MORE OUTPUT, LESS DRUDGERY IN NEW COCONUT GRATER
(The Citizen January 11, 1978)
A quick and efficient way of extracting coconut meat from the shell to replace the arduous and knuckle grazing traditional methods of grating will be a boon to Guyanese where coconut oil is a vital staple.

A foot operated coconut grater is simple in design easy to use and produces far better results than others currently available.
With local consumption of fresh coconuts accounting for more than 50% of total production there is general need for stepping up the output so the new grater will be particularly welcome.
The grater’s rotary action and six bladed cutting head have been designed to produce fine lump free gratings from which the maximum amount of emulsion can be extracted.
Its treadle action achieves high speeds so that the meat from an average coconut can be grated in 40 seconds.
Motive power is by leather stirrups hung over a wooden shaft. The operator simply places his feet in the two stirrups and pushes down with alternate treads on either side of the shaft.
The grater has been designed in such a way that it is easy to construct from local materials.
All that is needed are two pieces of flat iron for the blades, a wooden shaft and a length of rawhide for the stirrups and some thick hardwood for the frame.

MORE FOREIGN $$
(The Citizen January 13,1978)
The Coopers of Guyana Distilleries Limited have sent another large shipment of barrel furniture overseas as the demand for this unique commodity continues to rise.
This shipment made on Wednesday last at the Guyana Distilleries Wharf, was destined for Barbados .It included living room chairs, coffee tables, plant pots and telephone stands.

LETTER TO EMPLOYMENT OFFICER WAS…A SNAKE
(The Citizen January 23, 1978)
An employment officer at a state owned entity in Berbice, opened an envelope delivered to his office last week and out popped a deadly labaria snake.
“It was a hell of an experience,” he told friends afterwards.
In fact the official was left in such a state of shock that he had to take two days sick leave from work.
It all happened as he and another employee of the company were having a discussion in his office.
A large envelope was among his mail and as two men continued their conversation, the employment officer ripped open the packet.
The man on the other side of the desk spotted the snake head and shouted “snake.”
His colleague dropped the envelope and immediately after, the snake began jumping and snapping at everything in sight causing the two men to scamper out of the office.
They raised an alarm and there was a wild scramble in the confusion before the snake was killed.
The official told colleagues at his office that there had been threats against him because of his post but he had never taken them seriously.
“The last thing I expected was a snake in an envelope,” he declared.

2nd SEX CHANGE OPERATION SOON
(The Citizen January 24, 1978)
A young man who had been taking hormone treatment for some time, is to be operated on shortly and is likely to become the country’s second transsexual in just over one year.
The handsome 24-year-old man wants to become a woman.
The brown skinned man who weighs 144 pounds and is five feet seven inches tall said that most of his life he wanted to become a woman and it seems as if his dreams are soon to become a reality.
According to the young man the operation is expected to be performed within seventy-two hours.
He said that he is from a family of nine children, four of whom are boys.
He said that since he was attending private school he wanted to join the girls as they went about their needlework and wanted to do all the other things girls did.
On many occasions he practiced the things he saw the girls doing and for some time he has been a competent “seamstress and hairdresser.”
A leading gynaecologist who was involved in the first sex change operation and a team of surgeons are expected to carry out the operation this week.

“SNAKE” SCIENTISTS DUE
(The Citizen January 25, 1978)
Two American research scientists are scheduled to arrive here tomorrow to look into the possibility of capturing snake venom for scientific experiments in their laboratory in the USA.
They are particularly interested in Guyana’s rattlesnakes and their coming here is the result of increasing problems in securing supplies of venom from other countries.
One of the two scientists Jack Kellman was here last year when he came with an antidote for a rattlesnake bite inflicted on Guyanese Lawrence Van Sertima.
The two scientists will work in close collaboration with Van Sertima and it is believed that they will make efforts to boost facilities at Van Sertima’s mini laboratory where snake venom is extracted.
The American scientists are expected to make excursions into the Guyana jungle to have a look at snakes in their natural habitat and they will speak at two public lectures on snakes and the uses of their venom in medicine.

SEX OPERATION SUCCESSFUL-DREAM COME TRUE
(The Citizen January 26,1978)
Guyana’s second transsexual in 13 months is now resting at the Georgetown Hospital after what was described as a successful operation.
The 24-year-old described as a competent seamstress was wheeled into the theatre a man and came out some ninety minutes later with all the physical attributes of a woman thanks to the surgeon’s sharp knives.
“At last my dream has come true,” the 24-year-old said yesterday a few hours after the sex change operation.
“And I have informed all the nursing staff here that I will now be known as Sabrina,” the patient said.
The patient wore blue pyjamas in the theatre, a special concession granted, as it was to be the last time ever. Later the patient donned a pink nightie and was hustled into a private room, safe from the prying eyes of curious persons.
Sabrina has been asked for a list of persons who will be allowed to visit and no one else will be sent into the room.
Sabrina will spend one week in hospital and intends to carry on with the job of a seamstress and hairdresser after being discharged.

(Clifford Stanley can be reached to discuss any of the foregoing articles at cliffantony@gmail.com or cell phone # 694 0913)