Pat Bishop, the holder of T&T's highest national honour, the Trinity Cross, went to her grave expressing concerns about her failed attempts to bring mainstream culture to the fore. The concerns were registered by Bishop yesterday at a meeting of the Panel of High Level Experts Culture and Creative Arts minutes before she died. Bishop, 71, an artist and musician is believed to have died of a stroke and heart attack around 5.20 pm at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. "One of the things she said ironically was that 'I am too old now.' Then Bishop indicated that she had been to a lot of talk shop sessions, trying to bring culture to the mainstream and that she was a little sceptical of the outcomes of these events," said Minister of Planning, Economic and Social Restructuring and Gender Affairs, Dr Bhoe Tewarie, who was present when Bishop suddenly fell off her chair around 4.20 pm.
At the time of her collapse, masman Peter Minshall was on his feet addressing the members. The meeting, held at the Ministry of Planning and Economy, was attended by 16 members, who were scheduled to submit a report. Tewarie said when Bishop fell, Dr Kiran Akal together with Rubadiri Victor rushed to her assistance. Initially people thought she had fainted. "They tried to revive her. We got the ambulance as quickly as we could and took her to the hospital." Tewarie said at that point in time Bishop, who was still breathing remained unconscious. However, within an hour she had passed away.
"We basically had to call people who were at the meeting to tell them she had died. It was not an easy thing to do and not the best experience I had." Victor, Tewarie said, called Bishop's younger sister Gillian who came to the hospital. "The three of us stood there. I had to break the news to her (Gillian). She became emotional. She held on to me and gasped." Tewarie spoke highly of Bishop stating that when he was appointed Principal of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus in 2001 he personally called her to put together a cultural programme for his installation. Bishop, Tewarie said, outdid herself bringing her choir the Lydian Singers. "She did a wonderful programme for me. This is a sad day for our country because she was such a talented person."
In tears, Victor said Bishop was one of the Caribbean's greatest, who will be irreplaceable. "We have just lost an entire university. This is a tragedy of epic proportions." Victor described Bishop as a complete renaissance woman, one of our greatest choir masters, conductors, steel orchestral arrangers and musical curators. She was also a gifted painter, writer and historian. In her last years, Victor said Bishop was not allowed to lead the creation of those institutions that would have made a difference in our Republic. "Pat died battling for the realisation of a vision of that shinning, golden Trinidad and Tobago which is rooted in our unique cultural genius." Victor said Bishop leaves behind thousands of children to win the battle in her name.