Listen nuh. I had such a dramatic and eventual day Monday that I have to share the intrigue and excitement wid unnu. First of all, here's how my Monday started off:

I went straight from the National Cultural Centre in Georgetown, Guyana, to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, after a performance late Sunday night. I got there by 11:30 p.m. to check in for my flight from Georgetown to JFK that was scheduled to leave super early on Monday at 1:45 a.m. That flight was to get me into NY to catch a connecting flight to Toronto. Well, that flight got cancelled. And after much chaotic discussions with airline representatives and dramatic scenes with airport staff, and after much scrambling to retrieve checked luggage, I was eventually reassigned to a flight on another airline.

And, guess what! As my luck would have it, I got assigned to fly from Guyana to the USA on Caribbean Airlines. And that happened on the very day when reports came in that the US Embassy in Guyana was warning its citizens that it received unconfirmed information about possible terror threat against Americans travelling on said airline, from said country, on said day. Stress!

heightened security

Everybody was operating under a situation of heightened security. So unnu can just imagine the drama I experienced. Between the departure in Guyana, the stopover in Trinidad, and the arrival in NY, I got more scanning and dog-sniffing and secondary searches on one day than I've gotten in years of travelling! People, I kid you not. After having them scanned, sniffed and searched, we had to identify our checked bags again at plane side and have them re-checked. Then, when the flight landed at JFK, the regular baggage handlers were replaced by US Custom and Border Agents who again scanned every piece of checked luggage at the side of the plane.

Hear mi nuh, man, it was the grace of God that carried me through the trauma and drama in time to make my connecting flight and get to Toronto by 6:30 p.m. So after more than 17 hours of travelling, the Monday finally came to a happy closure.

But, hold on deh, sorry folks! I think I'm telling this entire story back way. I should have really started at beginning, right? Yeah, man, because that was the sweeter section. Please pardon the infraction.

Friends, this past weekend I rediscovered one of the best kept secrets in the world when I paid a long overdue visit to our Caricom sister nation and the only English-speaking country on the South American continent - Guyana. I had a whale of a time. The place is exciting and rich with history and variety, and the people are just simply wonderful.

I went as a special guest of top Guyanese comedian and promoter Kirk 'Chow Pow' Jardine, who was celebrating his birthday with a big 'Comedy Jam'. I was the only overseas performer on a show that was chockfull of top quality talent. I already knew about veteran Guyanese stand-up comedians like Habib Khan and Henry Rodney, but I discovered some amazing new comedic talent in 'the Reactors', Chris Gopaul, 'Credit' and 'Sir Mars', who can be described as Guyana's answer to 'Shebada'. And, I was extremely happy to meet another Caribbean queen of comedy in Leza Singh, aka 'Radika'. Trust me, she's wicked!

Yes, peeps, I had a blast of a weekend in Georgetown. I met some really beautiful people and made some new friends for life. And I got a rousing welcome and some 'get-up-outa-chair-an-jump-an-cheer' laughter from the audience. Thanks, Chow Pow! Thanks Guyana!

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