Newsletter 4

Open the virtual envelope and take a look inside...

Hi everyone and welcome to another newsletter!

As always, thank you to those of you who donated via Ko-fi and Buy Me A Coffee – I’ve also got some new material on Ko-fi so please check it out when you have a chance.

TALKING OF EXCLUSIVITY…

I’d also like to remind you lovely readers that all of the material featured in my newsletter is exclusive. Video content can only be accessed via this newsletter and if you have the link.

All of the videos posted here are not set to public on Youtube.

My blog however is a public affair, all knickers out to dry on the hanging line for you all to see along with the videos on there too!

Melodrama Telenovela

During lockdown whilst I was unemployed for a moment, I took up some new habits. The pressure to be productive grew like a swarm of flesh-eating ants gnawing at my body, but at the same time, all I wanted to do was Netflix and chill.

And so, I started to play catch up on all of the series and films I hadn’t had the chance to watch and stumbled across some new guilty pleasures.

One series, in particular, was a Columbian series called Sin Senos No Hay Paraíso which translates as Without Breasts There Is No Paradise.

It’s a melodramatic telenovela about narco culture, but what makes it stand out is that stories also center around sex curses, voodoo, Santeria, magick and the occult. In hindsight, it’s not your usual crime-thriller series.

Inspired by this, I decided to create my own Bollywood Wives melodramatic telenovela-inspired music video with some friends. We made it in one short afternoon and shot on a mobile phone. Thanks also to Koupzkami for the track.

I’ve written more about it in detail on my blog here, but the video itself can be viewed in this newsletter only, enjoy!

Cinematographer: Grace Rai Lee

MUA Designer/Starring: Sammm Agnew

Severed Ties

Every now and then we all fall out of friendships, some call it the ‘friend clearout.’

We either hurt people or they hurt us through their actions. We grow distant; the care that was once there dissipates through circumstance or a series of events.

Like any relationship, it can be difficult to accept these new realities. Sometimes, it’s also a big disappointment.

We see others, or they see us in a different light as our lives slide by one another and out of sync.

And, once we close that door, one can say there’s a great sense of loss and mourning. Or maybe even relief.

I recently lost my stepfather who raised me and I’m still processing this as we all do with loss and grief. But at the same time, it really helped me get my Johari Window groove on as I saw who my real friends were…as you do!

During this period, I was speaking with a friend and musician Paulo who’s been a great support. Paulo often takes long drives and records them.

When he showed me his footage, it really triggered a deep sadness within. The visuals seemed to emulate what I was going through, especially with my family loss running parallel with the loss of my friendships and those who I chose to distance myself from.

I asked Paulo whether I could use his footage to create a film and if he wanted to collaborate on an audio-visual project to which he was happy to jump on board.

I wrote a poem and edited his footage along with some shots of my own, and it provided me with great relief.

Anyhow, please see our film ‘Severed Ties,’ a recorded poetry film written, edited and performed by me, and a musical track written, performed and composed by Paulo. I’ve also added the poem in writing further below. Thanks All!

Severed Ties

Naked 

Searching

Reaching

Festering 

Come, come, come, come 

Festering 

Searching

Naked 

Reaching

Here, here, here, here

Winding lanes and dead-end paths 

Looking forward and in the past

Wheels on gravel and burning tyre

Scorching flesh with evil truths 

Searching night and weeping days

Back to dark yet seeking praise

Open arms and caring heart

Rejected blood and infectious laughs 

Through me flows a sickening moral 

Give it away or better store all

Where there's balance compassion seeps

Closing eyes yet not much sleep

Restless cause and helpless wanting

Friendships diminished and farewell hunting

Down those lanes and dead-end paths 

The alleyway opens and swallows the past

Naked 

Searching

Reaching

Festering 

Good, good, good, good 

Festering 

Searching

Naked 

Reaching

Bye, bye, bye, bye

Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter and please feel free to share my newsletter, subscribe, donate via Ko-fi (There’s additional exclusive material on Ko-fi) and leave a comment below.