blackbright news for the over 50s

16
BLACK BLACK - BRIGHT BRIGHT Changing Per Changing Per ceptions of the Over 50s ceptions of the Over 50s SPECIAL EDITION SPECIAL EDITION Issue 13 M M y y L L i i f f e e i i n n C C r r i i s s i i s s ( ( a a t t r r u u e e s s t t o o r r y y ) ) H H e e a a r r t t s s F F l l u u t t t t e e r r f f o o r r t t h h e e O O v v e e r r 5 5 0 0 s s March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 1

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Special edition for the over 50s

TRANSCRIPT

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EEDD

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ooyy

TThhee

OOvvee

rr 5500

ss““..

....kkeeee

pp ssaa

yyiinngg

eehh??

””

Thi

s w

as t

he d

escr

iptio

n th

at p

rom

pted

the

dec

isio

n th

atth

roug

h B

lack

-Brig

ht,

I w

ould

cha

lleng

e m

ispe

rcep

tions

of

peop

le w

ho a

re w

rong

ly id

entif

ied,

in th

is c

ase,

the

over

50s

.I

have

the

refo

re d

edic

ated

mos

t of

thi

s ed

ition

to

this

issu

e.

I sp

oke

to a

ppro

xim

atel

y 50

peop

leun

der

35 y

ears

old

to

find

out

wha

tsp

rung

to

min

d w

hen

they

tho

ught

of

som

eone

ove

r 50

, an

d ne

edle

ss t

osa

y, t

hey

had

no id

ea o

f m

y ag

e.T

he a

djec

tives

use

d to

des

crib

e 50

+w

ere

: “e

lde

rly;

”“m

oa

ny”

;“s

me

llfu

nn

y”;

“th

ey

we

ar

hig

h

wa

iste

dtr

ouse

rs/

skirt

s/ol

d pe

ople

s’ c

loth

es”;

“Zim

mer

fra

mes

”; “

thei

r lip

s tr

embl

e an

d th

eir

hand

s sh

ake”

“the

y ar

e fo

rget

ful;”

“th

ey h

ave

rotte

n te

eth”

; “r

eced

ing

hair-

lines

”; “

depr

esse

d”;

“the

y ke

ep w

antin

g to

talk

”; “

they

hav

ew

hite

hai

r an

ddi

stor

ted

fram

es/h

unch

bac

k”;

“the

y ho

bble

arou

nd/d

odde

ry”

“hav

e po

cket

s or

a

purs

e fu

ll of

lo

ose

chan

ge, p

artic

ular

ly p

enni

es;”

“th

ey w

ant t

o pa

yfo

r an

item

tha

t co

sts

£2

4.9

9

with

loo

se

cha

ng

e”;

“t

he

y h

old

u

pqu

eues

”;“t

hey

keep

say

ing

‘eh?

?”;

“the

y re

peat

the

m-

selv

es a

ll th

e tim

e”;

“the

y sp

eak

inm

urm

urs”

and

“the

irhe

ads

shak

e”.

Ju

dgin

g fr

om t

hese

des

crip

tions

, th

ey a

repr

obab

ly

thin

king

of

pe

ople

in

th

eir

90s

suffe

ring

from

dem

entia

and

hav

e no

con

cept

wha

t so

meo

ne i

n th

eir

50s

look

s lik

e.

A

few

de

scrib

ed

peop

le

over

50

as

be

ing

wis

e,

wel

l-in

form

ed,

inte

rest

ing,

gra

ndpa

rent

s an

d fin

anci

ally

sec

ure

but

the

maj

ority

hel

d th

e st

ereo

typi

cal v

iew

.

Whe

n as

king

som

e un

der

35’s

, wha

t kin

ds o

f job

s th

ey s

awth

e ov

er 5

0s d

oing

, so

me

said

the

y sa

w t

hem

gar

deni

ng o

rse

win

g,w

hile

oth

ers

imag

ined

the

m b

eing

ret

ired,

too

old

to w

ork.

Whe

n I a

sked

them

wha

t the

y th

ough

t the

ove

r 50

retir

ees

wou

ld b

e do

ing,

the

resp

onse

s ra

nged

from

: “si

tting

on t

he s

ofa

with

thi

ck t

ight

s/sl

ippe

rs w

atch

ing

Cor

onat

ion

Str

eet”

;“in

the

boo

kie

or b

ettin

gsh

opw

ith t

heir

beer

bel

-lie

s”;

“loo

king

af

ter

gran

dchi

ldre

n”;

“sm

okin

g”;

play

ing

Bin

go”;

“wat

chin

g th

e ne

ws”

;to

“list

enin

g to

Rad

io 1

!”W

hat a

dis

tort

ed p

erce

ptio

n of

the

over

50’

s do

n’t y

ou th

ink?

The

des

crip

tion

of th

e ov

er 5

0s is

quite

ala

rmin

g,no

t lea

stbe

caus

eth

ese

perc

eptio

ns c

ome

from

an

age

grou

p th

at is

likel

y to

be

empl

oyed

in H

R/R

ecru

itmen

t/Per

sonn

el S

ecto

r)!

so in

thi

s cu

rren

t ec

onom

ic c

limat

e, it

cou

ld a

ppea

r th

at o

urIf

this

is

the

perc

eptio

n, t

he f

utur

e of

an

over

50

in t

he j

obm

arke

t lo

oks

blea

k un

less

of

cour

se y

ou c

an c

hang

e th

at

Foun

der

&M

anag

ing

Edi

tor:

Myr

na L

oyP

hoto

s on

fro

nt c

over

&Pa

ge 1

2:ta

ken

by Y

vonn

e H

ecto

rFr

ont

& B

ack

Cove

r D

esig

n:L

aksh

mi N

aray

an G

upta

Bac

k co

ver

& ‘G

irls

’Pho

to o

n P

age

12 t

aken

by

Gar

field

Feat

ures

: Cliv

e B

orth

wic

k &

Lai

ton

Hol

gate

BL

ACK

BR

IGH

T L

TD

Stud

io 5

7 S

ayw

ell

Roa

d L

U2

0QG

(U

K)

Tel:

0158

2 72

1 60

5w

ww

.bla

ckbr

ight

mag

azin

e.co

m

or w

ww

.mys

pace

.com

/bla

ckbr

ight

new

s(e

lect

roni

c ve

rsio

n on

ly)

ISSN

No.

1751

-190

91

perc

eptio

n!

It is

diff

icul

t en

ough

for

a p

erso

n un

der

50 t

o fin

d em

ploy

-m

ent,

so i

t w

ill b

e sl

ight

ly m

ore

chal

leng

ing

som

eone

in

thei

r 50

sw

hen

com

petii

ng a

gain

st G

ener

atio

n X

and

Yun

less

you

look

like

the

love

ly la

dy b

elow

!

So

wha

t is

the

answ

er.

The

ans

wer

is to

cha

lleng

e th

at p

er-

cept

ion,

firs

t by

your

app

eara

nce,

and

then

by

your

man

ner.

Ref

use

to g

ive

them

the

mon

itorin

g fo

rm u

ntil

afte

r th

e in

ter-

view

- te

chni

cally

it s

houl

d be

a s

epar

ate

docu

men

t any

way

,an

d fo

cus

on y

our

skill

s.

The

cur

rent

req

uire

men

t is

not

wha

t yo

u ca

n do

- b

ut h

owyo

u do

it,

so s

tart

thi

nkin

g ho

w y

ou d

o th

ings

. H

ow d

o de

alw

ith q

uerie

s, w

hat

is y

our

obje

ctiv

e w

hen

you

pick

up

the

phon

e? H

ow d

o yo

u st

ream

line

your

wor

k -

wha

t do

you

doth

at is

diff

eren

t fro

m s

omeo

ne e

lse?

T

hing

s yo

u co

uld

take

for

gran

ted

beco

me

impo

rtan

t in

a j

obin

terv

iew

so

st

art

thin

king

ab

out

the

way

you

wor

k an

d w

hy y

ou w

ork

that

way

. D

on’t

appl

y fo

r an

y jo

b re

gard

less

of w

hat a

nyon

e te

lls y

ou -

app

ly o

nly

for

jobs

you

are

qua

lifie

d to

do

and

feel

com

fort

able

doi

ng.

The

y us

ed t

o sa

y it

10 s

econ

ds f

or s

omeo

ne t

o fo

rm a

nim

pres

sion

, no

w t

hey

say

it ta

kes

2!!

So

look

sm

art b

ut tr

endy

(no

thin

g ab

ove

the

knee

!), b

lack

isal

way

s be

st w

ith a

whi

te s

hirt

for

both

men

and

wom

en, a

ndfla

tterin

g sh

oes.

Con

fiden

ce a

nd a

sm

ile w

ill ta

ke y

ou a

long

way

!

I ho

pe t

hat

the

artic

les

in t

his

issu

e he

lp t

o ch

ange

per

cep-

tions

of t

he o

ver

50s,

reg

ardl

ess

wha

t age

gro

up y

ou fa

ll in

.I a

lso

hope

that

futu

re e

ditio

ns w

ill h

elp

chan

ge p

erce

ptio

nsab

out

othe

r th

ings

, to

o.

I am

als

o lo

okin

g fo

r st

orie

s,ar

ticle

s, p

hoto

s an

dpo

ems

from

any

one

who

has

any

thin

gto

say

, w

heth

er p

ositi

ve o

rne

gativ

e ab

out

the

over

50

s or

ot

her

mis

perc

eptio

ns.

Ple

ase

emai

l the

m t

o m

e at

bla

ckbr

ight

new

s@ao

l.com

.

AADD

VVEE

RRTT

IISSEE

RRSS

-- PP

LLEEAA

SSEE

EEMM

AAIILL

FFOO

RR AA

CCOO

MMPP

EETT

IITTIIVV

EERR

AATT

EESS

FFOO

RRMM

..

Bla

ck-B

right

New

s is

a v

olun

tary

pub

licat

ion,

so

ther

e is

no

paym

ent f

or w

ritte

n co

ntrib

utio

ns, b

ut th

e ci

rcul

atio

n is

glo

b-al

and

dis

trib

utio

n w

ide

and

your

nam

e w

ill b

e cr

edite

d if

you

wan

t to

be

reco

gnis

ed.

ff ee

ii ssii sss yy ))

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 2

Hear

ts F

lutt

er

for

Over

50s

Hea

rts fl

utte

ring,

spo

ntan

eous

rom

ance

and

love

at f

irst

sigh

t m

ight

sou

nd li

ke t

he p

ages

of

Mill

san

d B

oon

or a

t lea

st te

enag

e fa

ntas

y, b

ut h

earts

are

raci

ng a

ple

nty

amon

gst

the

over

50s

too

-ac

cord

ing

to a

stu

dy b

y S

aga

and

the

Brit

ish

Hea

rt Fo

unda

tion.

36%

of o

ver 5

0s c

onsi

der t

hem

selv

es m

ore

spon

-ta

neou

s no

w th

an th

ey w

ere

in th

eir 2

0s a

nd 3

0san

d th

e nu

mbe

rs o

f ove

r 50s

cla

imin

g to

live

life

toth

e fu

ll ac

tual

ly in

crea

ses

the

furth

er o

ver 5

0 th

eyge

t

This

cer

tain

ly a

pplie

s to

ove

r 50

s’lo

ve l

ives

as

over

one

in f

our

proc

laim

to

feel

mor

e ro

man

ticth

e ol

der t

hey

get a

nd o

ver h

alf b

elie

ve in

love

at

first

si

ght,

6%

mor

e th

an

cyni

cal

unde

r 50

s.69

% o

f ove

r 50s

con

side

r the

mse

lves

rom

antic

; ase

ntim

ent

put

into

pra

ctic

e w

hen,

as

part

of t

hest

udy,

the

maj

ority

lovi

ngly

pic

ked

thei

r hu

sban

d,w

ife o

r pa

rtner

as

a dr

eam

dat

e ev

en w

hen

they

coul

d ha

ve p

icke

d ce

lebr

ities

suc

h as

Geo

rge

Clo

oney

and

Jen

nife

r Ani

ston

.

Idea

l ce

lebr

ity d

ates

var

y sl

ight

ly a

mon

g ag

egr

oups

, you

nger

ladi

es p

refe

r Joh

nny

Dep

p (2

9%)

or R

obbi

e W

illia

ms

(22%

) whe

reas

thos

e ov

er 5

0w

ould

rat

her

rom

ance

Sea

n C

onne

ry (

20%

) or

Mel

Gib

son

(16%

), on

ly o

ne m

an fe

atur

ed in

the

top

3 of

bot

h ag

e gr

oups

– t

he e

ver

popu

lar

Geo

rge

Clo

oney

.

Kyl

ie M

inog

ue (

20%

) an

d A

ngel

ina

Jolie

(19

%)

are

mos

t lik

ely

to s

et y

oung

men

s’he

arts

flut

ter-

ing,

w

here

as

the

olde

r ro

man

tics

opte

d fo

rJe

nnife

r Ani

ston

(18

%),

follo

wed

clo

sely

by

Julia

Rob

erts

(17%

) and

pro

ving

that

a w

ay to

a m

an’s

hear

t tru

ly i

s th

roug

h hi

s st

omac

h, 1

6% c

hose

Nig

ella

Law

son.

Thes

e ov

er 5

0s C

asan

ovas

wer

e di

scov

ered

by

Sag

a an

d B

HF

as th

ey in

vest

igat

ed w

hat m

akes

hear

ts f

lutte

r, as

par

t of

the

lau

nch

of a

new

2

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 3

fund

rais

ing

partn

ersh

ip b

etw

een

Brit

ain’

s le

adin

gse

rvic

es p

rovi

der

to t

oday

’s o

ver

50s

and

the

natio

n’s

hear

t cha

rity

As

part

of th

e pa

rtner

ship

Sag

a w

ill b

e pu

blic

isin

gth

e w

ork

of th

e B

HF

to S

aga

cust

omer

s an

d jo

int-

ly p

rom

otin

g fu

ndra

isin

g ac

tiviti

es.

Sag

a ai

ms

tora

ise

hund

reds

of t

hous

ands

of p

ound

s ov

er th

eco

urse

of t

he p

artn

ersh

ip.

Pro

fess

or

And

rew

St

epto

e,

BH

F C

hair

ofP

sych

olog

y at

Uni

vers

ity C

olle

ge L

ondo

n sa

id:

“The

re is

a s

erio

us s

ide

to th

inki

ng a

bout

love

and

affe

ctio

n as

we

grow

old

er. C

linic

al r

esea

rch

has

show

n th

at p

eopl

e w

ho e

njoy

hig

h le

vels

of e

mo-

tiona

l sup

port

and

who

hav

e lo

ts o

f soc

ial c

onne

c-tio

ns a

re a

t red

uced

ris

k fo

r de

velo

ping

cor

onar

yhe

art d

isea

se.

“On

the

othe

r ha

nd,

fam

ily d

isco

rd a

nd c

onfli

ctbe

twee

n pa

rtner

s m

ay ra

ise

risk.

The

re a

re d

irect

links

bet

wee

n th

ese

emot

iona

l sta

tes

and

our b

io-

logi

cal r

espo

nses

in e

very

day

life.

With

res

earc

hfu

ndin

g fro

m th

e B

ritis

h H

eart

Foun

datio

n, w

e ar

etry

ing

to u

nder

stan

d th

ese

proc

esse

s in

det

ail,

soth

at w

e ca

n w

ork

out

exac

tly h

ow o

ur e

mot

iona

lliv

es a

ffect

the

hear

t.

And

rew

Goo

dsel

l, C

hief

Exe

cutiv

e, S

aga

Gro

up s

aid:

“It i

sgo

od to

kno

w th

at to

day’

s ov

er 5

0s a

re m

akin

g th

e m

ost o

flo

ve a

nd r

oman

ce a

nd b

ette

r st

ill, t

hat t

his

is g

ood

for

our

hear

ts.

We

are

prou

d to

be

wor

king

with

the

Brit

ish

Hea

rtFo

unda

tion

and

I am

con

fiden

t tha

t wor

king

toge

ther

we

will

rais

e m

oney

and

aw

aren

ess

of w

hy t

he n

atio

n’s

over

50s

shou

ld k

eep

fit, h

ealth

y an

d ac

tive.

Dou

glas

Rou

se,

Hea

d of

Cor

pora

te P

artn

ersh

ips

at t

heB

ritis

h H

eart

Foun

datio

n sa

id:

“The

mon

ey r

aise

d th

roug

hou

r fu

ndra

isin

g pa

rtner

ship

with

Sag

a, w

ill h

elp

us i

n ou

rfig

ht a

gain

st h

eart

dise

ase,

whi

ch re

mai

ns th

e U

K’s

big

gest

kille

r. Th

roug

h th

is p

artn

ersh

ip, w

e w

ill h

ighl

ight

the

impo

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March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 4

I was

the

third

of f

our c

hild

ren

from

acl

ose

fam

ily. M

y fa

ther

wor

ked

for

Brit

ish

Rai

l and

my

mot

her w

orke

dfr

om th

e fr

ont r

oom

as

a dr

essm

aker

.

At t

he a

ge o

f abo

ut tw

o ye

ars

I bec

ame

very

ill w

ith ‘p

neum

onia

’and

had

to b

epl

aced

in a

n ox

ygen

tent

. Lo

okin

g ba

ckI o

ften

won

der i

f thi

s w

as m

y fir

st s

ick-

le c

ell c

risis

. No

one

real

ised

then

that

Iha

d th

e si

ckle

cel

l dis

ease

, in-

fact

few

peo

ple

toda

y kn

owab

out s

ickl

e ce

ll, so

you

can

imag

ine

the

igno

ranc

e w

as ri

feba

ck in

the

late

195

0s.

As

a to

ddle

r I

suffe

red

very

bad

ly w

ith e

czem

a an

d w

asre

ferr

ed to

Woo

lwic

h H

ospi

tal a

s the

y w

ere

the

lead

ing

spe-

cial

ists

in

child

hood

ski

n co

mpl

aint

s. I

once

spe

nt t

wo

mon

ths

in h

ospi

tal.

My

pare

nts

cam

e to

vis

it ev

ery

Sund

ay.

Can

you

imag

ine

the

jour

ney

from

Bat

ters

ea to

Woo

lwic

h?Ev

en th

eir t

rip fr

om th

e Wes

t Ind

ies c

ould

not

hav

e pr

epar

edth

em f

or th

is. T

he s

peci

alis

ts c

oncl

uded

that

as

I w

as k

ept

very

war

m m

y na

tura

l oi

ls w

ere

dryi

ng o

ut, h

owev

er i

f I

was

not

kep

t war

m I

beca

me

ill. A

gain

this

is a

sym

ptom

of

sick

le c

ell -

suf

fere

rs n

eed

to b

e ke

pt d

ry a

nd w

arm

at a

lltim

es.

We

wer

e th

e fir

st B

lack

fam

ily t

o m

ove

into

Alte

nbur

gG

arde

ns, w

hich

is c

lose

to C

laph

am C

omm

on.

It w

as n

otlik

e it

is t

oday

whe

re e

very

oth

er p

erso

n yo

u m

eet

is a

‘bro

ther

’- it

was

ver

y di

ffere

nt, i

t see

med

qui

eter

. We

lived

in o

ne o

f the

man

y bi

g ho

uses

that

hav

e no

w b

een

conv

ert-

ed i

nto

expe

nsiv

e fla

ts. M

y pa

rent

s ha

d a

mor

tgag

e as

in

thos

e da

ys h

avin

g a

coun

cil h

ouse

was

con

side

red

a pr

ivi-

lege

and

we

wer

e fa

r fro

m p

rivile

ged.

In fa

ct b

ack

then

the

Brit

ish

wer

e so

igno

rant

abo

ut e

thni

cm

inor

ities

that

it w

as b

elie

ved

to to

uch

a bl

ack

baby

was

good

luck

. My

mot

her s

topp

ed ta

king

me

out b

ecau

se w

her-

ever

we

wen

t w

e dr

ew c

row

ds o

f B

ritis

h pe

ople

. On

one

occa

sion

my

mot

her t

ook

me

to H

yde

Park

. A

little

way

off

she

saw

a la

rge

grou

p of

peo

ple

on w

hat s

he a

ssum

ed to

be

a gu

ided

tour

; she

sat

on

a be

nch

and

wat

ched

. It w

as o

nly

then

she

real

ised

it w

as n

ot a

gui

ded

tour

but

the

crow

d w

ere

fasc

inat

ed a

t the

sig

ht o

f a B

lack

bab

y - M

E

For

my

sins

I w

ent

to t

he l

ocal

Hon

eyw

ell

Prim

ary

and

Juni

orsc

hool

. H

ere

my

sick

le c

ell

sym

p-to

ms

wer

e ap

pare

nt -

I w

as a

lway

sth

irsty

. I

rem

embe

r ar

ound

mid

-m

orni

ng w

hen

we

had

our

bottl

e of

milk

, I

was

nev

er s

atis

fied,

unt

il I

disc

over

ed th

at m

ilk-m

onito

rs w

ere

allo

wed

to

have

sec

onds

. I

was

am

ilk m

onito

r fro

m th

at d

ay fo

rwar

d. I

als

o dr

ank

a lo

t fro

mth

e w

ater

foun

tain

s tha

t wer

e do

tted

arou

nd th

e sc

hool

pla

y-gr

ound

. Not

real

isin

g w

hat w

as w

rong

with

me

I was

led

tobe

lieve

I w

as ju

st p

lain

gre

edy.

Aro

und

this

tim

e I

star

ted

runn

ing

erra

nds

for

my

mot

her,

she

wou

ld s

end

me

with

a n

ote

to th

e lo

cal s

hop

or I

wou

ldha

ve to

go

to th

e To

wn

Hal

l to

pay

the

rate

s as

they

wer

eca

lled

then

; som

etim

es I

wou

ld h

ave

to g

o to

the

Ban

k to

4

MY

LIFE

IN C

RIS

IS

(ASI

CK

LE

CE

LL

SUFF

ER

ER

’S L

IFE

STO

RY

)

Whe

n Le

nwor

th L

H -

[Len

ny to

my

frie

nds]

- le

t out

a w

ail

soon

afte

r bi

rth o

n th

at c

old

Febr

uary

day

it w

as th

e m

ost

robu

st c

ry th

e ho

spita

l had

eve

r hea

rd a

nd a

s it

was

com

ing

from

the

first

Bla

ck b

aby

to e

nter

the

hosp

ital i

t was

eve

nm

ore

even

tful M

y m

othe

r stil

l has

the

new

spap

er c

uttin

g to

this

day

, rec

ordi

ng th

e fa

cts

- it w

as 1

954

in W

are

Hos

pita

l,B

alha

m, s

outh

Lon

don.

It w

as s

o co

ld th

at y

ear

that

man

yba

bies

die

d in

the

first

few

mon

ths

from

hyp

othe

rmia

.

ww

w.ja

mro

ckra

dio.

com

clic

k on

‘rad

io’

‘Jam

rock

Sun

days

’w/L

ady

Loy

for t

he b

est i

n R

egga

e

20:0

0hr -

22:

00hr

EV

ER

YS

UN

DAY

Not

sur

e? c

heck

http

://lo

yonl

ife.p

odom

atic

.com

or w

ww

.mys

pace

.com

/jam

rock

sund

ays

Lady

Loy

is

a Th

eme

DJ,

so

no t

wo p

ro-

gram

mes

ar

e th

esa

me!

Yo

u ex

pect

the

Une

xpec

ted

asLa

dy Lo

y re

cogn

ises

even

ts

and

peop

le

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 5

pay

in m

y fa

ther

’s w

ages

. I ra

n ev

eryw

here

and

beca

me w

ell

know

n in

the

neig

hbou

rhoo

d. I

was

a fa

mili

ar si

ght d

ashi

ngac

ross

Lav

ende

r Hill

with

car

s m

issi

ng m

e by

inch

es.

For t

he m

ost p

art s

choo

l was

pre

tty m

uch

unev

entfu

l. I d

oho

wev

er r

emem

ber

one

occa

sion

whe

n I

was

cro

ssin

g th

ero

ad a

nd f

elt r

eally

bad

, the

lolli

pop

lady

not

iced

this

sec

-on

ds b

efor

e I c

olla

psed

. I la

ter l

earn

t tha

t bot

h sh

e an

d th

elo

cal f

ishm

onge

r too

k m

e ho

me.

I wor

ked

hard

at S

econ

dary

scho

ol a

nd e

njoy

ed a

ttend

ing.

Ica

n re

mem

ber m

y m

othe

r say

ing

to m

e “y

ou d

on’t

have

togo

in if

you

don

’t fe

el u

p to

it”,

but

I lo

ved

goin

g to

sch

ool

and

coul

dn’t

get e

noug

h of

it s

o I w

ent r

elig

ious

ly.

Bet

wee

n 19

68 a

nd 1

971

I ran

for L

ondo

n in

the

100

yard

san

d th

en in

the

100

met

res.

Dur

ing

this

tim

e I h

ad n

o pr

ob-

lem

s w

ith m

y he

alth

.

I ap

plie

d to

For

d’s

Mot

or C

ompa

ny f

or t

he p

ositi

on o

fTr

aine

e D

raug

htsm

an b

ut a

fter t

hree

inte

rvie

ws I

was

reje

ct-

ed. H

owev

er m

y En

glis

h fr

iend

with

few

er q

ualif

icat

ions

than

mys

elf w

as o

ffere

d th

e po

sitio

n. I

had

face

d pr

ejud

ice

befo

re in

my

life

but t

his

time

it hi

t me

hard

er th

an a

t any

othe

r tim

e - a

fter a

ll th

is w

as m

y fu

ture

at s

take

.

I w

as t

hen

take

n on

as

a Ju

nior

Dra

ught

sman

on

a w

ork

expe

rienc

e-tra

inin

g pr

ogra

mm

e at

Roe

ham

pton

Hos

pita

lw

here

they

mak

e ar

tific

ial l

imbs

. Alth

ough

I fo

und

the

job

very

rew

ardi

ng I

foun

d it

emot

iona

lly d

iffic

ult w

hen

it ca

me

to

phys

ical

ly

fittin

g th

elim

bs to

chi

ldre

n. I

deci

ded

to g

o ba

ck to

sch

ool a

nd s

ita

furth

er th

ree

‘0’l

evel

s.

On

secu

ring

thes

e gr

ades

Iap

plie

d fo

r a

plac

e at

the

Lond

on U

nive

rsity

Im

peria

l C

olle

ge. I

atte

nded

the

int

er-

view

with

my

pare

nts a

nd I

can

rem

embe

r a m

embe

r of s

taff

telli

ng u

s tha

t we

mus

t hav

e m

ade

a m

ista

ke a

nd c

ome

to th

ew

rong

bui

ldin

g!!

I su

ppos

e lo

okin

g ba

ck w

hen

they

rece

ived

an

appl

icat

ion

from

a “

Len

wor

th L

H”

born

in

1954

, in

Engl

and,

it d

id n

ot c

onju

re u

p vi

sion

s of a

BLA

CK

MA

NI!

Wro

ng b

uild

ing

or n

ot, I

got

the

plac

e an

d st

arte

d m

y en

gi-

neer

ing

degr

ee c

ours

e. H

ere

agai

n I h

ad n

o ob

viou

s sy

mp-

tom

s of s

ickl

e ce

ll di

seas

e an

d en

joye

d m

y tim

e im

men

sely

at u

nive

rsity

. It

was

whi

le I

was

at

univ

ersi

ty t

hat

1 w

asof

fere

d th

e po

sitio

n of

Tra

inee

Lab

Tec

hnic

ian.

I a

ccep

ted

and

abou

t a y

ear l

ater

was

mad

e re

dund

ant.

This

pre

cede

d a

run

of e

mpl

oym

ent f

ollo

wed

by

redu

ndan

cies

. Thi

s was

the

time

of th

e th

ree

day

wee

k’an

d th

ings

look

ed g

loom

y, s

om

uch

so th

at I

saw

a G

over

nmen

t fun

ded

job

oppo

rtuni

ty in

Can

ada

and

deci

ded

that

as

Brit

ain

did

not

have

muc

h to

offe

r I w

as le

avin

g. F

irst I

had

to b

e in

terv

iew

ed b

y m

y pr

o-po

sed

empl

oyer

s • a

larg

e en

gine

erin

g co

mpa

ny -

and

I als

oha

d to

hav

e a

med

ical

.

Surp

rise,

surp

rise,

I w

as g

iven

a c

lean

bill

of h

ealth

, Can

ada

was

cal

ling

and

I w

as a

nsw

erin

g, I

fel

t so

ple

ased

with

mys

elf t

hat I

thou

ght I

was

goi

ng to

bur

st. H

owev

er o

n th

e5

day

I was

leav

ing

Engl

and

I rem

embe

r I fe

lt qu

ite s

ad, I

had

neve

r bee

n aw

ay fr

om h

ome

for a

ny g

reat

per

iod,

my

plan

ew

as la

te s

o I w

ent t

o ha

ve s

omet

hing

to e

at a

s I h

ad ti

me

toki

ll, u

ncha

ract

eris

tical

ly I

had

a sa

lad.

Abo

ard

the p

lane

the f

un re

ally

star

ted.

We h

it tu

rbul

ence

and

I th

ough

t I w

as g

oing

to d

ie. I

fel

t rea

lly te

rrib

le, I

had

the

wor

st s

tom

ach-

ache

I c

an r

emem

ber,

I w

as s

wea

ting

and

begg

ing

for

mer

cy o

r an

ythi

ng e

lse

that

wou

ld h

elp.

The

rew

as a

spi

ritua

list o

n bo

ard

at th

e tim

e w

ho w

as p

rayi

ng fo

rm

e, b

ut th

e m

ore

she

pray

ed th

e w

orse

I fe

lt -1

als

o di

d so

me

pray

ing

mys

elf.

How

I r

egre

tted

not h

avin

g ha

d m

ore

than

just

a s

alad

bef

ore

boar

ding

the

plan

e.

The

arra

ngem

ent w

as th

at w

hen

I arr

ived

in C

anad

a I w

ould

be s

tayi

ng w

ith a

col

leag

ue’s

fam

ily u

ntil

I m

ade

my

own

arra

ngem

ents

. The

refo

re h

e w

as a

t the

airp

ort t

o m

eet m

e as

I was

take

n fr

om th

e pl

ane

on a

stre

tche

r bou

nd fo

r the

hos

-pi

tal.

The

staf

f the

re th

ough

t 1 w

as s

uffe

ring

from

food

poi

-so

ning

. Eve

n I,

in m

y st

ate

foun

d th

is h

ard

to b

elie

ve, I

felt

as if

I ha

d no

t eat

en a

nyth

ing

in m

onth

s bu

t I c

ould

not

eat

anyt

hing

as

I cou

ld n

ot s

wal

low.

The

hosp

ital r

an te

sts

and

then

mor

e te

sts.

Afte

r som

e ho

urs

it w

as d

ecid

ed th

at I

shou

ld b

e di

scha

rged

. As i

t was

too

late

to g

o to

my

colle

ague

’s h

ouse

as w

as th

e or

igin

al p

lan,

I w

aspu

t up

for t

he n

ight

in a

hot

el. D

urin

g th

e ni

ght I

felt

wor

se,

and

to m

ake

mat

ters

wor

se, I

was

now

pas

sing

blo

od in

my

urin

e. I

tele

phon

ed th

e ho

tel r

ecep

tioni

st a

nd I

was

take

n to

Mon

treal

Gen

eral

Hos

pita

l, as

thi

s w

as a

lea

ding

tea

chin

gho

spita

l.

Her

e th

ey to

o te

sted

for e

very

thin

g pr

obab

le, p

ossi

ble

or b

or-

derli

ne! F

inal

ly I

was

put

in th

e in

tens

ive

care

uni

t [m

eani

ngno

food

]. B

oth

my

arm

s wer

e ho

oked

up

to a

salin

e dr

ip a

ndI w

as fe

d on

ice

chip

s w

hile

- ye

s yo

u’ve

gue

ssed

it -

mor

ete

sts

wer

e do

ne.

Wha

t com

plic

ated

mat

ters

eve

n m

ore

was

the

only

med

ical

reco

rds M

ontre

al G

ener

al h

ad fo

r me

cam

e fro

mm

y pr

ospe

c-tiv

e em

ploy

ers,

who

had

giv

en m

e a

clea

n bi

ll of

hea

lth, s

oof

cou

rse

with

me

at d

eath

’s d

oor

afte

r ha

ving

bee

n pr

o-no

unce

d ok

ay it

was

a li

ttle

conf

usin

g to

say

the

leas

t

As I

cou

ldn’

t sle

ep I

was

giv

en a

rem

ote

cont

rol T

V. I

lear

ned

all t

here

was

to k

now

abo

ut ic

e ho

ckey

and

in p

artic

ular

the

‘Tor

onto

’and

Mon

treal

Map

le L

eafs

’.

Afte

r thr

ee d

ays o

n ic

e-ch

ips a

nd w

ater

I ha

lluci

nate

d - e

arly

one

mor

ning

abo

ut 2

.30a

m o

ne o

f the

nur

ses

was

doi

ng th

ero

unds

. I

wat

ched

her

as

she

pour

ed b

lack

curr

ant

juic

e in

with

my

ice-

chip

s an

d sh

e to

ld m

e no

t to

say

a w

ord

to a

ny-

one.

She

left

and

cont

inue

d he

r rou

nds.

I des

pera

tely

wan

ted

a dr

ink

but c

ould

n’t r

each

it so

I ca

lled

the

nurs

e on

dut

y. T

om

y di

smay

the

drin

k w

as p

lain

wat

er a

nd ic

e. I

had

imag

ined

the

who

le in

cide

nt. I

told

the

nurs

e ab

out t

his

and

she

note

dit

dow

n on

my

char

t. Th

e fo

llow

ing

mor

ning

the

doct

or to

okou

t one

of m

y dr

ips.

Afte

r th

ree

wee

ks o

f in

tens

ive

care

, a S

enio

r Ph

ysic

ian

Mr

Smal

l who

had

eig

ht fi

rst y

ear g

radu

ates

und

er h

is g

uida

nce,

saw

me,

and

yes

, mor

e te

sts.

It w

as a

Dr

Littl

emor

e w

hodi

agno

sed

sick

le c

ell d

isea

se.

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 6

6

In s

ome

way

s I t

hink

I w

as re

lieve

d to

hea

r thi

s. R

elie

ved

tofin

ally

be

able

to p

ut a

nam

e to

wha

t was

hap

peni

ng to

me

and

relie

ved

that

I w

as n

ot g

oing

to d

ie, n

ot ju

st y

et a

nyw

ay!

It w

as a

t thi

s tim

e I w

as fi

nally

allo

wed

to h

ave

a m

eal,

my

first

in th

ree

wee

ks.

Whe

n I

told

my

pare

nts

wha

t th

e do

ctor

s di

agno

sed

they

wan

ted

to k

now

how

and

whe

re I

coul

d ha

ve c

augh

t suc

h a

thin

g an

d ev

en n

ow I

thin

k it

is h

ard

for t

hem

to u

nder

stan

dth

e co

mpl

exity

of t

his

dise

ase,

and

so

I will

try

to e

xpla

in it

as s

impl

y as

I ca

n...

Blo

od is

mad

e up

of l

ots

of re

d ce

lls in

a c

lear

liqu

id c

alle

dpl

asm

a. E

very

blo

od c

ell w

ill li

ve fo

r abo

ut 4

mon

ths b

efor

ebe

ing

brok

en d

own;

new

red

bloo

d ce

lls a

re c

onst

antly

bei

ngpr

oduc

ed.

The

bloo

d ce

lls a

re r

apid

ly r

epla

ced

and

this

expl

ains

how

peo

ple

can

dona

te b

lood

ofte

n.

Blo

od g

ets

its c

olou

r be

caus

e th

e re

d bl

ood

cells

con

tain

asu

bsta

nce

know

n as

hae

mog

lobi

nth

is d

oes

the

job

of c

arry

ing

oxyg

enfr

om t

he l

ungs

and

dis

tribu

ting

itw

here

it is

req

uire

d. I

n or

der

to d

oth

is e

ffec

tivel

y th

e re

d ce

lls a

rero

und

in s

hape

and

ver

y pl

iabl

e so

they

can

squ

eeze

thro

ugh

the

tinie

stbl

ood

vess

el.

How

ever

in

sick

le c

ell

dise

ase

whe

n th

eha

emog

lobi

n gi

ves

off i

ts o

xyge

n th

e ce

lls c

an b

ecom

e di

s-to

rted

and

form

a c

resc

ent o

r ‘s

ickl

e’sh

ape.

The

se s

ickl

edce

lls c

lust

er to

geth

er a

nd b

lock

the

flow

of b

lood

. Thi

s cau

s-es

imm

ense

pai

n an

d is

kno

wn

as a

‘sic

kle

cell

cris

is’.

Whe

nI a

m h

avin

g a

cris

is, t

he p

ain

is so

seve

re th

at I

cann

ot m

ove,

ever

y pa

rt of

my

body

ach

es,

my

finge

rs a

nd f

eet

swel

l(c

ause

d by

the

bloc

ked

bloo

d ve

ssel

s), I

will

be

swea

ting

but

feel

col

d an

d ha

ve th

is in

cred

ible

thirs

t.

‘Sic

kle

Cel

l’is

use

d to

des

crib

e a

num

ber o

f inh

erite

d ab

nor-

mal

ities

of

haem

oglo

bin

that

hav

e in

com

mon

the

fact

that

they

sic

kle.

Hae

mog

lobi

n SC

Dis

ease

(w

hich

is th

e ty

pe 1

hav

e), i

s an

inhe

rited

dis

ease

of t

he re

d bl

ood

cells

. Fo

r you

r inf

orm

a-tio

n, it

is n

ot c

onta

geio

us -

you

cann

ot c

atch

it!

Sick

le c

ell i

s on

e of

the

mos

t com

mon

inhe

rited

gen

etic

dis

-ea

ses.

It is

est

imat

ed th

ere

are

6,00

0 su

ffere

rs in

the

UK

. It

affe

cts

Afr

ican

s,

Car

ibbe

an’s

, A

fric

an-A

mer

ican

s,M

edite

rran

ean’

s an

d pe

ople

from

the

Mid

dle

East

; to

a le

ss-

er e

xten

t, si

ckle

cel

l affe

cts

Cau

casi

ans.

His

toric

ally

it is

sai

d th

at p

eopl

e w

ith a

sic

kle

cell

dise

ase

wer

e le

ss li

kely

to d

ie if

they

cau

ght m

alar

ia. I

n th

e pa

st in

coun

tries

whe

re m

alar

ia w

as v

ery

com

mon

, peo

ple

with

sim

-ila

r bl

ood

diso

rder

s su

rviv

ed w

here

oth

ers

died

. H

owev

erw

here

as m

alar

ia m

ight

dis

appe

ar, s

ickl

e ce

ll re

mai

ns.

Afte

r le

avin

g ho

spita

l 1 w

ante

d to

ret

urn

to E

ngla

nd. I

was

advi

sed

not t

o fly

but

to tr

avel

by

sea

- I fl

ew. M

erci

fully

Iw

as a

ll rig

ht, o

xyge

n w

as o

n st

andb

y an

d I p

raye

d un

til w

eto

uche

d do

wn

at H

eath

row.

Faci

ng u

p to

sic

kle

cell

was

trau

mat

ic. D

o I t

ell e

mpl

oyer

s?

How

will

it a

ffect

futu

re re

latio

nshi

ps?

Wha

t exa

ctly

do

I tel

lth

em?

I did

n’t w

ant p

ity s

o I d

ecid

ed o

nly

to te

ll pe

ople

if it

was

abs

olut

ely

nece

ssar

y. S

ome

peop

le a

re s

urpr

ised

whe

n I

tell

them

I ha

ve s

ickl

e ce

ll an

d m

any

peop

le k

now

of s

ome-

body

who

has

the

diso

rder

.

I use

d to

go

to h

ospi

tal e

very

tim

e I h

ad a

cris

is, o

r frie

nds

wou

ld li

tera

lly c

arry

me

ther

e. T

he m

edic

al st

aff w

ould

offe

rm

e pa

in r

elie

f bu

t I a

lway

s st

eere

d cl

ear

of a

ny m

edic

atio

npr

efer

ring

inst

ead

the

hot J

acuz

zi. O

n av

erag

e m

y sy

mpt

oms

last

for a

ppro

xim

atel

y 24

hou

rs.

I wou

ld b

ook

into

hos

pita

l und

er m

y m

othe

r’s m

aide

n na

me,

beca

use

sick

le c

ell s

uffe

rers

not

onl

y fa

ce st

igm

a bu

t hav

e to

deal

with

all

sorts

of p

robl

ems

for i

nsur

ance

pur

pose

s w

hen

thei

r con

ditio

n is

dis

cove

red.

How

ever

, it o

ccur

red

to m

e on

eda

y w

hile

I w

as in

the

hosp

ital,

that

sho

uld

anyt

hing

det

ri-m

enta

l ha

ppen

to

me

it co

uld

take

mon

ths

befo

re a

nyon

ere

alis

ed w

ho I

real

ly w

as, a

nd b

ecau

se o

f thi

s I d

ecid

ed th

atit

was

all

wro

ng a

nd fe

lt an

gry

that

I w

as p

ut in

this

situ

atio

n.I

have

lear

ned

to h

andl

e m

y di

sord

er -

it’s

a p

art o

f m

e, it

mig

ht b

e re

spon

sibl

e fo

r the

goa

ls I

set f

or m

ysel

f, it

mig

htbe

des

pite

of i

t, bu

t nev

erth

eles

s it’

s m

e, th

e w

hole

pac

kage

.

I dec

ided

to w

ork

for m

ysel

f onc

e I r

etur

ned

to E

ngla

nd -

for

a nu

mbe

r of

rea

sons

- b

ut p

rimar

ily s

o th

at I

cou

ld d

icta

tew

hen

I w

ork

and

so th

at w

hen

I am

hav

ing

a cr

isis

I d

on’t

have

to f

eel g

uilty

that

I c

anno

t giv

e on

e hu

ndre

d pe

r ce

nt.

How

ever

ther

e ar

e tim

es w

hen

I wor

k m

uch

hard

er th

an if

Iw

as a

n em

ploy

ee, a

nd s

ince

runn

ing

my

own

secu

rity

com

-pa

ny fo

r the

pas

t nin

e ye

ars 1

cer

tain

ly h

ave

had

mor

e st

ress

than

eve

n I c

ould

hav

e th

ough

t pos

sibl

e.

I hon

estly

bel

ieve

that

I ow

e m

y ou

tcom

e la

rgel

y to

the

way

I hav

e be

en ra

ised

. In

the

fact

that

I w

as tr

eate

d no

diff

eren

t-ly

to m

y “w

ell”

sibl

ings

- ob

viou

sly

it he

lped

that

we

did

not

real

ise

I ha

d a

sick

le c

ell d

isor

der.

I w

as n

ever

wra

pped

inco

tton

woo

l an

d an

ythi

ng I

wan

ted

toac

hiev

e 1

have

alw

ays

been

enc

oura

ged.

Itso

unds

sim

plis

tic b

ut I

bel

ieve

that

all

ill-

ness

is 5

0% p

hysi

cal a

nd 5

0% m

enta

l. F

orex

ampl

e if,

dur

ing

the

cour

se o

f you

r wor

kyo

u cu

t you

rsel

f, yo

u co

uld

cont

inue

wor

k-in

g fo

r hou

rs w

ithou

t rea

lisin

g it;

how

ever

if yo

u st

ood

and

wat

ched

whi

le s

omeo

nein

serte

d a

need

le in

to y

our

arm

, no

mat

ter

how

slig

ht, y

ou w

ould

feel

that

pai

n. I

don’

tfe

el th

at b

ecau

se I

have

sick

le c

ell I

am

any

less

of a

per

son.

Of c

ours

e th

ere

are

som

e lim

itatio

ns, I

wou

ld lo

ve to

be

able

to fl

y an

airc

raft

one

day

or s

ki d

own

a m

ount

ain

slop

e bu

t Iha

ve re

sign

ed m

ysel

f to

bein

g an

onl

ooke

r. I k

now

that

wha

t-ev

er I

dec

ide

to d

o th

ere

will

be

no o

ne b

ette

r at

wha

t I d

oth

an m

e.

By

LL

H, L

uton

This

is a

bril

liant

, wel

l-writ

ten

artic

le, a

nd a

ny c

omm

ents

wou

ld b

e ap

prec

iate

d. E

mai

l: bl

ackb

right

new

s@ao

l.com

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 7

BBllaacc

kk--BBrr

iigghhtt

-- IItt

’’ss aa

bboouutt

CChhaall

lleenngg

iinngg

PPeerrcc

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nnss

Rea

ders

sa

y th

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have

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und

Bla

ck-B

righ

t “r

elev

ant,

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ul

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rmat

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IGH

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imul

ates

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our

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ositi

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Bla

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ard

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Volu

ntar

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lack

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omm

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7

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 8

8

Yana

John

son

Make

-up

Mogu

l awa

rded

MBE

for S

ervi

ces i

n th

e Co

smet

ic In

dustr

y

Foun

der o

f Yan

a C

osm

etic

s an

d su

cces

sful

bus

i-ne

ss w

oman

Yan

a Jo

hnso

n ha

s be

en a

war

ded

anM

BE

for “

outs

tand

ing

achi

evem

ent a

nd s

ervi

ce to

the

cosm

etic

s in

dust

ry”

in t

he 2

009

New

Yea

rsH

onou

rs L

ist.

Yana

Joh

nson

MB

E h

as b

een

supp

lyin

g w

omen

of a

ll sh

ades

with

cos

met

ics

for

7 ye

ars

and

inth

at t

ime

she

has

put

the

UK

on

the

map

in t

heIn

tern

atio

nal c

osm

etic

s in

dust

ry.

She

has

won

ast

ring

of N

atio

nal a

nd In

tern

atio

nal a

war

ds fo

r her

busi

ness

pro

wes

s an

d en

trepr

eneu

rshi

p in

clud

ing

the

Eur

opea

n Fe

dera

tion

of

Bla

ck

Wom

enB

usin

esse

s O

wne

rs

Aw

ard,

B

ritis

h Fe

mal

eIn

vent

ors

&

inno

vato

rs

Aw

ard

and

Bla

ckE

nter

pris

e Aw

ard.

Bor

n in

Birm

ingh

am to

Jam

aica

n pa

rent

s, Y

ana

isfly

ing

the

flag

for

Bla

ck B

riton

s w

ith o

nly

six

per

cent

of t

his

year

’s H

onou

rees

com

ing

from

eth

nic

min

ority

com

mun

ities

. Com

men

ting

on h

er a

war

d,Ya

na J

ohns

on M

BE

sai

d, “I

t is

extre

mel

y w

onde

r-fu

l to

have

bee

n re

cogn

ised

for

tha

t w

hich

I a

mtru

ly p

assi

onat

e ab

out,

cons

ider

ing

that

I al

so re

p-re

sent

the

very

mar

ket t

hat I

ser

ve. I

t’s a

cas

e of

stan

ding

up

for

wha

t yo

u be

lieve

in

and

doin

gso

met

hing

abo

ut it

Yana

Cos

met

ics

is t

he o

nly

Brit

ish

Inde

pend

ent

Pre

miu

m M

ake

up b

rand

for

the

eth

nic

mar

ket,

whi

ch s

tarte

d by

spe

cial

izin

g in

cus

tom

ble

nded

foun

datio

ns fo

r bl

ack

wom

en a

nd h

as d

evel

oped

a fu

ll ra

nge

of m

ake

up a

nd s

kinc

are

that

is s

uit-

able

for A

LLsk

in ty

pes.

In (2

008)

Yan

a ex

pand

ed th

e br

and

by la

unch

ing

the

Yana

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e-up

Rep

rese

ntat

ive

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gram

me

(YM

R)

brin

ging

em

pow

erm

ent t

o w

omen

thro

ugh

rese

lling

Yan

a m

ake

up a

nd p

rovi

ding

them

with

the

skill

s to

bec

ome

Mak

e-up

arti

sts.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n or

to

arra

nge

an in

terv

iew

plea

se e

mai

l don

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om o

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ut Y

ana

Cos

met

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Yana

Cos

met

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aim

is t

o be

com

e a

hous

ehol

dna

me

by a

ddin

g to

the

choi

ce o

f mak

e up

cur

rent

-ly

ava

ilabl

e by

em

brac

ing

dive

rsity

and

pro

vidi

ngem

pow

erm

ent

oppo

rtuni

ties.

The

Yan

a m

ake

upbr

and

feat

ures

inn

ovat

ive,

mak

e up

fou

ndat

ions

desi

gned

to m

atch

the

skin

tone

, pow

ders

, blu

sh-

ers,

eye

sha

dow

, lip

glo

ss, l

ip s

ticks

, mas

cara

and

skin

care

. Th

e Ya

na

mak

e up

R

epre

sent

ativ

eP

rogr

amm

e al

low

s in

tere

sted

indi

vidu

als

to re

sell

the

Yana

bra

nd a

s a

mak

e-up

rep

with

tra

inin

gan

d su

ppor

t tha

t giv

es a

n un

ders

tand

ing

of d

iver

-si

ty a

nd e

mpo

wer

men

t. Th

e Ya

na b

rand

has

bee

nre

cogn

ized

int

erna

tiona

lly a

nd i

s cu

rren

tly c

on-

cent

ratin

g on

bus

ines

s de

velo

pmen

t an

d gr

owth

stra

tegi

es. ht

tp://

ww

w.y

anac

osm

etic

s.co

m

The

Exp

ensi

ve H

ome

We

all D

read

to G

o!

You

wou

ld t

hink

tha

t w

ith t

he m

onth

ly f

ees

of n

ursi

ngho

mes

ran

ging

fro

m a

nyw

here

bet

wee

n £3

,000

upw

ards

,th

a re

side

nts

wou

ld b

e tre

ated

like

roya

lty, b

ut n

o! M

any

are

bein

g fo

rced

to m

ove

into

a r

esid

entia

l hom

e be

caus

eth

eir c

hild

ren

have

n’t g

ot th

e tim

e, th

e ro

om o

r the

pat

ienc

eto

look

afte

r the

m.

The

elde

rly a

re b

eing

forc

ed to

sell

thei

rho

mes

in o

rder

to p

ay fo

r som

ethi

ng th

ey d

on’t

wan

t and

inm

ost c

ases

trea

ted

abom

inab

ly!

One

eld

erly

lady

I in

ter-

view

ed e

xpla

ined

that

she

had

ren

ted

out h

er h

ome

whi

lesh

e w

as in

resi

dent

ial c

are

and

now

wan

ted

to g

o ba

ck, b

utth

e es

tate

age

nts

wer

e re

luct

ant t

o ge

t the

tena

nts

out.

She

coul

d no

t affo

rd to

sta

y in

the

nurs

ing

hom

e as

the

nurs

ing

hom

e fe

es w

ere

£3,7

00 a

mon

th a

nd t

he r

ent

she

was

rece

ivin

g w

as o

nly

£1,2

00 a

mon

th -

she

coul

d no

t affo

rdth

e di

ffere

nce

on a

n on

goin

g ba

sis.

She

was

als

o ve

ryun

happ

y at

the

nurs

ing

hom

e; s

he h

ad n

ot s

ettle

d an

d ha

dlo

st o

ver

a st

one

sinc

e m

ovin

g th

ere.

Sh

e to

ld m

e th

atw

hen

she

first

arr

ived

ther

e th

ey to

ok th

e re

side

nts

out o

na

regu

lar b

asis

but

this

was

no

long

er th

e ca

se.

This

nur

s-in

g ho

me

was

3 m

iles

from

the

near

est t

own

so s

he c

ould

not g

o by

her

self

as it

was

too

far.

She

fel

t iso

late

d, w

asve

ry u

nhap

py a

nd s

he w

ante

d to

go

back

hom

e to

be

near

her

frie

nds.

Wha

t ca

n be

don

e ab

out

expe

nsiv

e nu

rsin

gho

mes

that

the

elde

rly fe

ar?

Let

me

hear

from

you

.

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 9

FR

EE

onl

ine

futu

re e

diti

ons

ofB

BN

?em

ail:

blac

kbri

ghtn

ews@

aol.c

omF

OR

LIM

ITE

DE

DIT

ION

SO

FPA

STH

AR

D C

OP

IES?

ww

w.m

yspa

ce.c

om/b

lack

brig

htne

ws

and

clic

k on

the

Pay

pal b

utto

n an

d yo

u w

ill r

ecei

ve it

wit

hin

3 - 5

day

s.Ju

st £

3.00

!!F

OR

AD

VE

RT

ISIN

G E

NQ

UIR

IES

plea

se e

mai

l bla

ckbr

ight

ltd@

aol.c

om

for

mor

e in

fo:w

ww.

blac

kbri

ghtn

ews.

com

Tel:

0158

2 72

1 60

5

Back

Issu

es, A

rt Ca

rds a

nd M

yrna

Loy’s

Tra

velo

gue

“The

Oth

er S

ide

of To

urism

” (B

uy N

ow fo

r onl

y £5

)(It

’s th

e fu

nny

side

of b

eing

Brit

ish in

Jam

aica

!)9

Lit

erac

y Sk

ills

Do

you,

or a

nyon

e yo

u kn

ow h

ave

them

?

If yo

u do

n’t h

ave

them

,the

re is

no

need

to fe

el e

mba

r-ra

ssed

.A

dults

of

all

natio

nalit

ies

and

ages

suf

fer

the

sam

e pr

oble

m a

nd it

is n

ot

until

you

are

req

uire

d to

com

plet

e an

app

licat

ion

form

for

a jo

b,or

som

e ot

her

form

s th

at it

rea

lly b

ecom

es im

port

ant.

In t

his

time

ofre

cess

ion,

bein

g ab

le t

o re

ad,

wri

te a

nd s

peak

in

aso

cial

ly a

ccep

tabl

e w

ay is

impo

rtan

t.It

mak

es t

he d

if-fe

renc

e be

twee

n be

ing

glos

sed

over

or

acce

pted

.

The

re i

s a

lot

of h

ype

abou

t ou

r ch

ildre

n le

avin

gsc

hool

with

out b

asic

ski

lls,b

ut th

ere

are

man

y th

at d

o.O

ne o

f my

stud

ents

is r

epea

tedl

y re

ceiv

ing ‘

A’s

and

she

is d

isap

poin

ted

whe

n sh

e ge

t’s a

B g

rade

.Sh

e is

16

on4

Apr

il!A

sp

okes

man

fo

r th

e D

epar

tmen

t fo

r C

hild

ren,

Scho

ols

and

Fam

ilies

sai

d “,

,we

now

hav

e 70

,000

mor

eyo

ung

peop

le

leav

ing

scho

ol

with

fiv

e go

od

GSE

sin

clud

ing

Engl

ish

and

mat

hs th

an w

e di

d 10

yea

rs a

go..”

So w

hy s

houl

d ou

r ch

ildre

n be

cam

e a

stat

istic

of

the

appr

oxim

ate

30,0

00 y

oung

ster

s in

Eng

land

who

are

expe

cted

to

leav

e sc

hool

with

no

qual

ifica

tions

at

all?

Our

chi

ldre

n ca

n be

one

of t

he 7

0,00

0 th

at w

ill le

ave

scho

ol w

ith g

ood

GSE

gra

des

with

pos

itive

rei

nfor

ce-

men

t!”

Este

lle M

orri

s,th

e Se

cret

ary

of S

tate

for

Edu

catio

n,cl

aim

s “t

hat

one

in f

ive

of t

he a

dult

popu

latio

n do

esno

t ha

ve t

he s

kills

of t

he a

vera

ge 1

1 ye

ar o

ld a

nd a

rego

od a

t hi

ding

thi

s fr

om fa

mily

and

frie

nds”

Why

wou

ld a

nyon

e w

ant

to b

road

cast

tha

t yo

u ca

n’t

com

plet

e fo

rms

or d

o ba

sic

calc

ulat

ions

?

If yo

u ar

e a

wor

ried

par

ent,

teen

ager

or

som

eone

who

se

first

la

ngua

ge

is

not

Engl

ish,

cont

act

the

Cul

tura

l Gar

den

- it

is t

he p

lace

to

blos

som

and

gro

w.

Frie

ndly,

clea

n su

rrou

ndin

gs &

per

sona

l att

entio

n.

Emai

l:cu

ltura

lgar

den@

aol.c

om,f

or m

ore

deta

ils.

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 10

10

DID

YO

UK

NO

W...

...T

he m

ost

pow

erfu

l pol

itic

ian

in t

he w

orld

is B

lack

?

The

hea

d of

the

Rep

ublic

an N

atio

nal C

omm

itte

e is

Bla

ck?

The

bes

t kn

own

med

ia m

ogul

on

eart

h is

Bla

ck?

The

gre

ates

t go

lfer

in t

he w

orld

is B

lack

?

The

top

fem

ale

tenn

is p

laye

rs in

the

wor

ld a

reB

lack

?

The

hig

hest

gro

ssin

g ac

tor

wor

ldw

ide

is B

lack

?

The

fas

test

rac

ing

driv

er in

the

wor

ld is

Bla

ck?

The

bri

ghte

st A

stro

phys

icis

t un

der

the

sun

is B

lack

?

The

Sup

erbo

wl-

win

ning

Hea

d Co

ach

is B

lack

?

The

mos

t su

cces

sful

bra

in s

urge

on in

the

wor

ld is

Bla

ck?

The

fas

test

hum

an o

n th

e pl

anet

is B

lack

?

The

FT

SE 1

00 b

oss

at t

he P

rude

ntia

l is

Bla

ck?

Cana

da’s

Gov

erno

r-G

ener

al is

Bla

ck?

Bla

ck B

rits

It

is t

ime

to in

crea

se o

ur n

umbe

rs!

Goo

gle

and

find

out

who

the

y ar

e?

Life

aft

er 5

0So

me

peop

le s

ay th

at o

nce

you

have

hit

the

50 y

ear

old

mar

k,yo

u au

tom

atic

ally

bec

ome

mor

e ru

de to

the

rest

of c

ivili

zatio

n.Yo

u ju

st b

ecom

e an

old

mis

erab

le g

rum

pan

d tr

y yo

ur b

est

to m

ake

all t

he h

appy

peo

ple

arou

ndyo

u as

mis

erab

le a

s yo

urse

lf.

All

I kno

w is

that

whe

n w

e w

ere

youn

g,w

e us

ed to

add

on t

o ou

r ag

es t

o ei

ther

pre

tend

tha

t w

e w

ere

mor

em

atur

e th

an w

e re

ally

wer

e,or

bec

ause

we

trie

d to

get

into

pla

ces

like

club

s be

caus

e w

e w

ere

unde

r ag

ed.

The

n w

hen

I hi

t m

y 30

’s,it

was

lik

e so

met

hing

wen

tw

rong

.O

nce

peop

le k

new

my

age,

they

sta

rted

to

look

at

me

as if

I w

as o

ld m

ilk,s

our

and

need

ed t

o be

disc

arde

d.

Wel

l I w

ill b

e 50

thi

s ye

ar,a

nd I

still

like

to

part

y,sh

ake

my

than

g (t

houg

h m

y bo

dy t

ells

me

not

to),

part

y w

ithth

e gu

ys a

nd g

als

afte

r w

ork

or o

n th

e w

eeke

nds,

and

I am

stil

l one

of t

he k

inde

st a

nd fr

iend

liest

peo

ple

you

coul

d ev

er m

eet.

I stil

l hav

e th

e m

anne

rs t

hat

my

par-

ents

incu

lcat

ed m

e w

ith,a

nd I

resp

ect

all m

y fe

llow

cit-

izen

s,in

clud

ing

peop

le y

oung

er t

han

me

(whi

ch t

here

seem

s to

be

mor

e of

with

eac

h pa

ssin

g da

y),a

nd m

yel

ders

(whi

ch th

ere

seem

s to

be

less

of w

ith e

ach

pass

-in

g da

y).

I kno

w w

hat

I am

goi

ng t

o do

onc

e I h

it 50

in A

ugus

tth

ough

,bec

ause

I do

n‘t

wan

t to

be

an o

ld g

rouc

h,m

is-

erab

le,w

alki

ng u

p an

d do

wn

the

stre

ets

like

I ha

veto

uret

tes.

No!

I am

goi

ng t

o th

row

out

all

non-

esse

n-tia

l nu

mbe

rs:

wei

ght,

heig

ht,a

ge,a

nd l

et t

he d

octo

rw

orry

abo

ut i

t.I

am g

oing

to

keep

lea

rnin

g ab

out

thin

gs li

ke c

ompu

ters

and

oth

er c

rafts

,jus

t to

kee

p m

ym

ind

ticki

ng,b

ecau

se a

s th

ey s

ay,“

An

idle

min

d is

the

devi

l’s w

orks

hop”

and

it’s

calle

d A

lzhe

imer

’s.I a

m g

oing

to s

urro

und

mys

elf w

ith a

ll th

e th

ings

I lo

ve,J

esus

,my

wife

Don

na,f

amily

,foo

tbal

l (C

hels

ea)

mov

ies,

mus

ic,

hobb

ies,

etc.

I am

goi

ng t

o en

joy

and

appr

ecia

te a

ll th

esi

mpl

e th

ings

in

life,

whi

ch I

am

pro

ud t

o sa

y th

at I

alre

ady

do.

Che

rish

my

heal

th,d

on’t

do g

uilt

trip

s,te

llth

e pe

ople

I lo

ve t

hat

I lov

e th

em,a

t ev

ery

oppo

rtun

i-ty

.La

ugh

ofte

n,lo

ng a

nd lo

ud,b

ecau

se I

have

lear

ned

that

life

is n

ot m

easu

red

by t

he n

umbe

r of

bre

aths

we

take

,but

by

wha

t ta

kes

our

brea

th a

way

.

Be

aliv

e,w

hile

you

are

aliv

e!

Mic

hael

Atk

inso

n.

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 11

Song

and

Dan

ce (

by R

G G

rego

ry)

do y

ou t

hink

an

old

hear

t ca

n’t

sing

do y

ou t

hink

an

old

hear

t ca

n’t

danc

ew

ith a

love

tha

t be

long

s to

spr

ing

–no

r i –

till

i to

ok t

his

glan

ce

in a

mir

ror

long

put

-by

– de

nied

the

leas

t to

uch

of li

ght

(the

re b

eing

no c

ause

but

to

let

it hi

de)

yet

now

the

re’s

this

sud

den

seei

ng

this

ast

onis

hing

flow

of l

ongi

ngth

at g

ives

the

dul

led

glas

s a

shin

ean

d so

man

y lo

st w

ants

thr

ongi

ng(m

ust

i fea

r th

e ey

es a

ren’

t m

ine)

drea

m h

as s

hake

n its

she

ets

out

a fr

eshn

ess

(dis

card

ed)

rest

ored

mut

ed r

hyth

ms

let

loud

bea

ts o

ut(s

care

d ho

pes

bein

g re

assu

red)

unfa

thom

able

sco

res

its c

hanc

es(lo

ve’s

finge

rs p

luck

ing

the

stri

ngs)

can’

t yo

u se

e –

this

lam

e he

art

danc

esca

n’t

you

hear

– t

his

drie

d he

art

sing

s

(Thi

s po

em w

as fi

rst

publ

ishe

d in

the

cha

pboo

k ‘C

hris

tmas

Del

inqu

ent’

publ

ishe

d by

Erb

acce

Pre

ss)

Gre

g is

81

year

s ol

d.H

e ha

s be

en a

Tea

cher

of E

nglis

h fo

r 19

yrs

(incl

udin

g.2

year

s in

Kam

pala

,Uga

nda)

;

For

Eve

r Y

oung

(by

Roy

Bar

ker)

My

sist

ers

wer

e yo

unge

r,M

y br

othe

rs w

ere

olde

r.W

hen

I was

four

.

Fort

y al

l gro

wn

leve

l.Si

xty

and

seve

nty

Old

.It

is c

laim

ed.

Insi

de w

e al

l fee

l the

sam

e.

We’

ve e

xpan

ded

our

Brai

nsIf

you

liste

n -

and

take

it in

.D

on’t

smok

e -

stay

tri

m.

Hav

e a

joke

Seve

nty

or e

ight

y.Yo

u co

uld

mak

e it.

With

a s

mile

.Yo

u co

uld

reac

h ni

nety

.

My

sist

ers

wer

e yo

unge

rM

y br

othe

rs w

ere

olde

r.

Now

we

- ar

e al

l the

sam

e.Fo

r-ev

er Y

oung

.

Roy

is 8

2 ye

ars

Old

and

his

gra

ndch

ildre

n ca

ll hi

m “

mat

e”.

11

HHOO

WW OO

LLDD II

SS TT

OOOO

OOLLDD

((bb

yy AA

mmiirr

AAkkww

eettee))

I rea

d an

art

icle

a w

hile

ago

abo

ut th

e E

skim

os a

nd h

ow th

eyde

alt

with

th

eir

elde

rly.

Onc

e a

mem

ber

of

thei

r pe

ople

reac

hed

an a

ge w

here

they

cou

ld n

ot c

hew

blu

bber

, the

indi

-vi

dual

wou

ld b

e pl

aced

on

a sm

all

float

ing

piec

e of

ice

with

som

e pr

ovis

ions

and

set

adr

ift.

Late

r it

was

sto

pped

, an

dth

ose

who

rea

ched

an

age

whe

re t

hey

coul

d no

t pe

rfor

m a

sth

ey o

nce

did

in th

eir

yout

h, d

id o

ther

thin

gs th

at w

ere

usef

ul,

need

ed a

nd h

elpf

ul t

o th

e tr

ibe,

or

clan

the

y be

long

ed t

o.T

hey

wer

e ac

com

mod

ated

and

giv

en o

ther

tas

ks t

hat

gave

them

a s

ense

of

purp

ose;

con

trib

utin

g to

the

exi

sten

ce o

fth

eir

clan

- n

ot t

o m

entio

n di

gnity

in t

heir

old

age!

Whe

n yo

uth

ink

of s

omeo

ne 5

0 ye

ars

old

in th

ese

times

- 5

0 is

rel

ativ

e-ly

you

ng.

With

the

adv

ance

s in

med

icin

e an

d pe

ople

liv

ing

muc

h lo

nger

tha

n th

ey w

ere

(say

) 60

yea

rs a

go,

the

war

ped

perc

eptio

n of

som

e y

oung

peo

ple

abou

t ol

der

peop

le i

s no

long

er v

iabl

e.H

owev

er w

e liv

e in

a s

ocie

ty/a

ge t

hat

is o

bses

sed

with

sta

y-in

g yo

ung,

a s

ocie

ty t

hat

puts

the

em

phas

is o

n be

ing

youn

gan

d lo

okin

g go

od.

In t

he U

.S t

hat

is s

o pr

eval

ent,

espe

cial

lyw

ithin

Hol

lyw

ood

and

thos

e of

us

who

live

our

live

s th

roug

hce

lebr

ities

. Man

y of

us

as w

e ag

e (I

am

one

that

falls

into

that

cate

gory

}; s

till

dres

ses

fairl

y yo

uthf

ul a

nd t

ry t

o lo

ok s

ome-

wha

t yo

unge

r th

an w

e re

ally

are

. I f

or o

ne k

now

an

up a

nd c

omin

g pu

blis

hing

mog

ul in

her

ow

nrig

ht n

amed

Myr

na L

oy,

who

alw

ays

mak

es m

e sm

ile w

hen-

ever

I s

ee a

new

hai

r st

yle,

gla

sses

and

out

fit t

hat

she

puts

toge

ther

. G

one

are

the

days

tha

t yo

u w

ould

wor

k w

ith s

omeo

ne o

lder

and

he o

r sh

e w

ould

then

pas

s do

wn

wha

t the

y ha

ve le

arne

dov

er t

he y

ears

and

the

n re

tire.

The

re i

s an

uno

ffici

al g

uard

mot

to (

I fo

rget

the

Gen

eral

who

se n

ame

it is

attr

ibut

ed t

o),

that

I n

ever

for

got

it be

caus

e it

says

a l

ot:

“ You

th a

nd s

kill,

are

no m

atch

for

old

age

, cu

nnin

g, w

ell

plac

ed l

ies

and

dece

it”. A

fter

read

ing

this

, I c

ould

not

hel

p bu

t to

med

itate

on

it. I

am

fam

iliar

with

Sun

Szu

- T

he A

rt o

f W

ar,

and

this

boo

kha

s be

en r

ead

by m

any

in t

he b

usin

ess

wor

ld a

nd m

any

ofhi

s ta

ctic

s an

d st

rate

gies

are

use

d in

the

cor

pora

te d

omai

nby

man

y ex

ecut

ives

. In

fact

, for

som

e co

mpa

nies

it is

a p

re-

requ

isite

. I

am n

ot s

ure

I w

ould

agr

ee w

ith t

he l

atte

r be

ing

supe

rior

to t

he p

revi

ous

(You

th a

nd s

kill)

, af

ter

all l

ooki

ng a

tth

e am

ount

foe

s to

bea

t, it

wou

ld b

e a

form

idab

le t

ask,

for

sure

. O

ne t

hing

, th

ough

, ol

d ag

e eq

uals

tim

e to

lea

rn f

rom

ones

mis

take

s as

wel

l as

othe

rs b

efor

e yo

u. C

unni

ng in

itse

lfha

s so

me

sub-

com

pone

nts

that

lie

s w

ith

the

seen

an

dun

seen

(C

hine

se p

rove

rb s

ays:

“w

hat i

s se

ldom

see

n is

ofte

ntim

es m

isun

ders

tood

”),

yet

wel

l pl

aced

lie

s ca

n be

har

d to

coun

ter

and

dece

it is

rel

ated

to

wel

l pl

aced

lie

s. H

owev

eryo

uth

and

skill

, br

ings

with

it,

a ce

rtai

n st

amin

a an

d un

pre-

dict

abili

ty t

o th

e ta

ble.

In

the

Asi

an c

ultu

re t

here

is

a be

lief,

espe

cial

ly w

hen

it co

mes

to m

artia

l art

s or

teac

hing

in g

ener

-al

, th

at s

ays

“it i

s th

e du

ty o

f th

e st

uden

t to

sur

pass

the

teac

her”

- h

e or

she

giv

es th

e te

ache

r fa

ce! I

thin

k it

wou

ld b

ebe

tter

if ov

eral

l re

spec

t an

d tr

ue c

arin

g re

turn

ed t

o ou

r [s

oca

lled]

civ

ilize

d so

ciet

y an

d th

e ol

der

sect

or o

f the

pop

ulat

ion

can

live

and

grow

old

with

dig

nity

.

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 12

One C

risis.

..One

Age

...by

Cliv

e Bor

thwick

One

cri

sis,

one

age,

one

fam

ily (a

ka th

e hu

man

race

) – a

nd a

new

Pre

side

nt!

I was

dis

turb

ed w

hen

Myr

na (E

dito

r of B

B) t

old

me

ofhe

r co

nver

satio

ns w

ith u

nder

35’

s (a

nd I

exp

ect

that

incl

uded

lots

of u

nder

25’

s!) a

bout

thei

r per

cept

ion

ofth

ose

of u

s ove

r 50

(whi

ch I

am –

a fu

ll tw

o ye

ars o

lder

than

Myr

na!)

incl

uded

refe

renc

es to

peo

ple

who

“si

t on

the

sofa

”, “

wat

ch th

e ne

ws”

and

“ha

ve w

hite

hai

r” –

tow

hich

I sa

y “w

hat’s

wro

ng w

ith a

ny o

f tha

t!”.

It’s

abou

t as

rele

vant

as

sayi

ng th

at u

nder

35’

s (O

K –

mai

nly

unde

r 25’

s) w

ear (

in th

e ca

se o

f boy

s and

you

ngm

en) c

loth

es th

at c

lear

ly d

o no

t fit,

am

ble

arou

nd sh

op-

ping

cen

tres

as if

they

don

’t ha

ve a

job,

and

hav

e no

inte

ntio

n of

get

ting

one

and

wis

h ev

eryb

ody

with

in a

thirt

y ya

rd ra

dius

to h

ear a

ll ab

out t

he la

test

girl

frie

nd–

or in

the

case

of t

he g

irls,

thei

r lat

est b

oyfr

iend

(“he

’s

got a

n A

udi –

coo

l man

”).

Hav

ing

got a

ll th

at o

ff m

y ch

est,

let’s

get

dow

n to

som

eke

y is

sues

– it

look

s lik

e w

este

rn e

cono

mie

s are

shrin

k-in

g (th

at’s

less

jobs

for a

ll, y

oung

and

old

), th

e po

pula

-tio

n is

age

ing

(that

’s a

pro

blem

for

you

und

er 3

5’s

–yo

u ha

ve to

pay

for t

he 5

0 pl

us g

ener

atio

n as

we

age)

and

the

UK

, the

res

t of

Eur

ope

and

the

US

(and

the

Car

ibbe

an!)

nee

d to

est

ablis

h w

hat’s

impo

rtant

in li

fe

(not

e–

it’s

not j

ust m

oney

and

hav

ing

a go

od ti

me)

.

So,

let

the

gene

ratio

ns

(and

th

e ra

ces

and

the

clas

ses/

inco

me

grou

ps)

stop

sla

ggin

g ea

ch o

ther

off

-no

t onl

y is

it “

a go

od th

ing”

to p

ull i

n th

e sa

me

dire

c-tio

n –

but w

e ha

ve n

o ch

oice

!

You

may

not

agr

ee –

mor

e ra

ntin

gs fr

om so

me

late

50’

sgu

y w

ho h

as n

othi

ng b

ette

r to

do th

an se

nd M

yrna

arti

-cl

es t

hat

she

is t

oo n

ice

to t

hrow

in

the

was

te b

in!

How

ever

, I s

ee i

nter

-gen

erat

iona

l su

ppor

t in

act

ion

agr

eat d

eal –

but

wou

ld li

ke to

see

mor

e. Q

uite

a n

um-

ber o

f peo

ple

that

I w

ork

with

cou

ld n

ot w

ork

if a

par-

ent,

othe

r re

lativ

e or

nei

ghbo

ur d

id n

ot p

ick

up th

eir

child

fro

m s

choo

l an

d gi

ve t

hem

the

ir te

a un

til t

heir

mum

or d

ad g

ets

hom

e fr

om w

ork

– of

ten

on m

ore

orle

ss a

dai

ly b

asis

!

Sim

ilarly

, mos

t peo

ple

in th

eir

50’s

or

60’s

who

hav

ech

ildre

n in

thei

r la

te te

ens

or in

thei

r tw

entie

s w

ould

love

to b

e in

a p

ositi

onto

hel

p th

eir

kids

buy

afla

t or

hous

e w

hen

they

are

read

y –

and

in o

ther

case

s, w

here

mon

ey i

stig

hter

, th

at h

elp

take

sth

e fo

rm o

f a

child

(or

som

etim

es p

artn

er)

liv-

ing

with

(and

ofte

n pa

r-tia

lly a

t the

exp

ense

of)

a pa

rent

or

pa

rent

sbe

caus

e th

ey

can’

taf

ford

to

rent

or

buy

thei

r ow

n pl

ace.

12

Pho

to b

y G

arfie

ld H

all

Phot

o by

Yvo

nne

Hec

tor

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 13

That

brin

gs u

s to

Oba

ma

– ho

w c

ome?

Any

way

, he’

son

ly

47!

A

nd

he

is

blac

k an

d he

is

br

ight

(Bla

ckbr

ight

!). I

t see

ms

to m

e th

at h

e sp

ans

the

gene

r-at

ions

– re

mem

ber h

is v

isit

to, a

nd c

lear

affi

nity

with

,hi

s gr

andm

othe

r, w

ho h

ad b

roug

ht h

im u

p an

d w

hodi

ed a

few

day

s be

fore

the

ele

ctio

n in

Nov

embe

r?Th

ink

of h

is r

espo

nsib

ilitie

s to

the

you

ng m

en a

ndw

omen

in th

e U

S m

ilita

ry (w

hich

man

y yo

ung

blac

ksjo

in a

s on

e of

the

best

(and

som

etim

es o

nly)

way

that

they

can

get

a c

olle

ge e

duca

tion

or te

chni

cal q

ualif

ica-

tion)

in

over

seas

the

atre

s of

con

flict

? T

hink

of

the

mas

sive

– f

orge

t th

at,

pote

ntia

lly o

verw

helm

ing

–se

nse

of d

uty

that

he

owes

to th

e ge

nera

tions

of b

lack

Am

eric

ans

who

hav

e be

en d

enie

d rig

hts

and

oppo

rtu-

nitie

s an

d w

ho h

e no

w re

pres

ents

as

a hi

ghly

edu

cate

dan

d hi

ghly

soph

istic

ated

bla

ck m

an a

t the

hea

d of

wha

tis

stil

l the

wor

ld’s

mos

t pow

erfu

l nat

ion?

H

e ha

s to

deliv

er e

duca

tion,

jobs

, hea

lthca

re –

and

a m

ore

peac

e-fu

l w

orld

(no

t to

men

tion

som

e pr

ogre

ss o

n cl

imat

ech

ange

!).

If O

bam

a ha

s tw

o te

rms i

n of

fice,

he

will

at t

he e

nd b

e55

– h

avin

g w

orke

d ar

ound

16

hour

s a d

ay fo

r mor

e or

less

7 d

ays

a w

eek

for 8

yea

rs –

and

ther

e ar

e lo

ts o

fot

her o

ver 5

5’s (

mos

t of t

hem

, act

ually

!) w

orki

ng a

full

day

whe

ther

in

a sh

op, f

acto

ry o

r of

fice

and

then

at

hom

e (k

eepi

ng th

e ho

use

goin

g, g

oing

to th

e su

perm

ar-

ket,

payi

ng th

e bi

lls, d

oing

the

DIY

, kee

ping

the

hous

ecl

ean

and

func

tioni

ng)

– an

d (to

all

unde

r 35

’s)

that

’sw

hat l

ife is

like

, mor

e or

less

unt

il yo

u dr

op!

So, w

e ar

e al

l in

it to

geth

er –

par

ents

sup

porti

ng c

hil-

dren

, the

chi

ldre

n be

com

e ad

ults

and

supp

ort t

heir

own

child

ren

and

may

als

o ha

ve to

giv

e a

help

ing

hand

toth

eir p

aren

ts (a

s the

50+

bec

ome

60+

and

70+)

, gra

nd-

pare

nts

help

ing

out

thei

r w

orki

ng c

hild

ren

(may

be

child

min

ding

, may

be

mon

ey o

r acc

omm

odat

ion,

may

be a

ll of

thes

e!).

13

I th

ink

that

all

of t

his

is p

art

of O

bam

a’s

mes

sage

(I

hope

that

it is

!) –

forg

et a

ge, f

orge

t cla

ss, f

orge

t mon

ey,

forg

et ra

ce –

see

the

big

pict

ure

of m

utua

l dep

ende

nce

and

supp

ort

beca

use

othe

rwis

e w

e ar

e al

l th

e lo

sers

!O

K,

it is

ann

oyin

g w

hen

a 50

+ pe

rson

ask

s yo

u to

repe

at s

omet

hing

(at

leas

t my

wife

fin

ds it

ann

oyin

g!)

but s

o w

hat –

ther

e ar

e bi

gger

issu

es.

I am

a m

iddl

e ag

ed (n

earin

g th

e en

d of

my

50’s

act

ual-

ly) w

hite

man

who

is a

big

Oba

ma

fan

and

who

hop

esth

at h

e w

ill d

eliv

er h

arm

ony

and

fairn

ess a

nd d

o a

grea

tde

al to

mak

e th

e U

S (a

nd th

e w

este

rn w

orld

) mor

e of

aco

hesi

ve s

ocie

ty w

here

you

ng a

nd o

ld, r

ich

and

poor

and

blac

k an

d w

hite

get

eve

ry e

ncou

rage

men

t an

dop

portu

nity

to d

evel

op th

emse

lves

and

ther

eby

mak

e a

cont

ribut

ion

to s

ocie

ty!

I will

now

get

off

my

soap

box.

Cliv

e B

orth

wic

k

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 14

Photo

of li

ttle g

irl by

Garfi

eld H

allBa

ck Co

ver b

y Lak

shmi

Nara

yan G

upta

14

Lette

rs to

the

Edito

rM

yrna

,I h

ad a

pho

ne c

all b

y m

y gr

eat

gran

dson

’s m

umju

st10

min

s ag

o.M

y gr

eat

gran

dson

cam

e on

the

pho

ne (

age

3ye

ars,

6 m

onth

s) to

ask

me

to g

o ro

und

to h

is h

ouse

to p

lay

Star

War

s w

ith

him

.He

is o

ne o

f6

grea

t gr

ands

ons

- all

ofw

hom

we

help

wit

h;ba

by s

itti

ng ,

fetc

hing

fro

m s

choo

let

c.I’

m b

oth-

ered

now

as

I do

not

kno

w h

ow t

o pl

ay S

tar

War

s..

I to

ld h

ism

am a

nd s

he s

aid

Ror

y w

ould

sho

w m

e ho

w t

o do

it.

The

gam

eis

on

a ga

mes

con

sole

.

I’m

82

and

I be

lieve

my

grea

t-gr

andc

hild

ren

thin

k I

am e

xact

-ly

the

sam

e as

the

m.

In f

act

som

etim

es t

hey

call

me

“Mat

e!”

A y

oung

chi

ld is

blin

d to

the

agi

ng a

dult

- j

udgi

ng t

hem

fro

mth

e w

ay t

hey

beha

ve a

s a

pers

on o

nly.

Just

my

thou

ghts

and

do

not

say

owt

abou

t 2n

d ch

ildho

od.

Roy

Bar

ker.

----

--

Hi,

I ha

ve j

ust

read

wit

h gr

eat

inte

rest

the

on-

line

arti

-cl

e (o

n th

e L

uton

Tod

ay W

eb s

ite)

– (

Are

you

age

dov

er 5

0 an

d fit

,sas

sy a

nd w

ith

it?)

,con

cern

ing

“the

noti

on t

hat

anyo

ne o

ver

50 is

ove

r th

e hi

ll”.W

ell I

’mno

t to

o su

re a

bout

the

sas

sy b

it b

ut I

hav

e hi

t th

eri

pe &

app

aren

tly

rath

er o

ld’is

h ag

e of

51.

My

face

may

look

a b

it li

ved

in b

ut I

con

side

r th

at I

am

qui

teph

ysic

ally

fit

& t

hat

is d

espi

te (

& s

hock

hor

ror)

,be

ing

a ve

ry p

roud

Gra

ndfa

ther

for

the

las

t tw

oye

ars.

I am

als

o m

ore

than

a li

ttle

ple

ased

wit

h w

hat

I ha

ve b

een

able

to

achi

eve

in r

ecen

t ti

mes

.In

fact

Iha

ve n

ot lo

ng r

etur

ned

from

Tan

zani

a in

Eas

t A

fric

aw

here

I m

ade

it t

o th

e su

mm

it o

fth

e ev

ocat

ive

&in

fam

ous

Kili

man

jaro

.A

t 58

95

met

res

it

is

the

wor

ld’s

big

gest

fre

e st

andi

ng m

assi

f&

one

of

our

plan

et’s

larg

est

volc

anoe

s.I

had

also

man

aged

(ju

st

5 w

eeks

ear

lier)

,a

very

“to

ugh”

win

ter

asce

nt o

fJe

bel

Toub

kal

in t

he H

igh

Atl

as M

ount

ains

,So

uth

Wes

tern

Mor

occo

.I w

ould

sin

cere

ly lo

ve t

o at

tem

ptal

l co

vete

d se

ven

sum

mit

s th

ough

I a

m a

frai

d &

pure

ly fo

r fin

anci

al r

easo

ns t

hat

is s

impl

y no

t po

ssi-

ble.

Unf

ortu

nate

ly I

do

not

have

the

nec

essa

ry fu

nds

to c

huck

at

a ‘m

aybe

’in

the

deat

h zo

ne (

Eve

rest

).I

do f

eel

how

ever

,th

at m

y ag

e &

cur

rent

lev

el o

ffit

-ne

ss w

ould

cer

tain

ly o

ffer

no

barr

iers

,& I

do

plan

to

have

(a

mon

g ot

her

adve

ntur

es),

furt

her

sum

mit

chal

leng

es in

the

not

too

dis

tant

fut

ure.

I do

app

re-

ciat

e ho

wev

er,

that

sc

alin

gsu

mm

its

is n

ot f

or e

very

one

irre

spec

tive

of

age,

thou

gh i

fyo

u’re

in

yo

ur

fift

ies,

still

stan

ding

upr

ight

,sm

iling

&fe

elin

g po

siti

ve

abou

t lif

e,th

en m

etap

hori

cally

spe

akin

gth

ere

is

also

ev

ery

chan

ceyo

u’ve

alr

eady

scal

ed a

mou

n-ta

in o

r tw

o.E

xodu

s T

rave

l a

lead

ing

adve

ntur

e to

ur o

pera

-to

r st

ate

in t

heir

tri

p no

tes

that

th

e fi

nal

asce

nt

upK

ilim

anja

ro i

s fo

r m

any

ofth

eir

clie

nts,

the

hard

est

phys

ical

& m

enta

l ch

alle

nge

ofth

eir

lives

.I

can

affir

m t

hat

it i

s in

deed

inc

redi

bly

chal

leng

ing

but

I’m

not

sur

e it

was

act

ually

the

tou

ghes

t th

ing

I’ve

ever

gon

e th

roug

h.Fo

r in

stan

ce j

ust

thre

e ye

ars

ago

I w

as 3

sto

ne h

eavi

er,

flirt

ing

wit

h al

coho

lism

&de

eply

em

broi

led

in a

ver

y vo

lati

le &

des

truc

tive

rela

tion

ship

;no

w p

utti

ng t

hat

lot

righ

t re

ally

was

one

hell

ofa

chal

leng

e!

Any

way

,the

se d

ays

wit

h an

ythi

ng o

ne d

oes

ther

e is

alw

ays

a W

eb s

ite;

so i

fyo

u’d

like

to s

ee a

few

pic

-tu

res

or

lear

n a

littl

e m

ore

the

UR

L

is:

ww

w.ki

li.m

e.uk

Just

in B

anvi

lle

Hel

lo M

yrna

,

Wel

l I h

ave

pass

ed t

he d

read

ed 5

0 an

d am

com

ing

upto

the

dre

aded

60

at t

he e

nd o

fJu

ne.

I w

as m

ade

redu

ndan

t fr

om lo

cal S

olic

itor

s ab

out

5ye

ars

ago

and

I si

nce

got

a jo

b pr

oces

sing

mor

tgag

es.

I su

ffer

ed a

ver

y ba

d ac

cide

nt t

o m

y le

ft a

nkle

,and

whi

lst

in h

ospi

tal

in P

oole

,I

was

mad

e re

dund

ant

agai

n.I

was

abl

e to

sec

ure

a jo

b an

d st

arte

d at

aCh

arte

red

Surv

eyor

s in

Lut

on a

nd lo

ve it

.

I ha

ve a

new

leas

e of

life,

my

daug

hter

has

had

a li

t-tl

e bo

y w

ho i

s no

w a

ged

2 yr

s 7

mon

ths,

and

Colin

and

I ab

solu

tely

love

hav

ing

him

on a

Sat

urda

y,an

dot

her

tim

es w

hen

aske

d.W

e bo

th s

eem

to

have

ane

w le

ase

oflif

e,an

d he

kee

ps u

s yo

ung.

Glo

ria

(Sut

hers

)

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 15

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mys

pace

.com

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bright

news

or

www.

blac

kbrigh

tmag

azine.

com

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lack

bright

news

@ao

l.co

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unde

r &

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agin

g Ed

itor

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na L

oy

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of li

ttle g

irl by

Garfi

eld H

allBa

ck Co

ver b

y Lak

shmi

Nara

yan G

upta

March_ 2009v 6.qxp 09/04/2009 13:28 Page 16