Grandchild buffs Rowley for noisiness

THE Prime Minister admitted he was recently buffed by his three-year-old grandson for being too noisy.

Dr Rowley, speaking softly this time, made the revelation to contrast his vocal style to the soft-spoken ways of engineer Prof Ken Julien.

Julien, 86, was honoured on Monday by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers at an event at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain, for building TT’s energy, petrochemical and tertiary education sectors.

Rowley said in his career he had once lost his way, by being different, in contrast to Julien’s soft-spoken style.

“I heard it said this afternoon about Prof Julien speaking so softly, so effectively.

"I’m not like that. I’m loud, I’m aggressive, I can get angry.

“I just recently had a bit of a reality check. I’m on the phone – I think I was talking or quarrelling with someone on the phone, and my three-and-a-half-year-old grandson comes to the door and says ‘You! You’re talking too loud!'”

"After that, I knew where things stood."

All present giggled.

“But in all my years knowing Prof Julien I’ve never seen him angry, I’ve never seen him raise his voice. And most importantly, even in very difficult situations I’ve never seen him being dejected or disappointed.”