As we come up to the General election in the UK it is crucially important that we identify some key issues. Theresa May has said that we are fighting for our values and she mentioned democracy and pluralism as key values. But she did not mention freedom of speech. History shows us that we loose our freedoms one at a time if we are not careful and that those who do not care for these values will seek to…
It seems as if no one in Africa recognises the importance of 1917 for the history of Africa. Without 1917 the fate of Africa in the 20th Century would have been much different. Europe and America had imposed an arms embargo against Africa and the new automated weapons had allowed swift suppression of African liberties. 1917 saw the breakdown of that embargo and the possibility of struggles for independence. Many African historians have been unable to understand the…
Well we did say we would cover some trivia!! I am a keen fan of farmer’s markets. On Saturday mornings a Farmer’s Market comes to Notting Hill and I have been a supporter for many years now. I have got to know several of the people there with some affection. I buy some bread and cakes from a lady who started her own blog. She is keen about music -n I think called Indy – and deeply into ecology…
From my good Kiwi friend Haydn Keenan – there is nothing I can add: ‘Sad news has just come to me regarding the sudden death of Herbert Addo. Anyone at Holmewood in the early sixties will remember him. He was a most naturally gifted sportsmen and generous spirit, who’s smile and personality attracted people to him. Everyone wanted to be his friend. In the late fifties Hilary Dennis had been the dominant sportsman at Holmewood. In every sport he…
Apartheid era officials stole a 25 metre sophisticated printing press, bombed the building to conceal their theft, reassembled the printing press at police Head Quarters and then began printing counterfeit money a court case reveals (note 1 and 2). Jeremy Vearey and Andre Lincoln were officers in ANC’s intelligence organisation who busted the group. Much of this is now playing out in a court in Western Cape. US intelligence became involved as these officials had been counterfeiting US dollars. It…
This is an amazing story, not the corruption (which is barely news) , but the misreporting by Global Witness and the Western media generally. Global Witness write: “NEW LEAKED EMAILS PUT SHELL AT CENTRE OF BILLION DOLLAR BRIBERY SCHEME INVOLVING SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL OFFICIALS IN NIGERIA” (ref 1) They then write: “Shell’s most senior executives were told payments for massive oil block would go to a convicted money-launderer, and then likely flow to then President Goodluck…
There has been widespread coverage of a report (ref 7) that the white working class males are suffering from a ‘sea of despair’ causing a huge rise in deaths. This is inexplicably linked to a comparison with the declining rate of death of African American people. An unstated implication which many are reading is that the decline in mortality for Black people is related to the rise for white working class. This is political dynamite and is completely…
It is over a year since Harry’s body was found on a beach in Liberia and no explanation has been found to date. Harry and I were at prep school together in England or to be more precise in Langton Green in Kent. Harry Augustus Greaves Jnr as he wished to be known then (he emphatically insisted on the American postfix jnr having the same name as his father). Our headmaster, Mr Bairamian, or Bob as we called…
Yinka Shonibare (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yinka_Shonibare) is a wonderful artist and my good friend. His work is often breathtaking – cutting across many cultures, but fundamentally African. There are some who might ask how is Shonibare so fundamentally African – basically there is a place where you arrive at in terms of artistic creation that whatever you do reflects who you are and you have no need to imitate or reflect. That is Shonibare. Whatever he does is African – you may…
Its a welcome evening with my good friend Jerry Lockspeiser (http://www.harpers.co.uk/jerry-lockspeiser/1000.bio) . Jerry has shown great devotion to Africa and has donated and helped schools in Sierra Leone. He is also major supporter of Action Aid. Tonight he is launching his new book on wine. ‘Your wine questions answered’ or as he subtitled it in his introductory talk ‘everything you wished to know about wine but were too embarrassed to ask!’ Its on Amazon -. Jerry was a major…
