AS TOLD TO BC PIRES
My name is Anthony Vieira and I have been an Independent Senator since 2014.
I’m definitely from North Trinidad. I grew up in Maraval and Diego Martin.
I think you could say I come from a big family. I’m the eldest of nine children, seven boys, two girls. Yes, BC Pires, this evidently made my family Catholic. My significant other, Allison, is my rock. Since 1996, we have travelled all over the world together. My first wife wasn’t going anywhere if the nearest hairdresser was more than five miles away.
Both Allison and I had prior marriages, she for 18 years, I for seven. I had no children. Her sons, Brian and Drew are like my sons and Drew now has two sons. So I have two grandsons.
My father was very religious. He hoped one of his sons would become a priest but, because he was so into Catholicism, none of us were into going to church. Interestingly, we all settled down with Catholic people. I am very spiritual but my beliefs run along the lines of Daosim: forces in the universe, energy, working with the energy, karma. Do unto others as you would have done unto you.
It was quite interesting growing up with two streams of family, Portuguese and Chinese. I think we got a benefit from both. My dad was very Latin, very passionate, wore his heart on his sleeve. My mum is more Chinese, more in control of her passions.
Dr Gocking’s sixth form history class at CIC was transformative but I was railroaded into studying law, not history, by my parents and didn’t enjoy it at all. The deal was, after my LLB, I could do a post-graduate degree in international relations, which I loved. Lennox Ballah and Frank Barsotti told me, finish the law. And that’s the direction I took. Seeing my pupil master Michael De la Bastide in action made me kind of fall in love with the law.
I loved playing rugby from my teenaged years and my brother Bernard captained the national team for five years. All my brothers still play but I had to stop. It was kind of difficult going into court on Monday morning with black eyes and bruises. Also, the thought of getting injured and being unable to work when you work for yourself…
My brother Bernard and I were the first boys in CIC to pierce our ears. That added [to the heckling long-haired boys got in early 70s Trinidad]. Wha’ you doing with earrings on? It confused the Jamaican students at Cave Hill, too!
I do listen to some of the modern bands like Keen and Coldplay and that band that plays Sex on Fire [Kings of Leon], but the music of your teenaged years really stays with you. And I think the music I grew up on was really inspired. I’m still very much enamoured with the heavy metal bands. We didn’t hear rock music on Trinidad radio but friends at [English boarding schools] would come back with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath LPs.
The President appoints 16 senators [on] the advice of the Prime Minister, six [for] the Leader of the Opposition and nine in his own discretion. From outstanding persons [in] major fields of endeavour. President Anthony Carmona would hav
