–and not the Queen Victoria statue

Dear Editor,

WE are looking at two iconic photo images of statues of Guyana. The one on the left is ‘CUFFY’, which was recently captured by me, and the one to the right is ‘QUEEN VICTORIA’, and it’s actually an original and authentic black-and-white photo image in pristine condition, and apparently taken many years ago.

**I am currently in the process of trying to establish the year it was taken. I will say for the record that in order for me to become the owner of this historical treasure of a photo image, I had to give up part of my most old and treasured American stamps.

The Cuffy Statue was, over the years, neglected, and it is now evident that the fountain of water is back in operation, along with lots of trees and plants surrounding it. On the other hand, The Queen Victoria statue has been without a full nose; hand broken off, with the missing object from photo image provided. The shield is also missing, and is below the statue.

In all fairness, in maintaining and restoring statues of Guyana that were there for as long as I can remember, doesn’t The Queen Victoria Statue deserves some restoration, just like the Cuffy statue got?

I call upon the Guyana Trust, the Ministry of Tourism, The Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) and all other Tourism-related agencies and offices to have a round-table discussion and come up with a master plan by pooling your resources; seeking some international funding and let us restore the Queen Victoria statue to its glory of what it used to be. I am sure someone can contact some statue experts from England for guidance on restoration.

Yours Faithfully,
T.Pemberton