by Terry Joseph

LEN "Boogsie" Sharpe, musical arranger with Petrotrin Phase 11 Pan Groove and Solo Pan Knights counterpart Robert Greenidge will definitely not be with their bands for next week's preliminary round of the Steelband Panorama competition; albeit for very different reasons.

Sharpe was hospitalized Monday, said to be suffering from dehydration and high blood pressure, but after more extensive diagnosis, several complications were discovered, including debilitating effects of an unknown diabetic condition and the requirement for urgent surgery to stem another condition.

On the recommendation of Pan Trinbago president Patrick Arnold, long standing friend and veteran Phase 11 front-liner Franklyn Ollivieri took Sharpe to the St. Clair Medical Centre Monday. Speaking yesterday to The Express from the St. Clair facility, Ollivieri said: "Things are much worse than we first thought".

"Although Boogsie was very near to being in a coma when we brought him in (his blood sugar level was said to be 800), now there are many more tests and procedures that the doctors will have to carry out as they discover problems and we just learnt that some one of his internal organs has suffered a rupture, requiring immediate surgery," Ollivieri said.

Sharpe's hospitalization sent Phase 11 Pan Groove seniors into a huddle Monday night. Manager Errol Skerritt yesterday said members held a brain-storming session and came up with three options in the event of a worst-case scenario. "We may have to decline from the competition al together," Skerritt said.

Greenidge's situation may be equally distressing to members of Solo Pan Knights but is certainly not life threatening, nor will he take as long as Sharpe to return to the panyard.

A sudden change of tour dates for Jimmy Buffet's Coral Reefers Band, with which he is resident pannist, will now see him leaving Hawaii on the very day Pan Knights plays its first stage; with little chance of arriving at the panyard before the judges do.

Pan Knights manager, Owen Serrette was disappointed but not worried about the latest development. "We had already expected Robbie to return pretty close to the preliminaries," he said, "so while his presence will be missed, he had already finished the tune for us so, with assistance from "Juiceman" (Carlisle Roberts) and Ephraim (Serrette), we should be able to achieve the exact standard Robbie intended," Serrette said.