London Jazz Festival 2010

It's that time of the year - the London Jazz Festival is about to start!

A week full of music performed by professional and more amateur jazz musicians will take over venues around London from this Friday.

Both the paid and the unpaid concerts always enjoyable so try to make it to at least one if you are in London!

Here is more information and the full programme:

http://www.londonjazzfestival.org.uk/

'Desperately Seeking Paradis - Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim' by Ziauddin Sardar

For anyone on a spiritual or religious journey, or anyone interested in the current political climate, 'Desperately Seeking Paradise' is a must read.

The book is an autobiographical book by a Muslim man who is exploring his religious views and the way to Paradise. It is a very honest, though-provoking story of a Muslim in time of political conflict and turmoil.

The book discusses, questions and proposes ideas on what it means to be Muslim and how best to live one's life with such faith. It highlights the dilemmas faced by Muslims over history and in today's world.

Essentially, the book makes the reader reflect on a number political issues and encourages one to continue on a journey of seeking the paradise.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/desperately-seeking-paradise-by-ziauddin-sardar-732522.html

The New Londoners

The new issue of the magazine and newspaper The New Londoners is out now!

Here is the link - keep an eye out for the article on child detention and black people and crime in London (they were both written by me):

http://www.thenewlondoners.co.uk

St. Margarets House Settlement in East London

This Autumn I have had a chance to do some work for St. Margarets House Settlement in East London. This settlement is very unique, as it offers over fifty office and meeting spaces for local community and voluntary organisations and groups who use the space as their base. In total, more than 30 organisations regularly use the services. Such groups include: the African Women's Welfare Association; Quaker Social Action; and Tower Hamlets Activity in Retirement Centre.

The settlement serves the local community and provides a key contact point for a number of residents. It hosts a cafe, a garden and a shop, all of which generate funds for the settlement and for the charities that it houses. The cafe is really lovely and they host art and music evenings in order to try to attract people and to raise more funds. The charity shop sells a wide range of clothes, books, CDs and other house stuff.

The settlement is well worth visiting! The settlement is also always looking for volunteers so keep this in mind if you are looking for valuable ways to spend your time.

Here is more information on it:

http://stmargaretshouse.org.uk/

'Eat, Pray, Love' at the Everyman Baker Street

I spent a rainy and cloudy Sunday afternoon at my local cinema, watching Julia Rovert's latest film called 'Eat, Pray, Love'. I had high expectations for the film and so, even though I enjoyed it and got much out of it, I still felt a little disappointed.

The film is essentially intended for westerners who in the search for balance in their lives, for some spirituality and lessons in life. The film is great in highlighting the dilemmas many westerners face in their daily lives of trying to balance their professional and personal lives and the film does offer sound advice for us as to how to lead our lives.

For me, the film came across as too American and 'Hollywoody'. I mostly enjoyed the sound track that consisted of traditional music from three countries that Julia Roberts travelled to, as well as the scenery of the various locations that feature in the film. The film was also a good reminder for of the importance of maintaining a balanced life style, yet not taking this importance duty too seriously.

I would really like to read the book that the film is based on in order to see how much the film deviates from it.

Moreover, I totally recommend my local cinema. It is a small, cozy arty-type cinema that has three small screen and a comfy lunge bar that plays blues and jazz and holds art exhibitions. The venue tries to live up to the theme of the films that they are showing - for example, for 'Sex and the City 2', they were selling cup cakes and cosmopolitans. They allow you to take drinks and food into the actual cinema where people can munch, drink and enjoy their film in soft sofa arm chairs.

Cinema:

http://www.everymancinema.com/cinemas/filmlisting.asp?cn=1&ci=3&ln=1&pi=1860

Film:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0879870/

Book:

http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/eatpraylove.htm

'One Hundred and One Ways' by Mako Yoshikawa

I was browsing books at a local Oxfam shop earlier this summer and picked up one novel that turned out to be a real treasure. I had not heard of Mako Yoshikawa before, yet now I am a fan. Mako Yoshikawa's first novel 'One Hundred and One Ways' is a must read. It

was published by Bantam in 1999. A national bestseller in the States, it has been translated into six languages, including German, Swedish, and Hebrew.

Yoshikawa herself has an interesting life that has inspired her novels. She was born and raised in Princeton, NJ, spent two years of her childhood in Tokyo. She has also lived in England, France, Switzerland, and New Zealand. She attended Columbia University, received a Masters in Shakespeare and Renaissance Drama at Lincoln College, Oxford, and has a Ph.D. in literature from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Active as a scholar as well as a novelist, she has published articles on incest and race.

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Here is the author's website for more information:

http://www.makoyoshikawa.com/

Friendly and tropical Taiwan

Taiwan is a beautiful country with green mountains, stunning coastline and clear blue lakes. It is a small island, but its richness in culture and natural resources is far from minimal. As soon as one leaves the cities, one is surrounded by fresh air and thousands of different kinds of plants and wild animals.

The cities hold millions of inhabitants, yet they are extremely well structured and going from one place to another couldn't be easier. High-speed metro takes you from one end of the city to another in no time. And public transportation is very clean. There is no litter anywhere; even the floors of the bus and metro look spotless. Perhaps the rule of not being allowed to eat or drink in the public transportation system is causing this.

What adds to the pleasant atmosphere of the island is its people. Everyone is very friendly, welcoming and genuinely happy to see visitors. I feel respected and appreciated. As they say, first impressions are important and I agree - the welcome I got on broad EVA Airlines (the national airline of Taiwan) gave me initial taste of how friendly people would be once I reached my destination. Even my research project is received with gratitude and I get a much greater number of participants for my project here than I got back in London.

Perhaps the spiritual aspect of the society is helping people to stay positive. The majority in Taiwan are Buddhist and most houses have a shrine with incense, candles and offerings for their Gods and Masters. Temples are scattered all around cities and villages. Spirituality seems to be an integral part of everyone's life to a greater or lesser extent. Personally, I feel very calm and inspired by the music that locals play at their temples and as part of spiritual worship.

For photos on Taiwan, please see:

http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=taiwan&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=1MiFTNP-Mo2avAOs4OzRCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CEQQsAQwAw&biw=1057&bih=631