Sometimes money makes a world of a difference

I haven't blogged for ages but if you have followed this blog for a while you may recall a series of interviews I conducted in Ghana? If not, they are on the side bar of this blog under the 'On Ghana' section. One interviewee named Vivian said that she wanted 15 pounds to change her life so that she could become a trader. I am so pleased to report that she is now successfully trading and has indeed changed her life. Now if she can do it with 15 quid...make's one think dunnit?

Teardrops

Anyone who ever had a dream, will join me in celebrating the achievement of Africa's newest diamond designer, Esayo Tetteh (the lady holding up the award) , short-listed finalist of the inaugural Diamond Trading Company Botswana(DTCB) Shining Light Diamond Jewellery Design Competition. Teardrops is a blinged-up and beautiful interpretation of the waist beads many young African girls wear on their way to woman hood. I am so proud of this design and I can't wait to see what she does next.

The Best Revenge

I'm not going to add more eloquent comment to the paragraphs of outrage that have already been scribbled in response to Julie Myerson's expose of her son's cannabis (or skunk) use. Neither am I going to pose new questions about how writers get their material and, whether children, lovers and or personal experiences are off limits.

You see, I'm not one for complaining because most of what I write comes from personal experience. Okay so it's cobbled together from this and that, bit of tall tale'ling here and there and the odd unmaterialised fantasy lived out. But generally, it's all got some basis in fact. So when it comes to the Myerson issue, my strong view is that the natural urge that some families have to excuse and or cover up the sins of their nearest and dearest is wrong.
I have millions of friends and relatives who have done things that shame me and I hope that I will never (ever) cover up or make them feel any modicum of comfort at their bad behaviour.
The misguided notion that parents should not speak out against their childrens' bad behaviour is responsible for many a ruined over indulged individual who goes through life leaving destruction and heartbreak in his/her wake.

This topic provoked some debate on WW and as is always the case the discussion moved on...Someone said something about writing to 'get people back' and that got me thinking about the blogosphere. How many bitter bloggers resist the daily temptation to post a blog titled,
'You utter shit. What ever did I see in you? So glad I dumped you when I did'
...actually that's not such a bad......Hmmm...Oops! Where was I? Oh yes, WW...
So the conversation moved on to writing about difficult life events and then on to the risks of becoming consumed with bitterness...it was one of those lovely long threads. Then a wonderful writer gave me the inspiration for the title of today's post. Because yeah, life sucks sometimes but as tempting as it is to dedicate every blog post to one's enemies, which in my case would give me nothing at all to blog about....;), the best revenge, by a mile (as Simon would say), is living well. Just that. Smiling big and visualilng that nasty person as a tiny bubble of hot air that will, inevitably burst into the nothing they were always destined to be.

Polly's March

There are many candidates for books that have affected me. Achebe's, Things Fall Apart, Rushdie's Midnight's Children, Toni Morrison's, Beloved, to name a few. But the effect they have had on me is nothing compared to my amazement at seeing The Child's reaction to Polly's March (above). Let's be clear. I'm not talking about the love for a story that requires it to be read night after night ad infinitum or nauseum. This is different. Polly's March is the story of a young girl's introduction to the suffragette movement in a historical story series of six books set in the same house on the same London street. I won't spoil the story for you. But this book will have your boys and girls campaigning for equal rights. Buy it, read it, borrow it.