I have done a lot of things during this past holiday season, but there are three events which stand out in my mind.
Pearl and Geddes Phillips "Big 'O' Party" at their Andalusia, Maraval home was unique.
The couple thought it would be wonderful to get together for 2-0-0-0 with beautiful people who, like themselves, had passed a Big O. This meant an 8-0, 7-0, 6-0 and also an Hawaii 5-0. As they said in their very poetic invitation "if you remember Hawaii 5-0, then you surely qualify to meet with us and reminisce about the years gone by."
So a group of us senior citizens came together on December 30, each bearing a contribution to the fabulous dinner, some bearing copies of songs known to us all for a "sing along" accompanied by Frankie Callender, the Key Boardist from nearby Carnetta's Inn.
What an enjoyable way it was to greet the new millennium. Even those of us, like myself, who have trouble carrying a tune, happily joined in the sing along, our way of saying "Thank God to see the new Millennium, the year 2000, the 21st Century." We got together with Pearl and Geddes and rejoiced as we said "We're Y2K ready."
My second unique experience came on New Year's Day. Many of us whose churches decided there would be no Masses on New Year's Day,the first day of the new century when most people wanted to be on their knees, joined the Roman Catholics at their mid-day Mass in the Hollows at the Queen's Park Savannah.
It was like something straight out of the Bible as most of the congregation sat on the hillsides overlooking the garden area, while others sat under the leafy, shady trees in the Hollows itself, mere metres from the specially erected altar and choir which sang all the lovely Christmas hymns.
The setting reminded me of the Bible story in Mark Chapter 6 where Jesus multiplied the five loaves and two fishes among hundreds 'seated upon the green grass,' just that this time their was holy communion for the faithful 'seated upon the green grass.'
It was there that we were asked to pray for Archbishop Anthony Pantin, who has this past week undergone surgery at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital in Florida, "to remove something behind his liver." Newsday wishes the Archbishop who turned seventy at the end of August, a safe and speedy recovery.
The third rarity came very early in the year 2000 when I took two of my Canadian-based relatives, Tracey and Arik Day, to visit the recently refurbished Water Wheel at River Estate. As my niece said "it is great to see that we are at last taking care of our heritage."
At the end of the enjoyable tour, I felt strongly that the next step should really be to charge a small fee to subsidise the upkeep of this much-needed tourist attraction and assist with the salary paid to the guide, Roderick Harewood, who so kindly showed us around, and helped us to meaningfully "Spin the Wheel of Time with Old Man River."
Raynaldo Phillips, Forester 1 in the Forestry Division, had handled the Project Overview of The River Estate Interpretive Centre, which was formally opened on December 9 by Minister of Agriculture, Land & Marine Resources, the Honourable Trevor Sudama.
Other attractions for visitors are outdoor tours, slide shows and a picnic area.
The owners of the Estate St Hillare Beggorat, James Cadette, John Lamont and Nicolas Brunton are said to have been among the wealthiest men in Trinidad.
The story in the refurbished mill starts in 1801 when sugar cane was the major product on this 1629 acre estate, followed by coffee, cocoa, citrus and even valuable timber. The estate changed hands more than once and finally in 1870 the now infamous Nicholas Brunton, accused of setting up the murder of a French priest, took over the estate. As a child growing up in Greenhill Village, Diego Martin, my grandmother always related the Brunton story with awe in her voice. At that time there were still Bruntons living at Richplain, whom I clearly remember. When Brunton died in 1891, leaving no Will, it all went to his creditors and children. Eventually the government and agriculture researchers came on the land up to 1945.
Another place of interest in the River Estate history was the Pumping Station, built in 1897 to supply water to Port of Spain. As children in the 1940's we played in the yard of the station.
A visit to the Interpretive Centre is recommended for all schools and citizens in the country, and anyone visitor to Trinidad.