#Beverley Pyzer

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to Throwback Thursday!

Many thanks to everyone that contributed to WEDNESDAY WORDS. Every week, it just gets better! Thanks to those that contribute, and thanks to those that read and leave a ‘like’ or ‘love’. As you can see, some contributions really resonate with people. Joint winners yesterday: firstly, Beverley Pyzer with some lyrics from a beautiful song called ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’, originally recorded by Bonnie Raitt, later covered by George Michael, Boyz II Men, Bon Iver, Adele and Priyanka Chopra, and secondly, Anthea Ranjit-Singh with the immortal, “Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, and the way you make others feel is your trademark.”

On this page, ‘Throwback Thursday’ is all about memories. So, what do you remember? If I was to say the word CINEMA what immediately comes to mind?

You won’t be surprised to know that my parents were very liberal. My father, in particular, wanted me to explore adult themes as early as possible and, because I’d had a major growth spurt, even at the age of 11, I could pass for 18. So, Mum and Dad took me to the movies and, whatever they wanted to see, they took me along too! One of my earliest memories was a film called ‘W.R. Mysteries Of The Organism’, a 1971 film by Serbian director Dušan Makavejev, all about William Reich, an Austrian doctor of medicine and psychoanalyst. After initial screenings, the film was banned for 16 years, but I saw one of those initial screenings and, for some reason, it featured New York artist Nancy Godfrey, who was one of The Plaster Casters, known for taking plaster casts of rock stars’ penises. I kid you not! The swinging sixties carried on through into the early seventies! An entire film screen taken up with an erect male member! It left quite an impression! Other memorable films from 1971 included ‘A Clockwork Orange’, ‘Summer Of ‘42’, ‘Carnal Knowledge’ and ‘The Last Picture Show’ (featuring a 21-year-old Cybill Shepherd).

So, on this Throwback Thursday, what kind of memories does the word CINEMA conjure up for you?

“We named The GAP Band after Greenwood Archer & Pine streets because we all knew what happened to the thriving black community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.” The words of (Uncle) Charlie Wilson of The GAP Band. So, what was the Tulsa Race Massacre? It was a two-day-long white supremacist terrorist massacre that took place between May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deputies and armed by city government officials, attacked black residents and destroyed homes and businesses of the Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The attackers burned and destroyed more than 35 square blocks of the neighbourhood, at the time, one of the wealthiest black communities in the United States, colloquially known as Black Wall Street. Interestingly, last month, Ryan Walters, Oklahoma State Superintendent said that the Tulsa Race Massacre can be taught in schools but it cannot be connected to race. This he described as “critical race theory”. Amazingly, this politician added, “Let’s not tie it to skin colour and say that skin colour determined that.” So, why did mobs of white men burn Greenwood to the ground?

In amongst all the prepping, teaching, marking and moderating, in coming weeks, I’ve got lots to look forward to. Popping down to the Irie! Dance Theatre Family Fun Day in Fordham Park, SE14 this Saturday; The Trouble a.k.a. MissCop Patterson-Wesker is selling jewellery and Di Greeneyez is playing the tunes. I’ve got lunch with one of my favourite people on July 18th. I’m covering ‘Mi-Drive’ on July 20th and July 27th. Always fun! It’s the Margate Soul Festival on the weekend of August 4th. The Trouble and I are coming down to Margate for the day and I’ll be doing my radio show live from Olbey’s. Please pop in! We’re going to see Dolly on August 12th, got one garden party on August 13th and another garden party on August 20th, then I’m looking forward to going back to Stevenage on Bank Holiday Sunday, August 27th for ‘Let The Music Play’. And, of course, we’ll be back and forth to Hove regularly to see Lady Wesker

Have a throbbing and thrusting Thursday (with hopefully a few thrills through your thoroughfare?) I love you all.

[mikeec]

(Mike Collins Music)

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day.

Timed my walk perfectly yesterday! It was cloudy and rainy in the morning, so I waited. As soon as I saw a break in the clouds, I was out the door! 60 minutes of blissful August sunshine! Perfect timing! In the afternoon, it began to tip down again. As I looked out my window, all I could was laugh. British summer, man!

Lots of talk at the moment about mental health. Naturally, there are cynics, haters and trolls disputing that mental health is an issue and that, if you do suffer with mental health, it’s because you’re a spoilt prima donna.

A huge part of maintaining good mental health is escape. Escape from your reality. Some people are able to retreat and hide in their own room. Having your own personal space allows you to rest and breathe and heal. I’m lucky enough to have a study and a bedroom, plus I can escape in the open air and, when I go walking, it’s just me, the elements and my thoughts.

Lots of people escape into TV shows. The Trouble loves DC, Marvel and Harry Potter. I prefer things like ‘This Is Us’, ‘After Life’ and ‘Rake’. Many people escape inside their music (been there too!) And, these days, you can escape down a You Tube rabbit hole; two hours later you’re watching videos of dogs skateboarding and cats looking at themselves in the mirror.

Ironically, the mental health cynics, haters and trolls know exactly what mental health is and love nothing more than getting blind drunk, dropping an E or building the world’s biggest spliff. They love getting drunk or stoned because it helps them escape their tawdry existence.

Big love to all Premier League footballers who have vowed to ‘take the knee’ for another season. Remember: this gesture began with American footballer Colin Kaepernick and it ended his career. The NFL felt it was “unpatriotic”. UK cynics have said the gesture is related to the weird BLM organisation in America. It’s not. It reminds people that racism is still prevalent in the beautiful game and it MUST be eradicated!

Ignorance is bliss. Of course they sleep well. Superstar singing sensation Beverley Pyzer put it beautifully, “We worry about the people who take no responsibility for their actions or words of folly they sleep in self righteous slumber shouldering no guilt.”

Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom of my status. Pucker up! Special snogs for you. Have a tremendous and tumultuous Tuesday! I love you all.

Overjoyed to be back at The White Lion, Streatham High Road on Friday, August 20th. Proper tunes for grown folks courtesy of my brother Stevie Dundee and me!

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to the working week!

If Trump had been re-elected – my God! – can you imagine how cold winter would have been? At least now we know that spring will arrive on time. At least now we can return to America with less chance of being murdered by racists. At least now we can breathe again.

Really enjoyed my weekend! It all started on Friday night with an eye-opening webinar. Now we’re back in lockdown, we need to keep our brains active, so I got involved in a good Zoom conversation about the music industry with my brilliant friends Phil Fearon, Rob Hallett, Beverley Pyzer, Kwame Kwaten and Crispin Hunt. The next seminar I’m chairing is this Thursday, November 12th at 7.00pm. You will see the links on my page.

Many thanks to everyone that listened to ‘The A-Z Of Mi-Soul Music’. Thanks for all your kind and extravagant compliments. We’ll do it all over again next Saturday: the final part of The Letter T (Pt. 9.)

On Sunday morning, the 61-year-old man went for a three-mile walk. As you know, it was very pleasant out there, so the park was full of walkers, runners, cyclists and families. With everything else shut down, the local park is one of few things we have left. For our collective mental well-being, it’s vital it stays open!

Naturally, I was in Sainsbury’s on Sunday morning and the shelves were decidedly empty! No Dettol! An essential purchase for our house. Guess there’s been some panic buying? Not sure why. Every food shop in Harlesden is open. When I got to Deptford on Saturday, there was a traffic jam and, when I left the area after my show, that traffic jam was still there. Is there really a lockdown?

On the government website, top of the agenda is, “Stay At Home” and then, underneath it, it says, “You must not leave or be outside of your home except for specific purposes. A specific purpose includes ...” and I guess this is where the problem is because, after that word ‘includes’ it says: “Work and volunteering”, “Essential activities”, “Fulfilling legal obligations”, “Education and childcare”, “Meeting others and care”, “Medical reasons, harm and compassionate visits” and “Events”, which is quite a long list of ‘specific purposes’.

Have a marvellous and momentous Monday. I love you all. And, remember, if you’re looking for an easy book to read, check out my second novel, ‘Whatever Makes Them Dance’; a love story about a DJ.