At last an acknowledgement on the BBC that the Atlantic slave trade was not solely the responsibility of Europeans, but that Africans themselves provisioned it, that the slave trade itself was already in existence when we arrived and that it survived until the second world war despite our attempts to suppress it. You may notice however that the article reads more like the speech of Mark Anthony than an apology for any part played in the trade.
Continue readingPolitics
Carrots
Carrots are vegetables
Facebook seem to think that the post referenced here was in some way offensive for Coco, for one, can no longer access it.
Continue readingSlaver’s statues and statutes
It was with dismay that Coco read of the act by some the pulling down and littering of the harbour in Bristol with the statue of Edward Colston. Coco cannot support or in any way endorse such actions or the removal of statues to such men in this way, however neither does Coco endorse slavery in any of its forms whether ancient or modern.
Continue readingLockdown
Coco has been clearing out for shredding old files which have lain in loft space for twenty years….not much changes apart from the writing technology. The attached picture is a scan of the opening paragraph of a letter sent to him in the ember months of, Coco thinks, 1987 but it may have been ’86 or ’88.
Continue readingFake News

Fake news is nothing if not new
Something you might need to relieve it.
I have not seen it, why would I want to? When a unique opportunity presents itself, we should not play with trifles. The BBC article refers to a film clip which has apparently been doctored, a term which is strangely used, but regardless:
Continue readingThe second thief
Did you see what is going on in China?
Coco thought he would offer two different perspectives on the day which we call Good Friday. Please grant him an indulgence for this first one. The second perspective has been inspired by events at the focus of the Sinospheric regions. He shall come to that shortly.
Continue readingStatues
If you don’t want the name, give the money back – isn’t it as easy as that?
Charities are minded to understand that if the source of the funds offered to them is questionable, they should refuse the offer.
Continue readingOne wonders why
It was the appearance of this in the local press that reminded me of a report from elsewhere that left me wondering why.
The story referenced above is devastating in the approach taken to hygiene in the kitchen but these give you reason to wonder.
Continue readingUnFree
A curious miscarriage
Not free to go
It was Monday morning, the weekend had been longer and more tedious than usual, and Norbert was preparing to leave for the office, when there was a knock at the door. Norbert was surprised to find Jeremy the local bobby outside.
Continue reading
As Presidents
From The Times correspondent
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