Mmm

FIFA are already talking about a contingency plan for South Africa 2010. As I recall, Athens 2004 was beset by myriads of problems over construction, squabbling amongst the organising committee yet to my mind, if the IOC had a contingency plan, they sure as hell didn't let the rest of the world know in 2001! Thabo Mbeki, if there's one thing that should galvanise you to GET INVOLVED, it's South Africa 2010. Germany did a good job in 2006 and South Africa should look to tap into their expertise to ensure teutonic efficiency is brought to bear on the various projects that need to be done. For the stadium construction, look to the Chinese as they are experts in that particular field. For logistics, look to the English. But above all, let it retain its South African identity inspite of the global input.

The news from across the pond is that the Chicago Bulls have swept the defending NBA champions aka Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs - maybe it's time for Shaq to retire his size 22 shoes.

Liverpool will rout Chelski at Anfield especially since Ricardo Carvalho is injured and Michael Essien is being played out of position. TTFFUM will see their dreams of a treble crumble at the San Siro - lets hope the second leg is as scintillating as the first.

All hail the clay court king aka El Pirata aka Rafael Nadal who has extended his winning streak on clay to 72 matches after winning the Barcelona Open for the 3rd time. I'm going to put a bet on him winning the French Open AND Wimbledon. He reached the Wimbledon final last year when noone gave him a chance and I'm sure he can go one better this year.
Vamos Rafa, vamos!!

I espied an article in a newspaper last week which said that Iraqi oil reserves are double what had previously been thought. This means the American troops won't be leaving anytime soon as American interests have now doubled. Did you know that the US Baghdad embassy is the biggest in the world - WHY?

The Bushman has shown himself to have a sense of rythm, his own!! However, he seems to know how to hit a drum, perhaps that's because he marches to his own beat!!

A la semaine prochaine.

Bye for now

Parting is such sweet sorrow,
because who knows about tomorrow?
So I'll harness the inspiration and creativity you engender
and hope that when we meet again, you'll remember.

Facts

Einstein, when asked the speed of light, responded, "I don't bother to fill my head with facts that I can easily find in books." Well how he was able to do that, I would love to know because my brain gathers up facts the way a Dyson vacuum cleaner hoovers up dust! I'm especially attracted to facts of the historical and numerical variety.

There was a magazine called Look and Learn that I used to read every school holiday. It was a great source of factual information and here are some of the myriad facts that have accumulated in my grey matter:

• the speed of light is 300,000 m/s, but so far the speed of thought has not been measured
• it was while Winston Churchill was Secretary of State in 1921 that the Kurds of Iraq were first gassed - do you think that's where Sadaam Hussein got the idea from?
• at the height of his power, ie when he was Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte had a net worth significantly more than Bill Gate's current net worth
• Thierry Henry can run 100m in 10.75s. When Marion Jones won the 100m Olympic title in Sydney 2000, she stopped the clock at 10.78s.

I find that juggling helps with my factual recall. Something about focusing on a mechanical act while whatever it is does the search and retrieval.

Mmm

Chelski want to crush TTFFUTM's title aspirations in their backyard which is understandable, lets just hope they don't bottle it. At least that would allow DD to get one over Twinkle Toes after he pipped DD to the PFA Player of the Year Award. On balance, Twinkle Toes deserved to win it, but I think DD would prefer to win the Premiership than individual trophies - he's the consummate team player. Now, if only he would do something about his hair!!

How TTFFUTM's makeshift defence will cope with AC Milan's Kaka and Seedorf is one of the more intriguing
matchups. Think Maldini will use all his vast experience to thwart Twinkle Toes and Shrek - it will be Istanbul all over again in Athens.

Oh Nigeria, Nigeria, Nigeria, how could you let us down so?! This was supposed to be your big chance to show the world that you can have a smooth transition of power. But instead, we have ballot box napping, ballot boxes being stuffed and intimidation at the ballot box. You would have thought that with all the resources available to the PDP, they would have been able to win without resorting to such skulduggery.

Last Monday, 33 lives were stolen in Virginia, USA and 200 lives were stolen in Baghdad, Iraq. Guess which lives were deemed more worthy of media coverage? We see this happening all the time. Round about this time in 2001, 10,000 lives were lost in Gujerat as a result of an earthquake, 5 months later, just under 3000 lives were lost in New York and the western media and politicians would have us believe that the world changed on September 11. PLEASE, lets have some sense of perspective. The world changed for the victims' family and friends. For the rest of us, what changed was the gradual erosion of our civil liberties, John Ashcroft used September 11 as a pretext to pass the PATRIOT Act which meant that libraries could be forced to divulge what books were being borrowed. Then we had the diversion that is the invasion of Iraq. Now as chaos and anarchy reign supreme, Tony Blair has the bloody cheek to say no mea culpa. In the meantime, the Taliban have become emboldened in Afghanistan and the death toll of the NATO troops continues its steady rise.

The singularly American regard for authority was on display again when a chap took a fatal exception to his performance appraisal and killed his appraiser before killing himself.

El Pirata dispatched the Swiss Maestro in a manner which should make him an odds on cert to retain his French Open title next month.

So the Windies & England wait until they are eliminated from the Cricket World Cup before they put on an entertaining spectacle - its such a shame that Lara was run out like that, but to answer his question, he did entertain us.

Have an entertaining week.

Cuatro, Four, Quatre, Quattro

What is it with the Lefties?

What do Brian Charles Lara, Diego Armando Maradona, Rafael Nadal, Martina Navratilova have in common? They are either left handed or left footed and have all bamboozled, befuddled, bemused and bewildered opposing players on a regular basis, whilst holding spectators in their thrall.

The Swiss Maestro had a staggering win/loss of 82/5 last year, but 4 of those 5 times he lost to El Pirata. El Pirata has not been beaten on clay since 2005 and is currently on a 65* match winning streak. When Diego dribbled, it appeared as if the ball was glued to his left foot and opposing players resorted to underhand measures to dispossess him. Martina Navratilova bowed out of competitive tennis after winning her 59th Grand Slam title, at last year's US Open, at the age of 49. Brian Lara is the finest batsman of his generation and currently holds the record for the highest Test innings, the most Test runs and the highest first-class runs.

The left side of the brain is responsible for creativity so don't lefties have an advantage to begin with?!

Strangely enough, I'm right-handed, but left-footed.

*he could extend this to 67 if he wins in Monte Carlo this week.

In Maradona's footsteps

Many have been called the new Maradona, an unfair tag if ever there was one, but even the great man himself acknowledges that Lionel Messi is something special. Like Diego in Japan, in 1979, Lionel inspired Argentina to triumph at FIFA's U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands, in 2005, where he was voted the tournament's best player aka MVP (John Obi Mikel was 2nd and Taiye Taiwo was 3rd). He also picked up the Golden Shoe for top scorer - Diego was 2nd highest top scorer in '79.

Diego had a rather unhappy time at Barcelona, where he moved after his exploits in Japan, but found his feet at Napoli where he led them to 2 scudettos in 1987 and 1990. Messi has already won La Liga twice with Barça and in Germany last year, he tantalised us during his all too brief cameos for Argentina - it was mystifying, to say the least, when Jose Pekerman decided to substitute him in the game against Germany.

Maradona's 2nd goal against Enland in the 1986 quarterfinal match has been labelled the best World Cup goal, even though the English players seemed spellbound and didn't make any decent tackles. To my mind, this makes Messi's goal against Getafe better because he skipped past some committed tackles. It was fitting that in the post match interview, Messi paid tribute to Maradona and wished him a speedy recovery.

Messi to lead Argentina to victory at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010 - you read it here first.

Churchill, Disraeli and Nelson

Winston Churchill, voted the Greatest Briton in a 2002 BBC poll, and Benjamin Disraeli, Britain's only Jewish Prime Minster and the man who did much to lift Queen Victoria's spirits after the death of her beloved Albert in 1861, are to be joined in bronzery by Nelson Mandela, freedom fighter turned statesman, in Parliament Square, after Westminster Council finally agreed on a home for the latter's statue. The Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, had wanted Mandela's statue to be erected in Trafalgar Square, facing South Africa House, the site of numerous anti-apartheid and free Mandela rallies.

....we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.... - Winston Churchill, 4 June 1940

...During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. - Nelson Mandela, 20 April 1964

Numb3rs

Yesterday I bought a CatEye Vectra Wireless cyclocomputer for her, which provides me with all sorts of statistics such as my speed and how far I've travelled. According to the gizmo, the maximum speed I have attained is 34.0 km/h (21.3 mph) and the distance I have cycled so far is 22.1 km (13.8 m).

That got me thinking about the impressive numbers we are capable of generating. For example;

• the fast bowlers at the Cricket World Cup can generate ball speeds ranging from 136 to 150 km/h (85 to 95 mph). Shoaib Akhtar aka The Rawalpindi Express holds the fastest bowling record at 161.3 km/h (100.2 mph).
• In tennis, A-Rod (not that one!) aka Andy Roddick can serve the ball at 248.8 km/h (155.5 mph). On the womens's side, V holds the record for the fastest serve, at 203.8 km/h (127.4 mph).
• Titi can cover 100m in 10.75s, which works out to 9.3 m/s, Asafa Powell's 100m world record is 9.77s or 10.2 m/s.

Lets hear it for the self generating speed merchants.

Emotional Intellligence

Last night, I watched a programme, Battle of the Brains, that reaffirmed for me just how overrated vanilla IQ is. One of the experts on the programme defined EIGHT types of intelligence which are all measurable. However if one is to succeed in life, then one needs to work on their Interpersonnel and Intrapersonnel Intelligence, collectively known as Emotional Intelligence. The programme measured the eight categories of intelligence for the seven participants who were considered leaders in their fields; artist, chess grandmaster, dramatist, fighter pilot, IQ expert, musical prodigy and quantum physicist. While the fighter pilot performed consistently well and even scored highest in one of the intelligence test, the overall winners were the dramatist and the quantum physicist. The dramatist didn't start school until she was eight and she took seven years to finish her English degree at university. However her emotional intelligence is very much to the fore and that came across in the programme. The quantum physicist had a sense of humour that was evident and his emotional intelligence came across too.

Daniel Goleman's book, Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ, illustrates how developing one's emotional intelligence as a child can serve one in good stead later on in life. In his book, he asks why it is that people who excelled academically at school and university weren't necessarily able to transfer that academic excellence into similar success in the real world? How is it that people who didn't excel academically or stopped their formal education at an early age, such as Richard Branson (he left school at 16), went onto achieve great success? It's down to their emotional intelligence. In E IQ terms, Richard Branson is a genius (E IQ > 180).

Ironically, the man we now all acknowledge to be a true genius, Albert Einstein, was labelled a dunce early on in his academic career - his grey matter was probably bored to tears.

So people, develop your emotional intelligence by engaging the left side of your brain, the creative side. Let your children develop social skills because how they interact with others will determine their degree of success or failure later on in life.

Mum's the word

Q How do you get 500 people to keep a secret?

A By using onion layering

Onion layering is one of the most effective methods of implementing security because even if you get through one layer, there's another layer underneath, and another one and another one etc until you eventually reach the inner sanctum. However that takes a lot of time and only the really determined would put in the requisite effort.

By the end of the Second World War about 500 people worked in the Cabinet War Rooms, but by using another security principle called need to know the actual number of people who really knew what was going on was limited to a handful.

The original axis of evil, Germany, Japan and Italy did not have a flippin' clue about this room from where Britain plotted the demise of the Third Reich. Don't the British know how to keep schtum?!

The Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum are well worth a visit and you can see the ingenuity of the Royal Engineers on display.

Churchill was an admirer of the Desert Fox aka Erwin Rommel - he admired his professionalism as a soldier. FDR was the glue that held Stalin and Churchill together so when he died on 12 April 1945, the fractious relationship between Stalin and Churchill re-emerged. Churchill did not have as close a relationship with FDR's successor, Harold S Truman.

Oh, why was I there? To attend an information security seminar - what a way to combine business and pleasure?! I'm a history buff so the tour after the seminar was the proverbial icing on the cake.

PS: Stalin killed a lot more people than Hitler, 20 million to 6 million, so why is Hitler the more vilified? Is Hitler's continued condemnation based on how society values human lives? We all know an African life isn't worth very much. Or could it simply be that as Stalin was on the victorious side, he was entitled to his spoils of war?!

Can you miss what you never had?

You gave me additional consonant in my surname
and then there's the indelible memory that just won't fade.
There were the Maths and French books that I put to good use
and I'm told you taught me to read so thankyou.

But as you were not around to protect me,
I regard you somewhat ambivalently.
That was pretty apparent when you died,
at your funeral, I read a paper to help time pass by.

I wonder what I'll say to you when we meet face-to-face,
I still remember to keep my cards close to my chest.

Stolen lives

To all the young people, across the world, whose lives have been stolen because of adult folly, this posting is for you.

He was always such a nice boy*

The quiet one
With good intentions
He was down for his brother
Respectful to his mother
A good boy
But good don't get attention
One kid with a promise
The brightest kid in school
He's not a fool
Reading books about science and smart stuff
It's not enough, no
Cause smart don't make you cool, whoa


He's not invisible anymore
With his Father's 9 and a broken fuse
Since he walked through that classroom door
He's all over primetime news


Mary's got the same size hands
As Marilyn Monroe
She put her fingers in the imprints
And danced Chinese Theater Show
She coulda been a movie star
Never got the chance to go that far
Her life was stole
Now we'll never know


No no no no oh


They were crying to the camera
Said he never fitted in
He wasn't welcomed
He showed up the parties
We was hanging in
Some guys puttin' him down
Bullying him round round
Now I wish I woulda talked to him
Gave him the time of day
Not turn away
If I woulda been the one to maybe go this far
He might have stayed at home
Playing angry chords on his guitar


He's not invisible anymore
With his baggy pants and his legs in chains
Since he walked through that classroom door
Everybody knows his name


Mary's got the same size hands (Oh)
As Marilyn Monroe
She put her fingers in the imprints (Ooh)
And danced Chinese Theater Show
She coulda been a movie star (She coulda been a movie star, oh)
Never got the chance to go that far
Her life was stole
Now we'll never know
(Now we'll never know, oh)


Greg was always getting net from 20 feet away (20 feet away)
He had a try out with the Sixers
Couldn't wait for Saturday (Saturday)
Now we're never gonna see him slam
Flying high as Kobe can
His life was stole (Stole)
Oh now we'll never know


Now we'll never never never know
Mmm now we'll never never never never know
Stole (Stole)
Oh whoa yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah


Mary's got the same size hands (Same size hands)
As Marilyn Monroe (Oh)
She put her fingers in the imprints
And danced Chinese Theater Show (She was gonna be a star)
She coulda been a movie star (Oh no)
Never got the chance to go that far (Never got the chance)
Her life was stole (Stole, stole)
Oh now we'll never know
(Now we'll never never know, no)


Greg was always getting net from 20 feet away (He had game, oh)
He had a try out with the Sixers
Couldn't wait for Saturday
Now we're never gonna see him slam (Never see him)
Flying high as Kobe can
His life was stole (Stole, oh)
Oh now we'll never know
(Now we'll never never know)


Oh no no no
Yeah their lives were stole

To those left behind, cherish and hold on to their memories.

*Lyrics to Kelly Rowland's profound Stole

Here's your new joiner's gift

In Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine, there's a bank in Virginia (Virginia has the most liberal gun laws in the US) that provides new customers with a rifle to say thanks for joining.

It is easier and quicker to buy a gun in the United States than to obtain a library card - my card for a public library took two weeks to arrive and I had to show proof of address etc, one can purchase a gun in three days, provided one has no criminal record.

In Switzerland where every male over the age of eighteen has a gun, the number of gun fatalities is infinitesimal compared to the US.

The 2nd amendment of the US constitution decrees that US citizens have the right to bear arms, well they bear then and then some!! Charlton Heston, president of the NRA from 1998-2003, while accepting a presentation rifle in 2000, brandished it aloft and said, "From my cold dead hands" , a reference to him being willing to defend his right to bear arms even if it costs him his life. The NRA wields enormous political clout and has used that clout to consistently stymie attempts by the Congress and the Senate to reform gun laws.

An American commentator on the BBC pointed to the singularly American regard for authority.

In Columbine, 12 people died, at Virginia Tech, 33* people died. Are they waiting for a 50+ death toll before they have the cojones to do something?

*this could rise

Right at Caversham Bridge

Today I took a right at the bridge and had an incident free ride (the dog in the picture behaved).

Mmm

It is imperative that the Palestinian Authority and Hamas make a concerted effort to find and free the BBC journalist Alan Johnston. If there is any truth in this, then Hamas should do the necessary. As the only western journalist living in Gaza, he gave voice to the voiceless - surely his kidnappers would not want to silence this voice. To sign a petition calling for his release, click here.

Just incase anyone thought that Lewis Hamilton wasn't the real deal, his performance in Bahrain has seen the odds on him winning the Formula 1 title this season, slashed (if only I had placed a bet when I wrote this). His dad, Anthony Hamilton, says his son's feats frighten him - well he should prepare to be afraid, very afraid.

So it's going to be Chelski vs TTFFUTM in the first FA Cup final to be held at the new Wembley. I predict that TTFFUTM will win this, but they won't win anything else as their defence is shot and Van der Sar is going through a dodgy spell. Chelski will win the premiership and Liverpool will win the Champions League for the sixth time.

Wolfie doesn't have the decency to resign, he's waiting for the inevitable push. As one of the architects of the monumental folly that is the invasion of Iraq, he's appointment to head the World Bank didn't go down too well to begin with. During his term his message to prospective lendees is that corruption will not be tolerated, so why should we tolerate his?! The Bushman has voiced his support and despite the chorus of disapproval from around the world, Wolfie seems determined to ride things out. There should be a concerted campaign to run him out of office because otherwise the reputation of the World Bank will be irreparably tarnished.

Wills and Kate have decided to end their relationship. That is their decision, they are after all, adults. Their reasons for doing so are nobody's business but theirs.

They can sell their stories, no actually they should not have. Like I said before, Iran has given Britain a lesson in the art of propaganda.

Roy "The Enforcer" Keane has turned around Sunderland's fortune to such an extent that they are likely to gain automatic promotion to the Premiership. Paul "The Guvnor" Ince has instilled a degree of professionalism and work ethic at Macclesfield that has seen them move off the bottom of the table to the relative safety of 20th in League Two, with a game in hand.

Have a good week y'all.

Pour ma petite soeur - Bon anniversaire

You are the Yin to my Yang, the day to my night,
you complement me in ways that are just beginning to come to light.
You could actually be my alter ego,
the persona I adopt when I'm in the mood to go with the flow.

Your perspective on life is remarkably well balanced
and its good to see that the setbacks you've faced haven't radically altered your stance.
You're very perceptive and you've got a big heart,
you're extremely selfless and that's just the start.

Your sunny disposition is very endearing,
you're funny and altogether rather appealing.
Like me you sit back and absorb the goings on
though you should occasionally try to make more of a commotion.

I sometimes sense that you don't fully appreciate the immeasurability of your potential,
I do, but self recognition is way more beneficial.
A person's wealth is measured by the quality of their friends
so I guess that means my wealth is without end.

As you celebrate your first birthday after Z's birth,
you will undoubtedly put her needs first.
Nevertheless, I hope you'll be able to set aside some time for yourself
despite Z's reluctance to spend time with anyone else.

Happy Birthday from across the Atlantic
and lots of love from your big sis.

The long ride

Yesterday I rode from Reading to a Heathrow hotel, a distance of 26.5 miles (42.6 km). It took me about five hours because I got lost and when I paused to catch my breath, I took some photos. The return journey was a lot better because I found a short cut and rode to Slough where I caught the train back to Reading.

She is well and truly broken in and so is my derrière.

Left at Caversham Bridge

I turned left at Caversham Bridge and rode along side a stretch of the river Thames and here's what caught my eye.

My wheels

On account of this, I decided to get myself a set of wheels and not wanting to antagonise Mother Nature any further, I opted for the two wheeled variety.

As you can see, I believe in safe cycling.

She's exhilarating to ride and the guys here kindly fitted her with semi-slick tyres which means I can use her both on and off-road.

She's a GT Avalanche 2.0 and here are pictures of her bell (didn't realise that was a bell!), handlebars and shock absorbers.


I'm in the process of breaking her in and today I did about 25 miles (40km). I'm saddle-sore, but my endorphin count is off the charts, despite the unwanted attention of a bulldog who wanted to play (what is it with dogs and people on bikes?!) - of course I let the dog know that I wasn't interested, despite its efforts to persuade (should that be dissuade!) me.

Black

Black to me signifies understated elegance,
an aura of mystique, a defining essence.
Black is who and what I am so don't denigrate me,
otherwise you will be engulfed with my incandescent rage, rapidly!

Black is my favourite colour as it goes with everything,
it sartorially transforms the wearer by adding an unquantifiable something.
It has a certain je ne sais quoi, a refining quality,
just attend a black-tie dinner if you don't believe me.

Black has an infinite coolness, it signifies a defining classiness,
an inherent goodness, an inclusive universality.
I don't have time for the stereotypical associative negativity
and believe I have stated my case pretty eloquently.

Black conciousness espoused by Steve Biko is the ultimate aspiration,
let's start with ourselves to overcome the inevitable discrimination.
We need to proclaim it from the rooftops and say it very loud,
that WE ARE BLACK AND WE ARE VERY PROUD!

Take Me As I Am

She's been down out,
she's been wrote about,
she's been talked about constantly,
she's been up and down,
she's been pushed around,
but they held her down NYC.

She has no regrets,
she accepts the past,
all these things they helped to make she.
She's been lost and found
and she's still around,
there's a reason for everything.

You know I've been holding on,
tried to make me weak,
but I still stay strong.
put my life all up in these songs
just so you can feel me.
So take me as I am,
take me as I am
or have nothing at all,
nothing at all.
Just take me as I am
or have nothing at all,
at all.

Yes she's older now,
yes she's wiser now
can't disguise her now
she don't need
no one telling her
what to do and say,
no one telling her
who to be.

She's on solid ground
she's been lost and found
but she answers to G-O-D.
And she's confident
this is not the end,
ask me how I know
cause she is me.

You know I've been holding on,
tried to make me weak,
but I still stay strong.
put my life all up in these songs
just so you can get the real me.
So take me as I am,
or have nothing at all,
at all.
Just take me as I am
or have nothing at all

This is me, this is me.
So it's all or nothing at all
all or nothing at all
don't you know
I can only be me (x2)

So it's all or nothing at all
all or nothing at all
don't you know
I can only be me (x2)

I said take me as I am
or have nothing at all
I can only be me (x2)
So take me as I am
I can only be me
So take me as I am
or have a nothing at all

Take me as I am (x2)
said it's all or nothing at all (x2)
Just take me as I am
or have nothing at all

This is me,
this is me,
Just take me as I am
take me as I am
or have nothing at all

Just take me as I am
take me as I am
or have nothing, nothing at all
take me as I am.

As written and sang by the inimitable, incomparable Queen of RnB Hip Hop Soul, Mary J Blige, for the critcially acclaimed masterpiece that is The Breakthrough.

Another year older = one year less to live

Today I'm another year older, but still in the 35-44 demographic,
I would tell you my age, but then what's the point in dwelling on specifics?!
I've outlived Princess Diana, which is no mean feat
because in 2006 things were looking pretty bleak.

So to all those who continued to shine a light to penetrate my gloom,
I can but offer a very grateful thankyou.
These last two months have seen me reintroduced to my creative side
and inspired by my muse, I've started to feel alive.

I've acquired a certain calmness and nothing seems to faze me,
I'm engaging my brain and my grey matter is happy.
The possibilities are endless, I'm only limited by my imagination,
the choices I can make are a source of fascination.

So I'm daring to dream, think the impossible, believe the improbable,
I feel my time has arrived and I'm determined to see what's achievable.

Half of a Yellow Sun

Half of a Yellow Sun is the beautifully written second novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie who has been hailed by no less a luminary than Chinua Achebe. The book tells the story of Nigeria's civil war in Biafra, from 1967-1970, from the Igbo standpoint. It is poignant, humorous and full of matter-of-fact atrocities. I've read a few books in my time, but this is the first book that I've read, finished and started to read again. The author's usage of the English language is masterful and she manages to convey the rich tapestry of 1960s life in Nigeria to her readers, amidst heartrending tragedy. She accurately portrays the goodness, the badness and the downright ugliness of the African continent.

You can listen to her being interviewed for Africa Today here.

If you only read one book this year, than let it be Half of a Yellow Sun, a literary masterpiece and then some!

People, believe the HYPE!

****UPDATE****
Half of a Yellow Sun has won the Orange prize

Kukhu, 1909-2004

My grandmother was one of my grandfather's seven wives,
she had thirteen children, five of whom are still alive.
She lived to the ripe old age of ninety five,
her longevity can be attributed to changes she made in the latter part of her life.

She used to brew and sell a vodka equivalent so my mother could go to school,
as my grandfather wasn't too keen on girls getting an education at all.
Yet my gran recognised my mother's potential and made the necessary sacrifice,
and also gained a liking for chang'aa until the last few decades of her life.

We spoke different languages and yet we communicated
her in Kiluhya, me in Swahili - a language she pretended not to rate.
As a teenager, I realised that she understood me and knew where I was coming from,
that was important because at the time, my mother and I didn't get along.

I went to Busia to see her for the last time in July of 2004,
she was extremely poorly and close to death's door.
But my mind wouldn't let my eyes see just how frail she had become,
that much was evident when I later developed the pictures at home.

She passed away at the beginning of September,
and even though I didn't attend her funeral, I'm told it was one to remember.
Thousands of people came to Busia to pay their respects,
the esteem in which she was held was definitely not circumspect.

I will always cherish my memories of you,
and for giving me my mother, I say a heartfelt thankyou.

10th April

Today's date for me represents the beginning of my journey
as it was 26 years ago, today, that we swapped countries.
England for Kenya was the exchange that took place,
however this time it was for good and not a rose tinted holiday.

I was packed off to boarding school, which I didn't like at first
and I ran away one weekend because of an unkept promise.
Fortunately, the headmaster was a wise old chap,
and understood the reasons behind my acting up.

If it wasn't for NPS, I wouldn't be where I am today
because the foundation for my education was laid in that place.
I aced my CPE exams, getting 276 out of 300, and placing top ten countrywide,
which allowed me to join LGS, one of the best high schools for girls, at the time.

I was at Limuru for the next six years of my life,
gaining 8 O levels and 3 A levels as I took academics in my stride.
Next up was UoN where I studied electrical engineering,
yet a practical course was rendered theoretical by the method of teaching.

I left with a Tutu, which was something of disappointment considering my academic pedigree
but I had done two computing work placements as I had decided that was the career for me.
Trying to find a job afterwards, brought home the chauvinism prevalent in Kenya society
and ultimately I decided that to achieve my dream, Kenya was not the place to be.

So every year on this date, I sit back and reminisce
about the Kenyan leg of my journey and how it shaped me.

Mmm

In his maiden Formula 1 Grand Prix race, Lewis Hamilton finished 3rd, in his 2nd GP race, he finishes 2nd so I wonder what the odds are on him winning his next race in Bahrain. Just like his golfing counterpart, Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton started his racing career quite early. He has been racing cars in various forms for most of his young life (he's 22) - is it any wonder that he's bloody good!! Tiger Woods learnt to play golf by the age of 2 so there's a naturalness to his game. By not winning at Augusta, he maintained his record of never having won a major that he's not leading after the 3rd round.

I told you TTFFUTM were due a fallow period, they have now lost their last 2 games so lets see if they can make it a hat trick against Roma on Tuesday. Chelski are certainly doing their bit to reignite the race for the Premiership. I would love it, love it, love it if Chelski were to snatch the title from TTFFUTM on 9th May when the two teams meet.

My predictions for the cricket World Cup have been woefully wide of the mark thus far so all I will say is that I expect Bangladesh to reach the semis.

Well Iran has certainly given Britain a lesson in how to conduct a propaganda campaign. The Iranians staged managed the photo/film shoots so effectively that I was convinced the captured sailors were well treated. The sailors have been at pains to point out that they were in fact mistreated by conducting interviews with the UK media on their release, with the blessing of the MoD, but Iran is still releasing contradictory footage of shiny, happy sailors playing chess, table tennis. Of course this does not explain how the Iranians were able to surround the British vessel and capture the sailors without the latter receiving any warning that Iranian ships were bearing down on them. BTW, all talk of Iran's nuclear programme has been pushed into the background for the time being, a respite that Iran will no doubt welcome.

Mugabe's has managed to subjugate the Zimbabwean populace by keeping them in a state of semi-starvation. He must reason that people are less likely to agitate for change if they are perennially hungry. His state sanctioned economic policies have transformed Zimbabwe from Southern Africa's economic breadbasket to Southern Africa's basket case, now reliant on food aid, whose distribution is politicised. 1 in 4 Zimbabweans have left Zimbabwe and a number of her well educated professionals are now slumming it in South Africa, the UK and the US, in order to be able to remit money back home. For ordinary Zimbabweans, the cost of staple foods is now prohibitively expensive so they are lucky if they can afford more than one meal a day. As usual, British institutions are doing their bit to prop up Mugabe's regime. A well known high street bank continues to extend credit facilities to Mugabe's government. So called smart sanctions are anything but, as Mugabe, as a head of state, is allowed to travel to attend United Nations meetings. Needless to say, when he does leave Zimbabwe, he does not travel alone.

Have a good week.

Henley-on-Thames

In the grounds of the renowned Henley Management College and the picturesque town of Henley.

Changing faces

This photo shoot was done on 3 separate days and I can attest to his professionalism throughout the shoot.