My name is Brian Dyer and I'm the reservoir manager of an energy company.
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I'm very prould I grew up in Mt Lambert. My parents were educators. I met just about every race and creed, a lot of intellectuals, business people, public servants. People like Arthur Lok Jack, Alvin Corneal, Desmond Allum, Terrence and Trevor Farrell, the Sadaphals. People who've done pretty well and devoted a lot of time and energy to making this country better.
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My brother Russel and I went to Mt Lambert RC School, one of the best schools ever. It's produced some fantastic people. Obviously.
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We had the Aranguez Savannah where we spent the day playing football, cricket, swimming in the San Juan River. Smoking cigarettes and other things.
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The San Juan and St Joseph rivers were very clean. You could see right to the riverbed. Lots of healthy weeds, coloured fish. We used to catch those fish and put them in aquaria.
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On the other side, you had, "the Vice Strip." The people making beer–Carib; the people making cigarettes–West Indian Tobacco. At one point in time, they had the people who made all the mattresses so all the vices were well-covered.
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Just to the south were the Aranguez farmers, guys coming out of the garden with fresh produce–no chemicals. "Neighbour, here some cucumbers, tomatoes, some goats' milk. We grew up with their sons and daughters, playing in the savannah.
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The captain of All Stars in those days, John "Poison" Douglas, grew up in Mt Lambert. As a youngster I learned to play the piano up to grade three but my real love is pan.
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Integration happened very naturally amongst the different races and interests.
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I travelled the world and came straight back to Mt Lambert. Where the heart belongs.
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My wife, Susan's family, lived up the road. We both went to universities in Canada, I at McGill, she at Waterloo. We saw each other from a distance at a Caribbean students' weekend at Ontario. I told some friends, "I know that girl. She's kinda stuck up. Her family don't talk to any boys in the area." Back in Trinidad, we became friendly. Twenty-five years later, we're still married with two fantastic children.
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Our daughter Kristyn is about to graduate from Glasgow, doing medicine. Our son Adrian is in his third year electrical engineering at McGill.
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My wife is head of the math and computer department at Fatima. She does as much for the guys at Fatima as she did for her own kids.
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Susan is the most beautiful girl in the world. There's one other, who is 87, who is my mother.
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When I graduated, I wanted to come back and help develop the country. I started working with the national oil company.
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For me, relaxation is jumping in my car and driving to Maracas. When I get to the lookout, one of the most picturesque views in all of Trinidad, and see a bunch of shacks selling all kinds of crap, I want to get a bulldozer and push them over the hill. Of course, as soon as I get to Maracas, I walk across the car park to Richard's Bake & Shark.
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It's very worrying, the mountainside lost to planting and the quarrying in Santa Cruz, etc. I love nature and government after government has done less and less to preserve all these gifts we have.
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I am completely convinced and very impressed by my company's commitment to HSS&E: health, safety, security and the environment. My company has a premium in the spend to ensure we do not harm the environment. It's not something we get expected shareholder value for, at this point in time. But I think, as the years go on, more people will recognise it as something to invest in. I don't want to comment on competitors but you can look around the world and see not enough is being done.
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There are hundreds, probably thousands, of Trinidadians making a big difference, in different countries, with different companies, very highly respected around the world. That's because T&T began drilling over 170 years ago. Even the welders we create here have a very good reputation out there for being highly skilled. Because of the rainbow we have here that's still alive, we're very good at working with different people. Trinidadians go outside, fit into any environment and do well.
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I love Trinidad for what it is. I learned from very early childhood the benefits, the real pleasures of a multi-racial community.
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I love the physical country of Trinidad. I hate the East-West Corridor though.
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A Trini is multiculturalism. I love Carnival, mas and J'Ouvert because it embodies everything we are.
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I'm very proud of Trinidad and Tobago. After eating all those cascadura, I plan to die here.