De Announcer is back

CALYPSONIAN Ronnie “De Announcer” Clarke will face the judges tomorrow night in the Cave Shepherd All Stars Tent at the Plantation Garden Theatre, St Lawrence, Christ Church.Clarke, who was a reserve in last year’s LIME/Banks Pic-O-De-Crop Semi-finals, had announced shortly after that, that he was quitting the calypso arena.When contacted last night, Clarke, who is also programme director of Starcom Network, confirmed he had returned to the competition. He said he had registered to be judged on the final day.He however refused to go into details about his re-entry but said he would tell-it-all tomorrow.Last year there was controversy about Clarke’s position leading up to  the semi-finals which triggered a meeting between the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) and the All Stars Calypso Tent in which Clarke performed. Clarke had cited family and professional commitments as among the major reasons he was bidding farewell to the Pic-O-De-Crop competition, adding that he thought it would have been an ideal time for the curtain call.De Announcer, 38, made his kaiso debut in the Experience Tent in 2004, creating controversy with Botsie Theology, an indictment of the practice of homosexuality.“Since that time I would have gone on to the All Stars in 2006, been in the Finals every year from 2005 to 2008 – one for the Experience and three with the All Stars,” he is reported as saying, while reflecting on his achievements in the calypso battleground.He also spoke about the great demands the Crop-Over Festival placed on his time, effort and preparation. (TS)