Latest update April 9th, 2026 12:59 AM
Feb 18, 2026 Dem Boys Seh, Features / Columnists
(Kaieteur News) – Cocktails in Guyana used to be a polite, two-hour exercise in smiling till yuh cheek hurt and pretending yuh full. You would eat before you went, sip something that look expensive but taste like cough syrup, nibble one pholourie, and glide home feeling sophisticated.
Now? Cocktails done turn into National Feeding Programme with background music.
Dem boys seh cocktails ain’t cocktails no more — is cultural festivals with a side of rum. You reach expecting light jazz and soft conversation, and next thing you know somebody beating steel pan, a poet reading three chapters of an autobiography, and a dance group performing an interpretive piece. All before the cheese cubes even circulate.
And speaking of circulation — that is now a competitive sport. Food and drinks more lavish than ever before. In the old days, when the server pass with a tray, you would take one little pastry, nod graciously, and whisper, “Thank you.” Now people stalking the waiters like is wildlife documentary. One hand grab a chicken skewer, the next hand balancing mini quiche, and somehow a napkin holding spring rolls tucked under the elbow. People stacking dem plate higher than mount Roraima.
Dem boys seh it reach the stage where people no longer eat before they attend cocktails. Why waste groceries at home when you could strategize? Some people arrive early with empty stomach and strong intention. You could see it in dem eyes — focus, determination, a small prayer. And cocktails used to run from seven to nine. Now nine o’clock is when the real operation begin. Nobody moving till the liquor done. When the bartender start packing up, you see panic spread faster than pepper sauce. Men going in sober and coming out drunk.
It ain’t networking again. It is endurance.
Dem boys seh we done redefine elegance. Cocktails in Guyana now is less about mingling and more about managing resources. Freeness no longer hiding. It strutting round in blazer and high heels, smiling politely, and asking, “Is there any more coming out from the kitchen?”
Classy? Maybe. But efficient? Absolutely.
Talk half. Leff half.
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Your children are starving, and you giving away their food to an already fat pussycat.
Apr 09, 2026
…Santa Rosa, St John’s, East R/veldt among winners as Massy U18 School Football continues Kaieteur Sports – Round two of the 12th Annual Massy Distribution Schools Under-18 Football...Apr 09, 2026
Kaieteur News – The rollout of the cash grant initiative was supposed to signal efficiency, modernisation, and a government in step with the digital age. Instead, what many Guyanese are experiencing is frustration, delay, and a growing sense that the system simply is not working as it should....Apr 05, 2026
By Sir Ronald Sanders (Kaieteur News) – The Caribbean has not set out to loosen its trade dependence on the United States. It is being driven to do so. For generations, Caribbean importers and consumers have looked first to the American market. They have done so for reasons of preference and...Apr 09, 2026
Kaieteur News – The headline fairly screamed: “Guyana secretly paid US$80M to Wales gas plant contractor after losing arbitration (KN April, 3, 2026). I wanted to scream. The arbitrator within counseled: go ahead, write. Excellency Ali insists that his government has been about...Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: glennlall2000@gmail.com / kaieteurnews@yahoo.com