Vaccination Station.

Break out the confetti, people – WE HAVE A VACCINE.

Yes, the first vaccinations took place yesterday; a few days after batches of the new COVID vaccine arrived on British shores, its journey followed by journalists like paparazzi hounding celebrities. Anyone who had a vaccine ended up on TV, including this charming man. Fingers crossed, this will be the beginning of the end for people across the country over the next few weeks and months, especially those eagerly waiting while saddled in Tier three.

It’s all very exciting and though I’m cautiously optimistic about this monumental development, ten years work done in ten months means there are some doubts about this vaccine. For a start, two nurses suffered allergic reactions after being given the vaccine. Apparently, they have made a full recovery, but medical regulators have issued a warning to those who suffer from ‘significant’ allergic reactions not to take the vaccine. Inexplicably, nobody mentioned side effects before this happened, even though we all know that many medications and vaccines have them. The question is, who exactly is excluded? People with food allergies? Hayfever sufferers? Epileptics?

I can’t help but wonder if this fast-track vaccination station is a ploy to deflect from Brexit and the stalling in the talks between the government and the EU. Don’t forget that by being the first country in the world to be ‘all systems go’ regarding the vaccine, Britain is clearly trying to show that they are a force to be reckoned with and that we will thrive after January 1st (when everything kicks in… including the vaccine).

Personally, I will wait until this vaccine is fully and firmly established before I take it and that it’s clear it won’t turn me into a werewolf or harbour other unwanted side effects.

It’s Not All Gravy.

Sainsbury’s are at it again!

Fresh from having an attention-seeking actor publicly vow to never shop in their stores because they had the temerity to celebrate Black History Month, the supermarket chain have released their new set of adverts; one of which has a Black family at the centre of it.

This should not cause concern but, in this day and age, some people have taken great offence to the idea of showing a Black family celebrating Christmas on TV. These viewers seem to think that Black people should not be centre stage in such campaigns or programmes, and have hurled abuse and vitriol at Sainsbury’s on social media.

In response, Sainsbury’s defended their ad campaign, saying that they want to be “the most inclusive retailer,” and “throughout all [their] advertising, [they] aim to represent a modern Britain.”

Now, who could argue with that? Oh, of course, those folks who love to bring out their Big Book of Statistics to justify their virulent strain of racism. Here’s a good one:


This person seems to imply that because Black people make up a small percentage of the British population (allegedly), we do not count and therefore, should not be represented. 

Yet again, this is a situation where Black people should apparently ‘know their place’. Never mind that many of us we’re born and raised here – that does not matter. We should sit down, shut up, look pretty and never be at the forefront of anything, unless we get explicit permission from those who will always see us as beneath them; hence why they never want to see us painted in a positive light.

People like this will continue to think that we should not be allowed to showcase who we are, even in an advert where the story revolves around something as innocuous as Christmas gravy. It’s funny how none of these fools start foaming at the mouth when a certain advert for sportswear comes on screen – I’m guessing that’s where ‘our place’ is, right?

Well, I’ve got news for you sad-sacks out there: not only do Black people in Britain celebrate Christmas and other holidays, we also work and (gasp!) shop in supermarkets including – you guessed it – Sainsbury’s. We do exist – we’re not unicorns.

If you have an issue with Black people being in the spotlight for a Christmas ad, then I shall suggest that you are the one with the problem. If you think that showing a Black family on a thirty-second advert is ‘alienating the White majority’, then I honestly don’t know what to tell you, apart from that your mindset is both ignorant and idiotic (what a combination).

If you are offended by seeing Black and ethnic minority people in adverts, magazines and television programmes, imagine what it’s been like for the very same people seeing nobody like themselves in similar campaigns for decades (whether deliberate, or by accident or thoughtlessness) and feeling like you don’t count because you are constantly left out.

I will never understand people who view more diversity on TV and across the media, as a stain on the fabric of British society. What you are saying is that you will tolerate (I hate that word) Black people, so long as we don’t draw attention to ourselves; something that we do anyway as a visible minority. We could be walking down the street or sitting on a bus and we get attention – noticed for doing nothing.

I’m surprised none of these people have complained about us shopping in supermarkets… although maybe that’s next on their paranoid agenda.

D’Angelo – Cruisin’: An Appreciation Post.

A few nights ago, while waiting for the Brandy v Monica Verzuz battle/appreciation event to start, I watched D’Angelo’s video for his song Cruisin’. It was late and I’m a 90s R&B diehard, but I hadn’t listened to it in years and well… the song left me so deep in my feelings, I felt compelled to write.

When I heard the orchestra in the intro, I got chills and my mind instantly went back in time to when R&B music was the greatest thing to listen to.

Cruisin’ is one of my all time favourite songs. This song was written and recorded by the legendary Smokey Robinson, but there is something about D’Angelo’s cover that is just perfect. It was released 25 years ago, yet it sounds so timeless, so dreamy, so damned sexy and sets the right mood. I think it is better than the original and, quite frankly, Cruisin’ makes me want to fall in love everyday and be miraculously transported to late-night New York at the same time. Such a song stands out among the cacophony of music nowadays. If you don’t feel a way or anything while listening to it, you need to let your heart soften and let in the lurve.

The video has such a simple setting and being filmed in black and white only served to make it feel even more romantic.

I also never noticed how blackity-black the video was. D‘Angelo was ahead of his time regarding this – the video was the epitome of All Black Everything. The orchestra was Black. The background vocalists were Black. The beautiful women singing along in various places – and the older people in the launderette scenes – were all Black. For the record, I desperately wanted to be the blonde Black woman in the car at the end. I thought she was absolutely stunning, but my little teenage self did not have the first clue where or how to make myself look like such a goddess. Honestly, he showcased various types of black beauty in four-and-a -half minutes and that was a rarity back then and even now.

Cruisin’ is an incredibly sensual and beautiful song but, for me, it is also bittersweet and a bit of a sucker punch to the stomach because I’m single and want (nay, deserve) a love like the one reflected in the music. When you hear people say, ‘If the love doesn’t feel like 90s R&B, then I don’t want it,’ this is the song and the video that they are referring to. It is a classic and I can’t lie, it almost makes me want to cry because it’s such a luxurious song. I want that kind of love. That super-deluxe, plush, all-enveloping, mellow but intense kind of love. 

Since then, D’Angelo has had his highs and lows, and his video for ‘Untitled’ made women worldwide spontaneously combust thanks to that body. But Cruisin’ will always be my number one song of his. A superb and beautiful piece of music. 

©️ Gillian. H.

Stormzy’s Scholarship.

Stormzy continues to excel in his quest for world domination. Earlier today, he announced a new Stormzy Scholarship, a new venture in partnership with Cambridge University which gives two black British students the fully-funded opportunity to study at the esteemed institution.

Wow. First, his publishing project with Penguin Books – called Merky Books – and now this. What an absolutely fantastic opportunity and a boost to black British students, many of whom often feel that, while the road to Oxbridge is an option, it is not exactly open to them.

Of course in this day and age of people who moan for moaning’s sake, there were dunces out there bleating, “Why is Stormzy only doing this scholarship for underprivileged black British students? Why not include underprivileged white students?”

The reason why he is doing this, you ignorant fools, is because even an underprivileged white student has a better chance of getting into Oxbridge than a black British student – thanks to their skin colour they are not subjected to quotas or outright ignored, as everything is geared in their favour. The number of black British students at Cambridge would be laughable if it wasn’t so low – they even asked for help from schools and parents to increase the number of black British students enrolling at the university (because Cambridge ‘could not do it on its own.’)

See, this is what the class system does in Britain – it tries to obstruct certain people from certain backgrounds gaining access to certain institutions. Despite all the talk of diversity, the Oxbridge definition is along the lines of allowing more white women through the doors – a bit like golf clubs (though they still do not want women in the clubhouse). They look down upon those whose looks and image does not fit the general consensus and allow a select number of ethnic minorities within the hallowed walls – and even then, instead of allowing them to flourish, the black British contingent are made to feel like they should be forever grateful that they were allowed to study at Oxbridge. Never mind that they got there on merit by getting the grades and working their backsides off to achieve and succeed – they endured snippy comments from those who looked down at them saying, ‘You can’t sit with us.’

In an ideal world Stormzy should not have had to do this scholarship. In a roundabout way, it shamed Cambridge University and highlighted the lack of action with their previous ‘efforts’ regarding diversity. However, the fact that he has made this happen demonstrates his greatness, his astute nature and his desire to level the playing field. At the end of the day, an underprivileged white student is still a white person and a part of the mainstream. Black people are a very visible minority so anything that helps raise the number of us within such stiflingly white institutions is a great thing. Education is for all – Stormzy’s scholarship proves so.

Don’t Say That Word.

Over in YouTube Land, a well-known user called PewDiePie (nope, me neither) used the word ‘nigger’ during a live online gaming broadcast on his channel. He then apologised saying he ‘didn’t mean it in a bad way,’ then started laughing.

I am not a fan of people using that word and it should certainly not be a part of any white person’s vocabulary. They know it’s derogatory and a racial slur, so why use it? If you do, then you know it is because you deliberately intend to cause offence, so shut up with your nonsensical excuses.

Why this dunderhead decided it was ok for him to say it on his social media platform and then come out with the most trifling automatic apology baffles me.

Even worse are those who are defending him. Since when has he been given a pass?

‘He didn’t mean it that way,’

‘It was in the heat of the moment,’

‘It’s just a word.’

Don’t talk about what you don’t know. Some of these people are the same type who would happily describe themselves as liberal and against racism and other ‘-isms’, but they cannot see the problem with a white man with vast media influence (he was the highest-paid YouTuber in 2016) shouting the word ‘nigger’ like it is an everyday term and want to tell black people that we are over-reacting?

This man did not use it as a term of endearment or empowerment, he used it as a derogatory term and he knew that the minute he said it. The fact that it rolled off his tongue like saliva tells me he has done this before.

This incident will probably make a minor dent in the amount of money he makes. People forget certain misdemeanours by certain people nowadays. There was a video of a young girl the other day showing off her strong drumming skills on Twitter. I retweeted it, then noticed her username had the ‘n-word’ in the title (she was not black). I was taken aback by this and many replies to her video brought attention to her username. Meanwhile, I pressed ‘undo retweet’ and forgot she existed. See, stupid things like this make people think twice in supporting you…or at least it should.

This trend of pretending that the n-word is no longer offensive, hurtful, abusive and anyone can use it ‘because black people say it to each other’ needs to stop. Not all black people say it- surprising, I know but we have other words in our vocabulary that we can use instead.

Getting back to this idiot, he issued another apology stating that he has, indeed, been an idiot. “I’m really sorry if I offended, hurt or disappointed anyone…I should know better.” Yes, you should. As I stated before in a previous post, I hate those shitty, almost unapologetic apologies like this one, with ‘if’ used in a way that says ‘honestly, you shouldn’t be offended’.

The problem is- as the old saying goes -there is no such thing as bad publicity. As seen by the mixed reaction to his outburst, this will probably be swept under the carpet, never to be spoken about again… until the next time.