The Ashes

Lately there'd been advertisements on TV and radio about 'The Ashes' and then came notifications around the pubs saying that 'The Ashes' will be shown. The Ashes? What's that? Some movie being publicized ? It's got as much coverage as 'Bruno' here.

Apparently 'The Ashes' is the nickname for the test cricket series between England and Australia. As it's summer and cricket being a summer game, hence the cricket frenzy in this cranny of the world. The intriguing nickname dates all the way back to 1882 when England lost to Australia on English ground for the first time. After the loss, a satirical obituary was published in the British newspaper, The Sporting Times, stating 'the death of cricket', and the body will be' cremated and the ashes taken to Australia'. The English media dubbed the next English tour to Australia (1882–83) as the quest to regain The Ashes.

Apparently there's a little urn with the ashes of the cricket bale of that particular game - which is a treasured artifact for cricket fans

The urn is also featured in the science fiction comedy novel Life, the Universe and Everything, the third "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" book by Douglas Adams. The urn is stolen by alien robots, as the burnt bail inside it is part of the key needed to unlock the "Wikkit Gate" and release the imprisoned world of "Krikkit".



'The Ashes' are currently in Australia now since the last Ashes in 2006-7 but is now being contested for in the England and Wales 2009 series.

Life is..picnics and proms

What should one do before the weekend? Check the 3-day weather forecast of course. And if one of those days is fair weather, one should spread out the picnic blanket, call a few friends and bring the frisbee. Had a really nice Saturday after a few crap-rainy-days. Thanks to Y and J for organizing this...good company, talk and riddled by riddles involving midgets, potatoes, doctors, a naked man with a matchstick...bizzare but lovely.




And if the weather is not fab, one should also check out the BBC Proms held in the Royal Albert Hall. Amy spotted the free BBC Family Proms tickets (thanks girl!), I swapped mine with Adelene for a seat in the Grand Tier. It was all the classical standards i.e. Chopin, Saint Saens, Elgar, Britten- a good introduction to classical music beginners. I liked especially the solo violin by Jennifer Pike -an exquisitely intricate Holst's 'Song of the Night' and also the BBC family orchestra's 'Rough Guide to the Orchestra' a new piece played by family members of the orchestra i.e. grandparetnts, fathers, mothers, brothers, girls and boys...lovely-jobely.

And so passes yet another eventful weekend...

Yasmin Ahmad

One of the gems of the country has passed on. Yasmin Ahmad was truly an inspiration...being a woman, forging her way in the creative industry in Malaysia, one would think it was an unrewarding task. But Yasmin loved what she did and she did it well. So well in fact that she's recognized internationally with her films - something very few Malaysians directors can hope to achieve.

I watched Sepet in the GSC Mid Valley when it first launched in 2004...something unheard of because I'd never have thought of watching a local film as they were notorious for being bad. But I've heard so much about this brave movie that I had to watch it..and I'm glad I did. 'Brave' because it dealt with the sensitive themes of interracial love - a theme which would rile the bigots running the censorship board.

Here is a snapshot of an interview with Yasmin - insightful and thoughtful. Rest in peaches Yasmin (life was peachy) and God bless you!

Bloggers meet with Yasmin Ahmad from rinaz on Vimeo.

Strong Women

Celebrated the birthday of a strong woman this weekend and met another (C) who drove us around in her little 'nurse car'. Also visited a family of a few strong women posthumously in Haworth.

SISTER, you've sat there all the day,
Come to the hearth awhile;
The wind so wildly sweeps away,
The clouds so darkly pile.
That open book has lain, unread,
For hours upon your knee;
You've never smiled nor turned your head;
What can you, sister, see?

For you who are reading this, you know who you are.

Kal-Lavelle and the missed Mates

Mates of Mine didn't get the train to London from Brighton and so we missed them. But there was Olly the Octopus http://www.myspace.com/ollytheoctopus jamming with political protest melodies.

My mates S and R were there and we had a good talk over Pimms and pizza ...thank you ladies.

But the gem of the night was Kal Lavelle. Individuals like her are so bloody talented - they become THE music instrument as opposed to the singing and dancing poppets with the strings. It was plain magic listening to her tonight

Saint Swithin's Day

Today is Saint Swithin's Day - whatever the weather is like today would be the weather for the next forty days.

There's a weather rhyme which goes

'Saint Swithin's Day, if it does rain
Full forty days, it will remain
Saint Swithin's Day if it be fair
For Forty Days, t'will rain no more"

Fortunately it's a myth - the Met Office tested the weather on 55 occasions and 40 days of rain did not always follow.

Or is it? As the weather forecast is rubbash for the next 16 days.

Thank you very much Saint Swithin - I'm going back to the gym tqvm

Frisbee Fat Lip, Rueda and the Concert

Getting the Frisbee Fat Lip

The disc rose up in the air with a life of it's own and instinctively I followed it. Suddenly a force pummeled me to the ground and the slab of earth pounded my face. Before I knew it, I tasted some grass and gritty sand. Dazed, I wondered if I had lost any teeth and gone blind.

Rueda

It was seamless movements riding on a beat that could never end. Feet danced in circles and eights - an invisible hand guided their bodies like a pattern on a wall-paper. Music - party-like surrounding the little brown hut in the middle of the grassy field. Hands on hands, hands on waist, hands on shoulders. Feet moving left, feet moving right, then around.

The Concert

"You gotta roll with it, you gotta take your time, you gotta say what you say, don't let anybody get in your way, cause it's all too much for me to take"

A million hands waved and a million feet jumped. A blaze of colour lit up the arena as the jackhammer of sound pumped from the black centre that was the stage. A symphony of souls, an orchestra of emotion, conducted by the man in the green jacket.

"Say it loud and sing it proud! And they...Will dance if they want to dance,Please brother take a chance,You know they're gonna go,All we know is that we don't know,What is gonna be,Please brother let it be,Life on the other hand won't let you understand,Why we're all part of the masterplan"

"Want to Dance Michael Jackson"

Jatte bra!

I'm a Londoner

I’M A LONDONER” moves to Jacksons Lane...


An improvised play
Devised by Sam Bevitt

Featuring in this years “Story of London” Festival (in conjunction with the Mayor of London)

I’m a Londoner is set to take its home city by storm. An improvised play inspired by & in celebration of London and its make-up of ever expanding diverse cultural groups. I’m a Londoner journeys through 7 different stories of 7 characters originating from widespread parts of the globe – united by their residency in this vibrant city and the fact that they share universal dreams, fears, hurdles and triumphs. The Londoner stories although familiar, are thought provoking, poignant, chilling humorous and uplifting.

I’m a Londoner will be uniquely staged in a small purpose built playground at the Tristan Bates Theatre and then transfers to Southgate where it will adjust to a larger, traditional space - giving it’s final show a totally new edge and fresh feel. Accompanied by a consistent backdrop of sound, extracted from day to day London - this play captures the essence of the City in all its glory!

Director Sam Bevitt directs the cast of 7, which boasts some of London’s finest emerging actors: Anna Afanasyev, Andrew Lewisward, Phoebe McIntosh, Pablo Olewski Diaz, Renu Arora, Ryan Mathie, Shakella Dedi, and Sheenal Kothari. The cast have been carefully selected to reflect London’s assortment of cultural backgrounds. Collectively the cast have trained at some of London’s renowned drama schools including LAMDA, Central & Mountview. Credits include performances & appearances at Royal Opera House; South Bank Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Royal Festival Hall, National Geographic, BBC TV & a winner of a BBC Carlton Hobbs Award.

Sam Bevitt is currently studying his Masters degree in Scriptwriting at City University, London. He graduated from the University of Warwick with honors, where he studied Theatre and Performance. Throughout his time at Warwick he taught community theatre, led scriptwriting courses for the local town and held drama work-shops for inmates at Swinfen Prison’s Drama Department.

Producer & founder of Palladini Productions, Saima Duhare is the driving force behind I’m a Londoner. Saima originally trained as an actress at the London Academy of Performing Arts as well as attending the New York Film Academy before going on to star in two Bollywood films with well known Bollywood actors Anupam Kher, Shakti Kapoor and Dalip Tahil. Saima set up Palladini Productions so that she could create powerful stories - her focus mainly on creating and producing Theatre, TV & Film. Forth coming projects, in collaboration with actress Shakella Dedi, include a play inspired by the Madam CJ Walker story for the Black History Month in October and a sitcom which is due for completion later in the year.

Sound design is provided by the dynamic duo Alberto Sanchez & Catarina Chaby. Alberto is a DJ at Resonance FM and a graduate of SAE Institute. He works freelance in production, post-production, live production and phonography. Caterina has worked as a freelance audio engineer since 2004 for Nostairway Music Studio and has been involved in LP and SP productions, audio and video post-production for TV and location recording for live performances.

Press coverage

* Resonance FM http://resonancefm.com/
* Remote Goat www.remotegoat.co.uk/
* Catch ‘A’ Vibe Magazine www.catchavibe.co.uk
* Flavour Magazine www.flavourmag.co.uk (Interview with Karla Williams)
o Alice Gbelia: catchavibe@googlemail.con
o Shaun Hutchinson: theatre@catchavibe.co.uk
o Karla Williams: karlawilliams22@yahoo.co.uk

Marketing: Shakella Dedi - m. 07946 552 625 - e: imalondoner@live.com.

For general info visit: www.myspace.com/imalondoner

For info on the Story’s of London Festival visit: http://www.london.gov.uk/storyoflondon/

Listing information:

Thursday 9th July 2009 – 8.00 pm @ Jacksons Lane Theatre (run time 75 minutes)
Tickets £10.00/ £9.00 Concessions – Available on the box office line Tel: 020 8341 4421

p.s. I'm so proud of you S!

Covers Live by Espen Lind, Kurt Nilsen, Alejandro Fuentes and Holm

The first guy(Norway's first Pop Idol and World Idol, Kurt Nilsen's voice is amazing...

Falsa Moral (False Morals)- OBK

Thanks to S R for this video and song.

Boats, BBQ's and Brains

Yet another eventful weekend in the lazy-hazy days of summer in London.

Frank, my landlord, had the brilliant idea of going all out for the Henley Royal Regatta. Dresses, blazers, boat hat, crisps, banana cake, cider and champagne- fully confident of the equipage in tow, off we stumbled to Paddington (not fully awake as it was 7.45a.m.) to catch the train to Henley-On-Thames. Established in 1839, the Royal Regatta(not to be confused with the other Henley races i.e. Henley Women's Regatta, Henley Town Regatta), is a very 'English' thing to do in the summer where one would picnic on the bank of the river all decked-up in your best dresses and hats and have a glass of Pimms with strawberries, cucumber and mint and oh of course watch the boat races.

The festive atmosphere began even in Paddington itself as you could see almost every other person in their best togs and clogs. Train was filled with people all ready to have a good time -it was like a gigantic tea-party procession on it's way out to London all in the name of a boat race...amazing:P

The weather held out and finally turned sunny as we lounged on the bank of the river with champagne and watched the rowers speed by. Felt very posh ...



Then it was off to K's for a BBQ at her home. It was a real feast and great company in her cosy little flat. Lots of sausages, lamb in dijon mustard, chicken, vege-kebabs and such. The real fun began when K brought out the 'Cranium' -a hybrid between Ludo, Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary, Charades and Spelling Bee. I must say it was hilarious especially when it came to 'Cameo' and 'Humdinger' plays where the team had to guess the mystery celebrity or song. The girl's team won of course.

Thank you K and S for the good times:)

(p.s. Sorry I had to add these but they were so funny!)

Farewell to a Legend

Rest in peace now Michael, your work here is done.

Painting by Chagall - The Weepies

Nice summer song...

Father's Day - The Living Years

Mysteriously this song somehow ended up in my MP4 player - don't remember adding it. I first heard it on Radio 4 on the way to school in mom's car - I was Standard 5 then and half awake in the Mini Minor. The dee jay (one of the old schools e.g. Alan Zechariah or someone like that) introduced it in such a way that I still remember it today. But then, the song didn't have much meaning for me - being a kid without a care in the world except for UPSR exams

I listen to the song again and it has become powerful now - now that I've gone through the trials and heartaches of relationships with the people dear to me. Especially since it's Father's Day, this song somehow screamed 'Hear me!'. Life suddenly seemed too short for grudges and resentments.



The Living Years - Mike and the Mechanics

Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door

I know that I'm a prisoner
To all my father held so dear
I know that I'm a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I'm afraid thats all we've got

You say you just dont see it
He says its perfect sense
You just cant get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
Its too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
Its the bitterness that lasts

So don't yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don't give up, and don't give in
You may just be o.k.

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
Its too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

I wasn't there that morning
When my father passed away
I didn't get to tell him
All the things I had to say

I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo
In my baby's new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
Its too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

If it's very painful for you to criticize your friends - you're safe in doing it. But if you take the slightest pleasure in it, that's the time to hold your tongue. Alice Duer Miller

Nelayan

Kala jala nelayan penuh, di hari-hari cerah nan jarang,
tongkol tampak bermain, mengisar pelangi nan pipih.
Kau lihat matanya: angkuh, namun sesat jua, dalam remang.
Kembalilah, kau ingin berkata. Kembalilah dari sedih

Kala laut gelap gamang, lesat punduk gelombang
mengangkat perahu tinggi, seringan anak panah peri
Kala kau terbang, semua airmatamu 'tuk sekarang,
kecuali beberapa yang, mungkin, untuk esok hari.

The Music's Always There With You

Lately I've rediscovered music in my life. She was an old friend that disappeared for quite awhile till we caught up - it seemed as if we lost no time at all.

It started when my parents (mainly mom) who'd put up with my sulking and put me through piano class at the age of 6. She used to pretend to be able to play a few notes on the piano and fool me into thinking she could (haha she's funny my mom)

I had a great teacher, Miss Diane GK Tan or 'Teacher' as I'd called her who tutored (ahem 'tortured') me all the way till I was 15. We still keep in touch and through her I even met up with an ex-piano classmate in London (whom I re-caught up with after 20 years). In school simultaneously, somehow I got appointed school pianist in the afternoon session and continued on my 'career' in the morning session in upper secondary school. Ask me to play the 'Negaraku', 'Malaysia Berjaya' and the CBN school song and I would mysteriously know how even if I haven't played it for 20 years. The fun times was with my best girl Angie who was leading the school choir at the time and we used to go through the drills of choir competitions. Then there was a short spell with Miss Diane Lee who tutored me through PC but because of the pressure of STPM, I stopped. I went off to uni and it was a long before I even had the desire to touch the piano again.



It was in the autumn in Umea and the cold, dark winter which led me to rediscover music again. The Swedish university I was in had excellent music facilities and it was not long before I found several good pianos to play on. It was a blessing that I was placed in a host programme where my mentor (Lorentz Edberg) was a music teacher at the school. I also had a 'sister' student in Valeria Graffeo, an Italian exchange student who was just as crazy and brilliant in music as Lorentz was.



I also spent an amazing winter/spring semester in the 'Skapande musik'(i.e. Creative Music) course with a group of normal, unassuming Swedish (and a couple of international) students.











Imagine coming to school every day just to play and make music with people who loved exactly that - it was decadent, it was hedonistic and it was too good to be true. Mostly I was impressed with the level of talent they had here - Swedes really do know how to get creative. To allow you to get a taste of how versatile these people are, please see some of their personal pages:

(all genuine music)

Malin Ernestad
Buns and Beans
Kapten Kid
Mates of Mine

And thanks to my fellow course mates, I have discovered the joy of music creation. 100% inspiration and almost all playing by ear - although I knew the chords and the notes, I discovered that one didn't necessarily need theory to create music. It was a new way of learning music which all my years of classical training didn't prepare me for. Now I can truly appreciate music form - which was a result of the complement between inspiring my right brain to create music and my previous left-brained piano training.

The skapande musik programme output from the students can be found here here



London being such a cultural city; I'm happily distracted by all the musical and creative activity going on here. Thanks to G too (whom I work with and who has a blues band of his own), I now own a little keyboard to play on and am slowly picking up the guitar (guitar hero too :P)




So in a way, this post is dedicated to all the musicians in my life, past, present and future - thank you for the music!

If I Ain't Got You - Alicia Keys

More 'English' English

Here's a few more colloquialisms in 'English' English I picked up - there's even some 'kata-kata ganda'

'Hokey-Kokey' = Ok

'Lovely-jobly' = That's good

'Easy-peasy' = That's a piece of cake

'Marks and Sparks' = Marks and Spencer's

'Heigh-ho' = Oh well

'Secret-squirrel' = Top-secret project

London Bridge Fantasia by Peter Marcan

Do not try to understand what this crazy turmoil of a place is all about, as it is quite beyond all understanding. Point of arrival and departure, human society here is so chaotic, so entangled, all on the move that no one can surely make head or tail of it all.

During office hours faces gaze out of a hundred and one office-windows, fists long to smash into smithereens a hundred and one computer screens; caged in during office hours, the home going time stampede of people who have become animals in a zoo let loose. At home going time, it is frightening to behold the savage desperation of so many people on their way out; do not scrutinize these people too closely; the young men may give you a karate chop in the stomach; the young women will cut you down with their withering glances.

You hear the music of Bela Bartok in this place; everything out of synchrony, jangling dissonances and frenzied inner despair; shrieking stumps of humanity, bodies lurching forward, minds crushed into nothingness.

"Promise me you will practice your Bartok," said the artist Mike Challenger when I visited him at his studio home in Park Street; and after our meeting when he played Bach preludes and fugues to me, we went out and heard the squeals of incoming and outgoing trains, felt the abandonment of the market emptied of its traders, yet still full of intangible energy, and saw the desperate gregariousness of people away from their work pouring drink down through their throats in street corner pubs.

In My Ghetto

Six a.m. he ambles down the street
Had too many beers in a row
He's not sure if he's coming or going
Lost his footprints in the snow

Six a.m. she's back from the beat
Some dollars and pennies in her bowl
She's not sure if her child will weep
But it don't matter anymore

Oh it's a cold dark morning
Over in my ghetto
But if I keep on walking
I know I'll come back home

There's a church in the corner of the street
It's lamps are burning low
It's bells are silent, incensed melody
I think there's no one home

Oh it's a cold dark morning
Over in my ghetto
But if I keep on walking
I know I'll come back home

SE1 Drag

V wanted to go for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Subsequent a nice lunch, it was happenstance that we came upon La Cage Aux Follies passing through the Golden Jubilee Bridge but J didnt fancy a musical.

We then trawled around SE1 for suitable entertainment i.e.another morsel of live music session at the NT and decided upon a main course of Sam Raimi's 'Drag Me To Hell'. Went through the wrong theatres (BFI and IMAX) and had to 'drag' ourselves to Surrey Quays to finally see it.

Boy, what a funny movie it was. Funnily frightening. Sam Raimi's despotic dark genius resurfaces once again in the vein of his 'Evil Dead' series. I'll never look at a handkerchief the same way again.

People Get Ready

"People Get Ready" was polled by Rolling Stone magazine as the 24th greatest song of all time. The song was included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

Written and composed by Curtis Mayfield in 1965 for the The Impressions, it has become a standard in blues and rock and roll covered over the years by Bob Marley (as "One Love"),Dionne Warwick, The Everly Brothers, Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart (this version reached #45 in the US), Phil Collins, Jimmy Little, Eva Cassidy, John Denver, Steve Perry, U2, Aretha Franklin, The Walker Brothers, Margaret Becker etc.

The version I include here is Eva Cassidy's which is just as soulful as it is since the 60's.

Daily Billboard - March to May 2009

I think billboards are a great indication on what's on the minds of the British people and what's going on with the UK. Being such a poor newspaper reader, the only bit of news I'd get is the billboard on the walk to and from work. Talk about a 'sound' or in this case a 'sight' bite. In case you wanted to know what made the headlines in a particular newspaper in the UK (i.e. 'The Evening Standard') in the months of March to April 2009, here I present my personal project of 'The Daily Billboard' - self-explanatory

Bank Holiday Weekend

As opposed to the multitude of public holidays Malaysia, the U.K. has merely the 3 Bank Holiday Mondays, Christmas, New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday.

The 25th May Monday was the Spring Bank Holiday thus the long weekend - spent in London with friends and parks as we were blessed with the sun after prior dreary days.

Friday

Kicked off with a Tudor and Stuart Southwark Walk from Betterbankside Community with A. We were briefed on the locations and history of the Bull baiting arenas and theatres. The highlight of the walk was the archaeologically-significant find of the Rose Theatre - a fascinating look at the entertainment of the Tudors and Stuarts. Apparently Southwark was the 'Soho' of London then.

Not having had enough of walking, A and I decided to have our own DIY walk of London. For some reason, A wanted to do 'Seedy' London i.e. Soho and then to Camden. We wandered around Soho and ended up in a gay bar and had a half-pint. Not far off in Tottenham Court Road while topping off our oyster cards at the Underground, we had a good look of the night-goers in London - a melange of people wandering around in all shapes and sizes. Groups of youngsters; boys and girls mostly drunk, women tottering on heels, dodgy-looking older men standing around and chatting, an odd older couple walking arm-in-arm, a lost and crying barefoot girl on the street. Take away the 20th century clothing and dress them in 16th century Tudor ones, the vibrations of the night would have been the same I think - a sort of chaotic desperation in it.

Saturday

Amy, Bakthier and I went off to Oxford street for the Night at the Museum 2 launch on the streets. It was crowded as usual - one of the reasons I don't really like Oxford Circus. Amidst the carnival-like atmosphere nevertheless, we did a bit of shopping and topped it off with some photographs with some characters from the movie.

Later on, met up with D and friends for a Malay movie called 'Zombi Kampung Pisang'. It wasn't half-bad - 'campily' entertaining despite the fact that Sharon and Roz thought it was rubbish. Surprisingly the cinema had quite a number of people and everyone of them stayed till the end. I wasn't sure if the non-Malaysian audiences appreciated the 'Bintang RTM' and 'Siti Nurhaliza' jokes but I sure had a good laugh. Later on, it was coffee and tiramisu in a cafe on Leicester Square and we had an interesting discussion on Malaysia, race, politics and culture. The couples very kindly dropped me off home on the way back to the south.

Sunday

Had a field day today with Jasmine coming down again for a visit. We did some baking with Jasmine's yummy Pine Nut cake and my Poppy Seed Bread for the afternoon. And being a Sunday as it was bank holiday or not; had a compulsory siesta before heading off to Battersea Park armed with crisps, drinks, cake, bread and fruits. The weather was glorious and we were warmly welcomed by P (who had arrived earlier) at the Bandstand and a blanket on the grass.

The scene: families talked, friends lazed, children frolicked and couples embraced amid the greenery of Battersea. Memories of Parco Sempione were also evoked (one of my fondest) - a blanket, some food, good company and laughs. The bugs were also out with some of them wandering up our nostrils and into the chips but it was all in the picnic package. We then got up for a stroll around the park and Jasmine said "What a luxury it is to walk with friends like this"

With that, we felt that summer had truly arrived.

Monday


What better way to end the bank holiday with a little razzmatazz pop-jazz with Julie Mckee and bassist Andrew Malloy. It was an ear-opener, an education in jazz standards and an inspiration for original piano compositions. Julie was a pro with clear-as-a-bell vocals and snazzy piano riffs. Her repertoire for the evening was carefully chosen with songs with beautiful lyrics i.e. Louisiana 1927, Invitation to the Blues, People Get Ready, Roamin in the Gloamin and her own songs: What a Woman Shouldn't Do,It Just So Happens, Eric Marlow, Mount Vesuvius and a few others. Absolutely mesmerizing

Life in London

Life is London sure is hectic. I came back from Lake District not too long ago and thought I'd have a little respite from the evenings after work but since then I've almost never had some time at home due to some friend coming over or doing this and that.

The team had a dinner yesterday and Jason asked me how I found life in London. My liner for this is "Life from one big city to another is not much too different so it's pretty easy to fit in" Though I'd never believed it would be possible without your own transport but living here has made me realise it is. London's transportation system is one of the most effective and efficient in the world and I'd have no qualms going out and worrying if I'd arrive at the destination wherever that was without wetting my underpants due to the long journey.

Inhabitants are spoilt for choice too with the variety of cultural activities. In the past months I've been to plays, musicals, a book launch, meetup groups, live blues performances, museums, a variety of restaurants - you name it, we've got it. Although the culture-lover might have to rein in or you'd find yourself skint at the end of the month. Information is also well channelled via newspapers, the internet,magazines - which is a contributing factor for I remembered once when some expatriate from Slovakia living in Malaysia once complained to me that nothing cultural ever happens in KL - though personally I felt that was an unjust remark as I myself was actively attending plays, open mics and book readings then. It was just that the information was not disseminated as effectively as they should have i.e. mainly though discussion lists and word of mouth and merely hanging out with the 'right' crowd.

The best bit I love about London is the free library service by the local councils. And the books, DVDs and CDs are top class too - no silverfish eaten pieces of scrap paper (which our National Library serves). The books starting with 'God of Animals' upwards which you can see on my left column on this site have been generously loaned by the Libraries of Ealing and Southwark Council - thus my gratitude to the taxpayers of the land for the opportunity to satiate my literary appetite.

Where No Man has Gone Before

I'm glad I watched the new Star Trek movie. I'm quite a picky movie-goer in a sense that I'd hate slam-bang mindless action and movies with poor script would irritate me no end.

I had high expectations of this one since I've heard so many good reviews from friends who had watched it and I'm happy to say that they were equally met. A cleverly written story plot by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman(The Island, Transformers) and a very strong and funny script - this pillarizes the new Star Trek into another successful sequel for the franchise. Do not be fooled by it's sci-fi genre; yes, it does have it's CGI moments but it is very much still a character-driven sequel. The nuances and norms of Star Trek would thrill existing Star Trek fans and not side-line the non-vulcanized movie-goers thanks to J.J. Abram's intelligent direction. It's amazing how an old tale could still manage to be 'sexy' and 'cool' with a little thought and effort. If only all sequels were made like this.

A little note on the side:
I can't claim to be a Trekkie i.e. haven't attended a Star Trek Convention, owned a Klingon mask nor have a Federation spandex suit in my cupboard. Nevertheless I've been 'taro'ed left and right for being a 'geek' for wanting to watch it. If something has that much resistance, then it must be that good(has and will - even after 43 years. Star Trek, may you live long and prosper!)

Little Dragon and The Forgotten Circus

More in my ambient music collection


This one is thanks to S again.

Music: Little Dragon
Song: Twice
Clip:Dreams from the Woods
Directed by: Johannes Nyholm





I saw this one at my first patronage to the Shunt and it has stayed in my mind, slinking serpentine in the pool of sub-consciousness


Music: The Irrepressibles
Song: In This Shirt
Clip: The Forgotten Circus
Directed by: Shelly Love

At the Ascot Races

The Hat:
And I thought I was colourful. Sat in the bag for sometime but when my mistress finally took me out, there were others who were more flamboyant than I was.


The Horse:
I like my name - most horses don't really care what their called but it gets my owner bets. I like it too that I'm running with the other horses but I get really disappointed when I end up last. Wish Ed would stop whacking me so hard on the butt too.


The Gambler:
How much do you wanna bet? I think this one's gonna win.



The Bookmaker
Look at these Chinese tourists. Sure get a laugh out of some of em. Asked for 'three way'....'Each way' he meant. Don't mind a 'three way' too ho ho.

Tell Me It's Not Over - Starsailor

p.s. Dear S you can stop harrassing me now - see I've done it already -next one please

Stepping out on the Right Foot with the Map of the Invisible World

Came full circle again at the Tash's book launch. Really looked forward to this new novel after Tash's highly acclaimed first novel "The Harmony Silk Factory". The discourse was also engaging and interesting with Kam Raslan leading covering subjects around the background of the story; Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur, diasporic writing, ethnicity, geographical influences. Found Tash's answers very thoughtful and introspective as is his writing style.


Had an overwhelming sense of deja vu when I stepped into the little library where the launching was held. Sure enough I saw Sharon Bakar there. After 3 years of not attending 'Fiction and friends' back in KL, I see her here in London. It was somewhat surreal and I thought of all the others I left behind; KK, Muntaj, Jo-ann, Jessica, Sham, Alina, Shashi etc. My new book club kaki, Sejal was there too. It was strange to have one KL book club member on my left and a London book club member on my right.

Also met Kak Teh through Sharon, another celebrity Malaysian blogger - a very lovely lady who has agreed to let me link my unworthy blog to hers. We went to a new Malaysian restaurant on 19 New Cavendish Street called Selera .

Was warmly welcomed by Encik Hafiz who owns the restaurant - in no time an excellent mee goreng, keropok and also ayam goreng was whipped up. We had a good meal and a chat. Crazily enough, Sharon (who had never been to this restaurant and was just on a holiday back) found out that her husband was old schoolmates with Encik Hafiz back in MCKK. We were meant to come here - it was a 'langkah kanan' as Kak Teh mentioned.

Lake District Trip (To Live Like This)

Five travellers rollicking in the car

To go to the lakes and hills, 6 hours far

On a Vauxhall 5 -seater, word games we did play

Countries, nouns - Sat-nav guiding all the way

Garmin only 50% accurate

Luckily we were all graduates

Can find the way from Church Street to Hawkshead

The next morning adventurous breakfast with just bread

Then went to Grizedale forest - stepped on mud

Then to Lake Coniston where Donald Campbell's grave stood

Nasi beriyani dinner craving

Back to Hawkshead- roomate snoring

Next day off to see Keswick

Sun still shining but car sick

Checked into independent dorm

Pasta for lunch was the norm

Paid a visit to Castlerigg which is some other

Stonehenge's little brother

Climbed up Cat bells, highland utopia

Amy suffered acrophobia

Abandoned climb for high street walk

Played with leaf-race and just talked

Crashed in bed in the evening

Woke up raining next morning

Was promised trip to Pencil museum

If I came up with this Poem

After that to Beatrix Potter gallery

then had cakes, tea, coffee

Finally everyone - tired and done

Played word-games all the way to London

Bye bye Lake District you were nice too see

Keep for next time's memory

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" ~Wordsworth

Tomorrow, off to the Lake District
Inspiration for this Wordsworth poem
Away, away to Hawkshead -
an artists' dream a poet's home.

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed---and gazed---but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils

Faith

Today I wrote something for a friend who'd lost something.... While writing it down, I heard the echo of her words amidst her tears, 'Why me?

I didn't know what to tell her. I wanted to console her but I knew that nothing I said or did could get back what she lost.

It was on a white card and I wrote it on a blue felt tip pen;

"Take the first step in faith; you don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step"

~Dr. Martin Luther King~

Helpless to help the one you care for is the worst feeling in the world.

I pray for her, that was all I could do and hope those words will find it's way.

Sky Burial

This book is a must-read. It's hard to describe - hopeful sadness, resolution, sacrifice, commitment - it haunted me to the very end.

*The Sky Burial is a Tibetan practice with a sacred significance. . Unlike the Zoroastroan ritual of the 'Towers of Silence' where the body is left exposed on a 'tower', the deceased in the sky burial is smashed and left for birds of prey to feed on.

How to Save A Life - The Fray

Old but good...Thank you S

Sonnet 29

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf Heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself, and curse my fate,

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,

Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd,

Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,

With what I most enjoy contented least:

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,

Haply I think on thee,--and then my state

Like to the lark at break of day arising

From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven's gate;

For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings

That then I scorn to change my state with kings

~William Shakespeare~

Conversation with a Teddy Bear in the Rain

It's 7am in the morning and Teddy Bear sits dejectedly against the wall on the ground. It's raining; he's all cold and wet.

F: Hi there. Sorry to bother you but are you alright?

TB: Is this a trick question?

F: I was just wondering if you're needing any help I mean.

TB: Sorry I don't mean to be rude. But obviously its not everyday when you see someone get tossed out in the street like this. But judging from the economic conditions (ironic laugh), I'm just another contributing statistic of the unemployed.

F: I'm sorry to hear that. I can see what you mean.....You see, I'm heading off to work and the company is retrenching at the moment. So everyone at work are all sitting on pins now.

TB: Tough. It's one thing to be a statistic - but believe me when you're the one staring it in the face, no one is going to care if you've got kids to feed, or a mortgage to pay or medical bills to take care of.

But do you know what's the worst of it? It's the pain of being told that you're not good enough to stay; not worthy enough to do what you're supposed to do - it's too much to bear for my polyester heart.

(Pauses a moment)

The indignity of redundancy: that's what it is ....an indignity.

F: I really don't know what to say.

But in times like these, despite not having a job, you still have other things - two eyes, a mouth, a nose...you can still walk, you can still talk, you can move , you can do things. You can do other things and not necessarily what you were doing before.

(Pause)

TB: I suppose. But let me a moment here on my own. I need time for myself.

F: I understand. Excuse me, but I have to go; am running a bit late now (looks at watch)

TB: You go on then....oh and by the way.....

F:...yes?

TB: I'm a PANDA bear....not a teddy bear.

The Anne Frank House (Amsterdam)

I saw my first copy of "The Diary of Anne Frank" among the stack of books in the backroom cupboard which my aunt left behind. Strange mementoes of her single, hazy-crazy days when she used to live with us in 16 Jln Midah Tengah in the 70's. It had a black cover and a picture of the eternally youthful Anne Frank. After a decade, she had left, married and had children of her own, but her books were left behind in the small cupboard in the backroom. Being 10, young and curious and forbidden everything, I used to dig into that backroom cupboard for memories left behind and what I found were...books. I remember 'Jaws' ...or maybe "The Exorcist"...or was it "The Pirate"...which would have driven my parents nuts if they found out I read it. Nevertheless, the Anne Frank Diary was one of the curios of my aunt's which she left behind; yellowing and feeding silverfish in that mothball-smelling cupboard.



Fast forward twenty years and I'm standing in the very house young Anne hid in. I stand before the book case showing the different publications of her diary in all its multitude of languages, colours and bindings. But yet, I don't see the publication I read twenty years back. I wondered if it is still in that backroom cupboard somewhere - hiding like Anne in the house, behind a dusty cupboard.

It's amazing how one girl's story has travelled so far and so long up till this day.

De Valk Windmill (Leiden)

"Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small; Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds He all"
-1870 Longfellow