[James] Drinking rum & coca-cola

What is there about a drink that can level the playing field? One which the richest of men with high profiles would claim to have had and the poorest  peasant would down with their friends in a back alley bar, one of the first social drinks of many a young person getting their bearings in the social scene.

On the sugar cane estates of Trinidad, it was noted that the indentured Indian, Hindu, laborers could be easily placated and "kept in line" with their ration of rum, made from the fermented molasses left over from sugar production, it was as easy as that, with the waste of production becoming a key ingredient for a product known and enjoyed the World over, rising from humble and harsh beginnings to now command an unshakable spot on the World Market.

The chaser (as it is called), Coca Cola is also a World phenomenon in its own right. However, when combined Rum and Coke becomes a drink that is refreshing, mellow, relaxing, and is the backbone of most, if not all social events where alcohol is served. While some bartenders and pubs may have standard measures that they will apply, one can often be left to one's own devices, varying the strength/weakness of the alcohol content, however you choose to have it. Rum and Coke laid the foundation for all other mixed alcoholic beverages that had Coke as the chaser.

This iconic drink was immortalized by the Andrews Sisters, who did not even know that they were singing a song based on the reality of prostitution during the Second World War, when Trinidad had American Army and Naval bases located in particular, the Western Peninsular, the area known as Point Cumana. The lyrics to the song  Rum and Coca Cola was plagiarized from the original created by Calypsonian (Folk song artist) Lionel Belasco who's stage name was The Lord Invader. The Andrews sisters version spent ten weeks at the top of Billboard's U.S. Pop Singles chart and was the top song for 1945, not only immortalizing the song, but a rum based drink that was previously mixed with water or plain soda.

James B. Solomon from Trinidad

[James] A quick smile on board

"Better than a thousand days of diligent study, is one day with a great teacher" - Japanese proverb.

From the left: Dave and James

The usual suspects will not be considered as they have earned their respect based on bonds formed in childhood, family connections, work, stardom or religion. There are two people, of the over two million whom I've interacted with and photographed who stand out as being among the most fascinating people I have ever met; I will only mention my mentor, Master Photographer Monte Zucker as one. However, a gentleman named Dave, will be discussed in a little more detail.

Dave was a guest who sailed for three cruises on board one of the ships that I was working on, a senior citizen with a quick smile, a hearty greeting and a pleasant conversationalist. He seemed to be able to engage everyone he met with charming ease and was always ready with a funny anecdote. On his second week's cruise, he walked through the photo gallery and noticing him I expressed my pleasure at having him back. He shared that he saw me on the jogging track in the morning; he had finished his run when I was just starting, we made arrangements to meet the next day. I arrived to find that he had completed a mile; we fell in together in an easy going pace and for the first time since I had started working out in order to reduce my weight, blood pressure and other health issues, I found that I had the lung capacity to actually jog and talk at the same time! Before I knew it, I had been out there for almost 20 minutes over my usual time. It took a couple more sessions before I realized that it was Dave's easy going pace making the difference in my routine; I gained without pain.

Dave taught me that one can have a positive effect on a stranger by being open and pleasant, most of all, Dave taught me that the best way to care for yourself, to improve yourself, was to slow down a little and take things easy. This from a little Jewish man who began jogging 5 years prior to meeting me, and who was now 67 years old and jogging six miles every morning with effortless ease. When I grow up, I want to be just like Dave!

James B. Solomon from Trinidad and Tobago

[James] Mobile thoughts and Scotty's beam

We rely on them for everything these days, and not just for emergencies or business, but to entertain and occupy our quiet moments. 

James B. Solomon

The ubiquitous cell phone has come a long way from Science Fiction creator Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek" communicator that allowed away teams to maintain contact with their ship orbiting the planet above. Today, it's possible to call the International Space Station from your mobile device, yet most people on public transportation would ask Scotty to beam the loud talking fool on his cell phone up, up and away.

"What would you do if your phone rang while on the bus?" You would answer it. As suggested in Steven Covey's four quadrants  of time management, a  telephone call falls into the two Urgent Quadrants as either Important or Unimportant therefore making the need to answer/connect with the caller, a priority.

Today, everyone is connected to the other via different social media platforms and wired into devices that lock out their quiet moments, our thoughts and each other, for many ,the ride on a bus or a train holds welcome respite from having to interact. One can be among people and actually have a quiet moment with oneself or at the very least, read an actual book, newspaper or magazine. However, for many, living in a World where we either have no choice or are addicted to being connected to everything at the same time, time away from our "digital umbilical cords" creates an uncomfortable disconnect. Being on the phone wherever we are is a welcome respite from being disconnected in spite of society's unwritten rules of etiquette. Maybe our real annoyance is rooted in our own disconnect.

The questions we need to ask as we debate this concern are, are we truly annoyed at being disturbed by someone speaking on their cell phone on the bus, or is it that, we wish that we ourselves were having a conversation with someone at that very moment?  Maybe as we have become more technologically advanced with our communication tools, it is our communication skills with each other that still need a lot of work, and all we need to do to address this, is to simply turn to the person next to us and say "Hello".

James B. Solomon from Trinidad and Tobago

[James] New motherhood in Trynidad

Any subject dealing with my parents is never an easy one to dissect: they were enigmas and riddles wrapped in a mystery. I mean, one never really can say that they knew their parents completely, but as one grows older and wiser we begin to understand what they were trying to share with us, especially after they're gone.

Top left to right -  mother Imelda, father Steve
and their kids

My mother in her own seemingly insignificant way broke barriers, traditions and boundaries. She was a traditional homemaker and she was an independent working woman. In her younger years she felt her calling to God and joined the convent. After five years as a nun, she left and met my father, who as fate would have it, once was a Monk with aspirations for the priesthood. After five years however, he decided that the monastic life was not for him. They married and started their family. 

With three children six years later, one finds that Mummy had already obtained her driver's permit, managed my father's store and was raising her children. A decision to close the store and move the family closer to the capital city opened up a new outlook for my mother: she got into the world of work as a key punch operator, while at the same time juggled managing the household. When a series of mishaps with our various housekeepers had taken its toll, my mother decided to become a full time home maker, something she excelled at until we were old enough to take care of ourselves and each other. Once we were old enough, she opted to head back into the world of work, managing the accounts of the convent's High School of the order that she had left all those years before, and then moved on to teaching first year students until her retirement in the Preparatory School.

Though she had embraced the new tradition of the working wife and mother, she was very much at ease being the old traditional stay at home mother and wife. As she straddled both traditions, she was took great pains to prepare her three children for life... Something that she also reminded us of when we became adults.

We were all taught to some degree "Home Economics" not just the management of our own households, but how to take care of ourselves. She insisted in ensuring that no spouse of ours would ever be able to take advantage of us (especially her boys): today, my brother and I can hold our own in the kitchen, and though we live alone, our homes are pristine. My sister, who is the youngest of us, is a home maker, home school teacher of five children, and who once was the sole bread winner while her husband was between jobs.

There is a new stereotype of motherhood today that still embraces the old traditions: one where the wife and mother maintains independent control of her own destiny while at the same time having a working knowledge of the traditional aspects of our parents, raising children, cooking, cleaning, sewing and ironing. Maybe our, or at least, my mother saw it coming and prepared her boys to do the same. Many of my friends who are married have spouses who are able to embrace all the roles and share the duties of the household.

James B. Solomon from Trinidad and Tobago

[Margaret, James, Bartek, Guido] Christmas Celebrations Around The World

Here (and in some local newspapers), each month, writers from around the world will share their opinions and stories about a common theme. This month the theme is how we each spend our Christmas Eve. 

Margaret Andrews / England:

We are from East Sussex, England. We are staying here in Wrocław this Christmas because this is where we live now and travel home at this time of year is very expensive. Also we love to be here.

On Wigilia we are planning to have some friends round to our house for a meal and to celebrate with them. On New Year’s Eve, a group of us will hopefully go to a Hotel in Sobotka for the Celebrations.

We are quite happy to stay here, it would be nice to see the Family but they have all grown up now and are happy doing their own thing.
In England, Christmas Eve is usually spent preparing for Christmas Day, cooking the cold meats for Boxing Day and then we would probably go to the local pub and celebrate with family and friends.

Typically on Christmas Eve in England some people frantically do last-minute shopping, most people prepare food ready for Christmas Day and Boxing Day, which is also celebrated in England. Some go to Midnight Mass but unfortunately not as many as used to go. Many people will go to the local bar to celebrate with their friends and family over a few drinks.

At this time of year in England the weather is usually damp, sometimes it rains. If we are lucky it is sunny but very rarely in the part of England where we live (the South East) do we have snow at Christmas.

Christmas Day is usually spent with Family members. It is the day when we open our presents because we believe (as Children), Santa calls on us with our presents when we are asleep on Christmas Eve. Boxing Day is generally spent at sporting events, i.e., The Boxing Day Hunt which this is a very traditional event, when a group of horsemen and women hunt for foxes with hounds. It is now illegal so they now drag hunt which is when a person goes out with a scented rag on a string an hour or so before the hunt starts and then the hunters have to track him down. 

Boxing Day isn't called Boxing Day because of the sport; it's because in the early days of sailing ships a box was placed on the ship’s deck and sailors would put money into it during the voyage, this was supposed to bring the ship good luck. When they returned to England the boxes were given to the Church and distributed to the poor on Boxing Day. In my husband’s family ,it was always a day of celebration as it was his parents’ wedding anniversary. At that time all the family would meet at a local bar to play a darts match and then return to the family home for a party with a few traditional songs and dancing.

Christmas Day is usually a typical meal of roast turkey or goose, potatoes, sausage, bacon, Brussels sprouts, swede, & other vegetables. Christmas pudding, which is a dessert made in September, is full of fruit and nuts and usually contains either rum or brandy. It is then stored in a cool dark place until Christmas. We also enjoy mince pies (these are sweet fruit pastries), assorted cheese and crackers, mulled wine, sherry, wine, and port wine.


James B. Solomon / Trinidad:

I am from the Island of Trinidad and Tobago. I am a Professional Photographer. My country has a population of 1.3 million people.

I never knew what a White Christmas was until I spent Christmas in Poland, we have warm Caribbean Christmases.

With the passing of our parents especially our mother, our family gathers every Christmas at the home of one of us, my brother or sister (usually my sister) to share a meal and exchange presents. It is the one time of the year when we can always be certain to meet. My brother and I are self employed and can also be found travelling. My sister has five children she home schools. With our hectic lives, Christmas Eve is that one day that we know we will be able to see each other and relax.

Trinidad and Tobago is made up of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society and as such we borrow from each other. Pork is a heavy feature for most families and a ham can usually be found gracing the tables of most homes, except for my sister as the family are born-again Christians who made the decision to abstain from pork, shrimp and lobster.

On my last visit to Poland I shared one of the Christmas delicacies that I enjoyed growing up called garlic pork, a Portuguese dish that has become a mainstay of Christmas feasting. Roasted pork is another favourite. A baked and stuffed turkey would round off the main attractions on any Christmas table. Much debate is usually made of pastelle, a meat stuffed corn dumpling wrapped in banana leaves. For those who make them, they are always seeking the nod of approval that their pastelle is the best they have ever tasted, as such, I avoid them like the plague.

Another item to be served is the traditional black cake. It is rich, dark rum soaked fruit cake made from dried fruits that have been soaking in alcohol, from the year before, and again, every body who offers you a slice, expects that you would at least say that theirs was the closest to your mother's own, unless you are courting her daughter, then you would ask for tips to pass on to your own mother. 

Traditional drinks - sorrel and ginger beer.

Carol singing is traditional throughout the country and special concerts are held at various venues for the public and at a price, usually for various charities and under the patronage of the President and his wife in one or more cases.
Another traditional Christmas singing tradition is Parang, a Spanish influenced form of carolling. It is all sung in Spanish and with an up tempo beat. The Paranderos would move from house to house spreading good cheer and merriment all related to the Christ Child's birth; a lot of alcohol-induced merriment is involved. 

There are some major competitions in the Parang community and it is a traditional event with various cultural organizations vying to hold the biggest and best competition. An off shoot of Parang which has grown in the last two decades is a fusion of our folk song style of soul and calypso called Soca, which showcases our carnival season with the Parang tradition. This musical fusion is called Soca Parang and had a following all of its own, sung in English, the topics are rich and varied and add another genre to our already ever growing heritage and cultural fusions.

As children, our own family tradition was that the house would be "put away" by the afternoon of Christmas Eve, we would all be resting by 4.00pm when it got dark by 6.00pm we would gather by the crèche (you're making me cry) and lay our gifts before it. One of us would read from the Bible, then we would switch off the lights in the house and move from room to room singing Silent Night and other Christmas carols. We would then go to bed to sleep for a little while and then get up for Midnight Mass usually at Mount St. Benedict. Upon our return we would find that Santa had made a visit and we would be allowed to open our presents.

Catholic Mass or Church Service is held in the evening on Christmas Eve, at Midnight and three times on Christmas Day. A time when all the Churches are usually packed to capacity.


Bartek Rutkowski / Poland:

It's really hard to wake up in the morning on Christmas Eve's day. Such is the consequence of the last days. Washing dishes, cooking, preparing meals, small arguments. Finally we get to relax, at least a little bit.

After few hours, it's high time to start searching for the first star in the sky. I like this tradition. We can still look for the signal lights on one of the highest skyscrappers in wrocław if the sky is cloudy. To hell with it their red colour, at least we can start dining. 

Well, we would start eating of not the guardian of tradition – Our grandmother. Firstly, it's time to share the wafer and exchange wishes. Mine, always have to be original and they should correspond to every person individually. I think this is the most stressful moment, I always feel like an actor about to enter the stage. 

So we sit at the table. We don't unfold it on purpose, so we can sit closer to each other, elbow to elbow. I can finally use my waiter's experience. Serving, cutting, pouring. One feels important and needed.

My niece emphatically tells us that she has had enough of carp and borsch. It's high time for presents. So far they remain hidden, we have to distract her and put them under the christmas tree. Last year, we  even left the window open, through which the Santa Claus was supposed to enter. 5 minuters later, the wind blow knocked both the flowers pots and jug of water. Our cat almost got a heart attack and our niece was 100% sure that such cacophonic noise could only be made by chubby gentleman wrapped in red robes.   

Then the evening slows down. I feel like being in a soap bubble. Food, warmth and family – I could last like this forever.

For me personally, Christmas Eve is like a seal on a document. It's a day which confirms that family is still together, despite all the troubles.


Guido Giacomo Gattai / Italy:

I will spend my Christmas in Italy this year for a change as it is not my habitude. Until last year I used to spend it in Poland, in the Polish countryside. First of all we have to say that the big difference between Christmas Eve in the two countries is that, in Italy, almost all the traditions have been eaten by consumerism. 

But still, of course, we have a lot of small traditions that remain. Mainly when it comes to the table, we must absolutely state that Italian food traditions are fabulously resistant. We still eat, for example, special cakes such as Pandoro and Panettone. The first one is a butter based cake of bread and the second one is a sweet bread with raisins and candied fruit.

We used to invite all the family to our home but after a little some relatives died, youngsters have no children and it’s a lot of work, so the family tables are growing smaller and smaller. This does not prevent our Christmas dinners having at least ten guests, and you can even total up to one hundred in the south.

About Christmas gifts, for about the last ten years, we have a really special Italian invention that is the Fair Trade Tents, resembling little indoor Christmas markets completely created by the Italian-based fair trade organizations.

We normally arrive at the 22nd or 23rd of December still without a lot of presents, searching everywhere for an original idea to satisfy our hunting enthusiast uncle, not to annoy his vegetarian new wife and some toys for the spoiled son of our best friend that loves transformers and only transformers but already has them all.

And after that, of course and by a curse, we have to track all the people that have not joined the Christmas Eve dinner or the Christmas lunch. And, as I said, those people are a lot. But naturally we can see the upside of that problem - to run from house to house after all that food can be surely good to raise you from the fogs of bulimy and bring you back to real life.



See it published on pages of  
The Wrocław International and Gazeta Wrocławska: