Questiontime

UPDATE

So the BNP scaremongering continues well into election season...I came across this article by Loanna Morrison who is prospective candidate for Bermondsey and Old Southark in London...I was disgusted by her obvious pandering to racist discourse, especially as she's black herself.

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/platform/2010/02/loanna-morrison-it-is-labours-failure-to-control-immigration-and-its-obsession-with-promoting-multic.htmlSo,


Nick 'slimey' Griffin is on Question Time this evening. It's beyond ridiculous that the word 'debate' is used in the same sentence as the bnp. Part of me thinks the BBC is using this to get ratings. I know loads of people that never watch question time who are now going to be switching on.. let's hope the public give ol' Nick a bit more of a grilling than some of the lazy ass BBC radio 'journalists' did...

The 'Wright' Stuff

After watching a segment on The Wright Stuff, I think I was the most hopping mad I've been in a long while..the subject was 'should teachers who are bnp members be sacked and should there be a law for this?' The analogies used were ludicrous..bnp teacher apparently equates green party teacher...since when has green politics led to psychological trauma?

This is the letter I sent to The Wright Stuff...

Dear Matthew, I am writing in response to today's programme segment discussing teachers who are bnp members.I was absolutely disgusted with the way the panel was flippantly discussing an issue that for so many people from a non white background is hugely important. I grew up in Brent in the 1980s and went to a really good school. As a female, Asian muslim girl, I had no real experience of 'racism' until I was in sixth form and a teacher led a discussion on 'terrorism'. The paper the teacher handed out had only examples of terrorist acts by Arabs/Muslims...and when I was the only one who challenged him in class regarding his one sided presentation, he completely ignored me. I felt angry that this person, who was supposed to be a teacher could use his position to promote a completely one sided view of a serious topic. The following year he had the same piece of paper and the same discussion with the lower sixth group, only one of the boys was a bit more vocal than I had been and complained to the head teacher. Once I found out about this, I approached the head teacher to say this had happened in my class the previous year. After a meeting with concerned parents, the teacher was made to apologise for not presenting a more balanced view and not taking into account how biased his class had been. The reason I am telling you this, is that as a young person it isn't always easy to stand up for yourself, especially if you are the only person in class that is doing so. I was once kicked out of class for telling the teacher how to say a new girl's name properly...so I was mindful of this when challenging another teacher years later.

I was extremely angry that Ann Diamond and the rest of the panel thought this is only an issue of the teacher doesn't propogate his/her agenda. You don't have to live with racism in its many forms, so you'll never experience what it feels like to have someone tell you that because you have more melanin in your skin, you have no right to be in Britain. This is not the same as having a green party member teacher who talks about recycling. This is about a teacher that believes that brown people should be deported, and a teacher that is part of a party that has proven links to fascist organisations in Europe and America. Racism has a huge psychological impact on children, and comes in a variety of forms..not all overt, so hearing you all talk about the bnp's 'democratic' right to hold their views, well that's fine...but where they are in a position of influence and 'power' then they should not be allowed to be near people whose lives they can harm through the many levels of racist behaviour there is."

Rumi -

Oh, if a tree could wander
and move with foot and wings!
It would not suffer the axe blows
and not the pain of saws!
For would the sun not wander
away in every night ?
How could at every morning
the world be lighted up?
And if the ocean?s water
would not rise to the sky,
How would the plants be quickened
by streams and gentle rain?
The drop that left its homeland,
the sea, and then returned ?
It found an oyster waiting
and grew into a pearl.
Did Yusaf not leave his father,
in grief and tears and despair?
Did he not, by such a journey,
gain kingdom and fortune wide?
Did not the Prophet travel
to far Medina, friend?
And there he found a new kingdom
and ruled a hundred lands.
You lack a foot to travel?
Then journey into yourself!
And like a mine of rubies
receive the sunbeams? print!
Out of yourself ?
Such a journey will lead you to your self,
It leads to transformation
of dust into pure gold!

Dilemma

So...I have this little 'dilemma'..well it's not really a dilemma..more a 'what should I do?' moment...
My work contract comes to an end in December; i've been working for a charity for nearly 3 years now and it's been one of the most challenging and enjoyable jobs I've had. So as the ol' saying goes, 'all good things come to an end' or something like that...I now find myself in the position of starting 2010 sans boulot...I've come across lots of really great jobs, and to tell you the truth I really want to apply for them but then I think of the following:
1. I have sooooooooo much work to finish off before December and if I don't, no one else will
2. I want a break once my contract does finish
3. I want to try doing something completely different

However, not having a job will mean:
1. Being bored ( I know what I'm like)
2. One less income ...OUCH! No more impulsive buys
3. Me turning into a couch potato...hmmmmmmmmmmm...

I'm trying to just go with the flow and see where Allah takes me..kismet, fate, destiny, whatever you call it..I hope it leads some place inspiring...

Eid

So Ramadhan has come and gone and so has Eid *sigh*...It's funny how we look forward to things so much and then they pass us by in the blink of an eye..I still get this childish excitement when Eid comes..the whole, getting new clothes, bangles, mehndi on chand raat...for me it's an important part of the whole Eid celebration as I think it's worth spending a bit of effort in making Eid special, especially for kids.

I didn't get to finish the whole Quran this Ramadhan but hopefully will finish it in the coming month...

I haven't written anything for nearly a whole month, as I had knee surgery a few weeks ago...a torn meniscus which I have no recollection of tearing...typical! So I'm on the very slow road to recovery...and I'm pretty frustrated at quite how slow it's going...I can't really go into work much and so am working from home which has it's own challenges...I feel like the last month has been a bit of a blur but maybe that's just the drugs...lol...painkillers, the initial morphine in the first week...really can't remember much of my first two weeks at home after the op...maybe that's not such a bad thing...poor hubby was looking after me and I'm probably a rubbish patient...

Our picnic

Last weekend was the 'mother and daughters' picnic in Virginia waters. The day was beautiful and sunny, and everyone, surprise surprise turned up on time.
Arriving at the park, we sorted ourselves out and had a bit of a wander before settling down to eat.
We appeared to be attracting a lot of attention; maybe people in Surrey don't get to see a bunch of Asian women of all shapes, sizes and hues of brown enjoying the outdoors?? who knows, but one lady came up to me and said she heard a man saying 'there's a lot of them'...I'm not sure what the 'them' was referring to...being brown, or being women...hmmmmmmmmmm....

Anyway, after eating, some of the ladies decided on a game of antakshari ...I'm useless at singing in hindi/urdu/punjabi so decided to catch it on camera video...hehe...I just have to figure out how to upload it and email it to the group...

Girly fashion

I'm not sure how much of a 'girly' girl I am, but I love some of the dresses here by Fadi Nahle, a Lebanese designer. I love the veil on this wedding dress and the use of embroidery on each of the panels.

I'm also loving this one aqua number from Zuhair Murad. As you can see I like the whole layering effect. Quite Spanish inspired. The maxi style dress worn by Jenna Fischer at the Golden Globes is amazing too..Can't even imagine how much these cost...

Also absolutely loving the silhouettes and colours by Naeem Khan with some amazing oriental inspiration....

Sudanese woman in court for wearing trousers

This story has made me so angry...

Lubna Hussein is a journalist who worked at the UN and was rounded up in a cafe along with 12 other women for wearing trousers. Some of these women were flogged but Lubna chose to go to trial to challenge these charges.

I wonder what kind of Islam these people are trying to follow? What about other Muslim countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan etc where women wear loose trousers with long tops..is this also unIslamic? It seems as though regimes such as in Sudan and the Taliban in Afghanistan hold the utmost contempt for women.

Muslim women in the UK don't have to worry about being flogged for wearing trousers or whatever else we choose to wear. I believe that Islam teaches women to be modest, but it also teaches men to be modest..which is something men tend to forget. It also teaches us to be humane and just.

Where is the justice here?

Istanbul

Fizzy milk

so fizzy milk??? am gonna have to try this when it's available...not too sure I like the sound of it..if it's anything like a coke soda then yuk...

Where's the summer gone?

So this is a typical July in England...a bit of sun, a lot of rain, mixed with some cloud...apparently August is going to be a lot better...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....
The weekend went by really quickly, spent Saturday eating, watching a very short cricket match (43 runs to beat huh??), and eating some more...
Sunday was the last day of mother and daughter's club, so everyone brought in a dish..I made trifle and was worried no one would eat it..but hey ho, it went pretty quickly...

This week is lots of write ups, although I'm so not in the mood right now. Roll on December 31st...

Some of the things I'm interested in

The triple whammy

So, I came across this report on Muslim women in the U.K and why levels of unemployment are so high...I usually hate these kinds of reports but this one really struck a cord because a lot of what was being said, was stuff I've seen and heard a million times before...I mean, I grew up amongst women like these...and it used to drive me mad..the whole Asian Muslim mentality ...
http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/images/stories/pdfs/quilliam_immigrantmuslimfemale_triple_paralysis_july_2009.pdf

The grand plan

So, what's this blog going to be about...hmmmmmmmm....things I'm interested in...arts, poetry, interior design..food of course...I might post some recipes...hope to get some feedback on it and some ideas...I'll probably rant and rave about things that annoy me...like noisy neighbours that do my head in, or pot holes, my endless hospital appts...blah blah blah

Something new

Well...not sure why I started this...boredom? Self expression? I dunno...
It's raining outside and I'm 'working'
This is my first post so just testing it all out!