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AgroFest 2016 tomorrow at JC!

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AgroFest 2016 will be held this Saturday on the Jamaica College grounds from 8am to 8pm for its 20th staging. The entry cost is $500JMD for Adults and $100JMD for Children.

You should expect to see and/or buy some of the best Food crops and Livestock produced by our Local Farmers, specifically from Kingston and St. Andrew.

AgroFest is not only a Farmers’ Market though, it is a Family event that will have entertainment for everyone, food and drinks on sale and of course, kids should be able to pet some of the animals.

Entertainment will include the Police Mounted Troop Exhibition, Guardsman Canine Display and Competitions such as the JAS ‘Eat Jamaican’ Cook-Off Competition, Farm Queen Competition and more.

Also keep in mind that it is not only important to bring the kids for fun and games but to let them have a look around to develop an interest in our local agriculture, broadening awareness that it can be a considerable Career option for them in the future.

Agriculture consists of a variety of skilled areas to be considered other than being a Farmer. There is the Scientific option involving manufacturing and production of Fertilizers and Pesticides, as well as Hybridization (Merging crops/plants together to change in size, colour, shape etc.), Tissue Culturing (Multiplication of Plants) and more. There is the Manufacturing/Engineering option with Agro-Processing and Technology providing opportunities in constructing and/or engineering greenhouses and irrigation systems.

So come on out to AgroFest tomorrow! Help Jamaica to use our own products to become more independent.

‘Grow What We Eat, Eat What We Grow’

 

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The NBA Playoffs is on fire! Why are the Spurs losing to OKC?

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Photo: www.nba.com

The Cavs await the Raptors or Heat for the Eastern Conference Finals after sweeping the Hawks. The Raptors-Heat series is drawn 2-2 and they will play in Toronto tonight at 7pm. The Heat players have been plagued with injuries but they still managed to level the series. Can D-Wade win it for them again?

The Warriors should beat the Trail Blazers in California tonight at 9:30pm to advance to the Western Conference Finals. They will await the winner of the Spurs-OKC series.

On Sunday, Durant came alive in the 4th quarter, the Spurs fell apart and KD won the game for his Momma, who is the real MVP. OKC leveled the series at 2-2.

They headed back to San Antonio for a crucial Game 5 last night. OKC led the 1st quarter 22-16. Then it was all about the Spurs for the 2nd and 3rd quarter. But in the 4th, putting bad calls aside with acrobatics from Steven Adams and Westbrook swatting imaginary flies from his eye saying he was hit by Parker, the Spurs failed to make crucial shots. In particular, Aldridge and Parker. They went cold. While on the other side, Westbrook was hot and unstoppable. His athletisism was impressive resulting in steals and speeding through the paint. His last steal, then the and-1 in closing seconds sealed the deal for the Thunder’s Game 5 win over the Spurs. Westbrook ended the night with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.

81% of the time, whoever wins Game 5 usually advances in the series. With Spurs’ performance during the season, they would have been expected to beat OKC. But it’s always about match ups. OKC has always been a serious threat to the Spurs. They lucked out with Ibaka’s injury the last time they met in the Playoffs. Now Ibaka may not be as much of a threat, but Westbook is unstoppable. When he is guarded by Kawhi, Durant will take care of everything else. If they happen to lock down those two, there are Waiters and Steve Adams who will do the job. Steve Adams’ game has improved tremendously. Someone should cut his hair. Old man river walk, Tim Duncan has to be present for the Spurs’ defense and to get crucial rebounds. Diaw is not playing as well who used to be a key part of the Spurs’ defense and facilitator for plays and magical ball movement. Danny Green works hard but is not where he needs to be yet for defense, then the Defensive Player of the year, Kawhi Leonard can’t do it all on his own. Ginobili is a ticking time bomb. Parker crumbles under pressure. West makes too many unnecessary fouls and Aldridge fails to make clutch shots. Leonard and Aldridge want it but the rest of the team seem comfortable with their previous rings and accomplishments. Let’s hope some desire to move forward is ignited and they can force a game 7.

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Either way, the Golden State Warriors will beat whoever emerges as the winner and beat the Cavs as well, who will reach the Finals, to start their dynasty. Steph Curry is back and he came back scoring 40 points, 17 of which were in overtime. Or can OKC just upset everybody? They surely look hungry. Let’s watch and see.

I Love this Game.

 

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Rotaract Club of St. Andrew turns 8!

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Long-standing member, Secretary Anna-Kae West reading to the kids at Sophie’s Place

The Rotaract Club of St. Andrew celebrated their Charter week last week as they turned 8 years old.

A visit to Sophie’s place where they usually go to read and play with the kids was one of their many activities during their special week.

Happy Anniversary Rotaract Club of St. Andrew!

 

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Fathers who Cook for Mother’s Day!

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Yesterday was the 3rd staging of Fathers who Cook by Lodge Portmore at Ham Stables in Portmore from 12 noon to 4pm. The cost was $4000JMD for Adults.

The event was a Charity event in aid of Clifton Basic School, George Lee Foundatiom and other Masonic Charities including the Green Frog Gray Elephant Foundation. The Green Frog Gray Elephant Foundation raises Autism Awareness.

The ticket entitled you to 3 Meats, Staple (side orders) and a Drink. However food such as Burgers, Soup, Dessert and Snowcones came with your band as well. Drinks including Premium liquor were on sale.

Suga reached early before noon. I sipped on drinks and chatted with family and friends until food was ready at about 1pm. Service was quick and easy and there were hardly any lines. It is best to come to these types of events early. I was told that it was more organized this year so even for persons that arrived at about 2:30/3pm, shuttle service was provided by distant parking, entry to the venue was smooth and a second line was created for collecting staple, plates etc. All ladies, whether Mothers or not were given a rose upon entry and they did not run out. There was an endless supply of buckets with fresh roses. That was a nice touch.

Some advertised cooks were a no show this year but there was more than enough food for everyone and quite a variety. Highlights for Suga were the Roast Fish from Ellis and the Lion Fish from Huntley Watson. They were spicy, meaty and tasty!

Paul Robertson’s Lamb that is a hit every year sustained its high standard but was in high demand so finished quickly. So did the Pork Hock and Beans. Since I missed out on the Pork Hock when I was circling the tents again, I had Pork Belly, which was tender and had a delicious sauce.

Andre’s Shrimp Kebabs stayed a bit too long on the grill but had a nice flavour.

I was stuffed so missed out on Evon Lyn Cook’s Curried Goat, but next time.

The Dessert Station had assorted Cakes, Ice cream, Sorbet, Hershey’s Kisses and Ferrero Rocher. I am happy I caught the Cappuccino ice cream, whicj was delicious before that crazy rainbow one came out.

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Ice cream with a View

Cal’s syrup definitely had  a presence with their Snowcones. What a blast from the past for Suga. I enjoyed my Strawberry Snowcone.

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Gabby from Suga with her Strawberry Snowcone from Cal’s

There were no horse or pony rides but a Magician and Singers provided good entertainment as well as music from Stokey Love.

Sponsors were Jamaica Broilers Group, Caribbean Broilers Ltd., Fidelity Motors Ltd., IGL Ltd., Smart Mobile Solutions, Genus Pharmacy, Rights Bakery, Wata, Coca-Cola, Tru-Juice and JAA.

Jamaica Automobile Association signed up persons for a Free 6-month Membership for 24/7 Emergency Roadside and Accident Assistance including All-island coverage and Security but not Towing services.

Well done Lodge Portmore. Would Suga attend again? Maybe not consecutively but will make a trip out there another year.

 

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What’s going on in the NBA Playoffs?!

There have certainly been some crazy endings to the last couple of games in the NBA Playoffs for both the East and the West recently.

Kyle Lowry of the Raptors made a crazy buzzer beater from the half court line the other night to force OT with the Heat but Dwyane Wade was on fire and they couldn’t hold him back. Heat won 102-96 to take the lead in the series 1-0.

Watch “Kyle Lowry Buzzer Beater to force overtime in Raptors vs. Heat Playoff Game!” on YouTube here:

Suga had Miami to win this series but with the recurrence of blood clotting in Chris Bosh’s left calf over the All-Star break keeping him out of the games, it will not be an easy task to overcome the Raptors. Their fate to meet LeBron and the Cavs is now at stake.

The Cavs – Hawks series will be dead. Cavs won easily 104-93.

But the last 13.5s of the Spurs-OKC game with OKC leading 98-97 in San Antonio was madness! So many things happened and no fouls were called for either team. The most obvious foul was the offensive foul on Ginobili on the inbound, players were scrambling all over the place and falling on the court and most hilariously, a Spurs fan (no it wasn’t Suga) grabbed the arm of OKC’s Steve Adams! Even though no fouls were called, at the end of the day, Ginobili should not have passed the ball to go for a 3. Shame on him. This win for OKC levelled the series 1-1. This will be the most exciting semi final series.

Watch “Dramatic Finish in San Antonio | Thunder vs Spurs | Game 2 | May 2, 2016 | 2016 NBA Playoffs” on YouTube here:

Watch “Spurs fan grabbed Steven Adams’ arm on the final possession Spurs vs Thunders” on YouTube here:

Last night, Trail Blazers led Warriors for the majority of the game with a 11-point lead into the 4th quarter. Lillard was on fire and Klay Thompson was not. Then Blazers forgot they had to play a 4th quarter and it all went downhill from there. They started to trail again.

Klay Thompson then started to make shots when it counted, ending the game with 27 points and the Defending Champs quickly erased the 11-point deficit in the 4th to take a 2-0 lead in the series. Trail Blazers have no chance.

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Photo: www.nba.com

So what’s the status of the NBA 2016 Playoffs now?

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Photo: www.espn.go.com