Bitter Chocolate and Business

I just finished reading Bitter Chocolate by Lesley Lokko, who is one of my favourite authors of the moment. I read Sundowners, on the recommendation of my sister, and loved it so much that I know I will be reading her books for as long as she continues to write them.

Anyway, what I love most about her books is the way she weaves such intricate storylines. She takes seemingly unconnected characters and brings them together through deliciously unpredictable twists and turns. She is always surprising and believable at the same time. My favourite thing though, is that the heroines always have their fair share of woe. They get taken down to rock bottom, and we journey with them as they fight their way up to triumph.

I am trying to channel that fighting spirit now as I get ready to launch a new business idea I’m working on…I’m really hoping it catches on as it’s to do with food (and who doesn’t love food?). I will be launching a separate blog for it (soonish) and will let you know when it’s up and running. Wish me luck!!

P. S. My sister (who loves to read but is mortally afraid of bookshops, bookselling websites like Amazon and anything to do with buying books) goes to the shops and buys Lesley Lokko’s books. Doesn’t that say something? That someone who would rather maim herself than face what she thinks is the sensory overloaded world of book-buying would leave her house, get on a bus, enter a bookshop and endure the experience until the chip and pin machine has confirmed that her transaction is OK?

Weddings, Sun and Fun by the Sea

I've just got back from my godmother's wedding. It was a success on all levels - she and her new hubby are so happy, and I am so happy for them. It was a wonderful ceremony. Also, my pre-event diet was successful. Ten days before the event, my zip wouldn't go up. Yesterday, after just over a week of nothing but bran flakes, salads, fruit and lean grilled meat, I fit into it perfectly.

Somehow I managed not to botch my speech. I was asked to give the toast. I was so nervous beforehand that I bit into the corner of my nail and drew blood without noticing. But apparently it went well...The last thing one wants to do is let the couple down at a long-awaited wedding!

Anyway, to top it all off, one of the guests, paid for a room and then had to leave. Guess who enjoyed one free night in a fabulous suite in a five star hotel by the sea? Muahahahaha.

Had wanted to do a nice little write up, but am now too tired. Maybe later.

The Behaviour of Crumbs

Sitting in the sofa eating toast, savouring the sheer comfort of it as you bite into it; warm buttery goodness hitting your tongue, the crunch filling your ears, crumbs sticking to your lips and yet more crumbs bungee jumping off the plate, descending determinedly into all the places that will annoy you later because you can’t reach properly – the corners of the sofa, the ends of your hair, behind the scatter cushions, beneath your breasts.

Has it ever occurred to you that this is how we are? We bite into life, into the things we want, the people we think we need, and we undo ourselves. Our fragments tumble off into those annoying hidden places that we are only aware of in loneliness, in inebriation, and in the split second before we die.

Sisters in Law

In my personality, there are two extremes. There's the slick me who likes things plush and luxurious and then there's the grungy me who likes things slightly messy and unpolished. I alternate unpredictably between the two, but this weekend, I've been very much in a grungy phase. Imagine how delighted I was on Saturday afternoon when I remembered I was due to attend a film screening in the headquarters of all things arty and disheveled - Shoreditch!

Feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed because of the lovely weather, I headed down there with my partner in crime and was utterly pleased to find that the venue, Charlie Wrights International Bar, was as Shoreditch as they come. Ecclectic mismatched furniture, scuffed floors, odd stuff on the walls, the faint smell of disinfectant and all sorts of other elements of shabby insousiance...

The screening was put on by a group called Screening Africa, run by my friend Joseph. Once every two months, they show a thought provoking film of African interest accompanied by some delicious African (on this occassion, Nigerian) food.

Sisters in Law, directed by Kim Longinotto is an award-winning and uplifting documentary film focusing on justice in the village of Kumba Town, Cameroon. The town is overseen by the progressive female partnership of a prosecutor and court president, who together help women to speak out and fight back against entrenched roles in society.

While we were spared the gory details, we got to meet a whole group of women and children who had been raped, abused, and beaten to within an inch of their lives by the men in their communities. We saw their pain, and watched them fight victoriously for their rights even amid pressure to drop the case by society.

Far from being a depresseing film though, there were elements of humour to be found in the direct no-frills justice of the legal professionals and the lousy excuses given by all the convicted criminals: 'Please have mercy on me. I am an orphan and I have no one. Punish me but please don't punish me too harshly...'. Puh-lease!

It's a brilliant piece of work a) because it's enlighteneing and b) because it confronts difficult issues head-on without painting Africa in a bad light, which many of these documentaries seem to do. It emphasised hope and progress and liberty rather than injustice, backwardness and ignorance which I imagine is what made it a favourite at worldwide film festivals including the Cannes Film Festival and took it to the last 15 of the Oscar Best Documentary shorlist.

Unfortunately the director couldn't make it or I would have tried to bag an interview. If you'd like to watch it, I believe you can do so via this link

Enjoy!