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Caribbean Domino Club

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BBC Radio 4 Extra - Caribbean Domino Club

Benjamin Zephaniah uncovers the passion, mind games and intrigue of competitive dominoes.

Benjamin Zephaniah uncovers the passion, mind games and intrigue of Britain's high-octane Caribbean domino clubs. From 2014.

Benjamin Zephaniah explores the passion, community and history of Britain's high-octane Caribbean domino clubs, where each table is a stage and every game tells a story.

The mesmerising sound of dominoes being shuffled keeps many players at the table into the small hours.

Benjamin visits his home town of Birmingham to find out how the dominoes scene has changed since his father taught him to play, and learns how the "bones" have been the soundtrack to centuries of Caribbean history, a thread linking slave plantations to south London bus stations.

Amid the high-decibel action of the Anglo-Caribbean Domino League Final, clubs from all over the UK battle it out in a fierce showdown of mind games, table slamming and dramatic winning poses.

Benjamin hears stories of some of the nation's finest players – Black Hat, The Enforcer, Lady Sassy, Big C, Virgo, The Screamer – and finds out how the "sweet sound of the shuffle" plays on their subconscious, long after the slamming and cheering have died down.

Featuring: 

Kenneth Ward
Earl John
Kingsley Douglas
Errol Richards
Carlton Witter
Mervin Stuart
Janet Francis
 Gary Lewis
Austin Agard
Rudi Page
Millicent Wilks
Clive Milanese
Donald Douglas
Felix Whittley
Vida Tucker.

Thanks to:   Anita Witter, Kingsley Douglas, Norris Mckenzie and the Anglo-Caribbean Domino League.

Producer: Cicely Fell
Executive producer: Lyn Champion

A Redlight production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2014.

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