Fake News

I don't remember where I was when Elvis Presley was found dead(on the toilet of all places. ) I don't remember where I was when Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon.  I don't remember where I was when John Lennon was shot dead.

Because I'm a child of the 80s.  I wasn't alive when those major news stories broke. 

But I can tell you I was 15 my Mum woke me up after getting in from her Night Shift to tell me Princess Diana had died in a tragic RTA in Paris. Tony Blair was all over the news that day, the TV coverage showing crowds laying flowers at Westminster Palace. My Auntie actually went there to lay flowers.

I can tell you when 9/11 happened I was living in Liverpool, in the Kensington area, in a three way student house share, one of the girls I was sharing with came into one of our rooms clutching the Liverpool Echo, the now iconic image of the Twin Towers ablaze silenced our idle chatter, and chilled us to the bone.

I can tell you when Grenfell Tower stood, burning, while all of London, and the rest of the world, watched on rolling news feed, I was working a late shift, so I had got up and turned on the TV, while I had my breakfast.  After some time, I turned off the TV, the thought of people's families- brothers, mothers, sons, having to watch their loved ones quite literally burn to death while they were completely helpless, uncomfortable viewing.

Because the way news is broadcast has changed.  Thanks to Smartphones -I blame Steve Jobs!-we all have the whole world; no, the whole universe, in the palm of our hands.  We no longer have to leave the comfort of our homes to get a takeaway pizza. We can order it, see it being prepared(virtually), track it to delivery.  All with zero contact with another human  We don't have to travel the world, we can see every country, every town on the internet.

And yet people have never been more lonely.  The world can fit on the head of a pin, yet our social interactions are dwindling, I don't know about you but I send virtual hugs far more often than I receive actual ones.  More's the pity.

One factor is that we are never truly switched off.  When was the last time you switched your mobile phone off?  I know, I hear you claim you need your alarm for work, you might miss an email, you mighty not see how many people viewed your Instagram story.

Well I'm sorry but social media is Fake News.(Never thought I'd say this), but Donald Trump has a point when he talks about Fake News. 

This week I posted a John Lennon quote(quite a well known one) about Peace on my Instagram, and shared it to Facebook. Someone I have met a handful of times(a complete narcissist as correctly observed by a poet pal of mine a week or so ago) chose to attack me virtually -keyboard warrior- and suggest I was prejudiced against Jews, disabled people, and gay people.  When I pointed out the quote was about human nature and not aimed at this person, they made some completely robotic comments and, I found out the next day, unfriended themselves.  Well that saved me a job!  I have since blocked them from contacting me.

The Rebel Poetess is all about encouraging debate and intelligent conversation.  Attacking someone for sharing a quote they find thought provoking?  Not so much.

So what do Princess Diana, the victims of 9/11, and the victims of Grenfell Tower all have in common?  They were let down by the very organisations who were supposed to help them.  Something I can strongly identify with this year.

So, like Brexit, I decided to Take Back Control this year.  I'm a good person, and I didn't deserve what happened to me.  But I could control the telling of my story.  So 0n 7th May 2018 I started The Rebel Poetess.  In (almost) six months, it's had over 3500 views, in the USA, Ireland, The Philippines, Latvia, Poland, Mexico, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Spain, France, Portugal.  And of course the UK.

It feels funny to type that.  Because I joked to my old boss at work that my misery might just become my meal ticket.  I truly believe you can write your own story.  You make your own Fate.  Don't rely on other people to decide your Destiny.  But it's OK to ask for help sometimes.  Not only that, but it's OK to accept the help.

Since I started accepting the help available to me, my life has changed in ways I never thought possible. Because in six months, amazing things can happen.

Hearts are resilient. They can survive attacks, bypass surgery, breaks.  They will retain scars, stitches, wounds that will never fade completely.  These are invisible to the eyes of mere mortals(except cardiologists!)But you should be careful with the hearts of others.  You should be respectful of other's bodies, and minds.  If you aren't, you invite danger. You could break a bone, or a heart.

And Peace?  Well I'm giving Peace a Chance.  And it feels Fucking Fabulous :)

Reading: The Mersey Sound, Adrian Henri, Roger McGough&Brian Patten

Watching; YouTuve videos of iconic women

Beauty: Princess lash mascara(Wilko!)

Food: Pimped up Porridge; with Coconut milk, maple syrup, chia seeds, dessicated coconut, cashew butter, and a jot of jam:)

Drink: Pukka Night Time tea(which has lavendar and elderflower not valerian root which I told my work buddy Heroic H!

Travel: Getting lost while tired(some things never change)

Current obsession: Double scarfing

#instantkarma #givepeaceachance #fakenews #therebelpoetess #bestseller