The fire/ gas scare at the local Hilton, while most likely a genuine accident, perhaps best illustrates the prevailing jitteriness and general embarrassment felt by most Trinidadians at this time. Poor worker productivity, wide-scale theft and an historically insulated QPCC administration have all assiduously worked hand-in-hand to ensure the current catastrophe. As I write crews are now in 24/7 mode a la Athens at the last Olympics and the Oval’s first matches shall now surely begin with the sound of hammering in the background.
The whole debacle illustrates various social ills that continue to bedevil a society that boasts the most highly educated and wealthiest in the region.
Better news, the practice ground at the UWI campus was finished with time to spare and has proved a picturesque example of what can be achieved in more competent hands.
Otherwise, the tourists continue to arrive and make their presence felt, mostly nation diasporas based in the Americas (I came down from Miami yesterday with six ‘Indo-Americans’) and the rest of the country is also falling into line aesthetically with banners, TV promos and ticket competitions galore.
All we need now if for the games to begin.