I on behalf of the scout group and myself once again pay tribute to the remarkable person that was Laurence McDowall. On this the 11th Anniversary of his passing and the upcoming centennial of the Troop it is impossible not to pay homage to the singular contribution that he made. He was the longest serving Group Scout Leader, having served in that role for a quarter of the Group’s existence and having helped transform it both in terms of the wide range of programme activities and more importantly in its adherence to the principles of Honour, brotherhood, duty and service.
He was a mentor, friend and father figure to many of us here, and indeed multiple generations of young people – through music, sport and his unrelenting commitment to his alma mater.
His strength of character and commitment to serving his country were legendary – his constant struggle to maintain and encourage independent thinking among those of us in the troop, as well as to steadfastly protect the interest and independence of the scout troop often saw him struggling with both the administration at the College and at the Scout Association to achieve what was thought to be just and right. Through all of these struggles he never lost his will to contribute to the welfare of our country’s young men and women, hoping as he did to contribute positively to the achievement of Baden-Powells dream – to foster a world that embraces the concept of duty to God, country and our fellowmen.
Gone but not forgotten and may we all be inspired by the example of his life to a life of service to our communities and to our fellowmen. Rest in peace Laurence.
Few pioneers live long enough to see what they have done;
Most men are glad if they can leave the world a single son;
Did ever a man, before he died, see such a dream come true?
Did any leave so many living monuments as you?
Tribute to the most generous of spirit and truest blueblood of our time, Laurence Franklyn Mc Dowall, gone too soon on September 30th, 2000.
May he Rest in Peace and may the example of his life be an example to all of us.
A big part of the traditional T&T Christmas festive expressions has always been parang groups and or groups of friends and relatives moving from house to house in a village, sharing music, drinks, food, fun and more. So much merriment is derived from that practice of small groups moving from one home to another and another—and then another. Try now to compare and comprehend that experience, to several villagers from different villages, travelling from their various individual locations across the country, and gathering at one central location. Now exercise your imagination further, to envision the widespread variations of food-preparations and music to be concentrated in one place!
That and much more is anticipated when the first-of-its-kind Christmas In The Village event takes place on December 5, at Queen’s Royal College, located at the western end of the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain. The villages of Paramin, Lopinot, Arima, Brasso-Seco, Sangre Grande and Siparia will all congregate at the venue, which will be transformed into an enormous village setting, befitting the concept of the occasion. What’s cooking in the Village? Organisers Village Friends say patrons can excite their taste-buds with pitch-oil pan ham, wild-meat with provision, pastelles, paime, roast beef in mushroom sauce, longtime bread, roasted suckling pig and braised ham. Stuffed chicken breast, festive rice, pigeon peas in coconut milk, sponge cake and black cake are also among the extensive outlay of mouth-watering dishes that will be available for Christmas celebrants in the Village.
If you are already salivating, add some tasty dashes of humorous anecdotes from respected comedian/storyteller/actor Paul Keens-Douglas to that menu. Keens-Douglas will be the Village host. Now mix all the preceding ingredients with the music of parang soca king Scrunter and parang soca innovator Crazy, the Lara Brothers, Los Alumnos de San Juan, Carib Santa Rosa Parang Group, Voces Jovenes, Los Parranderos de UWI, 2009 Panorama champions Silver Stars Steel Orchestra and the St James Tripolians, with DJs Roger Simpson and Crosby Sounds. Funds accrued from the public’s support at this chance-in-a-lifetime event will be utilised for the refurbishing of buildings on the compound of the century-old Queen’s Royal College.
Tickets are available at:
QRC’s Box Office 622-1671
Savvy Traders Ltd, 674-9065 or 372-6232
Crosby’s North & South,
Flowers 137 Tragarete Road
Simon’s Music Supplies, St Vincent St, Port-of-Spain
Kenny’s Sports Centre, and
Sincerely Yours in Grand Bazaar.
According to Village Friends, general admission to the “village happening”, which starts at 5 pm and goes until midnight, costs TT$150.00. VIP (Inclusive) guests paying TT$350.00 will be entitled to a dinner plate consisting of three meats and at least four sides, together with six drinks – three premium and three non-premium.
Facebook Group “QRC Scouts Alums” has posted a series of old photos and some cave paintings of past Scouts in action. The standing joke is that they’re trying to raise extortion money for Camp Royale 2009 in the mid-year vacation period. (LOL!)
If you’re not a member of the group, join and re-live some old memories with one of the College’s more vibrant extra-curricular organisations.
QRC Scouts hosts the third edition of the Camp Royale International Camporee in July 2009 Scoutmaster Roger Berkeley is issuing a call for volunteers to help run the camp.
The taste of victory was short-lived for students of Queen’s Royal College (QRC) on Thursday, as mere seconds after being declared the winners of the 2008 RBTT Young Leaders Debate chairman Hans Geiser announced he had mixed up the winners and the runners-up.
Shouts of joy swept through the ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, on Wrightson Road, as students of St Joseph’s Convent Port of Spain realised that they were the winners of this year’s competition and not QRC as Geiser had previously announced.
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