8 million dollars for Tobago band; Keith Scotland says the Spree Simon project is going to be on his front burner.

 

By Aquil Arrindell

 

The day started with bright sunshine and blue skies, perfect for pan yard renovations. The bands from south were the first to arrive and they immediately started working on the computer room as it was deemed the top priority. As the day progressed, east and north bands joined in. I was pleasantly surprised to see several people who were not “pan people” were there to support. Beers and bottled water on ice and Oswald Alexander brought buckets of chicken. Everything was perfect except one thing, there were more supervisors than workers. We know when pan people get together is old talk so was pressure with the work.

 

TV 6, together with print media came at about 1:10 pm. In our interview, members of Pan Moving Forward(PMF) expressed the importance of the event which speaks to why this project was a must for us. Dr David Mohammed was on hand and had an opportunity to air his views on the project and Jefferson H Scott, one of the founding members, from his wheelchair, spoke to his experience with the band. Last to be interviewed was Gregory Lindsey, the self-proclaimed Ayatollah of pan. His content featured a conversation he had, which was published on When Steel Talks, with the president of Pan Trinbago, Mrs Beverly Ramsey Moore.  

 

Excerpt from When Steel Talks

 

Gregory Lindsey: Imagine this right....out of the Presidents mouth, eh "I dealt with the MP in Tobago to use the machinery of the State to engineer a well deserved 8Million Dollar PanYard Refurbishment at Golden Lane in Tobago through SelfHelp.

  Now I can understand why my phone calls and visits to SelfHelp offices go unanswered even by the Office of the MP for Port of Spain South for a simple request for much less assistance of $8350.00 TTD, to invest in income generating activity tool to save in paying to TTEC exorbitant recurrent expenditure, by allowing PanYards to be solar powered for outdoor lighting in the first phase, thereby reducing not only the carbon footprint, but also significantly reduce electricity utility bill for all bands...and still give Golden Lane ah nice 4Million TTD panyard.. 

https://whensteeltalks.ning.com/forum/topics/i-am-backing-gregory-lindsay-in-this-2021-pan-trinbago-elections

 

As the media houses began to wind down, the Member of Parliament Mr. Keith Scotland made his appearance. High spirted, excited and animated are all adjectives that can be used to describe his energy. Mr. Scotland, Fuad Abu Bakr and Rodney Stowe ran for that constituency (Port of Spain South) at the last general election. They were all present, sharing laughs and debating on who supporting the best football team. Mr. Scotland expressed his message to the media that he understand the role that the steel band plays in the community. He emphasized on the youths and the discipline they learnt from the national instrument. He expressed gratitude to the PMF organization for initiating this refurbishing project and would put to forward the necessary to get Self Help approval for this project on the front burner. He also made a call in our presence to a contractor who, if all goes well, would join us as we await word from Self Help.

 

A member of PMF and also a member of the Desperados Steel Orchestra expressed that he would help in operationalizing the old fabric printing machines that the Spree Simon steel band owns so that the band can become self-sustainable.  Work continues the following day as we try to wrap up the first phase. On behalf of the PMF, thank you for each and every person who leant support today. The event was a success and we will keep the world posted on the Spree Simon Steel Orchestra’s development.

 

Pan Moving Forward

Aquil Arrindell

President  

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  • Aquil Arrindell must be considered the most suitable candidate to lead the steelband movement at this time.

    A pragmatic young man, Aquil Arrindell can relate to the unique challenges steelbands face in an environment that has evolved at the speed of light. He possesses the qualities required to lead a renaissance in the steel band movement to stop the decline that has become endemic. 

    • Intelligent.
    • Qualified.
    • Committed,
    • Dedicated.
    • Experienced.
    • Transparent.

    Aquil Arrindell must be considered the most suitable candidate to lead the steelband movement at this time.

  • Wow, this is unexpected but welcomed. It would be collected and delivered to PMF treasurer Julian Gibbs to process. Claude, I am not only moved by your donation but I am also moved by your support for our team. Among us the demographic is diverse, however, there are a group of young men among us that are really full of energy, intelligence and resource. They are committed 100% and we are cognisant of the importance of public support and its impact on what we do. Claude, you should be honoured by WST and PT because the contributions you have made for pan just by keeping this forum alive and interesting on a daily basis shows more dedication to the instrument than most I know. Your contribution would be greatly welcomed by the Spree Simon Steel orchestra and appreciated by the PMF. On behalf of both organisations, thank you, thank you, thank you. 

    • Well done Claude.....

  • Aquil "too young" Arrindell: I am so impressed with your efforts to bring THE SIMON SPREE CENTER into 2021 that I just MADE a contribution of $1000.00 TT to the cause. When you get some time tomorrow, go and pick up the funds and put it towards the REHAB PROJECT.

    Here is the REFERENCE NO, and TING!!!

    Receive Option: Cash Pickup
     
    Reference Number: 90857267 (Used by MoneyGram for tracking)
     
    Date Available in Expected Destination: 15-Aug-21 (May be available sooner)
     
    Transfer Amount: 155.00 USD
     
    Transfer Fees: + 4.99 USD
     
    Transfer Taxes: 0.00 USD
     
    Total Cost: 159.99 USD
     
    Exchange Rate: 1 USD = 6.4993 TTD
     
    Receive Amount: 1,007.39 TTD
     
    Other Fees: 0.00 TTD
     
    Other Taxes: 0.00 TTD
     
    Total Receive Amount: 1,007.39 TTD
     
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