Port of Spain Lighthouse 

National Eyesore

My recent letter to Berger Paints on the appalling state of the Port of Spain Lighthouse:


"Dear Mr. Kishore S. Advani, Regional Managing Director;
& Mr. Umanath Maharaj Commercial Manager

I am writing to submit a formal complaint on behalf of the citizens of Trinidad & Tobago on the appalling state of one of our National Monuments, namely the Lighthouse that stands on Wrightson Road, Port of Spain.

Your Company, I was pleased to see several years ago, undertook the painting and restoration of this monument. Whilst I did have objections to the fact that a large unsightly billboard bearing the "Berger" name was affixed to the lighthouse, all in all, the improvement in the appearance of the lighthouse was most welcome. But now sadly, as most things tend to go in this country, the paint on the lighthouse is once again faded, the light in the tower burnt out and the structure in need of attention.

For the life of me I cannot understand how a Company can have their name on such an eyesore..one that is met by the eyes of hundreds of travelers on both the roads and from the ports every day of life. If I were Berger paints I would be ashamed to have my company name so boldly emblazoned on such a monument..Especially when the corporate signature is:

" “For Lasting Beauty and Protection,” epitomizes its commitment to quality and is dedicated to serving paint users beautifully! "

Please, I beg, let Berger take this opportunity to improve the community and the image of Trinidad and Tobago in some small way. Paint that lighthouse! Remove the Berger sign from the structure and erect a small discreet one near to it instead (after all one would not see a large sign hanging from the Statue of Liberty saying "Maintained by Sherwin Williams paint" would one?) What would even be more wonderful is if Berger could extend its corporate assistance to other communities and make it a Company and Community project to restore other sites of beauty or historic interest in Trinidad. The Galera Lighthouse is another project that comes to mind. The residents of Toco have been trying for years to restore the lighthouse and create a national park there..Would a little corporate sponsorship be too much to ask?
I have e-mailed this letter to other concerned citizens on my list and I am sure that they will in turn pass them on to others. Maybe a little national attention is all Berger might need to get cracking and get our monument restored to its former glory.
I have full confidence that this letter will have the desired effect, and that a response will be forthcoming. Looking forward to seeing that new coat of paint on the lighthouse!
Best Regards,

Sharon Arrindell "

The Lighter Side

Ever have one of those days where everything seems to go wrong? Well last Sunday/Monday was one of those days. It was so bad that I ended up not sending the kids to school because I was a total write-off. Of couse, beacuse the kids missed school they needed an 'excuse' the next day. My dad always told that it is important to tell the truth..so that is exactly what I did. The result was the following letter:

Dear Mrs. X,
Please excuse the absence of Stephanie and Michael from school on Monday 21st, February 2005.

This was due to the confluence of many unfortunate events..beginning with the unexpected death of Chris's aunt on Sunday morning; continuing with Andrew bringing the kids home after 10 pm that night due to bad planning and terrible traffic, and culminating in the cat using our bed as its loo at about 2 am! Result being mass chaos, much frantic cleaning and not much sleep on Sunday night.

Even the neighbourhood dogs set up a barking brigade to make sure we were thoroughly zombified!

Monday morning dawned and we did not.

It eventually turned out to be and exasperating day dealing with overtired, miserable kids. At least the cat had the sense to make like Bin Laden and disappear!

Thank you for your understanding. With such an "auspicious" start, hopefully, the week can only get better.

Yours sincerely,

Sharon Arrindell