Allyuh!!! It me, Auntie Cheryl, and I wake up dis Saturday mornin’ with SO MUCH to tell yuh. De phone been ringin’ since 6AM, me sister in Diego Martin send me TEN voice notes, and me niece in Arima tell me to check de Guardian. Sit sit sit. Make tea. Let me unload.

SADDAM HOSEIN OPEN A GYM!!! 💪💪💪

Ohhhh darling this one had me LAUGHING.

Saddam Hosein — de MP for Barataria/San Juan — he cut de ribbon on a NEW GYM in Aranguez. Dey call it Raw Fitness. And dey TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS of him ON DE CHEST PRESS MACHINE.

DE CHEST PRESS. DE MAN ON DE CHEST PRESS MACHINE.

Listen. I love Saddam. Me daughter know he daughter from school days. He is a good MP. He show up. He answer de phone. He come to de community meetings. In a country where HALF de MPs don’t know where de constituency IS, Saddam ACTUALLY show up at tings.

BUT. I had to call me sister and ask her — “girl, did you see? SADDAM on de chest press?” And she start laughing and we laugh for like ten minutes because sometimes politicians pose for photos and sometimes dey ALSO work out, and I cannot tell which one Saddam was doing, and honestly? Maybe he was doing both.

Good for him. Good for Aranguez. If we going to get fit, let we get fit. Saddam come lead we. 💪

TTMB HAVE NEW MORTGAGES!!!!

And DIS one is real news.

Me neighbour Lisa been trying to buy a house for FOUR YEARS. FOUR YEARS. Every bank she go to, dey tell her she don’t qualify. Why? Because Lisa is a graphic designer. She work freelance. She make good money — SOMETIMES three and four times what some of dese bankers making. But because her income come in every week from different clients, de BANKS don’t know how to read she bank statement.

Now — TTMB launch THREE new mortgage products for people like Lisa. “Adaptive life circumstances,” dey calling it. Which is a fancy way of sayin’ — we finally realize some people don’t work in an office and still have money.

Lisa call me this morning AT 7:43 AM and de woman was almost crying. She said “Auntie Cheryl, I might FINALLY get to buy me own place.” She been renting since 2019. She been saving she deposit since 2021. And now de bank maybe willing to see her like a person and not like a risk.

Pray for Lisa. Pray for everyone in this country who been working in de gig economy and been getting told dey don’t qualify. TTMB is FINALLY catching up to de 21st century.

I don’t always trust banks. But this one — credit where credit due.

DE NURSES THREATENING TO WALK

Now dis one.

DIS ONE.

Me cousin Gracie is a nurse. She been a nurse for 26 years. She work in de Port of Spain General. She LOVES she job. She does kiss de patients forehead sometimes when she think nobody watching. Dat is de kind of nurse she is.

Gracie called me last night and she was BEYOND. She said “Cheryl, I think we going to walk.” I said “Gracie you can’t walk, who going to take care of de patients?” She said “Who going to take care of US, Cheryl? Who going to pay de rent? Who going to put food on de table?”

De Nursing Association has said — and dey mean it — if de Minister of Health don’t come to de table with a REAL offer, dey going industrial action. Which mean de nurses walk. And when de nurses walk, de hospitals DON’T FUNCTION. And when de hospitals don’t function, people die.

I am not going to say de nurses wrong. I am going to say — Minister of Health, please. PLEASE. Sit with dem. Offer something real. Because if Gracie walk, and 3,000 other nurses walk, and somebody I love end up in de emergency room dat weekend, I am coming to YOUR house. And I will bring Gracie.

DE EV WARNING FROM BYD

Ok dis one me husband asked me to mention because he been lookin’ at electric cars on de internet for TWO YEARS without buying one.

De BYD lady — Kerri-Ann Seerattan — she come on de news and say: STOP BUYING EVs FROM RANDOM PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK. Buy from AUTHORIZED dealers. Because de ones you buy from “a fellow in Curepe” — dey don’t come with warranty, dey don’t come with service, and de software might not even work with our electricity.

Me husband turn to me and say “Cheryl, I was about to call de fellow in Curepe.”

I said, “I KNOW you was about to call de fellow in Curepe. Dat is why Kerri-Ann on de TV right now. She talking directly to you.”

He looked at me. He looked at de TV. He went in de kitchen. He have not mentioned de fellow in Curepe again today. Small victories.

DE FAIR TRADING COMMISSION NO WORKING

And dis one. Dr. Ramkissoon come on de news and say — once AGAIN — dat de Fair Trading Commission not working. It hasn’t been working. Dat without it, de big companies is getting away with price-fixing and us little consumers is paying de bill.

I will say what I always say. WHEN PEPSI AND COKE is both $16 at de SAME supermarket, ask yourself — who is watching de price? And de answer is: nobody. Because de Commission is on holiday for three years.

De Minister of Trade need to fix dis. Not announce dat she going to fix it. FIX IT. Hire de commissioners. Fund de office. Give dem power to act. Because right now de consumers of Trinidad and Tobago is being quietly robbed and nobody is being held accountable.

I am angry. I am having me SECOND cup of tea angry.

ME CLOSING

Listen darlings. It Saturday. It going to be hot. De rain coming in de afternoon. Me grandson coming over at 11 to watch football. Me husband going to de gym (NOT Saddam’s gym, we don’t go to Aranguez, we go to de one on Saddle Road).

Life going on. De nurses may walk. De Commission may stay broken. Saddam may flex for more photographs. But we going on. Trinidadian style.

Kiss the ones you love this weekend. Pay a bill if you can. Be patient with de people at de grocery. And don’t buy an EV from a fellow in Curepe.

GOD BLESS TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO!!!

— Auntie Cheryl, Chaguanas 💋