Friday 24 April 2015

Home turf

I was at a party earlier this week and someone from the other side of London took it upon himself to insult my part of town.

Now, here's the funny thing, if it had been one of my mates running the area down or if I'd been fed up, it would have passed with nothing other than perhaps a sage nod.

Hearing it from a stranger unfortunately sends all my hackles up.

Gone all primal

The reaction is something akin to what a Lioness might feel if you turned on her cubs.

I can physically feel myself bristle and then all the aggression that is thoroughly unacceptable party behaviour comes out.

This is not the way to win friends and influence people.

I like it this way, I do

That has however flown out of my head, I feel something similar to if the man had wandered into my home and insulted the paint work.

Sure I know it needs a paint job and yes I'm not entirely sure about the shade either.

But here's the thing, it's my home, it feels like one of those comfy sweaters that everyone has that has now got a million holes in it due to the fact that you've worn it to death because despite it not being fashionable or to most people's tastes, you love it.

I always start a fight

So here I am cursing a lost connection because of a mixed up sense of pride and belonging.


Honestly, if you're reading this I thought you were lovely, I just can't seem to keep my mouth shut when I disagree with people, it was how I was raised.

No one ever sent me to finishing school I'm afraid.

Monday 20 April 2015

Which way now?


I believe that good journalism should underpin the democratic debate.

Alongside my younger brother we put together a short film with interviews in London and Birmingham to address the question of how people currently feel about voting in the UK.

This is a not for profit venture.

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Streatham's hustings

Last night there was a general election hustings in Streatham Baptist Church for the local seat.

Six parties were present to contest the seat: Conservative, Green, Labour, Liberal Democrat, TUSC and UKIP.

The church was nearly full.

Chuka Umunna who is returning to try and hold his seat put in a patchy performance compared to how strong he has been in the past, he looked dangerously close to resting on his laurels.

The Green and TUSC candidates spoke strongly and are likely to draw Labour votes, challenging Chuka for actions taken by Lambeth council in forcing people out of their housing association properties.

However both the Greens and TUSC are suggesting policies that may cause significant political and economic upheaval in contrast to Labour's slightly more evolutionary approach, it is not clear whether the electorate is ready for these moves.

The Green Party emerged as the most internationally focussed party, seeing problems faced here in Britain as wider issues affecting the international community.

The Liberal Democrat candidate put in a considered performance, aligning herself with the anti-war movement and business concurrently she certainly presented as a leader in waiting and I suspect that she will not disappear.

TUSC also identified themselves as anti-war but picked up the issue of comprehensive education rather than business.

The Conservative candidate seemed weak on policy, making vague comments such as mixed communities being a good thing without offering concrete pledges on actions she would make while in power.

UKIP appeared to only offer a pledge of winning back Britain without any suggestion of exactly what he meant by this statement.

People seem to think that Chuka will win the seat and it is merely a question of lessening his majority.

However, Labour seats have been lost by a split vote in the past, the seat is not won yet.

This is merely a short report of my view on the hustings, I would encourage interested parties to read reports in the local paper.

Sunday 12 April 2015

Fear

I was lucky enough as a teenager to be told that news reports tend to paint the world bleakly.

The world seems more threatening because it focuses on bad things.

This is an invaluable world view.

Sadly I feel too far from the effects of this sane view point.

Losing sanity?

Too much media exposure and hyped up talk has left me occasionally falling into irrational panics.

Yet this seems to happen to me when things are safer.

When I am actually faced with more genuinely worrying situations I seem to deal with them better.

All in the mind

I am beginning to wonder whether this is unresolved issues related to feeling threatened in the past or actually due to news exposure.

Does listening to negative reporting drive this panic in my mind to a larger degree than finding myself in a frightening situation?

I'm beginning to think that it does and my best defence seems to be turning off the news...

Thursday 9 April 2015

Disillusion

I got caught into conversations about the state of London last night.

Bemoaning changes in the landscape around me.

Then I feel I was forgetting the things that have got better.

Letting go of the past is a funny thing, sometimes you need to, sometimes you should hold on.

I guess the trick is trying to work out what is actually worth the struggle of keeping.

Which probably ends up with you listening to songs like this.


Wednesday 1 April 2015

A slow day at the office

I have waded through this sugarless world with huge quantities of Salmon.

My alcohol consumption has upped.

That's a tricky one, it has limited me in my mind to wines and liquors and asking lots of tricky questions about cocktails, which unfortunately I fell down on.

Less than I'm used to

It has also meant practically no coffee, as my sweet tooth doesn't really handle coffee without sugar in it, I think we've been here before...

Missing food is a dangerous business, not intended, but it does occasionally happen.

Without sugar hits from sweets and other things it hits my mind like a bit of a vice.

If ever there was doubt that what you put into your mouth effects your mind this exercise may well make it hit home.

Self control

I didn't enter this as a diet.


It is frustrating that because I have a womb the world assumes that fashion and dieting are all I want to read about.

Fine topics, but like pink actually not at the forefront of all female brains.

A brain that I am seeking to strengthen by enforcing a rule upon it.