House of Ashes
Page 22
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In January 2011, a lengthy Commission of Enquiry into the events of 1990 began in Trinidad. The many witness testimonies were crucial to the writing of this book. I would also like to thank those who I was able to talk to personally: Raoul Pantin, Jones P. Madeira, Raffique Shah, Ralph Brown, David Millet (in particular his essay on NUFF); also Satya Crystal and Kim Johnson for enlightening conversations early on. Also many thanks to Jerleanne John at Udecott for letting me into the Red House in Trinidad in April 2012, even though it was under reconstruction, and to Sharon Miller for the photographs which helped. Thanks to Judy Raymond for use of The Trinidad Guardian archives and being so helpful with contacts. Also a great thanks to Bunty and Rory O’ Connor for their companionship during my stays at their cottage in Chicklands, Carapichaima, in early 2013. Much writing was done there, as well as at Man O’ War Cottages in Charlotteville, Tobago. In Grand Riviere, thanks to Len Peters for his knowledge of the history of the conservation of the leatherback turtles in northern Trinidad. Also a big thank you to Lou, David and fellow commune-ista Piero Guerrini, owner of Mount Plaisir Hotel for space to write, edit, draft and think. For reading drafts and pages thanks to: Joanna Pocock, Sean Thomas, Lisa Allen Agostini, Ira Mathur and Angelo Bissessarsingh. Thanks to my agent Isobel Dixon and my editor Clare Hey at Simon & Schuster UK for making this a better book. Thank you also to my brother, Nigel Roffey, for much support and insight into this story, and to my mother, Yvette Roffey, once again, third time round, for giving me a place to write.