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.   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.   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, Thirty years of living the dream. What!?  Bringing up the rear black people on horseback with cowboy hats on. Fantastic. One thing comes to mind  and it isn't the integration of black people into the all american way but the genius Mel Brooks film. 
The police car below is from the time of Walter Mosley novels. The guy in the white jacket is the lord mayor of Los Angeles. Unfortunately Arnold was unavailable in LA. The governator of California was otherwise engaged. But right at the bottom there is Mr Stevie Wonder celebrating a day that he, through his tour in 1980, helped create. It is so good to be right here, right now.

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.  Walked the boardwalk and ate shrimp.  Saw the slightly empty beaches of Malibu and got to watch how  Americans do R and R.  Americans work hard and so they know how to kick back.  Skate boarders jumped over things and the new craze to climb things and jump randomly off things has definitely taken hold. Skaters skated, bikers biked, power walkers power walked, weight lifters lifted.   

Food chains are all over the place. Not the ones we know in UK but others;  In and Out, Carls, Jack In The Box Taco Bell. These companies with their bright brash logos are tattooed on the long arms of freeways and boulevards throughout the state.  The quality of what in England we call fast food leaves the UK wanting. I swear.    On the way back , we, the journalist and I,  stopped at a retail village for some retail therapy. Nice.  Very Nice. Very Nice indeed. Though it was called a retail village it was larger than any freakin village I’ve ever sen.

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.   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.   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   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.  I’ve given two introductory sessions which featured a sort of autobiography of myself, who I am and why I write – basically me talking about me.  The sun came out this weekend.

In the first week  the University newspaper featured a poem and introductory article. Made me proud. The organiser of this whole things is Doctor Lauri Ramey an expert in Black British Literature.  The poem was Let There Be Peace. The newspaper will include a poem per week and in the next issue, an interview.   Requests are coming in from various places, surrounding schools etc and the diary is starting to fill up which is good.

“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.   more »