February 11th

BUSINESS • Adassa Garden Services - Gardening and landscaping for the South London community. Rates from £25 per hour. https://instagram.com/adassagardenservices_?utm_medium=copy_link • We are Parable - We Are Parable is an award-winning company that provide audiences with opportunities to experience Black Cinema in culturally relevant, memorable and unique ways. They are dedicated to providing a platform to Black films and their creators through our work in exhibition and the production of mentorship opportunities. They believe the experience of the audience is paramount. They believe in Experience Over Everything. https://www.weareparable.com/ • Book & Kulture - An online platform shining a spotlight on underrepresented authors and crafters from the African diaspora. https://www.bookandkulture.com/ • My Afro Caribbean Wedding Planner - The no.1 Events & Wedding Planning Marketplace for Black and Multicultural Couples / Families. Find, Plan and Book everything you need for your events and weddings in one single place. Simple events and wedding planning tools to help you stay on track and plan your event to perfection. Find events and wedding venues, black bridal makeup artists, Hairstylists, Wedding Photographers, Wedding Videographers, Cake Designers, Floral Designers, Venue Decorators, African Caterers, Caribbean Caterers, Fashion and Wedding Dress Designers, wedding stationery, Wedding DJs, MCs and much more https://myafrocaribbeanwedding.com/ •Beyond Black - Beyond Black is an empowerment brand for Black women where we aim to inspire and uplift within our community by creating an inclusive space where we can express ourselves. We have created a line of apparel that speaks to us as Black women but also highlights our heritage and culture, that allows us to represent parts of ourselves whilst still feeling a part of a greater collective. https://beyondblack.co.uk/ EVENTS • A Number Lennie James and Paapa Essiedu play father and sons in Caryl Churchill’s gripping drama about what it costs to start again. (The Old Vic through 24th March) - Astonishing...Lennie James and Paapa Essiedu scintillate as father and sons -The Guardian. Every parent makes mistakes. Salter makes a number of them. Now 35 years later, his only child realises he’s not alone. Lennie James and Paapa Essiedu play father and sons in Caryl Churchill’s gripping drama about what it costs to start again. https://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2022/watch-at-the-theatre/a-number?gclid=Cj0KCQiA0p2QBhDvARIsAACSOONb1SedcH3hP4Ea5xzevi-_6baZxT6vOTrPUzLhi3u35LZcFaub528aArEmEALw_wcB • Work the Runway (Battersea Arts Centre 17-18 February)- A catwalk extravaganza for families. Bring your Glamour, Glitz and Grace and come together in a fabulous celebration of self-expression. Four dancers go head to head in a dance, fashion and lip sync competition in an interactive event where the audience decides the winner. Whether you just want to join in the fun or have a passion to pose, come along and show off your own magnificence by dressing up and helping crown the winner!,Dress your finest, learn the moves – then take to the floor. https://bac.org.uk/whats-on/work-the-runway/ •A History of Race Relations with Kehinde Andrews Tue, 15 Feb 2022 18:30 GMT - In this informative seminar Professor Kehinde Andrews looks at the British Black Power movement, the civil rights struggles that defined the UK, race riots, and police brutality — including its roots to the Windrush scandal and Britain’s imperial legacy. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-history-of-race-relations-with-kehinde-andrews-tickets-189829504157?aff=ebdssbeditorialcollection • The Modern African Wedding Show | Spring Show 2022 - The UK's number one show for African and Caribbean couples https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-modern-african-wedding-show-spring-show-2022-tickets-217714639347 •Black Culture Market - TSat, 5 Mar 2022, 11:00 –Sun, 6 Mar 2022, 17:00 Downstairs at The Department Store, 248 Ferndale Road, Brixton, London. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/black-culture-market-tickets-215263628307?aff=ebdssbdestsearch BOOKS • Lava by Benedict Lombe (2022) -When a woman receives an unexpected letter from the British Passport Office, she is forced to confront an old mystery: why does her South African passport not carry her first name? Armed with the wisdom of favourite '90s TV shows, she sets out on a journey that will take her back to the turmoil of Mobutu's Congo, growing up in post-Apartheid South Africa, moving to Ireland, and finding love in a hostile England. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lava-Modern-Plays-Benedict-Lombe-ebook/dp/B0991D4M1N/ref=sr_1_1?crid=FZEH1TBOH4UZ&keywords=benedict+lombe&qid=1644334693&sprefix=benedict+lombe%2Caps%2C71&sr=8-1

• Shedding A Skin by Amanda Wilkin -' Sometimes you crack. Sometimes you didn't mean to yell that. Sometimes you have to lay low until you've figured it out And sometimes, sometimes you have to hibernate until you've healed. • The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb - Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian's life is already mapped out. If he's lucky, he'll get a job at the hospital cafeteria. If he's extra lucky, he'll earn more than minimum wage. But Ray has a gift and a dream--he's determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can't afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music. When he discovers that his great-great-grandfather's beat-up old fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach. Together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition--the Olympics of classical music--the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Ray will have to piece together the clues to recover his treasured Strad ... before it's too late. • Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson 2022’s most unforgettable debut soon to be a major Hulu series produced by Oprah - Eleanor Bennett won't let her own death get in the way of the truth. So when her estranged children - Byron and Benny - reunite for her funeral in California, they discover a puzzling inheritance., First, a voice recording in which everything Byron and Benny ever knew about their family is upended. Their mother narrates a tumultuous story about a headstrong young woman who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder, a story which cuts right to the heart of the rift that's separated Byron and Benny. Second, a traditional Caribbean black cake made from a family recipe that Eleanor hopes will heal the wounds of the past. Can Byron and Benny fulfil their mother's final request to 'share the black cake when the time is right'? PODCASTS • She's Obsessed - Starting as a curious conversation at the @TreasureTress Pop Up Shop, with panellist’s revealing more than they intended and audience eyes welling up before they could blink, it became clear that a sacred, highly valued and necessary conversation had begun. Join London based entrepreneur Jamelia Donaldson (@jameliaisobsessed) and her network of game-changing Black British Women for vulnerable, personal and often hilarious straight-up talk exploring their various “obsessions”, business lessons and personal journeys. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/shes-obsessed-the-podcast/id1455652368 • Anthems BLACK - ANTHEMS Black is a collection of 31 original manifestos, speeches, stories, poems, and rallying cries written and read by vibrant, unique, and exceptional UK Black voices. Prominent UK voices such as Afua Hirsch, Munya Chawawa, Charlie Brinkhurst Cuff and Jade Anouka explore Blackness through each short episode. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/anthems/id1497573270 RADIO • Britain's Black Past - Professor Gretchen Gerzina explores a largely unknown past, the lives of black people who settled in Britain in the 18th and early 19th centuries. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/b07yvszg FILM/TV • African Redemption: The Life and Legacy of Marcus Garvey - ‘The ‘Negro Moses’ arrived on the scene on August 17, 1887 in the tiny seaside town of St. Ann’s Bay on the northern coast of Jamaica, fifty-three years after slavery was abolished in that country. In his short life Marcus Mosiah Garvey, would go on to become the world’s foremost Pan-Africanist and, in some eyes, the greatest civil-rights leader of the twentieth century. He dedicated his life to the project of redeeming Africa, which he saw as the home to civilization. https://filmfreeway.com/AfricanRedemptiontheLifeandLegacyofMarcusGarvey • Blood Brothers (Netflix) - From a chance meeting to a tragic fallout, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali's extraordinary bond cracks under the weight of distrust and shifting ideals. https://www.netflix.com/browse?jbv=81031582 • Dating Black BET UK Premieres - Introducing the women of the Dating Black series! The ladies discuss their relationship status, what women want, myths around men and more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VIuvFSv66A •Cheaters (BBC 8th February/iplayer) - A chance meeting after a cancelled flight - a sexy, messy comedy about love, morality, monogamy and how the heart, brain and loins are idiots who are never on the same page. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0b7pwbp •Pirates (Netflix) - Here is a likable and easygoing comedy from actor turned film-maker Reggie Yates. It’s a period piece set on New Year’s Eve 1999, featuring flip phones and someone frowning over a copy of the London A-Z, muttering how good it would be if someone invented a navigation screen like the ones planes have. It’s also a playful homage to the one-crazy-night ensemble pictures of the 90s (although Yates avoids the freezeframe-voiceover character introductions that became a key cliche of Britfilm around that time), and there’s a clubbing theme that recalls Justin Kerrigan’s Human Traffic, which came out in 1999. (The Guardian) WHAT AM I PAYING ATTENTION TO? • Haggerston schoolboy earns £44,000 scholarship to top fee-paying school - https://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/education/kingsland-road-schoolboy-gets-top-scholarship-8663802 • Henley Business School published new research into racial equity in UK businesses. The report is attached. - Black women aged 45 and above, who work in the public sector, are the most disadvantaged workers in the UK, according to a new survey. WHAT I AM PERSONALLY RECOMMENDING? 1. Adassa Garden Services - Quality, reliable garden services for South Londoners who want a garden to be proud of. https://instagram.com/adassagardenservices_?utm_medium=copy_link 2. Kehinde Wiley at the National Gallery - The exhibition of the year not to be missed. From the first black artist to paint an official portrait of the president of the United States. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/kehinde-wiley 3. An American Marriage: WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION, 2019 - 'A moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple.' - Barack Obama https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BHMLXJS/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1