Thursday, February 20th. (and some Friday too)
The Panorama finals are this Saturday the 21st. There are 8 finalists in the large band category. Phase II will be playing last that night. That is the best place to play. Phase II has a history of winning when they play last. That was the case when I came here the first time in 2006. Also Ray Holman is drilling (rehearsing) the band. He is an exceptional pannist, composer and arranger too. So far, they’ve won when he works the band.
This year however some rules have changed. Actually they change all too often. But for the finals this year the large bands can only have 100 players. That’s down from 120. In the ‘70s there were as many as 200 players in a band. The problem is that there are about 50 or more people in the band playing the tenor pan. We can take maybe 25 or 30 to the finals. That means 25 or more people will be told they can’t play. I may be one of those dropped. I don’t know when they’ll make the decisions. That could happen late Friday night. It’s a bit scary not knowing, but I’ve learned here that nothing is certain.

I’ve moved into a new place. The one I had been staying in was already booked for Carnival week. I’m staying at the house of one of the members of the band. It’s about a 10 minute ride out of town. It’s very basic; a room with a bed, a bathroom and shower out back, (cold water only) a limited kitchen. My host is real nice, we’re becoming good friends, and the price is good. To find a room at Carnival time is tough and very expensive. I miss the convenience of being able to walk to the panyard.

I’ve been focusing on playing more and more but I do try and get out and see things. I took a boat to a rather deserted corner of the island to a small beach. Very calm and quiet. Otherwise I really cannot travel alone much. Also there is the issue of the rain. The day I took the boat to the beach began with a lot of rain. People had to convince me to go, I was that reluctant. I’m glad I did though, the rain cleared up very nicely. Other events have also been too rainy to go see. At the Junior Panorama, where youth steelbands compete, it was raining all day. At the Single Pan competition, (OK, long parenthesis: Single Pan is what used to be called “Pan round the Neck.” When pan was first developed, people would walk around town with a single pan held by a strap around the back of their neck. If you wanted lower voice instruments, you had to make them from a single pan. Conventional steelbands nowadays for example, use 6 barrels for a bass instrument. Now back to the original sentence) it was also pouring rain. Today, downtown, is the “Old Mas” (that’s the old traditional masquerade styles) but it rained so hard my roof started leaking. If it clears up I’ll try and get there.

Still, it has been difficult to go see things. Mostly, I can travel during the day. I can get a taxi or a “maxi-taxi” to almost anywhere. It’s cheap and I know how to ask where they’re going. But night time is different. Nobody has ever told me it’s OK to travel alone at night. Most people are full of warnings to be cautious. Crime is high and foreigners are targets. I’m not usually one to believe such talk; people so often speak of dangers in other countries. But this definitely is different. I’m mostly at the mercy of others being interested in going somewhere and available to do so.

Wish me luck Saturday.

Ted