To most residents the name Leroy
Holness is synonymous with local theatre. What many may not know is he has a
link to sports, in particular dominos.
Holness is the owner of Helium
Lounge at Burke-Maud Plaza in George Town. The bar has a squad in the national
domino league, run by the Cayman Islands Dominos Association, called Helium
Domino Club. On Sunday afternoons the squad is among seven other sides that travel
to the various bars around Grand Cayman to lick six and call key.
Holness, 50, states he is an avid
supporter of the Helium team in spite of having limited knowledge of the sport.
“I took over the bar in November
last year and got behind the domino club in March this year,” Holness said. “I
never followed dominos before that in all of my 36 years here in Cayman or in
Jamaica. I found that I really got into though. I follow the team and the
players, I see what’s going on and get them whatever refreshments they need.”
To that end Holness (who was given
the nickname Paul by friends) has a jerk stall running every weekend,
particularly during matches. Called the People’s Restaurant and Jerk, Holness
gets help from the likes of chef Anthony Sill. Officially the stall sells jerk
chicken and pork Wednesdays to Sundays from roughly 3pm until midnight. Players
like Garfield Gordon are quick to enjoy the food and in between bites at a
match this month Gordon gave the food his seal of approval.
As a team, Helium is sponsored by
Digicel and Heineken and features a number of notable players. From sports
stars like hoopster Kael Leslie (who sees support from other basketball players
like Jonathan Manderson) and cricketer Omar Willis to domino talents Kristin Williams
and Sheena Taylor, there is no shortage of skill.
Holness, who also owns a janitorial
company called Master Cleaners, states in spite of that athletic pedigree he is
most impressed with the side’s decorum.
“I like our team’s dedication. The
players turn up to matches on time, they’re well-mannered and well-behaved.
They don’t row or cause trouble and I respect them and the way they perform.”
Interestingly Helium and its
accompanying domino team are slated to get a name change soon. Holness states
that the business is now titled Temperature Lounge as he renewed his liquor
license in that name saying “I just have to rub off the name on the outside.”
Team captain Keith ‘Chilly B’ Barnes stated in passing that the domino club
would adopt the new name next season.
The current domino league runs
until next May. The next match for Helium is this Sunday when it hosts flag
footballer Tyrone Chantilope and his team Meringue Town. In between watching
the games and catering to customers Holness will have theatre and the Cayman
National Cultural Foundation’s Rundown play on his mind.
“Hopefully we’ll do Rundown next
year. We were supposed to do it this year but we couldn’t do it the time when
people were expecting it. I don’t want to see it die, it’s part of Cayman
culture. I’ve been in theatre since 1976 in my high school days working with
guys like Jeff Cresswell. I’d go on the big cistern near the library on the
John Gray High School campus and practice. I’ve performed with the Cayman Drama
Society and been in Rundown since the beginning. It’s been 14 or 15 years for
me and I’ve only missed one show.
“To me Rundown is so important. It
gives the people energy and it’s a taste of Cayman. I understand things have
happened. People have got married, formed businesses and got busy with no time
to do it like when they were younger. With Dave Martin no longer here people
don’t have the time to write the script. Hopefully Henry Muttoo can help get it
going and though it won’t be as professional or well-done as Dave’s work,
people want to see Rundown. I don’t want to see them disappointed.”
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