Pop up Commonwealth Cocktail Cafe @ Merchant City Festival

We're taking advantage of the hundreds of people who'll be flocking to the Merchant City Festival in July. We're also getting excited about next year's Commonwealth Games. 

So, we've decided to have a pop up Commonwealth Cocktail Cafe at the African Caribbean Centre. You'll get to sample cocktails from the African and Caribbean countries of the Commonwealth and there will be music, costumes, dancing and a warm, warm welcome.

The Pop up Cocktail Cafe is open on Saturday 27th July 2pm to 8pm and Sunday 28th July 3pm to 8pm. From 6pm on the Saturday we'll have some up and coming reggae, hip hop and dancehall performers doing lives spots for us - don't miss them.

The list of cocktails is as follows:

From South Africa, an amarula based cocktail called AFRICAN LULLABY

A vodka and sambuca combination that goes by the name of NIGERIA KILLER
Kenyan inspired vodka based cocktail that they call DAWA

PLANTER'S PUNCH from Jamaica which combines dark rum and grenadine

A British Virgin Islands dark rum and coconut special by the name of PAINKILLER!

And from the Bahamas, a Malibu and grenadine mix known as BAHAMA MAMA


And the mocktails ...

Shirley Temple

Lemon fizz with grenadine and ice

plus a cherry of course!

Juice Cooler

Cranberry juice fizzed up

Garnished with a wedge of lime

Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri

Strawberry, sour mix, grenadine and …

a strawberry J

Mock Mojitos

Fizzed up mint drink

garnished with a lime wheel

A massive thank you to everyone who gave 67 minutes and more

We want to say thank you to everyone who came along last Saturday to give 67 minutes of their time in honour of Nelson Mandela's birthday. The help we got to clean, organise and freshen up the African Caribbean Centre has made such a difference. We now have a place for everything and everything's in its place. I hope we've left nobody off the list of helpers (at the end) but let me know if we have and we'll add them on.

We were so busy cleaning we forgot to take pics on the day so these ones are our 'after' pics. However the first photo is of our Membership Secretary Oluwadare Yerokun because he was such a star on the day. He came at 11am and didn't stop till he left at 7pm. He also fixed all those things we've been needing fixed for months and he's definitely been a real FIND for us. 

Anyway here are the results of your hard work. We've much more to do but what a fantastic start.

Oluwadare star of the day

Broken divider replaced, banner scrubbed, pillars painted

Window display

Look through the window, the junk has gone and the paintwork is fresh

Clean fresh paintwork

Bamboo

Cleaner for the children's club

No more wonky photos

Caribbean now spelt correctly and we can take the bag off our heads!

Tribute to Nelson Mandela

New wall hanging

So the roll call is as follows:

Hermine Makangu - A&CN Secretary
Joe Makangu
Lamama Kalukenda
Kisisa Kinkela
Nginda Mobhe Ndowa - A&CN Board Member
Mina Munga
Samuel Mayele
Albert Ngalamulume
Drew Kunz - A&CN regular volunteer
Martin Morris - who donated paint AND time
Malik Mohamed Youseif - A&CN Board Member
Chinaka Odum
Esther Mokhali - A&CN Board Member
Simba
Oluwadare Yerokun - A&CN Membership Secretary
Anne McLaughlin - A&CN Events Co-ordinator
Graham Campbell - A&CN Vice Convener

A massive thanks to everyone!

Happy Birthday African Style! We are 8 today!!!

Give just 67 minutes in honour of Nelson Mandela

Today is Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday and the African & Caribbean Network extends its best wishes for as comfortable a birthday as possible. 

In South Africa, ordinary people are donating 67 minutes of their time to a good cause in honour of the 67 years of public service Madiba (as he is affectionately known to Africans) has given in his lifetime. 

We are asking anyone and everyone to do the same this Saturday and come along to help us reorganise and freshen up the African Caribbean Centre. We are going to be cleaning, painting, wallpapering, fixing doors, locks, taking pictures down, putting them up, sticking posters to walls, reorganising our boxes and just generally making the place a better organised place to be. If you can give us 67 minutes of your time on Saturday we will be eternally grateful. There will of course be free (non alcoholic) refreshments and a lot of love :-)

Please pass this on to your friends and family. If you want any more info email Anne or Graham on accglasgow@gmail.com

Children's club is great fun - make sure your kids don't miss out

Don't forget the children's summer club is on every Monday from 10am to 1pm. We've got board games, crafts, music, stories and this coming week we might also have some drama games. It's all free including drinks and snacks for parents and kids. And as always, remember you don't have to be African or Caribbean to come, the point is for everyone to mix together so everybody is welcome. Need more info? Email Anne on accglasgow@gmail.com

Address is 66 Osborne Street, Glasgow, G1 5QH and we're next to the BACK entrance to TJ Hughes.

Children's Summer Club this week

The kids loved it. Our volunteer Caroline needed a rest at the end!

Here are some of last week's kids having fun at the African Caribbean Centre. This Monday, 15th July, from 10am to 1pm we have art work, board games, music and as a special treat we have a master storyteller coming to enthrall you with his tales from Africa. It's all free and because the parents have to stay, we do free tea, coffee, juice and biscuits too. We're at 66 Osborne Street, across the alleyway from the back entrance to TJ Hughes.

Summer activities for children at the ACC

Free children's activities

Not sure how to keep the children occupied this summer while the teachers take their well earned break? Why not bring them along every Monday morning to the African Caribbean Centre in Glasgow's Merchant City? And no, you don't have to be African or Caribbean, wherever you come from on the planet, you are welcome.

You must stay on the premises but we're offering free tea, coffee, juice and biscuits to the grown ups and juice for the kids. 

Activities this coming Monday (8th July) will be:

* Board Games - all morning

* Art corner - with an environmental twist - all morning with Lou

* Storytelling - various times with Anne

* Rhythm and movement workshop - 10.30am & 11.30am - with Tina, pictured above right

* Puppet making workshop - all morning with Caroline, picture above left

If you would like more information contact Anne on accglasgow@gmail.com.

The ACC is at 66/68 Osborne Street, Glasgow, G1 5QH. It's next to the back entrance to TJ Hughes and the street runs parallel to Trongate. 

Basement Techno at the ACC

Techno is what's happening this Friday night in the Basement of the ACC. 10pm to 2am. Get there before midnight or you'll have to pay 3 pounds in. Before that it's only 2 pounds leaving you more money to spend at our very reasonably priced bar. The crowd that comes to this night are lovely, it's a great atmosphere, you are guaranteed to enjoy!

Eritrea - the horrors being visited on its people

This Saturday 6th July, the ACC will host a political conference starting at 5pm. The conference is organised by the Eritrean Youth Solidarity for National Salvation (EYSNS) and the aim is to raise awareness of the 'horrific situation our people are going through both home and abroad as they try to escape the tyrannical rule'. 

This youth led event is open to anyone interested in the issues and they are hoping for sympathisers to advocate, lobby and campaign alongside them. 5pm at the ACC, 66 Osborne Street, Glasgow, G1 5QH.

Who's who at the African & Caribbean Network

New office bearers elected

At our first board meeting on 13th June, we elected the office bearers we believe will take the Network forward. They and the organisations they represent are listed below:

Chairman - Chief Suleman Chebe (pictured 7th from left)

Vice Chairman - Mr Graham Campbell, Haiti Support Group (pictured 5th from left)

Secretary - Ms Hermine Makangu, Africa Umoja Scotland (pictured 5th from right)

Treasurer - Mr Elisha Kimani, Central Scotland African Union

(pictured 3rd from left)

Membership Secretary - Mr Oluwadare Yerokun, Awaz FM (Africa Alive) (pictured far right)

One position, that of Minutes Secretary remains to be filled at the next board meeting.

Look out for short biographies of each of the board members, coming soon.