Nigeria We Hail Thee.......

October was indeed a busy month with a visit to Lagos and the Motherland to see Family and check on the Island. Maaaaan Lagos is thriving - Ekop beckons and one must heed the call. Onwards and upwards Niger!!!!


Season by Wole Soyinka , b. 1934, from Idandre (Methuen 1967). As poet, playwright and essayist, Soyinka is a major force in African and world literature He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. Imprisoned in Nigeria in the 1960s and self-exiled in the 1990s, he continues to protest against oppression worldwide.

Rust is ripeness, rust
And the wilted corn-plume;
Pollen is mating-time when swallows
Weave a dance
Of feathered arrows
Thread corn-stalks in winged
Streaks of light. And, we loved to hear
Spliced phrases of the wind, to hear
Rasps in the field, where corn leaves
Pierce like bamboo slivers.
Now, garnerers we,
Awaiting rust on tassels, draw
Long shadows from the dusk, wreathe
Dry thatch in woodsmoke. Laden stalks
Ride the germ’s decay – we await
The promise of the rust.

Chilling in southern Spain with my man Alex......

Sometimes I do have to pinch my Mrs to believe that we are really alive and not just living in a dream. When we were invited for a week-end in Malaga with my good friend Alex B and his lovely girl Arum: this was one of those occassions. An Easy jet drift to 28 Degrees southern Spain and we were picked up by his chauffeur and driven to one of the most beautiful PHAT villas with a pool I had ever been to. And I 've been to a few. Furnished by his beautiful mother ( An ex-James Bond Girl) in Asianic and Buddahesque theme the house would make you drool with serenity. Only 4 of us went and this was just the ticket.....ahhh to chill.

Chilling by the pool on the barbecue eating fresh fish and jamon from heaven. The beach was super hot and the water chilled. The Margaritas flowed and the Paella was don. We took a few mountain walks and had one of the most enchanting long week-end I have had for a very long time.

Thanks dear Friend - hope the hip has healed. And Happy Birthday Muchacho.....hasta luego :-)

Diane Parish's Last Days Of Decadence Birthday Party

Last week-end I had the pleasure of planning a spectacular Birthday Party for the truly special and enchanting Eastenders Star that is Diane Parish. She chose to have it in the east-end ( funny that) at a fly but little know bar called Lane Bar in Osborne st at the bottom of brick lane. We had DJ Femi Fem on the decks strumming some old and cherished Rare Groove tunes . Also spinning some funky house tunes was Patsy Palmer who funnily enough does have some talent to be a DJ.....Mmmm watch this space. But it was Diane who took the biscuit as the Belle Of the Ball. She was so glamourous that she had to have a dress ensemble change 2wice that night. So nice to have so many nice people and Family partying away with such good vibes. Ballons, cakes, treats and eats were alll in abundance. Thanks for the opportunity D. Hope to see you soon x

Sofia Hayat's Book Launch "Dishonoured" October 2009

BOLLYWOOD actress Sofia Hayat celebrated the launch of her new book -Dishonoured on 5th October. Great book which is a gripping account of a young girl's struggle to flee a life of oppression and imprisonment. She had a launch party at a great Indian Restaurant Indali Baker Street which was full of the gliteratti and sublime. Great book; definately worth a read....have a tissue at hand though.

Sofia Hayat or Sofia Hayat-Khan is a British Asian actress, singer and modell. Hayat hails from the UK and is of Pakistani heritage. She has worked on both British and Bollywood projects.
Hayat first came to public attention on Sky Channel, Zee TV, where she hosted her own TV show for 3 years starting in 2000. The show became a cult favourite amongst young British Asians. Later, Hayat was in the UK TV talent show Bollywood Star, in which she lost out on the first prize by about 3 places.

EMC3 Launches the New Event Space at The Westbury Hotel,Mayfair on Thursday 29th October 2009

Come & join us as we launch the Westbury Hotel, Mayfair's dazzlingly new events space on Thursday 29th October 2009.

See www.emc3.eu/emails/winterwonderland/winterwonderland.html or above for details.

More of my blog to come when I return from my journeys.

Until then excel,

Baba-Jallah

Popular Culture Artists Exhibition At Scream Gallery

Daniel's friend Nicky runs this edgy Gallery in Bruton street called Scream where we went to see the Launch Exhibition. Lots of music scores from the King Of Pop Michael Jackson, surreal pictures from Joni Mitchell, Lyrics from Jimi Hendrix, Illustrations from Ronnie Wood and doodles by Frank Sinatra - I wasn't expecting that. So many starts with more than one talent : Like it! Also spotted a few celebs including Jo Wood- She looks better in flesh that on the box I tell you :-)

http://www.screamlondon.com/

Located in the heart of the West London art district, Scream is just a moment away from Sotheby's, Cork St and the Royal Academy. A main player in the contemporary art world, Scream rubs shoulders with some of London's most established art establishments as well as several renowned galleries globally.
Run by Tyrone Wood, Scream is focused on universal contemporary art and has developed a reputation as an innovative, progressive gallery working with emerging, as well as established and esteemed artists.

Arsenal Football At The Emirates - We Love You !

2 week-end's ago I was lucky enough to obtain 4 Club Level Tickets from my Friends at Arsenal for all the biz we put their way. So I decided to take 3 Clients as a gesture of good faith . Arsenal were playing Wigan ( whom just recently beat Chelsea) and we beat then 4-0. Great thing about our seats was that we were behind the Goal and saw the best 3 goals at point blank range. Guys - good spending time with you and see you again soon. Come on the Arse !!!!!

Our London Fashion Week Party At Taman Gang

Our Party

Taman Gang ( Which means Lane by the Park in Balinese) is a beautiful place with deletable food and drinks. But Oh Boy did we pack it out. Thank you to all the Fashionistas that graced us with their presence. All 350 of you ... sorry the Restaurant/Club's capacity was only 280 and some of you had to queue for so long outside. The Event was oversubscribed and better than we expected. Next time do come earlier as you now know. Thanks to Designer Vitali V for bring the beautiful people and Femi Fem for the vibes. Stef and her crew made sure we have the glamour and style needed for an awesome night. Jay at Taman Gang - Gracias for the Hospitality. We got there in the end!

At Taman Gang

the line between restaurant club (complete with DJ and bouncer), Taman Gang resembles a basement Balinese temple where candles flicker, incense smoulders against a backdrop of stone-tiled walls & bronze Buddhas. It’s a cool place for a cocktail (try the rose-petal martini) and is also a date hotspot – the atmosphere is the ultimate draw as well as the pan-Asian sharing dishes. Starters such as beef & foie gras gyoza, & crispy aromatic duck rolls, can lack panache, although red-hot prawn dumplings, Korean bulgogi beef, & lightly honeyed black cod with miso & mirin, show more skill. New ownership & a new direction have brought a 3am licence & club nights allowing the in-crowd to move in to this exotic venue. Defiantely worth a look!

Jay Z At The Roundhouse, London

Jay Z's concert at the Roundhouse on 17th September 2009 was a breath of fresh air. We took 2 very good friends as a Thank You for all our dinners and times out on their behest. An intimate gathering to see a very gifted man. He did take his time coming to the stage - 10.45pm ....rumours have it he was busy singing his latest song on BBC's Jonathan Ross Show. What's next for this Titan. Well I hear he and Will Smith have just invested $10M to put a Musical about Fela Ransome Kuti's life on Broadway in New York. Well got to get linked up as we know who is best to play Fela - Wale Ojo.

Here's a great review of the Jay Z Gig:

Without wishing to disrespect one of London's loveliest venues, there's something incongruous about Jay-Z gracing the Roundhouse. He has, as he seldom tires of informing audiences, sold 26m albums in the US and made $35m from touring alone in the last 12 months. Among the venue's forthcoming attractions are Enter Shikari, Yo La Tengo, and a night featuring Let's Talk Tactics, Personal Space Invaders and Toxic Funk Berry, all of who clearly haven't. By his standards, it's effectively a gig in a Scouts' hut with Akela's brother doing the lights. Then again, the rapper has made a habit of incongruous places. Last weekend, he was onstage supporting legendary gangsta rap outfit Coldplay. The week before, he turned up in the audience at a New York gig by Grizzly Bear. In theory, there's nothing strange about Jay-Z at a post-rock gig: his new album evinces diverse tastes, featuring guest appearances from Australian singer-songwriter Luke Steele and Mr Hudson. But try telling that to Grizzly Bear's fans, many of who found their enthusiasm for watching their band do their stuff superseded by the desire to gawp at Jay-Z and his fragrant wife, the latter wearing the stoic expression spouses wear when dragged to experimental gigs by their other half.

You could adduce all this as evidence of an increasingly whimsical approach to his career as Jay-Z nears 40, but you can't deny the excitement generated in such a relatively small space. Almost three hours before he takes the stage (backed by a muscular live band who circumvent the problem of lousy sound that regularly bedevils hip hop gigs), nodding nonchalantly like a man who owns the place, the atmosphere is so overheated he could probably exclusively perform selections from Toxic Funk Berry and still cause the audience to howl. But he doesn't. Instead, backed by a vast film screen showing footage of Nirvana trashing their instruments, he rolls out the hits: a frantic Death Of Autotune, a brass-led Roc Boys, Give It 2 Me. It sounds and looks fantastic. In contrast to a lot of his peers, Jay-Z is a compelling, kinetic performer. The crowd delightedly raise their arms and make his trademark diamond shape with their fingers. Watching, there seems nothing whimsical about his performance. As usual, Jay-Z looks like a man who knows precisely what he's doing.

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