Rum Punch is a monthly instalment of soulful entertainment that touches down in Central London the first Thursday of each month. This is not your normal poetry night like others I have been to, with finger snapping, polite applause or poems about a child like intense love. This night is full of laughs, Shabbas, attitude and of course strong Rum Punch from the bar. It is a mix of guess that song that always makes you laugh and serious, intense, thought provoking lyrical poems with the occasional battle and music. It makes you think and brings issues to your mind. Great night out for only about a fiver, but make sure and be there early as it is always packed. See the next entry at Rudy’s Revenge168 High Holborn, LONDON WC1V 7AA

I don't usually put movies in the general content of this blog, but this movie I think is definitely a keeper..... so here it is.

For Coloured Girls. With all the hype of the new Harry Potter movie out, I thought this week I would take the opposite road and showcase a movie that has not received much hype since it came out. It is by one of my favourite directors and producers Tyler Perry. To truly appreciate this film, one has to know its history. This film is an adaption of an experimental play written in 1975 of the original title For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange and is a compilation of several poems. In the original play, only the colours they wear and the hard circumstances they undergo identify the characters. For example, the lady in red goes through domestic violence and this shows the beginning of the meaning of the name of the book and film. The characters are African-American only because the original writer is - I mean, how would a black woman relate to a white cast in 1975 America she has only her own experience and knowledge to write from. The plot is one that all modern women regardless of colour or age can relate to, empathise, and understand. This film is African-American literature come to life and is done well by Tyler Perry given the limitations of transferring written word to film for deeply emotional and dramatic plots. But it seems unfinished just as N Shange commented on the movie, hence I think a revisit to the original literature is a must.