Best Week Ever

Gamal “Skinny Fabulous” Doyle owned the weekend, with two massively successful events in Victoria Park. First, his “Neon Rave” fete on Friday, June 12 was an electric, energetic smash, with thousands of Vincies and the first wave of Carnival tourists dancing shoulder to shoulder to hits of Machel Montano, Olatunji Yearwood and a host of top-notch local talent.

Just a few hours later, a sleep-deprived Doyle was hosting thousands more parents and children at his annual “Uncle Skinny’s Kids’ World” event, which succeeded in spite of intermittent rain showers. It’s hard to tell who had more fun: the joyous late-night revellers or the gleeful kids in bouncy castles the following day. Whoever it was, no one can deny that Victoria Park was the epicentre of Carnival fun, {{more}}and that Skinny Fabulous was the driving force behind the Friday and Saturday activities. This is a young man at the height of his artistic and entrepreneurial powers.

Runner-up:

Dr Edgar “Doc” Adams has published his 15th book, which traces aspects of African influences on the lives and history of SVG and Vincentians. The local historian, who has written on the Garifuna, Indian and white immigrants, slavery and local institutions in SVG is an invaluable and underappreciated trove of knowledge on all things Vincy.

Interestingly, many of those with far more impressive formal credentials don’t come close to Doc Adams in terms of their contribution to our national chronicles.

The question on the laminated posters across Union Island was a simple one: “Need an Erection?” The answer, for many men and women, was a resounding “Yes!” Unfortunately, the Ministry of Health had different ideas, and a ballooning black market business in Viagra sales was quickly deflated.

Vincy manhood’s bad week was compounded by the obvious difficulties in getting erectile dysfunction drugs legally in the Southern Grenadines, starting with the limited number of pharmacies and the fact that small societies offer little privacy to gentlemen who might be embarrassed to ask for a medicinal top-up to supplement flagging fortunes in the bedroom. The Ministry of Health did the right thing, but don’t expect many people to thank them for it.

Runner-up:

That wasn’t rain you heard this weekend. It was the sound of money pouring out of Vincentians’ bank accounts as the Carnival festivities begin in earnest. Many individuals dropped $200 for the all-inclusive “London Skies” fete at Buccament Bay on Thursday night, spent another $100 on drinks and tickets for “Neon Rave,” then took their children to “Uncle Skinny’s Kids’ World,” where adults paid $15 and children’s tickets ran from $10 to $100 “VIP” options. There are three more weekends coming that are chock-full of beauty pageants, wet fetes, soca monarchs, and endless beach parties and all-inclusive events. Young people won’t want to miss a single moment, and will need new outfits in which to be seen at each occasion. Good news for promoters and retailers, not so pleasant for those dwindling account balances.

If I had a question in SVG Parliament

…I’d ask if MP Daniel Cummings’ recent successful back surgery means that the Speaker will revoke his “special chair” privilege and return to funiture uniformity among members of the House of Assembly.

Media Watch!

Online journalism doesn’t play by the same rules as print media, and self-run blogs can’t be expected to have the same standards of consistency as publications with editorial boards. But those purporting to mimic the journalistic standards of traditional media should know the difference between “letters to the editor” and guest “columns” and the editorial latitude that attaches to each one. The inconsistent use of “editor’s notes” to challenge arguments made in select guest opinion pieces seems an odd tactic that will only compromise the credibility of new media.