Women take Control

Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor

THEY SAY when the going gets tough, the tough gets going, and that's exactly what happened at 38A Trafalgar Road on Saturday, October 30, when five women took control of the turntable.

The charity event was organised by Dollis Campbell for the Kiwanis Club of West St Andrew and it will be talked about for months to come. For days prior to the event, The Gleaner's Janet Silvera (self-styled 'big bad wolf from the Bay') noised it abroad that she was the one to beat. Print and electronic media left very little doubt in the minds of everyone that, following her previous success in this venture, she meant to obliterate the competition.

Publicist/sports enthusiast/journalist Carole Beckford also made it plain that she would be pulling from the catalogues of the recently deceased Gregory Isaacs and the beleaguered Buju Banton to elicit crowd emotion. The other women at the controls included Digicel's effervescent Trisha Thompson, corporate relations manager, a complete novice in this arena, who kept telling friends that, being an amateur, she would simply get an expert to "mix her CD of her favourites" and come to have a grand time.

Marilyn Bennett, wine connoisseur, and Millicent Lynch of Intralot had done this before, but they kept their plans close to their chest. Well, when the media hype intensified during the final 48 hours prior to the event, the Digicel crew, led by mommy-to-be Shelly-Ann Curran, took matters into their own hands and put on a show comparable only to the recent launch of the 4G broadband wireless Internet service.

They thought of almost everything - from DJ-producing lyrics tailor-made to mock the competition, to costumes, to music downloaded courtesy of the 4G technology, to a whopping 80 fans from the Driftwood Gun Club, to the entire Irish aggregation in the island, to family members, and a grand finale of Jus Bus dancers whipping the crowd into a frenzy. They loved it. When she was through, the 'big bad wolf' had disappeared. Thompson's R&B, reggae and dancehall mix found favour with the crowd that never left the dance floor. She was an instant hit and a new star was born.

Next up was Carole Beckford, whose selections included crowd favourites by Beres Hammond, Tarrus Riley, some popular soca hits that had the crowd begging for more and, yes, Gregory Isaacs. And in Oscar-winning movie star style, she thanked everyone for making it happen, from her primary school teacher, to mother, The Deck posse and her dog!

Meanwhile, having heard most of selections played by Intralot's Millicent Lynch, who looked like a teenager in her brown mini and animal-print boots, followed by Carole Beckford's superbly planned set, Marilyn Bennett also used the 4G technology to quickly remix her presentation. And when time came for her to take the controls, she did not disappoint.

Then it happened. There was a loud roar! No, it wasn't stomachs growling for want of Saturday soup; it was the 'big bad wolf' arriving, courtesy of two members of the Crazy Bikerz crew. It was fantastic. Dressed in black shorts and tank top, with a waist-length grey jacket, featuring layers of ruffles in front, Silvera rode into the venue to loud applause from the crowd. Her onstage antics included the latest dance moves and very suggestive gyrations using a column as a pole! Heat was definitely in the place. But it was all for a good cause.

Thanks to Steve James, who took the photo of Janet's arrival.

barbara.ellington@gleanerjm.com