Hot summer blog 2026

People think that sweltering in the hot British summer should be easy for me. I cannot take this for granted just because I recently returned from my other home in Tobago. The temperatures here have been similar to what I left in Tobago. The difference here is that the heat seems oppressive, often without a sea breeze to counteract the direct sunshine. Although I love the warm and my body has become used to it, my health condition does not allow me to sit in direct sunlight and bask in the heat. The night when my fan broke down was very difficult and left me tired and drained the next day. I kept dozing off through lack of sleep and I felt my age. In Tobago I would have put myself into the hammock and enjoyed the coolness under the big fir tree.

Today has been still in the area where I live in Folkestone. The trees standing tall show no sign of movement, and the air is muggy after thunderstorms in the night. Luckily the broken fan came alive and I was able to use it again. I am looking forward to Monday the 6th of July when I present discussion number 7 of my book, 'An Appropriete Gaze', found in 'A Black Empathic Approach to Psychotherapy-Growing from Rage to Compassion'. https://www.ishamm.com/events-1/an-audience-with-dr-isha-session-7

'Talking of the Gaze', This afternoon I went to the creative quarter in Folkestone which sits at the bottom of the old High Street, sporting art studios and displaying the brilliant art, photography, sculptor and numerous life expressions of people living in and around the area.

I visited a photography exhibition, ‘Masks and Cowries- Roots Re-imagined’ displayed by Anita McKenzie, an ancient friend also living in the town. Her contacts travelled from far and wide to see the images that display a lifetime of deep connection to her roots as a mixed heritage African and Indian Caribbean woman. It bears the history, the joy and the pain of our ancestral lineage.

In one corner of the studio, there is a shrine, typical of Anita's approach to honouring the ancestors and their influence on her life and work. She has also integrated masks and digital presentations, embracing the cultural aspects and history of cowry shells throughout Indian and African cultures. Anita has opened a connection to the cultural influences within her own life and her identity and shown us her dedication and hours of commitment to creating the exhibition and educating others about what it means to grow up with this rich, mixed identity.

After the viewing, we met and walked to the harbour with a friend and sat for lunch and coffee.

Anita explains Images 1-2

‘Paawh-Fro Reflects my 14 year old self and the early formation of my political consciousness as a black mixed heritage girl growing up in Britain. Inspired by Angela Davis and Malcolm X, I claimed visibility and pride by becoming the first girl at my secondary school to wear a black power Afro hairstyle my naturally long soft Indian hair required backcombing and my mother's hairspray to hold its shape, an act of both care and resistance.

The digital collage captures the transmission of human rights and cultural heritage at the intersection of adolescence, identity and self-esteem, an evolving movement of becoming. Find out more about Anitas work, follow her on Instagram @anitascreative