Multi Award Winning Female Saxophonist, Birmingham, UK, Jazz, Gospel, Reggae, Blues, Soul and Originals. 'Music for the soul'
General content and information that’s not strictly about Millicent or Success Beyond The Score
I want to talk today about how the Erma’s Jamaica Hospital Fund, a charity originally created to send relief to the victims of the Portland floods of 1998 in Jamaica, celebrated Windrush Day this year.
The world moves fast, and information travels even faster. We become aware of so many things simultaneously that we cannot possibly focus, and end up overwhelmed, confused and feeling helpless. This is, at least partially, by design. If our attention is scattered and we don’t have energy, then we cannot properly support what is important to us. It is a very complex problem, but the solution might be simpler than we think: we just need to trust our community.
Together with the Trade Union Congress Midlands, Stand Up to Racism has summoned more than 60 organisations to Victoria Square this Sunday 4th October for the Birmingham’s Unity Rally. Starting at 1:00pm, there will be keynote speeches, music, entertainment, and a march through the city centre, to celebrate the diverse and multicultural West Midlands.
When Andrea Gill, who had worked as a DJ in the 80s and 90s, returned to music after a long break, she found software to be stiff and frustrating. Turning to modular synthesizers, she broke conventions and became The Tunegirl.
A few weeks ago, I posted this blog entry telling you about a petition to the Government, asking for a statutory duty requiring AI developers to disclose the copyrighted works used to train generative AI. Not too long after, the petition reached 10,000 signatures. This meant that the Government had to formally respond to it, with they did on 27 August. Works is being done, but we need to exert more pressure.
Four phenomenal women, one song: the title of what these four have in common is ‘I Will Always Love You.’
The recent death of Dr. Jason Arday, the youngest black person to ever become a Cambridge professor has, yet again, highlighted the issues others have towards people of colour. Whilst this happened in the UK, you don’t have to be a British national to sign the petition being raised in order to prevent such a tragedy from repeating itself.
The political situation is daunting, and it can feel like a lost cause already. However, the far-right still has a long way before it can seize absolute power. This means that we have the opportunity and duty to oppose them. Donate, get involved, speak up. Never let go of your empathy and your heart. We can do this together!
I got the honour to perform at the service to commemorate the 64th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence, organised by the Association of Jamaican Nationals Birmingham (UK). The theme of the day was ‘Keep Hope Alive.’ A song from my repertoire that fits it very well is ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ released by Simon & Garfunkel in 1970.
