Take this heart
And make it break

GLIMPSES OF EVERYDAY LIFE IN PORT OF SPAIN TRINIDAD IN THE 1940s

In 1918, a vis­i­tor to Port-of-Spain de­scribed the place thus: "The shop­ping dis­trict fair­ly teems with pedes­tri­ans and ve­hi­cles through­out the busi­ness hours, and Fred­er­ick Street, which is per­haps the busiest in the city, is a gay and in­ter­est­ing sight, kalei­do­scop­ic in colour, crowd­ed with life, and a very bee­hive of ac­tiv­i­ty.

"Here are stores, af­ter stores of every kind, many modeled on the plan of our own de­part­ment stores, and here one may find any­thing and every­thing the mar­kets of the world af­ford. Clerks crowd the shop en­trances. Goods heap the side­walks as at a Paris bazaar. A few blocks far­ther the crowd has thinned, and the shops are small­er and less pre­ten­tious."

One of the largest em­po­ri­ums was the Miller's Pub­lic Sup­ply Stores which be­gan life around 1835, when Irish­man John Miller broke with his em­ploy­ers at Wilsons (a large co­coa and sug­ar agent) and went in­to busi­ness on his own. Al­though he died in 1843, his store sur­vived and was ad­min­is­tered from Gat­e­ Church Street in Lon­don, by a rel­a­tive, James Miller Esq.

This photo taken in 1940s . Taken from Scott He Collection.

Not too many bands can claim they were pretty much single-handedly responsible for an entire genre and musical movement. The Cure can.

The post-punk found on their 1979 debut album, Three Imaginary Boys, quickly evolved into a gloomier and moodier form of music on their second LP, the following year's Seventeen Seconds. The next few years gave birth to the goth subgenre, as dark music, darker moods and a super-dark outlook went on to inspire a generation of sad-sack kids – and plenty of crappy music – over the next three decades.

But the Cure weren't done yet. As the '80s moved on, so did the band, which has been fronted by Robert Smith since the start. By the time the decade ended, their music had steered them into new territories, including psychedelic, jangly alt-rock and cheery pop.

Their dozen-plus LPs over the years have swung through all these almost effortlessly, as you'll see in the below list of Cure Albums Ranked Worst to Best. There were some stumbles along the way, but without an album like 1984's bleak The Top, they may have never gotten to The Head on the Door, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and Disintegration.

Their influence continues, four decades after songs like "Killing an Arab," "Boys Don't Cry" and "Jumping Someone Else's Train" introduced them to the world. Their 2019 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame may not be the culmination of their long career, but it puts a stamp of validity on a catalog of music that helped shape an era.

13. 'Wild Mood Swings' (1996)
The Cure's 10th album sounds like kind of a mess because it was made under stormy conditions. Various members were in and out of the group at the time, and, after scoring the highest-charting album of its career with 1992's 'Wish,' Robert Smith took a four-year break – the longest hiatus between Cure albums at the time – that ended with an overlong, and underdeveloped, set of songs. The glory days were over.

12. 'The Top' (1984)
If it wasn't for the slinky "The Caterpillar," the Cure's fifth album would be their worst. It's certainly the most forgettable of all the early records. It's sludgy, murky, confusing and all over the place musically. Plus, Robert Smith seems scattered and unfocused for most of its 40 long minutes. They managed to return with one of their all-time best albums, 'The Head on the Door,' a year later.

11. '4:13 Dream' (2008)
Some of the songs on the band's 13th album dated back to the mid-'80s, and Robert Smith had so much material that he considered making it a double record at one point. Instead, he replaced the gloomier songs with more polished and upbeat ones. Not a good move. Like other Cure albums from the period, '4:13 Dream' tries too hard to replicate the band's best era, but the songs – besides a couple singles – just aren't there.

10. 'The Cure' (2004)
The group's self-titled album from 2004 was co-produced by Ross Robinson, who's worked with Korn, Limp Bizkit and Slipknot. So, it's a heavier album than fans probably expected (or even wanted) from the Cure. It's overlong, and it's kind of hard to get through, but 'The Cure' offers a somewhat new perspective on a band that had recently passed the quarter-century mark of their career.
Fiction

9. 'Bloodflowers' (2000)
The Cure's 11th LP was called a return to form following 1996's messy and disappointing 'Wild Mood Swings.' It's certainly mood-building – one track clocks in at more than 11 minutes, and the average song length is a taxing six minutes – but 'Bloodflowers' often comes off like it's trying a little too hard to sound like a Cure album. Not necessarily a bad thing, but there's not much originality here either.
Fiction

8. 'Wish' (1992)
After 'Disintegration' made them worldwide stars three years earlier, the Cure returned with a similar-sounding LP that downplayed the earlier album's gloomier elements. The result was the band's highest-charting album, reaching No. 2 in the U.S. "Friday I'm in Love" was the big single, but there's more to 'Wish' than that. Probably the most consistently joyful album the group has ever made.
Fiction

7. 'Faith' (1981)
Like the albums before ('Seventeen Seconds') and after ('Pornography') it, 'Faith' forms a trilogy of records that helped seal the Cure's reputation as gloomy, black-clad artsy post-punks. The songs are mood-building set pieces, so radio airplay was pretty much non-existent. But as doomy, artsy goth, the Cure's third album is a cornerstone work by a band that excelled at it.
Fiction

6. 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me' (1987)
Following the 1985 rebound 'The Head on the Door,' Robert Smith led the band through a double-LP extravaganza that included some of his most joyous songs. The excellent "Just Like Heaven" is here and helped drive the album into the Top 40 (a first in the U.S. for the Cure). There's some filler here – Side Four is a big come-down – but 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me' set up the group for its masterpiece two years later.
Fiction

5. 'Three Imaginary Boys' (1979)
The band's debut album is sketchy at times (Robert Smith practically disowned the LP after the record company released it without his approval), but the post-punk moodiness that elevated later records starts here. There's a conceptual tightness here, too, which carried over to some of their best albums. Even better: the reworked U.S. version – called 'Boys Don't Cry' and released a year later – which includes some great early singles.
Fiction

4. 'Seventeen Seconds' (1980)
A year after their debut, the Cure returned darker, more focused and moving closer to the sound that would help define their reputation. 'Seventeen Seconds' comes together as Robert Smith leads the expanded lineup through a group of songs that set the stage for the goth movement right around the corner. The first in a trilogy of landmark records that formed a genre.
Fiction

3. 'The Head on the Door' (1985)
Robert Smith wrote every single song for the first time, and his singular vision helped get the Cure back on track after 1984's dismal 'The Top.' They try on a few different styles here, with the pop songs – especially the bouncy "In Between Days" – finding new radio-ready textures to cling to. Modern-rock radio was starting up around this time, and 'The Head on the Door' turned out to be a perfect fit.
Fiction

2. 'Pornography' (1982)
The Cure at their gloomiest and doomiest. And no wonder: Everyone was fighting and taking drugs, while Robert Smith was fighting back some major bouts of depression. It all amounts to the pinnacle of the band's darkest period. 'Pornography' was the final album in the Cure's trilogy of landmark goth records. Next up was their first real stumble, then a period of renewed creativity and a golden era of hits and music.
Fiction

1. 'Disintegration' (1989)
Everything the Cure had learned over the past decade was summed up on their milestone eighth album. 'Disintegration' has it all: goth dirges, endless psychedelic jams, super-catchy pop songs. And it made them massive stars, setting up a commercial groundswell for the next few years. Some of their best songs are here – "Pictures of You," "Lovesong," "Fascination Street" – but more importantly, 'Disintegration' sounds like an album made by a band at the peak of its creative powers.

nagetemo mou imi datta chigiretetta kuso kurae omoide nanka


It’s useless to cry over it
I tore my memories apart, they can eat shit for all I care

New blood joins this earth
And quickly he's subdued
Through constant pain disgrace
The young boy learns their rules
With time the child draws in
This whipping boy done wrong
Deprived of all his thoughts
The young man struggles on and on he's known
A vow unto his own
That never from this day
His will they'll take away

They dedicate their lives
To running all of his
He tries to please them all
This bitter man he is
Throughout his life the same
He's battled constantly
This fight he cannot win
A tired man they see no longer cares
The old man then prepares
To die regretfully
That old man here is me


I'VE ALWAYS LIVED MY LIFE ALONE, DESTINY FORGOTTEN.

Frank Lentini, owner of 3 legs, 4 feet, 16 toes, and 2 functioning sets of genitals. (1884-1966)

Lying here wide awake on my own now
Silence is the loudest cry
I'm safe but I've lost everything I've known
I can smile because the pain has gone
But cry because it's where I'm from
God I turn to You to make me strong again

I have cried so many times
And all those tears have washed my eyes
I see clearly into the light
'Cause I believe
I know one day I'll be home again
To start a new life, with peace everywhere
Right from the start until the end
I believe

Did you know that Trinidad and Tobago was the first country in the world to have a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery? On 1st August 1838, full freedom was granted to slaves, and every year on this day we celebrate the emancipation of our ancestors from the British empire. While the Act in Parliament came into effect on 1st August 1834, a period of apprenticeship was put in place for a minimum of four years to bridge the gap between slavery and complete freedom. August 1st, 1985 marks the first year that emancipation day became a national holiday in T&T.

Today emancipation day is celebrated in numerous Caribbean islands and here in Trinidad we have parades, vigils, fetes and of course a national holiday.

The Emancipation village is set up in the Queen’s Park Savannah where you will see pictures and live shows showing the history of slavery and what our ancestors endured before becoming free people.

There will be song, dance, visual images and speeches which are always educational and entertaining.

.

So basically all I see nowadays is both government and politics trying to destroy ourselves by making everyone against each other. Since that's an easy way to get even bigger and obtain more power over our heads. All I think we should do is GET TOGETHER and destroy government.

“You don’t ridicule people and give them obnoxious nicknames, at least after you graduate from the third grade,”
“You don’t falsely accuse other political leaders of treason. You don’t accuse other political leaders’ parents of assassinating President Kennedy. You don’t use disgusting, profane language to disparage other countries. And you don’t call neo-Nazis and Klansmen ‘very fine people.’”

Did You Know : The History of Bloody Bay, Tobago

In 1666 A legend has grown that Tobago was the scene of a remarkable sea battle which took place in 1666, when the British admiral Sir John Harman encountered the combined fleets of France and Holland which had rendezvoused off a bay then called Anse Erasme or Rash House Bay, now known as Bloody Bay on the north-west or leeward side of the island. It is said that the British defeated them with such great slaughter that the sea ran red in the golden sunset, the cannon booming into the night. Today, giant immortelle trees bloom a brilliant scarlet on the mountains above Bloody Bay. The bloody battle might have been one that took place in Barbados, but has been so assimilated into Tobago history that it is now 'remembered' as having taken place in Bloody Bay and been absorbed into the recall of other battles fought there.

It might be noted, however, that the early Dutch maps give it the name 'Rasphuys Bay'. Rasphuis, according to English historian Simon Schama, was a 17th century workhouse in Amsterdam where brazilwood was powdered to produce dye. The timber was rasped by convicts, and hence the name 'rasp house'. Indeed, until 50 years ago Parlatuvier, the village in the next bay, still had a sawmill. And one of the most important dyewoods from the district, called redwood, used to also be known as 'bloodwood', for it stained the rivers in which it was floated. Was Bloody Bay a similar user of ' bloodwood'.

1771 Slave uprising of a few dozen slaves at Bloody Bay.

30.09.1963 At 12:40 hours on 30 September 1963, Hurricane Flora, with winds of 90 to 100 miles per hour and gusts even stronger at an estimated 120 miles per hour, swept in from the Atlantic onto the island of Tobago's eastern shores. Many hurricanes had struck the islands to the north - an annual occurance - Tobago was not expecting it so the population was only given two hours warning prior to the advent of the storm, very little notice and though some hurried preparations were undertaken, it could not be sufficient to avoid the destruction that was to be so immense. In many instances entire villages were destroyed and sixty percent of the island's houses were demolished. Twenty-four lives were lost and 31 people were seriously injured. The economic infrastructure of Tobago suffered a similar fate; crop and property damage was estimated at around $30,000,000. To make matters worse, Tobago's economic base, composed primarily of plantation-grown cash crops, never recovered. This put many families out of work.

Folklore
We will make you Fishers of Men - A catch of biblical proportions. Early April 2001 the Bloody Bay seine fishermen hauled in a record catch, probably Tobago's largest in living history. They ran out of vans to take the fish to Scarborough market. The villagers of Bloody Bay had their fill, one lady was carrying so much that she fell over. A number of local buses detoured to the beach where the drivers and passengers all helped themselves to the catch. Hugh quantities were salted for later use. Still many were buried to prevent pollution. Thanks was given to God for his blessings.

Depression is a very serious mental illness that often goes unnoticed for years. People with concealed depression are battling demons within themselves all on their own. They are not sharing their struggles and do not want to burden those around them.

You see, for most people wounds are not something we are open about. We tend to bottle things up and attempt to remedy them on our own. If you are reading this then you must know someone who you feel you need to better understand or you relate to this yourself. The following 15 habits are some of the most common I have noticed in people dealing with concealed depression.

1. The are often quite talented and very expressive.
A lot of famous people have suffered from mental illnesses, and this suffering gives them deeper emotions. If you really think about it, this is in some form a source to their greatness. While we cannot always see it, their struggles are often reflected in their works. These people are able to bring something beautiful out of the darkness that consumes them.

2. They tend to search for purpose.
We all need a purpose in this life. We want to be sure that we are in some form doing meaningful things. People suffering from hidden depression are not exempt from this. They too want to know the reason for their existence. They are much more susceptible to feeling things like inadequacy and anxiety which leaves them searching for something they can never seem to achieve in their own minds.

3. Sometimes they make muted cries for help.
Sometimes we all need help. When we are not expecting someone to feel weak or to be down in the dumps, we don’t see their cries for help. However, if you notice their cries and can help them in any way, you are creating a very close and trust filled bond with them.

4. They interpret substances differently.
Someone who is dealing with depression usually knows what it is they can take to ease their pain in a sense. They know that caffeine and sugar will raise their mood and that some medicines can help them. They actually have to put a lot of effort into feeling better, unlike most people. It is not as simple as taking a Tylenol when you have a headache.

5. They often have a very involved perception of life and death.
People suffering from depression often face their own mortality in moments of despair and seek answers to life’s deepest questions. They tend to shift from one terrible mindset into another. Sure, not all depressed people deal with suicidal thoughts, but some do.

6. They have strange eating habits.
People with depression may not be able to eat much or at all when they are at their worst. That being said some of them may eat more when at their worst. It varies from person to person.

7. They have abnormal sleeping habits.
People with depression will often sleep for what seems like or may literally be days. Sleep at times can be impossible while other times could be the only thing left that the person can do. When a person is depressed they are dealing with a state of helplessness that will rock their world.

8. They have abandonment issues usually.
If you have dealt with abandonment then you know how terrible it can be. When someone walks out of your life it can be a devastating, but this impacts those with depression much more than other people. It causes them to be more and more secretive about their feelings and creates a fear within them of being abandoned by their loved ones.

9. They are professionals at coming up with ‘cover-up’ stories.
They are able to come up with believable elaborate excuses for the things they are going through. Like if they skip an appointment or don’t return your calls for days. They can easily change the subject when things like this come up and turn the attention away from their pain.

10. They might have habitual remedies.
There are several different lifestyle changes a person can make as an attempt to ease their minds. For instance, these people may do things like exercise, listen to music, go walking, and so forth.

11. They are always making efforts to seem happy.
People suffering from depression learn to fake moods. They will often come off as happy and normal on the outside. When they let their inner struggles appear on the outside they feel as if they are bringing others down.

12. They seek love and acceptance.
People with hidden depression are not hiding their depression because they want to be dishonest, they are just working to protect their hearts. These people want to be loved and accepted just like everyone else.

13. They have trouble shutting off their brains.
These people process everything going on in their lives at a fast speed. They over analyze the good and the bad making everything impact them much deeper. Their brains are like sponges absorbing everything that comes their way.

14. They hurt when other people hurt.
When other people are suffering it brings them down to their worst points. This sort of thing often triggers their emotional pain and can be crippling.

15. They always think of the worst-case scenarios.
While this is very stressful it can be beneficial from time to time. A high intelligence seems to be linked with depression, and they are able to respond to anything that comes their way. This makes them good problem solvers for the most part.

If you or someone you care about is suffering from concealed depression either get help or offer a helping hand. Fighting this alone is not easy or productive. The world can be a wonderful place if you get the help you need nothing can stand in your way. You are not a burden to others and the people who love and care about you want to help you, let them.

why do my prays go unanswered?
what sin did i commit to endure such sorrow?

no one see's my pain
no one hears me crying

dreams don't come true
prays don't get answered
once a victim, always a victim
born a loser, die a loser

 Sunday, we’re in love: The Cure’s no-frills, max-bangers show brings Glastonbury 2019 to a climax

Just like heaven.

“I realise that I’m going for the award for the person that says the least ever at Glastonbury,” says The Cure frontman Robert Smith among the few syllables he utters to a packed-out Pyramid Stage crowd at Glastonbury 2019. “I didn’t mean that. There is no such award. But I’d still win it.”

Fuck it. Give him the award. Give Glasto more of this. We don’t need showboating or chest-beating or empty banter about “the vibes”, what it means to be here or hollering for everyone to throw their hands up, scream or show their love. With The Cure, the audience needs no encouragement. Through Smith’s shameless dad dancing and the tears swelling up towards the show’s end, you know how much this means. Who knew stadium-filling demi-gods could be so humble?

Opening with the shattering crystal sounds of ‘Plainsong’ and ‘Pictures Of You’, The Cure begin slowly drop in some some lighter stuff with ‘High’, ‘A Night Like This’ and understated slow-burning bangers like ‘Fascination Street’. It’s one hell of a ride, rising with the pop-noir ecstasy of ‘In Between Days’, ‘Just Like Heaven’ and ‘Shake Dog Shake’, but littered with more esoteric fan favourites like ‘Last Dance’, ‘Burn’ and ‘From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea’. And even during the relative obscurities we’re all lost in the lushness of their romance. They leave the stage so Smith can “get into pop mode”, and mate – do they ever.

“It’s weird because I’ve been here over the weekend and it’s fucking brilliant,” says Smith, fully aware of the magnitude of living up to all that’s preceded them in the previous days. “HANG ON, HANG ON, HANG ON, HANG ON,” he shouts, “it isn’t difficult to be here because the next half hour is all ‘Glastonbury’. They give Worthy Farm the legendary ending it deserved. File this under the greatest and most relentless encores you could hope for. ‘Lullaby’, ‘Caterpillar’, ‘The Walk’ and the sheer abandon of ‘Why Can’t I Can’t I Be You’. There’s spoiling us and then there’s taking the absolute piss.

“I wish we could have done three years of this festival,” says Smith towards the end. Knowing their knack for mammoth shows, they could have played the whole time. Still, there’s only two measly hours to work with. “This is called ‘Sunday I’m In Love’.” Friday or not, every night needs a song like this. Even with with the dream closer of ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, there were no frills, no banter, just joy. Showmen have their place, so does pure class and grace. No words can amount to what The Cure gave Glastonbury tonight.

The Cure’s setlist was:
Plainsong
Pictures of You
High
A Night Like This
Lovesong
Last Dance
Burn
Fascination Street
Never Enough
Push
In Between Days
Just Like Heaven
From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
Play for Today
A Forest
Shake Dog Shake
Disintegration
Encore:
Lullaby
The Caterpillar
The Walk
Friday I’m in Love
Close to Me
Why Can’t I Be You?
Boys Don’t Cry

The Cure at Glastonbury 2019 review – still the world's most reluctant pop stars

Pyramid stage
Robert Smith’s band of goth-pop veterans focus on their imperial phase: a catalogue that can’t help but be anthemic

There’s a sense in which the Cure’s performance is the opposite of every other headline performance on the Pyramid stage this weekend. There’s no special guests, not much in the way of explosive special effects and there’s no attendant sense of can they do this – or how will this work?

It’s been 41 years since they started plying fretful suburban melancholy and rainy Sunday afternoon ennui: the first time they headlined Glastonbury was some years before a considerable portion of this year’s attendees were born. These days, they release albums so infrequently that huge – and incredibly lengthy – live shows are pretty much the band’s raison d’etre. This kind of thing is tried and tested; it’s just what they do.

By the Cure’s current standards, two hours constitutes a breakneck canter through the highlights of their back catalogue. It centres on their imperial phase, bookended by 1985’s The Head on the Door and 1994’s Wish, a period during which the Cure came within kissing distance of being the biggest band in the world, while somehow managing to retain a certain outsider status: Pictures of You, A Night Like This, Love Song, Never Enough, In Between Days.

Listening to them play, you’re struck by the fact that they pulled off the trick of traversing a huge musical distance – from the taut post-punk of A Forest to the diseased-sounding psychedelia of Shake Dog Shake to the selection of more-or-less pure pop tracks that forms the set’s final 30 minutes – while always sounding exactly like the Cure. For all the dark power of the tracks they play from Disintegration, the latter proves their highlight of the show, partly because it’s unexpected. You get the sense that Robert Smith has quite a complex relationship with the most commercial end of his oeuvre – he exits the stage for two minutes “to get my pop head on” before it begins and explains that they’re only doing it because “it’s Glastonbury” – but there’s something particularly joyous about hearing one pop smash after another: Friday I’m in Love following on the heels of Close to Me and The Caterpillar.

And something about the light tone of the material seems to infect Robert Smith himself. Not, you suspect, one of life’s natural everybody-put-your-hands-together frontmen, he nevertheless abandons his guitar and moves to the side of the stage, beneath the video screens, dancing at least a little while he sings Why Can’t I Be You? Then the man who launched a thousand teenage goth haircuts catches himself, explaining again that this isn’t normally how the Cure perform. “I hope I don’t regret doing this,” he mutters, before the band launch into the concluding Boys Don’t Cry. Judging by the audience reaction, that doesn’t seem likely.