A WRITER'S MIND!

Remember that time maybe a few years, months, weeks, or days ago when you thought you just might go out of your way to make someone’s day, and with Great Expectations you did not only invest time, effort, thought and maybe money too (these days almost everything has a financial cost) but also took the risk to carry it through, only to get a response you would have rather not discuss. You know, like a mellow “thank you” almost whispered in embarrassment, or an outburst of rage “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?” Or maybe what you got just an indifferent “Whatever” sort of response. Oh yes, maybe for you all your effort went unnoticed.

Did you then curse your offender? Wring them and hang them to dry with a smile on your face (in your thoughts of course) or did you kick yourself in the butt for being such a *@@:&&*##* and think to yourself “What a mistake!”, “NEVER AGAIN!”

It’s a bit of a painful, ego-bashing ‘surgical’ experience don’t you agree? I can laugh now but for me it was only last week when I had to re-live a moment like that. Oh yes and I did survive the theatre and even better, I am still in the recovery room after that surgery. You see I thought to do a good deed for a pal of mine, a pal I don’t know too well and maybe that was my first mistake (I told you I am still in the recovery room). In my head I had it all figured and there was no reason at all for anything to not go as ideally as I had expected, of course I was only looking at it from my perspective. Well when the milk turned sour on me I admittedly thought “so much for being thoughtful”.
Yes, for days I pained and fought with myself over the matter. I couldn’t figure out whether it was my pal with a warped appreciation for friendship or whether it was me with a totally screwed approach to friendship. To be frank I don’t have the answer yet. What I am learning from the recovery room is that yup… being human I do have limitations, I am not without horizon (including my foresight) so things may not always go as planned, however, I have two choices:
(1) to run 100 miles headless from any such ‘trauma’ OR (2) to use the experience as cosmetic surgery on my character perhaps like the ideal Hollywood nose /boob job (this is by no means an encouragement to physically go for cosmetic surgery)

Hey, life can be a bit of a challenge sometimes and let’s face it; we are all not Mr. Armstrong, but who said we have to be?

(Ren, 2005, National History Museum, London)

Did it ever occur to you that there are ordinary people out there living ordinary lives but making an extraordinary impact on lives around them? It’s interesting to know that a lot happens around us and often passes by without us batting an eye.
Three Fridays ago, I had the chance of experiencing an event that like so many others would have passed me by were it not for an email that was most likely misdirected to my inbox.
On my way to London’s West ham I couldn’t hip but wonder what the evening had in store for me. I was actually a bit nervous about this exhibition for various reasons. Firstly I had never myself attended a black history event and definitely not one celebrating the work of a black photographer of Nigerian origin and secondly I was running late, the exhibition was to begin at 6pm and I only got to West ham at 7.00pm. Thirdly I wasn’t to sure if the email invitation was really intended for me.
As the automatic doors of ‘The Hub’ parted to let me into its spacious and well lit reception I felt a slight rush of adrenalin. I had been there before so the well designed solar powered building was not anything new to me but most of the inhabitants were, in fact all but the esteemed photographer himself. Contrary to what I expected the crowd was equally diverse comprising of Africans and Afro-Caribbeans, European and British Caucasians. As I strode further into the reception area I walked straight into a group photo of Joe and his guests posing behind his prized work of both black and white subjects. Only then did Joe spot me and with a look of surprise and gladness requested adamantly that I stand by him for the photograph.
During my 2.5 hours there (longer than I initially thought my fatigued body would last) I met ordinary people making an extraordinary impact in their world.
I was introduced me to a middle-aged couple, members of the Board of Directors for The Hub and a few other similar community centers in Newham. They both had so much to say about what the board is doing, have done, what they have achieved as a board and as a community in reducing crime, promoting health and well-being, creating jobs and much more, I was truly impressed. What I so clearly recall is the men’s health outreach project that they had running for a while with one nurse going into pubs and betting shops to chat to men about issues concerning their health. ‘If they don’t come to the clinic, then take the clinic to them’ a policy that worked well and increased the level of health checks for men in the locality.
As I mingled around the room I noticed an elderly Rastafarian man, seated down on his own. His name Rudy (this is my tribute to him). As our eyes met he smiled as if to say ‘hi it would be lovely to chat’, and being as perceptive as I think I am I went over and indeed I spent another hour with this wise man getting an insight on life from the perspective of an educated, British Jamaican, Rastafarian. It was great to see the delight in him as he gladly shared with me the rich black history dating from the biblical era of King David, to the Colonial era of Christopher Columbus and the origins of his people. So much did we enjoy our conversation that he insisted that I do not leave without giving him a memento to mark the evening. He was a charmer, Rudy; no doubt he must have been a lady’s man in his youth. As I searched in my handbag for something of meaning to give, I came across a beaded Rastafarian ring I always used to wear until it partially cut. I apologised for its state but asked him to keep it and mend it for me (and with a wink added that else I would find someone else to mend my broken ring). We decided to settle for a cup of coffee together some day soon.
Not long after strolling away from Rudy I came across a Nigerian lady visiting friends in London. Once again I was rapt in conversation but this time about the challenges of living in London and the richness of the African continent. It was a pleasant change to have met a proud young African woman in London who was not ready to give it up her home in sub-Saharan Africa for the more challenging socio-economic dynamics of the West.
9.30pm and back on the streets of West ham I reflected on the exhibition and those I had met and all that I had learnt. I could not hip but appreciate what The Hub meant to the local community and the environment. It stands out as a symbol of Shelter, Security, Progress, Cultural Diversity and of course Environmental Awareness.
I can now rest with myself knowing that this one time I did not let the extraordinary pass me by. How about you?

to find out about The Hub go to: http://www.arup.com/DOWNLOADBANK/download385.pdf
http://www.ndfc.co.uk/article/articleview/1341/1/98/

to find out more on Black History Month go to:
http://www.black-history-month.co.uk/