February 2009

Ida's random thoughts: Women and Hats

Ida's random thoughts: Women and Hats

Women and Hats

I am at the BBC Gardener's World Live at the NEC in Birmingham and I have to say I am having a great time.

However something has left me utterly confused! Women's attitudes towards hats! Ethnic Supplies has superb straw hats handcrafted in Madagascar from Raffia and they come in a range of colours. The best way I can describe them is DRAMATIC!









I love the hats for their drama. I can't remember an exhibition where they failed to draw people to my stand and this week hasn't been any different. Women in particular have been drawn to my stand and said how beautiful the hats are, having seen me wearing one.

For some this has encouraged them to buy, some have simply said not for me but it looks great on you, a good number said " I am not a hat person" and whilst for some the hats brought back bad memories of husbands and boyfriends who ridiculed them when they wore a hat. One woman in particular was almost in tears as she recalled the incident. I put on my killer smile and a gave her a hug as she was visibly upset.

I have to say I met such a man today, when his wife chose a yellow hat, she asked me for my opinion and I told her it looked good on her and her husband sniggered and asked why I wasn't wearing it myself and I said it would clash with what I was wearing that is why I had a more suitable colour on.

The man turned on his wife and said "you heard what the woman said, don't buy something that will not agree with you" But the woman stood her ground and said I would like a hat but perhaps I will chose a colour that is more likely to suit the majority of my clothing and she DID!


I found myself having to reassure more and more women that in fact any woman could wear a hat and it all had to do with confidence/attitude!

A thought crossed my mind, Could I in fact I could be wrong and there is possibly more to it!

I decided to get to the bottom of this thing WOMEN AND HATS. So the next woman that said "ooh No I don't wear hats they don't suit me" I took her aside and asked her why it was that so many women felt they could wear a hat.

She told me it is an English thing, the generation of hat wearing women is gone and that the weather doesn't help, but simply English women don't wear hats although this may change due to climate change!! Hmmm, Maybe she is right I could not pick out any female english friend that wear a hat, but come to think of it nor an African one for that matter

I said I didn't come from a hat wearing tradition either but I had no problem wearing one.

"oh, but you African women ordinarily wear head scarves and things on your heads, which we English women don't do"

Now this I found intriguing as my own African tribe rarely wears head scarves apart from the rare occasion, funeral, bad hair days etc. I thanked the lady for her time as I had lost to will to convince her that it was all a matter of attitude as far as I could see.

I was even more confused by next customer. She bought two prints and looked at me and told me you look amazing in that hat. I can't ever see myself in a hat. I went through the same why is that routine. " oh hats don't agree with she said. Look at how I dress, where exactly would I fit a smart hat? She was African!


Then was a West Indian lady who couldn't decide which colour suited her best she bought two!

By the end of today I was no where near getting to the bottom of why some women love hats and some appear to loath them?

Ladies please enlighten me! I am wrong when I say IT IS A MATTER OF CONFIDENCE?
Is there more to this?




At the Common Wealth Education fund 2007 Fundraising event


2008 Commonwealth Education Fund fundraising event

oooh Remember Her? doesn't she look fab in the Yellow hat?


Suhad showing off the colourfull hats from Ethnic Supplies

Ethnic Supplies: Food distribution in Uganda

Ethnic Supplies: Food distribution in Uganda

Housing Allowances for UK Member’s of Parliament

I listened to BBC R4’s world at one as the rights and wrongs of MP’s Housing Allowance claims were discussed. The latest culprit is the Work minister Mr McNulty who is said to have claimed in excess of £60000 since 2002 for using his parent’s home that is only 11 miles from the House of Commons!


As I listened I couldn’t help but wonder if some of the rules that apply to those in receipt of Housing benefit (housing allowance mostly for those out of work or low income) would go some way to resolving this issue once and for all.

Why?

If you apply for this type of Housing Allowance you have to provide proof that you liable for rent at the address for which you are claiming.

If you are a parent claiming this allowance you have to prove that household members are not what is referred to as non-dependants (mostly adults that should be at work all things being equal).

The person they were interviewing (I am afraid his name escapes me) seemed to be surprised that an MP should claim a Housing Allowance and yet the House for which he is claiming is his parent’s home.

I did wonder if the MP’s parents are in receipt of Housing Benefit and therefore they would have to declare that their non- dependant son, leaves with them for part of the week. Just a thought

And the other rule of course is which home counts as your principal home. I do wonder whether this is where it goes so wrong for MP’s. Cant’ they tell which home they can and can’t claim a Housing Allowance for?

Other folk would not get away with claiming on two homes, exception is only made in very rare/ exceptional circumstances.

What do you think?

JADE GOODY: Is there such a thing as a useless person?

An odd question you might think and according to my late grandmother the answer to this question is NO.

My grandmother was an interesting woman and had a real interest in people. Her home was always full of people from all walks of life, mostly refugees from Rwanda.

When she became frail she moved in with us. I remember my brother getting a lecture from Grand ma, who had overheard him describe someone as "useless and a complete waste of space".

"There is no such thing as a a useless person, every person on earth is valuable and useful, Our challenge is to discover that" she told my siblings and I time and time again.

For some reason I have found myself preoccupied with these words recently, as I have followed the news about Jade Goody. I am not a fan Big Brother and that kind of television, so I had no idea who this girl was until the Shilpa Shetty affair, and the effect it had on channel 4, by way of complaints.

I recall asking a friend what the point of Jade Goody is having seen a clip on the news where she appeared to have lost it completely as she "tore" into Shilpa. My friend's response was "she was on Big Brother" Oh Well!

There has been a lot of news about Jade as she battles with terminal cancer, the rights and wrongs of her decisions to sell her story.

However one particular news item about Jade stopped me in tracks.It was reported on ITV news that by agreeing to live out her days in the public, she has encouraged many women to go for a cervical smear test, the numbers of women turning up for these tests have been so great that the NHS and the government jointly could not have achieved them.

And that will be her legacy or the POINT of Jade Goody!

So you see my grandmother was right all along every person is valuable, there is no such a thing as a useless person and our challenge is to discover that in others!

What a civilised way to pass the weekend

I had a fantastic weekend of Jazz, rugby and fashion

Elmbridge fashion show started on 13 and ended on 15 March.
African fashion accessories and ethical clothing from Ethnic Supplies were included and showcased on 14th


We got a fab review from the audience but what I had not anticipated was being asked to be one of the models for Ethnic Supplies. The best thing about this show was local people from all walks of life regardless of age size or colour were given the chance to walk the Catwalk and show case fashion from local Shops.I will post the photos as soon as I get them


Rugby, well what can I say, I don't think the Welsh deserved to win and felt sorry for the Italians who tried so hard.The English/French game, was amazing too, although I found the first part rather dull. The English team looked like a born again team. I have not seen them play so well or certainly score that many points against the French team.

After the Rugby it was time to hit the road to Riverhouse in Walton on Thames where I caught up with Ulla from Denmark and the others for an evening of live jazz. On stage was this man http://www.tonywoods.org/ with his band.

I never thought I would ever enjoy modern jazz as I did. Tony is so talented, he switched between the Sax to the flute to sometthing that looked like a hollowed out bamboo stick and something else that looked like a hollowed out squash.

Really fabulous stuff from these guys and if you can catch them please do. Milo Fell was superb on the drums too, he too had several implements whose names I don't know
but they served to improve the sound.

There had to a downside to this though, and it was the people who came to listen to the jazz but decided to talk amongst themselves for
the duration of the second half, ruining it all for everyone.

I always wondered what these sorts of people have to say to each other that either can't wait of that could not have been said before the show. They irriated Ulla no end and at one point I thought she was going to say something to them

In all all a thoroughly enjoyable weekend

How was your weekend?

IWD

In case you didn't know it is International Women's today http://www.internationalwomensday.com/default.asp

The key focus this year as I understand it is the ending og Violence against women. You may have read about Rihanna being battered by Chris Brown
she has apparently forgiven him but the Police and others haven't so chance are taht he may be charged with assault. It be great
if this becomes the norm, as it helps educate those that abuse others in a domestic setting. Incidentally this includes women abusing
other women, and women abusing men.

Elsewhere in the world women are socially and economically excluded and today is also about celebrating the acheivements of women in these areas

Back here in the UK this day is being marked by looking at women's contribution to economic recovery
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/money/article-1160219/Women-possess-potential-create-extra-150-000-new-companies-year-hold-key-recovery.html

Did you also know that the men in some Eastern european countries mark this day by giving the women in their lives a single red rose:-)

Ida Horner
Ethnic Supplies

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Walking off a Danish pastry on esher common

I don't know when or how, but at some point in the last year I gave up any form of physical exercise and became unfit in the process. At the end of last year I was losing so many days to colds and coughs that I vowed to do something about it

I signed up to my local gym, and having completed my induction, my "gym routine started this week in earnest and I managed to pack in 3 sessions. I couldn't get to gym on Monday but got there on Tuesday and Wednesday, by Thursday morning everywhere hurt so I stayed way and instead went for a 15 minute walk, before returning on Friday morning.

I had a coffee and a Danish on Saturday before joining the local walking group for a 2 hour hike on Esher common and here are some pics of the landscape along the route we walked.

I have had another 30 minute walk today as i could not face being in the gym. I am not sure how I will fare next week, but I must say I have had a good start

Are you safe at work?

We all go to work where ever that may be and expect a degree of safety whilst at work in fact most employers will have some kind of insurance
Employer's liability for one, they will also employ an army of health and safety officers depending on how large the company is to ensure
that employees do not injure themselves whilst at work. If they don't they may face all sorts of penalties should any of their employees injure
themselves whilst at work.



can you spot the croc in the grass?


Spare a thought if you will for folk who earn a living as fishermen on Lake Victoria in East Africa
on my last visit, I read about fisherman who whilst out fishing he stumbled into a crocodile


He wrestled with it, screamed and shouted in vain. Eventually he managed to get away and climbed up a
nearby tree but not before the croc had eaten away his left buttock as well as part of his thigh. The man
became permanently disabled, with no insurance cover to compensate him for his injuries.
Although he still had his life he had no way of earning an income to feed his family of 5 and in a country
with no welfare benefits God only knows what his prospects are .

Next time you think a health and safety officer is making a fuss over nothing of consequence count your blessings;-)




Nile crocodiles at the Murchison falls Uganda

Ida Horner
Ethnic Supplies

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Could a Mixed Race band teach us something?

Saturday was an interesting day for me. I was invited to take part in a fundraising event in Aid of the Petrie Museum in London. It is all about things Egyptian.

I was to sell Ethnic Supplies products as part of the Souk, and in the evening Bloomsbury theatre became alive with Sahara Sounds more of the story here http://www.ecademy.com/node.php?op=reply&id=122403&pid=591544

I had never been to a Middle Eastern jazz concert and wasn't sure what to expect.I really loved the music and the atmosphere and the occasional jokes from the band leader had me laughing out loud.

However when I reflected on some of things he said as well as the make of the band I asked myself WHAT LESSONS WE COULD TAKE AWAY.

The band was made up of a men from Syria, Ireland, Palestine and Algeria brought together by the love of music. One of the numbers they played was not in any particular language and as far as I could make out it only contained vowels and accompanied with various instruments.

I did wonder whether agreeing with people from different walks of life, whose language you didn't speak or whose culture you didn't necessarily understand could be achieved with a similar concept.. YOU DON'T HAVE TO KNOW THE WORDS TO SING ALONG..

Realising that we are humans and that is what we have in common, appreciating that a little more perhaps? respecting others for who they are.. do we need to speak the same language for any of that?

What do you think?






Suhad showing off the colourfull hats from Ethnic Supplies





Suhad and I..and those yellow hats

Sauces of Hope

Just got back from London to support a fellow African woman who was launching her company Sauces of Hope. Agnes Mannah from Zambia, makes Aggy's sauces using authentic African ingridients from Zambia. We had a chance to taste and buy the sauces. The most exciting thing about this business is that for each jar sold a African child in Zambia gets fed for a day. The sauces are behind a project that supports 480 children orphaned by AIDS.

Check them out at http://aggyssauces.com/

What a civilised way to end the week

The new year is well and truly here and the "really" hard work starts tomorrow. I am not sure how I will cope with that as I can't seem to get anywhere on time at the moment.

This is worrying for me as I have always been particular about time keeping. Have you heard about an expression "African Time"? Having avoided the label of being late all the time and therefore keeping African time, it seems to have caught up with me.

I had planned to join an organised walk on the Polesden Lacey Estate in Effingham Surrey, I looked up the route last night and it transpired that it is one I have done before and therefore if I set off at 10ish I should be on time. I didn't factor in having to scrape the car. I am not sure why as we have had frost the best part of 7 days..

I had a feeling I would be so late that the group I was due to join would have set off without me by the time I got to the meeting place. I considered turning around but didn't on the off chance that I may be able to catch up with them.

I got to the meeting place 8 minutes late and everyone was long gone. I devised my own route, I didn't catch up with the group but instead enjoyed a 45 minute brisk walk.

Here are some pics from my walk














Having done that walk I was so frozen that I needed thawing out!!!, I decided to buy leeks and cream so I could make a potato and leek soup when I got. I popped into Garson's farm shop in Esher and this is the scene that greeted me.




I bought a wheat, egg, and gluten free cake for afternoon coffee with friends who popped in to inspect my DIY skills, LOL..


The soup is made and it is time to sample it..