Going Back to the Roots... Orthodoxy

Three out of four of my grandparents are (and were) Orthodox Christians. Yet, I grew up in a more atheist household since neither of parents were religious and rather held their own views of such issues. This is why I didn't learn much about Orthodox religion and still as an adult was not too sure of the differences between the Orthodox traditions and other branches of Christianity.

About two percent of Finnish citizens consider themselves Orthodox. The roots of the religion lie on the side of Russia, from where the Russian Orthodox Church initially took a foothold in Finland when refugees fled the area of Karelia during the turbulent times of the World Wars. In 1923, the Finnish Orthodox Church was established. The church has always had a strong presence in the country - an example of this is the centre of Helsinki where you have the Lutheran Church in the spot centre of the city and, then right next to it, the Orthodox Cathedral.

What normally distinguishes the outlook of an Orthodox Church from those of other branches of Christianity is that these churches are much more decorated. They are painted more colourfully both inside and outside, with onion-shaped towers rising with golden rims rising from the roof. Inside, you can see colourful paintings of Saints and Archangels, as well as golden decorations. This is a stark contrast to the Lutheran tradition, for example, that generally keeps its churches very plain.

Recently, I visited the Russian Orthodox Church in central London. I was curious to go and see how it looks and was surprised to find out that it looked more Lutheran than Orthodox with its plainer outlook. It was interesting to see the difference compared to the Finnish Orthodox Church. Perhaps this is another cultural aspect of religion worth looking more into... It again raises the question of how far religion and culture are inter-mingled.

The Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral in the centre of Helsinki

Crowdfunding - Excellent Way for Fundraising Small Amounts

I had previously heard about Crowd Funding, but I only really got the gist of it recently when a colleague mentioned it and reminded me of its existence. The Crowdfunder is a website that is run by the University of Exeter and its aim is to fund small projects (generally up to £500 but it can be larger amounts) in the UK. The projects can range from individual artists wanting to have enough money for successful art projects to supporting the harvesting of olives in Palestine.

The Crowdfunder works in a way that UK residents can post their projects online and then potential funders (e.g. business or well-off individuals) looking into investing in worthy projects can search the database and pick their fundees. Once the set fundraising target has been achieved, the website takes 5% commission in order to be able to keep functioning.

A website definitely worth keeping in mind and looking into when thinking of funding a small-scale project:

www.crowdfunder.co.uk

'Just Another Manic Mum-Day' by Mink Elliott

Looking for something light to read in my local library, I started browsing through the new arrivals in 'The Light Reads' section. At the moment, I work with and for young mothers and so the title 'Just Another Manic Mum-Day' caught my eye. The humourous back cover of the book and the colourful front cover made me borrow it and I am glad that I did, as it turned out to be one of the funniest books that I have read in a long time!

Mink Elliott is an author who has spent extensive time both in the UK and in Australia. She has a witty writing style that suits equally well female and male young adults and adults. Her firs novel 'The Pissed-off Parents Club' has been a best -seller in many countries.

Here is a link for finding out more about Mink Elliott and her books:

http://minkelliott.com/
  

Exhibitions to Wonder to in London...

... at the British Museum. I had a chance to pop into this wonderful establishment this weekend. The permanent collections of the museum alone are worth exploring to learn about the entire world, but on top of that, they always have excellent special exhibitions on offer.

At the moment, the special exhibitions range from the Drinking Culture in Asia to Living & Dying. The museum always has at least four different special exhibition on at the same time, so chances are that you'll find something to see that will appeal to you.

I particularly enjoyed the exhibition on different cultures and how they interact with nature and natural forces when it comes to celebrating birth and death.

Take a look at their website for more detailed information and wonder over there one day to learn something new and to entertain yourself:  

www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on.aspx?ref=header

SpaTone - Natural Iron Supplement Worth Trying

I have battled low hemoglobin levels in my blood over the past couple of months. Main reason for this was that I was ill with severe malaria in August and the illness, as well as the medicine for the illness, killed too many of my red blood cells.

Western doctors, of course, wanted to prescribe me with some extremely strong iron tablets, which without a doubt would have messed up my stomach. So instead of taking those, I decided to try out a natural iron supplement called SpaTone. This supplement is 100% natural and simply iron-rich water straight from a spring in Wales. The water is in small sachets and you need to drink one or two per day, depending on your iron need.

I suffered zero side-effects when taking the supplement (in fact, I am still taking it even though my hemoglobin is now back to normal). And after taking it just for 5 days, my hemoglobin was back to normal levels!

I would thoroughly recommend SpaTone to anyone wanting to take iron supplements! You can find it at Boots or healthy shops in the UK, or you can order it online:

www.nelsonsnaturalworld.com/en-gb/uk/our-brands/spatone/ 

Bisexuality and Mental Health - Surprising Statistics?

I went to an event on bisexual visibility in London with a friend last weekend. I admit that before this event, I didn't know much about bisexual visibility in London; except that obviously everyone is allowed to show their own sexual orientation in London, no matter what that might be.

So, as a new-comer, I picked up some leaflets and information that they had on tables around the cosy pub where the event took place. One leaflet in particular caught my eye. It was on bisexuality and mental health. I learnt that bisexual people have the worst mental health problems, including higher rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide. This has been found in the UK and internationally, and is linked to experiences of biphobia and bisexual invisibility.

I was surprised as I had never thought of this issue before. I asked my friend about it and she said that it was probably also linked to the fact that people couldn't 'box' bisexuals as easily as they could people with other sexual orientations. She said that there was also a lot of prejudice around the issue as people tended to think that bisexuals were less likely to want to stay in long-term relationships and were more likely to swap from one partner to another. 

When I got home, I found some interesting articles on the issue. I include here one of the most informative ones. I am sure that it will open your eyes to the issue as much as it opened my eyes. 

http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory/6946/16/02/2012/bisexuals-endure-worse-mental-health-problems-and-suffer-equality-gap-report-claims.aspx 

Black Sea Twilight

I was recently taken very ill and needed some books and films to keep my mind off the illness itself. Luckily I had by chance stumbled across a novel in a charity shop that offered me the refuge that I was seeking for.

Black Sea Twilight written by a Romanian author called Domnica Radulescu captured me straight from its first paragraph. The books is about the time of Communism in Romania in the 1980s and it describes effectively how living under a Communist regime shaped people's lives.

The book tells the story of main character, Nora, a young lady who lives in a beautiful seaside town. The reader follows Nora's struggles over the years, in particular her love story with a Turkish boy, and holds one's breath as Nora and her love decide to escape from the regimented country and to start all over in a different place.  

Radulescu is an excellent writer who truly captured the life in Romania with colourful and emotionally-ridden dialogue. Not only did I learn a great deal about the history and culture of Romania, but I also felt that the characters were so real that they became my friends during the journey of their young lives.

I will definitely look out for other books by Radulescu and would thoroughly recommend Black Sea Twilight. 

www.goodreads.com/book/show/8593763-black-sea-twilight-domnica-radulescu