ttt Pioneers

Neil Giuseppi, writing in another paper recently, opened his article with the words: “I shed a tear last Friday night.  I shed a tear as I watched the end of an era in Trinidad and Tobago.”  He was, of course, writing about the demise of the National Broadcasting Network (NBN).  And as I read his reminiscences, many of which were also mine, I shed a tear too.

If people remember me as a broadcaster at all, it is usually for my TTT years.  But there may just be some older folk who have not forgotten that I was also among those “privileged” few who opened Radio Guardian (610) in September 1957.  Becoming part of the NBN network later, this radio station too has now been silenced.  So, a double whammy for me

One sunny day in June 1962 I responded to an advertisement in the Trinidad Guardian for television technicians and operators. Some time later, I received a letter inviting me to attend an interview at 11a Maraval Road. On the day of the interview, I decided to take a taxi and actually got out in downtown Port of Spain to walk to the address on my letter. In my commute there,  I thought to myself this is not getting me anywhere as it seems I had been walking for a long time. Finally, when I got as far as Wrightson Road I noticed a police officer standing in front of the Licensing Office; I approached him to inquire if he knew the location of Trinidad and Tobago Television (ttt) on Maraval Road. He immediately responded that he had never heard of such a place but he knew for sure there is a Radio Trinidad on Maraval Road. He pointed in the direction, so I walked up French Street which leads into Maraval Road and began counting the numbers. Not being familiar with the area, Maraval Road appeared to me to be quite a distance from where I started off. By the time I got to the address I was dripping with perspiration , my white shirt was sticking to my body and I was beginning to feel uncomfortable and worried about my appearance for the interview.