Dear Editor,
Kindly permit me a little space to offer my personal observations on my experiences at the National Park on Mashramani Day. As a veteran designer with decades of experience in Mashramani, it bothered me to have had to endure several hours of staring at the park’s tarmac waiting to experience the costume band parade we came out to see. I was fortunate to be in the VIP stand and therefore got a firsthand experience of what our foreign and local diplomats had to endure.
Our invitation suggested that guests be seated by 1.00 pm. fortunately, for most, including ourselves and a few diplomats who by now are very familiar with our timekeeping, did not get there until 1.30pm. We were pleasantly greeted by an official of the Foreign Service and then shown to our seats. The preforming stage, which was utilized for this purpose, was nicely appointed and appropriately decorated for the occasion and so was the rest of the park. The public stands were quickly filling up and music suitable for the occasion was playing. As diplomats and their guests were arriving at the park, cleaning ladies chose to mop the floor at around 2.00pm for an event set to receive guest at 1.00pm. Needless to say, everyone had to vacate their seats as this operation took place.
After we were instructed to return to our seats, the event M.C made an announcement welcoming all and apologizing for the late start. He told us that there would be 19 bands coming through the Park soon, and that the slight delay was due to the rain but would soon get started. Diplomats from the EU, UN, USA, India, Mexico, China and Latin America etc. were all by this time seated while others were still arriving. My wife, who represents one of the Orders, and our five year old granddaughter, sat and waited and waited with the other guests. Waitresses came around to offer refreshments, everyone mingled and chatted trying to look patient and calm while a small group began to dance and encouraged others to join them as we waited. A lone male vendor skillfully balanced a filled tray on his head as he pranced around the park’s tarmac offering a bit of welcomed entertainment.
A few Diplomats in their attempt to ease the boredom began to stroll around the accessible area behind the stage where there were some stalls and rides for the children. Editor, by this time, around 3.00pm, you could see the boredom on some faces while others displayed their diplomatic charm. We decided to leave shortly after, and as we did so, the very first band was just coming through the main gate at around 3.45pm. With no other band in sight, and armed with years of this type of experience, we continued homeward bound.
Editor, from my days as designer to present, little have changed and it seemed to have worsened as organizers clearly have learnt little or nothing over the decades. Do they have postmortems of these events which can inform improvements going forward? Perhaps not. My first suggestion is that they set up a small portable stage on the center of the tarmac and have fillers that can provide entertainment, a steel band, calypsonians, cultural dances by various ethnic groups, some of the school Mash bands on parade, comedian or clowns, a Mash mascot to entertain the crowds, (a good experienced Masquerade Band complete with Mad Bull, Mother Sally, and Stilt Dancers just to name a few).
The spotlight is now on this nation, and we are expected to raise the bar, not keep it at the same level or worse, lower it as we seem to have been doing. As a Nation, our standards are far below expectation in many areas, and we are not very good at taking criticism without giving it a political brush off.
We have people who are experienced in many areas but we ignore them and put them out to graze as we proclaim “One Guyana”. We must no longer be satisfied with organizing events we must organize ourselves to organize them better each time. On another note, the bands themselves lack the imagination, class and sparkle of the previous decades and I have the evidence to prove the comparison. I end by calling on all those responsible not to be shy in seeking help as we are “One Guyana”, are we not?
Sincerely,
Bernard Ramsay
Veteran Designer
