Black History Month celebrated in Popley (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Black History Month celebrated in Popley

8:55am Tuesday 30th October 2012 in Local By Helen Morton

CELEBRATING black achievement was a reason for plenty of good cheer at an event in Basingstoke.

About 50 people attended the celebration, hosted by the North Hampshire Caribbean and African Network (NHCAN), at Popley Fields Community Centre, in Carpenters Down, Popley.

The annual event, held as part of Black History Month, celebrated African and Caribbean culture and was an ideal excuse for old friends to get together.

Leicester poet Victor Richards performed some of his work, to the delight of the audience, and local singer Mary Dyer wowed the group with her vocal skills.

An exhibition with stalls selling specialist hair products and books was a hit, and popular African and Caribbean music was played on loudspeakers throughout the event.

Paul Hamilton, one of the organisers, said: “The people who came really enjoyed themselves and the poetry and the singing and the food we put on was really well received.”

He and Jean Holmes Morris, a nurse who emigrated from Jamaica to Basingstoke at the age of 18 in 1962, both received recognition at the event in the form of gifts and thanks – Paul for his work in NHCAN and Jean for her 50 years in the country.