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In 2013, fabrics heavily influenced by West African batik - style finally took the world by storm. With the likes of Michelle Obama and Beyonce’s sister Solange Knowles readily sporting such outfits, its popularity has been growing. This celebrity endorsement has helped to propel emerging and established designers even higher into the echelons of the fashion industry and the public's consciousness. See here . The collective feeling among Afrocentrics is that finally African fabrics and designs that had seemingly only appealed to Africans, or those with some social or political connection to the continent, were finally gaining the global recognition they deserved, (see MisBeee Writes 24 September 2013 African Fabrics - Fashion or Fad ).  Anglor Wax made in Nigeria © MisBeee Writes Purists among us may balk at the changes that have accompanied the globalisation of the fabric. It is no longer confined to the traditional kaba and slit style worn by middle-aged w...

12 Years a Slave - a film based on the true story of free Black man Solomon Northup who was kidnapped and forced into slavery in the US - pulls out the duality that is often missing in films on social injustice and slavery. Image of Solomon Northup's book sourced from net Far from adhering to the simple Black = victim and White = oppressor formula, Steve McQueen tells us that the enslaved man, woman and even child should be depicted holistically as the complex characters they often are....both victim and hero – and in the case of the slave master both the oppressed and oppressor. We witness in the protagonist - Solomon ( Chiwetel  Ejiofor),  his gradual loss of liberty as a free Black man who is duped and sold illegally into slavery in 1840s’ US. And with this demise of freedom, we chart his path as he still manages to hold on to some dignity while being stripped of it. This theme of duality envelopes the film and we see it played out in one scene whe...

Most days I get on the X68 bus and most days I see the odd person who ignores the bus number, the bus tannoy, the digital information screen, and even the bus driver’s announcements. But I would have to say that Monday 20 January was an exception....at LEAST 10 people unwittingly boarded the express bus. The reactions from each of them just goes to show that people have stopped reasoning or being observant. Or the X in express just messes with their minds. Image © Simon Bye For those of you unfamiliar with the West Croydon to Russell Square X68 service   – it is a godsend for those of us who believe train and tube travel has diminished in quality while the price of fares have moved in the opposite direction. Value for money This fabulous X68 ferries us (mainly office workers) to and from the City for the price of a single bus fair. The service is every 15 minutes and runs between peak times from Monday until Friday. And to top it all off, unlike a train service ...

When I discovered that it was Chocolate Week (14 October - 20 October 2013), I thought this was the perfect excuse to gorge without guilt on my first love. I'm not fussy when it comes to the sweet stuff - I'll take it with biscuit, raisins, plain, dark and bitter (yum), hot and peppery, even with a pinch of salt. So you can imagine my shock, horror and despair to learn that cocoa production is on the decline. image © from Permacultureghana According to a study reported in oilprice.com , the warming of the planet will have direct impact on growing cocoa between 2030 and 2050. The cacao plant can only be grown in latitudes within 10 degrees of the equator, and in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire where around half of the world's cocoa is produced, temperatures are expected to rise by 2.3 degrees Celsius by the middle of the century. This is expected to be detrimental to breeding cocoa pods. I also learnt from radio station LBC 97.3 that rubber is muscling in on cocoa...