#i have an exhibition wednesday so ill be busy busy for a while too

[zero-is-nebulous]

The artist

Funny creature Gloom belongs to @sonicexelle-junkary !!

[awhilesince]

Monday, 13 September 1824

7 50/60

1 35/60

Breakfast at 9 – Mrs Mackenzie came and sat with me 1/2 hour she is in doubt whether to stay here or not seemed to ask my advice and be inclined to stay if her father is pretty well I would not speak decidedly but was evidently in favour of her staying she has had much unhappiness married against her choice from convenience a man thirty years older than herself who made her unhappy tho she always tried to do her duty her daughter cleverer than she is and rather the upper hand it seems Mrs Mackenzies being so communicative struck me – Mrs Mackenzie gave me a ticket given to her by Mr Brande that will always admit me to the Jardin des Plantes – Miss Mackenzie, too, came in and sat with me a few minutes – 

on this account, it was 12 before I had read over my 3 letters finished last night, and had no time to make any extract from them – they must be in the general post office Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau before 2, or could not be taken in today, and then there being no English post tomorrow, must have waited till Wednesday my letter to my aunt (begun on Wednesday, 3 pages, the ends, and under the turn-down) giving an account of my journey, my being very comfortable here, of Madame de B–‘s (Boyve’s) being handsome – of our sitting in the Tuileries gardens, and of the Champs Elysées, and of the fête at St. Germain gave an account of the shawls worn and their prices – excerpt this – 

My letter to M– (Mariana) on the same subjects only giving a more regular account, rather journalwise, and adding short answers to M–‘s (Mariana’s) last letter – Merely said on the subject of Mrs Henry Stephen B–‘s (Belcombe’s) management of the going-to-York business, I did not understand it, but she and Steph had my best wishes – Entreated M– (Mariana) not to pother herself about Petergate money matters – Mrs B– (Belcombe) knew what she was, and would take care of the girls – I did not think Dr. B–‘s (Belcombe’s) practice could now be sold for much – he was not likely to be well enough to introduce anyone – but Steph’s name and kinship would serve him – affectionate to π (Mariana) kind about Miss Pattison but much more the former to Miss Maclean very much so to her tho anybody might see it perhaps she herself may muse over a line or two in the first page – Told both my aunt and M– (Mariana) and Miss Maclean of my having Madame Galvani, that she alone was worth coming to Paris for; and all my time – would be taken up in endeavoring to gain the French language – 

my letter to Miss Maclean begun at Shibden Wednesday 18 August, resumed and finished yesterday – foolscap sheet 3 pages, long ends, and under the turn-down – very small and short – Treated of my journey being comfortable here, the Tuileries Champs Elysées fête of St. Germain etc etc very briefly – all the rest bavardage amical – 

went out at 12 1/4 (took Cordingley with me) direct to the general post-office in the rue Jean Jacques Rousseau – put in my letter to my aunt (Shibden) 22 sols. and to ‘Mrs Lawton Lawton hall etc 22 sols. and to ‘Miss Maclean of Coll Tobermory North Britain (Ecosse)’ 28 sols because letters here are paid for according to their weight, and I had sealed this letter and wafered the 2 others – wafers always used here because lighter than sealing wax, and for the same reason the French choose thin writing paper – saw the man who took my letters, and those of the crowd standing round the wire grating of his bureau, weigh each letter in a pair of scales hanging close to him – 

from the Post Office walked thro’ the halle au bles, and the church of St. Eustache for Cordingley to see them – then along the rue de Grenelle direct thro’ the palais of the Louvre to the Pont des Arts – crossed the Pont neuf, and returned over the Pont royal thro’ the Tuileries gardens and got home at 2 –

the porter gave me a letter charged only 5 sols (brought by some private conveyance –sent thro’ our ambassador) from Miss Maclean (Tobermory) – Oh! that I had had it before I went out – 

on coming upstairs to Mrs Mackenzie to ask what they were going to do, found them going to the Louvre to try to see the exhibition there of the new (modern) pictures – done by living and I believe all French artists; for the King’s death was hourly expected, and all public places would be closed for 6 weeks – his majesty had taken leave of his family, and received extreme unction – the garde du corps to be changed – Monsieur the next King will go to St. Cloud, and there will be no fête there – what a stupid place, says everyone with one accord, will Paris be! Away we went to the Louvre – shut already, sans aucune exception, till further orders – Sauntered in the Tuileries gardens –

Got back at 4 – read my letter from Miss Maclean – very kind and affectionate – I know not any of her letters that has given me more pleasure – perhaps the receiving it here, might add to my delight – I shall keep and read it by way of stimulus for see the end of the crossing Breadalbane thought me ‘almost quite handsome at Esholt’ and Miss Maclean evidently likes and admires me  visited by an old admirer ‘you once said you thought I would have been happier in the married state no no you are mistaken unless with a mind and he art like your own the married state would have been misery to me  far happier as I am ‘ – see the bottom of page one – and the last end for the following  after desiring continuation of the extracts from my journal ‘you know not how I was tormented at home about you Miss Bs (Belcombe’s) manner of speaking half did this  she only poor soul jested but very little difference of manner in you would have made me dislike you at that time I believe it was mostly occasioned by a little tincture of jealousy at home’..... thought I to myself this lets me into much the Belcombes are no advantage to me I now really dislike Anne not tho on her own hearts account for she is good but for the disagreeableness of her manners I would not for worlds be thought a friend of her poor soul she too was jealous I guess the style in which she would mention me – Breadalbane by thinking me almost handsome at Esholt has perhaps got over her prejudices and and I may conciliate her perhaps entirely with a little care – she must have some idea of Miss Macls (Maclean’s) partiality for on the arrival of my letter she threw it into the room with ‘there be happy’ see the first page at the bottom of the second is the more than permission to write Sibbella  Mrs Grieves would have been most happy to see me –

Miss Maclean inclosed me a letter from her niece Miss Hobart – I should fancy her a nice good hearted fashionable girl the superior cleverness I have somehow expected would not strike one from her letter she is in first rate nobility society evidently – I am to burn the letter at the end of the envelope is the following ‘I certainly do spend a good deal on dress but if I had all to buy I think I could manage very well surely a single woman can live very comfortably on nine hundred a year which I under stand I have at my disposal uncle Sullivan told me before I went to Paris as worth eighteen thousand pounds and rather more’ – 

At the 4th page of Miss Hobart’s letter (dated ‘13th’ August) 

‘Now as to your dear picture, your friend whose name I forgot is perfectly welcome to it now, I will with pleasure lend it for a short time, but you may tell her she is much more welcome now than at the horrible time you mention, for if I survive you, I shall not then spare it.’ – 

Reading and musing over my letter till near 5, then came the Irish girl and another young person from Madame Romatier to try on my new gown – not only my stays, but my petticoats ill made (true enough) – French stays would cost 30 francs and upwards – such calico as my petticoats are made of, so strong and good, not to be got in Paris – the best I could get would be thinner and finer 5 francs an aune an aune wide tho’ this of mine was 1/3 in England this and 1/2 wide – it would take 3 or 4 aunes for a petticoat; and the making (at Madame R–‘s (Romatier’s)) would be 5 francs – 

Dinner at 6 – A Mr Moore who would speak nothing but desperately bad French all the while made his debut at table – to stay for how long, I know not – does not dance now in England – does not like the present style of dancing in England except at Almacks – rather a would-be-prig – nothing great, methinks, ab origine and at home – Madame de B– (Boyve) would teach me Ecarté, and after a game or 2, set me down to play with Mr Moore (not for money) and I played with him (the better of the 2 I think) for surely about an hour – 

In the evening had Monsieur Bellevue; a Swiss count, a handsome young man; Monsieur Denappe, and Monsieur St. Auban – after playing at finding out words and talking to 1 or other (have not sat next Madame de B– (Boyve) these 3 or 4 nights) 

came up to bed (leaving the party) at 11 35/60 making memoranda of my accounts – read and mused over Miss Maclean’s letter – all much kept me up so late – Very fine day – the sun out – very warm – Fahrenheit 69° at 12 3/4 – [E two dots O two dots, marking discharge from venereal complaint] –

reference number: SH:7/ML/E/8/0042, SH:7/ML/E/8/0043

[uniarycode]

Takari Week, Day 1 - Confession

Takeru has spent weeks trying to confess to Hikari but somehow he can never actually get it out.  Hikari has a different interpretation on how they’ve been spending their time.  Done as part of @takariweek 2020

Today was the day.  Today everything would change for better or for worse.  Today marked the first sentence of a new chapter of his life.  Today was the day he was going to confess to Hikari.

Unlike all those other sentences he had to re-write.

This was not the first day this month Takeru had planned to confess.  However, he was a romantic at heart, and no matter how much resolve he had beforehand somehow the moment never felt right.  He would always be able to tell their grandkids about how they met, but he wanted to be proud or the story of how he first asked her out.  And none of the opportunities so far fit his taste.

It was either that or he was afraid.  

Even if his confession was successful, it would still mean a fundamental change would occur in his and Hikari’s relationship.  And Takeru had a mixed relationship with change. Change meant the loss of his father and brother.  Change meant the introduction of a strange world filled with monsters.  Even the first time Patamon had changed into a new form had led to one of the most traumatic events in his life.

But change also led him to meet Patamon in the first place, something he wouldn’t trade for all the riches in the world.  Change meant moving to the same school as Hikari, and meeting Miyako, Iori, Daisuke and Ken.  Change meant that one day society might accept Digimon as a whole.

And whether he liked it or not, change was coming.

It was still surreal to him; his brother and Taichi had always seemed so close.  They had never been part of the same cliques, and they spent almost as much time fighting as hanging out.  But their friendship always eclipsed everything else, social standings, heated disputes, none of it mattered; they were best friends, through and through.

Then college happened. Now the legendary duo’s primary means of communication was via their siblings.  Hikari would learn some new fact of her brother’s life, tell Takeru during the course of casual conversation, and Takeru would update his brother of the going-ons later that week.

It wasn’t just them.  Even Mimi, who had an incessant talent for attaching herself onto someone and refusing to let them go, seemed much further from the rest of the chosen then she’d even been while she lived in America.

Takeru knew their bond was strong, that what the eight of them had done could not be forgotten or replaced.  But even if distance could not destroy the bridge holding them together, it could certainly increase the hassle of travelling back and forth.

The last thing Takeru wanted was for that distance to appear between himself and Hikari.  This was their final year in highschool, if he didn’t at least try now he might not ever get the opportunity again.  He needed to try, despite the inherent risks.

Besides, Hikari had rejected Daisuke dozens of times, and they were still friends, right?

Gathering his courage, Takeru had asked Hikari if they could have a day to themselves, ‘just the two of them’.  He’d suggested Wednesday, when neither club duties nor pressing assignments devoured too significant portions of their time.

Ever the romantic, he had it all planned out: First, karaoke.  A good, private way to judge the mood, and get Hikari to let her hair down.  Next, they had tickets to a movie, the new Disney flick that Hikari had been dying to see but never gotten around to (and without someone pressing, likely would not until it became available on dvd.) Finally, a romantic stroll on the boardwalk at sunset.

The boardwalk overlooking the bay.

The bay where they fought Ordienmon.

The bay where they’d been forced to kill one of their friends.

It was only after beginning his long-rehearsed spiel that Takeru had this epiphany, and, fearful that his date may have been quicker on the uptake than himself, he scrambled for a plan B.  

Salvation came in the form of a nearby cat café, he knew as soon as he suggested it that Hikari would lose herself in the felines, paying more attention to the four-legged critters than she did to him, but it was worth it to avert potential catastrophe.

Fate still deigned to mock him however, from the instant he sat down a maine-coon attached to him, refusing to move from his side, or to let the memories of past failures escape.

All cats attached to Hikari, she merely shared them with the other customers as she saw fit.  There was no doubt she enjoyed herself, but the moment had been well and truly ruined.

Takeru had managed to obtain an opportunity of redemption. ‘Same time next week’ had been the agreement, and he had near instantly resumed planning.  Whatever he came up this time had to top what he’d just done, or else he might have to explain away his mistake.

But even the most perfect plan does not survive contact with the enemy, and the enemy presented itself as an ill-timed phone call from his father.   One of his coworker’s households had apparently been graced by the appearance of a small white blob with a voracious appetite, and Hiroaki was wondering if his son could stop by after school and help calm the panicking mother, perhaps also giving tips for digital care.

Hikari would not allow him to say no, and insisted on tagging along.  But the TV station itself held a lot of painful memories for the girl, every year she returned with an offering of flowers and incense for Wizardmon’s grave.

It was far from a total waste since an idol Hikari had been following was also present.  Somehow the idol had overheard their arrival, and considered themselves interested in the pro-digimon cause.  In fact, the idol had been downright helpful, asking questions of him and Hikari that the coworker was likely to embarrassed or too naïve to think of.  Hiroaki ended up taking them all out for dinner, and they chatted for hours, finally assuaging the fear of a parent whose daughter now had a dog-head as a life partner.  

By that point, he had to take Hikari home, with no real opportunity to confess, even if Wizardmon wasn’t on her mind.

The third attempt was a no go from the beginning, Hikari had been sent into a rare, foul state.  All she wanted to do was eat ice-cream and rant, so they went to a dairy-bar overlooking the beach.

He’d let her vent when she wanted to vent, and when she was done he did what he did best: deflecting the conversation to some odd antics of Daisuke or his brother, anything to get her happy and cheerful again. Even after her mood had recovered, steering the conversation towards a confession felt like he might be taking advantage of her, or putting her on the spot somehow.

Cheering her up was reward enough, even as he paid for the forty-flavor super-jumbo, bottomless Sunday that they’d managed to make a liar out of.

(He’d eaten perhaps an eighth of it, there was no doubt in his mind that Hikari could have eaten the whole thing; but she at least wanted the plausible deniability to claim that he’d consumed half the calories.)

The fourth attempt was similarly doomed, he’d been too sick for school that day, and while Hikari had dropped by, he was too delirious to form a real confession, or for her to take any confession seriously.

The feel of her hand stroking his hear as she tended to him had been so heavenly though.  He couldn’t regret the experience.

By this point Takeru was convinced their Wednesday gatherings were cursed.  There was little reason Hikari would even see them as special.  And while he always enjoyed spending time with her, especially just the two of them, he was worried that regularity may dampen the splendor he’d initially been going for.

This week he requested to move their weekly hang out session to Saturday.  It would allow more time for them to be out at night, and thus more time for him to enact his perfect confession.  Hikari’s father was away on business, and her mother had already agreed to be rather lax on her daughter’s curfew.

His mother had not, but she would not punish him if he told her he was out on his first date, nor would she punish him after getting rejected, yet another reason he needed to actually spit it out today.

And it seemed all the stars were aligning, on top of her father being out of town: a photography exhibition at a local gallery was going for half price, and her favorite indie group were headlining a public concert at the beach until sundown.  Finally, there was a forecast for a clear, bright moon, and a local botanical garden was advertising a moonlit stroll through their flowers.

Hikari had agreed on one condition: they could wade through the shallows, but not do any real swimming at the beach.  It had seemed odd to Takeru at first, but the beach had been more about the free concert than seeing her in her swimsuit.

***

When Takeru arrived at the Yagami apartment he was stunned by the vision of beauty that graced him.  Hikari was wearing a strapless dress, black with accents of pink and white, that he’d never seen her in before.   Based on how high her head was coming up his body, she had to be wearing quite daring heels as well.

And her makeup had been done with so much precision and effort he had to wonder if perhaps Mimi had come back to town to help her.

“T-Takeru?” she asked, and he realized he must have been staring.

“I’m sorry, have you seen Hikari?  Brown hair, about yea tall,” he held his hand about three feet off the floor, “may have a family of ducklings following her around.”

“That was one time.” She scolded.

Takeru stood on his tip toes and moved one hand to sit above his eyes, like a visor.  “Hikari? Is that you?  Are you trapped behind this radiant goddess in front of me?”

A tell-tale pink infiltrated her cheeks as she turned around.  “It’s too much isn’t it?  I could still maybe change and-”

His hand shot out and grabbed her arm before she could escape. “You look perfect.” He said sincerely, pulling her in for a hug. “Besides, people at the exhibit will be expecting beauty and art.  They just may not be expecting the source.”

“You’re just saying that.” She deflected.

He wasn’t.

Takeru was not the same connoisseur of photography Hikari was.  When push comes to shove, he wasn’t sure anyone was the same connoisseur of photography Hikari was.  That said, he enjoyed exhibits well enough.  He liked to look at the pictures, and soak them in.  Try and memorize every detail to regurgitate later.  

Or occasionally, he would find a particular picture, and write a story in his head.  How had they gotten here, to this moment, what did picture mean to the squirrel which was the focus?  What was he doing immediately before?  How did this moment change his life?

Such joys eluded him today, instead his focus was solely on the brunette accompanying him.  The pictures only mattered in how they changed the expression on her face as she examined them.  

After exiting the gallery, there was still about an hour before the band started playing at the beach, they stopped for a bite to eat, and Takeru did his best to fake his way though her questions on the exhibition.

What was his favorite photo?  He named one on the left wall of the one she stared at for ten minutes, that had framed her head the whole time.  Why?  He made up some impromptu story he’d concocted about the scenery involved.  It won him a laugh from her as he turned the questions around.

When they got to the beach, Hikari replaced her heels with flat sandals she kept in her purse.  Takeru noted that he at least recognized the heels this time, unlike her dress, but he’d still never seen her wear them before.

Despite her insistence they not swim, (something Takeru now realized had to do with the amount of time she’d spent on her makeup,) hikari had instantly dragged him towards the water, to wade in the shallows.  They didn’t go much more than ankle deep, anymore and they risked getting hikari’s dress and his shorts wet, but it had been romantic nonetheless.

When the main act began to play, they collected their shoes and moved towards the stage, communications dampening as the speakers drowned out all sounds but the band on stage.

Takeru didn’t need words, the sight of Hikari, framed by the sunset, losing herself in the moment was more than enough for him.

It was twilight when the band’s ‘second encore’ had concluded and the crowd began to peter out.   There was a small ice-cream sack on the beach, and Hikari rarely turned down an opportunity for more of the frozen delight.

They talked about the concert, the waves on the beach, of everything and nothing all at once, until the residual light from the sun faded and the moon came in full force.  In the city like this, there was always a glow of artificial light, but it did not diminish Tsukuyomi’s splendor.

Meandering towards the botanical gardens, continuing their chatter about daily life.  Just outside Hikari stopped him, finding a bench to switch back from flats to heels, insisting it was more ‘proper’.  Takeru didn’t let her get away unscathed, suggesting that if she wanted to feel taller, stilts would be more appropriate.  She responded by playfully warning him that he may ‘wake up one day, two feet shorter’.

Neither comment had nearly as much effect as when the woman at the counter remarked on ‘What a beautiful date this would make’ and how she ‘wished her boyfriend had been so romantic at that age.’

Hikari’s face could be mistaken for a tomato, and Takeru adopted an uncharacteristic stutter as he paid their admission and ushered Hikari outside.

The woman’s words had a chilling effect, the natural conversation had all but dried up, replaced with subtle pleasantries and tepid remarks about the moonlit flowers.  Before long Hikari had her camera out, taking pictures of the various plant life, abandoning most conversation all together.

Was this it, had such a small, well-meaning action already cursed him?  Everything was going so well.  Was he a modern Sysphus?  Doomed to forever push himself up the hill of a relationship with Hikari only to fall down at the pinnacle and start all over?

“Takeru?” Hikari asked, snapping him out of his monologue, “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” Takeru replied “Just thinking.”

She grabbed his arm, pulling him towards a nearby bench. “Come on, let’s take a break, these shoes are killing me.”

“The price of fashion.” Takeru said sagely.

After they reached the bench, and Hikari had relieved herself of her footwear, they paused, focusing on some hydrangeas flow in the wind, accented by moon light.  A weight appeared on Takeru’s shoulder, where Hikari began to rest her head.

“Right now.” She said “This moment just feels so…perfect.”

Takeru took a deep breath.  He had the most wonderful girl on his arm, after spending nearly eight hours with her. “Yeah, perfect.”

A perfect moment.

It was unlikely a better opportunity would present itself.

“Hikari.” He said suddenly, just as she chimed in with his name. “Sorry,” they said in unison.

Her head pulled off his arm, quite disappointingly in his opinion, as she turned to face him.

“Ladies first.” Takeru said “I insist.”  She gave him a soft look, knowing that he wouldn’t let her win this one.

 “Okay.” She started “This last month, has just been so wonderful, so amazing.  I know I’m not the most experienced with this, and I know we haven’t really put a name on it, but it’s still been like something out of a novel.  I guess I should expect that from you.”

She had begun to look down, rummaging through her purse, as takeru tried to sort out exactly what she was talking about.  Had it already been a month since they started these ‘friend-dates?’

Hikari continued obliviously, “It’s not much, especially since you seem to do all the planning, but I thought you’d like it.” She pulled out a tightly-wrapped box. “Happy  one-month anniversary.”

Ani-what?

Dates rolled back in his head as he began to piece things together; the dress, the makeup, the heels, those were all for him?  Had she always been considering these less friend-dates and more dates-dates?

And he, in a move of pure coincidence, had moved this week’s date to Saturday, one month to the day of that first date, and even asked her mother for permission to stay out late.

Takeru did the only thing he could think of in the moment.

He laughed.

“Tak-Takeru?” she asked, and he could already sense fear and hesitation begin to well up within her as she saw her (boyfriend?) laugh at her anniversary gift.  He grabbed her and pulled her into a hug to dissuade any doubts.

“Happy anniversary,” he said when his hysterics died down.  “One month, I’ve been trying to confess for a month, and you hit me with that.”

“Wait, confess?” Hiakri said, begging a laugh of his own that quickly spread to Takeru.  “All this time and you didn’t even think we were dating?  You completely stopped flirting with everyone else.  Did you really think I didn’t…”

“We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?” Takeru teased in response.

“Yeah,” Hikari agreed. “Well, if you finally managed to confess after all that, maybe I can do something I’ve been too scared to do for the last month.”

Takeru looked down at her, “What would that be?” he asked leaning in close.

“This.” She pressed her lips against his.

[skgway]

1824 Sept., Mon. 13

7 50/60

1 35/60

Breakfast at 9 – Mrs. Mackenzie came and sat with me 1/2 hour. She is in doubt whether to stay here or not. Seemed to ask my advice and being inclined to stay if her father is pretty well. I would not speak decidedly, but was evidently in favour of her staying. She has had much unhappiness. Married against her choice from convenience [to] a man thirty years older than herself who made her unhappy, tho she always tried to do her duty. Her daughter cleverer than she is, and has rather the upper hand it seems. Mrs. Mackenzie’s being so communicative rather struck me – 

Mrs. Mackenzie gave me a ticket given to her by Mr. Brande that will always admit me to the Jardin des Plantes – Miss Mackenzie, too, came in and sat with me a few minutes – On this account, it was 12 before I had read over my 3 letters finished last night, and had no time to make any extracts from them – They must be in the general post office, Rue J.J. Rousseau, by 2 or could not be taken in today and there being no English post tomorrow must have waited till Wednesday. 

My letter to my aunt (began on Wednesday, 3 pages, the ends, and under the turn-down, giving an account of my journey, my being very comfortable here, of Madame de B– [Boyve]’s being handsome – Of our sitting in the Tuileries gardens, and of the Champs Elysées, and of the fête at St. Germain. Gave an  account of the shawls worn and their prices – excerpt this – 

My letter to M– [Mariana] on the same subjects only giving a more regular account, rather journalwise, and adding  short answers to M– [Mariana]’s last letter – Merely said on the subject of Mrs. H. S. B– [Belcombe]’s management of the going-to-York business, I did not understand it, but she and Steph had my best wishes – 

Entreated M– [Mariana] not to pother herself about Petergate money matters – Mrs. B– [Belcombe] knew what she was, and would take care of the girls – I did not think Dr. B– [Belcombe]’s practice could now be sold for much – He was not likely to be well enough to introduce anyone – but Steph’s name and kinship would serve him – 

Affectionate to 𝛑 [Mariana], kind about Miss Pattison, but much more the former to Miss Maclean. Very much  so to her, tho anybody might see it. Perhaps she herself may muse over a line or two in the first page – Told both my aunt and M– [Mariana] and Miss Maclean of my having Madame Galvani, that she alone was worth coming to Paris for; and all my time – would be taken up in endeavoring to gain the French language – 

My letter to Miss Maclean began at Shibden Wednesday 18 August, resumed and finished yesterday – Foolscap sheet 3 pp [pages long ends and under the turn-down – Very small and short – Treated of my journey being comfortable here, the Tuileries, Champs Elysées, fête of St. Germain etc. etc. very briefly – All the rest bavardage amical – 

Went out at 12 1/4 (took Cordingly with me). Direct to the general post-office in the rue J.J. Rousseau – Put in my letter to my aunt (Shibden) 22 sols and to “Mrs. Lawton Lawton hall etc. 22 sols and to “Miss Maclean of Coll Tobermory N[orth] B[ritain] (Ecosse)” 28 sols, because letters here are paid for according to their weight, and I had sealed this letter and wafered the 2 others – Wafers always used here because lighter than sealing wax, and for the same reason the French choose thin writing paper – 

Saw the man who took my letters, and those of the crowd standing round the wire grating of his bureau, weigh each letter in a pair of scales hanging close to him – From the Post Office walked thro’ the Halle au blés, and the church of St. Eustache for Cordingly to see them – Then along the Rue de Grenelle direct thro’ the palace of the Louvre to the Pont des Arts – 

Crossed the Pont Neuf, and returned over the Pont Royal thro’ the Tuileries gardens and got home at 2 – The porter gave me a letter, charged only 5 sols (brought by some private conveyance – Sent thro’ our ambassador from Miss Maclean (Tobermorey)

Oh! That I had had it before I went out – On coming upstairs to Mrs. Mackenzie to ask what they were going to do, found them going to the Louvre to try to see the exhibition there of the new (Modern) pictures – Done by living, and I believe, all French artists; for the King’s death was hourly expected, and all public places would be closed for 6 weeks – 

His majesty had taken leave of his family, and received extreme unction – The Garde du Corps to be changed – Monsieur the next King will go to St. Cloud and there will be no fête there – What a stupid place, says everyone with one accord, will Paris be! 

Away we went to the Louvre – Spent already, sans aucune except, till further orders – Sauntered in the Tuileries Gardens – Got back at 4 – Read my letter from Miss Maclean – Very kind and affectionate – I know not any of her letters that has given me more pleasure – Perhaps the receiving it here, might add to my delight – I shall keep, and read it by way of stimulus, for see the end of the crossing. Breadalbane thought me “almost quite handsome at Esholt” and Miss MacL[ean] evidently likes and admires me. 

Visited by an old admirer, “You once said you thought I would have been happier in the married state, no, no, you are mistaken. Unless with a mind and heart like your own, the married state would have been misery to me. Far happier as I am” – See the bottom of page one – 

And the last end for the following, after desiring a continuation of the extracts from my journal “You know not how I was tormented at home about you. Miss B[elcombe]’s manner of speaking half did this. She only, poor soul, jested. But very little difference of manner in you would have made me dislike you at that time. I believe it was mostly occasioned by a little tincture of jealousy at home” ..... 

Thought I to myself, this lets me into much the Belcombes are no advantage to me. I now really dislike Anne, not tho on her own hearts account, for she is good, but for the disagreeableness of her manners. I would not for worlds be thought a friend of hers. Poor soul. She too was jealous I guess, the style in which she would mention me – 

Breadalbane, by thinking me almost handsome at Esholt, has perhaps got over her prejudices and I may conciliate her perhaps entirely with a little care – She must have some idea of Miss MacL[ean]’s partiality, for on the arrival of my letter she threw it into the room with a “There be happy.” See the fir[s]t page and at the bottom of the second is the more than permission to write Sibella. 

Mrs. Grieves would have been most happy to see me – Miss M[a]cL[ean] inclosed me a letter from her niece Miss Hobart – I should fancy her a nice good hearted fashionable girl. The superior cleverness I have somehow expected would not strike one from her letter. She is in first rate nobility society evidently – I am to burn the letter. 

At the end of the envelopes the following “I certainly do spend a good deal on dress, but if I had all to buy I think I could manage very well. Surely a single woman can live very comfortably upon nine hundred a year, which I understand I have at my disposal. Uncle Sullivan told me before I went to Paris, as worth eighteen thousand pounds and rather more” 

At the 4th page, Miss Hobart’s letter (dated “13th” August), “Now as to your picture, your friend, whose name I forgot, is perfectly welcome to it now. I will with pleasure lend it for a short time, but you may tell her she is much more welcome now than at the horrible time you mention, for if I survive you, I shall not then spare it.” – 

Reading and musing over my letter till near 5, then came the Irish girl and another young person from Madame Romatier to try on my new gown – Not only my stays, but my petticoats ill made (true enough) – French stays would cost 30 francs and upwards – Such calico as my petticoats are made of, so strong and good, not to be got in Paris – The best I could get would be thinner and finer, 5 francs an aune. An aune wide, tho’ this of mine was 1/3 in England yard and ½ wide – it would take 3 or 4 aunes for a petticoat; and the making (at Madame R– [Romatier]’s) would be 5 francs – 

Dinner at 6 – A Mr. Moore who would speak nothing but desperately bad French all the while made his debut at the table – To stay for how long, I know not – Does not dance now in England – Does not like the present style of dancing in England except at Almacks – Rather a would-be-prig – Nothing great, methinks, aborigine and at home – 

Madame de B– [Boyve] would teach me Ecarte, and after a game or 2, set me down to play with Mr. Moore (not for money) and I played with him (the better of the 2 I think) for surely above an hour – In the evening had Monsieur Belleveue; a Swiss Count, a handsome young man; Monsieur Denappe, and Monsieur St. Auban – 

After playing at finding out words and talking to 1 or other (have not sat next Madame de B– [Boyve] these 3 or 4 nights) came up to bed (leaving the party, at 11 35/60 making memoranda of my accounts – Read and mused over Miss McL– [MacLean]’s all which kept me up so late – 

Very fine day – The sun out – Very warm – Fharenheit 69º at 12 3/4 – E [two dots, treading venereal complaint] O [two dots, marking discharge] –

[sophieoliviab-blog]

Wednesday Lecture - Mike Pratt & Q&A

Mike Pratt was born in 1987 in Seaham, North East England. He graduated from Northumbria University in 2009 where he was awarded the Paul Mason Sculpture Prize, in 2014 he completed a two-year postgraduate programme at De Ateliers in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Solo exhibitions include Deep Pond, Galerie Juliette Jongma, Amsterdam, Rubberhead/Rubbernecking B.M.W. Edinburgh, Good Mourning Bell Workplace Gateshead, Cumberland Sausage Extraspazio, Rome, and HUBBA HUBBA, Satellite, Newcastle.

lecture - Pratt talks about each painting he created, he suggests he uses expressionistic approaches such as splats and the strokes he makes on his large canvas’s. Mike said he Never left comfortable leaving the painting as it is like its missing something so he said he added text in his work which is shown on the paintings above. in his work he finds theres many problems and having it in his studio as an activity and taking it out of the studio to finish the piece makes it like two different worlds. 

After he graduated he did a show in Rome which he had alot of paintings in his studio which were unfinished and his intention was to always cover it with text and he wanted to push it further by sending out doodle paintings. Mike said he felt more like he let go and worked more freely instead of the system he created. During the lecture he commented he likes repitition and going back repeating himself and by doing this it gave him the freedom to work around. His work is mainly in a series about 4or 5 paintings on the go at once. He worked around the idea of taking one of the paintings and blowing it up in scale and screen printing it. Pratt reads books such as pop art and abstract which have influenced his work today. 

I absolutely loved Mike Pratt lecture I felt so inspired by his work and see the relations between both our artworks and how we work. Mike suggested how creating works on a bigger scale really pushed him out of his comfort zone and since on my second semester the work I have produced this term is so different from what I normally do but for the better. In the Q&A later he said just have fun with what you are doing and what is exactly what I am doing. I'm trying not to to think too much in it what I want to say or express but seeing the work produced everything links as a whole. I was worried about my work because a lot of tutors said its better to have a concept around the work your creating but some of my paintings just happened in the moment by repeating the same painting and adding or just simply the fact I'm enjoying what I'm doing and I was worried if that makes me less important or not doing my best I can but its exactly what mike said If your enjoying what your producing the work will speak for itself and link as a journey. 

Although what I didn't like about Mike Pratt work is some paintings where too busy and if he took a step back and had a moment he would find the painting looked finished before the text was added but thats just my opinion. I prefer work that doesn't involve text because its like knowing the story before you even attempt it. I like paintings that are unknown and a puzzle. I feel like he didn't really know when to stop and carried on until he couldn't do anymore over the text. 

Q&A

Do you have an idea in your head soon as you start painting or how do you actually start the idea?

“I would get a really big canvas and get a big sheet of paper and I just make a start and not worry what its about, just enjoy it and then I would get my canvas I just like canvas haha I just love priming canvas’.”

“sometimes ill have an idea like a sculptor of an ear and ill attempt it but a lot of the time Im along the way of the journey or get cut in half. so my best intentions rarley stay. 

Did you just come up with the ear just now or ?

“no I've done this before I did a painting of an ear and it changed for the sake of the exhibition.”

while I've been here at uni I've had quite a lot of pressure from my tutors and stuff to find a message or a meaning in my work and sometimes I struggle with that do you think art only has value if you say something and not what you make?

“ I felt the exactly the same thing while I was at uni then I remembered someone telling me the subject was just a red herring. It doesn't matter what its about as long as you get something from it and someone else does.”

I struggle with working on such a large scale and I never know when to stop. how do you know when to be like okay thats enough now?

“ill carry on with a painting until I think its great and by the next day I would of ruined it. its just a guess you have to take.”

[prettyboy-jimin]

Appreciate The Art

Pairing: Kim Taehyung x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 2.3k

Summary: You and Taehyung are on a museum date because you’re both art geeks but for some reason, the Mona Lisa doesn’t seem to take his breath away

Note: I’m an art freak and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t imagining myself on a museum date with Taehyung ever since those Van Gogh photos came out.  EDIT: Someone on my AO3 was so nice and so patient to comment about the mistake I made, considering the gravity of what I did. They have my deepest gratitude and this edited version of the fic is very much dedicated to them.

+  I really believe that it's a human mistake to romanticise things we aren't supposed to, most of the time we do it unconsciously. I never intended to do that and I want to take this new platform and opportunity I'm given to say I am so so so sorry to anyone and everyone I've offended by overlooking my own mistake.

“Look! It’s the ‘Portrait of Patience Escalier 1888’! Oh the colour is so much more vibrant than the pictures!”

“They’re duller due to old age, actually.”

“Holy shit! It’s his ‘Portrait as an Artist 1888’!And the ‘Peasant Woman Portrait of Gordina de Gredoot 1885’! And the ‘Portrait of Adeline Ravoux 1890’!”

“Honestly, Jagi. You’ve been here a thousand times, do the paintings really still amaze you that much?” Taehyung asked, watching you fret over the various Van Gogh paintings positioned on the pristine walls of the museum.

You were walking down the portrait section of the exhibit for what Taehyung counted to be the seventeenth time ever since he first brought you here a few months back, ogling in amazement over each painting you were familiar with—which happened to be all of them. You and Taehyung were both art geeks, you loved to stare at motionless paintings created decades ago, days ago, months ago, centuries ago; each piece of art having their own story to tell, each person having their own version of that same story. You weren’t an artist yourself but that didn’t hold you back from understanding what people wanted to tell you through their strokes and colour choices.

Vincent Van Gogh was a personal favourite of yours. His extensive display of various painting styles never ceased to amaze you no matter how many times you’ve seen the particular work; always so engrossed with the same story you couldn’t entirely decipher. You had heard of how the tragic artist was said to eat yellow paint in his pursuit for happiness. An explanation being that he didn’t know how to look for real happiness and contentment, feeling as if his insides were darkened and sad he ate yellow paint to contradict the feeling; yellow was a happy colour, found in the sunflowers and the sun’s warm rays, Van Gogh wanted that, desperately, maybe even more than anyone else.

But that’s merely what you’ve heard. Van Gogh was suicidal, believing that there was nothing for him in his life. He was born in the wrong era, you believed.

You weren’t a sad being, you were stressed with university, exhausted from your job and gradually losing touch with old friends but none of these took a serious toll on you. Most nights you would come home to an empty apartment, Taehyung busy being an idol or out on tour. You didn’t want this relationship, not at first at least. Taehyung was your best friend since high school and you knew his career would take off soon, not wanting to ruin a good thing going by testing the waters to see if both your feelings were valid. Yet though you had known him for such a generous amount of time, this specific occasion you had forgotten just how persuasive he could be; sweeping you off your feet as you tried and failed to deny his advances. Dating him had its ups and downs, more ups than you’d allow downs.

You stared at the Portrait of Dr.Gachet, tilting your head to see the cool undertones in a different light and angle. You wondered if the top strokes of paint were all in a clockwise formation, the idea making sense as they all pointed in one course. But you could never know for sure, the creator wasn’t born in the same generation as you for you to ask. His droopy eyes had drawn you in a sense of sadness and boredom washing over you. You noticed how the two books on the table contradicted the stoic colour of his suit and background, the bright yellow being the first to lure you closer to the painting. You wondered if Dr.Gachet was desperate for happiness, you wondered what he did to achieve it if he was.

Taehyung slid his arms around your waist smoothly, his chin perched on your shoulder as your head was still tilted to the side in thought. He had watched you fix your eyes on every single painting here over a thousand times over but he had never seen you so engrossed in thought over one before. Taehyung knew you loved the sceneries more than the portraits, but he wasn’t aware of how you thought when you looked at the paintings. He could only say as much since the sceneries were the first things you wanted to see as soon as you’d step into the museum, his thoughts and opinions of the works differing from yours to a scale neither of you knew.

“What are you thinking about?” Taehyung asked, barely above a whisper as he planted a soft kiss on the side of your neck, making you hum in appreciation and smile a little.

“How we’re happy despite everything” you mused, contentment encasing itself in your voice as you spoke. Taehyung didn’t quite understand, resting his cheek against your joint and silently urging you to explain further. “Van Gogh was untiring as he searched for real happiness, he just wanted to be okay... like everybody else. He practically came to the point where he ate yellow paint; he was suicidal... people never understood why, and most times nowadays they still don't.” Your eyes were still trained on the portrait in front of you, picturing out your next words in your head as Taehyung’s gaze never left your face. “And as I notice the cold choices of colour for this portrait, I can’t help but think of how artists paint people and things the way they see them, I wonder if Vince saw this specific subject as sad while he painted him.”

“Vince?” Taehyung asked, playfully as he chuckled.

“I’m lazy okay, Van Gogh is a syllable too long.”

You both laughed, Taehyung taking his place once again on our shoulder as your hands folded over his around your stomach. You continued to stare at the near-ancient portrait, not entirely sure what more you wanted to know from Van Gogh’s unmoving gift to man.

“Notice how the green is incorporated into his face,” you said, lifting your hand lightly, gesturing to where Taehyung’s eyes should follow. “Green is almost always associated with sickness, right? But so’s paleness, so that can’t mean that he’s physically ill.”

Taehyung took in your words, understanding what you meant as you continued to speak.

“And then look at the books on the table,” you lowered your hand, “see how they’re so vibrant and in absolute contrast to the background as well as his suit. Blue is strongly related to sadness, yellow to happiness. What if his subject was sick of his life, because he wasn’t happy? His droopy eyes already tell so much, perhaps he hadn’t been getting enough rest before he met with Vince, or maybe it was a particularly rough day for him…” you paused, noticing Taehyung’s immobility beside you “but the fact that the books are there, bright and jovial, as well as the plant which frankly I have no idea what it is but it’s alive. It makes it seem like he still wanted to try… and be happy. It's like he was depressed, but he knew there were better things around him, waiting for him... but he just couldn't have at it that day”

Taehyung stayed silent for a few moments, letting your words sink in as you continued to imagine what kind of life the painter’s subject had led. You were an art-enthusiast that much was as sure as the sun rising in the east but you weren’t one who died to know every original story behind every painting you fell in love with. Trying to understand on your own was more than enough.

“Well shit” Taehyung muttered

“What?”

You turned your head to the side as he pulled his away slightly, giving you only a breath of space to look at each other comfortably and making your eyes cross slightly at the closeness.

“I just remembered why I’m so fucking in love with you.”

You couldn’t stop the smile that bloomed on your face even if you tried your hardest, Taehyung always knew how to sweep you off your feet with a few words. You leaned in to give him a chaste kiss, Taehyung pushing in further when you tried to pull away. Your lips were slotted between his soft ones as your eyes drifted close, enjoying the feeling. You bit his lower lip playfully and pulled away before anyone would call you out, the museum was strangely filled with a considerably generous amount of people for a Wednesday afternoon.

“I love you too” you whispered, your grin settling into a wide smile as you nudged your nose against his.

He untangled himself from you, straightening his back as he pulled you towards another artist’s exhibit.

Leonardo Da Vinci.

Another personal favourite of yours but a ways worth from Vincent. Your jaw went slack as Taehyung continued to pull you through the various displays, your eyes not knowing where to look first. There were models of miniature vintage airplanes, Da Vinci being the inventor, mathematician and painter that he was, never stopped at one; always starting a new project if he whether he was happy with his last one or not.

“Art is never finished, only abandoned” you said quietly, eyes still roaming the premises as you quoted the late artist.

Taehyung turned his head to look at you, you didn’t catch the affection he had in his eyes still yours were still trying to catch a good look at every invention and painting you passed by. Finally, he stopped at a painting that was situated near the doorway that opposed the one you came through. Your back turned to it as you tried to take in the entirety of everything you just walked through. Taehyung wasn’t a person who stopped at every display, but rather was someone who went straight for the displays he knew or someone had mentioned to him, devoting his time, attention and thinking effort into something that had made its way into the grooves of his mind.

You breathed in praises as you processed everything Da Vinci had made, their imitations anyway, there was a multitude of museums in the world and you never knew which one held the original work up for display. You were aware that even the paintings in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam weren’t the original ones, the real works locked and kept away for their safety and preservation. You never had time to appreciate other artists, your favourite ones always taking up too much of your time every visit you made and right then was the first moment in the longest while that you had really seen anything from anyone else apart from Gogh and Monet.

You turned to see that Taehyung was staring at you, his ogling only make you blush a deep red as he didn’t even try to hide it. He nudged his head to the side, silently telling you to look at what he wanted you to see. You fixed your body straight only to have the wind knocked out of you, your mouth hanging open as you tried to take in its dark colours.

Behind a velvet railing, its frame encased in glass, and a CCTV camera position by its head, was the Mona Lisa. Her gentle smile looked so much more friendly, pristine, and reverent than it did in all the books and articles you’ve seen it in. You’ve heard of the possibilities of Da Vinci’s legendary painting being of his muse, a lover he never quite stayed for; you also heard of how the painting could be a self-portrait, depicting a human’s possession to be both feminine and masculine, wherein one trait was simply more dominant than the latter. None of these hearsays were vouched to be true, everyone knew Da Vinci to be a trickster. He created contraptions that took scientists years to decipher, only to find that there was either nothing inside, or a few rocks or dead flowers. It wasn’t a surprise that the mystery of the Mona Lisa proved to be unsolvable, the secrecy only making the art even more beautifully disastrous than it originally was; practically a story in every colour the artist used, if not stroke.

Your eyes never left hers, amazement clouding your better judgement and almost making you forget how to breathe. Taehyung wasn’t bothered, if it meant he got to see you look at something with the same amount of love he looked at you with, he would gladly have you like this for hours. It was refreshing to see you engrossed in something you were so passionate in, like how he was with his music.

“What?” You asked, looking at him with curious eyes as you finally found your breathe and closed your mouth. “Do I have something on my face?” you reached up, patting your cheeks to feel anything out of the ordinary. Taehyung chuckled, his wide smile making an appearance and pushing his cheeks upwards as he shook his head no. You were perfect in that moment just as you were.

“Then what are you looking at, Tae? Enjoy the art while you still can.”

“I am.” He said gently, his smile growing bigger as you blushed and turned your eyes to look anywhere else but into his.

“Cheesy” you punched his shoulder lightly, making him take a step back as he grip the place you had hit. Laughing as he pulled you into his side and exiting the exhibit.

It was late afternoon when you and Taehyung had done with the museum, exploring exhibits by artists like Klimt, Monet, Munch and Hopper. Taehyung dipped you mischievously as you stood an admired ‘The Kiss’, playfully imitating the well-known work and earning a few low claps and light-hearted teasing from the people around you.

You walked down the front steps and onto the street with his arm around your shoulder, the hand of which you interlaced your fingers through. As you strolled up the familiar path to your apartment, Taehyung pulled you in closer to his body and planted a soft kiss on your temple. His voice gentle and eyes sincere as he asked you, “Did you enjoy today?”

You smiled at him, your eyes crinkling slightly as your grin grew to its largest. You kissed his shoulder, laying your head on his as you continued to trek.

“I'll always be happy as long as I’m with you, Tae.”

[kevin-the-sea-cucumberbatch]

Don’t Leave Your House - Part 1

I posted this story to Reddit and everyone really liked it, so I wanted to post it here! I like reading horror stories and I also like writing them, so I might write more. Hope you guys like it!

(Link to original version here: https://www.facebook.com/autheauthor/)

Hey guys. So, I got a strange email from someone called TheMidnightRinger on gmail a few days ago. I didn’t recognize the name (none of my friends are that cliche), and I assumed it was just spam, but I decided to open it a few hours ago out of boredom. The email was blank, with the Subject Line only saying “LeavenedBread.01”. There were audio files attached, however. I had my computer scan them for viruses, and after deeming them safe, I gave them a listen. They’re really freaky, honestly. So freaky, I had to transcribe them and put them on here for you guys to read. Let me know what you think of them.

Diary 1: Monday

Uh, let’s see. Guess I’ll introduce myself. I’m John. John unintelligible. I go to unintelligible School. That’s uh, in North Carolina. We don’t have much, just lots of trees. I’m not a nature person, but it’s cool if that suits your fancy, I guess.

Now, what am I doing here? Well, Ms. Weathers, my teacher, has my English class doing this extended project. We all have to make audio logs about our daily lives, something about recording our trends and any anomalies in our otherwise consistent schedule. Yeah, I don’t really get it, either. Nothing much happens here. But we’re allowed to talk about anything we want, no holds barred. I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I’m a straight A student, so I can’t not do this assignment, you know? It’s actually worth a good portion of our final grade.

Anyway, these will probably be short. Like I said, nothing much happens here, except the unintelligible. Otherwise, it’s rather boring. Let’s see, today in school, I had gym, English, Geometry, and AP History. Uh…I ate a bologna sandwich for lunch. I walk home, I don’t take the bus. No one takes the bus.

That’s it. Well…actually…Liza Brown got sick in Geometry, today. Barfed chunks everywhere. I’ve never actually seen someone projectile vomit before. It was kinda cool to see, except she passed out afterward, and her nose started bleeding. Then the nurse came, Mrs. North. She unintelligible Mr. Humphrey was really scared, and we didn’t stop talking about it until after school ended. I think she’s fine, though. She’s our best tennis player. Strong, you know?

But yeah, that’s about the only interesting thing to happen today. Maybe the rest of the week will be as exciting. Stay tuned, I guess.

Diary 2: Tuesday

Hey guys. It’s John, John unintelligible. I’m in my room right now to record this. If you hear any loud noises, please excuse me. There have been a lot of cars going by our street lately.

Anyway, something interesting happened today. I mentioned a girl named Liza Brown in my previous recording, and how she got sick. Well, rumor is apparently she got hit with some really weird bug, and she may have been contagious. We got the whole works: announcement by Principal Rogers over the intercom, a lecture on washing our hands. We even got sent home early, and told not to touch any weird plants or substances we didn’t recognize. I haven’t seen anything strange lately, so I think I’m okay.

Anyway, I called my mom and told her about what happened. She just told me to stay inside. It’s kind of boring, staying inside, you know? I guess I get to play video games, but all of mine are pretty old. Everyone has the new Playstation, but I’ve still got the second one. They don’t really make games for it anymore.

Ms. Weathers told us to continue making these diaries. “Today will be a great anomaly for you to discuss in your recordings,” she said. I think I’m going to keep it brief though, to save you the trouble. If you found my recordings, I’m sure you’ve found someone else’s. They’re probably more interesting than me.

I don’t think Ms. Weathers knows about Liza. The principal told us not to talk about her, so she must’ve been out of the loop. I’m sure it’s common knowledge though, everybody is talking about her. I don’t know how she’s doing. I hope she’s okay.

Stay tuned, I guess.

Diary 3: Wednesday

Hi. It’s John. I’m still in my bedroom…yeah. I haven’t been able to leave the house. Like, literally. I was watching the news this morning, when I was eating my cereal, getting ready for school. The mayor has the town basically on lockdown. There’s a curfew at 6 pm, and the only ones allowed out past that are people with “Class 3 clearance.” I’ve never heard that term spoken on our news station before, it was kind of spooky. Like we’re in some kind of sci-fi movie. I then found out that all schools are closed for today.

Thing is, my mom manages the Research Lab at unintelligible, the local university. She called me at around lunchtime, and told me she wouldn’t be home for a while. She got an immediate job upgrade, which would be exciting if under some different circumstances. She’s Class 3 now. She won’t tell me what that means. She couldn’t even tell me about what her old job entailed. I guess it’s all hush-hush.

My English class has been emailing each other, non stop. Graham unintelligible is refusing to do this assignment, but the rest of us think he’s overreacting. He’s freaking out over Liza, and thinks what happened to her is connected to what’s happening around the city. I mean, no one’s allowed to enter or leave. But, she’s just one girl. I don’t know how she got sick, but I haven’t heard of anyone else exhibiting the same symptoms. I’m sure it’s just the flu, or something.

Which is weird, because we haven’t had a flu bug around here in two years.

Diary 4: Friday

Hey, it’s John. I know, I skipped a day, but, some…interesting things happened. My mom is still at unintelligible University. My dad has been missing for seven years. Sorry, that doesn’t matter. Um, what I’m getting at is that I’m currently alone in the house.

Yesterday, the cable news ran all day instead of ending at 11, it’s usual time. They reported some people getting sick. Projectile vomiting, bloody noses, and a new symptom, swelling in the throat and brain. It sounds like Liza. I know I told you guys that I hadn’t heard of anyone else coming down with…whatever this is, but…it’s happening. Not going to lie, I’m scared. So scared, I did some research.

I’m friends with a few people in Geometry, so I texted them, and they’re all feeling okay. They don’t know of anyone else getting sick, either. Those guys on the news are all over 40, but come from pretty different backgrounds and cultures. Liza is the only young one that I know of. Not only that, but her name wasn’t listed on the news report. That caught my attention.

She’s like, Patient Zero, right? Or at least, I think she is. She was the first case I know of, but it’s actually more likely that someone somewhere else came down with this illness before her. Question is, how exactly did Liza get it? And is it really contagious?

Only time will tell. But now, another anomaly. It’s like 11 in the morning, right now. The news has been talking about the weather for the last two hours. Yes, the weather. There has been no rain, even though there’s a 79% chance of it. The sun has been shining, there hasn’t been a hint of a cloud. It’s very benign, yet strange. And highly annoying. I want them to talk about this sickness, or this lockdown. ANYTHING else.

I want this curfew to be lifted. I want to leave the house. I CAN leave, but my mom told me not to. I’m not going to leave the house. When will she be home?

Diary 5: Saturday

It’s John. The news hasn’t been on all day. I’ve been watching Tom and Jerry since 7 this morning. It’s weird, I haven’t woken up that early to watch cartoons since I was a kid. Heck, I haven’t woken up that early on a Saturday period.

I’m honestly so bored. I tried to play video games, but staring at the screen for so long hurt my eyes. I then tried to take a nap, but my mind was racing. So, I decided to record another one of these. I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of terrified. I don’t know what’s going on outside. Every time I look out the window, I see an empty street. I haven’t heard any cars going by. A dog used to bark, but now it doesn’t. I don’t even hear my neighbors opening their front doors or garage doors anymore. It’s almost like we’re under lockdown in our homes, too.

I want to leave. I can leave. But my mom told me not to. I think I should listen to her? I should, right?

I think she came home late last night. I fell asleep at around 2 am, playing around on my phone. I’m upset I missed her. She made me a bowl of cereal and left it on the coffee table. She must’ve been in a hurry. I haven’t eaten it yet. I’m not hungry. I should eat it soon, before it gets all soggy. I wish she’d called me.

Diary 6: Sunday

We haven’t gone to church since my father went missing seven years ago. I don’t remember the experience, much. I don’t know why I keep bringing my dad up.

My mom called me today, finally. She apologized for not having been home. I told her it was fine, she must be really busy. She still can’t tell me what’s she’s working on. She sounded tired. I told her to make some cereal and she laughed, called me weird. Then she had to go. She only gets short breaks.

She came home again last night, though. I never ate the cereal, and I never moved it. This morning I found it in the bathroom, just chilling in the bathtub. She’s playing a joke on me, I’m sure. She has to be. All the doors and windows are locked. I haven’t gone outside yet.

I tried texting a few people today, but most of them didn’t answer me. Graham and Marcila did, though. I probably should’ve mentioned Mar before. She’s one of my best friends. I don’t know why she hasn’t come up yet. Maybe because of this “sickness” business.

Well, two drastically different conversations. I should note that my wifi is painfully slow. I only have enough patience to record and upload these, browsing any other site is just not worth the time and effort. Graham’s wifi is much faster than mine, since he lives in unintelligible. It’s a nice place. Smelly, though.

He’s been finding out as much as he can about the sickness. So far, there haven’t been any other documented cases. He thinks there are more though, but THEY aren’t telling us. I asked him to tell me what “THEY” he was referring to, but he just told me “The Other Ones.” Graham’s always been kinda quirky, so I left it at that.

He asked me if I’d been by the school yet. I told him I couldn’t leave the house. He asked me why not. I told him unintelligible. He started to cry, and then he didn’t reply to any of my other texts. I don’t know what happened. Honestly, remembering our conversation makes me exhausted. Think I’ll take a nap.

I’ll tell you about my friend Mar, tomorrow.

Diary 7: Monday

It’s John. The news finally came back on, again. Much to my chagrin, all they said was that the schools would reopen tomorrow, but the curfew was still in place. Then, the weather. I couldn’t stand another three hours of them discussing the high chances of snow despite it being Springtime, so I turned it off. I’m happy things will be getting back to normal.

Oh yeah, Marcila. When I talked to her, she was just as freaked out as me over the turn of events. She and her family were told by their neighbors not to go into town to buy anything. I have enough in my house where I’d be okay, especially since I live alone, but she has parents and siblings who must be taken into account. They need to eat. Her older brother went into town to buy something, apparently, but he has yet to come back. Yeah, I talked to her not too long ago today, as well. He still hasn’t been back. No calls, no messages, anything. Her folks are worried sick.

When I told her not to go outside, she told me to stop being ridiculous. I told her that if she went outside, she needed to stay on her property. I don’t know if she took me seriously, but I hope she does. Maybe it will be okay, now that the schools will be open. But my mom hasn’t told me to leave the house yet. I don’t want to leave the house yet.

I don’t know why she won’t just wake me up when she comes home at night. It’s like a game, now. I haven’t touched that bowl of cereal, and my mom is just moving it around the house. Yeah. Today I found it in my closet. Oddly enough, the milk is still pearly white, and the frosted and dried flakes of wheat aren’t soggy at all. It’s almost so perfect that I don’t want to eat it even if me and my mom weren’t…doing whatever it is we’re doing.

Diary 8: Tuesday

My mom called me, just before I was about to leave for school. She told me not to leave the house. Then she hung up. I didn’t leave. I haven’t left the house, yet. I’m doing what she told me.

I got the worst anxiety attack today. I had to sit in my closet, in the dark, for a while to calm down. I took the cereal with me. I haven’t eaten it yet. For some reason, it comforted me immensely. I’ve never noticed it before, but it smells a lot like lemons. I like lemons.

Anyway, the news keeps talking about the weather. I don’t know where they get off on this stuff. It’s been sunny and perfect all day every day since last week. There’s been no hail, or snow, or rain, or an “intensely thick fog.” It’s so annoying I can hardly stand to watch it, anymore.

I talked to Mar about my frustration. She told me that her younger sister went outside to play in the backyard the other day, and came back soaking wet, and gaunt, “like she hadn’t eaten in weeks.” She was only outside for fifteen minutes. It really freaked her out. I mean, it sounds freaky right? But I’ve seen her sister, and she was already pretty skinny. I think she’s overreacting. Anyway, I told her not to go to school, and she said she couldn’t go anyway, since her sister recently came down “with something” and she had to help take care of her. She won’t tell me if that something was the same as what Liza had.

I spoke to Graham, too. He said he went to school today. That’s it. I asked him how it went, how he was doing. Then he told me, “Just come to school.” Now THAT started to freak me out. He’s a paranoid conspiracy theorist, and he hasn’t addressed me that calmly since…I don’t even know when. I don’t know what’s changed in him. I asked him if he researched anything else.

All he tells me is to come back to school.

Diary 9: Wednesday

Today I found the bowl of cereal in the strangest place yet. It was in my drawer, stuffed inside one of my socks. Yeah. I didn’t think they could stretch that much, but…they can. It wasn’t wet or anything. When I pulled it out, carefully mind you, the cereal was still pretty perfect. I’m sure it would be spoiled by now, right? Yet it’s not. Still smells like lemons.

Anyway, I spent the majority of my day wondering what to do with my time. I’ve read every book in this house. Played half of my games from start to finish. I’m probably going to do the other half tomorrow. You’d think a week without school would be more enjoyable. Maybe it’s because I can’t leave the house.

I tried to call my mom today, but she didn’t answer. It’s been a while since we talked. I don’t know why she won’t just speak to me when she comes home? Maybe she wants me to get my sleep. I think I’m going to stay up all night, and wait for her. Maybe then we can eat the cereal. Maybe then she can tell me why I can’t go outside.

Diary 10: Thursday

I tried, I really tried. I even took a nap yesterday to make sure I stayed up all night. I don’t know what happened. I sat in the living room, watching cartoons, waiting for my mom to get home. The front door never opened. I thought I saw the headlights of her jeep through the window at around 3 am, but I guess it was something else.

I STAYED AWAKE ALL NIGHT. I know I did. The sun came up. The newws came on. I even sat through the boring weather until 1 pm. I was so tired. So tired. But before I gave up and took a nap, I looked around.

The cereal bowl, which I left on the kitchen counter, had been moved to the basement. Just sitting thhere, on the dirty floor. I don’t know how my mother doees it. Not only is the basement door just a few feet away from the back of the couch, but it’s super squeaky. I would have heard it if it opened. I didn’t hearr anything, at all. I wish she’d stop doing this to mee. She won’t answer my calls or texts. I’m worriied.

I don’t know if sshe’s the one moving the cereal. I don’t know why it hasn’t spoiledd yet. I don’t know why I can’t go outside. I waant to try, but I can’t. I can’t.

Ddoes anyone else experience this? Or am I going crazy?

Diary 11: Friday

I feel like I’m the only one alive. I texted Mar today, just to feel sane. Her sister has gotten worse, apparently. Right before the news started reporting nonstop about the weather, we were warned to call a hotline about any friends or family members who’d come down with those strange symptoms. Mar’s family doesn’t want to report her sister, because they think she’ll get taken away. I understand their fear, as they have yet to hear from Mar’s older brother. But I’m worried about them. They might get sick, too. They’re steadily running out of food.

Mar’s father wants to go into town and buy something, but Mar and her mother keep him from leaving. That’s smart. They tried dialing the neighbors for help. No one replied. They’re at a loss.

I tried texting some of my friends and classmates. None of them reply. Not even Graham, anymore. I checked my email today, and the last two were from Ms. Weathers and Nurse North. Ms. Weathers is “worried about my attendance” and wants me to come back to class. I didn’t know what to say, so I haven’t replied yet.

Mrs. North sent out a more generic message, that I think she sent to all the students. All about the importance of washing our hands. Except, there’s something weird with it. I can’t put my finger on it. For one, she’s the only other adult I’ve seen mention the strange sickness, which I’ve come to call the D-Disease. Second, her word choice is just plain strange. Here is her email:

Greeting students!

Hello, this is Mrs. North. Each of you will be receiving this email. Lately, you may have heard about a few people catching the flu. Please do not be alarmed about this news, but do take it seriously.

Remember to keep up your personal hygiene! Everyone has germs, and we must do our part not to spread them. Allergies go absolutely haywire at this time of year. Don’t forget to cover your cough!

Teachers, don’t think that excludes you! Half of the work lies on you, as well. Educate your students on the proper way to clean their possessions, and their hands. You are responsible.

Hopefully, this email has reached your ears. Encourage your friends and family to stay healthy and wash their hands. Always remain steadfast in the fight against germs. Read this email carefully!

-North.

We haven’t been told to wash our hands so many times since elementary school. I’m sure there’s more to all of this. I just have to figure it out.

In other news, I can’t find the bowl of cereal. It’s hidden somewhere real good this time. Do I even want to find it? I’m not sure. It’ll pass the time at least.

I want to keep these up. They help me keep my sanity. Who knows, someone might find these, and be able to give me a few answers. Every day is getting harder and harder. Hopefully things will get back to normal, soon.

That’s that, for now. I don’t know what to make of them. TheMidnightRinger sent me these yesterday, so maybe he’ll send more later. It sounds like John has more to tell us, and honestly, I’m curious as to what’s going on. My cousin was vomiting nonstop two days ago and it’s really worrying me.

[bountyofbeads]

Trump’s Message: The Economy Is Great. But We Need a Big Stimulus. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/upshot/trumps-economic-message-conflicted.html

Trump’s Economic Message: Everything Is Great, but We Need Huge Stimulus Now!

A tension between preparing for bad outcomes and scaring the public.

By Neil Irwin | August 21, 2019 Updated 3:47 p.m. ET | New York Times | Posted August 21, 2019 4:18 PM ET |

Every time the economy trembles, the president and White House staff face a quandary.

On one hand, they wish to instill confidence and project optimism. No president wants to talk down the economy, and a pessimistic tone from the highest office of the land could be self-fulfilling.

On the other hand, they need to be ready with the right policy plans in case things do start to sour, to help prevent a mild downturn from becoming a severe recession. The problem is that publicly talking about those contingency plans tends to undermine the goal of projecting optimism.

Rather than try to finesse that tension, the Trump administration has elected to ignore it.

President Trump and his aides are sending two simultaneous, contradictory messages about the economy: That it is booming, and everything is fine. And that it is time for emergency measures to keep this boom going.

Even more curiously, the administration has focused its public comments on actions over which it has no direct control.

Remedies rooted solely in the executive branch might assure investors and business leaders that an economic downturn could be swiftly addressed. In the last few days Mr. Trump has instead mentioned possible actions for which he’d need help that could be hard to get — specifically, new stimulus measures from the Federal Reserve and from Congress.

And while discussing the trade war with China — a key cause of the rising recession risks that Mr. Trump controls directly — he indicated no intention to change direction in the event the economy worsens. On the contrary, he said Tuesday that tariffs on China were essential even if they caused temporary economic pain.

“Whether it’s good for our country or bad for our country, short term, it had to be done,” Mr. Trump said.

The president and senior administration officials spent the weekend pushing against the possibility the economy could be heading toward a downturn. “I don’t think we’re having a recession,” Mr. Trump told reporters in New Jersey on Sunday. “We’re doing tremendously well.”

It is understandable that the White House would want to play down reports of a downturn.

“You can’t expect them to come out and say ‘We’re really worried about the economy right now and think we might be seeing a recession,’” said Tony Fratto, who led the George W. Bush White House’s communications about the economy as the 2008 recession began. “It’s tactically not the right thing to do, would be irresponsible to do, and would make the problem worse” by potentially causing economic decision makers to panic.

But there is a striking juxtaposition between that strategy and the administration’s words and actions since then.

On Monday morning, President Trump tweeted that the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates by a full percentage point and restart its “quantitative easing” program to stimulate the economy by buying bonds. Those are moves that the Fed, which operates independently from the White House, would undertake only if its leaders saw a major downturn on the horizon.

Later Monday, The Washington Post reported that the administration was considering a temporary cut in payroll taxes in the event of a worsening economy. After a denial by White House staff, the president on Tuesday affirmed it was being studied.

“We’re looking at various tax rate deductions, but I’m looking at that all the time,” Mr. Trump told reporters during a White House event. “Payroll tax is something that we think about, and a lot of people would like to see that.”

That was an approach used in the Obama administration to increase peoples’ take-home incomes as a form of fiscal stimulus. But to make it happen, the Trump administration would need to persuade both the Democratic-led House of Representatives and Republican-led Senate to go along.

There is precedent. The Bush administration succeeded in securing a bipartisan fiscal stimulus in early 2008. But there were important differences. The president was not up for re-election that year. Also, this administration has shown little capacity to strike deals with Democrats, even on areas where there could be natural alignment.

Exhibit A is an ill-fated effort to develop a bipartisan infrastructure legislation. The notion of “infrastructure week” has become a running joke, and the last effort to reach some kind of agreement between Congressional Democrats and the White House blew up in spectacular fashion in May. (Had a major infrastructure bill been passed in 2018 or early 2019, its economic dividends might have started to emerge ahead of the 2020 election.)

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump backed off his comments of a day earlier and said he was not considering a payroll tax.

President Trump also said Tuesday that he has the authority to effectively reduce capital gains taxes without going to Congress, by indexing the amount owed to inflation. As a stimulus measure, this has two problems: It would most likely get tied up in court over legal challenges, and would benefit only those taxpayers who have investment gains, and not those who rely on wages for income.

If the economy begins to slump and Mr. Trump seeks some form of fiscal stimulus from the Democratic House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi would probably strike a hard bargain, if she is willing to deal at all.

“Even if consensus emerges on the need for fiscal stimulus, Democrats may not embrace a payroll tax cut exclusively,” wrote Krishna Guha and Ernie Tedeschi, analysts at ISI Evercore, in a research note. “They may insist on other provisions such as a federal minimum wage hike or further infrastructure spending that would be very hard for Senate Republicans to swallow.”

The most plausible narrative for how the 2019 trade tensions turn into a 2020 recession involves a policy response that is inadequate to the task of offsetting weakness from overseas. So far this week, the Trump administration has shown that it is doing at least some contingency planning for that possibility.

The open question is whether it is a type of planning that is likely to instill more confidence, or less.

Fed Was Divided About Interest Rate Cut

By Jeanna Smialek | Published Aug. 21, 2019 Updated 4:02 p.m. ET | New York Times | Posted August 21, 2019 4:12PM ET |

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve officials were sharply divided when they voted to cut interest rates for the first time in a decade in late July, newly released minutes from their meeting show.

Officials lowered borrowing costs by a quarter of a percentage point at the meeting, citing slowing global growth, uncertainties from President Trump’s trade war and stubbornly low inflation.

Notes from the gathering, released Wednesday, show that “a couple” of participants at the meeting — not all of whom get to vote on monetary policy — would have preferred a half-point cut in the federal funds rate to shore up inflation.

But “several” wanted to hold rates steady, noting a strong job market and low unemployment. Two Fed officials voted against the decision to cut.

The division highlights the challenge of setting monetary policy when Mr. Trump’s trade policy is clouding the outlook for an otherwise decent-looking economy. Because it is unclear how much trade tensions will slow growth and whether they will eventually ease, Fed policy must aim at a moving target as it tries to keep the economy expanding steadily.

The president’s next round of tariffs on Chinese goods is expected to take effect Sept. 1, and Mr. Trump has shown no sign of backing down, even as global growth shows cracks and after a powerful recession signal flashed in bond markets.

While consumer spending and overall economic growth are holding up in the United States, household confidence declined in preliminary August data as Americans became less positive about the economic outlook. Some businesses are holding off on investment as Mr. Trump’s trade war fuels uncertainty.

Given that backdrop, officials wanted to make sure they “avoided any appearance of following a preset course,” minutes from the meeting show. “Members generally agreed that it was important to maintain optionality” in setting interest rates.

Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, indicated at his news conference after the meeting that the Fed could make additional rate cuts, but did not commit to the timing or extent of future decreases. His comments, and in particular his characterization of the July move as part of a cyclical adjustment rather than the start of a series of cuts that will return borrowing costs to rock bottom, disappointed some investors.

The Fed’s target rate — currently 2 to 2.25 percent — is already much lower than in previous economic cycles.

Market pricing suggests that investors anticipate two or three more cuts this year, based on a tracking tool from CME Group.

Mr. Trump, who has criticized the Fed’s decision to raise rates last year, has increasingly pressured Mr. Powell to lower borrowing costs more aggressively, telling reporters on Wednesday told reporters that Mr. Powell “raised rates too fast, too furious.”

He repeated his view that if the central bank cuts rates further “you will see a rocket ship.” Earlier in the day, Mr. Trump lamented on Twitter that German government bond yields were negative while the United States continued to pay interest.

“WHERE IS THE FEDERAL RESERVE?” he wrote.

Mr. Trump has also criticized the Fed’s decision to continue reducing the huge volume of government-backed bonds it bought to help prop up the economy after the financial crisis a decade ago. Fed policymakers decided at their July meeting to bring an early end to the process, known as “quantitative tightening.”

That decision was also complicated, based on the minutes. While ending the runoff avoided the “appearance of inconsistency,” one in which rate cuts were loosening monetary conditions but policy on bond holdings was tightening them, ending the reduction early might create the “erroneous impression” that the Fed was trying to slow the economy.

The committee wanted the reduction to be seen as a project on autopilot, happening quietly in the background.

Because the effort ended only slightly earlier than planned, officials concluded that there were “only small differences” between the two options, economically.

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 6/14/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Wednesday 14th June 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Mid-Week Nation Newspaper (MWN).

APOLOGISE CHRIS – Opposition Leader Mia Mottley is demanding an apology from Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler over his latest remarks on the country’s dire economic situation. With the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) threatening industrial action if Government does not scrap the tax proposals, Sinckler yesterday warned that the Freundel Stuart administration was fast running out of options and that thousands of public servants could be dismissed from the service if Government were forced to abandon the tax measures announced in its recent Budget. “I would say that if this really is the union’s position, it is as ill-advised as it is unfortunate at this time. I do not believe that the union leadership is oblivious to the fact that the alternatives to the measures which we introduced, including an increase in the NSRL [National Social Responsibility Levy], will be far more hurtful to public officers than what is proposed,” Sinckler said. “Indeed, lest they forget, perhaps it bears reminding that there are a growing number of persons out there who believe that Government should immediately and substantially reduce the size of the public sector, especially its wages bill. Now while that may be coded language for some, it simply means that Government should send home thousands of public servants from the service,” he told Barbados TODAY in response to the NUPW’s threat. However, while reserving her position on the possible NUPW-led protest, Mottley today sought to take Sinckler to task for what she termed his “bizarre threat” to send public workers home, if he did not get his way with the new $500 million tax imposition. Mottley also recalled that two years ago Government had sent home 3, 000 workers, adding that “nothing lasting resulted”. Apologize Chris! Instead, she suggested that greater emphasis should be placed on eliminating wastage and cutting Government’s overall spending. Mottley also called for greater transparency in awarding contracts and for Government to action matters raised in successive reports by the Auditor General. Suggesting that Sinckler’s response to the union was both “childish and ill-conceived”, she also warned that “no amount of threats and name-calling can make bad fiscal policies become good. While stressing the need for the administration to sit with the Social Partners and hammer out a reasonable formula for tackling the burgeoning problems impacting the country and its economy, the Opposition Leader said Sinckler should apologize to public workers. However, in his statement yesterday to Barbados TODAY Sinckler had been at pains to point out that the administration had rejected the recommendations to sever public workers and had chosen an alternative path, which “we are now hearing that the workers’ representatives don’t want and in fact are threatening industrial action over. The controversial $542 million package, which is to be rolled out over the next nine months, aims to close a fiscal deficit of $537 million that is deemed to be totally unsustainable. (BT)

MCDOWALL NOT BUYING SINCKLER��S ARGUMENT – President of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Akanni McDowall is not buying the Minister of Finance’s suggestion that if recently announced taxes were to be rolled back, public sector employees could be made to go home. Not only has he dismissed Chris Sinckler’s argument, but McDowall has also suggested that it was Government’s mismanagement of funds that had put the country in its current position and that workers should not suffer as a result. McDowall took that position today, a day after Sinckler warned the NUPW that Government may have to sever public servants if taxes were not implemented, because the public sector wage bill is too high. The Minister of Finance was responding to McDowall’s threat that his union would take industrial action if the tax measures were not rolled back or a “coping subsidy” instituted for public servants until salary negotiations are concluded. However, referring to the Central Bank’s report for the first quarter of this year, McDowall pointed out that Government was currently spending more than $100 million less on the public service than it did in 2013. “So the whole argument about salaries and wages being the cause of why Government is in this position is flawed, because the Central Bank’s report for the first quarter of 2017 distinctly tells you that salaries and wages cannot be the problem,” he argued. McDowall contended that the real problem was the unwillingness of Government to sit and negotiate with the union. He suggested that all the NUPW was asking the Freundel Stuart administration to do was conclude salary negotiations before it implemented any additional taxes, because workers were already overtaxed. Contending that the current economic problems stemmed from Government’s mismanaging its money, the union official cited the case in which the administration paid private haulers as much as $411 an hour to collect garbage even though the Sanitation Service Authority had staff in place to do the same job. McDowall said a similar situation existed at the Transport Board which is paying private contractors to repair buses although it has staff there to do the work. The union leader contended that if Government wanted to pursue a policy of retrenchment of public servants, it would have to adhere to the principle of first in, last out, and produce a list of all the workers who were hired within the last year. Dismissing suggestions that all he wanted was to be critical of the current administration, McDowall said: “I am not here to be a critic of the Government. I want the Government to sit with the union and determine how both of us can achieve our objectives.”    (BT)

HEARTLESS BUDGET – Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler is facing more criticism over his recent Budget in which he announced a whopping 500 per cent increase in the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL) from two to ten per cent and imposed a two per cent tax on foreign exchange transactions, effective July 1. Management consultant Sandra Husbands, who is also the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) candidate for St James South, has described the entire Budget as “heartless” and has warned that it will set off “a social time bomb”. In fact, she said Sinckler, by way of his $542 million austerity package, has exhibited a lack of understanding of how the Barbados economy really works. “What has been visited on the small business sector by the Minister of Finance is a travesty . . .  and it shows to me, if it is not a lack of understanding then it is heartlessness,” she said. The former president of the Small Business Association also cautioned that the measures, which are aimed at rebalancing the island’s deficit position, would lead to the demise of the sector. She described the increased taxation as a “social time bomb” that would prevent not only business owners but also regular consumers from having disposable income and saving money. She said the NSRL and the foreign exchange transaction tax would make local products uncompetitive on the market, with consumers seeking cheaper alternatives. Her comments come amid a warning issued by Sinckler that thousands of public servants could be dismissed from the service if Government is forced to abandon the tax measures announced in the recent Budget. The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) is threatening industrial action if Government does not scrap the tax proposals, including the controversial NSRL, or institute a “coping subsidy” for public servants until salary negotiations have been concluded. However, Sinckler tells Barbados TODAY yesterday the Freundel Stuart administration was fast running out of options. (BT)

HOLDER: NOT SO FAST PM – Prime Minister Freundel Stuart’s call for laws to compel self-employed Barbadians to make contributions to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), has been slammed as “highly irresponsible” by Chief Executive Officer of the Small Business Association (SBA) Lynette Holder. In fact, Holder has suggested that if anyone is to blame for the current level of arrears to the State, it is Government itself, which by its very policies, has drastically affected the ability of the self-employed to pay there NIS contributions. Addressing the NIS’ 50th anniversary awards ceremony at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Saturday, Stuart described the matter of coverage of the self-employed as “a challenge”, which “still needs further analysis and urgent attention”. He stressed that for the past years any attempt at persuasion of such persons to join the NIS programme “has produced only modest results”. In an impassioned response, Holder told Barbados TODAY that Barbadians by nature not only generally law abiding, but prepared to pay their fair share of taxes. However, she expressed concern that the Stuart administration was not concentrating enough on fixing the macro-economic issues facing the country but was instead attempting to vilify the small businessperson. Several business people have strongly criticized the measures, which include a 500 per cent increase in the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL), predicting increased layoffs and insolvency within the private sector when the measures take effect at the beginning of July. In addition, the small business spokeswoman is also contending that if businesses were paid the Value Added Tax (VAT) returns owed to them, they would be more than able to meet any outstanding statutory obligations.  (BT)

CREDIT UNION RECORDS RISEI N PROFIT – Barbados’ largest credit union is weathering the storm caused by the island’s “recessionary economic environment”. Not only has Barbados Public Workers’ Cooperative Credit Union Limited (BPWCCUL) recorded a $16 million profit, but its deposits have grown by $93.2 million, assets increased by $91.3 million, and it has added 5 637 new members. BPWCCUL’s leadership also said that “although loan to asset growth in the sector fell slightly in 2016 to 75 per cent from 77 per cent, the credit union achieved significant net loan growth when compared to prior years”. The positive performance was detailed in the financial institution’s annual report for the year ended March 31. (MWN)

ICAB ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT – The institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAB) has announced that Andrew Brathwaite has been elected as its new president for 2017-2018. At the 43rd Annual General Meeting held on May 25, 2017 at the Hilton Barbados Resort, members elected a new council which will be led by Brathwaite. Brathwaite, who is an audit partner at KPMG, is a practising member of ICAB, and is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nova Scotia. He has previously served as president, vice president, and treasurer of ICAB, and is the current chairman of ICAB’s Legislation and By-Law Review Committee. (MWN)

NHC OFFERING NEW RENT PLAN – Government has come up with a plan to help some prospective homeowners move into their new accommodation even though the legal process is incomplete. Minister of Housing and Lands Denis Kellman (below) revealed yesterday that people who had entered agreements to purchase homes from the state-owned National Housing Corporation (NHC) would be given the option to rent that home from the NHC for a fee of $500 per month until all the legal documents were ready.  He said this was a better option than allowing the homes to remain unoccupied until the lengthy legal process was concluded. The St Lucy Member of Parliament told the House of Assembly this was part of his ministry’s efforts to be innovative at a time when funds were scarce. (MWN)

KELLMAN ANNOUNCES LAND DEAL – The cash-strapped National Housing Corporation (NHC) has agreed a land swapping deal with the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC) as it seeks to expand Government’s housing programme. Minister of Housing and Lands Denis Kellman told Parliament Tuesday that under the arrangement the two state agencies would obtain from each other, land that is more suited to their purposes. “We have . . . entered into an arrangement that we expect will soon go to Cabinet where we have been able to swap some land with the BADMC,” Kellman said as he led off debate on the vesting of about 63,829 square feet of Crown land in Station Hill, St Peter in the NHC for housing development. “As you know, their [BADMC] mandate is about agriculture and [they] had some land that was not suitable for agriculture so it was agreed that they would swap so that you wouldn’t build houses on land that can produce food, and they gave us their grass land so that we can continue our housing programme,” he added without going into details even as he revealed that he was also examining the possibility of acquiring land in Cottage, St Lucy for both housing and farming. The minister said the problems relating to housing would not go away anytime soon, and he promised to find “creative ways of solving the problems”. He said he was especially proud of Government’s rent-to-own programme and the decision to make land available in several parishes at $5.00 per square foot as part of the administration’s scheme to help Barbadians own a piece of the rock. With the NHC said to be in debt of over of half a billion dollars up to last year, Kellman cast some of the blame on the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) which was voted out of office nine years ago, saying the BLP had allowed the situation to deteriorate while it was in power. He also made it clear that while his ministry was not fortunate enough to receive substantial subsidies under the current Democratic Labour Party Government, he was not prepared to simply sit and wait. “We have had to pay our costs, but because the Ministry of Finance has to find money for the productive sector, I am not going to sit down and cry. I have been given a hand to play and I will play the hand. “I must be prepared to [make] the sacrifice, but I must also be prepared to be creative and ensure that I find creative and honest ways to ensure that the Ministry of Housing and Lands can run, and it can create the necessary revenue,” he said. Though not going into details on what the intended “sacrifices” might be, Kellman said there was a need for a wider discussion on housing solutions and the NHC.  (BT)

GOVT USING NHC TO WIN VOTES, CLAIMS SYMMONDS – Member of Parliament for St James Central Kerrie Symmonds is accusing the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government of disregarding the dire economic situation facing the country by using financially struggling statutory agencies in its ploy to secure votes. Speaking in Parliament Tuesday, Symmonds made particular reference to the National Housing Corporation (NHC) – said to be in debt of over $500 million up to last year – where he claimed there had been “an escalation in the level of employment” ahead of a general election constitutionally due by the middle of next year. He said the Freundel Stuart-led DLP had been funnelling jobs through the NHC despite appeals for belt tightening and the introduction of crippling austerity measures in the last Budget presented by Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler. The Opposition legislator said it came as no surprise that “slightly under 40 people were brought from the parish of St Lucy” recently to work on houses in St Philip that were supposedly completed four or five years ago, but had remained empty. In his contribution to the debate, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart did not address the matter of employment at the state agencies. However, he said the lengthy waits for homes were nothing new and successive Governments had tried various methods to tackle the issue. Though not saying if there was any improvement, Stuart said when the DLP took up office in 2008 there were about 28,000 outstanding applications at the NHC. (BT)

TOO MANY SECRETS AT GROTTO – THERE IS A VEIL OF SECRECY surrounding the occupation of units at the state-owned Grotto housing project in the Prime Minister’s constituency, and St James Central MP Kerrie Symmonds (below) wants to know why. Speaking in the House of Assembly yesterday, the Opposition member said the multimillion-dollar, high-rise housing project had become tenanted but no one could say what rates the tenants were paying the National Housing Corporation (NHC).  Symmonds was at the time contributing to debate on a resolution to vest approximately 5 900 square metres of Crown land at the former site of the District ‘E’ Police Station in St Peter in the Ministry of Housing and Lands for the purpose of housing development. During a fiery presentation, he insisted there was a major problem with arrears among tenants in housing projects across the island. (MWN)

MOTHERS THROWING OUT DAUGHTERS, SAYS PM – The state agency charged with providing Barbadians with affordable housing is having difficulty coping with the high demand, according to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart. Stuart told Parliament Tuesday when the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) took office in 2008 there were about 28,000 outstanding applications for homes at the National Housing Corporation (NHC). And while he did not say if the number had declined since, the Prime Minister said the NHC continued to struggle to meet the growing demand because of a “strange trend” of mothers throwing their daughters with young children out of their homes. “The problem threatens to become a lot more acute as a result of the fact that a strange trend has been developing in Barbados, and it is . . . the tendency on the part of the mothers of young daughters with children to ask them to leave the house along with the children and go and find accommodation somewhere else, saying that they can’t cope with the noise the children are making anymore. “And that has created additional pressure because then these young mothers, along with their children, have to be housed somewhere, and the place to which they invariably turn is the National Housing Corporation. And all of this is happening in the context of a scarcity of financial resources to meet the demand,” Stuart said in his contribution to debate on the vesting of about 63,829 square feet of Crown land in Station Hill, St Peter in the NHC for housing development. He said the situation was made worse by the fact that many of the mothers being evicted were unemployed “with dead-beat fathers [of their children], large numbers of children and the only place they can turn is to the state. “And the National Housing Corporation has been put under enormous pressure as a result of that. I know what I am saying,” declared Stuart, while pointing out that in some cases Government also had to provide appliances. Stuart said the issue was not a political one, and that successive administrations have attempted to tackle the problem without success. Therefore, he said it was necessary that “we have to work out some kind of formula to accelerate the rate at which we can get houses into people’s hands”. “The NHC has not been able to respond to the demand because demand has always outstripped supply in relation to housing in Barbados. The National Housing Corporation, and by extension the state, has been made to appear to be inefficient in that regard, but this is an issue with a long history and successive governments have tried their best,” the DLP leader explained. Highlighting a number of projects across the island, Stuart gave the assurance that his administration was continuing to do what it could to help address the situation.  (BT)

Closure of Weston fire station no safety hazard – Residents of the north of the island are being assured their safety was not being compromised by the closure of the fire station at Weston, St James. In the wake of a series of questions tabled in the House of Assembly Tuesdat by Opposition Member of Parliament for St James North Edmund Hinkson, Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs Adriel Brathwaite said there was nothing to fear. He added that there would be no reduction in the number of tenders, and more fire officers would be on duty at Arch Hall. Hinkson, who first gave notice of his questions on May 11, 2017, pointed out to Brathwaite that the closure of the Weston Fire Station would leave all of the five northern parishes without emergency cover. The Barbados Labour Party legislator also wanted to know if there were any plans to repair the Weston station. The Opposition parliamentarian also asked whether any arrangements were being put in place to cover those areas should there be an emergency.    However, while he did not respond to Hinkson’s questions in Parliament, Brathwaite immediately responded to the same series of concerns submitted to him by Barbados TODAY Tuesday afternoon, stating he had addressed these issues twice in the past. He said a final decision had not been made on the future of the Weston station, “although we are actively looking for an alternative site as Weston has little room for development”. Last month, when he addressed the reopening of the Arch Hall Fire Station Brathwaite had promised that the Fire Service fleet would be increased this month by two additional tenders, which would help boost the numbers. He had said that even in the face of the country’s fiscal challenges Government had been able to stand by its pledge of ensuring the Fire Service was properly equipped, so it could carry out its work effectively. Brathwaite said then that he was taken aback by comments that the closure of the fire station at Weston had signalled that the safety of the people living in the north would be in jeopardy. (BT)

Dead teen’s dad ‘flees’ home – Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of Mark Green, the father of 19-year-old Nathan Greene, whose body was found by police last Saturday afternoon in a track at Hangman Hill, St Thomas. Neighbours said the father appeared to have left the Emerald Park West, St Philip home on Sunday, less than 24 hours after his son’s body was discovered, and he has not been seen since. When Barbados TODAY visited the area this afternoon, the house was shut tight, with no signs of activity in or around it. The community, virtually a new one, was also quiet, as few residents were at home at the time. Hardly anyone who spoke to Barbados TODAY knew Nathan well, with some indicating they were new to the neighborhood, while others said they had only seen him from time to time. However, one neighbour who admitted not knowing the former St Michael and Ellerslie School student, said residents had not seen him in a very long time. “He moved out over a year ago and we aren’t too sure where he went. After he finished school he started to get mixed up with the wrong crowd. He started to get a bit troublesome and couldn’t get along with his father,” said the neighbour who requested anonymity. The cause of the teenager’s death has not been revealed, and police are asking anyone with information that can assist their investigations to call the District ‘D’ Police Station at 419 1729, or 410 1726, police emergency 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 or the nearest police station. (BT)

HELP ME PLEASE – Ordene Forde cries herself to sleep at night when she thinks of her dire misfortune. The elderly woman, who resides at Bibby’s Layne, St Michael, is currently living in a rat-infested, semi-dilapidated wooden home, with the ceiling to her roof almost non-existent. Barbados TODAY stumbled upon Forde’s home Tuesday while traversing the area and was confronted with her dire circumstances. Forde, whose home cannot be seen from the main road, still tries her best to keep up its appearances, but the pink coat of paint that covers the exterior frame belies the serious problems that lie within the four corners of the senior’s home. All that is really left of her roof is the galvanize cover now that wood ants and rats have made a meal of her interior wooden ceiling. Forde showed the Barbados TODAY team rat droppings on her congolian floor, and pointed to her shaky wooden panels, which she declared an accident waiting to happen. Describing her home as a place of “horror”, the pensioner said she was at her wits end as she told a painstaking story of rats and other rodents overrunning the house at night as she is made to cry herself to sleep in the hope that she would somehow awaken to a better and brighter tomorrow. However, hers has been a recurring nightmare over the past four years, with her hope turning to despair and utter frustration, as no help has been forthcoming to date. She said she had contacted the Rural Development Commission years before her elderly mother died back in 2013, but to this day her cries for help remain unanswered. Forde painfully begged for assistance with repairing her home, saying she could not continue to live amid the vermin and biting insects. When Barbados TODAY contacted the Rural Development Commission Tuesday evening, a woman who identified herself as the secretary to Director Randolph Outram said the state agency “would have to check to verify that Miss Forde is a client of their organization”. The elderly woman, who voted for Opposition Leader Mia Mottley in the last election, also told Barbados TODAY that in view of her grim circumstances she was undecided about what she would do in the upcoming election. “I had previously voted for Mia Mottley, but right now I don’t know as I am living in a state of horror,” she said. (BT)

MUM FEARS FOR SAFETY OF BEATEN SON – The mother of an eight-year-old pupil of a St James school has expressed concern about his safety after she noticed that his lip was burst and swollen when she picked him up after school on Monday. The young mother, who asked that her name and that of her son be withheld, told the MIDWEEK NATION he had been cuffed in his mouth by another boy. She acknowledged he had several “run-ins” at the school and had been in trouble before. She claimed the treatment was different when he was the victim. As an example, she said that when her son had a previous scrap with the same pupil allegedly involved in Monday’s incident, she was called to the school and had to replace his (the other boy’s) games clothes.   (MWN)

BID TO FIX LAW – AUTHORITIES ARE IN A MAD SCRAMBLE to undo a new law that was intended to speed up criminal trials but has actually halted them for more than three months, adding to a huge backlog of cases. The bungle has prevented cases of murder, rape and other serious offences from being heard since witness statements were not taken by a “senior officer” at the rank of sergeant or above, as stated in the legislation. Most lead investigators in criminal matters are constables who take written confessions from defendants, along with statements from witnesses. The change in law from February 1 left hundreds of already recorded statements inadmissible. (MWN)

CHRIST CHURCH MAN MISSING – Police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating 40-year-old Lavano Broomes of #8 Homestead Drive, Frere Pilgrim, Christ Church. He was last seen by his mother around 4:30 p.m. last Tuesday when he departed his residence driving her white Toyota Rav 4, registration number G1254. Broomes is 5ft 10 inches in height, slim build, brown in complexion and stammers when he speaks. He is known to frequent adult night clubs. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is being asked to contact the nearest Police Station. (BT)

FOURTH MAN CHARGED WITH AJAY’S MURDER – Police have arrested and charged a fourth man in connection with the murder of 19-year-old Ajay Ricardo Smith. He is 28-year-old Lerent Ramon Forde of Bournes Land, Silver Sands, Christ Church. Smith, of Sayers Court, Christ Church, was fround dead sometime after 6 a.m. on Wednesday, May 24, on the hard court opposite the St Christopher Primary School. He had multiple gunshot injuries. Forde appeared before Magistrate Cuffy-Sargeant in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today and was remanded to prison to reappear in the Oistins Court on June 30. Shavar Theodore Ward, 28, of Hopewell Road, Christ Church; Lamar Diego Akked Holder, 29, of Pegwell Boggs, Christ Church; and Undre Emerson Hassani Thompson, 31, of Chancery Lane, Christ Church, were previously charged for the offence and were remanded to prison. (BT)

MILLION DOLLAR MAN – The trial of a clerical officer accused of stealing over a million dollars belonging to the Psychiatric Hospital is due to commence in the High Court Wednesday. Anderson Ryan Ince of Hannays Road, St Lucy, who is currently on $100,000 bail, in relation to a charge of stealing, sometime between August 1, 2003 and August 1, 2005, the sum of $1,118,500, belonging to the Black Rock based institution, which was vested with the Central Bank. Ince is also accused of laundering the funds. Ince was 32 years old when the offences allegedly occurred and lived at Yearwood Road, Sugar Hill, St Joseph. Attorneys Steve Gollop and Charmaine Delice-Hunte are representing the accused man who pleaded not guilty to the charges back in 2006. Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Donna Babb-Agard is prosecuting the Crown’s case along with Crown Counsels Oliver Thomas and Olivia Davis. Madam Justice Michelle Weekes will preside over the case in the No. 5 Supreme Court, with a nine-member jury expected to hear testimony from 55 witnesses. (BT)

STUDENT ATTEMPTS TO STEAL FROM DRIVING INSTRUCTOR – An unemployed 16-year-old has to successfully complete 120 hours of community service if he wants to keep his criminal record clean. Jadane Curtis Tyrique Scantlebury of Taylor’s Land, Fairfield, St Michael pleaded guilty to a trespassing offence when he went before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant Monday. The teen confessed that on June 10 he entered the house of Shurland Boyce as a trespasser with intent to commit theft. According to the facts presented by prosecutor Sergeant Cameron Gibbons, the complainant was Scantlebury’s driving instructor. On the mentioned date Boyce was at home when Scantlebury opened his back door and entered. The homeowner confronted the teen who ran away. Boyce later contacted police and Scantlebury was taken into custody where he admitted to committing the offence and was charged. When the magistrate asked him whether he had anything to say in his defence, Scantlebury said “no”. However, the young man, who is not known to the law courts, later apologized for his action. A probation officer who interviewed Scantlebury then advised the court on the amount of community service to be imposed before it was enforced by the magistrate. Scantlebury returns to court on October 6 to give an update of his service. (BT)

SALES REP ADMITS TO STEALING FROM COURTESY – A 44-year-old man has been warned to be on his best behaviour for the next year. If Gregory Patson Clarke of #7 Clarkes Road, Hothersal Turning, St Michael fails to comply with the order imposed by Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant and is found guilty of any crime over the next 12 months, he will have to pay a $1,000 court fine or spend three months behind bars at HMP Dodds. The former sales representative pleaded guilty in the No.2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ court Tuesday to stealing, sometime between January 13 and 19, 2015, a car monitor valued $936.81, belonging to Courtesy Garage. He had been employed with the business for six years prior to the incident. In a separate matter, 39-year-old Roger Haynes of #40 Gully Field Avenue, Bayville, St Michael denied unlawfully assaulting Virgil Camille on June 11, as well as uttering the threatening words, ‘I gine kill you’ towards the same complainant. With no objections to bail, Haynes was released by Cuffy-Sargeant on a $3,000 surety and a warning to stay away from the complainant. He returns to court on August 28. (BT)

SMALL GETS ONE NIGHT IN JAIL – He was made to spend just one night in jail before he was allowed to walk free Tuesday on a charge of theft. Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant today dismissed the charge against 42-year-old David Sylvester Small of Thompson Land, Fitts Village, St James after he Monday denied stealing BDS$70 and US$40 belonging to Nick Niederberger on June 11. However, Small was remanded to Dodds prison overnight after the police prosecutor Sergeant Cameron Gibbons objected to bail on several grounds. When his case resumed this afternoon, the complainant, who had been summoned to appear in court, was present. However, Niederberger, who is a visitor to the island, said he was unable to identify the person who robbed him. As such Small walked out of the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court a free man. (BT)

FREEMAN GETS CAUGHT WHEELING AND DEALING IN GOLD - A convicted burglar has been sentenced to three, six-month prison terms at HMP Dodds for committing offences under the Precious Metals and Second Hand Metals Act. However, the sentences imposed on Andre Shamar Freeman, of Crusher Site, Prospect, St James Tuesday will run concurrent with a 51 month sentence he is already serving at the St Philip penal institution. Freeman previously pleaded guilty in the No.5 Supreme Court to making a false statement of ownership to Barbados Gold Buyers that he was the legal owner of second hand metal and was lawfully entitled to sell it. Those offences were committed on August 14, 19 and 20, 2013. Based on the facts presented before the court, on the first date, Freeman sold three pairs of earrings, a bracelet, two rings and a chain to the registered precious metals dealer and received $205 and a receipt for the items, which included his name, identification number, contact information, hair and eye colour, his date of birth, description of the jewellery and a declaration that he was the legal owner of the gold. Freemen returned to the company five days later on August 19 with five pairs of earrings, two rings, a bracelet, an anklet and a piece of scrap jewellery and was given $900 with another detailed receipt. He returned the following day with a pair of earrings, a ring, two chains and a bracelet and was paid $120 with another receipt. Later that same day, Freeman handed in a broach, one heart-shaped pendant, 30 pairs of earrings and a ring and was paid $200 for that quantity of gold. His frequent trips to the establishment aroused suspicious and the police were contacted and investigations commenced. Freeman was taken into custody on September 24, 2013, interviewed and later charged. Tuesday, Madam Justice Michelle Weekes referred to a pre-sentencing report complied by the Probation Department which showed that Freeman had a history of burglary offences spanning over a ten-year period and was considered a high risk for re-offending. However, Freeman, who has 24 prior convictions – most of which related to acts of dishonesty – appealed to the court for the opportunity to correct his errors. (BT)

SPRINGER MEMORIAL DETHRONED – Defending queens Springer Memorial will not get a shot at repeating as champions of the Under-13 Barbados Secondary Schools Netball League this year. Coleridge and Parry tenaciously denied the girls from Government Hill with an 11-6 victory after leading 6-1 at the halftime break Tuesday afternoon at the Netball Stadium. Coleridge and Parry advance to the semifinal. The duration of the game was 20 minutes with two ten-minute halves and Coleridge and Parry under the guidance of former national netball captain Wanda Agard- Belgrave were able to get the better of Springer Memorial with great passes and wonderful execution at the nets. In fact the girls from St Peter won the first center pass and right away they got on the scoreboard through goal-shooter Samika Watson who accounted for a total of eight goals from her 11 attempts while goal attack Rochea Williams scored three from seven. The one goal Springer Memorial scored during the first quarter came through goal-shooter Saniaya Mapp who finished with five goals. Former queens Christ Church Foundation School did not disappoint as they too secured a spot with a convincing 16-5 triumph over The St Michael School. Both shooters from Foundation shared the same number of goals. Goal-shooter Desani Waithe had 21 attempts from which she netted eight and goal-attack Serena Edwards matched her in the scoring department with eight from 17 attempts. Alleyne School were unable to prevent a classy showing from Queen’s College as they trounced the St Andrew crew 17-3 during the other semifinal match-up Tuesday afternoon. The girls from Husbands, St James led 8-1 after the first quarter and never had reason to look back. The Lodge School also advanced into the semifinal defeating Harrison College 16-11. (BT)

BATS NEED TO STEP UP – Head coach Stuart Law said West Indies were still searching for the ideal batting performance against minnows Afghanistan as they looked to turn the page on a couple of ordinary efforts with a win in today’s series decider. The Australian conceded that his side had been far from convincing in the two opening matches despite winning the second on Sunday but said the final game presented an opportunity for the Caribbean side’s batsmen to “step up”. “It’s a fresh pitch. It’s a must-win game for both teams, so exciting cricket to be played,” Law said here. “Our batters have got to step up. Someone in the top six I would like to see go on and get a hundred. Twenties and 30s aren’t getting us many results that we’d like.” (MWN)

WINDIES SLIP IN ICC RATINGS – West Indies’ chances of an earning automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup took another damaging blow when they dropped two rating points in the latest ICC One-Day International rankings released on Tuesday. The Caribbean side dropped from 79 points to 77 following their stunning 63-run defeat to minnows Afghanistan last Friday, in the opening ODI of the ongoing three-match series currently locked at 1-1. Even if West Indies win Wednesday’s decider at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia, they will gain only one point, with ODI series remaining against powerhouses India later this month and England in September. Hosts England, along with the next top seven-ranked sides in the world, will earn automatic qualification for the World Cup, with the remaining sides entering a qualifying tournament to determine the last two available berths. (MWN)

HOPING TO DRAW TOURISTS TO GLENDAIRY – The harp gun has taken a back seat but the former Glendairy Prison has come to the fore as a possible new tourist attraction. This has been revealed by chief executive officer of the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA), Dr Kerry Hall (below), who told the MIDWEEK NATION they were looking to add the 1853 building in Station Hill, St Michael, to the country’s arsenal of tourism sites.  The High Altitude Research Project, commonly known as the HARP Gun, was halted in the early 1970s and its guns have been left to rust in the salt air. Two years ago, the BTPA revealed it was examining the feasibility of restoring the 50-year-old guns in Christ Church and turning them into a tourist attraction. (MWN)

ST. BARNABUS THUMP RANGERS – C.O. WILLIAMS Rangers suffered a ten goal defeat at the hand of Pine Hill Dairy St Barnabas in the Barbados Netball Association’s Division 1 League Competition on Monday night. Led by goal shooter Shanise Banfield and goal attack Zakiya Kirton they defeated the Rangers 34-24 at the Netball Stadium. Banfield sunk 18 from 29 attempts and Kirton 16 from 25. St Barnabas were stronger in their mid-court execution which allowed passes to be easily transferred to the shooters circle. (MWN)

SMITH MARCHES ON IN A CLASS – Rachel Smith and Asabi Downey continued their title bids when Touch Of Class Women’s Road Tennis Tournament continued at the Deighton “Pa” Roach Tennis Facility in Bush Hall on Monday night. Smith, who has often looked good but is yet to claim a national title, was brutal in dismissing the well attired Margo Lorde 21-6, 21-11 in the A Class. Overaggressive tactics by Smith saw Lorde doing better in the second game to celebrate with a pumped fist at 10-16 when she averted the ignominy of a double sow. Tonight, Smith will play either Estherphyne Holder or Abigail King who were to meet in last night’s quarter-finals. (MWN)

OPENING GALA MOVING EAST – The First Citizens Crop Over Opening Gala And Ceremonial Delivery Of The Last Canes is heading to the East to share the story of Barbados’ rich history. After being held for the last few years in Bridgetown under the name City Fest, it is being staged at King George V Memorial Park in St Philip on June 24, under the theme: Iz We Story. Speaking to reporters at the launch of the event at First Citizens’ Broad Street branch yesterday morning, senior event planner at the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) and Gala producer Karen Pestaina, said the NCF had received positive feedback surrounding the move. She said that while they would have liked to host the event at a plantation house, the Park proved to be an adequate venue. (MWN)

ARTISTS KNOCK BUCKET – There is a hole in the bucket, and the group behind the well known Bucketfest Crop Over event is desperately trying to plug it. It stems from the non-payment of thousands of dollars to several local artistes and service providers for their work in 2015 and 2016. Some well known acts told the MIDWEEK NATION yesterday that they had not been paid by the Brewsters Road Crew (BRC), the company behind Bucketfest and other Crop Over events such as Awaken. While most of them requested anonymity, popular producer and artiste King Bubba FM openly expressed his displeasure. He insisted he was speaking out on principle, having also performed at last year’s Bucketfest without being fully compensated. (MWN)

BASHMENT SOCA SEMIFINALISTS ANNOUNCED – THE 12 SEMI-FINALISTS have been announced for the Yello Bashment Soca competition. They are Gorg & Linksee (Sid Down Pun); Altuh Ego (Time To Bend); Coopa Dan and Rhea (Bare Trouble); Hardware (PopDown); Lady Essence (Fluffy Gal Anthem); Marzville (Gas It Up); Mole (Simon Says); Scrilla (Wood); Snap Brandy (Bend Ova And Ride); Stabby (Wukist); Swaggy (Bubble & Guh Down) and Versee & Joe Cloudy (Up It.) There are three duos and six newcomers trying to win votes to make it to the finals on July7. Voting starts today at 6 a.m. and ends at midnight. Fans can vote until June 22. (MWN)

That’s all for today folks. There are 201 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase