Benjamin Zephaniah

A few days ago, a friend of a friend on Facebook posted a comment along the lines of "If there are women only networking events, why can't we have men only ones". A couple of unwitting dullards took the bait and were subsequently - and satisfyingly - hung out to dry.

I was reminded of that, this evening, when the Minx and I took the smaller kids to see Benjamin Zephaniah in Preston. It was part of 'Black History Month', which I immediately felt uncomfortable with and, having thought about it, it's precisely because it's necessary that I don't like it.

Benjamin* himself was brilliant, taking each question as an opportunity to launch into no holds barred anecdotes about his youth and career. There were a lot of children in the audience - he was promoting his new book for young adults - but he treated them as grown ups, by which I don't mean he was explicit, rather that he was frank about the crime of his youth and his time in prison.

In fact, his stories about his youth in Birmingham in the seventies - being regularly stopped and searched, and being mistreated by the police, for example - made me glad those days are long gone. Right up until someone in the audience reminded everyone that that is what it's like in Tottenham today.

On which grim note, I'll also mention George Osborne's speech today at the Tory party conference. What a nasty piece of work he is, blaming his own failures on Europe whilst always denying the truth that "Labour's great recession" was actually caused by global events. And rather than working towards a unified society - nationally and globally - Osborne** is actively, gleefully working towards a more divided situation. Horrible little man.

*deep breath*

But I'm glad the Minx arranged this evening. Her daughter loved, as did Dan, although I think it was a tad too old for Abi. The couple of bits of poetry that he recited were so good and so well delivered that I'll take any opportunity to see him performing live. In fact, thinking about it, with his wit, intelligence, talent and generosity of spirit, he is the anti-Osborne.

*I feel overfamiliar referring to him as Benjamin but then a bit high-handed calling him Zephaniah.
**I have no reservations about calling him Osborne.