Jillionaire wants NYC to get ready to rum-ble!
“I’ve always been a big fan of rum,” the Trinidad-born DJ, who’s one-third of the EDM trio Major Lazer, tells The Post. When he’s not busy spinning Top 40 hits “Lean On” and “Cold Water” with his groupmates Diplo and Walshy Fire, Jillionaire (real name Christopher Leacock) basically acts as the self-appointed Trinidadian culture ambassador to the US. His current priority: helping his country’s most prized spirit overcome its bad stateside reputation.
“People here go to college, drink Bacardi 151 and swear off rum for the rest of their life,” he says. “But, there are fine-aged rums the same way there are fine-aged whiskeys.”
The 40-year-old serves up several such varieties, including Angostura 1919 and Banks 7 Golden Age Rum, at his new Williamsburg bar, Clyde’s.
Trinidadian head bartender Cyllan Hicks pours the sugarcane-based booze into typical Caribbean cocktails (think rum punches) and more serious potions. Jillionaire’s favorite is the Night Nurse ($14), a riff on an Old Fashioned which swaps the usual whiskey for 8-year aged Bacardi, and tops it off with Benedictine, spiced coffee syrup and chocolate and Angostura bitters. On a recent Tuesday night, bargoers guzzled the Rum Sazerac ($14), with two types of rum, Velvet Falernum and orange bitters.
The cozy watering hole is named after Jillionaire’s grandfather, and is next door to Trinidadian restaurant Pearl’s, which the musician also co-owns. Through Clyde’s, Jillionaire hopes to sell New Yorkers on Trinidad’s laid-back booze scene.
On the Caribbean island, he says, life is all about “liming,” or “our word for ‘hanging out.’” Trinidad has “a very unique drinking culture. We celebrate everything. We celebrate the weekend. We celebrate the weekday. We celebrate, ‘Oh, it’s Tuesday.’” Think fewer premeditated, Facebook-invite parties and more leisurely happy-hour hangs. After work, “one [drink] turns into two or three,” two friends turn into five or six, “and all of the sudden it’s a big lime.”
Be warned: After a few hours’ “liming” at Clyde’s, you may indeed need “somebody to lean on.”
Source: NY Post, April 27, 2018

LAST month, 100-year-old Jasso Sookram told us the health benefits of her favourite food - Crix crackers.
On Monday, the Bermudez Biscuit Company paid her a visit.
Jasso lives of Mount Stewart Village, Princes Town.
According to granddaughter Gloria Sinanan, one of her favourite thing to eat is Crix and she would always tell her relatives to “eat Crix so you wouldn’t get wind.”
Managing Director at Bermudez, Ingrid Lloyd read the story and contacted the Express, hoping to provide a hamper on Jasso’s milestone birthday.
A Company representative visited her home to make the deliver in person. Sinanan said Jasso was thrilled to be presented with the products

She said: “She was so happy. She spoke with the young man who came and told him about her life and how hard she worked. He was very nice to her calling her ‘darling’ and she wished him well before he left. He also wished her many more years. This is a wonderful thing and I really want to thank them for this.”
Jasso worked as a cane farmer on the Caroni Estate and to date, does not suffer from any ailments.
She is a devout Hindu and attributes her long life to living well with others and her dedication to God. Her life’s philosophy is to work hard and live peacefully with everyone.
Source:  Daily Express

From working on the Beetham dump as a child to being featured in the Forbes Magazine, Camilita Nuttall is an example of the ultimate success story. Against all odds, she was able to escape a life of poverty. Nuttall is a successful entrepreneur, author and inspirational speaker.
She is the CEO of the Event of Champions ®, a company which hosts a series of events aimed at teaching people how to build, sustain and develop a global brand.
Nuttall’s work was featured on Forbes after she was contacted to write an article highlighting how she built the business so fast in such a short period of time.
She is also on her way to becoming an official Featured ForbesBooks Author.
Nuttall has authored several books including, ‘How to Fast Track Your Success’ and ‘Quotes Inspirational Messages & Success Secrets to Live Like a Champion.’
Now, the powerful female businesswoman will be returning to Trinidad for the Event of Champions ® Bootcamp which will be held at the Hyatt Hotel on Friday, May 4..
To find out more, go to: https://eventofchampions.com/our-events/boot-camp/ or contact Shane Ram on: 1 868 351 5000.
Nuttall in an interview with LoopTT shared her success story.
She said she had a tough childhood, but this did not stop her from pursuing her dreams.
“At the age of 13 my dad lost his job and told my mom he could not continue to afford to send me to secondary school and I had to stop. My mom said we will find a way, so we did. My sister encouraged us to go on the dump near the Beetham Estate to hustle bottles through large amounts of waste and rubbish in order to buy my school books and uniform etc just to attend secondary school. For 2 months, my mom and I hustled on the dump, got glass bottles to sell and I got my books and uniform etc. to attend secondary school,” Nutall said.
Nuttall said as a child she grew up very poor in Biche, Trinidad. She lamented that they had no running water, no shoes to go to school and not much to eat.
Nuttall explained that when her father lost his job, she and her mother were forced to go to the Beetham dump to get glass bottles to sell, to purchase her books and uniform.
However, Nuttall was determined to succeed despite her difficult childhood.
She said she couldn’t afford to attend the University of the West Indies so instead she enrolled in a tertiary education school to do A ‘Levels in Law and British and American Government and Politics.
Nuttall said by this time she had moved from Biche to live in Beetham, got a job at TSTT and then enrolled in Beckles and Associates Law School to start her LLB degree.
However, she said she wanted to go to the United Kingdom to finish.
Nuttall said it was while studying in the UK, at the beginning of her third year, she learnt about the industry of Network Marketing and Corporate Sales.
So she gave up law and decided to do business fulltime.
Nuttall became so good at Sales and Business Growth Strategies she became the Top Enroller and Top Business Builder for a company for seven years in Europe, travelling to 30 plus countries and making in excess of $20 million dollars in sales.
After 10 years, she decided to set up the Camilita ® & Event of Champions ® companies.
Through her Camilita brand, she is an International Keynote Speaker, Business Growth Strategist, Executive Business Mentor, Corporate Sales Consultant and Property Investor.
Nuttall’s work is well recognised globally, in addition to being featured on Forbes, she has also written for BBC Business News and Canada’s B2B Network, among others.
Asked what advice she would give to Trinidadians, she noted that success is a state of mind.
“It does not personify money, wealth or financial freedom alone. It means living out ALL your God-given talents and abilities as you enrich others to succeed. It's the whole you and not just the you that people see. It's about WHO you are and not WHERE you are and remembering to stay humble in the process. It's about giving your ALL, working smart and not worrying about what others think or say about you. Most of all it's about Living Like a CHAMPION, finding ways to succeed and living every day like it's your last."
Source:  The Loop, April 28, 2018.

The Scarlet Ibis will soon be added to the Sensitive Species Category, according to Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Clarence Rambharat.
He said the Minister of Planning, Camille Robinson-Regis, is expected to carry a Note to the Cabinet to declare the Scarlet Ibis an environmentally sensitive species.
Minister Rambharat said the nesting period was successful and he's confident that the National Bird is in safe hands.
But he added that when we have a successful nesting season, we also have a successful poaching season. He's hoping that harsher penalties would deter poachers.

Ahye died around 4 am on Thursday morning.
A student of the late Beryl McBurnie, founder of the Little Carib Theatre, Ahye was born Molly Leotaud on May 29, 1933. 
She was a principal dancer with The Little Carib Company founded by McBurnie and authored two books on dance: Golden Heritage, the Dance in Trinidad and Tobago in 1978 and Cradle of Dance: Beryl McBurnie and The Little Carib Theatre in 1983.
Ahye was a lecturer in African and Caribbean culture and held a PhD from New York University. 
In 1980, she received the Humming Bird Medal (Gold) for her outstanding contribution to cultural development.
Ahye was also an Orisa priestess. In 1979, she committed to the faith after she was introduced to Dr Marta Morena Vega, founder of the Caribbean Cultural Centre in New York which led her to reconnect with the Orisa and Voodun faiths as practised in the diaspora. 
In 1994 she was inducted as the Chief Iyalorisha of Opa Orisha of Trinidad and Tobago. 
Among her achievements was the introduction of dance in worship in 1969, choreographing dances for various inter-faith services. 
Source:  The Loop

Destination Tobago is projected to receive approximately 80,000 cruise passengers by the end of the 2017-2018 cruise season, making it the island’s most successful cruise season in recorded history.
This figure represents a 236 percent increase in cruise visitors from the 2016/2017 season, which saw the arrival of 23,821 passengers.
“These figures are certainly great news for the destination as we continue to work alongside all stakeholders to stimulate growth within the tourism industry,” said Secretary of Tourism, Culture and Transportation, Councillor Nadine Stewart-Phillips. “It is clear that Tobago has made significant progress within the cruise sector – a fact that has positively impacted the island’s tourism business unit – and it is our intention to maintain this momentum moving forward.”
Thus far this season the island has received 55 cruise calls from ships originating in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and France.
Among the most notable arrivals are the seven calls from the MV Britannia, the second largest ship to call on the destination with a total of 24,269 passengers; as well as the MS Fantasia, the largest ship to visit the island with a total of 3,519 passengers.
It is expected that the successful berthing of both vessels in the Scarborough Port will boost industry confidence in Tobago’s ability to receive ships of that size, and result in the destination’s ability to attract new and larger vessels in the future.
Source:  The Loop

LAST month, 100-year-old Jasso Sookram told us the health benefits of her favourite food - Crix crackers.
On Monday, the Bermudez Biscuit Company paid her a visit.
Jasso lives of Mount Stewart Village, Princes Town.
According to granddaughter Gloria Sinanan, one of her favourite thing to eat is Crix and she would always tell her relatives to “eat Crix so you wouldn’t get wind.”
Managing Director at Bermudez, Ingrid Lloyd read the story and contacted the Express, hoping to provide a hamper on Jasso’s milestone birthday.
A Company representative visited her home. Sinanan said Jasso was thrilled to be presented with the products. She said: “She was so happy. She spoke with the young man who came and told him about her life and how hard she worked. He was very nice to her calling her ‘darling’ and she wished him well before he left. He also wished her many more years. This is a wonderful thing and I really want to thank them for this.”
​Jasso worked as a cane farmer on the Caroni Estate and to date, does not suffer from any ailments.
She is a devout Hindu and attributes her long life to living well with others and her dedication to God. Her life’s philosophy is to work hard and live peacefully with everyone
Source:  Daily Expess
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From his first creation of curried chicken at age eight, to booking one of the top 12 spots on Season 5 of MasterChef Canada, Trinidadian Jonathan Rahim is just getting started.
Originally from Port-of-Spain, Rahim moved to Canada as a young child and now resides in Winnipeg.
Growing up in the northern climate, however, did not change his love for West Indian flavours which continue to feature prominently in his dishes.
The 33-year-old real estate agent, who has always had a knack for cooking, wowed judges with his audition dish of Ghost Pepper Stew Chicken with Rice and Peas, and Mango Slaw on the season’s first episode which aired on April 3, 2018.
Chef and Restaurateur Alvin Leung was immediately impressed by the heat of the dish, which he said complemented the sweet flavour of the stew.
“The taste is amazing. I get that very sharp heat from the ghost pepper, but it’s being neutralised by the sweetness of the sauce. It’s a very balanced dish,” Leung told a beaming Rahim.
Fellow judges Claudio Aprile and Michael Bonacini shook their heads in agreement.
Leung then surprised the Trinidadian-Canadian with an apron with his name printed in red across the front, signifying that he had secured his spot on the show.
Rahim, whose dream is to take a culinary tour of the world is determined to succeed during his time on MasterChef Canada.
Source:  The Loop

Prime Minister Theresa May has apologised to Caribbean leaders over the Windrush generation controversy, at a Downing Street meeting.
She said she was "genuinely sorry" about the anxiety caused by the Home Office threatening the children of Commonwealth citizens with deportation.
The UK government "valued" the contribution they had made, she said, and they had a right to stay in the UK.
It comes amid reports some are still facing deportation.
The deportation of one man, which had been due to take place on Wednesday, has been halted following an intervention by Labour MP David Lammy.
The Tottenham MP said the mother of 35-year-old Mozi Haynes got in touch saying her son was due to be removed from the country after two failed applications to stay.
Mr Lammy later tweeted that he had been contacted by Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes, who had said that Mr Haynes would not now be deported on Wednesday and his case was "being reviewed".
The Tottenham MP, who has called the controversy a "national disgrace," urged the children of the Windrush generation facing deportation to contact him, promising "justice will be done".
Mr Lammy said that of 12,056 deportations in 2015, 901 were over 50 years of age. and 303 were to Jamaica. He is calling on the Home Office to review all such cases since 2014 to "ensure no wrongful detentions have taken place".
The Home Office said it was making efforts to speak to Mr Haynes to advise him that there is no requirement for him to leave the UK. Officials say it is not a Windrush case and was never an "enforced removal".
The department said it was looking at 49 cases relating to Windrush migrants as a result of calls received on Tuesday.
Landing cardsA former Home Office employee has, meanwhile, told The Guardian that thousands of landing card slips recording Windrush immigrants' arrival dates in the UK were destroyed in 2010 during an office move.
The former worker, who is not named by the newspaper, said managers were warned by staff that destroying the cards would make it harder to check the records of older Caribbean-born residents experiencing difficulties proving their right to remain in the UK.
The government said the decision to "dispose of" the cards had been an "operational" one, taken by officials at the UK Border Agency, rather than the then Home Secretary Theresa May.
A Home Office spokesman said: "Registration slips provided details of an individual's date of entry, they did not provide any reliable evidence relating to ongoing residence in the UK or their immigration status.
"So it would be misleading and inaccurate to suggest that registration slips would therefore have a bearing on immigration cases whereby Commonwealth citizens are proving residency in the UK."
The prime minister's spokesman said things like school records, exam certificates, employment records and bills were seen by the Home Office as "more reliable evidence of ongoing residence".
In her apology to Caribbean leaders, Theresa May said she wanted to "dispel any impression that my government is in some sense clamping down on Commonwealth citizens, particularly those from the Caribbean who have built a life here".
She said the current controversy had arisen because of new rules, introduced by her as home secretary, designed to make sure only those with the right to remain in the UK could access the welfare system and the NHS.
"This has resulted in some people, through no fault of their own, now needing to be able to evidence their immigration status," she told the foreign ministers and leaders of 12 Caribbean nations in Downing Street.
"And the overwhelming majority of the Windrush generation do have the documents that they need, but we are working hard to help those who do not."