Light a Candle

 

My friend Jacqui

Has asked

That we

Light a candle 

and

I am asking

That we light

A candle

and

Say a prayer 

for

The victims 

Ash Wedesday & Duct Tape

Today is Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of repentance. The ashes used are gathered after the Palm Crosses from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned. In the liturgical practice of some churches, the ashes are mixed with the Oil of the Catechumens (one of the sacred oils) used to anoint those about to be baptized, though some churches use ordinary oil. This paste is used by the priest who presides at the service to make the sign of the cross first upon his own forehead and then on each of those present who kneel before him at the altar rail. As he does so, he recites the words: "Remember (O man) that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

(We don't kneel at the altar rail - there isn't room - those days have long gone.)

The priest or minister says one of the following when applying the ashes: "Remember, O man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return. (Book of Genesis)
"Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel." (Gospel of St Mark)
"Repent, and hear the good news." (Gospel of St Mark)          

So Lent is a time for reflection, repentance and reconciliation for believers. Better rush tomorrow and get my Lent off to a good start and that means ashes. In my case it also means duct tape because keeping my mouth shut when certain untoward things happen is difficult. And during Lent I try to be a better person! 

The above for  the most part,  is a re post.  Anyone who has been following me for at least a couple of years knows that for Lent,  I always ask for plenty of  duct tape - wholesale!

A French Classic

MAGPIE 56

 

Photograph courtesy Tess Kinkaid, Magpie Tales

A cast iron

Le Creuset pot

On a hot plate

Crushed garlic

In sizzling

Olive oil

A kitchen filled

Enticing aroma

The 

Starting point

Of a classic

Ratatouille

Barbara M Lake

March 2011

Trinidad WI

©

J'Ouvert - The Start of Carnival!

The above photograph belongs to Barbara M Lake and is not for publication without permission 2006

We are moving into Carnival proper here in Trinidad . The Soca Monarch Finals in the Dimanche Gras Show are taking place as I write and the parties continue.  All of this  leads us into J'ouvert which starts at 4am tomorrow morning (Monday) followed by the start of the 'greatest show on earth', the street party that is Carnival Monday and Tuesday.

J'ouvert is the raw heart of Trinidad Carnival. It is a massive, night-time street party and procession which crystallizes in central Port of Spain in the early hours of Lundi Gras, before the daytime carnival parades. Really it is a continuation of the season’s 'fetes', parties, of the night before as tens of thousands of revellers spill out onto the streets from about two o'clock looking for more fun. They dance till dawn and beyond - J'ouvert (pronounced jouvay) is a creole corruption of the French jour ouvert meaning day break or morning and signals the start of the bacchanalia that is Carnival.

J’ouvert is full of symbols of culture and heritage. It is steeped in tradition and playing mud Mas involves participants known as Jab Jabs covering themselves from head to toe and others in paint, chocolate, mud, white powder or just about anything that sticks. It is J’ouvert custom that no one is clean and a common sight is a being hugged by a muddy revelers. 

This traditional part of Carnival starts at around four in the morning and finishes after sunrise. Calypso, Pan and Soca music are the dominating sounds of J’ouvert in Trinidad and the mass of revellers take the street party wining and chipping their way to the Savannah in Port of Spain in the early hours of Lundi Gras, before the daytime carnival parades.

The roots of J’ouvert in Trinidad go back 200 years, with the arrival of French plantation owners. The French never colonised Trinidad, however elements of their culture remained. J’Ouvert evolved from the Canboulay festivals in the 1800’s, which were night time celebrations where the landowners dressed up and imitated the negres jardins (garden slaves). Following emancipation, the newly freed slaves took over Canboulay, now imitating their former masters imitating them. 

Canboulay revellers, who carried lighted cane torches, were seen as a potential risk by the authorities and the tension mounted leading to the Canboulay riots. It was eventually banned, and then was re established as J’ouvert. The Canboulay Riots are now acted out in the streets during the week leading up to Carnival. The spectacular costumes represent characters and events from the history and folklore. Moko Jumbie Bats, Bookmen, Baby dolls, jab molassie, devil mas are all traditional Carnival characters that capture the elements of the past, and continue to tell the story.

So here we go again, when crime will be at an all time low between Monday and Tuesday, when people have spent thousands of dollars on costumes they can't afford, when there will be integration of all the races that make up Trinidad and Tobago without any trouble (by Ash Wednesday they will be ignoring or fighting with one another again!), when non-stop music will fill the air, when visitors from all over the world will come and spend their US dollars, UK pounds and Euro dollars. 

It is a lovely time and the only thing that threatens to spoil it at the moment is the strong possibility of rain!!

Mama Dis Is Mas!

It's Carnival weekend. Then Carnival Monday and Tuesday.  Most people are well into carnival mode and I cannot get anyone I want business wise today at all!!  So I may as well go with the crowd!

My daughter in law's nephew is competing this evening for the Junior King of Carnival title.   He has won one title this season so we are all keeping our fingers crossed for the big one!


I know I've already posted the video below but it is being tipped to be Road March.  Of course it always sounds better live but I wanted to share some of what it's like here.  In this clip you can see Machel dancing on the roof of the music truck.

For all those out there celebrating - have fun and be safe!

Mama dis is mas! 

Sour and Sweet

MAGPIE 55

Photograph courtesy of Tess Kinkaid, Magpie Tales

Lemon meringue

Cherry pie

Lemon curd

Strawberry jam

Lemon wedge

Red snapper

Lemon slice

Pink gin

Lemon tart

Cranberry muffin

Lemon chicken

Raspberry lamb

Yellow lemon

By any other name

Would taste
Just as sour

Red berry

By any other name

Would taste

Just as sweet

(With thanks and apologies to Shakespeare!!)

Barbara M Lake

February 2011

Trinidad WI

©

Countdown to Carnival 2011

One week from today it will be Carnival Tuesday and the biggest show on earth will take to the streets of Trinidad and Tobago for the second day running.

The music trucks will be on the road

 

accompanying the colourful bands

as they make their way

 through the streets of Port of Spain

 and bands will gather into their sections as they come to judging points along the route

and then they will 'jump up and wave' until they get to the 'big stage' in the Savannah which has been given back to masqueraders by the new government'

And here is a short clip of how it comes together and how it all happens.  The singer is Machel Montano and the song, Advantage is tipped to be Road March 2011.