A kung fu movie - Bahamian style

The story begins like this: A young kung fu practitioner finds himself in the midst of an ugly ambush one night after locking up his martial arts school. "Sean," the dubious victim, realizes that he is surrounded, then proceeds to take out a small gang of fighters dressed in coal black. After he has single-handedly clobbered the group, Sean pulls his white hoodie over his head and disappears into the night. "Knockin' Duh Conch Style" - billed the first Bahamian kung fu movie - has begun.
As the film unfolds an intense Sean, played by Kent Bazard, battles his way through a series of fight scenes scattered around Nassau while trying to pacify his worried wife & ...

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A spirit of survival

It's an event to celebrate cancer survivors which means somber and dour aren't welcome. And with performances by Visage and the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Defence Force Pop Bands, sitting down demurely at a table at the Cancer Society Gala Ball will definitely be a faux pas.
"This event is about getting up on your feet and being thankful for being alive," said Gina Rolle, vice-chairman of the 11th Annual Cancer Society Ball. "So we want to see people come out and have double the fun knowing they are supporting a good cause."
The ball will be held under the theme "Fiesta: The Spirit of Survival" and will be held at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort on Saturday, May 19 with cocktails at 7 p.m., and dinner at 8 p.m. Tickets for the black tie affair are $225.
"This event is about fun and beauty. We want to celebrate the people who have made it through cancer and let people come out and show their support.We want people to come out and dance the night away. Kick off their shoes, have fun, let loose and celebrate."
Rolle said the ball is about embracing life and the spirit of survival. And has always been a fun affair, as opposed to the stodgy atmosphere that can prevail at some affairs.
"We like to focus on people's enjoyment and not just talk and formality. We embrace life and the spirit of survival. The ball has always been a blast and this year will be fantastic."
As in previous years there will be a fabulous array of prizes to be won -- roundtrip tickets for two to Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, the United States and even trips to the Family Islands as well as jewelry, luggage and spa sessions. A silent auction will also be staged again this year. Items up for grabs include a conch shell dinner set, paintings and jewelry.
The ball will also provide an opportunity for families and friends to come together at a party like no other. The food she said would just be the icing on the cake with dishes that will entice the meat lover as well as the vegetarian and the health conscious.
"There will not be a boring moment and people will have fun from start to finish," she said. "Although the event is about making the public more aware about cancer, there will not be a lot of speech making or formalities. It is hoped that people just have a good time and remember the event for the fun they have and not the long boring sermons. We want to celebrate the people who have made it through cancer and let people come out and show their support. This event is about getting up on your feet and being thankful for being alive."
Funds raised from the event will go toward the Cancer Society's Cancer Caring Center which assists Family Island patients with cancer who don't have anywhere to stay while getting their cancer treatments in New Providence.

The Spirit of Survival
When: Saturday, May 19
Where: Sheraton Nassau Resort, Cable Beach
Time: Cocktails at 7 p.m. and dinner at 8 p.m.
Attire: Black Tie
Cost: $225

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A taste of silver

The Bahamas fielded its youngest professional level team ever to compete in international competition, and returned home with a silver medal for their overall performance with the judges commending them on their high level of achievements as first-time competitors at the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association's (CHTA) "Taste of the Caribbean" culinary competition hosted at the Hyatt Regency in Miami.

Along with the team silver, Team Bahamas received the award for the Caribbean's Most Innovative Dish, with Junior Chef Kevyn Pratt, from Kerzner International, receiving this honor traditionally awarded to senior level chefs.  His plate included Abaco spiced rub beef and pan seared Exuma scallops, served with Nassau sweet potato and plantain cheesy croquettes, coconut infused warm vegetable slaw accompanied with Eleuthera pineapple chutney finished with Andros mango reduction.
Individual honors went to Chef Mychal Harris, from Kerzner International, who received a silver medal in the Chef of the Year competition.  Chef Shanique Bodie, from Old Fort Bay Club, captured a silver medal in the Best Seafood Dish category.

Junior Chef Kevyn Pratt, a College of The Bahamas Culinary and Hospitality Management Institute intern with Kerzner International, also received a silver medal in the Junior Chefs category.

A bronze medal was awarded to Hugh Jones from Kerzner International in the Bartender of the Year category.  Team Captain Chef Jamal Small, from Albany, received a bronze medal in the pastry category.

Chef Charon McKenzie, from the Lyford Cay Club, was also awarded a bronze medal in the beef category. Joining the other team members in receiving a silver medal for their overall team performance and rounding out the team was Chef Charon McKenzie from the Lyford Cay Club, and Chef Charlicia Greene, fromSandals Royal Bahamian.

Team manager, Executive Sous Chef Jason McBride, from the Wyndham Cable Beach Resort, and coach Executive Chef Devin Johnson, from the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort, commended the team members on their professionalism and performance.

"We're extremely proud of the performance of our young chefs and bartender. They exhibited great team work, professionalism, and high standards in representing our nation and the quality of our culinary offering.  The future is bright for these young stars," said Bahamas Hotel Association president Stuart Bowe.

Trinidad & Tobago received top honors as Caribbean Culinary Team of the Year.  The highest individual honors were bestowed upon Mitchell Husbands, Barbados, for Caribbean Chef of the Year, sponsored by
Bahama Breeze Island Grille; Humphrey Lew Jen Tai, Curacao, for Caribbean Bartender of the Year; Kunal Chakrabarti, U.S. Virgin Islands, for Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year, sponsored by Albert Uster
Imports, Inc.; and Mikhala Bagot, British Virgin Islands, for Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year.

The Taste of the Caribbean is an annual event organized by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) to showcase the region's unique and diverse cuisine.  Attending chefs also participated in a series of professional development workshops put on by master chefs, celebrity chefs and leading industry professionals.

Ten teams participated in Taste of the Caribbean -- Anguilla, The Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Curacao, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States Virgin Islands.
This year, event organizers added a new public element called "Taste of The Islands," where several hundred people were given the opportunity to sample dozens of "road" foods and national dishes prepared by the teams.

The Bahamas' team booth was decorated in an appealing backyard style, and with menu offerings featuring crab, conch, guava duff and other delicacies being crowd favorite.

CHTA was so impressed with the event that they plan to create a new award category for it next year and to build it into a festival type public celebration of Caribbean food said DeAnne Gibson from the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation.

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A walking, talking, seeing miracle

Imagine waking up one day - 50 years into your life and everything has gone - black. Well, that is exactly what happened to 51-year-old Charles Bodie. He said he woke up on the morning of August 14, 2011 to go about his daily chores and his vision was just gone. Prior to that, he said he had been a normal, healthy, middle-aged man who felt a little bit of lethargy, from time to time. But he says he had no reason to suffer sight loss. He was scared.
Bodie's wife, Michelle, who was pregnant with their second child at the time made an emergency appointment for him to see an opthamologist, who told Bodie that he needed to take an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) test. While waiting to take that test, he had a CAT scan done and it showed a massive tumor covering more than half of Bodie's brain. He was told he needed surgery right away to have the tumor removed.
Six days after his vision disappeared, Bodie was being prepped for surgery in a Florida hospital. The surgery involved cutting into his skull, pulling his front cap over, going under his frontal lobe to remove the tumor which was pressing on his optic nerve and which caused the blindness.
Optic nerve compression occurs when a formation around the brain - such as a tumor or bony structure - presses on the optic nerve and affects its performance. The most common symptom of optic nerve compression is gradual vision loss or a gradual worsening in vision. It is rare to have sudden vision loss with optic nerve compression.
A tumor which doctors told Bodie had grown to the size of two baseballs, over approximately a 20-year period, was removed. Luckily for him, it also proved to be benign.
Bodie believes he's a walking, talking, seeing miracle because he was told the tumor would have killed him eventually if it had not been removed.
"There were no symptoms prior to waking up blind. The only thing I could say was I had limited energy. I found myself always wanting to lie down and that I was always tired before surgery, but now my wife said I have too much energy and that I can't seem to tune down anymore. I'm up at 5 a.m. every morning and go until approximately midnight," he said.
He underwent a course of radiation, just in case some of the tumor was missed in surgery to kill off any remaining cells. He had a final MRI done on December 29, 2011. He has been given the all clear.
"I think I'm highly favored and blessed," he said. "My vision has been restored, but I basically wear glasses for reading."
According to Bodie, the cost of the surgery and treatment was in the vicinity of $250,000 that he had to pay out of pocket as his family did not have insurance. He was happy he had assets he could shuffle to pay for the surgery, and a wife who saved every dollar.
As for his energy level, after spending 20 hours in surgery, with the doctor needing two hours alone just to cut into his "conch skull" (which is what he says she called it), Bodie spent one day in intensive care after surgery. The following day he was able to get up out of bed and use the restroom without assistance. He spent four days in recovery and another five days in a rehab facility, before he was released. Like a true Bahamian, he said he and his wife went to the mall and shopped before they returned home to Grand Bahama the following Saturday. By the Sunday he was outside cutting grass in his yard.
"The doctor told me that I just needed to take it easy, but I felt once I had the strength in my legs and my vision was back and I felt everything was safe, I was out and about doing things. And on Monday morning, I was back driving my son to and from school," he said.

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ABC Prosthetics and Orthotics

• #18 Rosetta St
• Nassau
• Nassau / Paradise Island, Bahamas

Abaco Anglers celebrates 43 years

ABACO - The Abaco Anglers Fishing Tournament, which closed its forty-third edition on April 27, drew a number of boats, both local and tourist, for a fun week of fishing. Taking the top spots this year were Ashley Knowles, with a 21-pound wahoo on a 30-pound test line, and Sid Roberts with a 53-pound Dolphin on a 20-pound line. The award ceremony this year was held at Hope Town Inn and Marina and was competently catered by manager Aaron Knowles and his staff.
The event, which started on April 18, had weigh stations throughout Abaco including Lighthouse Marina in Hope Town and Pete's Pub in Little Harbour. A particular draw of this tournament is the inclusion of a junior division, where miniature anglers can throw their lines and be recognized along with experienced sportfishers.
New competitors who were recognized at this year's banquet at Hope Town Inn were Bob Morecraft, Loraine Morecraft, Charlie Horne, Ed Davis and Leonardo Whan.
Competitors used everything from hand lines to 80-pound test lines. Dolphin, barracuda and wahoo were what appeared to be the most common catches.
During the awards banquet, anglers and visitors were encouraged to purchase raffle tickets. Many prizes were given out including wine, bottle cozies, tackle gear and a $50 and $100 gift certificate to Hope Town Inn and Marina.
Sid Roberts, who also caught the largest fish in the competition, moderated the event. Nearly everyone received a prize: Hand-carved trophies by Little Harbour's Pete Johnston. Sid awarded himself the top catch floating trophy and awarded Ashley Knowles the top lady's trophy, which was a sculpture carved from a vibrant pink conch shell.
The Abaco Angler Tournament was run for many years by the late Ross Thompson. It is continued, in his memory, by organizers.

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Abaco Island Artists

• Marsh Harbour
• Marsh Harbour
• Abaco, Bahamas

Abaco power woes costing firms 50%

Brownouts, blackouts and fried equipment continue to plague Abaco, with one store owner Monday saying business had fallen 50 per cent because of the power issues, while one hardware store said commerce was flowing because of it.

Peter Bradley said his company, Conch Pearl Gallery, had lost half its business because of the consistent power cuts across the island, as tourists - his biggest customers - peer into the darkened store and subsequently leave.

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Accused man claims he was 'shot by someone lurking in bushes'

FREEPORT- Marcus Bailey told a Supreme Court jury he was shot by someone lurking in bushes on the night of December 20, 2009, when conch stand owner Julius Lewis was robbed by a lone gunman.

Bailey is on trial for the armed robbery of Doc's Conch Stand and possession of a firearm.

The prosecution alleges the accused robbed Mr Lewis of $270 and that he accidentally shot himself in the leg while fleeing the scene of the robbery.

The defence opened its case last Wednesday when Bailey gave an unsworn statement in court.

While addressing jurors briefly, he described himself as a businessman and father of two.

Bailey claims he was a victim of circumstance on the night in question as he was shot by ...

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Activists Turn To Housing Minister After Lack Of Action

Activists seeking the implementation of a promised environmental sanctuary in northern Bimini are taking their case to Minister of Housing and Environment Ken Dorsett.

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