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GLAM: Jasmine and Mariah

CHRISTMAS wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t spend it with my Christmas family, Mr and Mrs Cannon (Mariah and Nick) and their extended family in Aspen.

This time was as wonderful as past years, where we attend midnight mass; ride horse sleighs through the snow; take the dogs (JJ, Cha Cha, Jill E Beans and crew) for their snowy walks; go to the top of mountains and watch as skiers and snowboarders do their thing; eat Mariah’s delicious home cooked treats; and decorate the Christmas tree!

As if all that wasn’t enough, this year, we were joined by two new additions that had been in their mummy’s tummy last Christmas – the Cannon baby twins Monroe and Moroccan aka ‘dembabies’!

Many fun hours of playing, feeding and cuddling were had by us all and it was an amazing way for me to kick off 2012 – being Auntie Jasmine to two little gorgeous bundles of fun!

Give me another couple of years and I will have them putting on English accents and playing dress up!
Sadly though, Nick came down with a kidney problem and was hospitalised. Get well soon brother – London wants to see you out here soon with your Mrs when you come to do your comedy specials!

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TREV ROCKS THE PARTY

PARTY PEOPLE: Trevor Nelson, Jas and friend

AFTER the Aspen excitement, we flew home on New Years Eve and ended up having a mini panic when British Airways informed us our luggage was still in transit via Los Angeles.

As a result, we had to slip into our ‘plan B’ frocks and glad rags for my mate Trevor Nelson’s New Year’s Eve party at the Camden Centre.

When Trevor throws a party you can rest assured the crowd, ambience and music will be on point.

The venue was heaving inside and out on our arrival, merely minutes before midnight, and as we arrived, Rachel, Trevor’s right hand business lady for the night, thrust glasses of champers in our hands and shoved us into VIP where our tables awaited us.

Scarily, drinks were free all night and by the time we arrived many peeps were already more than a little merry. Ladies were en masse doing the Candy dance (otherwise known to the 80’s generation as the electric slide), and stepping on each others’ toes with their vertiginous heels. We jumped on stage with Trev to clink and congratulate him on such a festive night, meanwhile, men were running around trying to persuade the sexy ladies to slow dance. Oh we had fun!

In fact, in one night, I who never drinks more than one glass of alcohol per night, put away a glass of wine, three glasses of champers, a rum shot, and a double Baileys, and amazingly, I wasn’t sick or drunk!

Of course, I was way too wobbly to drive home and so crashed at my mate’s flat right across the road from the venue, and did the very un-classy walk of shame out of the hotel block of flats the next morning in the previous night’s heels and frock. Shame!

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JUSTICE AT LAST

JUSTICE: Stephen Lawrence

THE New Year brought huge relief as Stephen Lawrence’s murderers were sentenced to prison. In my opinion, they should have got at least 18 years to compensate for the amount of time they avoided jail.

And while the sentence will hopefully provide a sense of justice for Stephen’s family, let’s not confuse the atrocity of his murder with what ‘knife crime’ the media has reported so much in recent years. Stephen’s murder was not about ‘knife crime’ – it was a case of pure racist hate.

Is our society now any different to how it was decades ago? Whilst we of colour prove our talent in many worlds including law, music, medicine and sport, have we really won any the respect we deserve from non-ethnic Brits?

Was racist tram lady Emma West representative of more of the UK population than we would like to admit?
Perhaps these things are worth pondering as we strive to start and continue this year with positive intentions!

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IT'S ALL GO FOR NOEL

TALENT: Noel Clarke and Jas

NOW, I’m off to do some interviews for the TV shows London 360 and UK 360 with Sir Terry Wogan, David Lammy and BAFTA winner Noel Clarke (who is off to Hollywood next week to film his new role in Star Trek 2!) I tell you, I need me some letters before or after my name. I can see it now: Lady Dotiwala, or Jasmine Dotiwala MBE. Sort it out, someone!

I’m also off to plan my impending birthday party, as it’s my birthday week this week. I’m wondering how I can make my next 12 months even more fabulous and self-fulfilling than the last. It’s a tough job – but only I can do it!

Jasmine Dotiwala is a TV producer, director and broadcast journalist. Email her at jasmine@hiphop.com