Please don’t press dat red button

Ah just endorsing support for Dr Fraser’s appeal to our TV providers to restore MSNBC TV channel. I want back my Games Show Network, GSN: “Family Feud wid Steve Harvey, Bill Cosby, American Bible Challenge.” We paid foh these packages, and de Company not suppose to terminate dem like dat widout explanation. Lie-Za raging mad, she say she want back ‘de Chase’ starring Mark Labbett as de Beast, how Mark and de PM look like first cousins.{{more}}

Quite an interesting week beginning last Thursday Night, when Sion Hill Euphonium Steel Band won Panorama 2014, making it six years in ah row. South East was second and Starlift foh de first time in its 40 plus years maybe, came third. Lie-Za Pan-man fren told her dat he had South East first and Sion Hill second. He told her dat Sion Hill tried more difficult “Runs” dan South East, not cricket runs, musical Runs, using scales and so forth, but de players (mixed wid inexperience) didn’t do ah good job. Watch out foh dat South East, dey growing and doing well within dey limitations. He told her Starlift not doing well. Men got to put dey personal interest aside and let de interest ah Starlift tek precedent. Dat is ah lot ah serious Ah-Q-say-shun!

Ah refuse to lose me night rest listening or watching Miss Carival, so on to Sat-dey night. Soca Super Star, Skinny Fabulous knows now, dat all he got to do to get de Vincy crowd to respond to his “Worse Behave-yah,” is to press de “Red Button.” De long and short of it all is dat from de time “Red Button” was announcement, and de crowd witnessed de birth or re-birth on stage, of last year’s crowd fair-foh-it, Skinny Fabulous, de mood switched from Soca Hungry to Soca Angry and Skinny was booed big time. Dat “Worse Behave-yah” is unacceptable eh, and should never have happen again! But Lie-Za was dey and feels dat de “Red Button” was already rubbing de crowd de wrong way. It was attracting Pull-it-tek-all overtures from de ruling ULP who is all Red. De PM who fancies de artiste, Skinny or Vie-see Ver- saw, is already pun-in on de Red Button in public addresses. Maybe she said, just maybe, de ocean of Red Balloons at Victoria Park dat night, looked more like ah ULP rally dan ah Carnival Soca Fete. Whatever, Skinny is young, and will bounce back. Maybe dis could be de humble-in leg of his journey. His stage rival, Fireman Hooper could teach him ah ting-ah-two! Whatever Skinny does, tell him “Please Don’t Press dat Red Button!”

Talking bout Fireman Hooper, de local mega-super Soca Star: “King ah de Ragga Soca! King ah de Power Soca! King and Runner-up ah de Road!” So if de Road March King is not available foh service and de Runner-up has to act, den de King will have to oblige. Go foh higher Fireman.

Ah had ah chat wid de new Kaiso Monarch, Man Zangi ah week before Finals Night. He did not have his second song ready foh competition den. So while ah know he had ah good first song, ah didn’t have him as de Dark Horse. But he delivered well and earned his Crown. He is ah focused young man who takes his Police responsibilities professionally; he is not interested in Pull-it-to-kill commentaries or Vulgar lyrics. Wid his voice, commanding presence on stage, ability to deliver and render, he will win more Titles.

Tell me what was new on Monday and Chose-dey? Ah tired comment un-fair-foh-able on de Monday and Chose-dey aspect ah Vincy Mas. Let’s say we bring ah tourist foh de first year, bring s/he back de next year, what new do we have to offer if s/he returns on year three? Nada!

BRAZIL HUMBLED

So ah waited all day, Chose-dey foh de Brazil vs Germany Soccer Semi Finals. Nine out ah every ten soccer fans had Brazil as fear-foh-hits. But while ah might chose to dissociate wid names Hit-law and Not-see, ah can’t disown my German heritage, my great grand-father was German by birth, his surname was Zincke. When ah batch ah Germans moved from Germany to Hanover in Jah-mek-her, de Zincke family was among dem. One ah dem married or had two daughters wid de lickle black maid. Otmar Schaedle, my German friend and Bequia resident foh years, tells me dat de name Zincke was royalty in Germany. Now you will overs how ah felt when ah saw de Germans beating up Brazil: “1, 2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7 goals to Brazil’s one!”

IF IT IS DE WILL OF DE LORD

Ah would just want to remind de Guv-ah-mint how dey kicked EG out ah de Flamingo Club onto de street widout one Red cent. During NDP reign, EG had restored an ole 18 century, derelict factory building on Go-venom-mint lands at Grande Sable estate. He converted it into de only decent Entertainment Venue in de North Windward area. Flamingo was like de Cultural Centre, hosting Shows, Dances, Weddings, Parties etc. Interestingly, when de Courts found EG guilty and ordered dat he compensate de PM foh slander; de Go-venom-mint was at de same time refusing to reimburse EG foh over three hundred thousand dollars dat Flamingo had valued at de time. He died in de process! Oh if only EG’s pillow could ah talk. Pressure and worries killed dat man. And as EG himself uses to say “If it is de will of de Lord,” I will one day see him in de loving arms of his Jesus. And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

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