AS TOLD TO BC PIRES

My name is Candyce Kelshall and I am a child of the military.

I come from Chaguaramas, overlooking down-the-islands, Scotland Bay and Gasparee. Because my father was (in charge of Chag). We’re a small but highly disciplined family. Except for me, when it comes to my weight. The discipline comes from both my parents, Richard and Gail Kelshall. My mother gave up her career as a model – she was hugely influential in the 60s, the whole Carnaby Street vibe, Vidal Sassoon – to come back to Trinidad.

My sister Tricia Lee is also punching above her weight. She is clearly, squarely, defiantly Trinidadian. Seven number ones across the world, been on MTV. You have to question whether Trinidad has embraced her as well.

We also have my brother Jason. I’m an educator and I say he’s a literal bona fide genius. In a military context, he’s planned for presidents, put security in place for national events, worked for the highest military in the Western hemisphere and now works for Europe!

My father was the first admiral in our history, a naval rank signifying you have reached the pinnacle of your profession, saving lives and protecting the country. In every other country in the world, they talk about the military that made that country safe and prosper, the people you build your models on. We kind of focus on what’s happening today.

I was always so-and-so’s daughter or so-and-so’s (sibling). I guess I had to leave Trinidad to discover who I was and put my abilities to good use.

In 1994, I won a Chevening scholarship, given by her majesty’s government. They choose about six people from around the Commonwealth working in foreign affairs. I went away to study to become a diplomat.

There I am, in England, doing my master’s degree and Trinidad headhunts me to represent the government in the UK. For about six years. I was 24 or 25 at the time. At the end of my contract, a challenging period, the UK government put a work permit in front of me. I worked for a private contractor delivering training to militaries. And never came back home.

I was in London for 20-something years. And then I got married and my Sudanese partner wanted to move to Canada. After things became difficult in the UK, post-Brexit. Once the slurs started, we moved. That was not the UK I had worked for.

In Canada, I thought I’d retired. I started planting roses. Then I got the knock on my door. The Canadian government asked me to train intelligence officers, as I have done for the last 30 years.

It’s not bizarre at all, BC Pires, that we should have had Brexit and Trump in the same year. It’s by design. Anything I say is my opinion and it’s not true, but it’s officially documented now that the online camp were significantly impacted by delivered action on the part of Russia.

We have to be really careful about what we believe on the web. If something is making you feel something very strongly when you read it, question it! Because facts and information are not designed to make you feel emotional, they’re designed to give you in