I’ve had scores of journeys in sweatboxes (prison vans) and if you’ve been in jail, so, probably, have you. But for those of you who might read this that haven’t had the pleasure, here’s what it’s like. First, a brief description of the vehicle: The sweatbox is a cellular style of transport in the form of […]
I push, scrape and pile the white powder into a line. I smooth out the crumpled £20 note in my wallet and make an impromptu tube. As I lower my nostril to the mound of powder, negative thoughts ricochet in my mind like a stray bullet, fuck life! fuck everything! no one cares! I […]
“Waaah gwan bredgrin?” I turn to see someone that looks like a pop star who’s having a bit of a career hiatus. With overly gelled, spiked hair and the beginnings of a loosening jowl, Mr C made every effort to be on trend, that’s if style was solely influenced by the nineties. There […]
The kettle simmers. A whiff of steam rises in the air, spreading the aroma of the softening onion, garlic and peppers. I watch Baz’s every move with wonder. His cooking demeanour is a blend of Jaimie’s enthusiastic chaos and Gordon’s growling authority. Although we share a cell, when it comes to food Baz rules the […]
Lest I forget “We forget too soon the things that we thought that we would never forget.”(Joan Didion) Social media, namely Facebook and Instagram, brings the world to me. Logging on opens up a window to the world both internationally and locally. Glamour, glitter, raucous laughter, smiley faces and sparsely dressed ladies with glowing skin. […]
Despite the invitation, there was never a warm welcome to the Afro Caribbean community, when they arrived on HMS Windrush some 68 years ago. A sense of social injustice has been ever present since. With prison populations in London, Birmingham and Manchester being over proportionately black, there seems to be an alarming acceptance that […]
D died a week ago and I still struggle to come to terms with this senseless loss of life. I doubt D would have thought that when he lit the Spice spliff and inhaled the toxic smoke into his lungs he ignited a chain of events that led to his death. D’s body had a […]
The wispy, blond locks protruding from his prayer cap make him stand out; that and the thick beard he had been lovingly cultivating. Young, fresh faced with wide innocent eyes, Bilal, formerly known as John, is the baby of the wing. Every Friday there is a giddy excitement in Bilal’s movements as he prepares […]
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,600 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 27 trips to carry that many people. Click here to see the […]
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