THE EDITOR: Every year for the past say ten years, I think, I have travelled from Tobago to Trinidad for the national Panorama final, King and Queen of the Bands and Dimanche Gras. I could not miss attending those shows, they were just in my blood.
This year I had so much work to do that I decided to stay in Tobago and take it all in on TV. That way I could do some light work during the advertisements plus save some funds.
I have never been so happy with a decision - especially for the Panorama competition. I enjoyed the show and enjoyed every minute of being home. The late start to the show did not affect me at all. Congratulations to Beverly Ramsey-Moore and her crew for an excellent show. Thank you TTT and all the sponsors for bringing the shows to us, in our homes.
My main kudos, however, go to the outstanding hosts/commentators TTT provided to keep us enlightened, especially during the Panorama competition. I was particularly impressed with the Gerelle Forbes and Nubia Williams. They were so knowledgeable about music, the various steel orchestras, the arrangers and Panorama generally, and they engaged in such healthy, intelligent and humorous discussions about it all.
I learned so many musical concepts, terms and jargon from Williams who shared with us what she looks for in the presentations. She took the time to make extensive notes, commenting on each rendition and thus educated me as a viewer.
Forbes is a master entertainer and commentator. She too demonstrated knowledge of not only the music but of life in this country and the social issues surrounding the steelpan and its impact on young people and communities.
She blew my mind when she took time to make some insightful comments about Tobago with a special shout-out to viewers in Tobago. I can't remember anyone doing that before. Then she had me thinking when she posed the question about whether Tobago steelbands had a different "accent" to those in Trinidad. It was such a thought-provoking question but Williams refused to be drawn into it. I really would have liked her to.
What I liked most was the sense of humour of the two women and the amount of jokes they had going between them. They had me laughing in my home, more than I would have done if I had attended the show. It was obvious that there was a lot of synergy between them. I was actually looking forward to the end of each presentation as I was anxious to hear their analysis.
Those women made me realise that attending the show was one thing but listening to knowledgeable, intelligent and entertaining commentators on the performances was quite another, and that had its own attractions.
Needless to say, I had to "time" my breaks for snacks and restroom well, so I did not miss their discussions - plus, those two women caused me to not get as much work done as I anticipated (but I did not mind).
I have certainly never learned - or laughed - as much during a Panorama show nor have I enjoyed commentators as much a
