Back in the swing

My updates have been few and far between lately….only because settling back in London has been a little harder than I expected…

Okay, so now I can officially say I’m back into the London swing so expect more entries!

Time is upon me…

I’ve been soaking up as much New York culture as possible considering my time in NY is coming to an end in two weeks. But I will TRY my best to keep the posts coming!!

A gambler’s paradise

Atlantic City in New Jersey is a gambler’s paradise and I can see why. There’s something about that adrenalin rush after winning a game or even losing one that lures you  to want to gamble again – it’s purely addictive.

Casinos in AC are cunning in how they operate, I guess they have to be if they want to make millions in cash. But saying that all the machines and tables in casinos scream money,  they give away free drinks while you gamble (they like to make you feel comfortable while you gamble away your money) and they entice you before you even get there. I bought a return coach ticket for 32 dollars – but the catch is with each purchase you make they give you a “free” bonus of 20 dollars to use at the casinos, so basically I paid 12 dollars for my ticket and had 20 dollars casino money to spend – the enticement.

There’s so many casinos in Atlantic City, some of the big ones are Trump and Caesars, each drawing thousands of people. In England people bar hop, here people casino hop – jumping from one casino to the next hoping their luck changes with each new casino.

People on holiday, people who actually try to make a living from gambling, drug dealers etc – everyone’s here but I’ve noticed there’s certainly a generational gap on who will tend to do what to gamble. Older people, like your grandmas, and grandpas, tend to stick to the fruit machines – or the 25 cent, 50 cent, one dollar cent machines as some people call them. I saw one elderly lady occupying one seat but playing two machines at the same time, probably spending her monthly entitlement.

Middle aged and younger people tend to be around the tables – ie poker tables, etc. People are watched like hawks, for example on each table you have to make hand movements in front of the camera. If you want another card, you can’t say that you want one you have to indicate you want one by tapping the table.  My favourite  table has to be Black Jack (Also known as 21). It’s like a 50/50 chance of winning but it’s also very much down to strategy.

The addiction is extremely euphoric, especially when you‘re winning. I won a couple games and then lost some but played again to win back my losses. I had 50 dollars and came away with 115 dollars. I know I could have made more if I stayed longer (gambler talk) but I think it’s better to leave winning than losing. But then again this could be a bad thing because now I want to go back to Atlantic City just for that rush.

An interesting blog

The Katine Chronicles is written by Richard M Kavuma, an African journalist. It’s his first blog posting about his experiences in a village called Katine in Uganda. I like the detailed accounts so far - I’ll be looking out for his future posts.

Read more: Katine Chronicles

New Orleans’ legendary Dooky

I went to Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, open since 1941, its customers have included politicians from George Bush to Barack Obama. The special thing about this place is not only the food but Mrs Leah Chase, the owner and chef of the restaurant. She was prolific in her community during the Civil Rights Movement, allowing activists to meet at the restaurant to debate, strategise and arrange campaigns.

She has to be one of the warmest people I’ve met in my life, she has this inner glow about her and she recites some real interesting sayings.  She said to me that “Beauty is god given but beauty is what you build for yourself”, in terms of what you do to help others and your community. It was certainly surreal being in her presence, that’s the only way I can describe it because she has a real warmth about her and she is on the ball with politics and the community in which she lives.

But the food in New Orleans!!! For traditional Creole cooking head to Dookys. I had Okra Gumbo which is a kind of soup mixed with okras, rice and shrimp – that was my starter, then for my mains I ate fried fish, stuffed shrimp, fried oysters and fries. Dooky’s is the best place if you want a great meal.

Since I arrived in New Orleans I’ve been to a number of restaurants where I’ve tried Jambalaya, a spicy rice dish mixed with chicken and sausage. Oh and puddings – I’ve only tried one so far and that’s Bread Pudding – the thing is I’m hooked on it! The Palm Court Jazz Cafe is the best place for Bread Pudding. They dress it with raisins, cinnamon with a subtle pineapple whisky sauce – it sounds good right, but you need to try it!

Count Down to New York

Next week I’ll be packing my bags and heading across the atlantic to New York, which means The Real Gist (TRG) moves from England to the States for the next six months!

I’ll be covering the primary US presidential elections and working with some of the political and community organisations out there.

Ok, so what to expect on TRG? Well I’ll still be talking about my London habits whether it be political, social or otherwise. But inaddition to that I’ll now be focusing more on things States side, bringing together all types of subjects to create a fruitful picture of my American social and political experience. So stay RSS-ed or keep me in your favourites…

Busy is the word

More juice to follow next week, plus extras considering the silence this week…

Did I forget that this is East London

In the early hours of this morning I woke up to the sound of banging on my door, it bloody freaked me out. A man that lives down my street was rambling and shouting. So there I am twitching the curtains hoping that he doesn’t see me peeking at him because I know that if he does he would be out there for much longer. Thank goodness my brother and neighbour came to sort him out.

The guy is Irish but of Egyptian origin, he kept slurring the words “I’m an Egyptian paddy”. He was drunk and high from snorting coke. I’m not sure if it was the cause but he told my brother and neighbour that his mother-in-law had passed away but I’m guessing there was much more to it.

My neighbour was great, by the time that the police came, he was trying to calm the guy while pulling him away from another neighbour he was annoying. The police were sh*t, instead of jumping out of the car to sort out the situation they just sat in their car seats hurling the odd comment at him.

That’s one thing I like about where I live my neighbours a hilarious bunch of sorts I suppose including me.

There’s my dreadlocked neighbour who always sits outside his house drawing on some weed (apart from when its extremely cold), he always welcomes me with a smile, a chat and throws some of the best summer barbeques. Then there’s the gay Chinese “sales man” – I put that in speech marks because he’s basically one of those people who sell pirate DVDs (The quality is terrible so I stopped buying from him). Then there’s good ol’ Albert, in his late 70s, his curtain doesn’t stop twitching, he knows everybody’s business – He’ll know your business before you even do.

And there’s twitcher number two – an Indian lady, also masterful in the art of knowing everyone’s business but she is one of the most thoughtful and kindest.

We have people from all over the world on my street from all walks of life, East European, African, there’s a Greek family and then there’s the single mother with five kids. So you see my street has it all. The drama! There’s been a lot of criminal activity, police raids on homes where there were found to be stacks of pistols and automatic guns.

I remember when I was living in a flat a few years ago and my neighbour at the time was seen running down the street with a knife in his hand chasing some guy. I’m not sure what it was about, all I know is that the man escaped – Who needs Eastenders or shows like the Bill because the drama takes place right outside my door.

Can I have a cubata?

Ok, so I’ve started this blog and I’ll be honest it’s my fourth blog but this is my first time using WordPress. At the moment I find it far better than blogger - for one it’s got the ability to block those damn advertisers who love to spam in comments.

Now the reason for the blog, well I thought to myself I have a few things to say and as the blog says I’m trying to make sense of this world we live in – so everything social, political, gossip etc I thought I’d blurt it out on here!

Oh and for those who don’t know what a cubata is, well basically it’s a rum and coke mix. I’ve heard it’s one of Fidel Castro’s favourite tipples – great minds think alike!