Davis' recipe of curried lamb and rice and peas proved to whet the most appetites and now supermarket giant Sainsbury's is preparing to sell it as a ready-made meal in its stores nationwide. "I don't know what will happen next, if something comes out of this it will be great and if it nothing does, then that will be my 15 minutes of fame. But I would love to be a full-time TV chef - I'm in a different world when I am there," he grinned. Check out the follow-up programme which sees Garfield's TV Dinner being created for Sainsbury's supermarket on BBC1 on June 3.
We have never been able to hold a proper debate about Black genetics because the subject was hijacked by mad White nationalists to promote their ideas of how `inferior' Black people are - `great bodies but small minds'. On the other hand, it is also used by Black nationalists to argue the case for supposed Black genetic superiority.
Biographer Delia Jarrett-Macauley stumbled across Marson's name while doing research for another book. The book has been well-received throughout Britain. Copies have sold out during every one of Jarrett-Macauley's book-signings and scheduled talks. "I saw this clipping that said, `Una Marson, the well-known BBC producer is now on holiday in Jamaica.' And I said: `What! You mean we had a black woman producer at the BBC as early as 1945 and we don't know about it.' I decided her story must be known," she said. Marson joined the BBC in 1936 and made an immediate impact, rising rapidly through the ranks. In 1942 she became the West Indies producer and created the Caribbean Voices programme, which won exposure and respectability for Caribbean writers and poets.
Beneficiaries thus far include: West Yorkshire's Cosmos, assigned L30,000 to stage a year-long exhibition for local ethnic communities; Liverpool's Nigerian Community Development Project, given L90,000 to refurbish its Grade II listed building; Wales's Gateway historic parks and gardens access project, granted L113,000; Brixton's National Museum and Archive of Black History, handed L302,000; and central London's Coram's Fields play area for children, awarded £1m for a complete restoration. [Helen Jackson] says there are many ways in which HLF can benefit the black community and that it is particularly keen to address issues such as social exclusion, depravation and young people's concerns. "We want to ensure lottery funding goes to all groups," she says. "We are aware we have more to do in really promoting equality of access to our funding.
Goodbye Mister Fish 'n' CHIPS: TV chef [Ainsley Harriott] is bringing the. joys of Caribbean cuisine to the nation "I love Caribbean cookery and I think it's very important to get that message across because a lot of Afro-Caribbean people have been living here for almost a generation now," says Ainsley, who lives in south London with his Yorkshire wife Claire and their children Jimmy, 6, and Madeleine, 3. Ainsley is to some the saviour we have been waiting for. The Good Food Show special events steward, Tony Wright, called him "phenomenal" staing: "That's the only word I can use. As soon as Ainsley did ackee and saltfish, I said, `Yes!'. He didn't do the traditional stuff. He did something Caribbean."
Watching Caryl Phillips' excellent The Final Passage was a difficult process. Not just because it was a brilliant exploration of the last 30 years or so, showing the achievements and limitations of the Windrush generation, but, more importantly, because it exposed how we have been starved of intelligent, well-made Black programmes which offer us the possibility of serious reflection on our condition in this country. Phillips achieves a wonderful thing in his drama - he converts all our individual stories of moving to Britain and setting up home into a mass celebration of common history. The Final Passage thus becomes a template of sorts of the recent beginnings of Black Britain. Whether we are from an African or Caribbean background, there were scenes and emotions which we all recognised from our own histories. Control Many people didn't like The Final Passage because they felt that it yet again reinforced the negative view of Black men. But they need to be reminded that this is a work of fiction, not reality. And Caryl Phillips' main achievement in the series is to give us, in [Michael], the first truly great tragic-heroic Black character on British television. The lessons of his life should resonate in our time - a sort of angled mirror. He will remain a constant reminder of the need to bury the `colonial creation' - the Black man who is only able to manifest himself through his dreams rather than through the reality of day-to-day action.
"I wanted to write a play that celebrated the journey of our parents," explains [Kwame Kwei-Armah]. "A lot of the previous plays tell us the old, grey story about `No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish,' but that isn't very entertaining. "Growing up, I had a big nose but when Afrocentricty came in the '80s suddenly I had an African nose," recalls Kwame. "[Chris Monks] is White and together we have a play that is accessible to all communities," says Kwame. "It's not just about Black issues, it deals with universal themes like love, feeling inadequate and beauty."
"Nothing can bring back those days," Mrs [Letitia Rose] declared. "Everything has changed. Nowadays, I don't bother to do a lot of shopping because it is not as enjoyable." "The party was usually held in a big park," she recalled. "There would be lots of food and music playing until late into the night. While the big people danced we used to have our little secret boyfriends and a group of us would to go off and play hide and seek. "As children in Jamaica, we used to organise parties and collect gifts for needy children in the community," said [Iris Gordon], who helped set up the Jamaica Heart Foundation. "Making children happy is what I enjoy most about this time of the year."
The irony of the black man with his top off - such as almost any black music star you care to mention - is that it doesn't say to me: "Look at this wonderful black man with his six-pack." We were never wanted for our minds, which was why it was illegal to teach slaves to read. We were flesh, a commodity, labour. As today's black man shows off his pride and joy, the modern billboard becomes the equivalent of yesteryear's slave stocks. The tragedy with the flesh doesn't end there. Too many of us are impressed by a black fascism which fails to question the oppressive power structures of idealised family structures or the obsession with genes, blood and national pride.
Occasionally, a rare talent emerges, such as Lauryn Hill or Maxwell, whereas previously the talent came in hordes. Look at the way Lauryn Hill has gone back to Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder for inspiration and technique. She's still a rap artist but here is a woman who has learnt her trade. It's a question of feeling basically unsafe around a generation that has no respect for its elders.
