Frump to Fab 2016 - Lets make it AWESOME!!!

chanie

sugar sorry, I forgot to congratulate you in the last post - my tablet crashed and I got distracted when I was reposting.

ll please stop and rest. You are always on the go, which is great, but take it easy so you can recover from your accident.

try something new
Me, OH and DS did a family fun fun in the Olympic Park today. I did it last year, so not technically 'new', but this is the first time I did it with OH and DS. It was 2k and was amazing to finish in the Olympic stadium. The Olympics in 2012 have special meaning for me -firstly, I grew up in the local area, so I'm proud to see the legacy of the Olympics. Secondly, I was heavily pregnant with DD during the Olympics, so it was extra exciting. DS did well for his first run and I want us to do it again. By nature, DS is quite cautious and it is a struggle to get him to try new things. When he does, he really enjoys it. He didn't want to run, but was so proud when he got his medal.

lessonlearned

Chanie. I am resting - Honest!!

Ds2 came home with a new hose pipe and bits, watering the plants tonight was a doddle. .

How fab - running in the Olympic park. Wahoo.

sugarbaby125

chanie wrote: »

Congratulations on your win, sugar. Can you give us a couple of verses of your work.


If it's not too cheeky, I'd make good use of the passes sugar. Gambardos isn't too far from me and my children would love it.

Hi Chanie you need to email sales.beckenham@gambado.com with the names of the 2 adults and the names of the 2 children that you want on the Annual Pass. It is great that it will not go to waste.

sugarbaby125

LL I must say that it does not sound as if you are doing much resting since your car accident. Your body needs time to heal. I know it is difficult to be inactive when you are normally a very active person, but you will get back onto your feet and be fully mobile faster if you take it easy on your battered body now. you also need time to get over the psychological effects of the car accident and having such a close call.

We are all very concerned about your welfare.

sugarbaby125

Hi Ladies, here is my winning poem:

I’m Not Just Black

Truly I do not understand why the only thing you seem able to see when you look at me is the colour of my skin, because I am not just black

You look at me, you see a Black woman, even though my skin is the velvety smooth brown hue of a bar of Galaxy, not inky black

There is so much more to me than the colour of my skin, but then again I think that the colour of my skin is the colour of beauty

You spend fortunes on your tan, trying to make your own pallid skin a similar shade of brown, while you are scorning the colour of mine, without even being aware of the irony

You do not look beyond my skin, more is the pity, but that is why, you are unable to see all of the different aspects of my personality

You judge me and find me wanting, even though you have not taken the time to get to know anything about me or what makes me tick

You do not notice the high wattage of my smile, you do not notice the evenness of my teeth, and when I laugh all you hear is a cacophony of sound, not my dirty laughter

You do not see or hear my creativity, you see me dance and think that the sexy shapes and undulating hips, talk only of base desires and a lack of innocence, not dance ability

You look at me and I defy your expectations, because even you can see that I may fit the stereotype you hold so dear in my love of colours, but you are puzzled at my innate sense of style and taste

You deride my ‘Queen’s English’ as a fluke and dismiss my articulation, as me aping my betters, judging me to be your inferior

You wonder at my ability to write, believing women of colour have no business being endowed with the gift of being a wordsmith

You look at me and you do not see, that I am educated and an avid reader with a broad, eclectic taste in reading matter, instead you purport that you can see my ignorance

You do not take the time to notice that I am a valuable member of your community, oh no! Instead you become fearful and clutch your bag to you, lest I give in to the impulse to mug you

You do not value me as a person, as all you see before you is a Black woman and for you Black is a dirty word you would rather not associate yourself with

You see me, a beautiful Black woman and your white middle classed airs and graces prevent you from seeing the prejudiced view beyond the end of your turned up nose

You see, me and sniff, not inhaling the intoxicating perfume that is my Elizabeth Arden Red Door scent, convincing yourself that what you can smell is earthy, unwashed and musky

You believe that people like me, take jobs from you, because the world has gone mad with political correctness, because of course I could not have got the job because I was a better candidate than you

I know that if I lay all of my qualifications end to end you would steadfastly be unimpressed and prefer to believe they were purchased by dubious avenues than honestly earned

You look at me and the mere sight of me incites you to such anger, that your mouth opens, before you engage your brain and you shout at me to “go home”, refusing to acknowledge I am Home

You look at me, a beautiful Black woman, and refuse to see that I am as British as you, that I too am a patriot and a lover of all things Royal

You look at me and in your prejudice and ignorance you are so peculiarly blind, that you cannot see past the colour of my skin, nor do you even want to

You look at me and no matter how many facts are laid out before you for your perusal about Black History you prefer to remain in denial of my cultural ancestry

You look at me a Black woman and still the only thing you can see is the colour of my skin and when you hear the word Black all you can hear are negative connotations

Which is a real shame you see, because as a Black woman, I am proud of the colour of my skin as our my 4 children and 4 grandchildren, as they gladly follow my lead, that Black is Beautiful

I can stand tall and hold my head up high as your racist or prejudiced taunts assault my eardrums, because I know who I am and know where I come from

I know what matters most and I know that there is so much more to me, which you will always fail to see, because all that matters to you is the colour of my skin

You look at me and see a Black woman and I know that no utterances of mine could ever hold sway with you, or educate you, because no matter what I say or do all that makes sense to you is the colour of my skin

I‘m not just black, there is so much more to me that you stubbornly refuse to see, but you are deluded by your avid form of colour blindness and would rather wallow in your prejudices and racism

I am black, with a capital B and I am so very, very proud to be me and that is what will be my strongest weapon against people like you, and one day you may even discover what I already know to be true, the colour of your skin sometimes does perfectly define you

indiepanda

Good morning all, hope you are enjoying the sunny weather

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. Have been trying to cut down on my internet usage, but it's mainly just because I have been out quite a bit.

In the last few weeks I've seen Breakfast at Tiffany's, Milton Jones doing stand-up, Funny Girl, Swan Lake and been to the oddest music gig at the Barbican. The singer was hooded with a facemask and gloves on and didn't say one word between songs. Fortunately that one was a freebie that a friend gave me the ticket for when her sister pulled out last minute and we at least had a good catch up over drinks before and on the journey home.

Funny Girl was the pick of the bunch, I was lucky enough to see Sheridan Smith in the part who had just come back to work and see really was phenomenal. Amazing singing voice and just really connected with the audience.

I haven't been very organised with my eating lately because of the social life, and I should probably stay home and take advantage of my day off to get planning for the week ahead. However, I am only home till Saturday and am out Tues and Weds night, so there's no point doing a big shop till next week. I will then have a good 4 weeks where I am home every weekend and have less nights out planned so I can get back into a routine and take advantage of the fact I now have a new girl in my team I can delegate to.

So, after my personal training session, I am going to jump in the car and go to the seaside for the day instead. I don't know if we are going to get any sunny weekend days when I have nothing planned to go there and I don't want to miss my chance. Think I am going to head to Hastings - it's probably not the nearest to me but I have been going there since I was a kiddie with the family and then have got into the habit of going there with boyfriends since, and I've been wanting to see the re-opened pier. I also love having a mooch round the shops which I can do better without company.

Personal training is going well, am enjoying being back with the trainer I worked out with when I first moved here. She is quite inventive with her routines, it's never exactly the same and she pushes me with heavier weights as I gradually get fitter. And it's handy that this one will come to my house when it's wet so we don't need to cancel given how foul this summer has been. Usually I like working out outdoors, even when it's freezing, but I draw the line at getting soaked. My local parks, Peckham Rye and Dulwich, are both really beautiful and a much nicer environment than the gym. (Yes, Sugarbaby and Chanie, another SE Londoner here).

I went for a good walk on Saturday - did a section of the Capital Ring with a new friend I met on a hiking trip in May. She lives relatively close to me and she has said she'd also like to walk it all, so we've planned to do another section in August. It's good to have a walking chum who lives close, I love my weekends away, but I don't always have a free weekend and enough holiday to take the Friday off, and it's nice to see a bit more of London too - it's so much greener than most people realize.

Anyway, must shift myself or I will be late for training. Have a good week all and enjoy the sunshine. xx

chanie

Your poem is amazing, sugar. I'm black too, so it does ring home to me, although I've been lucky in that I think I've had it pretty easy, so far. You sound so strong and independent in your poem.

indiepanda

PS Thanks for sharing your poem Sugarbaby. It's such a shame that in the 21st century that some people still can't see beyond the colour of skin.

I am afraid that the recent Brexit vote seems to have been taken as permission for some nasty little racists who were keeping quiet to have become more vocal too... makes me very sad.

lessonlearned

Good morning.......

SUgarbaby - thank you for sharing your poem with us. It's very moving. It should be on every school curriculum.

I saw my DS1 yesterday and his beautiful brown Venezuelan wife. I look at her and see her beauty, intelligence and goodness, the love she has for my son and the warmth and love she shows for me, DS2 and our extended family and I feel truly blessed by having her join our family.

Racism and prejudice are truly awful but sadly it is always with us.

Well I will take all your kind advice to rest more on board this morning. I have woken up feeling dreadfully sore and stiff so I will definitely rest more today. I have cancelled a house viewing for this afternoon and I will just pace myself. Physio tomorrow so hopefully we can kickstart the healing process.

I have to confess I do feel dreadfully tired today.

So just a nice gentle potter about, sit out in the garden and enjoy this lovely sunshine.

maman

Thanks so much for sharing your poem sugarbaby. It's seems inadequate that I can only thank it once. It's got an amazing message and the bit about being a wordsmith really leapt out as 100% fact!!:T Did you write it specially for the competition or is it something you do regularly?


I have to say that one positive about internet forums is that it has never, ever occurred to me to think about whether any of my friends on here were black or white or whatever. The odd cultural reference comes up in conversation like LL with her new DIL and my delight in the Welsh football team but colour has never crossed my mind. What holds us together is a shared interest in chatting about a range of subjects, the insights and the support. Colour doesn't come into that. Although now I can see that it must be difficult to empathise with people like me and LL moaning how pale and pasty we look!:D


Loved the dress chanie, real classic. My SIL had a similar one and wore it all year round. It looked great in the winter with a long sleeved top underneath and leggings/boots.


I suggested the Eye as a next step in conquering heights sugarbaby. Any ideas? The riverboat ticket sounds a real bargain. It's a lovely way to travel, traffic free and so comfortable. Do spend some time in Greenwich while you've got it. Do you take picnics with you?


Good to hear you're keeping busy indie. Have a good day at the seaside.:)


Glad you're taking the advice to rest on board LL. I'm a bit confused about the need to decorate. I thought you'd done your bedroom and most of DS's house earlier in the year?


It's glorious here so I've put a patterned White Stuff skirt on with a white sleeveless top. I'm just gently pottering.:)