Everything London

Sometimes, just sometimes magic happens. By absolute chance I came across this free exhibition on the walkway in an area thats been pedestrianised, by Kings College London and Somerset House. It really spoke to me because it is quite literally what I've been thinking about for some time now, and I love stories, fantasy and fiction too, the idea of creating other worlds and other realms, it's magical. The Quiet Enchanting. And it was. Quietly there on the wall, almost, out-of-the-way, not shouting out, not in the bustle of walkways or near the road; you might miss it if you didn't look up. Enchanting with the images, the stark questions on the walls with imagery to suit something from dreams. I just submitted a story to Hodder & Stoughton yesterday, fantasy fiction about the world we live in and people's intentions based on my observations when I worked at the UK Department for International Development, now defunct, and got rid of by the current UK government. S

The debut of 5 writers hit the Kiln stage tonight. Each 15-minute play dealt with issues of our time: identifying as transgender, Hindu grief rituals and a painful realisation of the deceased double life, of Irish related, cultural identity in Kilburn, OCD or germ fallout from the pandemic, and mental illness. A call had been made for 16-30 year olds to submit their plays, from across the ‘borough’ although it wasn’t clear if it was Camden or Brent, and the best 10 writers were selected and offered the paid opportunity to develop their writing and have it develop and produced into tonight’s offering, and 5 others earlier in the week. The 6 actors reading the scenes, changing roles for each play, and an actor reading directions, ensured the sparse stage was filled with talent, from the drama and sometimes great humour from the writers, all in the professional delivery from the actors. It was free for locals to attend, at The Kiln in Kilburn, London.

It’s no secret that we, at Everything London, love some dumplings! Din Tai Fung, Covent Garden   When Art Sagiryan 'Ping Pong' arrived in London, founded in 2005, it was the most accessible all-day dumpling place my friends and I would love to visit. Now with branches all over London, you no longer have to suffer those awful queues to eat.  Make room for Din Tai Fung! We visited the one in Covent Garden, where that infamous long line has returned, but fear not, unlike a lot of other places they take reservations in advance, if you're just walking up by chance, they'll take your phone number to call you when your table's ready, or for us, they let us order boba tea and sit by the bar. The site is where the very huge 'Henry's' bar used to stand, and before that a Mexican restaurant, its refurb though wipes out all memory of those old haunts. You are greeted by their very open kitchen with staff huddled making the dim sum, and sha

This week I rushed to the Kings Fund to see "Open wounds” Created and developed by Tottenham Rights, the exhibition explores the connections between health, racism and inequalities, and how this has affected generations of Black people. It does so through the eyes of the Black community themselves.  I'm currently looking into digital health inequalities, and I've heard from AgeUK, ABILITY and some ground roots agencies from a House of Lords inquiry, so it seemed appropriate to hear the experience of the Black community, in a specifically curated exhibition by Tottenham Rights. OPEN WOUNDS exhibit I was impressed by the boards and it's very plain speaking from slavery and the dismissal that Black people were even human, and the cheap labour their lives represented, which informed from a very early time, that Black people could be mistreated, weren't as smart, or not as valuable a human as their white counterparts. Dehumanising Black people sav

I know it seems cliché.  We have Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day etc, a way to make money, a corporate, marketing gimmick to make us feel like we should do something for those who are significant in our lives, and guilty if we don't regardless of what the personal situation is. Call me cynical. Many avoid. But it seems to me World Earth Day on 22nd April , is a good and necessary day when we can love and appreciate our planet, and as a globe we still muster through the Coronavirus pandemic, we must love and appreciate our planet more than ever, today and every day. Call me a dreamer. When I was in NYC they lit up their iconic buildings in green, and turned off all unnecessary lights, which was a good reminder as we were all out and about. However, this year the pandemic might mean you're still in lockdown, not able to travel far, or just not sure how to celebrate the day. Well I've a small suggestion, and its free and its green, literally, and it re

We're facing the third lockdown, and I don't know about you but after books and reading, I've probably watched as much TV, Netflix and Prime as I can take. Then scrolling through Twitter last month- a habit I have incurred during the pandemic - I saw The Kiln theatre offering tickets to see " The Invisible Hand" a live-streamed, rehearsed reading. Written by a Pulitzer Prize winner Ayhad Aktar, it consists simply of four male characters. A kidnapped American broker set in Pakistan, and three of his captors. As you'd expect there are power dynamics, yet there are nuances within it which reveal so much more. The banking / financing system, the disaffection of UK born Pakistanis. A particular line struck me hard - the young very angry captor shouts at his prey, offloading experiences of why he was made to feel different and unable to be accepted into Hounslow- the part of London where he grew up - right by the airport, and that they- white English "made hi