the bird with the pale-butter underbelly and dark wide wings that flies overhead, dipping and soaring above my home freshly roasted peanuts, still warm and ready to be shelled, that remind me of my father and our ritual on Saturday afternoons, the empty coffee jar waiting to be filled for my mother’s delight the opportunity … Continue reading I am grateful for …
How can our memories create optimistic futures?
Some more reading material – author’s collection As a young black woman in North London in the 1970s, the present looked bleak. The ‘SUS laws’, dating back to the Vagrancy Act of 1824, were in force. Black and other minority groups were stopped, searched and arrested on the suspicion of loitering, or on the assumption of … Continue reading How can our memories create optimistic futures?
What’s in a Prize?
Author’s photo, September 2025: Picasso’s Guernica - Reina Sofia Museum - Madrid I was hoping that the Nobel Foundation would decide not to award the Peace Prize this year but rather look deep into their souls, putting their list of names aside, and be courageous enough to honour the principle of Alfred Nobel in 1901; “for the … Continue reading What’s in a Prize?
What happens when we press ‘pause’?
It is hard to stop the flow of information that mimics truth but has no history, no back story, only a present. The visual and emotional stimuli all around us leave little space and time for our minds to think about what is happening outside of ourselves and within. Time for internal dialogue, connection and … Continue reading What happens when we press ‘pause’?
Whose Truth?
Author's photograph, Jaime's 1920 Underwood typewriter Everyone has dreams and everyone has a story. A wise Rwandan father would tell his children as they went to sleep; “At the end of the day, everyone has a story.” But most stories will never be heard. They are not written in books, nor shared in literary circles. … Continue reading Whose Truth?
What do we do with our souls?
All That You Have Is Your Soul Song by Tracy Chapman 1989 Oh my mama told me 'Cause she say she learned the hard way Say she want to spare the children She say don't give or sell your soul away 'Cause all that you have is your soul Don't be tempted by the shiny apple Don't you eat of a … Continue reading What do we do with our souls?
What price do we pay?
The photograph, above, was taken early this morning, outside my home in the Luxembourg Ardennes. It’s a peaceful place. It is also a refuge for families of migrants from Syria, Ethiopia, the DRC, the Philippines and other places of struggle and conflict. It is the home to a some French, German and Belgians whose countries … Continue reading What price do we pay?
Who do you see?
Sawubona – a greeting that met me each day on my way to work in Eswatini. A greeting that says much more than a “hello” or a “good morning”. One that recognises not only one’s existence but says powerfully, in just one word, I see you and I am happy that you are here. Most of the time, … Continue reading Who do you see?
What if we …
Author’s image taken 30 April 2025 “This is the time when artists go to work. Not when everything is alright. Not when it looks sunny. It’s when it’s hard. And I thought of all those people who wrote in prisons, in gulags, under duress, they were doing it… so it’s more interesting to me, the … Continue reading What if we …
What’s in a name?
The open wooden boat with an outboard motor, moored under the Canje bridge at the confluence of the Berbice River, held just ten passengers close together on three wooden planks, 2-3-3, in addition to the captain and the guide sitting on the edge of the stern. We ranged in ages from about 20 to 70, … Continue reading What’s in a name?
Patricia Angoy 