It was a Friday, and just like any other Friday in the world of AVID, we were having a speaker. Lemn Sissay was our speaker for that Friday. I can honestly say he was the best speaker we had ever had. He captivated not only me, but possibly the entire audience with his humor and amazing poems. Read more [...]

The Lord Mayor of Los Angeles came over to shake hands, The Chief of police, The Los Angeles Beauty Queen and Stevie Wonder himself, sat on top of an open top car only two feet away from me. These were black Americans, performers and audience alike, spending the day celebrating what they had fought for and become. It’s their country, their day and they know it. Read more [...]

Probably the strangest at  The Martin Luther King Day Celebrations on Martin Luther King Jnr Boulevard in Los Angeles is the hearse. The advertising slogan on the side is Inglewood funeral directors, Read more [...]

Drove to Santa Monica today down Santa Monica Boulevard and onwards to Malibu.  Not totally sure why, but the sun was hot and the sea was blue. Either seemed  like as good a reason as any.  Read more [...]

At some cutlery down mid growl point the waiter walked over to our table and said “Are we finished here?”. In retrospect this is not something that a trained waiter would say.. The writer in the back of my head, startled, woke up and scribbled down the line. “are we finished here”. Genius said my inner writer. Read more [...]

On a different but connected note, using the criteria of sole publications or/and recordings there needs to be a Time Chart of Black British Writers. Someone needs to do it. Read more [...]

Any information at this stage, however small, would be v. welcome. The Police number is 0208 721 4868 and Crimestoppers is 0800 555 111 There is a myspace page: www.myspace.com/joshbeasleymissing http://www.myspace.com/joshbeasleymissing (police poster can be taken from here) and a facebook page: http://bristol.facebook.com/group.php?gid=20122144440 Read more [...]

I’ve been here ten days now. Los Angeles, California State University.  I have a desk in there, in the English department, computer and phone.  The residency started seven  days ago.  Read more [...]

“would you like some big with that big surr or would you like to supersize your big to a big big big”. That basically applies to everything in America. This is not a criticism. Read more [...]