Thoughts of a minibus traveller

This week was Republic Day/Mashramani/Carnival in Guyana. I have had some conversations about race.. strange conversations because I am conscious that overwhelmingly, Guyanese of African origin are more visible in the Carnival like Mashramani thing - when commentators will talk of how people of all backgrounds enjoy the thing.. But.. the leaders know that better a party in the streets than people marching... A friend sent me this : "Despatch from Governor Light to Lord Stanley. Government House, Demerara 30 Nov 1842 "Some eight or ten Coolies may probably desire to remain behind [i.e., not return to India], having made connexions with black women" while another friend (Indian origin) tells me of her conversation and argument with a man (of Indian origin) who said that black women are easy for sex and how Indians in Guyana were 'polluted' by being close to Black people.. Another blogger of 'Indian' origin asked me if I could read her blog to se...

The One Laptop per Family project continues to generate controversy. I have been asked again about my views and I thought I should write this blog in response - as a follow up to the previous pos t when less was known publicly Ensuring that the poor have access to ICTs The President/Government's desire to ensure that poor people/kids/poor people's children/ (depending when the President is speaking) is commendable. It is unfortunate that the President seems to think that criticisms and feedback on the piece by piece public revelations about the project are attempts to kill the idea . Many people who have been asked about the idea have said that it is a good one, but there are questions about implementation to ensure that the money is well spent and also to dispel suspicions that this is a elections gimmick. One letter writer talked about the potential in the agriculture sector and the Junior Minister of Health has expressed his hopes for the enhancement in the health se...

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's book tells the story of a lot of different people who are caught up in the Biafra Independence Movement of 1967 to 1970. War fiction is never easy to read. A lot of us have read fiction and seen films based on the American civil war or the  European civil wars. Chimamanda Adichie tells this other story, and the characters are human, and surviving. The characters include middle class twin sisters who follow different paths and the men who they like/love, a houseboy, assorted characters, soldiers, civil servants. In this part of the world, Guyana had emerged from its own version of civil war.. all part of the colonial legacies where the British lumped everyone together to create nation states which ignored the demographics of the countries. It would be interesting to see how Nollywood would deal with this book, and the conflict. The book is made interesting by the cultural references, for people who do not know about Igbo culture. The style is simple, sh...

There are many recipes for this banana oatmeal muffin. My nephew likes these a lot.. asks when next they are being made and when he sees bananas around, he asks if they are for the muffins Ingredients : 2 cups flour 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup quick cooking oats 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp nutmeg (or more) 1tsp cinammon (or more) 2 cups bananas mashed (as ripe as possible) (the original recipe called for 11/2 cups bananas and 2 eggs, but I found that 2 cups bananas worked well when going eggless) 1/3 cup butter melted 1 tsp vanilla Method : Set Oven at 375F. Stir together dry ingredients. Mix banana, vanilla, butter with the flour Bake for 14- 15 minutes - test to make sure when it finish! I like these with peanut butter and jam on them. I also have put peanut butter in when making them, but texture not so good. I have also put raisins inside.