~Mauritius~

Lunar Eclipse, 16 August 2008

2008-08-17T01:41:00.002+04:00

Tonight, we were lucky to witness a partial lunar eclipse. My hubby gave it a try. The pictures below are the best of the lot and they are not bad considering our camera is not adapted for this kind of photography!

Sakifo Music Festival, 2-3 August 2008, Port-Louis

2008-08-11T12:54:00.001+04:00

MAURITIANS, YOU BIG LOOSERS!!! Where were you?
We had a dream setting, a brand-new stage, a great line-up of international and local musicians and a perfect organisation. The organisation was impressive; a special stage built just for the event, reasonably priced tickets, VIP section with VIP restaurant, incredible security set-up…all that for nothing.
I had a great time despite the few glitches; like the windy conditions, a little bit of rain, the late start, and the long wait in-between artists. But all this is nothing – NOTHING – compared to the thin crowd. Sunday attracted a bigger crowd than Saturday but not by much. What the heck is wrong with you Mauritians? There were more tourists than Mauritians. It seems the tourists know a good programme when they see one.

Sakifo complete programme

2008-08-11T12:50:00.000+04:00

Check out my autograph from Toguna...thanx Toguna!

2008-08-11T12:22:00.000+04:00

Our brand new stage

Thin crowd

A little publicity for our local beer!

Menwar, Avial and Triton

2008-08-11T11:55:00.000+04:00

Menwar

Avial

Avial

Eric Triton

Night shots

2008-08-11T11:49:00.000+04:00

Asa and her musicians

2008-08-11T11:44:00.000+04:00

Just wonderful! My absolute favourite of the sakifo line-up. She has a soft voice that one can listen to all day. And I am going to do just that by buying her cd. Love you Asa!

Asa

2008-08-11T11:37:00.000+04:00

Keziah Jones

2008-08-11T11:33:00.000+04:00

Zucchero, May 31, Vivekananda Hall

2008-07-18T14:05:00.001+04:00

Rock star of the eighties, Zucchero is as popular as it was before. At first Zucchero had some difficulty with the sedate Mauritian public. In the first hour of the show, the timid public stayed stuck to their comfy seats and refused to get up and dance. The second hour improved somewhat and that was a relief. Zucchero was excellent and if he was a bit disconcerted by the lack of response from the public at first, he did not let anything disturb his performance, like the true professional that he was.
I think the reason for such an unenthusiastic public was because it was the wrong public and the wrong venue! Rock bands are better off performing in a stadium or at the Citadelle, in front of a standing but suitably wild public, where as the Vivekananda, a seated hall, is more appropriate for say…symphonic and vocal music and a cool and collected public. Furthermore, the Vivekananda Hall is much more expensive and caters for a selective class of the Mauritian public. For Zucchero, it looks like all the Italian diplomats in Mauritius were present…ever seen a staid diplomat dancing wildly at a rock concert? Anyone? Even without the diplomats, the others are upper-class stiffs that would probably not have bought the tickets if the show were at the Citadelle. Vivekananda = more profits but a selective public and selective kind of music. Citadelle = less profit but a more diverse and youngish public and a more popular and wild kind of music. Concert organisers in Mauritius have a tough time trying to balance profits and public satisfaction! LOL!!!

Christophe Willem, 25th May, Citadelle

2008-07-18T13:51:00.002+04:00

Meant to be on the 24th but the show was postponed due to windy conditions at the Citadelle. Despite the bad start, the show was still a big success. More conventional and less stylish than on Nouvelle Star, it was a new Christophe Willem that I saw at the Citadelle. But his beautiful voice and his showman antics are just as present as ever. Going through all his titles from his first album (and what an album it was!), he made the mauritian public dance and sing along with him. One would never think that 2 years ago, he was virtually unknown.

2008-07-18T13:48:00.000+04:00

Dobet Gnahore, 28th May, Conservatoire Mitterrand

2008-07-18T13:41:00.001+04:00

One would probably describe this show as folkloric but that would be doing a disservice to such a complete artist. Sensual voice, powerful dancer and excellent percussionist, she gave a compelling and entrancing performance. The show carried a nostalgic undertone for me, reminding me of my five years in S-Africa. It has been a long time since I last saw a good African artist. After the long standing ovations she received from the Mauritian public, I hope she will be encouraged to return among us soon, singing to a larger public this time, maybe the Vivekananda.
http://contrejour.com/artists/Dobet/

Upcoming concerts that I will attend

2008-05-22T13:19:00.002+04:00

The tickets to all three concerts blew a nice hole in my budget; zucchero being the most expensive ticket I have ever paid for a concert in Mauritius. African singer Dobet Gnahore is a first for me. She is not well known in Mauritius and according to the number of tickets sold already, it looks like her show will not attract a crowd. I am going to her show because I like african music in general and from her description in CCFCB pamphlets and newspaper articles, she looks authentic and true to her African roots. At least she is not going to sing R'n'B, I hope!!!

Lola update

2008-03-28T21:26:00.007+04:00

Authorities found the bodies of the 2 missing persons today. Lola continues to fuel serious debates amongst the public, the Meteo services (MMS) and the politicians. Everyone coming up with their own theories and everyone trying to find a scapegoat for the deaths of the 4 people and the chaos of Wednesday. The Meteo and the politicians (especially the Ministry of Education) are both in the hot seat. The politician blaming the whole affair on the Meteo and the Meteo blaming its late warning on a general guideline that states that a warning is only released when 100mm rainfall is registered in several regions of Mauritius. So no one can really blame the Meteo. That guideline has served us well in the past. Anyway I did check the MMS site on the 25th and they did warn about floods and heavy showers (see below).
So what the hell happened on Wednesday? We did have torrential rainfall in the past, without such drama. What was different then? Does anyone remember that we had a few days of heavy rainfall a week before Lola? Can this mean that our land was already saturated with water, which caused the water to spill out of their riverbeds?

25/03/08 11h:
FORECAST FOR NEXT 24 HOURS :
THE RAINY WEATHER WILL PERSIST OVER THE ISLAND. RAIN WILL BE MORE FREQUENT AND AT TIMES MODERATE TO HEAVY WITH FOG PATCHES ON THE HIGH GROUNDS.
THERE MAY BE ACCUMULATION OF WATER IN FLOOD-PRONE AREAS.
THE PUBLIC IS ADVISED NOT TO VENTURE ON RIVER BANKS.
WIND WILL BE 30 KM/H FROM THE EAST NORTH EAST WITH GUSTS THAT MAY REACH 75 KM/H IN WELL EXPOSED AREAS.
SEA WILL BE ROUGH.
VENTURES AT SEA ARE NOT ADVISED.

25/03/08 16h:
FORECAST FOR NEXT 24 HOURS :
WEATHER WILL BE OVERCAST WITH SHOWERS, AT TIMES MODERATE TO HEAVY, WITH THUNDERSTORMS. THERE WILL BE FOG PATCHES.
THERE WILL ALSO BE ACCUMULATION OF WATER IN FLOOD-PRONE AREAS. THE PUBLIC IS ADVISED NOT TO VENTURE ON RIVER BANKS.
WIND WILL BE 30-40 KM/H FROM THE EAST NORTH EAST WITH GUSTS THAT MAY REACH 100 KM/H.
SEAS WILL BE ROUGH. VENTURES AT SEA ARE NOT ADVISED. FISHERMEN ARE ALSO ADVISED TO SECURE THEIR BOATS.

26/03/08 0545h:
FORECAST FOR NEXT 24 HOURS :
CLOUDY TO OVERCAST WITH SHOWERS, MODERATE TO HEAVY AND AT TIMES THUNDERY. THERE WILL BE FOG PATCHES.
WITH THE CURRENT RAINY WEATHER CONDITIONS STUDENTS ATTENDING SCHOOL MUST TAKE ALL NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS. ALSO IT IS RECOMMENDED TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS ON THE ROADS. THERE WILL ALSO BE ACCUMULATION OF WATER IN FLOOD-PRONE AREAS. THE PUBLIC IS ADVISED NOT TO VENTURE ON RIVER BANKS.
WIND EASTERLY 30-40 KM/H WITH GUSTS PEAKING 80-100 KM/H.
SEA ROUGH. IT IS ADVISED NOT TO VENTURE AT SEA.

26/03/08 1045:
FORECAST FOR NEXT 24 HOURS :
WEATHER WILL REMAIN OVERCAST WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS. SHOWERS WILL BE HEAVY WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. FOGGY PATCHES WILL PERSIST MAINLY OVER THE HIGH GROUNDS.
VISIBILITY WILL BE REDUCED ON THE ROADS.
THERE WILL BE WATER ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS THE ISLAND AND RIVERS WILL BE FLOODED. THE PUBLIC IS STRICTLY ADVISED NOT TO VENTURE NEAR RIVERS.
WIND EASTERLY 30-40 KM/H WITH GUSTS REACHING 100 KM/H IN SOME PLACES.
SEA ROUGH. IT IS STRICTLY ADVISED NOT TO VENTURE IN THE SEA.

Lola.......aaaaaaaahh!....lola!!!

2008-03-27T12:34:00.003+04:00

Lola took Mauritians completely by surprise. No one expected such damage could be caused by a mere tropical depression, a pitiful 50km/hr everyone thought. But this time it was the destructive power of water that we witnessed. After a few hours of torrential rain, water poured out of their riverbanks and rushed everywhere, in people’s houses, in departmental stores, on the roads. Mauritius, usually so calm and relaxed, was just chaos yesterday. Traffic jams, kids stuck at school and people stuck at their workplace, enraged people shouting on the local radio, everyone closing up their businesses either to rush home or to fetch their kids, and politicians caught by surprise unable to decide on the spot whether school should finish early or not. By the end of the day, 2 people dead and 2 missing. And Mare-aux-Vacoas reservoir now 70% full. And all that due to a wisp of a cyclone…HAH!…what am I saying, it was just a breeze!!! Cyclones at 200km/hr has been known to bring us to our knees but we now have to bow down to a mere puff of air!!!
The flood well documented on MBC TV
http://www.mbcradio.tv/contents/?cat=12
choose News bulletin - Wednesday 26/03/08).

A before-and-after pic of the waterfall a few steps from where I live.

Tropical depression Lola complete trajectory

2008-03-27T12:03:00.001+04:00

Complete trajectory of Lola.
Legend:
Red dots= cyclone (wind speed 118km/hr)
Orange dots= tropical storm (wind speed 63-117 km/hr)
Yellow dots= tropical depression (wind speed 51-62 km/hr)
So according to Meteo France, Lola died out sometime around midday yesterday, before reaching us! When it reached Mauritius, what was it? Just a mass of clouds then?

Tropical depression Lola, 26th March at 18hr

2008-03-26T22:25:00.000+04:00

Tropical Depression Lola, 26th march at 10hr

2008-03-26T11:17:00.002+04:00

Another day without sunshine...the tropical depression Lola is bringing in much needed rain. The threat of drought was looming as Mare-aux-Vacoas reservoir was only 50% full before Lola.

Tropical Depression Lola, 25th March

2008-03-25T18:03:00.001+04:00

Second cyclone of the season that may be a direct threat for Mauritius. Even though the cyclone is still far off (about 500km N-N-W of Mauritius), we are already experiencing bad weather: showers and thunderstorms with periodic but strong gusts of wind. I have not seen a single patch of blue sky since yesterday...and that's depressing.

Bolchoi Ballet, 15th March 2008

2008-03-25T10:31:00.001+04:00

To celebrate 40 years of diplomatic relations between Russia and Mauritius, several dancers from the Bolchoi performed a few snippets of famous shows such as Swan Lake, Nutcraker and Gisele. The Bolchoi is the first ballet to perform in Mauritius. I loved the show despite obvious technical problems, most of them understandable as we do not have a theatre stage appropriate for ballet performances. There are specific guidelines for ballet theatre space and also specific stage floor requirements and the Vivekananda Hall obviously does not accommodate all these needs.
But there is one recurrent problem in Vivekananda Hall that is simply unacceptable: the poor quality speaker system!!! I have been to many shows in that hall and it has an atrocious sound system. Concerts at the Citadelle were always better in terms of sound quality than at the Vivekananda.

Cyclone Fame and Gula, 31Jan at 04hr

2008-01-31T10:03:00.000+04:00

This is the weirdest cyclone I have ever experienced! The Meteo enforced a warning class 3 this morning at 7hr but removed all warnings entirely at 8hr30! Everyone has to go back at work, business are opening up again as I write this but school is off because of bad weather conditions!!! Below is the bulletin that the Mauritius Meteo Services posted on their site to explain this unusual cyclone:

NO CYCLONE WARNING IS IN FORCE IN MAURITIUS.
SIXTH AND LAST CYCLONE BULLETIN ISSUED AT 08H45 ON THURSDAY 31
JANUARY 2008.
THE SATELLITE AND RADAR PICTURES AT 0830 HOURS SHOW THAT CYCLONIC
WINDS HAVE BECOME CONFINED TO A SMALLER RADIUS AROUND THE CENTRE
OF SEVERE TROPICAL STORM 'GULA'.
CONSEQUENTLY, THE RISK OF MAURITIUS EXPERIENCING CYCLONIC
CONDITIONS ALONG THIS SOUTH-SOUTH-WESTERLY TRACK OF 'GULA' NO
LONGER EXIST.
WEATHER HOWEVER WILL BE CLOUDY AND RAINY AS FROM MIDDAY AFTER WHICH
GUSTS OF THE ORDER OF 90 KM/HOUR WILL BE FELT ESPECIALLY ON THE
EASTERN HALF.
SEA WILL BE VERY ROUGH.
THE PUBLIC IS ADVISED NOT TO VENTURE AT SEA.

So it seems that what we hoped for happened. No damage but all the benefits; rain and a few hours of extra sleep this morning for those who work... We are all relieved.

Cyclone Fame and Gula, 30Jan at 22hr

2008-01-30T23:00:00.000+04:00

A cyclone warning class 2 remains in force in Mauritius. Gula is now approximately 350km NE of Mauritius. Still relatively calm weather in Mauritius. A few periodical showers but we are not experiencing cyclonic conditions so far. Hope this lasts.

Cyclone Fame and Gula, 30Jan at 16hr

2008-01-30T21:10:00.001+04:00

Both cyclones decreased in intensity during the day and Fame is now only a 'tropical depression' and Gula is now termed 'severe tropical storm'. Fame is not a threat for Mauritius but Gula remains a threat because it is approaching Mauritius if it continues in this southerly direction. Which is why at 3.30pm, the Mauritius Meteorological Services decided to switch to a cyclone warning class 2 despite the weather being quite calm.
I will update again at 22hr.

Cyclone Gula 30Jan at 10hr

2008-01-30T11:48:00.000+04:00

Cyclone Gula is still in the region of St-Brandon at 10hr this morning...Mauritius relatively calm for the moment.