THE AMAZING 89 YEAR OLD JAMAICAN PIONEER, ARTNEL JOHNSON BASED IN HUDDERSFIELD WILL BE RECEIVING AN AFRICA4U AWARD AT THE CITY LIBRARY IN BRADFORD ON FRIDAY THE 12TH OF MAY AT 5PM,

INFORMATION ABOUT THIS AMAZING ELDER CAN BE FOUND BELOW

Background
 Born in Rose Hall of St Elizabeth parish Jamaica on 26 th February 1934 from a poor
family of 13 children. Despite poverty he excelled in education in Jamaica reaching the equivalent of university Diploma level by UK standards.

 Part of the pioneering Windrush generation Artnel moved to Huddersfield 1959 seeking like many a better life and more opportunities followed by his wife in 1961.
He met racism and discrimination when seeking work in more skilled profession and
work for many years as a bus driver until he started his own business in 1977 sharing
a vehicle with a Nigerian friend.

Artnel a lover of education befriended and helped to bridge the relationships
between continental Africans who were often students from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra
Leone and other newly independent countries in the 60 & 70’s many of which lodge
in Artnel own home. He was to make connections, friendships and alliances which
set him apart as having a greater understanding and love of Africa than his Caribbean
peers.
Artnel ran support surgeries from his front room providing free writing letter,
teaching and coaching to support other immigrants from the Caribbean helping
them to navigate a racially discriminatory system.

Married with 8 children but was a father figure and uncle to countless others.
He has 27 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren and 1 Great Great Grandchild
which in itself is a legacy on own right.
Artnel has been a central unassuming, dependable, upright, humble and pillars of
the community not only in Huddersfield but also in Jamacia where you enjoyed the
first 20 years of his retirement before returning to England 3 years ago to be closer
to his family.
 
Achievements
 
 One of first business owners and treasurer of popular night club known locally as
“Venn Street” which attracted the top reggae superstars from Jamaica such as John
Holt, Dennis Brown, Delroy Wilson Gregory Issacs and many more placing Huddersfield on the map as a top nightlife hotspot in the North of England

First Caribbean driving instructor in Huddersfield and travel agent

Community Leader serving on many Community Voluntary boards including Police
advisory boards at the height of the 80’s riots, Hudawi, Jamaica Nation Committee
and Beaumont Street Studio’s of which he was the founding Director.

He is one of the black First Magistrates in Kirklees serving on the bench for over 25
years

A committed Christian he served as a deacon of his local church for many years

Interests
 Artnel has had many interests over the years including photography building his own
dark room in the basement of his home.

Artnel is a keen debater on anything to do with global history and politics and is
certainly not backward in voicing his opinions even if he had to stand alone.

He brewed homemade beer although ironically, he has never drunk alcohol himself.
Artnel is a vibrant and energetic man singing in the church choir and listening and to
his favourite artist Fats Domino to which he can still rock and roll to on the dance
floor or living room floor when the vibe and rhythm takes hold of him.

 He enjoys spending time with his wonderful and very large family
 In his retirement Artnel has become a keen gardener planting fruit and vegetables
for the family to enjoy.
Artnel believes in hard work and education is the key to success and complaining is a fruitless obstacle to progress.

INFORMATION ABOUT TOLU CAN BE FOUND BELOW

Tolu’ A. Akinyemi (also known as Tolutoludo & the Lion of Newcastle) is a multiple award-winning author in the genres of poetry, short stories, children’s literature, and essays.

His works include Dead Lions Don’t Roar (poetry, 2017); Unravel Your Hidden Gems (essays, 2018); Dead Dogs Don’t Bark (poetry, 2018); Dead Cats Don’t Meow (poetry, 2019); Never Play Games With the Devil (poetry, 2019); Inferno of Silence (short stories, 2020); A Booktiful Love (poetry, 2020); Black ≠ Inferior (poetry, 2021); Never Marry a Writer (poetry, 2021); Everybody Don Kolomental (poetry, 2021); I Wear Self-Confidence Like a Second Skin (children’s literature, 2021); I Am Not a Troublemaker (children’s literature, 2021); Born in Lockdown (poetry, 2021); A god in a Human Body (poetry, 2022); If You Have To Be Anything, Be Kind (children’s literature, 2022); City of Lost Memories, (poetry, 2022); Awaken Your Inner Lion, (essays, 2022); On The Train To Hell, (poetry, 2022); You Need More Than Dreams (poetry, 2023); and The Morning Cloud is Empty (poetry, 2023).

A former headline act at Great Northern Slam, Havering Literary Festival, Crossing The Tyne Festival, and Feltonbury Arts and Music Festival, he also inspires large audiences through spoken word performances and has appeared as a keynote speaker in major forums and events. He facilitates creative writing master classes for many audiences.

His poems have appeared (or are forthcoming) in the 57th issue (Volume 15, No. 1) of the Wilderness House Literary Review; The Writers Cafe Magazine Issue 18; GN Books; Lion and Lilac; Agape Review; Continue the Voice; My Woven Poetry; Black Moon Magazine; Calla Press; African Writer Magazine; Football in Poetry 2 Anthology; and elsewhere.

#africanwriter #newcastle #toluakinyemi #nigerianpoet #blacklives

We are pleased to inform you that FREE TICKETS are now available for Our AFRICA4U AWARDS FOR AFRICANS AND CARIBBEANS LIVING IN WEST YORKSHIRE taking place on FRIDAY THE 12TH OF MAY 2023 (5PM) at The City Library in Bradford West Yorkshire.

Come and be part of an amazing celebration of Inspiration talks, African & Caribbean history , performances , networking, free refreshments and award Recognitions of community heroes making a difference every day .

KEY SPEAKERS INCLUDE

Ismael Lea South – DIRECTOR OF THE SALAM PROJECT – BASED IN MANCHESTER

Linda Johnson — PAN AFRICAN COMMUNITY ADVOCATE – BASED IN HUDDERSFIELD

Clara Opara – BASED IN LEEDS

Rico Jakk – PAN AFRICAN COMMUNITY ADVOCATE BASED IN NEWCASTLE

ANTTHONY PELTIER – BRADFORD BORN BUSINESS ENTREPRENEUR

George Matheson – FOUNDER OF DECKACY

CONGRATULATIONS IN ADVANCE TO THE BRADFORD BASED COMMUNITY INITIATIVES WHO WILL ALSO BE RECEIVING AFRICA4U AWARDS ON THE DAY .

THEY INCLUDE

BRADFORD BORN – ANTHONY PELTIER

CHECKPOINT BRADFORD – Kaydee BeaumontBfresh Brian

WINDRUSH GENERATIONS BRADFORD — Ns Guy

Darka Visuals BASED IN BRAFORD

Inspiring Bradford -THE WELLBEING NETWORK , THORNBURY HUB

WAATCH THIS SPACE FOR THE FULL LIST OF ALL THE OTHER NOMINEES

We will have guests travelling all the way from London , Manchester, Newcastle, West Midlands and many parts of Yorkshire.

GET YOUR FREE TICKETS NOW BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW

COMING SOON ON THE TONY TOKUNBO FERNANDEZ SHOW – INTERVIEW WITH MULTIPLE AWARD WINING AUTHOR – TOLU AKINYEMI

INFORMATION ABOUT TOLU CAN BE FOUND BELOW – THIS IS A SHOW YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS

Tolu’ A. Akinyemi (also known as Tolutoludo & the Lion of Newcastle) is a multiple award-winning author in the genres of poetry, short stories, children’s literature, and essays.

His works include Dead Lions Don’t Roar (poetry, 2017); Unravel Your Hidden Gems (essays, 2018); Dead Dogs Don’t Bark (poetry, 2018); Dead Cats Don’t Meow (poetry, 2019); Never Play Games With the Devil (poetry, 2019); Inferno of Silence (short stories, 2020); A Booktiful Love (poetry, 2020); Black ≠ Inferior (poetry, 2021); Never Marry a Writer (poetry, 2021); Everybody Don Kolomental (poetry, 2021); I Wear Self-Confidence Like a Second Skin (children’s literature, 2021); I Am Not a Troublemaker (children’s literature, 2021); Born in Lockdown (poetry, 2021); A god in a Human Body (poetry, 2022); If You Have To Be Anything, Be Kind (children’s literature, 2022); City of Lost Memories, (poetry, 2022); Awaken Your Inner Lion, (essays, 2022); On The Train To Hell, (poetry, 2022); You Need More Than Dreams (poetry, 2023); and The Morning Cloud is Empty (poetry, 2023).

A former headline act at Great Northern Slam, Havering Literary Festival, Crossing The Tyne Festival, and Feltonbury Arts and Music Festival, he also inspires large audiences through spoken word performances and has appeared as a keynote speaker in major forums and events. He facilitates creative writing master classes for many audiences.

His poems have appeared (or are forthcoming) in the 57th issue (Volume 15, No. 1) of the Wilderness House Literary Review; The Writers Cafe Magazine Issue 18; GN Books; Lion and Lilac; Agape Review; Continue the Voice; My Woven Poetry; Black Moon Magazine; Calla Press; African Writer Magazine; Football in Poetry 2 Anthology; and elsewhere.

His poems have been translated into Greek.

He was appointed as a columnist for 2022 in Malimbe Magazine (Malimbe is the official in-flight magazine of several Nigerian Airlines, including Arik Air, Aero Contractors, Dana Air, and Bristow). Their monthly edition has a readership coverage of 500,000 readers on over 1,600 flights connecting 30 plus cities.

His books are based on a deep reality and often reflect relationships and life, featuring people he has met in his journey as a writer. His books have inspired many people to improve their performances and/or their circumstances. Tolu’ has taken his poetry to the stage, performing his written word at many events. Through his writing and these performances, he supports business leaders, other aspiring authors, and people of all ages who are interested in reading and writing. Sales of the books have allowed Tolu’ donate to charity, allowing him to make a difference where he feels it’s important and showing that he lives by the words he puts to page.

He is a co-founder of Lion and Lilac, a UK-based arts organisation, and sits on the board of many organisations.      

Tolu’ is a financial crime compliance consultant as well as a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) with extensive experience working with leading investment banks and consultancy firms.

He is a trained economist from Ekiti State University, formerly known as University of Ado-Ekiti (UNAD).

He sat for his master’s degree in Accounting and Financial Management at the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom.

Tolu’ was a student ambassador at the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, representing the university in major forums and engaging with young people during various assignments.

Tolu’ Akinyemi was born in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria and lives in the United Kingdom. Tolu’ is an ardent supporter of Chelsea Football Club in London.

You can connect with Tolu’ on his various social media accounts:

Instagram: @tolutoludo

Facebook: facebook.com/toluaakinyemi

Twitter: @ToluAkinyemi @tolutoludo

#nigerianwriter #poetry #ambassador #blackachievers #blacklives

COMING SOON ON THE TONY TOKUNBO FERNANDEZ SHOW – INTERVIEW WITH REVEREND NED LUNN, CANON FOR INTERCULTURAL MISSION AND ARTS, BRADFORD CATHDDRAL

NED LUNN is A Christ Disciple (Theatre Practitioner, Deacon, Priest, Canon for Intercultural Mission and the Arts for Bradford Cathedral.

The Revd Ned Lunn has been part of the Bradford Cathedral clergy team in the second half of 2022. He loves walking, food and board games.

THIS IS A SHOW YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS – WATCH THIS SPACE

#cityofculture2025 #bradfordcathedral #bradfordcity #poet #reverend #mindfulness #cityofculture

Tee dot Tee is a Bradford Musician and poet who is currently mentored and managed by the amazing Kath Canoville. He was formerly known by other aliases “Lil T” and “Asher T” when he first started out as a Grime Artist.

Over the years, this amazing Bradford artist has evolved into a profound musician who uses both melodics and rap in a range of genres, straying from the genre conformity

PRESTON WINDRUSH presents “WINDRUSH PRESTON TIME” taking place on Friday the 24th of March 2023 at Preston Town Hall, Lancaster Road, Preston PR1 2RL

REGISTER NOW VIA EMAIL – INFO@PRESTONWINDRUSH.CO.UK

TEL – 0756 4732 983

#preston #windrush #blacklivesmatter #blackhistorymonth2023

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FATHER – CHIEF S.O. FERNANDEZ

From the gentle stories of Calabar,

parables unfold, embracing the moments of FINE WINE.

The still wind is blessed with music and the happy drumbeats of NEW CELEBRATIONS.

The air is pregnant with signals and a warm chain of new chapters.

EVERYDAY is a party and a chance to share from the mantle of new colours.

We are blessed to witness the footprints in your dance.

WISHING YOU AN AMAZING BIRTHDAY.

LOTS OF LOVE OF TONY

#calabar #birthday #celebration #lagos

My name is Adefaratoluwa Adefestac Osindero Olutimehin, CEO, of Clevenard Global International Limited (Nigeria) and Clevenard Limited (United Kingdom) a native of Ode Remo in Ogun State, Nigeria. currently residing in Palma De Mallorca Balearic Islands, Spain.

I was born in January 1977 into the “Osindero” family and grow up at Itire, located in Surulere on the mainland of Lagos Nigeria.

My Reason for Being In the media business.

Back then as Clevenard Farm Foods Limited, we dealt with farm produce exportation from Nigeria to the United Kingdom and the main challenge was getting customers for our imported farm products, such as Clevenard Ofada Rice, Beans, Moringa, etc.

As we deployed several marketing channels to achieve our target, we discovered that the most effective approach, which is the use of social media in scaling was not sustainable due to ROI on our conventional strategy.

We also discovered that Africans our target segment of the market can be better reached in a clustered form rather than spread across western social platforms.

Further research into the behavior and buying patterns of Africans, it was realized that we Africans have our ways of presenting our products and services in a unique form different from the terms and conditions of some western social platforms.

As the drive to reach and understand African markets is on the rise, every organization with products and services for offerings is exploring cost-effective means of delivering their products and services with the utmost customer service experience.

Clevenard services and Marketers seamlessly deliver just that by opening the doors into Africa and Africans in diaspora businesses.

MY STORY

Over a decade ago, I ventured into the importation business from Nigeria to Europe, the United Kingdom to be precise. I started by visiting a lot of African small and big food shops in London to market my products.

It even got to a stage when I was begging retailers to accept my products in their shops. They eventually agreed to on credit but in the end, it always led to total loss of both my products and money.

Then I had to think, “what was I doing wrong, what exactly was I not doing right, and who exactly was my target audience?

And I got an answer.

My findings include the following:

1. I am not the only African that has the problem of selling African products or services and running at a loss. I discovered that it is a general problem for Africans in the diaspora.

2. I acknowledged that African countries and Africans in diaspora use social media to stay connected with friends and family, to know what is going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.

3. It is also a known fact that African communities in the diaspora are spread across the world and that we do not have any business or marketing social platform in Africa or the diaspora.

4. I discovered that the unavailability of a single platform to tell our stories or sell our own products or services, not to talk of having a voice in the diaspora when it comes to the commonwealth is our huge disadvantage.

All these reasons gave me the push to come up with an approach where companies working in Africa and the diaspora can overcome the business challenges they face and drive cross-sector growth for the benefit of all.

Conclusively, this vision is borne to deliver a unique one-stop advice service platform, connecting clients to the best business services available at home and in the diaspora.

Now you know why I come up with the idea of creating Clevenard Marketing and a social platform.

Now you also know Why Africa and Africans need their Internet social media and Business platforms (Clevenard).

It is no longer news that some of the shopping service online today is ignoring the African market despite the internet growth of over 10 815% from 2000 to 2020 compared to 88% of the rest of the world.

I strongly believe that it is time we, Africans build our platforms for more prosperous business networking.

I remain your business and networking gap bridger Adefaratoluwa Osindero Olutimehin.

Thank you.

Tomson Chauke

Singer songwriter at Limpopo Groove and a radio presenter on the Berkshire Culture Connect on B Radio.

Born in the Lowvelds of Zimbabwe in a small town called Chiredzi.

I grew up in a sugar estate, Hippo Valley just outside Chiredzi in Masvingo province.

Growing up I enjoyed playing outside just like most kids in Africa, all we knew was playing group games like football, traditional music gathering and hide and seek etc .

At around 8 years old, I developed a passion in creating music and getting involved in school dramas and anything that had an element of performance.

I found myself involved in formations of youth bands and musical ensembles which then took me on a tour to South Africa in my youth age

Drums became my first love and I soon found myself being asked to record with some of the top bands in Zimbabwe . 

I played on some of the monster hits and featured on some most popular videos during my time in Zimbabwe

Fast forward to my time in England still involved in music production and now radio .I am passionate about community building and integration given how broken the communities are , people from different places leaving in their small pockets and not learning from each other’s rich background. 

I formed a band that mirrors my passion and I also run a football team called Sanctuary Strikers a platform that is giving Asylum seekers and refugees a platform to play football, make friends, integrate, learn to speak English and build their confidence to navigate Reading/Berkshire.