Cultural Pursuits

Since I have been mentioning this to  a few people and I said in my last post I would upload the teaser, here it is- the teaser for “Calypso on Trial: the story of Rum and Coca Cola”

Port of Spain Lighthouse, St Vincent Jetty. Built in 1880s, 64 ft hexagonal tower with a small lantern at the top and a gallery in the middle, painted white with red and black trim. The original lighthouse was also hexagonal, but only 43 ft tall. The lighthouse was built at the base of the St. Vincent Jetty, but since then the shoreline has been extended and the original purpose of the light has been lost. At some point some restoration work was done on the tower, but by 2004 it was in poor condition, with a lean of about 5°. In late 2005, the lighthouse was repainted in a wildly colorful pattern honoring Trinidad and Tobago’s World Cup soccer team, and in late 2006 it was painted again to publicize the Cricket World Cup played in Trinidad in 2007.

This is Angus Bascombe’s rendition

This is a comparative image

Another perspective.

Normally I do not  like to upload stuff without having any information  for captions but in this case I think I will let that slide.

All of these are by Angus Bascombe.

During the late 80s and early 90s, a series of Bascombe prints were made calendar cover pictures. They were entitled “Delightful Trinidad and Tobago” and “Historic Trinidad and Tobago”. Paintings depicted a variety of scenes and scenic places throughout the twin island state. Not sure where these ended up but if you have any of these and are willing to share send me a message.This helps us in telling our story of Trinidad and Tobago.

otherwise prints of his work can be found at Fine Art Gallery, Trinidad.

Port of Spain Lighthouse, St Vincent Jetty. Built in 1880s, 64 ft hexagonal tower with a small lantern at the top and a gallery in the middle, painted white with red and black trim. The original lighthouse was also hexagonal, but only 43 ft tall. The lighthouse was built at the base of the St. Vincent Jetty, but since then the shoreline has been extended and the original purpose of the light has been lost. At some point some restoration work was done on the tower, but by 2004 it was in poor condition, with a lean of about 5°. In late 2005, the lighthouse was repainted in a wildly colorful pattern honoring Trinidad and Tobago’s World Cup soccer team, and in late 2006 it was painted again to publicize the Cricket World Cup played in Trinidad in 2007. 2011 photo by Jaime Bagoo

Canons at Fort San Andrés. One of the oldest forts built for the defense of Port of Spain. Originally built on an offshore rock in the harbour, the site is now inland due to reclamation of the surrounding land. After the British captured Trinidad in 1797 the fort fell into disuse. A new building, built on the foundations of the old fort housed the Commercial Newsroom, and later the harbour-master’s office. The building housed various government offices, but when the Police Service Traffic Branch vacated the building in 1995 the decision was made to restore the building to its 1845 appearance and convert it to a museum of the City of Port of Spain. Several of the original cannons are still present and the foundations bear the date 1785. The fort may have been built as early as 1757, but the first reference to the fort is in 1777. It saw action when the British captured Trinidad in 1797, but was unable to prevent them from landing. Photos by Jaime Bagoo

Did you know this boat went around the world? Harold La Borde and his wife made history in this vessel. A famous Trinidadian sailor and adventurer who in 1963 to 1973 circumnavigated the world in his 40ft ketch, ‘Hummingbird II’. He was accompanied by his wife, Kwailan, and his five year old son Pierre. As the first known Trinidadian sailors to cross the Atlantic and later to circumnavigate, Harold and Kwailan were awarded the nation’s highest honor - the Gold Trinity Cross. Photo by Jaime Bagoo

Named after Ernest Hugh Canning, Canning’s Corner, which was situated at 25 Frederick Street, corner of Queen Street, Port of Spain. was the site of a popular grocery store of the day.
In 1941, at the time of World War II, Canning’s American son-in-law: Gordon Graves New, then manager of the soft-drink division of the company, arranged for the company to get the bottling concession for the novelty drink in order to supply the heavy demand of the soldiers stationed at Chaguaramas as well as the Wallerfield bases. 2011 Photo by Jaime Bagoo

To commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Recording Industry of Trinidad and Tobago, RIATT, in association with Barrack Yard Productions, proposes to create a documentary highlight the milestones of the century. From 1912 to 2012. That’s quite a lot of music to look forward to!

 An exhibition will also be set up.

 If you have any old records or recordings to share contact RIATT at 678 5579 or drop a line on this blog or visit both the Recording Industry Association of Trinidad and Tobago’s as well as  Barrack Yard Productions  pages on Facebook.