Senior Reporter
charles.kongsoo@guardian.co.tt
There could not have been a more fitting and poignant tribute to honour their deceased lead designer Bernard Beckles when T&T was awarded a gold medal by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) at the prestigious 2023 Chelsea Flower Show in the UK for its presentation, ‘T&T: This Our Native Land.’
Beckles died on May 3 while preparing to lead the T&T contingent for the judging component on May 22 at the event.
In a release yesterday from BTJ Chelsea Blooms TT, the group responsible for raising funds and assistance for Team T&T said that the gold award was dedicated to Bernard Beckles
Grenada and Barbados have also won gold medals with their respective presentations ‘Barbados ... Every Bloomin’ Pot’ and ‘Tribute to Grenada’s Greenery Reserves’ at the flower shower.
Speaking to Guardian Media yesterday, T&T team leader Anthony Tang Kai said, “Having lost a dear, personal friend and the challenges we met along the way, it is a great feeling (winning gold).
“’This Our Native Land’ encompasses all that is Trinidadian and Tobagonian in our flowers, fauna, foliage, and fruits and really and truly highlights all that can be found and enjoyed in the country.
“From 1988 we won about 14 gold medals and many silver gilt medals, we’ve always done quite well,” Tang Kai said.
“Barbados and Grenada were also in the same Grenfell category as us and it calls for displaying your materials artistically; you can use flowers such as heliconias, ginger lilies, and anthuriums, but you don’t have to because it’s not scientific. You can use the natural foliage to complement flowers and the arrangements but on a larger scale.”
The team included leader Tang Kai, Simone Taylor, Melissa Lee Foon, Andre Crawford, Shane Valentine, and Neave McKenzie.
According to a release, “Once at the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, Valentine and McKenzie worked tirelessly with team leader Tony Tang Kai, Melissa Lee Foon, Andre Crawford and Simone Taylor to fulfil Bernard Beckles’s desire to complete a hat-trick of golds with the trilogy that started in 2013 with Cazabon and Rhythms Of A People in 2019.”
Tang Kai said the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the event in 2020 and T&T’s attendance.
Tang Kai said that in 2021 it was decided to move the flower show from its traditional May date to December and held virtually.
He added that Team T&T was invited, but he declined citing that the video format would have highlighted any perceived flaws in their display.
According to Tang Kai, the team was due to attend the flower show in 2022, unfortunately, due to financial constraints they had to back out close to the last minute.
He said a fundraiser was held at 3 Canal’s Big Black Box event on April 22 and 23 to raise funds, however, even though it did not reach its target, they are grateful to for all the support they received from Trinidadians.
Tang Kai said that they were also promised corporate assistance as well as help from the T&T Government.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show runs from May 23 to May 27.
