Blackbright News

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D o c u m e n t i n g t h e L e a r n e r ’s J o u r n e y How Effective Is It?

D o Yo u H a v e Someone to Look U p To ?

C h a n g i n g P e rc e p t i o n s

Jamaica Celebrates Her Independence 1962 - 2009

Issue 15

11/08/2009

BLACK - BRIGHT

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I am not sure about other learners, but I found that thinking about how I was learning, and trying to track, recall and record that process by writing it down, very inhibiting. I found that thinking about the way I was learning prevented me from absorbing new information being given both verbally and visually. This is mainly because another facet of the reflective process is to observe what is happening in the classroom while I am learning, how I react to colleagues and

According to the University of Worcester’s Study Skills Advice Sheet: “a learning journal helps you to be reflective about your learning, this means that your learning journal should not be a purely descriptive account of what you did, but an opportunity to communicate your thinking process: how and why you did what you did, and what you now think about what you did”.

In pursuing my PTLLS Award and BTEC in Counselling, I noticed that writing learning/reflective journals seems to be a mandatory part of the portfolio development process rather than a recommended tool of support. Both Teachers and Learners are required to produce learning or reflective journals to evidence their work and documenting the impact of the way they learn/teach. It seems to me, that the current school of thought is that documenting thought processes while learning (i.e. thinking about the way they learn and/or teach, and writing it down) will improve the learning and teaching experience.

I recently became PTLLS qualified. PTLLS stands for Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector which qualifies me to teach adult numeracy and literacy, and is pronounced ‘petals’. However, I intend to amalgamate my counselling skills to mentor young people diagnosed with emotional, social and behavioural disorders (ESBD). Why incorporate counselling in the learning process? Because counselling skills develop not only listening skills, but empathetic, cognitive, behavioural and social development skills as well.

“Learning journals provide a framework to support the process of reflective learning in individual courses and in the portfolio process as a whole. Their use not only documents the developmental process of the portfolios - making it more than just a presentation of selected work - but supports the self-assessment of processes and their documentation. It ‘keeps records’, encourages metacognition, ownership and control, and provides guidance” [University of Oldenburg and UMUC]

How Effective is Reflecting on the Learner Journey?

by Myrna Loy

EDITORIAL

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ISSN No. 1751-1909

(electronic version only)

www.blackbrightmagazine.com or www.myspace.com/blackbrightnews

Photo on front cover : taken by Myrna Loy Back Cover Design: Lakshmi Narayan Gupta Back cover & ‘Girls’ Photo on Page 12 taken by Garfield Features: Jamaican Independence BLACKBRIGHT LTD Studio 57 Saywell Road LU2 0QG (UK) Tel: 01582 721 605

Founder & Managing Editor: Myrna Loy

Myrna Loy

ing experience.

Journalling may have benefits in therapeutic or emotional situations where the client is stressed or has been abused and needs to revisit the causes, but in a learning environment, I am not convinced that reflective journalling is an effective or efficient way to improve the teaching and learn-

Although Morehouse is referring performance in sports, it applies to any work the brain needs to do. What these extracts tell me is that journaling is inhibiting teaching effectiveness and performance. It is not natural for the brain to analyse every process it takes to learn something! We all know that if we start concentrating on how we are doing something – even something as simple as walking, our steps become awkward and unnatural.

“... Even in that instant during a sharp exchange of volleys at the net you have predetermined where you are going to hit the ball. Two things are accomplished in the process.

First, you have established a strategy. Second, by committing your thought to your objective, you have pre-empted the time; you are only thinking about getting there, not how you are to get there. The first is important, but the second is crucial.”

According to Laurence E Morehouse, Author of ‘Maximum Performance’, he states that “When you start thinking about what you are doing, you try to reorganise and/or add extra motions. Your motions become uncoordinated, and because you are tracking almost counting your movements, you inevitably slow them down.” He further goes on to say that: “If we were to try to read or write or think word by word, the mind simply couldn’t carry all those details. So the words have to be simplified into a single thought. We focus on a central theme....” “.... The object in a performance is to shut off your thinking which you do by shifting your focus from the details of the action to the goal of the action...”

Many teachers have complained about the journaling process and I can’t say I blame them! They are saying that they cannot concentrate on their lesson plans because their brain is thinking about how they are performing, learning and teaching thus hindering their teaching objectives.

their questions/interruptions - what was conducive to my learning experience; what elements did I find beneficial and which obstructive, etc., including my thoughts on the learning style of the tutor. Can you imagine trying to think about what to write in your journal while trying to absorb new information?

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UNCONDITIONAL LOVE This is the sincere love, the love that lasts forever. This kind of love comes when you have found the person you are destined to be with. Nothing can destroy unconditional love. It is like when you have an argument or disagree about something with that person and you realize that it doesn’t bother you because the love you have for him/her overcomes everything.

2

ROMANTIC LOVE (The much anticipated love!) Most people experience this type of love many times in their life. It is when you see that person for the first time and he/she makes your knees go weak or gives you butterflies in your stomach.i.e. “Love at first sight”. Most people don’t even love the person they think they are in love with…they fall in love with the idea if being in love. This is more of a lustful kind of love, it wears off after a while and hopefully leads to...

FRIENDSHIP LOVE This is a love between yourself and someone that is totally honest, open and comfortable. You really only have this kind of bond with a few people. You might know a lot of people and be “friendly” with them in a group situation but they are not the best friends I am talking about here I have a theory that you can not truely be best friends with a member of the opposite sex. Down the line romance will always come up from either party and feelings will be misinterpreted and mistaken. When this happens, the friendship will change and possibly never be the same again.

SECURITY LOVE This love is the love that everybody needs to survive (according to Mazlow). It is that feeling of being cared for and nurtured. Some people would describe this as the type of love parents have for their children. This is so important: high on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; and studies have even proven that people have died of a “broken heart” (there have been no explanations for their deaths other than that).

ARE YOU IN LOVE? IF SO, WHAT KIND?

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Barry Newton, Copyright © 2002

Although philia is wonderful, it too is not reliable since it is also held captive by the sifting sands of situation as well as by ours and other’s perceptions and expectations.

Unfortunately, we probably all know of a friendship which waned or was severed because of time, distance, harsh words, how someone interpreted another’s actions, etc.

When the New Testament commends love, philia is the not the word which is used.

We recognize Philia and its meaning from the name Philadelphia, that is, the city of brotherly love. This is the love of friendship, best friends, and the fellowship of being with those people you enjoy.

PHILIA

Although eros at times might make us feel like we are on cloud nine, it can not provide a reliable basis for building a deep and meaningful relationship since it is so fickle and dependent upon perception and circumstances. Because of such things as accidents, diseases, and the fact that someone can choose to doubt or despise you regardless of your actions, it is clear that we can not determine how others will perceive us nor are we masters of our own circumstances.

Although eros is exhilarating, this is not the Biblical word used for love.

Second, eros is also held captive to each person’s perception. For example, if someone perceives a particular quiet evening dinner with candles to be romantic, eros will thrive.

However, passion becomes squashed for someone whenever he or she interprets the current situation to be undesirable.

Eros thus grows strong and then wastes away based upon our perceptions.

There are a couple of very interesting characteristics about eros. First, in order to exist eros is dependent upon the situation and circumstances. As long as a couple is enjoying a romantic situation, eros can thrive. But, as soon as hurtful words or actions appear, eros simply evaporates.

Eros is probably what most people mean when they announce with a smile, “I’m in love.” This type of love covers everything from queasy stomachs and warm fuzzy feelings to strong sensual passion.

EROS

SPIRITUAL LOVE? This is the love that has a Godly quality to it and it is something you feel but cannot explain. It is omnipresent and needs nothing to fuel it other than the mutual respect and admiration of the other person. This love crosses miles and exists even when you have not seen, touched or felt the nearness of that person.

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Extracted and adapted from various websites, but whichever way philosophers wish to define love, it is helpful to understand the different concepts of love. In a nutshell, love is simple.. whether love lasts for a moment or a life-time, it is a process of giving and receiving unconditionally and we should all savour each moment for as long as it lasts– Editor.

The concept of love is subject to debate. Some deny the existence of love while others maintain that love really exists and is not an abstraction, but is “indefinable; being a quantity which is spiritual, metaphysical, or philosophical in nature”. Some psychologists maintain that love is the action of lending one’s self esteem to another and others attempt to define love by applying the definition to everyday life.

Sacrificial love - the act of sacrificing one’s life, or something of great importance, solely on the basis of love.

Love at first sight - Love that occurs the instant that one person comes in contact with another and feels a deep connection or attraction to the other and referred to commonly in many fairy tales and folk lore and literature.

Lust-love - affection characterized by lust, caring about the desired one for a short amount of time, in other words, semi-true love

Unrequited love - affection and desire not reciprocated or returned

True love - love without condition, motive or attachment. Loving someone just because they are themselves, not their actions or beliefs in particular. Also referred to as unconditional love.

Romantic love - affection characterized by a mix of emotional intimacy and sexual desire

Religious love - devotion to one’s deity or theology

Puppy love - romantic affection that is not mature or not true. The term is often used with negative connotations, insinuating that love between youngsters is less genuine or valuable.

Platonic love - a close relationship in which sexual desire is non-existent or has been suppressed or sublimated.

Free love - sexual relations according to choice and unrestricted by marriage

Familial love - affection brokered through kinship connections, intertwined with concepts of attachment and bonding

Courtly love - a late medieval conventionalized code prescribing certain conduct and emotions for ladies and their lovers

Agape - the term was used by the early Christians to refer to the special love for God and God’s love for humanity

Other Types of Love

level. (The Editor)

When I looked up love, I couldn't believe all the definitions, levels and forms of love. I thought love was a simple process, but according to writers, it has stages. What love stage are you at or in?

Find out below and determine whether or not you want to take it to the next

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A Day in Angola

12.

ISSN No. 1751 - 1909 E-magazine

(CIRCULATION IS NOW OVER 5,000)

ADVERTISE HERE FOR JUST £25

Letters to the Editor

11.

Do you have someone to look up to?

9.

Winston Hussey 2K9 Winner

Poetry

6.

10.

Jamaican Independence

What kind of love are you in?

Editorial - The Learner Journey

4.

2.

1.

FED UP OF LEARNING?

CONTENTS

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DJ Lady Loy plays the best (not the po p ul a r) in re g ga e music every week

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Tickets purchased at www.AirJamaica.com also offer the convenience of no additional ticketing fees, plus payment can be made with most major credit cards, or with cash at any Western Union location throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean.For tickets purchased online within 24 hours before the scheduled departure flight, both the credit card used and the cardholder must be verified by an authorized Air Jamaica representative at the airport prior to departure.

Travelers making last-minute travel arrangements will find Air Jamaica has made the process even easier by allowing them to purchase tickets up to two hours before the scheduled flight departure time at www.AirJamaica.com. “Air Jamaica is always looking for new ways to make travel more convenient and enhance the overall travel experience for our passengers. This new feature on our website allows last minute travel plans to be quickly actioned – with reservations, ticketing, check-in and boarding pass printing handled from the comfort of their home,” said Rob Shand, Air Jamaica’s Director e-Commerce.

.. Air Jamaica Offers Last Minute Ticketing

DID YOU KNOW...?

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Jamaica was the largest producer of sugar and indentured workers from China and India were brought to Jamaica to continue the production of sugar. Migrations of indentured workers has contributed to Jamaica culture.

Kingston became the capital 1872. Before that Spanish town was the capital.

In 1692 an Earthquake destroys Port Royal. Runaway slaves called the Maroons fought with the British in the hills of Jamaica and were granted independence to live in the hills in 1739.

Emancipation of slaves in 1838

British captured the island in 1655 and they continued to import slaves. Jamaica during this time became the largest sugar producer in the world.

Explorer Christopher Columbus visited the island in 1494 and this began Spain rule.

They enslaved the Arawaks to farm sugar and tobacco. They soon died because of the harsh living conditions they were forced to live under. The Arawaks died out about 100 years after Spanish rules and then African slaves were imported.

The first inhabitants were the Arawaks who were indians from South America.

Jamaican Independence

Celebrating

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ISBN 096323 881-7 (£10 LIMITED EDITION)

Jamaica is more than white rum, ganja and beaches...

blackbrightnews@aol.com

The Chief Editor

Send your submission to:

To win a copy of my book “The Other Side of Tourism”, write a short story fictitious or real called ‘Independence’ in in no more than 1000 words.

Other Prime Ministers of Jamaica are Sir Donald Sangster, Hugh Shearer, Michael Manley and Edward Seaga.

ence).

The current Prime Minister is (Orette) Bruce Golding was sworn in 7 September 2007 (8th Prime Minister since independ-

Portia Simpson-Miller elected in March 2006, was the first negro and female Prime Minister. She was in office for 6 months.

P J Patterson was the first ‘negro’ Prime Minister.

Alexander Bustamante became Jamaica first elected prime minister.

Jamaica gained independence from the British August 6, 1962.

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Sir Alexander Bustamante

Nanny of the Maroons

Norman Manley

Samuel Sharpe

Paul Bogle

George William Gordon

Jamaican Contributors to her Emancipation

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by Michelle Balach-Ali

Best of both worlds?

Fifty-fifty chance Watch my stance Utopia Diaspora Various shades of Light.

Do you know how you were made?

Should he have stayed?

(Did she get paid?)

Peripheral, penetration of partner’s perdition?

A dysfunctional deliverance of discrepancy? or the historical outcome of abuse?

Rejected by half of their own Just not black enough, yet not really white enough either white, Black Black, white ... not quite good enough – tough.

Mulatto Nigger – half-caste quality Juxtaposition of shoulds and should nots A product of rebellion A clash of colour A product of intrigue.

Mulatto Nigger

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Dike Omeje.

20th April, 2009

The gaps that fill the spaces between emotions The wave that frees the reality of the dream The magic that still worsk without the potion The peace is the pieces in between.

When I accept that the shoe fits, then wear it proudly When I’m as graceful in my rise as in my fall The deadly sin that searched but never found me The deadline sin that rose each time I chose to call

The lessons I learned between instinct and instruction The path between the professional and the beginner The virgins final stop before corruption The road between the good man and the sinner.

The moment just before two lovers say those three words The spaces in between performance and applause When the cup that I thought was half-empty still quenches my thirst The knowing smiles on faces I thought my words had lost

The eye contact between the sniper and his target The common ground between the fiction and the fact The sound before the stock exchange opens the market The clarity before addiction take you back.

The knowledge between the question and the answer The rhythm between the music and the dancer The distance between two fighters before they close it The thought the writer conjured but never wrote it

The Pieces in Between

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Black-Bright has provided employment opportunities for its volunteers and the Founder is obtaining the requisite qualifications to enable her to teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector so that she can assist adults with their literacy and numeracy needs. The Founder is currently assisting KS4 students with their GCSE English and is also assisting EEC & Asian students with English Literacy, pronunciation and Grammar. She hopes that by helping one person at a time, she can eventually enable the Luton community.

Blackbright News was nominated for the Nationwide Award for Voluntary Endeavour in 2007. Blackbright News was nominated for and received: the Black Business Initiative Award 2006 for using social entreprenurialship to enlighten the black community; the Mayor’s Citizenship Award 2007 for its outstanding service to the local community and the African-Caribbean Achiever’s Award 2007 in recognition for outstanding accomplishments in Luton and nominated for Learn Direct Award in 2008.

Implementing ethical, moral and spiritual character building strategies within articles and stories for the upliftment of its readers.

BLACK-BRIGHT Elevates by:

Focussing on the emotional needs and aspirations of its readers; identifying ways to rejuvenate, rebuild and reshape our culture; encouraging positive attitudes and realistic expectations to enable a sense of wellbeing.

BLACK-BRIGHT Motivates by:

subliminally developing readers who are limited from their full potential because of life experiences; removing the ceiling that limits that potential through awareness raising strategies; providing a new paradigm of thinking (hence its award-winning appeal and global readership); and acting as a cross-generational and cross-cultural advocate for life-long learning.

BLACK-BRIGHT Educates by:

encouraging our readers to further develop their talents, views and positive ideas; actively inviting participation from people who have constructive ideas, enthusiasm and a passion for expressing issues; providing a medium where readers and contributors can express themselves to a global audience.

BLACK-BRIGHT Stimulates by:

Readers say they have found Black-Bright “relevant, useful and informative”

Black-Bright - It’s about Challenging Perceptions

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(Jamaica)

Poem Written & Submitted by Maurice Grace

Our world today, could be what they say, In a way. I say powerful minds confuse The wise and vale the already blinded eye Who? When? and Why? Ask that guy, not I In the middle of the storm I come Before it’s done, I’ll be fastly gone Mind in Wonders, Miracles to perform Do you? Do you really understand?

A well-built mind is superior, Can flicker words to fire!

Can bond a nation strong by the thought of just one, Freedom is lost from everyone Do you understand?

Mind is power, world’s greatest computer, ‘A’ terrible wrapper if carefully nurtured.

‘A’ stopper to any Bolder!

‘A’ puzzle to an answer, ‘A’ sword, ’A’ shield, ‘A’ protector ‘A’ professor by nature, The thing in me will, build me And break me, maybe mind over matter!

Do you? Do you, really understand ME? The sound I make, the thought I take Or from the heights, where Minds above look down On the things best loved, When silence speaks a wordless song.

Minds of men engaged in full actions.

The thought of man will never cease As mind of flooded thought in even beast.

Do you understand?

DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?

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(The Editor)

Understanding children is about taking the time to know them. How many adults have the time?

Work, other demands on their time, social commitments – ‘signs’ can inadvertently go unnoticed.

What about the child who fell off the bridge recently and drowned on a school outing? Take your eye off a child for a moment and it can be a tantamount to manslaughter or criminal negligence and no amouont of apologising can compensate for the emotional trauma suffered by the victims parents.

Children are crying for attention because many parents are over-committed. “Watch me” “Look what I am doing” their silent voices cry out… but no-one hears.. and no-one sees.. until its too late.

Probing and/or observations can be indicators – but can an adult really understand what a child is going through by looking for ongoing signs in body language, disinterest, lack of concentration, disruptive behaviour, nervousness? Can a guardian always distinguish whether a ‘trait’ is cultural or emotionally charged?

Are morals and values the same in all cultures? Of course not – so what is the cultural benchmark?

Which culture sets the standard? When in Rome do as the Romans Do? So when there are inconsistencies in behaviour because of cultural and social internal battles, who in ‘the system’ is going to recognise the difference between warning idiosyncrasies or cultural attributes?

From a young age, children are moulded into the shapes, values and morals of their parents, carers and other influencers in their life. When they lean towards independence (doin’ their own thing) they are quickly curtailed to conform.

The greatest fear that children suffer (and many of us as adults) is the fear of being misunderstood or left alone.

IS BODY LANGUAGE ENOUGH?

“LOOK WHAT I’M DOING!!!” their silent voices cry out; but no-one hears.. and no-one sees, until it’s too late.

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email: culturalgarden@aol.com for more information

Inspirational Mentoring can help young people regain perspective and focus.

The risk, when these things happen, is that they “tune out” to avoid doing what they have to do or they tolerate an unsatisfactory situation until they feel emotionally burned out, get angry, become seriously stressed, panic or suffer depression.

At some time or another, everyone gets stuck in patterns of thinking, feeling or functioning that cause discontent and stress and with young people with Emotional, Social and Behavioural Disorders (ESBD), these patterns are exacerbated. Young people with ESBD can get overwhelmed by conflicting priorities and their reactions to things that happen that they don’t expect and don’t want in their lives, causes them to lose focus, waste effort, miss opportunities and impose on others. Young people with ESBD/conduct disorders, could become their own worst enemies through self-criticism, selfdoubt, and unresponsiveness to their own needs.

Myrna’s inspirational mentoring work is driven by her interest in helping young people release energy for progress. A consistent thread is her belief in the need for beneficial relationships where parties experience themselves as respected, treated justly in a safe environment, and are helped to realise their purpose and potential.

Myrna feels that nurturing one’s culture and identity, is the centre of growth, stability and wholeness. She believes that the essential basis for self-improvement is a “true” relationship with oneself.

Myrna has been called a ‘cauldron of creativity’. Born in London of Jamaican parents, she is a Visual Artist, Published Author, Performance Poet, Radio DJ and Publisher of Black-Bright News.

Myrna spent 11 years in the United States working for the United Nations as a HR Administrator, 1 year in Angola on a peacekeeping mission trying to motivate vulnerable staff who accompanied her on the hazardous assignment. Myrna returned to the UK in 2000 to be close to her family.

“My family of origin was heavily influenced by the strictness of the Caribbean and the unforgiving attitudes of Victorianism. I was raised in by a private foster home during my primary years. Much of my early experiences with formal education, employment and relationships lacked the emotional support and guidance necessary for optimal growth. Adults ruled in my pre-school world: “children must be seen and not heard”; during my pubescent years: “.keep your mouth shut, do as you are told, and obey your elders”. As a result, by the age of 15 years old, I had closed up emotionally, internalised my fears and became apprehensive towards those who claimed they loved me. I developed my capacity for resilience by mentally recording my feelings and writing them down in either poetry or prose. In my 20s, I started to paint. The process of transferring the frustration on canvas was therapeutic. Reflecting on the steps I took to overcome the challenges I faced and the subsequent self-examination has been pivotal to my work.

Myrna Loy, says:

Myrna Loy, Inspirational & Poetry Mentor assists young people to achieve their potential...

DO YOU HAVE SOMEONE TO LOOK UP TO?

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Back Issues, Art Cards and Myrna Loy’s Travelogue “The Other Side of Tourism” (Buy Now for only £5) (It’s the funny side of being British in Jamaica!)

Tel: 01582 721 605

please email blackbrightltd@aol.com for more info: www.blackbrightnews.com

www.myspace.com/blackbrightnews and click on the Paypal button and you will receive it within 3 - 5 days. Just £3.00!!

FOR ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES

email: blackbrightnews@aol.com FOR LIMITED EDITIONS OF PAST HARD COPIES?

FREE online future editions of BBN?

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Finalist.

Calvin McFarlane’s cheering squad hollered like their champion had copped the title when the Nuff Niceness singer was announced Best Performer, winning $300,000 and a trophy from Tastee, plus prizes from Digicel and Cooyah.

the comic.

Also, Hussey apparently did not need music in the accepted sense to toss his body back and forth, to cheers from the large audience, sections of which definitely came out to support a particular finalist in the Festival Song 2K9 compe-

10

$40,000 from Capital and Credit as the Most Improved

simply exuberant body expressions that bordered on

of the audience) were hits with the audience.

If there was a prize for costuming, Lester Lewis would have been as close to a ‘shoe-in’ as conceivable, what with his extra long shoe (Jerry D asked him to display it for the audience and declared it a good weapon if a thief invaded the home) and a butter yellow, spotlight bright tailcoat suit.

Cooyah.

The announcement was handled in a way that helped stem any potential controversy, as MC Jerry D announced the winning producer first. After Lloyd Grant collected his prize for the winning song and Hussey’s pocket of supporters started cheering wildly, Jerry D said, “So you get it by now,

sation of the winner instead of ‘dashing it on them without

Allowing the members of the audience to come to the reali-

Source: The Jamaican Gleaner

of the stage clustered before as he addressed various parts

by Dr St Aubyn Bartlett and also received a gift from

huh?”.

Christopher Martin (whom a gaggle of adoring girls in front

And guest performers Roy Rayon, Busy Signal and

festival songs as well as a snatch of a dancehall hit.

having his best moment with a medley that included past

finalist warmed up with a song of their choice, Tinga Stewart

Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre on Sunday. Each

of the night, they were not the only ones delivered at the

In addition, Hussey was presented with the Stages trophy

Potential controversy

winner’s $1 million cheque from Digicel’s Mark Martin.

their entries and skanked without music as he collected his

Back Jamaica during the segment where the finalists sang

his way off-stage to the beat of his eventually winning Take

positioned most prominently near the stage). For he danced

Although the 2009 top 10 festival songs were the highlight

energy and a glowing smile into Love Jamaica, earned

sense of trying to make crowd-pleasing moves, but

tition (Tinga Stewart’s contingent seemed the largest and

Stacia, who was noticeably running out of breath as she put

Disciplined Performer.

Feel The Pressure, won $40,000 for being the Most

it was for effect and limped noticeably at points during his

duties. Oba Simba, whose staff was as much for support as

the top 10, all but two of the singers also doing writing

as the CHASE Fund gave $100,000 each to the writers of

Most of those other finalists did not go home empty-handed,

simply filed out silently.

just in front of the stage, many members of the audience

onstage and his core of supporters cheering him on from

wha dem a go do now?”, the other finalists behind him

Song, Take Back Jamaica, twice asking triumphantly “A

So while a jubilant Hussey performed the 2009 Festival

tioned all previously about accepting the judges’ decision.

by a severely segmented audience, after Jerry D had cau-

warning’ may have assisted in the acceptance of the result

on Sunday night. And at points it was not dancing in the

the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre, Hope Road,

It seemed that Winston Hussey couldn’t stop dancing at

DID YOU KNOW...

Winston Hussey won the 2K9 Festival Song for Jamaica?

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Robert, one half of Tina & Robert.

With regards,

Perhaps this is how you feel, but I certainly don’t see it like that. The generation that I belong to, known as the Baby Boomers, were the same people that dramatically changed our lives from the mid 1960’s onwards. Those people are still changing things, although I agree that perception can be an uphill struggle.

My wife and I still enjoy the sort of social life that teens and twenties have the energy for. We love trendy bars, dancing, socialising, even burlesque, but just in case we stand out like a couple of wrinkled prunes among the bright fresh plums, we always send any new venue that we venture into, an email explaining our ‘concerns about the generation differences.’

Adding, jocularly, that we might need somewhere to park our mobility buggies.

We have never felt ostracised. In a bar in London, known as The Cellar Door, we met a young couple out on their first date, such an engaging couple, we chatted for hours, without the slightest sense of generation difference. And again, a couple of weeks ago, we were up in Glasgow for a dance/burlesque event known as Vegas/High Tease. We were on the dance floor without any sort of self doubt, and although we weren’t the oldest there, we were older than 90% of the audience. But so many came up to us, complimenting our dancing, inviting us to future shows, and these are people forty years younger. One young man even posted on the burlesque website: “Did you see the older couple setting the dance floor on fire? etc. etc.”

My own take on aging is confidence, I just don’t see the the lines in my features, it doesn’t occur to me that I could be old, how could I be? I’m to young to be old!

And besides, my late Grandmother once told my wife that she didn’t know the old woman who lived in her mirror, it certainly wasn’t her, my Granny was, forever, eighteen. So with her genes in me, how could I not be the same?

“But whether people are in their 50s or 80s, if we have no control over our lives and allow the under 35s to dictate our future, we will be placed on the back burner for goodness knows how long.”

Answering your post, belatedly, six months after you posted it on the Age Concern forum, probably demonstrates the forgetfulness of advancing years.

You said in your post:

Dear Myrna, We are Tina & Robert Taylor,

Responding to the over 50s March edition

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

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friends he chooses..” Excellence is not an exception it is a prevailing attitude.”

The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve.. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change.. Some of your friends will not want you to go on.

They will want you to stay where they are.

Friends that don’t help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream.. Those that don’t increase you will eventually decrease you..

Consider this:: Never receive counsel from unproductive people.. Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how..

Not everyone has a right to speak into your life.. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person.. Don’t follow anyone who’s not going anywhere. With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it. Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life.. Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships. If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights. A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of

INSPIRATION AL WORDS OF COLIN POWELL

With regards.

Robert. (Savannah) Verwood, Dorset

Sorry about the previous confusion and thank you for The Blackbright news.

The last time, at the age of fifty two, I knew, there wasn’t much point trying for another managerial post, as you say, too old, past it, et al. Never mind the thirty years experience, fit in mind and body, so I started up on my own, Ten years later, I am still there, the business is strong, even in this difficult climate, have just taken on two new staff, one in his early thirties the other on the brink of sixty. If they are good, have the right attitude and want to work, that’s all I ask.

And three times I was on the losing side in a buyout by a competitor.

I do see what you mean about the job market. For almost thirty years, I worked in the logistics industry, in all I worked for three of the largest conglomerates in the field.

Thank you for responding, and so quickly.

Dear Myrna,

Letter for the editor, continued...

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The experience here was a good one, although I am not sure how it affected me psychologically.

The week just before my birthday was an unsettling week for me.

The Medical Unit suspected a cardiac arrest. Can you imagine? I was hospitalised, placed on very high dosage of blood pressure tablets to reduce my blood pressure from 160 over 120 to its present state of 130 over 90.

My heart was beating at 130 a minute instead of the normal 90 and I was in a terrible state. Some say it is the cumulative effects of the Larium (malaria preventative pills) while others seem to think it is stress related. Whatever, I have decided to call it a day in December.

I am leaving 18 December to spend an overdue Christmas in London, with my family (it’s been over 3 years) and to spend the New Year in New York.

Date: 5 October 1996

(True Events)

by Myrna Loy

A Day in an Angola

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A doctor in the hospital, after checking my blood pressure, immediately gave me two capsules to put under my tongue to reduce the blood pressure. I was then given an EKG. After the EKG, because we could not understand each other, we were using sign language.. I needed something for my headache, and she was putting her hands across her heart and pointing the wheelchair.

I immediately translated her sign language to mean “open heart surgery” and whispered a silent prayer.

Off they carted me, outside the hospital pushed by a man, up and down some slopes (no modern technology), outside of the hospital.

Street lights directed us to another building. I asked to use the bathroom, and it was then I saw something that I could translate as being Radiography (because the spelling was similar) and felt relieved. I assumed at

Subconsciously, the restrictions of not being able to go anywhere unescorted, and the inability to shut yourself off for “quiet time” plus other factors add ed to the stress factor, not to mention the pressure of extracting myself from a situation that was making me feel uncomfortable.

I feel much better now.

I am off the tablets that were meant to assist with my breathing (I was gasping for breath, but not wheezing).

Looking back on a particular incident that was not funny at the time, I can smile at it on reflection. I was in the Sagrada Esperanza Hospital (which is a local Level III hospital) unable to speak a word of Portuguese. I had been escorted there by Portuguese speaking paramedics and a Peruvian Doctor who explained the symptons I was experiencing, and they subsequently left me there because it was around 8.30 in the evening.

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It started off on Friday night when I was taken to an exclusive restaurant by a good friend of mine and her companion. It was downtown, and the restaurant was amidst plants and a setting of antique furniture contrasted with dashes of colour on the walls - highlighted by florescent

Less of this stuff. It was my birthday last Sunday, and let me share with you how I spent it.

The social activities are on the decline, and I intend spending most of my time at work for the next couple of months pending my repatriation on the 18th.

Finally, after a series of checks, I was allowed to go ‘home’ after a final check with the cardiologist. I was given five days off work.

I had the x-ray, and as I left, the little English she knew as “I wish you luck — God bless you”.

I spent the whole night in the emergency room wondering.

My headache was still pounding — they wanted to give me an injection in bottom to reduce the discomfort (how does one connect one with the other?), but I had an injection earlier which was so painful that I decided to suffer the headache. I suffered that headache all night until I reached a point where I wanted the injection, but they were being spiteful, or so I imagined. I pointed to my mouth and then to my head meaning that I wanted a tablet for my headache but they didn’t give me one. When they took my blood pressure and realized that despite the capsules, it had not stabilised they decided to give me a tranquillizer which seemed to reduce my headache.

that point that I was going to have was an x-ray, and I was right.

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My friend’s companion didn’t quiver, but generously said: “I’ll pay it, no problem, this is nothing for a birthday - in Russia we spend thousands when it is someone’s birthday (he was Russian)so Cecile looked at me, because she had intended paying for my birthday and I looked at her, and we both shrugged simultaneously, and thought “how nice” - it was a very nice gesture.

The man pointed to the salad bar, and it looked delicious. Not wanting to spoil our appetite, we put a modest amount on our plates, went back to the table and decided to order the main course, which varied between lobster, shrimp and steak. We had two bottles of wine, the bill came up to US$200 including the tip (in 1996!!!).

We had failed to realise, and because there was no Portuguese Speaking waiters, that the salad bar constituted an “Eat as Much as you like for $45!” main course. We saw a man walking around with beef on a skewer, and wondered how we could enjoy some of that and didn’t realize that it was also a part of the eat as much as you like of, or fish accompanying the salad bar.

So we, as they say “got done” We had ordered two main courses, that was why it was so expensive.

Realising our error, it could be considered a reasonably priced restaurant!

bulbs.

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In the evening, I had been invited to a Vietnamese Restaurant, by colleagues in the Personnel Section. I had been there once before — the food was excellent.

This time, I don’t know if subcon-

Cecile had invited me for lunch, so after lunch we went to the UNAVEM Social club for a drink and a game of dominoes, went for a walk, and got home around 4.30 p.m.

Sunday (during the day) went pretty quickly.

I made breakfast for my girlfriend Cecile — it was the only way I could get her out of bed at 7.00 a.m., and then I went to work to make some calls to England, but I couldn’t get an outside line.

In the evening we had been invited to two parties. Someone was picking us up at 8.30 p.m. to take us to the first party and then we intended to find our own way to the second party.

When we went to the first party, it wasn’t really our type of party. They were playing music by Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz, and some artists I hadn’t heard of.

We left there and went to another party, but I just wanted to see my birthday in with special friends, and I did. On Sunday, a minute past midnight, we opened a bottle of Asti Spumante which was a luxury in Angola.

On the Saturday before my birthday, I went into work for a couple of hours, and then went home to clean my container inside and out. We have these awful bedsheets and grey flannel blankets on our beds, so when a girl (who had just returned from Kenya) was gifted a bedspread which she didn’t like it, I immediately seized the opportunity to ask if I could buy it off her. She said yes, so I put it on my bed and it looked lovely.

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Roots Reggae & Lovers w/Lady Loy every Sunday from 8pm - 10pm www.jamrockradio.com

Trevor Hartley, Louisa Marks, Peter Spence, Keith Douglas, Sandra Cross, Donna Rhoden, Paul Dawkins, Aswad, Deborah Glasgowe, Lion Youth, African Brothers, etc.

Were You Raving in the 80s?

Tudor Rose, Dougies, All Nations, Apollo.. Railway?

IT’S TIME FOR NOSTALGIC REGGAE...

(Written by Myrna Loy while in Angola)

I am looking forward to leaving.

Mission life is not for me, everything is so transitory, one cannot get one’s teeth into anything substantial or meaningful.

I really had a wonderful birthday.

The friends I have made here, have made up for not having a family around. I am very lucky. I am back to a clean bill of health.

sciously I was comparing it to the dinner we had the previous Friday, but it was of very low calibre in comparison.

However, I was with very good friends who wanted to give me a good time, and they did.

Photo of Back Cov

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Photo of little girl by Garfield Hall Back Cover by Lakshmi Narayan Gupta

Founder & Managing Editor: Myrna Loy

www.myspace.com/blackbrightnews or www.blackbrightmagazine.com email: blackbrightnews@aol.com

Gives Hope to a New Generation!

Blackbright News

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