IF THERE IS ONE thing I’ll always remember and cherish about Dame Olga Lopes-Seale, affectionately known as Auntie Olga, it is her undying love for young people and the enduring hope she felt toward them, despite the woefully falling standards prevalent in recent generations.
Auntie Olga at times either called this newsroom or stated in some public forum her displeasure at declining standards in broadcasting, bad grammar in the print media, and extremely poor word usage by some young radio DJs and announcers. She also subtly berated some of the laissez-faire trends in modern parenting and schooling, and stressed high standards of etiquette and interpersonal behaviour via her Column To Cherish on many a Sunday; but she never lost her hope in the up-and-coming generations – no matter how much they deserved to be criticized.
I’ve seen older folk become so exasperated by the foibles of youth that they almost shut themselves into a hermit-like ideological existence, holding fast to what they “know” is right and brooking no contrary opinion, especially if it is from the young. Not so with Auntie Olga.
Made provision
Amid their bad attitudes and ignorance, she worked with many of them, listened to them and provided for their needs. And after meeting with her at least once, the rudest lout “on the block” was usually humbled by such a beautiful and kind presence.
It was that presence which she brought to some of us in the media when, at the end of a sharp upbraiding she would temper her comments with a compliment or some joke – and you’d go away richer for the experience.
It was also that soothing presence which she took to her weekend Rediffusion radio programme Children’s Party, which, like the Richard Stoute Teen Talent Contest and the National Independence Festival Of Creative Arts (NIFCA), became a nursery for young talent and a stage from which inferiority and acute shyness blossomed into youthful self-confidence.
And the effect she had on those young people was strongly reciprocal. I recall that shortly after popular singer Sheryl Hackett died in January 2005 in Heidelberg, Germany, Dame Olga called and reminded me that one of her fond memories of Sheryl was not when she was making chart-topping hits in the 1980s, but when the singer was a teenager performing on Children’s Party. She not only recalled Sheryl’s unusual voice, but noted that the wispy lass was part of the first recording of the 1979 Barbados Chain Link song Let’s Join Hands, penned by Auntie Olga.
Soca artist Rameses Browne was another “graduate” of Children’s Party, and despite his foray into various elements of the popular soca genre, Auntie Olga’s face would light up upon mention of him, or in fact any of her charges who had sat in Rediffusion’s studio alongside the “uncles” of the programme, like musician Keith Campbell, storyteller Alfred Pragnell and comedian Joe Tudor, and Auntie Doris Provencal.
It was perhaps this influence on the youth and on people in general that led the young founders of Timeless Entertainment Inc., who had only heard of her work, to give Dame Olga a Cornerstone Award at the Barbados Music Awards in January 2007. It was a timely addition to her other national awards.
Events like the Ship Inn Fun Run, which raised cash for the Auntie Olga Needy Children’s Fund, saw the Dame looking totally at home amid young artistes, whose participation in such a charity project will become a lifelong memory, mainly because Auntie Olga was involved.
She understood that being young was merely part of life’s journey, a phase that would be bridged eventually by common experiences, but guided by love and kindness.
The words of Barbados’ “Mother Theresa” will remain true and necessary for me as an individual and for this country if it is to grow: “Young and old we’ll work with one another for the freedom which we hold so dear.”
Neatly said, Auntie Olga!
As I wrote here of a veteran broadcaster, my thoughts switched to Barbadian music and the power of radio and the electronic media to contribute to the life or demise of it.
Most discussions on the cultural industries mention this important facet, but it is sad that some media practitioners themselves either seem to forget their important role, or are so caught up in boosting their own popularity on the airwaves, that national considerations go a-begging.
For instance, last Thursday night while listening to a proclaimed “community” station, I was disappointed as one host spent over an hour engaging in banter about a lost key. Certainly the loss of a key could be urgent enough for broadcast – but not for an hour!
It was as ridiculous as one television station introducing its package with news of World Egg Day, an occurrence fellow columnist B.C. Pires lambasted some time ago.
Lack of local music
On Thursday night, all I could think about were yearly complaints about the glaring lack of airplay for local music – except at Crop Over and during the month of Independence – while a community radio station can spend more than an hour chatting about a key. Weren’t there two or three spouge songs or calypsos that could have been pulled from the archives while listeners pondered on “de key”?
All I could recall were the endless calls from copyright agencies and artistes for a little more airplay so that all the royalties out of Barbados would not merely be adding to the millions made by foreign artistes. But on Thursday night it was not about royalties going or coming anywhere; it was about inane chatter.
My suggestion is that, even if we listeners accept radio stations’ argument that playing local music is not the best way to boost ratings at prime time, then radio managers should, by the same token, warn announcers and DJs not to waste radio space during “down time”, but use that time to promote a worthwile aspect of our culture.