I recently noticed that I've had this WordPress blog for 10 years. A full decade of moaning about my hair on my little development website and it seemed like a good time to reflect and post something. The main purpose of this website was to give me a place to test things out and practice new skills. I build websites for a living so it's important that I keep up to date. Obviously I can't try things out on client sites and I'm notoriously bad at making the time to build pretend websites, so … [Read more...] about A DECADE OF THE SUBURBAN AFRO
SUBURBAN AFRO POSTS
UNEXPECTED EGO BOOST
Last week, a little girl in my local supermarket loudly declared that I had super amazing hair. Naturally I said thank you and beamed for the rest of the day. I generally tell people to ignore comments from strangers about their appearance, but this is a special sub-category of comments from strangers and should absolutely be taken on board. Friends and family will often tell you that you look nice, even if you look a bit rough. Do you know who doesn't tell you that you look nice when you … [Read more...] about UNEXPECTED EGO BOOST
AFRO HAIR & HAIRDRESSING
Today it was announced that the treatment and styling of afro and texturised hair would be included as part of the standing training for all hairdressers in the UK. On the face of it, this announcement doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is. It's a big deal because having afro hair has always made those of us who have it an "other' It isn't intentional, it's just a thing. A thing that until recently, a lot of Black British women didn't even question. A thing that was a big deal, that none … [Read more...] about AFRO HAIR & HAIRDRESSING
RONA AND THE FRO. MY HAIR ADVENTURES DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
I generally change my hair every few months and these days that almost always involves some form of hair extension. I've had my hair braided on and off since I was about 14 years of age and every few years, usually when I'm low on funds, I wish that I knew how to braid my own hair. I have never felt this more than I have over the last few months. We're currently living through a global epidemic, and during the full lockdown there were zero opportunities for me to toddle off to a salon to … [Read more...] about RONA AND THE FRO. MY HAIR ADVENTURES DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
EXPERIMENTING
The whole point of this site was supposed to be as a development site where I could test out new things without causing havoc with my "real" websites. What has actually happened is that I created the site and once in a blue moon, I use it to test out a plug in before I use it somewhere else. I am a massive fan of the phrase "Do as I say and not as I do" I strongly believe that if you want to get better at something that you need to practice until you get good at it. Unfortunately I tend to … [Read more...] about EXPERIMENTING
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE ELECTRIC BLUE SUBURBAN AFRO
In the last few months I've had three very different hairstyles. I had my natural hair for a while and kept it for much longer than intended due to budgetary constraints. Having spent a couple of months with my shoulder length at a push afro I decided to make sure that the update was noticeably different so I went full pink hombre waist length mermaid braids. I was still on a budget so after a few whiney Facebook posts my sister took pity on me and did it for me. The fact that it took her … [Read more...] about MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE ELECTRIC BLUE SUBURBAN AFRO
I WISH I HAD HAIR LIKE YOURS. MEMORIES OF TCB AND PLANNING MY NEXT HAIRDO
People often say to me that they wish they had hair like mine. I could finish this blog post with three words and an exclamation mark i.e. "No you don't!" but where's the fun in that? It's a fact of life that people always want things that they can't have and nothing illustrates this more than hair. Brunettes that want to be blondes, the curly haired girls that reach for the straighteners every morning and I don't know any woman my age that hasn't had at least one perm. As a child I wanted … [Read more...] about I WISH I HAD HAIR LIKE YOURS. MEMORIES OF TCB AND PLANNING MY NEXT HAIRDO
CHRISTMAS REFLECTIONS 2018
Sitting here in the period between Christmas and New Year, the place in time where I congratulate myself for pulling off miracles as the Christmas fairy and ask myself some serious questions about what my goals are for the year ahead. I stopped generating official resolutions and outrageous lists of improvements years ago and most of the goals amount to me being less of an idiot than I was the year before. Although there were, as always, things throughout the year that could have gone … [Read more...] about CHRISTMAS REFLECTIONS 2018
USING MY AFRO TO ILLUSTRATE SUCCESS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
If you know me offline, you'll be well aware that my hair changes on a regular basis. If you know me online then you'll probably know that I post a random selection of content on different platforms from time to time and that most of that content gets a minimal response. Most of the things I post get no response whatsoever (unless you count spam), nor should they, most of it isn't worth responding to. The majority of my posts aren't for any form of commercial gain so it doesn't matter, but from … [Read more...] about USING MY AFRO TO ILLUSTRATE SUCCESS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
VILLAGE WEB COMPANY
Village Web Company is the name of my business. I primarily build websites for small local businesses but I also offer help with social media, digital marketing, SEO or anything that involves a computer. My customers vary a lot and I'm lucky enough to have built websites for shops, charities and even a junior football team. Being a small business I understand the pressures they're under and whenever I can, I try to steer them in the right direction and most of them take my advice - … [Read more...] about VILLAGE WEB COMPANY