Life in Grande

It’ sweet too bad.

I finally met the content creator behind Life in Grande. Her name is Crystal. A brilliant photographer who focuses on the people of Sangre Grande. I have been following her TikTok since 2023, admiring the quality of her work and the stories (captions) that accompany her pictures. Real stories about real people. The focus on the town and the people is rich, compelling and captivating. To quickly put things into perspective Sangre Grande is a town in northeastern Trinidad and Tobago, east of Arima and southwest of Toco, a coastal village. When we meet Crystal is wearing a branded Life in Grande jersey. As we walked through the town here are the content creator lessons I learned.

Lyndon: I admire your ability to approach strangers. I’m amazed at how easily you engage with them and how well they respond. Tell me about your process.

Life in Grande. I just find random people to talk to. If someone is chatty it’s easy. While I’m taking the pictures to get them comfortable they’ll start telling me about themselves. Normally I’d walk up to people I’d like to photograph and say, “Hi, my name is Crystal and I manage a page called Life in Grande. If they ask what the page is about I’d say, “I walk around taking interesting pictures and videos of interesting people.” And they’d either tell me yes or no. If they agree, they’d share their backstory, challenges, anything they’re comfortable sharing really. Often when you stick a camera in someone’s face, walls go up but when you start talking to them about themselves and their lives automatically you can see the walls coming down and that’s when you get interesting photos.

Lyndon: Do people ever refuse to take pictures?

Life in Grande: Definitely. And they usually politely tell me why. It might have to do with their jobs, safety reasons especially if they own a business. Some people say no. For the most part my “awkwardness” works in my favour. I have a nervous laugh. It works in my favour. I feel like my awkwardness is a blessing and a curse.

Lyndon: When does it feel like a curse?

Life in Grande: Everyday. When does it feel like a blessing? Everyday. I don’t try to suppress it anymore. I don’t try to suppress it anymore. I find when I try to suppress it, I become anxious. Oh, I’m super-confident. That is when it’s worse. When I embrace that I’m awkward and anxious but I’m also this and it works out.

A fish vendor asked Crystal from Life in Grande about her aim. “Was it to promote business in Sangre Grande or everywhere?”

Life in Grande: It’s not specifically about business. It’s about people. Everyday people. It was easier to approach street vendors. A lot of people have the idea that Life in Grande is to promote business. No. It’s to promote people. My first camera was a 1300D. I started walking and taking pictures. That’s how Life in Grande started.

Lyndon: Tell me about your gear.

Life in Grande: I started with an iPhone 6s Plus. All the videos you see are from that phone. Recently I upgraded to an iPhone XR. Life in Grande started with a Canon 1300D. It’s only a month now I’ve started using a Sony nex6 but it won’t be used much longer.

Walking along Paul Street, imposter syndrome came up.

Imposter syndrome is the internal psychological experience of feeling like a phony in some area of your life, despite any success that you have achieved in that area.

verywell mind

Life in Grande: I think it’s very important to say that I am not a journalist, I am not a history buff, I am not a culture vulture, none of that stuff. In 2023 I reached out to a guy called Richard Munroe from RGM Pictures. Right here in Grande. I asked him if I could be his water carrier, anything so that I could learn from him because I wanted to improve my photography. He took me to events so I could observe the ins and outs.

Lyndon: What’s your daily routine like?

Life in Grande: I do a lot of walking. When I walk I find the most interesting stuff. I like to leave the main road and walk along the side streets. You find rare gems that you wouldn’t necessarily find on the main street. As of 2024, Life in Grande is my full-time job. The idea is to come out a couple of times a week. I’m committed to visiting different villages. There’s more that needs to be seen.

Lyndon: Is it that Grande has gotten too small for you based on the volume of work you’ve produced?

Life in Grande: No. I haven’t even scratched the surface with Grande. Geographically Toco and Matura aren’t part of Grande but people from these places come to Grande daily to shop and commute. They are a huge part of life in Grande. Life in Grande doesn’t mean you reside in Grande. As long as you’re touching Grande in some shape or form you are part of Life in Grande, and I want to take your picture.

10 Things about reading

When I read, I’m amazed at how many ideas come to me. I’ve noticed that reading triggers dormant memories, forgotten memories, and further fuels my creativity. I grew up in a house without a television and radio. This is in the 1980s. I know it sounds weird, but around the same time people were buying a television my parents sold theirs. To entertain myself I read: books, encyclopedias, and comic books. Sure there was lots of television and video games but those activities were limited to when I visited other homes. I read a lot, and I wrote a lot. Then I started publishing videos and my reading slowed then halted somewhere in 2022. In 2022 I probably read about 2 books. I could feel a lack.

In 2023 I made a bet with a friend to see who could read more books. He read 60. I read more than 40. Let’s say 40 because I can only account for 40. I suspect the actual number is around 53 to 55. When I compare 2022 to 2023 I realise how much I’ve grown. I know more; with every book the ideas keep coming; with a daily commitment social media and television consumption have dived.

Read. Whenever and wherever you can. Sure, things get in the way. Life. Academics. Television. Your phone. Video games. Your spouse. In 2023 I read more than 30 books. When it comes to reading here are 10 things I bear in mind.

1. You should always be involved with a book. If someone asks you, “What are you reading?” you should have an answer for them.

2. Commit to at least 5 pages a day.

3. Read 1 of those 5 pages aloud.

4. Ditch books you aren’t enjoying. Time is precious. If a book or movie isn’t for you, bail.

5. At least once a year finish a book by an author you’ve never heard about.

5. Storage space is precious; buy books you’ve read and can’t live without. Otherwise, join the library and borrow books.

6. Don’t lend out books you can’t live without.

7. Don’t borrow books from friends. Stick to the library or buy your own damn’ book.

8. Download audiobooks. They help kill time. You can listen to an entire book in as little as 2 to 4 hours. The Alchemist is a good place to start.

10. If you’re a parent and you want your kid to be a reader, you need to pick up books and read. The Little One needs to see you reading. Even if it’s pretend reading.

Mt St Benedict

Today we’re heading to Mt St Benedict. As a parent, I sometimes feel guilty that I don’t take my children out more. I sometimes feel that Between life and work responsibilities it’s easy to plant them in front of the television. But I think about growing up in the 80s and 90s and the fantastic job my parents did taking us places whether it was to the river or to the beach or to KFC. And back then going to KFC was like going to TGI Friday; plus you used to get free refills.

In the abbey shop, we took pictures of everything so we didn’t have to buy anything. Except for Yogurt, a toy crocodile and a toy chicken. Just outside the abbey shop is a staircase of five stairs or six stairs. Get this. The stairs lead to a wall without a door. The stairs remind me of political parties in Trinidad. They lead nowhere.

Inside the church, there’s a quiet you can’t duplicate. Sitting there in the catholic church with my two girls I prayed for a little boy.

Afterwards, we drove through Tunapuna looking for a Chinese restaurant. Found one in El Dorado. We took wontons and Yogurt for my parents and Dad said, “I appreciate it.”

When we got home I put on the television and the kids played with their toys.

The first police force in Trinidad

The first police force in Trinidad was established by Sir Thomas Picton, the first British governor of Trinidad. Back in 1797, the population was 18,000, mainly French republicans who didn’t like the British. The police force had a police chief and 8 officers. Picton built gallows in front of the government house and hanged people left, right and centre. Famous for his cruelty he even hanged a 12-year-old child named Luisa Calderon from a roof. He hanged her by her hand to confess to theft, and the English were like:

“Jolly great job, Picton. We’ll name a street in Port of Spain after you.”

It’s 2024. The population is 1.5 million and the police service has 6,500 officers.


My first book is a crime story based in Trinidad and Tobago. Order it here: https://amzn.to/3OqkzF0

Stephon Felmine: the road to 150,000 TikTok followers

Today we’re talking to Stephon Felmine, a content creator from Trinidad. He’s an Economics teacher at Morvant Secondary School. His Facebook page describes him as the TikTok Trini Alphabet Guy. On the 11th of April 2020, he posted his first TikTok video. Since then he’s amassed almost 150,000 followers and 2.8 million likes, an extraordinary accomplishment.

On 11 April 2020, he posted his first TikTok video. One year later he turned his attention to Facebook and started uploading videos. Then on October 26th, 2021 he started uploading videos on YouTube. Then there’s Instagram. We talk about where he’s getting the best results. And how he selects the brands he works with. Is it just based on money?

There’s a video podcast, or if you prefer the audio version below there’s a link to the episode on Spotify.