Everything London

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...

"Rub ma belly"   Autumn. The leaves are falling. Its grey and raining. We're a long time past March's lockdown and yet coronavirus is still here and we still need to keep our distance. But we have a silver lining! A pick me up proven uplift opens on the 31st October, in the shape of nine cats roaming, ready for petting and belly rubs at the new Java Whiskers cat café at 105, Great Portland Street, in London! You book your time slot, 1-2 hours per person over 10 years of age, arrive 15 minutes early and kick off your shoes! Order some sandwiches, salads and pastries, with vegan options and gluten-free option and then enjoy the kitties as they come a paw-ing. There are rules though to protect the cats, while there are toys to lure in a feline friend, you aren't allowed to force them, pick them up or 'force hold' them, and the cats are free to retreat to downstairs if they decide they're done with human company for a while, so these cat kings and queens ...

Camden Council offering a variety of options with  #tryabike It's been a long London Council initiative to make bike hire free for at least 30 days- 4 weeks, with "try a bike"the idea is to reduce pollution and to create an opportunity to see if a bike is right for you, before investing in buying your own. The benefits of using a bike at this time are insurmountable, and especially for those at risk of infection but required to attend a job they can't do from home. Using a bike helps all our shop staff, post office workers, cleaners and of course the vital medics and allied professionals to avoid all public transport, which as we all know has been increasingly packed due to the reduced services on tubes and buses in waiting in the brisk the cold spring sunshine and occasional rain,  minimising workers’ disruption and possibilities of being infected as they travel to attend to crucial work in the COVID-19 epidemic. Free ebikes.. There are regular bikes c...

I probably don't need to reiterate it's a hard and uncertain time for everyone right now, how desolate the streets of London are in the midst of corona virus pandemic. So I won't, instead I want to turn your attention to goats, pygmy goats to be exact. At London Zoo, the pygmy goats enclosure is where all animal loving kids, and lets face it adults too, get to interact with the zoo animals -  and it turns out they're missing us! Seriously, they line up at the gate of their enclosure in the mornings waiting for the visitors, because they're waiting for massage and attention and they get lots of love! No social distancing for them - their keepers are on site and on hand to make up for the shortfall, though I'm not sure they are anything close to the numbers the pygmy goats miss. Its adorable and a real reminder of how we all love cuddles, even if we can't really see our friends and families in person. #staysafestayhome When this is all over mayb...

The Wellcome collection on Euston Road shows many a wonderful exhibition for the 'incurably curious' they say.  Since November 2017 has curated " Ayruvedic Man: Encounters with Indian Medicine"   an exhibition which runs for one more month to April 8th 2018. Ayurveda translates roughly in English to 'the knowledge of long life'. The knowledge of which Dr. Paira Mall was sent in 1911 by Wellcome to gather from India for the use of the pharmaceutical giant. It's complicated and layered story is put together in a very simply put together in a darkened room with many different types of media, photo's, film, song, and text, and you can move through the myriad of information relatively easily and without too much of a crowd. Dr. Paira Mall Dr Mall, an Anglo-Indian bought up by an 'English lady' who was raised to be a missionary, but 'preferred' medicine, and so continued his medical studies, he served as a surgeon in the A...