Sunday, December 23, 2012
Boiling the Christmas Ham- Drawing by Rudolph Bissessarsingh (2012).
Christmas just ain’t Christmas without a good ham.
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Bring out de ham
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The Cedros Races
Sunday, December 30, 2012
A descendant of the horses which once competed in the Cedros Races looks out towards the “Three Sisters” at Columbus Bay.
One of the most splendid beaches on the island is Columbus Bay. Named in honour of the great discoverer Christopher Columbus, its broad sands are set against a backdrop of endless coconut trees.
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The legacy of William Eccles
Sunday, January 6, 2013
The William Eccles memorial fountain, erected in 1860 in the yard of St Mary’s orphanage in Tacarigua.
In the haste to enforce the doctrine of “Massa Day Done” after Independence, at the urging of the brilliant yet bigoted Dr Eric Williams, T&T consigned to the rubbish heap of history the many g
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Travelling on the Ortoire River ferry
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Mayaro was one of the most isolated places in Trinidad during the 19th century, even though it boasted rich plantations of cotton, sugar and coconuts.
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Valencia, land of wood
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Peasant huts in Valencia in the early 1900s.
Valencia is a province of Spain, but it is also the name of a small community between Arima and Sangre Grande.
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Tripp’s dream of Chaguaramas harbour
Sunday, January 27, 2013
The Floating Dock around 1910. Note the woman and baby perched atop the gangway.
Edgar Tripp was a true visionary. He emigrated to Trinidad from England circa 1870. Once here, he worked as a book-keeper and estate manager.
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Gros Jean, The First Calypsonian
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Artist’s impression of Gros Jean. IMAGE COURTESY RUDOLPH BISSESSARSINGH
Kaiso is said to be a Yoruba word meaning “bravo.” It comes from the ancient West African tradition of the griot, who combined poetry, recounting of fables, social commentary and music into one for
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The Carnivals of yesteryear
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Carnival in Trinidad has its origins in the pre-Lenten masquerade balls staged by French emigrants who began arriving in the island in 1783 under the Cedula of Population.
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The bustling heart of San Fernando
Sunday, February 17, 2013
High Street San Fernando in the 1880s. Penitence Street is on the left. This photo was taken looking west.
San Fernando was founded in 1786 as a town, initially in the area of St Vincent Street and Chacon Street. It was founded on the site of an old Indian mission dating from 1687.
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Step into my parlour
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Very early (1908) photo of a parlour in east Port-of-Spain, where the business model developed. In addition to jars of pickles and sweets, this little wayside emporium also sells a variety of fruit and vegetables.
James Cummings, in his seminal work on The Barrack-Yard Dwellers, said, “For the people of the barrack-yards, the sun just had to rise tomorrow.” By this he meant that decades of economic penury in
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The East Dry River, Birthplace of legends, stories
Sunday, March 3, 2013
The East Dry River circa 1900, before its bed was paved. Children can be seen playing in the stream, while severe erosion cut into the left bank.
In 1757, Don Pedro de la Moneda, Governor of Trinidad, moved his official residence from the capital of San Jose de Oruna (St Joseph) to Puerto de los Hispanioles (Port-of-Spain), since the latter
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Rosetta Smith, Lady Governor of Trinidad
Sunday, March 10, 2013
This photo of a coloured Trinidadian woman from 1908 is what Rosetta Smith might have looked like. She died before the invention of modern photography.
It is no secret that the immensely diverse ethnic potpourri of Trinidad’s history has produced the most beautiful women in the world.
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The long road to Mayaro
Sunday, March 17, 2013
In 1870 the great English writer Charles Kingsley visited Trinidad and sketched the Bande L’Est leading to Mayaro.
Mayaro was originally settled by French immigrants and their slaves following the Cedula of Population in 1783. Prominent names like Radix, Frontin and Mahon grew cotton and later sugar.
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The Walls of Carrera Prison
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Carrera Island Prison circa 1900
Last week, Justice Minister Christlyn Moore announced that this year would be the last one for the island prison of Carrera, which is slated to be closed permanently.
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Anglican Church expands in 1844
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Although Trinidad became a British colony in 1797, the Church of England made little headway in the largely French and Spanish Roman Catholic island until 1844 when an aggressive expansion in the A
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The marchandes of Port-of-Spain
Sunday, April 7, 2013
A marchande of 1910 selling breadfruit from a wooden tray.
“Poisson frais, poisson, poisson ..fressh feesh!” This would be the chant of the fish vendor while the mists still lay on the green hills overlooking the Port-of-Spain of the 19th and early 20th ce
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From mules to electric power
Sunday, April 14, 2013
The Four Roads Tramcar in 1920. On the cow-catcher front bumper is an advertisement for the Olympic Cinema in Belmont.
Like any bustling commercial city, Port-of-Spain in the 19th century needed round-the-town transport, but this was limited to horse-drawn cabs, which were costly and thus out of the reach of the av
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The Queen’s Park Oval
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Cricket being played at the Oval in the late 1890s.
From being the sport of English gentry, cricket and the West Indies are synonymous.
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The Laventille quarries
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Quarrying limestone in Laventille circa 1910.
People know Laventille today for the negative stigma of crime.
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The Red Bridge of Plaisance Park
Sunday, May 5, 2013
The famous Red Bridge over the Southern Main Road, shortly before it was dismantled in 2010.
Generations of Trinidadians remember the Red Bridge which spanned the Southern Main Road at Plaisance Park between Pointe-a-Pierre and Claxton Bay.
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