St Kitts Born Comedian and Actor Felix Dexter Has Died

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

St. Kitts born comedian and actor Felix Dexter died on Friday from cancer at the age of 52. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer.

Felix Dexter

 

At the age of seven, Dexter moved to London with his family where he studied law at the University College London, before embarking on a career in comedy.

Felix first came to the public's attention in the early 90s when he appeared in the ground breaking "black and Asian" sketch show The Real McCoy, playing a variety of characters, and when it finished we worked with him on a pilot for his own show, Felix Dexter on TV. He was typically brilliant in this, but the BBC never picked it up for a series and after that Felix appeared mainly in cameo roles on other people's shows, including Absolutely Fabulous (2003, as John Johnston, father of Saffy's baby), The Lenny Henry Show and, most recently, Adil Ray's Citizen Khan (2012-13, as Omar).

Felix Dexter, centre in the grey jacket, with the cast of The Real McCoy

 

He is survived by his mother, Doreen.

Felix Dexter, born July 26 1961, died October 18 2013

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Batsman, Kieran Powell Signs Deal with Pinneys Plantation Resort

Monday, May 20, 2013

West Indies opening batsman, Kieran Powell, has sealed a deal with the ultra-exclusive Pinneys Plantation Resort, in the Caribbean island of Nevis.

Powell, the dashing cricketer recently described in global media reports as "enigmatic," will partner with a leading UK-based group of companies, who are set to develop Pinneys.

The deal comes on the heels of a successful ad campaign featuring Powell and a leading national Bank, which is set to air later this month, with the charismatic player also recently re-signing a two year deal with his long-term sponsor, Indian cricketing gear giant, Sareen Sports.

The gifted left-handed batsman, a former student of the exclusive Millfield school in England, is a star undeniably on the rise.

He has even stirred interest from Bollywood film producers out in India, owing to his model good-looks and eloquent mannerisms.

This, despite an unfortunate blow, that resulted in surgery to the finger of the stylish 22-year-old left-handed batsmen two weeks ago, following an injury acquired during a regional match in early April, which has left him out of contention for the 2013 West Indies Champions Trophy squad that will compete in England next month, much to his disappointment.

Powell, however, says he is determined to get back to blistering form quickly and is concentrating hard on becoming fully fit in time for the West Indies' forthcoming Tri-Nation Tournament against India and Sri Lanka, in late June.

One of the most successful cricketers to emerge out of his native island of Nevis, he made his Test debut against India in 2011 and scored two centuries in a single match during the Test series against Bangladesh in November of last year to become only the first West Indian player since Brian Lara, and the ninth West Indian player in history, to achieve the feat.

Powell has displayed elegance, confidence and maturity beyond his years, which saw him kick off his recent tour of Australia with a sensational knock of 83 (his highest ODI score to-date) during the West Indies v Australia ODI series, in February this year.

But it's not all about chasing runs and bearing the fruits of his on-field success for this exciting young cricketer. Kieran Powell is also both eager and willing to give back to the game, to his fans, and to the community.

Following the ODI match against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) during the same tour, Powell took time out to meet and greet cricket fan Callum, (pictured), an 11-year-old patient from Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick. The personal invitation from the international star and his Manager for Callum to attend the SCG game was an inspiring experience for the youngster, who is in remission from cancer and had just been through hip replacement surgery.

Powell also recently arranged for a cheque to be presented to the family of former West Indies cricketer and his Leeward Islands teammate, Runako Morton, who was tragically killed in a car crash in 2012.

Despite the buzz surrounding his incredible ability, the end-focus has remained firmly unchanged for the popular batsman. As the world watches in anticipation, the next steps of an exceptionally talented international cricketer, Kieran Powell remains humble, focused, committed and diligent about perfecting his craft and his first love; playing cricket and representing the West Indies.

 

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St. Kitts Ranks High Among Top Caribbean Destinations by the Media

Monday, January 7, 2013

Basseterre, St. Kitts – 2012 was a banner year for St. Kitts in the travel press with a number of top publications, including US News & World Report, MSNBC, About.com and USA Today, singling out the island as among the best places to visit. The most recent accolade, on December 27, went to St. Kitts’ popular Mr. X’s Shiggidy Shack, named as one of the 20 Great Caribbean Beach Bars by About.com, which had also included Cockleshell Beach in a list of the Top 20 Beaches in the Caribbean earlier in the year.

Cockleshell Beach

“More and more respected media outlets are recognizing St. Kitts as our tourism product develops,” said Senator Ricky Skerritt, Minister of Tourism & International Transport. “These publications are read by affluent, discerning travelers, who have the discretionary income to spend on our islands to the benefit of our local people.
The six-year story of the acceleration of our tourism development since the closure of our sugar industry is a remarkable one that is being discovered by more and more quality media concerns.

In 2006, our Government created a multi-tiered strategic plan aimed to stimulate investment in our tourism infrastructure and a shift to a more targeted visitor. Simultaneously, we began aggressively marketing our destination and focusing on improving our standards and empowering our people in order to reap the maximum benefits from the sector.”

St. Kitts is currently ranked at #2 in a list of the 16 Best Caribbean Vacations and #4 in a list of the 12 Best Islands in the World by US News & World Report. Just last month, St. Kitts was named one of the Top 10 Winter Sun Holiday Destinations by PureTravel.com and in November it rated among the Editor’s Picks for 2012-2013: Best of the Caribbean by Caribbean Travel & Leisure. In February, St. Kitts was dubbed one of the 10 Caribbean Islands You Shouldn’t Miss – The Best of the Caribbean in 2012”  by SmarterTravel.com as well as one of 5 Caribbean Islands to Discover Now by MSNBC (as syndicated from a December 2011/January 2012 article in Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine. The island was also designated as one of the Top 12 Spots that Should Be On Your List for 2012 by Caribbean Travel + Life magazine.


In addition, many of the island’s tourism attractions were selected as hot spots to experience in 2012. In January, the island’s Brimstone Hill Fortress was cited as one of 10 Great Places To Explore The World's Best-Kept Secrets by USA Today while Cruise-Addicts.com called Port Zante one of “10 Great Caribbean Cruise Ports.



The combined readership for the above designations alone is more than 1 billion, effectively promoting St. Kitts as a premiere vacation destination.





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Frame by Frame Productions to capture events from St Kitts Music Festival

Thursday, June 14, 2012

The selection of top Caribbean video production company Frame by Frame Productions to handle the video requirements for this month's 16th St Kitts Music Festival is being hailed by a former Caribbean cabinet minister.

Former St Lucia Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Allen Chastanet, co-founder of the renowned St Lucia Jazz festival, said the selection of Frame by Frame "was an inspired choice."

The special skills of the Jamaican video experts Lukkee Chong and Max Earle meant St Kitts and Nevis would "surely benefit from the decision," predicted Chastanet.

The Frame by Frame team: (from left) Producer/Director Lukkee Chong, Director
 of Productions Diba Mohammed, and Max Earle, Creative Director.

"We need to integrate first world Caribbean talent into global Caribbean marketing campaigns," asserted Chastanet, now a tourism consultant and regional vice president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA).

Frame by Frame, which for more than a decade has produced Air Jamaica's in-flight video programming as well as Caribbean specials on the now defunct BET J channel, returns to the St Kitts event.

The company took a six-year absence after it was first commissioned to produce a television special and about a dozen video vignettes on the history, culture and people of the twin-island nation.

Festival chairman Faron Lawrence said the Caribbean company was brought back on board this year for a fresh injection of video production ideas.

"We are pleased to welcome back the video quality and overall high reliability standards that we know we can expect from Frame by Frame," he added.

Set for June 28 to 30, 2012, this year's festival line-up features Toni Braxton, Roberta Flack, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, Morgan Heritage, Courtney Pine, Machel Montano, Spectrum Band, krosfyah, among other local, regional and international music acts.

Frame by Frame will manage video screen projections each night and produce a 30-minute television special on the 16th edition of the festival. The company will collaborate with the Miami-based Midtown Video Rentals, which has designed a custom system of video equipment to meet international specifications and enthrall festival audiences.

Frame by Frame has provided similar services for major music festivals in Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Jamaica and St Lucia

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The new Miss Caribbean Talented Teen 2011-12 is Siobhan Phipps of St Kitts

Friday, December 30, 2011

The Haynes Smith Miss Caribbean Talented Teen Pageant was held on December 29 at the Sugar Mill stadium in Warner Park, Saint Kitts and Nevis, where Siobhan Phipps of St Kitts walked away with the title.

Vying for the prestigious crown this year were 12 young beauties from across the Caribbean, but 15 year old Siobhan won with a total of 826 points.

Siobhan won four out of the five judged segments including Production number, Ambassadorial Wear, Evening Wear and the Talent segments. Miss Bermuda Shaunte Simmonds won the Interview Segment .

 Miss St. Kitts SIOBHAN PHIPPS - Best Gown

Winner of the Amabassodorial Appearance Miss St. Kitts SIOBHAN PHIPPS

Miss Jamaica Aba Sykes was the first runner's up, with 753 points while Miss  British Virgin Islands Ashellica Fahie received 695.5 points was second runner's up. Fourth place went to Miss Anguilla Keivanee Lake.

The other contestants were Miss Bahamas Monesha Bowleg, Miss Antigua & Barbuda Aaliyah Thomas, Miss Barbados Sacha Clarke, Miss Bermuda Shaunte Simons, Miss Grenada Kande Duncan, Miss Nevis Erica Doras, Miss St. Lucia Kadijha Mason and Bailey Dukes of the United States Virgin Islands.

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