Nights in the Caribbean, not ten people looking for a song-crown, ten people looking for a costume-crown. It's just not good contemporary entertainment.

So what in the Savannah, if not a glass building?

What else comes to town once a year to entertain and then leaves? Ah! The circus! How does it do it? With a tent! The design mind explodes! Something that will last for the next 20 years that is removed after the Carnival is over but is so beautiful, imaginative, so blowing and free, both to the eye and the spirit, just like the Carnival itself! The Carnival audience is not supposed to be captive! That Savannah has now trained people to go home to look at the mas on the television! That's anti-mas! What a pity you didn't have the joy of holding the hand of a complete stranger in excitement and saying, "Oh, my God! That is mas!" Enough of these horrible little porta-loos! Carnival is a building site now? Aren't we disgusted by the stench and stink? Let's design the facilities that go with our stylish new Savannah: a small city of pavilions, billowing canopies in the breeze, run the electricity underground, so that when the day comes, you just say, "Mr Prime Minister, come and turn on the switch." And between those two avenues of trees, on silver and brass pylons, recesses embedded deep in the ground all year long, waiting, those are your food areas-a pavilion for Midnight Robbers-the Robber Tent-long before Carnival, it is made known that first prize is a $150,000-I'll bet you'll see some magnificent robbers reappear in the Carnival three years hence; I bet you'll see a young Nikolai Noel or a young Mario Lewis.

(BC interrupting) At those rates, you'll see a middle-aged BC Pires?


(Continuing unfazed)-a pavilion for bands larger than 15 and less than 30 in number. Mas judged as art! We Caribbean people can't be top-class innovators, too? Your big bands that have been blocking that tiny little entrance, you clear a space, the entire Savannah is a parkland, where the audience can wander. The perimeter is the stage for all the big stuff. Somewhere along the line, you make a few rules: please, the gallery is only so big, the pictures can only be of such a size. Bands here need to be bands, not armies. You've made enough money. A stage is for enactment, for playing of the mas, from George Bailey to Minshall even through to Legends. Please, the mas is dying. Find a way to encourage young artists to do wonderful things. As the Carnival visits and revives our spirit, let it be a beautiful, fluttering, temporary, imaginative field of dancing cloths to give shade. Free the audience, free the Carnival! Do not destroy the best part of yourselves! Do not strive to be other than who you are. Acknowledge your own strength and beauty.

Carnival Year End Review

As the curtain comes down on the year 2006 what a year it has been for Carnival! This year saw the very last time masqueraders would ever cross the Savannah stage as it was; in future the ultra modern Carnival Centre will replace the old, wooden Savannah stage.



2006 was the year Peter Minshall graced masqueraders with a long awaited reprisal against “bikini” mas, his band “The Sacred Heart” eventually winning Medium Band of the Year, though not without some controversy surrounding money he allegedly received from Government agencies to fund the band.

Island People set tongues wagging with their debut presentation “Enchanted Forest”, setting the stage for “band wars” with supporters of their band and supporters of TRIBE clashing over Internet forums.

Oasis


Yet another band exited the Carnival scene this year; stalwart Poison bowed out of the game forever after Carnival 2006 while Skandulus is reportedly on hiatus, not bringing a presentation for Carnival 2007. In the wake of Poison’s departure two new bands have emerged, Pulse 8 and Dream Team hoping to lure the now “homeless” Poison masqueraders. Trini Revellers scored a hat trick with their third consecutive win of the title "Band of the Year" in 2006 making them a force to be reckoned with in 2007.

Fireman


Debutante Patrice Roberts and soca veteran Machel Monatno won the Road March this year, beating out favorite Sherwin Winchester. Another soca couple united in love, Ian “Bunji” Alvarez and Faye Ann Lyons closed the year with their “wedding of the year”. 2006 also saw the crowning of a new Calypso Monarch, and very good family friend, Morel "Luta" Peters.

Sacred Sand


As the year wound down the Savannah battle was waged with the N.C.C.. N.C.B.A., UdeCOTT and Minister of Culture Joan Yuille Williams keeping masqueraders, calypsonians and pan men in suspense as to where key Carnival events would be stage in the face of no Savannah stage.There were threats by Pan Tribago to boycott panorama if the finals were held anywhere but the Savannah but in the end, the decision was made to have mas on the streets, Dimanche Gras at the Jean Pierre Complex and Panorama finals at Skinner Park.

Dragon


And against trends set for 2005, as we witness the final day of the year not one band is sold out at this time despite band launches having started in August! Factors of the increasing costs surrounding Carnival, with costumes in the popular bands this year being the most expensive ever, started a backlash against high prices with letters against bandleaders being ciruclated via the internet as well as being published in local print media. However, registration for both TRIBE and Island People still saw masqueraders waiting for hours to secure a costume.

TRIBE Registration




Island People Registration




Goodbye 2006,a year filled with both change and new beginings!

Bliss

If you missed it the first time,

Then don't make the same mistake twice.

Indulge yourself & make your Dreams become a Reality

BLISS

Sat 13th Jan

Moka


The Ultra-clusive Carnival Event

BLISS ...Dare to Indulge


Tickets available from TRIBE mas camp:

625-6800 or 353-7983


also from TRIBE Committee:


POS & Environs

Janna-Lise Chung 746-4339

Jamilla Jeffrey 753-6968

Dominic Khan 740-3539

Cherrise Alexander 756-9766

James Phillips 683-0822

Rachel Hart 681-3676

Don Martin 789-5768

Kevin Homer 687-0501

Leasel Rovedas 681-6800

Kwesi Hopkinson 681-8863

Jules Sobian 755-6592

Gisel Laughlin 762-1377

Roberto Marquez 749-7645

West:

Danielle Boucaud 682-9766

Jeanne M-Gittens 684-8483



Diego Martin:

Gillian De Freitas 758-7477

Kendall Sharpe 680-9456

Charlene Lum Wai 687-2427


East:

Arief Rafeeq 620-3229

Brendon Clement 687-6871

Melissa James 685-3222

Dave Ramroop 375-0926

Lana Nobrega 755-5969

South:

Joel Lynch 678-6172

Amnesia...

Imagine everything moving.

For the first time in the history of the modern world

an event based

on the

magic of movement


Amnesia…. Lose your mind with Movement


Sunday, January 14 th

4:00pm at Pier 1.5



$450 Ltd. Adv. Til January 5 th



Gourmet Chefs – Ultra Premium Bar – Cocktails

and

Unlimited Movement



Tickets available exclusively from committee members and the If House

628-4948 or 628-9474