Wednesday, December 2 2009

THE EDITOR: At the previous Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Uganda two years ago one of the official gifts from our Government to the heads of all delegations was one of my books, The Flowers of Trinidad and Tobago published by Prospect Press. I was required to sign over 50 of the copies acquired.

Unfortunately the Ministry of Foreign Affairs miscalculated the number of copies required and was unable to make a presentation of the official gift to Her Majesty and Prince Charles. On return to the country the Ministry sought to correct the slip by acquiring additional copies for Her Majesty and Prince Charles, as well as an additional copy of Views from the Ridge on the natural history of Trinidad and Tobago for Prince Charles also published by Prospect Press. My publishers organised my signing of the copies and handed them over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be forwarded to our High Commission through our diplomatic services for presentation to Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately the books were misplaced or lost in the process and never made it to London.

I can reassure the minister responsible that Her Majesty has now been presented with a signed copy of the Orchids of Trinidad and Tobago also published by Prospect Press through a more reliable route. If she should so wish I would happily donate replacement copies of the others so that her officers may have another test of the routine.



J S Kenny

Maraval