The motto on the coat of arms of the Port-of-Spain City Council proudly declares, "We gather strength as we go along." If this maxim is to be taken seriously - and Double Rooks doesn't see why it shouldn't - then we must now assume that the Council and the Corporation it administers must have gathered enormous strength since it has been 'going along' for many decades since it replaced the old Spanish Cabildo. Such accumulated strength, we think, would now be such as to make the Council a virtual paragon of performance and the capital city the true pride of the nation's municipalities.
The problem Double Rooks has with this civic boast is that, for all its long increasing capability, the City Corporation seems incapable of performing the apparent simple task of restoring a number of lights in Woodford Square, that historic park in the heart of the nation's capital. The fact is that these lights have been conking out over a period of many months without any apparent attempt by the "relevant authority" to restore them. But why? Can it be that the people responsible at City Hall simply do not care? Is there now a deficiency of civic pride in the organisation that should really be its fountainhead? What else can Double Rooks think after his own sad experience in attempting to find answers to this apparent mystery?
More than two months ago, DR went seeking for some light in this area of darkness.
The compliants of chess players who were forced to abandon play and leave the square at nightfall had become so plaintive that DR felt compelled to do something about it. After two articles commenting on this unhappy situation and four personal visits to City Hall, DR has been forced to settle for a humiliating stalemate. Sadly, DR must now report to his chess-playing brothers that he has given up the struggle. It seems, metaphorically speaking, that darkness has prevailed. Two visits to the Mayor's office proved abortive; the first about two months ago failed because His Worship was on vacation abroad; the second last Monday also produced a fat zero because, DR was told, Mr Louis Lee Sing was in Colombia attending a week-long seminar.
Between these two 'abortions', DR had sought by telephone to arrange a fixed appointment with the gentleman; but this too came to nought. DR was informed by his secretary that Mr Mayor would be too busy to grant this request. She suggested, instead, that the best possible way for DR to see His Worship would be to come around 9am and wait outside his office hoping His Worship would find the time amid his hectic schedule. Let me now say that, after more than 50 years as a working journalist, I thought I had earned more professional respect than that. Indeed, I have never been treated with such disregard, some may even say contempt, in efforts to meet with any official in either the public or private sectors.
But I only say that en passant; I continue to wish Mr Louis Lee Sing every success in conducting the very onerous responsibilities of Mayor of Port-of-Spain. It is good that His Worship attends these seminars abroad as they should serve to strengthen his administrative capabilities.
Now DR must tell about his visits to the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Engineer of the City Corporation. The first referred DR to the second who, through his secretary, readily promised to rectify the square's lighting problem, a promise that sent DR away quietly rejoicing. His quick and positive reply seemed to indicate an awareness of the situation and offered hope of a ready solution. But some five weeks have passed and the dark status quo prevails. Was the City Engineer just playing silly devils with Double Rooks? Well, the chess-playing brotherhood of Woodford Square will just have to wait and see. As an active member of this keen and motley group, DR has fulfilled his promise to them, he has personally taken the lighting issue to the 'powers' at City Hall but with little or nothing constructive to report.
Still, the stony reaction gnaws at his entrails. Why is the need to restore some blown lamps in the square proving to be such an intractable problem for the Corporation? Among the variety of opinions expressed by aggrieved chess players is that the problem is simply too technical. Some feel that perhaps the necessary funds are just not available. But could these speculations be really true? For whatever reason, the failure is a sad one for several reasons. As DR has already noted, the chess players who use the Woodford Square tables are ardent lovers of the game, they are a mixed group who enjoys a special camaraderie that the mentally stimulating sport and the historic open-air venue provide. In any case, not being club members, they have no other place to play.
One would expect that this is the kind of healthy social mixing the City Fathers would be anxious to promote, especially since it is there for all to see in an iconic "arena" frequented by members of the public. Also, as an essential matter of public safety, Woodford Square, used daily as a convenient thoroughfare by hundreds of pedestrians, should be comprehensively lit after night falls. So the darksome mystery remains. What's the next move? Maybe the square's unhappy chess players would now want to attack with full force in a placard protest outside City Hall.