Mahogany CoConut Blog

The Caribbean Is One Nation. An extremely popular, cheap and accessible variation of lawn tennis and table tennis which emerged in the 1930s, mainly played in urban areas. Age: 11+ Players:  Two (for “singles”) or four (for “doubles”), plus someone to keep score. Pitch: A 21x10 foot rectangle on a hard, smooth and level surface – ideally asphalt, concrete or an indoor wooden surface - split into two equal halves widthways. The court should be marked out in white lines. The long sides of the court are extended six feet at each end – these are called the “governor lines.”  Time: Typically, a game lasts for 15 to 20 minutes and a set up to 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Rules: The game starts with a coin toss between the two players/teams. The scorer should do the coin toss. The winner of the toss has the choice of taking the first serve or choosing which side of the court to play on first. The serve alternates between the two players/teams every five points. If playing do...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Grenada National Flag Grenada is known for its natural beauty and spices. We are happy to share a few with our readers. Grantung Gardens Grantung Gardens Ginger Bay Leaf Tumeric Nutmeg and Mace Seven Sisters Waterfall Cinamon Cloves Seven Sisters Waterfall All Spice (Pimento) Seven Sisters Waterfall

The Caribbean Is One Nation. In recent months, there has been a notable increase in crime in the region. Media reports suggest, that many of these crimes are committed against our children and women folk. Mahogany Coconut’s policy looks at crime as a regional problem thereby avoiding branding any country as the main source. While many may genuinely consider this approach to be somewhat idealistic, we believe that in the global scheme of things, the Caribbean is usually seen as a monolithic entity. As with all human endeavor, citizens from each country tend to seek bragging rights. We are aware that this is true whether we are discussing cricket or the state of individual economies. We see it as nothing more than healthy sibling rivalry. Unfortunately, while the global view of us may be monolithic, we are quite aware that our French and Spanish speaking countries are sometimes excluded for the simple reason, that our education system, has not been very progressive in inculcati...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. While we did not comment on the May Day celebrations, we were not oblivious to the speeches and activities of the traditional   rights of workers. Unfortunately, a perusal of the speeches made by the trade unions’ leadership have not inspired or convinced us that they are aware of the multitude of issues facing the region’s workers . Many of the regional unions had their birth in the pre-independence era of the 60’s and they would have formed very close relationships with the major political parties.  This relationship has seen many socio-economic benefits but that approach to workers’ representation, like most sectors of our national development, needs to be closely examined and modified. The early trade unions had found their membership among agricultural workers. As they grew in strength, they were seen as the protectors of: port, oilfield, and other “blue collar” workers. These workers needed strong and articulate representatio...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Caribbean School Children Once more there is a raging debate in Barbados about the use of corporal punishment as a means off Instilling discipline in the country’s wayward youth. Corporal punishment or “flogging” as it often called, has been a staple in the country’s home and schools and it is one of those traditions that is often referenced as a certain deterrent for what the islanders usually refer to as “bad behavior”. The use of the belt or strap to keep children on the straight and narrow path has its roots in the biblical quotation: If you spare the rod, you spoil the child. Many headmasters and teachers have utilized this method and are often praised by some of their former students, for inflicting the pain that apparently stopped them from becoming social deviants and criminals. In the home, it was generally believed that children only understood the rules when a flogging or “cut tail’ was administered. While the law relating to inflicti...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                         Roston Chase  By Danyal Rasool Dominica bid farewell to two legends of the game in a most fitting manner, giving  Younis Khan  and  Misbah-ul-Haq  the most heart-stopping send-off possible. History beckoned time and again, torturing and teasing them. It made them wait, it made them wonder, it made them despair. But, with six balls left in the game, the series, and their careers, came perhaps its most satisfying moment. Shannon Gabriel , West Indies' No. 11, had spent just over half an hour at the crease, and had seen out 21 balls. See out one more, and it would leave  Roston Chase , who was batting on 101, to face the last over of the match, the last over of the series, and dramatically raise West Indies' chances of saving the Test. Gabriel had kept out those 21 balls by trusti...

The Caribbean Is One Nation. Once more we are forced to comment on the rising levels of child abuse in our region. Recent reports and statistics from Jamaica and Trinidad reveal that there have been over five thousand reported cases of child abuse combined in these two sister islands. We suggest that if these figures only represent official statistics, the number of children being abuse throughout the region could be several thousand. There are also some 300 cases of child abuse being reported in Barbados annually. When we consider that these are reported cases, we shudder to think what is the real number. When we take into consideration other areas of abuse such as: spousal, sexual and abuse against our senior citizens, we realize that we have a problem, that is affecting thousands of our most vulnerable citizens. It is a situation that needs to be confronted in a very swift and comprehensive manner. We are aware that some countries are taking steps to combat this reality but ...

The Caribbean Is One Nation.                                                By Michael Headley St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church In less than twenty-four hours, the weather had changed from hot to cool, but it did not deter some enthusiastic  Bajans , and honorary  Bajans ,   from attending the 2017 National Heroes Day celebration at St. Gabriel's Episcopal church  on Sunday, April 30th, in Brooklyn, New York.  The church is located at 331 Hawthorne Street, Brooklyn, NY 11225 and the Rector is The Very Reverend Eddie  Alleyne . It was  nostalgic  to hear folk music  playing  as a prelude to the program.  The service was held under the patronage of the Consulate General of Barbados at New York.   Dr. The Honorable Donna E.  Hunte -Cox, Consulate General, gave the opening gree...

|  Posted by  The Integrationist  in  Functional Cooperation It is currently becoming fashionable it seems, to speak of Caribbean Civilization. Fashionable, I say, because I don’t think many have really thought through the matter, or at least it does not seem so from the context in which they utter the phrase. To my knowledge, the first time the idea was publicly stated was by Barbadian Prime Minister Errol Barrow in a speech at the Miami Conference on the Caribbean in November 1986, titled, ‘Our Caribbean Civilisation’. This is fitting, because in the English-speaking Caribbean, Barbados — with the oldest continuous elected Assembly of legislators in the Western Hemisphere (365 years old this year) and commendable achievement in building a secure, prosperous, confident, and well-ordered society — perhaps has the greatest justification in making the argument. More recently, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, has forwarded the...