Have you ever walked around a British city and wondered ‘How did they get away with that?’ as an ugly edifice hits you straight in the eye, ruining an otherwise pleasant looking street? The answer is usually because developers, planners and architects only saw a building, not a community, a cityscape or a history, and … Continue reading
In 1949 the most famous singer in the world arrived at Waterloo Station from Southampton after crossing the Atlantic from the US, met by two activists in the anti-colonial movement. Paul Robeson had not set foot in the UK for 10 years and he had a busy nationwide tour ahead of him, kicking off with … Continue reading
The remarkable peace and social justice campaigner Hetty Bower had died aged 108. I first saw Hetty in action heading an anti-war march on the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq in 2008. Despite her advanced years, she kept up a seemingly effortless pace along the route down Whitehall to Parliament Square. I heard … Continue reading
A pat on the back for ITV London News presenter Charlotte White who stuck to her decision not to wear a poppy on air despite a torrent of abuse on Twitter. That takes some guts seeing as that almost everyone appearing on TV news or chat programmes in the run up to Remembrance Day wore … Continue reading
The 175 anniversary of emancipation in the Caribbean is being marked this month with an exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society in London celebrating those who resisted slavery and those who fought to end it. So it is a good opportunity to read the latest work on the slavery by one of Britain’s leading scholars, … Continue reading
angelacobbinah.wordpress.com 