Beware the Ides of March

Sorry to be a prophet of doom but look at the signs.

The Scots will have to pay more for their drink.

facebook suffers a viral invasion

The stock markets tumble again

 Manchester United are talking about the quintuple.

And worst of all University Challenge has been tainted, yes you know its coming……….by cheating. Unfortunately the new winners are……………Manchester University.

Think it’s time to go for a walk.

Facebook shows Mills, Stanford and myself the way forward.

Yesterday I posted on Boys and Girls Alone. Listening to the radio and reading the papers I was convinced this was yet another Channel 4 so called reality show to improve ratings at any cost.

Strong in my opinions I wrote forcefully about it but sadly all of it was second hand. Until last night I had not watched it.

So late yesterday evening, , in response to a comment from someone called Michelle I placed my own comment by way of an apology. You see I had fallen into the trap that I accused Channel 4 of; that is posting on a subject in search of attracting traffic to the blog and casting aside our values in the process.

Authenticity is a key value to Stories from the Street. Nothing authentic about that.

So thank you Michelle for your comment, and thank you for giving me the chance to come clean.

I wonder at what point Tessa Jowell’s husband, David Mills, could have come clean before the Italian court sentenced him to four and a half years in jail? Likewise for Allen Stanford who is now an acute embarrassment to the English Test and County cricket board, following his arrest for 8 billion worth of fraud.

When did that thought  flit through their minds saying stop, this is wrong, put it right before it gets out of control? Maybe there wasn’t a Michelle around to ask the difficult questions.

So well done facebook for saying that they are now reviewing their terms and conditions in the light of feedback from their customer base. Good move. You might not have had much choice but still better than digging an even bigger hole. Worth learning from I think Jacqui Smith. It may still not be too late.

And well done me for coming clean too.

In my own little world I feel a whole lot better for that!

People Postcards-Our third story from Uganda

A few months ago Chris Spriggs travelled out to Uganda. Chris is someone who has carried a concern for issues of fair trade. His love of people is reflected in these tender “people postcards” that he has put together. This then is the third of five.

The Big Secret

He limps. That’s the first thing you notice from a distance. But get a little closer and you see something else about him, something which lasts in the memory even more than his awkward swagger.

We greet each other in the language local to this area of East Uganda, called Lugisu. I absorb his long slow deep greeting of “Mulembe” (Moo-lem-bay). An African version of Shalom.

His name is Samuel and sometimes when he stands in front of you his height blocks out the sun. Partly because he is so lanky, and partly because I am so not. The sun that shines persistently even in this, the Ugandan rainy season.

I watch him go about his work, diligently taking the empty plastic water carrier from the school yard, down the red-dust track for a mile and more and come back with it, full. You can hear the thud-thud of the replenished barrel on the tough-African land, and notice the jerky imbalanced stroll of Samuel bringing it back, like a pet at his heels.

One’s life can look a little ridiculous in contrast. Okay, MY life can look ridiculous when placed next to his. His job prospects are meagre, his network of connections limited and his profile on Facebook non-existent. He wanders from the school yard to the water pump and back again, and then back to the pump and then back again, and that is his morning complete. Yet he has found the secret. Even when we offer him a lift to the capital city Kampala, a five hour trip through delicious bumpy green landscape in our beat-up van, so he can visit his teenage daughter making a go of education so far away, even then his secret weapon is on display.

He is more than useless at directions as we slowly penetrate the horror that is rush hour in Kampala. There are no such things as road markings, speed limits, traffic lights or rights of way. Just hell on wheels. He murmurs from the rear seat “Go left” (pointing right) “oh…no…perhaps go right here or straight on” (pointing to the ceiling of the van). So we ignore his navigational input. But we cannot ignore that most dominant feature.

His contentment with life, exhibited in his brilliant broad smile. As we cling to our seats with the van hurling itself over two foot high concrete speed bumps, he sits and just smiles at us all.

Yours, Samuel, is a life on a different planet. Can I join you sometime?

The Big Secret by Chris Spriggs

Stories Rising.

Across the world right now the big story in politics is that Gordon Brown is going to the G8 to advise us all to throw away less food wastage. Trust they remember that as they tuck into the caviar and grand banquet this evening. Meanwhile Budweiser has launched a phone for hardened drinkers and party animals; really helpful contribution this to issues surrounding addiction! Finally North Korea is in from the cold; an invite is on its way to the Beijing Olympics and oh yes, Obama has a friend on facebook.

Stories rising across the globe. Today, this moment, right now. Am I the only one or has anyone else found that different cities and nations carry a particular flavour in the stories they tell? Marseille is full of drug running and the exploits of a global port. Rome is all about intrigue and the deep and dark dealings that go beyond the confession booth. The stories of China are short and sharp, lest someone be listening in over your shoulder. What about San Fransisco? Anyone hearing anything from that western gateway right on the edge of the western world? Stories influenced by the place, and the people who live there.

So what’s yours? Loved  the comment from a guy called Tim on the Stories form the Street page when he questioned who has the authentic voice of his city. Is it the sports heroes, the politicians, the media, the rich, or could it be you and I?

How about this summer we run a series on short stories from afar. Whether it be Cleethorpes or Casablanca you go to for your holiday, how about sending in your take on the place that you live in or go travelling to. The only criteria is that it must be under 400 words and it must be about people and place; a village, town city or nation. Have a go! Email it to me at stephenlowton@googlemail.com and I will post it.

Okay anyone reading this, I’m off to try and network the future president of the United States on facebook. Thought he might have a story ot two!