On Sunday night, I went to see author Taiye Selasi read from and talk about her new novel, Ghana Must Go. She was ace – witty and warm. Also she’s a stone fox, with the deep brown complexion and cheekbones of a goddess. I got to ask a question (yeah!), and she smiled at me [...]
Here’s a little something I had in the drafts of my Tumblr for the longest time. I finally finished it and clicked ‘publish’. It’s below the jump, giving you one last chance to turn and run, should you wish to hurt my feelings – OMG, why would you do that?
As I write this, I feel as light as a feather. Because this year, I finished filing my tax return over the course of three days. It’s a record for me. Sure, I still had time for an emotional cry, a couple of yelps of frustration at HMRC’s seemingly deliberate opacity when it comes to [...]
Remember last year, when I did a brief look back at the year just gone? You do? Super, because we’re doing that again (spoiler: I didn’t get a dog – boo). My word for the year? Easy. It’s ‘lipstick’. Listen. You could walk away from this post right now because that’s the major take-home from [...]
Yesterday was my 3oth birthday. I did nothing special – I didn’t even shower until about 4 o’clock. The night before, on a whim, I went to the cinema – alone – to see Skyfall. I sat in the dark with a hundred other people, coat in my lap, watching people pretend to beat and [...]
Last month I travelled to Paris for a few days of R&R. Look, I know relatively speaking, I’m in the world’s top half, earnings, access and amenities-wise. And I know one of the main reasons I’m nearly always broke is because of the career I chose to work in. I get all that. But man, [...]
The scene: 10:30pm, Brixton Station, a couple of weekends ago, waiting for the 133 bus.
Everything happened this year. Revolutions, riots, dictator deaths, economic crises, royal weddings, the release of Captain America, featuring Chris Evans’ giant pecs, Kelly Rowland and a selection of wigs appeared on a painfully mediocre X-Factor, , a fictional Prime Minister boffed a pig, and I cut off all my hair… I could go on, but [...]
This time last year, I was in Nigeria, coming down from the high of my high school reunion and gently simmering in the sub-Saharan heat. Today, I am in north London; the weather’s hardly blazing and the most exciting thing on my social calendar is a visit to my threader’s at the weekend. My blog, [...]
I have always wanted to live alone. Forget wedding dresses and flower arrangements; aged nine, I designed and drew plans for my dream house. Charitably, I included several rooms to accommodate visiting relatives. Briefly. I live with two smokers. I don’t smoke. At this point, I must make clear that they do not smoke in my room. They do [...]
A few months ago at Stoke Newington’s Rose and Crown pub quiz, a question came up that only three people in the entire pub knew the answer to. The question was, “Who released the album Secrets in 1996?” I didn’t even hesitate. It was, of course, Toni Braxton. I have loved Toni since the early 1990s, when [...]
It’s my birthday in seven days - I shall be 27 years old. This is not a landmark age. The only real change that comes with it is that you can no longer say “Oh, I’m in my mid-twenties…” when trying to be age-vague. 27 puts you firmly in late-twenties mode. Which is fine, but the [...]
