Voice Online Blog

By Eddie Nestor

Have just watched the Dispatches Programme Rape In The City and I am appalled. The thrust of the show was that there was a rise in the number of gang rapes and they were being mainly carried out by black boys. Why or even what could or should be done didn’t seem to matter. It was just pointless. Who was it designed to help?

The presenter didn’t seem to understand the subject either. Ordinarily when I go off like this my wife and close friends ask me whether , like in the case of Shoot the messenger I get upset because I don’t want to face up to the truth; but surely if you take the time to log on to http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/ you will agree with me. I would love to know.

I have known for some time that the TV people might come knocking at the door with a “fantastic” idea for a documentary where I would in effect have to diss black people in order to get on. I pray I have the courage to recognise it if it happens and tell them where to stick it.

Lots of calls to my Sunday night show about Katie Price or should I say Jordan. She has been enjoying a no hold barred holiday whilst her ex Peter is in Cyprus playing with the kids. Somehow the press have decided that she is a slapper and he is the hero. They may well be right but he does come across like a wet blanket. Where is your backbone man? She is a sexy girl who needs “angling” not some eediat boy who hasn’t worked out that he doesn’t have a singing career any more. She will have a rude awakening when she realises that she actually needs him as much as he needs her. I mean we hadn’t even heard of Katie Price till Pete came along. Now she looks like she has gone forever and the nightclubs will be a much more exciting place when Jordan, the good time girl rolls up.

Madonna finally got her way eh? Nobody was fooled by the idea that money would not win the day in the developing world. What do you think is she a wicked witch from the North who has just bought herself a little black baby? Or maybe you think she has invested millions of pounds in Malawi and is bravely giving a child a chance to have a quality of life they could only dream of?

By Jeanette Kwakye

It’s been ages since I last wrote to you and gave you an insight into my little world.
Well, now I am back. Back to writing about my observations on life as I try to be one of the worlds fastest women.

Well, about that last bit (being the worlds fastest). The 2009 season has been a crazy roller coaster as far as my athletics is concerned.  The European season opened at the end of May and I am yet to run my first race of the season, due to some injury setbacks.

I am aiming to run a low key meet this weekend in London, so I can test the water and see how well my training has been going and make sure all my injury problems are gone. I am still very confident that I can challenge the worlds best in Berlin this Summer. However before that I will be in Milan and Moscow over the next few weeks.

The hardest part so far for me, has been watching the US and Jamaican girls tear up the track and get the best possible preparation for the World Championships in Berlin. I just have to keep on telling myself, that I am just as good as them and when I am ready to step up my game, I will do it when it matters.
Training has been going well and to be fair we have been benefiting from some Jamaican-ish weather (OK, maybe that’s a bit too far) which makes it much easier to do harder workouts,  but the way  I have seen some people bring out their beach wear for a hint of sunshine, makes me laugh!

I often wonder what possess some folk to throw away the winter coat as soon as their kitchen thermometer hits 20 degrees Celsius.  To make matters worse, our London parks and commons become infested with heat seekers and sun worshippers.
Now, there is NOTHING wrong with wanting to enjoy the sunshine in good old Blighty, but lets be honest… Is it necessary to walk around bare chested (often hairy chested) for all to see?
Men: Please. I think it is imperative that if you are to don your chest muscles for Hyde Park or Clampham common, please wax/shave/epilate your chest hair.

Ladies: Please. It is imperative that you too, should wax/shave/epilate your legs and make sure those toes are looking presentable.

These are the unwritten rules of the summer and it just makes the sunny days even better if they are adhered to.  Don’t you think? I’m only saying what you’re thinking!

By Natasha Danvers

WOW! Is it that time already! I can’t believe it!

You’d think time would be moving as slow as molasses since I’m laid up in the house with this injury.  But no nono, not me.  I’m always up to something and onto something.  This week between sending out Twitters and getting rehab I decided to do another radio show.  I’ve been doing this online free radio show thing (www.blogtalkradio.com/tashadanvers) for a little while now and when the athletic season started I kind of  just stopped.

My last interview was an exclusive with Dwain Chambers and since then I think with all the training and everything my brain just got diverted.  So anyway my peeps online kept bugging me about another show so I started asking ‘well what do you want to talk about?’  So of course relationships was the order of the day. LOL.

Now this is Monday so you’ve got to figure I need to get some ideas quick fast in a hurry because the show airs on Wednesday evening.  HMMMMM. Let’s just say 2 hours before the show all I had was a skeleton of a show and no confirmed guests.  The title of the show was Relationship Faux Pas and the topics were, IS IT OK TO DATE IN THE WORKPLACE and SHOULD YOUR PARTNER HAVE ANY PRIVACY WHEN IT COMES TO TEXTS, EMAILS AND VOICEMAILS.

Now the first topic was pretty light hearted the ins and outs of dating in the workplace and some of the ups and downs etc. But when we moved on to the text messaging business let me tell you it was like all hell broke loose (which I have to admit is an enjoyable listen).

Now the crux of the debate was between my mother DorrettMcKoy (aka Aunty Dee) and a caller named Ms Vanity.  Now Ms Vanity was adamant that it was within her rights to check any text, email, or voicemail of her partner because if he wasn’t cheating then he shouldn’t have anything to hide.  Even Dr. Phil says, “Those who have nothing to hide, hide nothing.”

But my mother was adamant that even though she doesn’t have anything to hide she doesn’t want to bother snooping through her partners things and she certainly doesn’t want anyone snooping through hers.  If she had to snoop then he must not be the right guy.

It was such an interesting conversation and at the end (when the show got cut off due to technical trouble) I still hadn’t made up my mind.  When should your partner be able to be in every corner of your life?  When you’re dating? Living together? Engaged? Married? Is it ever okay? Should you be entitled to some individuality and privacy?

I really want to know what more people out there think? So, let me know on FACEBOOK  or email me at TashaDFB@gamil.com. Because right now I just don’t know.

By Natasha Danvers

Hi Voice Readers, welcome to my new blog. For those of you who are unfamiliar I am International athlete Tasha Danvers I hope to give you a insight into my personal life as well as the wonderful world of athletics’.

I just came back from LA on Saturday. And I have to say every time I come back to London I have to wonder what happened to the Londoners.
The kids are stressed, adults are stressed and I am not even sure it is the economy.  This weekend I was in Cardiff competing in the new competition called the Super8.  It just seemed like people were a little less agitated in Wales.  You even have to drive different on London.

Don’t get me wrong I love my city but I wish things would go back to the way they were when I was a kid. When I could walk the street at night without fearing for my life.
As I mentioned I am here in Cardiff for the Super 8 meeting.  It was cold and wet but I think this is a terrific idea that will help raise the profile of track in the UK.  I am familiar with the team concept from my time in the States, competing today reminded me of the dual meets.

The point system is very similar, and it creates a fun and competitive atmosphere.  I hope the pilot was a success and all of you had a chance to watch it tonight.

My evening started well as I won the 100mH, one of my favorite events.  I always enjoy running the short hurdles, my coach and I made a pact that we will always keep the fun in the sport, and this is my fun.

The long hurdles are more work than fun, so I try to keep my events as varied as I can.  Unfortunately, the evening ended on a downer as I pulled my hamstring running on the medley relay.  I was excited because this was my first 200 in about ten years, and as I said we try to keep it varied.

About 80 meters in a felt a pop but I was determined to win the team championship and hobbled down the track to make the exchange.  Probably not my most shining moment but that’s what team competition is about.  I am happy to say we won the first ever Super8 title by one point, although my relay team was disqualified when my second leg came to get the baton from me.

So I am sitting here with my leg wrapped and in pain.  I go see the doctors tomorrow back in London and start rehabbing.  I will keep you all posted as we start this summer journey.  I never knew packing was so hard with one leg…Puh!

Look out for next weeks blog.

Ciao for now!

By Eddie Nestor

I cannot even begin to think what kind of pain the Tyson family must be in right now. Their precious daughter, Exodus, taken away from them in bizarre circumstances. Shame on the British press for peddling their hateful and poisonous agenda. Why was it necessary to list Mike Tyson’s misdemeanors? Why was it necessary to call him the convicted rapist? And why was love, pity and empathy not at the heart of everything they wrote. He [Mike] is a human being after all and boy must he be feeling pain right now. As a brand new parent my heart bleeds for all the relatives of that poor little girl.

I think the press have long had an agenda where Mike is concerned.

I remember an interview with him once when he was in his hey day and the reporter asked him why he never dated white girls. What? Could you imagine going up to any white star and asking them why they never dated black girls?  Come to think of it, that question could be asked of almost any black premiership footballer

————————————————————————

Next time you get on a plane I am sure crossing your mind will be flight 447. For those of you who live under a stone or in a cave it is the Air France plane which is currently being fished out of the Atlantic….piece by piece. It is all a mystery at the moment but it will be interesting to see what the black box will tell us about the plane that disappeared into thin air

We have had four or five days of sunshine now so go out and water the garden before the hose pipe ban is introduced

—————————————————————————

Well done to Diversity for winning this years Britain’s got talent. The question in my house was how is that 100,000 going to get carved up. Nuff man Fe get piece. Will the little boy with the girls’ hair get anything for getting fling bout the place? And I should also take this opportunity to wish Susan Boyle the very best on her road to recovery and it should remind all of us that we should be careful what we wish for

By Eddie Nestor

As I sit here feeding my beautiful bundle of joy I am listening to the long list of failings which led to the death of Baby Peter.

Of course after the death of Victoria Climbe this was never supposed to happen again; especially not in the same borough. Baby P was visited 60 times by various social services and suffered horrific injuries at the hands of his mother, step father and lodger.

All three have now been given indeterminate jail sentences and I imagine when I get to work today I will field a number of calls from people calling for the death Penalty.

It has also been a sad week because of the conviction, on drug smuggling charges of a cricketing enigma, Chris Lewis. In his playing days he came to be known as the ‘prat without the hat’.

This is because on a tour to the Caribbean he went out uncovered in the midday sun and promptly got sunstroke. Obviously the sun was not impressed by the fact that he was born in Guyana and came to Britain when he was 10.

Anyhow he and a friend were caught on the way back from St Lucia trying to smuggle liquid cocaine, with a street value of 140,000 into Britain, in fruit juice tins.

It is sad that someone so talented succumbed to temptation in this way. He and this ‘friend will now have 13 years to think about whether the risk was worth the price. Very little sympathy for him on my Face book page but I feel sorry for him.

If one youngster is put off trying to make a quick buck by foul means in this way then maybe some good can still come from a bad situation.

Chris was a good all rounder in the game but now may well find it difficult to bowl a maiden over, he may find he has to use his overarm to defend his middle stump

By Eddie Nestor

This week I witnessed the birth of my first son. Wow, what an experience. Before I go on I think I should point out that daddy and baby are doing well.

The contractions started at about 10 am and I immediately thought if she is quick I might be able to make my 5pm show. We drove to the hospital (very slowly) and were seen straight away. Wife was 3cm dilated so I guessed this was it. High blood pressure was the problem and so everything had to be carefully monitored. The water bath and lilac ward were now out of the question. The long wait had only just begun.

My brother had told me that I should avail myself of as much gas and air as possible and he was right. It was fantastic, though for some reason my wife and her mother didn’t think I needed it and kept taking it away.

My wife and I had made a birth plan and she had said that she wanted minimum pain relief and I will always remember when I told someone at work our plan she said “Just wait till she feels that pain, she will take everything”. And so it was that the morphine became her good friend.

When the time came I had no intention of going down the bottom end of the table ‘top end Ed” was how I wanted to be known but Anna our very attractive midwife had different ideas. “Come and look at the size of your babies head” And so it was mine eyes did behold the greatest of all sights. The creation of life. Kai, a Yoruba name for love, was born at 02.30 on May 7^th 2009. I never thought I would see the day. After suffering from the big C in 2007 I was convinced it was never meant to be.

And no I didn’t cry. Not until my mother told me she thought I was going to die back then. Then she told me that my son was born on the 10^th anniversary of her mothers’ death. That’s when I blubbed like a baby. Truly a gift from god

By Jeanette Kwakye

Arrrrrgh.

It is now time to leave sunny Florida and head back to London, I’m not particularly happy about this because I was getting into the groove of training in the heat. Nonetheless, as I write to you now, I am actually multi tasking at the highest possible level. (Of course this is only achievable by women).

I am, blogging, trying in vain to check-in on my flight online, finish packing and shooting off some emails.

However one thing that gets me sometimes is we rush too much. When in fact we are to blame for leaving things until the last possible minute and then blame the lack of time, when in all honesty we have had more than enough time.

Being in such a hot climate for the best part of 4 weeks has also made me see how slow people can actually move, just like in the Caribbean and in Africa. Its too hot to rush out there!

Although one thing that seems to be quite international at the moment, is the way that Internet age has shortened the way we write…

Now, as I have explained already, everything does seem to be a rush job, but the most annoying thing that I find is becoming to prevalent is the over use of ‘short-hand’ or ‘Text talk’

The kids seem to do it the most and I am going to start telling my 12 year old sister to use appropriate spelling when talking on her messenger applications.

For example… Dnt u jst h8 it wen ppl rite lk this?

That is not hard to understand, but you didn’t go through years of an education system for that to be the norm.

Ok, maybe I am being harsh on the kids and it is deemed as cool to write that way. However it is not cool for anyone of an adult age to be doing so. Infact the UK has a literacy rate of 99%!

Could you imagine if I wrote my blogs like that? Or if you received a letter written like that. Its just not on.

I actually have a very good friend who gets mortified if a guy that she meets texts her like that or spells his words wrong. She sometimes forwards me the text and I have to tell her maybe it was a typo! Soon she is going to start sending them their texts back marked right!

So, I am aware we a nation who rush and seem to have no time, but I also feel it is important we maintain a standard so that our younger generation can utilise the English that they are being taught and not permanently slip into the language of the Internet.

By Jeanette Kwakye

Here I am 10 days into my Warm Weather training trip in Orlando and the heat is on, both on and off of the track. Today is 34 degress and I have been kissed by the sun, so much so that my make up shades are all wrong now. Nonetheless, lets start with some news on the track. I have currently been relegated to the pool for a couple of daysas I try and shake off a sore achillies tendon. I depsise pool work, because I hate getting my hair wet.

I have had problems with my achillies for years, so its just about managing them and getting the right amount of rest! So no need to worry about it hampering my preparation for the season!!

Now off the track…
Just like my achilles tendon, weaknesses in men and women are apparent in everything we do everyday. As a professional athlete my weaknesses come from what my body can and cannot take physically. However as human beings, we all seem to have one weakness that most of us cannot resist. Especially MEN.

I got into a conversation with my training partners that subsequently turned into a hot debate on why MEN CHEAT! I’m still confused, so maybe you can help shed some light on it.
Can I just run a quick disclaimer by you all:

I am going to try my best to not sound like a woman scorned.
The views in this blog are mine and probably will offend. Please note
men who read this and say ‘But women cheat too’…
This blog is about men and not women so just accept it for now.

Am I wrong in suggesting that most men who cheat are immature and lack respect for their partner? Or can I flip the script and say that men who cheat are not being looked after at home by their woman… Furthermore, what about the ones who actually have more than one long term relationship and a totally secret life?

That is the problem, there are so many branches of cheating that generalisation is almost impossible.
But surely there must be a common denominator that makes the practice of illicit rendezvous so common…?

So I asked the guys..‘Why do men cheat?‘ The answer: ‘Because they can’.
I believe that, infact I think its the best answer to give to a question that throws up so many different scenarios. I say this  because when this answer is applied to each individual scenario, nine times out of ten it is easily applicable.

People write songs on it, God punished those in the bible for it and many divorces have occured because of it. Can I now be controversial and say that we as a species are actually meant to be that way, by having more than one partner? and that the social guidelines we have are a combination of religious practice and social environment?

Are we fighting our natural instinct, similar to animals in the wild. The difference between us and them is our ability to express higher levels of emotion for one another?

So many questions too many scenarios, now can you see why I am confused? So in my quest to enter the mind of the male, I put it out there to my Twitterers.. One response was this: ‘You will never understand, because you do not have a penis’. (Errrr.. Thanks)
Maybe, we females are just not meant to know…

twitter.com/jnettekwakye

By Kojo

WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO GET MARRIED???

When is the right time to get married? I keep asking myself this question. Personally, I have always wanted to get married, settle down and start my own family one day. When I was younger, I thought I’d be married around the age I am now, but now I’m here the idea of getting married seems much more appealing later in life – I’m talking more along the lines of 50 years old!

I recently went to a wedding and heard the bride and groom deliver vows to one another and I sat there saying to myself, ‘at what age would I say those words and actually mean them? 50 Years old mate!!’

Now I’m not saying I can’t be in a loving relationship or start a family before I get to 50, but I think it’s important not to tell your wife what she wants to hear, but rather what you promise to uphold.

Women are more emotional than men and see the need to have a boyfriend from the age of 13. Men on the other hand tend to think more about sex rather then the thought of having a girlfriend – I don’t believe this changes when we get older.

I plan to be an amazing father and boyfriend one day. But right now, the thought of having no room to leave if the relationship is not working or having to give half my money away because I signed a document is not something I agree with.

I actually believe in the phrase, ‘Till death do us part.’ And it seems like the most appropriate time to utter these words is at the age of 50 when I’m on my way out. I can’t say those words at my current age and believe it!

Far too many people are getting divorced for silly reasons these days, which makes me think that the thought of being married merely looked good rather than felt good.

The Internet hasn’t made being faithful any easier for men and women either. We really have to take a good look at ourselves, be honest and say when we are ready to give our solo lives over to our partners. This doesn’t mean we can’t do things on our own, but being married means to share decisions as it will affect more than one person.

Let me know your thoughts and thanks for your time!

Kojo

www.kojotv.com coming soon…..