Bucket list

RECENTLY two friends, D and J, gifted me with some of their delicious home-made lime cordial. They decanted this liquid gift into a wine bottle labelled "Bucket List" – the definition of which is "a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime."

The "bucket list" items I often hear people mentioning are thrilling things like skydiving, travelling to exotic lands, etc.

But none of those kinds of things come to mind for me in any compelling way, to the extent that I wonder if I even have a "bucket list."

D and J suggested that this could be an idea for one of my articles, and presented a list of things for me to consider:

1. A place to which you would most like to travel.

Since childhood, I have travelled sufficiently to a number of places for my satisfaction. The only destination that ever appealed to me as a "must-go-someday" was India.

Fortunately, in 2012 I got the opportunity to go when, as a filmmaker, I went to Kolkata with another filmmaker, from London, and a choreographer from Portugal, to work on a dance and film project with survivors of sex trafficking.

Although we were there for just about three weeks, the amazing experience was sufficient to satisfy my "India" longing.

There is nowhere else in the world that currently I feel I "must" visit. I certainly would not consciously choose a destination where I am likely to be confronted with suffering street animals.

2. A thing you would most like to learn

I would love to learn some simple yet impressive magic tricks.

3. A book you would most like to read

I take this to mean novels. Many think that because I write, I read...but reading novels is a rare occurrence for me. In the last few years, I have read only two, both by Monique Roffey – The Tryst and The Mermaid of Black Conch. Something about her rhythm and style moves me along effortlessly through the pages.

4. A person you would most like to meet

No one living comes to mind. The people I would like to meet most are deceased:

●Jesus, to sit and chat and understand his first-hand experience from his perspective.

●Joan of Arc – someone who first fascinated me as a child when I read about her in a small hardcover Ladybird book. What was her actual first-hand experience of all that happened?

5. A sport you need to take up to challenge your fitness

Recently while chatting at a birthday breakfast gathering, one of the women mentioned that her husband had taken up archery (in Tobago) and was really enjoying it.

It struck me that this is something I might like to try. Having never done it, I do not know if it will "challenge" my fitness per se, but the art of precision and discipline might exercise me in ways beyond just the physical.

6. Something you would most like to own

I am not typically someone who craves material possessions and whatever I currently own feels like all that I need at present. But if I had to think of something, I would say a 38-inch Paiste Symphonic Gong with a variety of mallets.

I would not mind having my own property (as I have a certain vision in mind) but that is a bigger decision, involving fixed location, and I am not currently certain where that is for me.

7. A charity you would love to volunteer/donate to but don’t get around to

My ongoing "charity" work is with animals, through the animal rescue/welfare NGO (Venus Doggess Of Love) that I founded. That consumes a lot of my time and I do not have extra hours to actively devote to another cause.

However, if I were to choose a charity other than one that deals with animals, I would found, volunteer or donate to a charity that empowers disadvantaged or dying children to realise their dreams or to have experiences that may be beyond their financial means – something like the Make a Wish Foundation.

What I wrote above is probably not very bucket-listish. I merely answered the questions presented to me by my friends. There is, however, one thing, personal to me, that I want to experience before I depart this life...and I look forward to it.