So I went for a drink with my Grandad and Aunt the other night and turns out that their little hobby at the moment is to try and figure out a new economic structure that would stop our crumbling capitalist culture plunging into the abyss. They casually pulled out graphs and articles, exchanging photocopies of this and that and explaining their findings to each other while I sat back and listened on a little dumbfounded. Neither of them are economists, and while they're both undoubtedly intellectuals, the progress they were making does make you question what you spend your time thinking about. If we were to sacrifice the time we spend watching tv/facebook stalking/talking shit about other people, can you even imagine how good we could get at sudoku? Or calligraphy? Or whatever other skill it is you'd like to acquire?
Not that I'm advocating manic know it alls, just seems like a shame to let your brain get lazy.
This week we love...
When I was a kid I used to tell all my friends about my magic grandma who'd grown up in India and knew how to hypnotise people and make trees fall down. Following the logic that she'd lived in India, so she was Indian, so I was Indian, so I must have lived in India, I'd recount my exotic memories of my homeland and make people carry me on their backs pretending to be elephants to 'stop me being home sick'. Although I was undoubtedly a manipulative little shit, there was a grain of truth in it all, as my grandma had in fact grown up in India. This week we have the extreme honour of introducing you to her as she tells us a little bit about the childhood that provided so much inspiration for emotional blackmail. Gin Watson reports.
So Grandma, where were you born?
I born in Karashi which is now Pakistan but was then part of British India.
How come you lived there?
Well my father was in the India Army and stationed out there.
What was your house like?
We moved around India a lot, most of the houses were rented and I can't really remember what mine looked like, I remember they all looked pretty much the same. The army supplied the houses so they were all typical british colonial style bungalows.
What did you eat?
My sisters and I ate English food, children weren't allowed to eat with the adults, so we never had currys.
Where did you go to school?
I went to a boarding school in Mussoore called Waverly Convent School for Girls where my mum was a teacher. In the summer we would go to Mussoore to spend time with our dad until he left to go back to England (my brother also left later on to join the airforce) but then when I was 11 we moved to Dehli for a year so I went to the school where my aunty was headmistress (she was a very scary nun).
How come you came to england?
India gained independence so the British forces weren't needed there anymore and we were sent back. Luckily we didn't witness any of the violence between the muslims and the hindus, but there was a lot of killing at that time so it wasn't safe to be there anymore.
What was the journey here like?
Very long. We arrived in England after 6 weeks travel on a boat. It was so shocking to see white people living in such dirty conditions. In India, white people were treated like royalty, ranked above any other class of Indians so it was all quite a shock. There were lots of little changes, like the fact that I was used to being able to take things that were on display like sweets, because I was white I could just help myself. Unfortunately we didn't know you couldn't do that in England, it was a lesson we learnt when my sister started helping herself to the pick and mix in Woolworths and got in a lot of trouble.
Have you been back to India?
No, it wouldn't be the same and it would be too hard to accept it being different to what I knew, too sad.
Where do you think of as home?
England. I've always thought of England as home, even when we lived in India.
Do you think there's any aspect of your childhood in India that's had a particular influence on you/your personality?
*Grandad John butts in here and says that of course it has, she still expects the servants to do all the work*
Being born white in the British Empire meant I was always treated as a superior. It gave me a strange kind of confidence in myself, but it also made coming to England harder because I realised I was just like every body else. It affected me in a mix of ways.
Human Planet- BBCWe realise that this is not a film, and that it may seem criminal to be reviewing a documentary when there are so many good films coming out at the moment but this is pretty fucking amazing. Brought to you by the BBC, Human Planet explores the relationship between man and his environment, an incredible broad topic considering that we have managed to adapt to virtually any circumstances. Divided into four parts, Jungles, Arctic, Mountains and Oceans, the series was shot in over 80 locations and features some pretty mean feats from climbing a 46m tree to walking under water for over five minutes. While RyanAir and Facebook will have you believe that the world is a small place, this programme makes you realise just how much you've yet to see.
The Grey Space-Horrorshow
Whilst most Australian hip hop only seems popular with either drunk Europeans or Australians themselves (not dissing the latter at all, I personally love it in ridiculous amounts)This two piece hip hop group from Sydney have found a way of combining The Herd and Hilltop Hoods, and then mellowing it out so that it's not a lyrical mess. This album, which was one of the first released by the Australian hip hop label Elefant Traks, was nominated for an ARIA Award for best urban album in 2008.
The two members of the band have also successfully managed to do some solo DJ-ing, just so you know that the album isn't just a couple of teens who realised they are good at rhyming, it's all backed up with some very addictive tunes.
Personal favorite would have to be All Summer Long, also if you liked this check out the song In My Haze from their second album.
Finally, for all you Australians that somehow don't know this, they are playing at Groovin' the moo this year.
Snoopers Paradise-7-8 Kensington Gardens
Brighton, BN1 4AL
This is the most reknowed Flea Market in the South of England. With over 90 stalls inside, this place is exactly what the name suggests. You can find just about anything here and it's the perfect way to spend a Saturday, roaming around and looking at all the strange shit people sell. Personal favourites would be the book collections, old photos and slides (somem of which are very old yet in amazingly good condition) and the vast amounts of floral and crushed velvet dresses.. I strongly recommend going even if it's just to kill some time, or a horrible hangover.
Also...
Can you imagine how much the person who made this got paid? And how much it cost to make? It's almost enough to make you consider a career in advertising. Almost.
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