WET AFTERNOON AND A JUNKIE HOBBLING ON A LONDON STREET

It is a cold wet winter afternoon few days after the Paris and Bamako terrorist attacks. As I stroll down a major street in East London, a man is melodically hollering:

“Evening Standard! Evening Standard!”

 He hands me a copy of the free daily London newspaper.

HOW LANGUAGE IS CHANGING WITH OUR TROUBLED TIMES

 I received an SMS from a long time friend in Brazil.

“Boss! Get out of Europe, those fanatics will kill you. It is no longer safe. Come to Brazil...”

I laughed. For two reasons. In Portuguese (the language of Brazil), the word boss is “patrão”; I had thought it is only us in London who use boss. 

FAB MOSES - MTABIRI WA LONDON ALIYETUNGA WIMBO WA KUSHINDA MAGUFULI

Wakati kampeni za uchaguzi zikiendelea miezi kadhaa iliyopita, Mtanzania mmoja mkazi London alikuwa na mtazamo tofauti. Mwanamuziki na mcheza sarakasi huyu  anaitwa Fab Moses.

“Nyinyi semeni yenu mnayotaka, lakini CCM na Bw John Pombe Magufuli watashinda tu.”

Rais wa Jamhuri ya Tanzania,  J P Magufuli.   Picha ya Blog la Yinga Boy

Fab Moses si maarufu kwa utabiri bali kwa ucha Mungu wake, upole na ukarimu. Si wale wanaojifaragua au kupiga kelele mbele za watu. Mtaratibu anayejishughulisha na kazi mbalimbali za ajira  za uchovu tosha. Chukua mfano siku niliyomtembelea kwake kumfanyia mahojiano haya. Ilibidi miadi ipangwe saa tisa alasiri, maana aliingia kitandani asubuhi hiyo baada ya kazi ya usiku kucha.

CLIMATE CHANGE “THRESHOLD” AND SCHEDULED PARIS GLOBAL MEETING

Threshold.

 A word I did not quite know, until very recently.

 I kept hearing politicians saying threshold, threshold, threshold. Threshold this, threshold that.

The word means strip of wood or metal forming the bottom of a doorway.  In Swahili, that is “kizingiti”, i.e.  kizingiti cha mlango. What fits this article is the second meaning of threshold. A new beginning and era; brink, verge, debut, inception, point, dawn. The start.

According to Thesaurus dictionary, the opposite of threshold is conclusion, death, end, finish, completion.

KWANINI WASTANI WA MAUTI YA MTU MWEUSI ALIYESOMA NI MIAKA 55-65?

Mwandishi nikiwa na mtunzi mashuhuri hayati Gil Scott Heron (kushoto), baada ya onesho lake Jazz Cafe, London.  Scott- Heron alifariki akiwa na umri wa 63, mwaka 2011. Picha ya A. Macha , 1999.

Nilikuwa naongea na rafiki yangu mhadhiri; Dk Ikaweba Bunting, anafundisha  Marekani...

 Tulisononeka kifo cha mshairi maarufu wa mahadhi ya Jazz, marehemu Gil Scott Heron. Bw Scott Heron alikuwa na ujumbe mzito uliotetea maslahi ya wananchi weusi wa Marekani na kuzungumzia matatizo kadhaa ya jamii hiyo ukiwemo utumiaji dawa za kulevya. Alipiga piano na kuandika riwaya na mashairi matamu na makali sana. Ukitaka mfano mzuri hebu tafuta “Pieces of a Man” katika You Tube. Sikiliza sauti yake mshairi anayesemwa kuwa ni  baba wa watenzi wa Rapu na Ushairi wenye ujumbe. Fuatilia piano iliyotulia na mdundo  wa Blues na Jazz. Kama unahusudu lugha,  zingatia namna Kiingereza kinavyotumiwa kumchora na kumhakiki mhusika anayeimbwa.  Hayati Gil Scott Heron aliandika riwaya na kufundisha fasihi.  Anaomboleza maisha ya mtu huyu aliyeanza na bangi huishia  jehanam. Baadaye jamaa anateketea kabisa.

“I saw him go to pieces.

He was always such a good, good man.”

(Nilimtazama akivunjika vipande vipande

Alikuwa mtu mzuri sana...)