Walk in the Park

Sometimes the problems of the world weigh heavy on my shoulders; then I take a walk in the park (obviously not Southall Park!) and a new lightness appears.

I had the unexpected opportunity to spend an hour in Regent’s Park today and it was such a relief to be able to walk around alone, happy in my solitude, without fear of anything weird happening. It’s amazing that it takes going into London to find peace and safety. It was so pleasant to just wander round, quietly observing the people resting, jogging, sun-bathing and enjoying school outings. I didn’t see a single drug deal, not one trick and the most dangerous dog I saw was a placid looking Jack Russell waiting patiently for its owner and companion dog to catch up. The most yobbish behaviour I saw was from the wildfowl, stunning in their number and diversity and for being by far the noisiest creatures in the park.

Recent events have got me avoiding my local park (there’s been another murder there in the last couple of days), so I’m seeking out safer places to take my three little nippers; Regent’s Park is definitely on my list and quite accessible too.

I kind of dread going ‘up town’ because of the heat, busy-ness, traffic and almost total self-obsession of most of the people living and working there. I usually come back sweaty and smelly, knackered and irritable. Today I found myself having a coffee with an artist friend/colleague on Regent’s Street in the middle of a building site. Our table was outside the café between two boarded off sections which made us a private little alcove. In fact, we probably found the most comfortable place to sit outside on such a hot and sweaty day.

After my walk in the park and my pleasant meeting I even managed to get to school early, so for once I’ve had what you could call a ‘nice day!’ I guess all it takes is to get out of Southall!


I can’t leave on that note, as I’ve always loved and defended Southall from all those wankers, like the taxi drivers who ask in that tone of voice ‘Do you like living in Southall?’ (yeah it’s great, I love the diversity and the sense of community, I feel strange anywhere else!) or those that say Southall smells (yeah, with every step you enter a new and wonderful olfactory experience – coriander, Chinese herbs, coconut, cardamon, mmm!)

What I detest is the lack of informed focus by the local and national governments: Southall has a peculiar and unique character and unique needs. For 50 years wave after wave of new peoples have moved in, first Irish, then Asian, then Somali, now Eastern European. Other smaller groups have moved in too, I’ve met people from so many nations – from South Africa, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Tanzania, Iraq, Nepal, Jamaica, Barbados, Ghana, Kenya and many more. We all live together in relative harmony despite powerful forces trying to stir up hatred and violence. Southall is a model of multicultural harmony, but the authorities have no concept of how much support is needed in a town with such a transient population. There are massive levels of TB, HIV, poverty, unemployment, domestic violence and all sorts of other difficulties faced by our community here, and the input from ‘above’ is complacent to say the least. A clear policy to work with the many communities here, to build cohesion and understanding, to create education and employment opportunities is vital but sadly missing. The work is being done for sure, by hordes of committed locals (go to any Gurdwara, Mandir or Mosque to see some for yourself), which is why there’s not even more drug dealing and murder on the streets, but governmental support is inconsistent and usually lacking.

How can we Make Poverty History without government?

Thank you ‘anonymous’ for your response. Excellent, there is life out there! I got my first post from this site, and I’m very happy – keep ‘em coming!

I’d like to take a few moments to reply to my respondent…

Firstly, don’t worry, I’m sure no-one will boycott anything on the basis of my ranting.

I know there are loads of fantastic people and organisations doing fantastic work out there. It’s exciting that so many ‘stars’ can get together and organise such an international event, and it’s getting more exciting with the new concerts announced in J’burg, Tokyo, etc, as well as the inclusion of Black artists (even if the ones chosen are the same ones always reeled out for such events and could have been predicted - I still want Jah Shaka to play!) It’s terribly sad and predictable that people are getting sidetracked from the issue of poverty into concerns about celebrities and money-making.

I certainly do advocate lots of letter-writing to politicians and involvement in appropriate campaigns, but I also want to explore what we can do without government and without organised bodies. This probably reflects my lack of trust in organisations, which I’ve generally found to be unhealthy, bullying and based on abuse of power. I can’t see what they do so I can’t believe their words; all I truly believe is what I experience for myself, and that tells me if you want change, you have to make it happen for yourself. Also I’m really beginning to wonder about the financial and environmental cost of live8 – the venues, the stars, the roadies, the technicians, the publicity, the transport, the power, the days off work! If I was evaluating it I’d be running a tight cost analysis; I suspect there are better ways of using all that tremendous energy and money.

What I want to debate is how people can make a difference every day of their lives, and there are many ways to do this. I’m not trying to preach and say that I live my life perfectly; instead I’m trying to use conversation to seek out ways to really make a difference. For example, I was thinking about many of the African people I’ve met who have been working so hard and living in difficult conditions, in order to help people back home. Some are putting children through school, others are supporting elderly or disabled relatives, still others are investing in businesses. I’ve been privileged to work with Heritage Ceramics (see links), specialists in providing education and training in traditional West African Arts, and I’ve been able to introduce them to various organisations which work with young people. This has not only bridged the gap between urban British youth and traditional Africa, but helped to support the artists’ children, families and a business in Africa. It has also helped my business. This sort of collaboration can directly help alleviate poverty, and it’s a way we as individuals can do something practical and meaningful.

It’s funny, while I write this I can feel hordes of Daily Mail readers reading over my shoulder, muttering about ‘them’ taking ‘our’ resources – jobs, homes, money, women(?) – I wonder if they’ll be going to Live8? If there is going to be any real difference made then some of ‘our’ resources have to move towards Africa, we have to face it, and we have to support it too. One thing I already suggested was to seek out and buy African products; but in our personal and professional lives we can also collaborate more - without being patronising we can work alongside Africans, trade with African companies, make African friends, employ Africans and support them to support their continent. Then it’s not something that ‘we’ are doing to ‘them,’ it’s something we’re all doing together.

Another is to give blessings every day for every luxury we find ourselves with, to appreciate as much as possible how much we have, and to dedicate ourselves to finding meaningful ways of making poverty history. Got any more suggestions?

The last straw(s)

That’s it, the last straw. Well, that’s yet another last straw; when the old tramp shat on the pavement outside my front window with my little daughter watching that was the last straw; when the same daughter, while playing in the bushes in the park, stood in human shit that was the last straw; the other day when a bunch of young men wound their killer dog up then let it go on me and my three kids, that was the last straw; now the usually polite and respectful young men in the alley have gone a step too far and graffitied on the front window of someone’s house, someone who I’ve watched painstakingly caring for his house. It feels like another last straw, and the camel/firegoat’s back is not well.

Today I feel terribly miserable about living in Southall. I’ve really enjoyed lots about living here for over 15 years. Southall provided me with cheap rented accommodation as a student and it was where I learnt to house-share. Southall gave me cheap and nutritious food when my budget was tight. Southall educated me about difference and diversity, and my own reactions. I’ve loved meeting and mixing with people from all cultures and religions, and learnt so much. I’ve never lived anywhere as long as I’ve lived here in this town, in this house, I feel a sense of community I’ve never felt since childhood. Yesterday when I walked down the Broadway I met and spoke to my next door neighbour, the grandma of my son’s schoolfriend, my neighbour’s friend, a work colleague and the mum of another of my son’s friends twice, the second time she was with a bunch of school children and teachers doing a survey so I stopped and let them ask me questions. The first one was ‘what do you like about Southall,’ and for the first time ever I was speechless, I couldn’t find anything positive to say at first, and could only come up with ‘colour.’ Maybe I was particularly inarticulate that day, but really Southall is beginning to piss me off big time. No wonder I’ve always got back ache with all these last straws piled on it.

Boycott Live 8

Where is it then?

Have Bob, Bono and Midge never been to a Jah Shaka dance or a Misty in Roots performance? All the faces at Live 8 in Hyde Park are to be white, no represenation from Britain's or Africa's Black artists. Apparently there is no-one of enough stature in these communities. Well that's plainly rubbish, Shaka, Misty, Steel Pulse, Aswad (if reformed like the Spice Girls?), Asian Dub Foundation, Miss Dynamite, the list goes on and on. Many of these individuals and groups have been working tirelessly for decades on creating constructive links with Africa, yet the three wise monkeys prefer to ignore this. OK so they put on a concert every twenty years, and do the odd TV special, but the rest of the time they're enjoying their yachts and many houses fitted out, no doubt, with the best studios. On the other hand Shaka has been involved in African projects for literally decades, when he's not playing out with his incredibly loud and highly concious uplifting words, sound and power, he's spent his life on the cause.
Frankly, this live 8 is an insult to Africa, an insult to Black people and black talent, and an insult to all the people that have worked tirelssly with unending committment for years and years and years.
Frankly if they did put Misty on stage no-one would want to let them leave; the whole world would be jumping up and down as one body and everyone would see what crap Elton John and Bono are by comparison. They think their lyrics are 'meaningful'? They are listening to the wrong influences, get down Southall Community Centre and listen to Aba Shanti then you'll really know conscious lyrics, love, humanity, acceptance - not something you'll get on the stage at Live 8.
I am boycotting the whole event. I do want poverty to be history but getting people to spend millions on a crap pop concert and walking to Edinburgh will not achieve anything useful. I say, if you're going to walk, walk to Gleneagles, or walk to Africa with your skills and a container load of materials to help with sustainable projects - get out there and dig wells, build condom factories or health centres or schools, but whatever you do don't think Live 8 will solve anything... it's just a conscience purging exercise, yet more white people doing 'good things' for poor black people with the result that the white people feel better about themselves and their unhelathy wealth and Africa sinks further into debt, despair and poverty.
Gordon Brown, now there's a decent white man. I hope I'm not wrong when I believe his committment to doing something truly meaningful to end poverty, and his new 'Marshall Plan' certainly looks like it's coming up with the goods. Something useful to do would be to write to him offering your support, and asking him to pass this onto the G8. A million such letters would have more impact than walking to Edinburgh.

Mortality, child care freeform rant

Suddenly I'm struggling with my mortality. The new and wonderful NHS called me in for a routine check up, something I've been asking for for decades (nearly) but is now apparently happening. I wasn't expecting anything to come up, and sure enough, the nurse was pleased with my diet and exercise, and, not unexpectedly, suggested I give up smoking. I explained that I was currently giving up caffeine as I'd grown an unhelathy dependence on my 10-15 cups of coffee per day and that smoking was next on my list, and she was even happy with this. She checked my urine and that was perfect and then took my blood pressure which was unusually low. Nothing to worry about, she said, but come back in a couple of weeks for another check. That I did, only to find it had dropped even lower, so today I spent the morning at the hospital having 9 tubes of blood taken for various tests - on thyroid function, T-cells, calcium levels, vitamin D, iron, etc etc. To be honest this has got me a little bit rattled, as despite various disabilities (Scheurmann's Osteochondritis and palindromic polyarthritis) I've always been fit and healthy, I was never expecting to have problems like this.
Part of the problem is that I fear I'm becoming my mother. Like me she had back problems, sciatica and also low blood pressure resulting in lots of dramatic dizzy spells and enough medication to make her rattle. Suddenly I've entered another age of life, which I've observed from a distance up till now. This is the age where daily pills are required to keep one alive, I remember adult friends taking blood pressure pills, cholesterol pills, pills for this and pills for that. I don't actually believe in the benefits of pills (which incidentally saved me from the hype of Ecstacy) so I'm not at all keen to go down that kind of route. Anyway, it was enough to cause me lost sleep while I tried not to listen to the beating of my heart.

Then life can always show you a deeper tragedy. Today I heard about a Jamaican woman who is dying of cancer. As she is not a British citizen she is getting little help. She is living alone on £35 per week with a young child and a baby to care for. The school, in their infinate compassion (not) are unable to take anything other than the full fee for her child's school meals, which at £7.50 per week, is a substantial proportion of her income. she is fortunate to have neighbours and friends who help her out, buying her nappies and food for the children, but I don't think this should be happening in our 'civilised' society. I'm appalled at how children are let down by us.

I work with young people experiencing challenges, yet the response of agencies like Connexions or Social Services seems to be to increase the risk to them. A young blonde girl of 16 from Richmond was put in a B&B in Southall, a place she had never even passed through before, while at the same time an 18 year old also from Richmond clearly stated that she did not want to live in Richmond because there she was at risk of violence. She was put in a hostel in... Richmond. Both these girls have had their risk unneccessarily increased.

We do not care for our children very well here, and that indicates to me that this is not a civilised society, far from it. How many children are being torutured as witches, how many are torn from their mothers arms because of social services inability to understand 'other ways' of parenting (and the earlier the better because they're easier to adopt), how many are involved in drug dealing, petty crime. It sickens me to think about how much abuse and neglect are going on, and how much I've heard about from the horses' mouths. If we can't sort this out there is no future.

Jelebi Man

The Jelebi Man sits in a wheelchair on the street
Watching as the world hustles by, some stop to eat
Some chat, some abuse his lack of feet.

Don’t go to Edinburgh - Buy African

I’m sure we all agree with Sir Bob Geldof’s sentiments, don’t we all want to make poverty history? The question is, how is that going to happen? What can we do to help?

A confession…

I’m feeling a bit inhibited now because I’ve publicised this blog to a few people and I might have readers now. It’s one thing writing into the ether certain that no-one knows the blog exists, but now people might read it and form judgements about me – they’ll think I’m mad probably. I hope my friends forgive me.

Anyway, back to poverty, and Bob. My friend introduced me to the Boomtown Rats when I was 11; ‘I don’t like Mondays’ became a school anthem along with ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ by Pink Floyd – no wonder I’m a rebel! (Pity kids today are still just more bricks in the wall and still wanting to murder teachers). Then there was Live Aid, 20 years ago, when I was a tender 18 year old, which made us sit up and think about Ethiopia, famine and starvation. I’ve sort of followed Bob’s career, and even had the experience of working with a client who was the lover of his ex-wife Paula Yates, but more importantly I’ve followed the debates about Africa and poverty with interest. I’ve always striven for fairness, and reacted strongly against injustice in any area – this led me to lead a movement to outlaw uniform for my 6th form, to become the first women’s officer at my university and to build a career around trying to right social wrongs. I can’t stand by and watch millions of children and adults die of starvation every year, merely because they are in a different country and we can’t be bothered.

Bob wants us all to descend on Edinburgh while the G8 meet to discuss poverty. At first this looks like a good idea – surely they’ll take notice? But Gleneagles, where the G8 are meeting is 50 miles from Edinburgh, perhaps they won’t hear the crowds after all? Even if they did hear, what message will they get – a very clear and simple one – that we want an end to poverty. Clear and simple, but I don’t think that message is deep enough – how do we want to end poverty? What are we prepared to let go of?

A small percentage increase in trade between Europe and Africa would solve a lot of problems so why don’t we ask for that? The problem with Bob is that his ideas are too easy, scratch the surface and I don’t think you’ll find a sophisticated plan to end poverty. Perhaps we need a more imaginative campaign, Bob’s getting too old! Perhaps we should look more closely at consumer power for example; I’ve boycotted lots of countries and companies for their actions before – South African products during Apartheid, Israeli products because of their brutal occupation of Palestine, Nestle products because of their indirect murder of millions of African children due to their baby milk policies, etc. Surely we can also positively use our money to seek out products from African countries that need us. I know lots of Africans involved in import-export businesses; if we abandoned evil capitalist American products for sustainable African products I’m sure we’d achieve more than by going to Edinburgh for a shout. Bob could even help out by heading up the campaign and helping African manufacturers to sell their products here.

What do you think?