On my mind this week...
So from top to bottom, left to right, pictures 1 and 2 - CELEBRATIONS. If you really think about it, with all the crises the world over both natural and man-made, it’s slightly bizarre that cricket’s even mentioned in the same breath, let alone making the headlines on par with humanitarian emergencies. World cup fever grips the Indian subcontinent and Indians worldwide though, as I write I’m rather on the edge of my seat with Tendulkar just being caught out. Not good. Judging by the festivities that coursed through India on Wednesday I can’t even fathom what a victory this evening might mean for the Indian people. Parties and revelry, cheering and dancing... It will be a night for national celebration. For those who don’t know the next thing about cricket, if the celebrations were anything to go by, India might as well have won the cup on Wednesday. For many Indians though victory over Pakistan meant even more than winning the final. Fingers and toes are all crossed now. On a slighter smaller scale, it’s been nice celebrating dad’s birthday too. I think the potato gratin went down a treat :D
Picture 3 – Weddings. So, I have come up with this theory that most people fall into one of two categories when it comes to the white wedding fantasy. They either love it, or they hate it. I say this because personally, I have never dreamed of a big white wedding, or a wedding at all if I’m honest. But equally I have girlfriends who just live for the day that their prince charming, dressed in a white suit, riding a white horse will come to take them to a lovely white church dressed in a stunning white dress, where they will promptly be announced man and wife and then drive off into the sunset... in a white car of course. You get the picture. Now, you’re probably wondering why marriage of all things is on my mind. Well, there just seems to be an awful lot of them going on, not forgetting (you can’t even if you want to can you, bl*ody British press) the Royal Wedding...maybe it’s just the season? I have to say though that those I have seen/read about of late have just been so beautiful. None of the uptight traditions nor stern customs, not even a bride who’s more worried about how she looks than how she feels. None of it. Just a man and woman, in love and ready to commit for life. And it's difficult to resent that, to not want it. The particular wedding pictured above is that of a Bollywood actress and contrary to expectation none of the formality, pretence and grandiose that’s synonymous with celebrity weddings. Just a riot of colours, a procession of friends, blessings from the family, and a kiss to seal the deal (NEVER heard of at an Indian weddings). Grand.
And finally picture 4. I was working behind the bar last week, happened to have quite an interesting conversation with a man I served. Middle-aged, lost his wife to cancer and just rather chatty, expressing his despair at the state of our country. He said that he genuinely couldn’t recall the last time he had been served in a bar by some-one who had the time, and more over the ability to hold a conversation longer than “£3.65 please”. And he has a point. England can fit into Australia some 60 times over yet the population on this tiny island is thrice that of Australia – surely some-one has to put an end to it?! There are people arriving each day who can’t speak a word of English and it does make the situation slightly difficult to defend, even for the most pro-Europe, pro-immigration amongst us. Take a look at the CV, it was left at the hotel in application for a vacancy at reception. I mean.... really? It would be easy to brand me a xenophobe or racist...but isn’t it just common sense?
No comments:
Post a Comment