Meet Community Champions

COMMUNITY CHAMPS

MEET COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS THE OFFICIALLY FLEXITARIANS

Interview by Sinai Fleary

Introduce yourselves to our readers

Claudette: My name is Claudette, also known as Dimple and I’m from East London.

Pamela: My name is Pamela aka Royalty P, and I am also an East Londoner.

Tell us about what it was like growing up in Caribbean household in the UK and how that helped to shape you into the women you are today.

Pamela: My parents are both from Barbados and growing up in a Caribbean household was very interesting. I come from a big family and I am the youngest of seven siblings. I was lucky to be the first one of my siblings to go back to Barbados, when I was 9 years old, which allowed me to see first-hand where my mum and dad came from and see three of my siblings and extended family.

I remember stepping off the plane and the sky was so bright. It was an amazing experience to have at an early age and that is what always draws me back there.

My upbringing was very traditional. My father was the head of the household. He worked in the Civil Service and my Mother raised us, and worked in the NHS (National Health Service) and in schools. My parents often cooked the national dish of Barbados, which is Cou Cou and Flying Fish and wanted us to have a taste of ‘back home’. I remember my father’s plate of food always being piled high in a pyramid shape.

Image supplied by Officially Flexitarians

I had a great childhood, growing up with Caribbean parents. Claudette: My dad was born in Jamaica and came to England when he was about 13. My mum was born in the UK to Guyanese parents. I experienced both cultures, the English and Caribbean. I would go with my dad everywhere and learned most of my Caribbean culture from him. He took me to Notting Hill Carnival and I remember him introducing me to Caribbean

food and I got to try things like Shave Ice, Sugar Cane and Guineps. I still remember being on his shoulders and watching all the colours, costumes and performances on stage, where I knew I was part of something special.

When I was with my mum, there was a big emphasis on Guyanese food. She would make sure I knew about the Pepper Pot, Roti and Dhal. I went to a lot of parties with my father and that is where I got to see the community spirit within the Black community.

How was the community spirit within the Black community in the UK then?

Pamela: Following on from what Claudette has said, I definitely felt the community spirit back then. As a child, you couldn’t misbehave on the road because someone would see you and tell you off. Everyone looked out for each other. The parties were great and the whole family would be there.

What were your formative years like and how did you find yourself as young women?

Pamela: We came from an era where career development in schools wasn’t really

Pamela aka Royalty P, Pictures supplied by Pamela

encouraged. You almost had to forge your own way. My first job was in youth work, when I was a youth myself, and I always liked working with young people. Following

working in HR within the NHS for 14 years, I went into working with young people who were NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training), helping them get into a career, I wanted to give them something which I feel I never had. I am currently doing a Masters degree and it is part of my desire to help others. I am studying Psychology and want to work for myself and set up my own business.

Claudette: My mum has always worked hard and I would describe her as a grafter. I have always looked up to my mum. My dad had his own business and he is still running it to this day. I have never been an academic person but I have worked hard and managed to do well. I know, I enjoy helping people to find their feet and make the best out of life.

I started work at 14 in my first Saturday job in a hairdressers and that would be used for my school stationery and other bits. However, I have been working in Health and Social Care, including Employment & Training, Youth Work and Child Contact Supervision/Mediation for the last 20 years.

Pamela: Can I just say Claudette is amazing and she always puts herself down. She is very academic. We both got here because we are street smart and worked incredibly hard to navigate ourselves into the positions we are in.

How did you come up with the name of your platform Officially Flexitarians?

Claudette: We were both going through different journeys with our food. I went

Claudette aka Dimple, Pictures supplied by Claudette

fully vegan for three years, before deciding to include fish again and Pam was eating mainly vegan but she eats fish but never dairy. When we met up with friends and family, they would comment on the food we were eating, if we had fish on plate. So, we had to explain that we was on our JUS’JAHmagazine | Spring 2021

own Flexi Food Journey and that is how we came up with the name. So, we are Officially Flexitarians because we are plant-based, with some fish, but no dairy products.

Tell us about your social media platform, Officially Flexitarians.

Pamela: Last year in February 2020, we had already started our platform and it was to document our food journey.

It was also to share our holiday travel, restaurant and events reviews, as well as our friendship, as we have been besties, actually more like sisters, for over 40 years -since we were 9 years old!!! Some of the young members in our family have said we are the oldest influencers on the gram, as well as the Ant n Dec of IG – we laughed and said we’ll take that!!!

During the lockdown, we wanted to provide a forum for individuals, creatives and businesses to connect, network, collaborate and promote. When George Floyd was killed, we felt there was a sense of unity amongst the Black community, and it was a time to be seen and heard.

Our platform has allowed us to meet so many amazing people, with amazing talents, products and ideas. We have created different elements of our platform, including promotion of Musicians, Artists, DJs, businesses, reviews, as well as natural hair, health and finance awareness and is what I like to call ‘edu-tainment’. Without even knowing, we have been following the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

Claudette: It was a chance for us to be unapologetically Black and highlight and celebrate people within our community. It really changed the way we shopped as a people, searching, and purchasing from our own communities, which is something that we feel is important to pass down to future generations. The platform has enabled us to bring people together, and what I say is a vision of a spiral that

Pamela aka Royalty P, Pictures supplied by Pamela

circles outwards, continuing to grow and connecting people along the way.

Tell us about some of the people you have had on Officially Flexitarians.

Claudette and Pamela: We co-hosts our Instagram Live Shows, with a variety of guests that come on, we were happy when Instagram upgraded the amount of people

that could join the lives.

Some of the guests on Officially Flexitarians include:

Reggae Singer, Warrior King, Majah Bless & Super Twinz (Majah Bless is an Artist in JA and Super Twinz are his 8-year-old twins who sing, dance and do Spoken Word.

Raggo Zulu Rebel - Artist (UK), The Real Unscripted - Poet/Spoken Word (Chicago),

Mr Landrover - Vegan restaurateur, content creator (Barbados), Gevani Hutton - Artist (JA), Ginjah (featured) Artist (JA),

Darrel Blake - Black History Researcher, Historian, Activist (UK), Candice Chenade - Artist (JA/UK), Zaiona - Artist (UK 13 years old) and Tippa Irie (UK Reggae music legend).

We have also had some child entrepreneurs, discussion panels discussing Black Men and Mental Health and a discussion about colourism.

Do you think things have changed for Black people after the murder of George Floyd?

Claudette: I don’t know. You get the usual flurry of things like people posting antiracism statements, but I think things have gone back to normal. In the workplace, you will get the workshops and discussions around racism but then things will go back to how they were.

We watch these videos of Black people being murdered and just carry on. The difference this time with George Floyd was we were all in lockdown and watching more media without distraction. These videos are usually quick and watching George Floyd die for nine minutes was so heart breaking. Those nine minutes were so long. I think what happened to him struck a chord with so many people, as it made you think about the boys and men in your family.

Pamela: Exactly, I think you will only know when things go back to normal, whatever normal will be in the future. When people go back into the workplace and establishments, we will see whether people have learned anything or not.

How do you look after your mental health, while still navigating the social media space?

Pamela: Part of it is, we try to be as positive as possible. Being positive allows you to have some gratitude for your life. I always like to live life to the fullest but it is also important be realistic. Hosting our Live Shows has been good for our wellbeing as it has been a great source of fun, laughter and kept us going since last year.

Claudette: Looking after my wellbeing is very important for me, especially as I am in remission from cancer. I feel its important to live life to the fullest and make the most of it. We have attended many virtual parties, carnivals, fetes, here and abroad including Trinidad, New York, Jamaica, Barbados, Toronto and many more.

What is next for you ladies in 2021?

Claudette: We are still doing our shows and we are hoping to have a podcast or a radio show. We are being approached to host some events that are ‘outside outside’, and we are looking forward to these!

Pamela: Maybe a regular feature in your magazine, we would love to write something for Jus’ Jah Magazine. I will be finishing my Masters degree.

Claudette & Pamela: We want to say thank you to all that support us on IG and we welcome any new supporter. So, if anyone would like to feature on our IG page, please slide in neatly to our DMs.

Where can people get in touch with you online?

Instagram: @Officially_flexitarians.

We are also currently developing our YouTube Channel. JUS’JAHmagazine | Spring 2021