LONDON’S NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL- TWO MILLION FEET DANCING....

Multi tasking is a word associated with women although most of us do it without realising. Driving a vehicle when we are texting or speaking on the phone as well as managing a conversation with a passenger. That is dangerous multi-tasking. But it is done, anyway.  A boss administering a bunch of clerks, newly appointed junior managers and anxious customers while performing his own chores- such as making sure the company sells well or dealing with emergencies.

Like said, multi tasking is traditionally associated with females.

Whistle blowing at the Notting Hill Carnival, this year...pic by Z. Bahati.

Feeding a crying baby, cooking for the husband, making sure older children are prepared for school, chatting and gossiping with friends and neighbours and if educated (and well positioned) being an efficient executive. Yes, multi-tasking is a skill. Multiple skills; multiple things, multiple colours.

Consider such  mix: work, play, serious, fun. This would be one way of describing a Carnival.

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THE SAGA OF WIKILEAKS NEWSMAN JULIAN ASSANGE IN LONDON

Ambling  through the affluent areas of South West London I find myself at the famous Harrods shopping complex. Harrods towers above me like an old, crafty crocodile; where millionaires, the wealthy and royal buy stuff. It was created in 1834 and had many owners including Egyptian businessman Al Fayed whose son, Dodi, perished with Princess Diana in 1997. Two years ago this biggest (shopping) establishment in UK was sold to Qatar Prime Minister, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani. (What a long name!) it is said the cost was one and half billion pounds.

Woow...

 Harrods soars over me as I marvel its amazing architecture. Wazungu always score with their buildings. They keep them fresh and forever. Many years ago while touring (with a theatre group) in Vienna, Austria I was mesmerised  how ancient pretty buildings still dazzle the city.

Like Zanzibar’s Stone Town, perhaps?

Author ambles around Stone Town in 2011...spooky and interesting

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LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS BUILD UP MEANS A LOT OF THINGS

It is not only animals who are normally on heat. 

Trees too. No, that is a joke.

Cars. Yes, that is true. Cars and machines heat up. And so do big towns.   Since 2005 when London was chosen to host 2012 Olympic Games – the fourth largest city in the world has been on fire. Just a day after the announcement was made in Singapore, terrorists struck London with suicide bombers that left 52 dead. That was July 7^th, 2005. 

The would be suicide bombers caught on police cameras, moments before causing their brutal carnage. Pic courtesy of Martin Frost. Ws

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FATHERS DAY AND THE CHANGING WORLD OF PARENTING…

Last Sunday was father’s day here in the UK and I overheard one of my children lamenting how he feels sorry for some of his friends.

“Why?” I wondered gingerly reading the card the young guys had written. One of the best things about being a father nowadays is the fact that you get written feedback from your kids. Feedback in the sense that the father’s day cards – readily packaged- have humorous lines like “Wear this card to show your position of authority in the family”- plus a badge jeering- “I am the Boss.”

A joke; because that kind of culture is no longer promoted in this part of the world. It’s normal to see males constantly ridiculed in TV adverts.

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UKEKETAJI WA WANAWAKE WAPIGIWA MADEBE UZUNGUNI

Majuma mawili yaliyopita gazeti mashuhuri  na aghali kuzidi yote  Uingereza- The Sunday Times lilitangaza habari moto zilizopeperushwa duniani kuhusu  akina mama zaidi ya laki moja Uingereza wanaodhalilishwa na ukeketaji. Gazeti hili lililoanzishwa mwaka 1821, lilifanya uchunguzi wa kisiri siri   kufichua waganga wa Kiafrika wanaotoza shilingi milioni mbili za hapa kumkeketa mwanamke mmoja. Kwa mujibu wa BBC wanawake husika  wanatoka  Yemen, Somalia, Eritrea na Ethiopia.

Ona mfano hapa...
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THE SILENT AGONY OF WORLD WIDE FEMALE WORLD MUTILATION

Last weekend The Sunday Times headlines screamed about the increasing number of sick immigrant women seeking medical help. “Up to 100,000 women in Britain have undergone brutal sexual mutilations,” the respected paper said following a secret undercover investigation that exposed African doctors offering illegal operations costing £750 per session.

 Around ten years ago a Tanzanian High Commission official in London told me the amount of registered Tanzanian nationals living in the UK was approximately 100,000.

If we statistically agree that immigrants make less than 30 percent of the overall population (roughly 60 million Britons) then 100,000 women is quite a large amount. According to BBC, main communities practising female genital mutilation in the UK are from Yemen, Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea.

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WHY ARE HEART ATTACKS KILLING YOUNG PEOPLE SO MUCH TODAY?

 Sport is one of the best expressions of human capacity and failings. Or like famous Greek philosopher, Plato (above)  once wrote: “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”

Last weekend Italian footballer, Piermario Morosini (pictured below) collapsed on the pitch and died. 

Praised by his team mates at Livorno club, Morosini was a remarkable athlete. Although he was orphaned at 17 (plus a disabled brother who committed suicide) the mid-fielder had a “burning zeal” to succeed. Aged only 25, both parents dead plus two disabled siblings to take care of? That is a lot of stress. 25 years is, however, too early for death; there is a tendency for younger people- especially males to experience heart attacks in our times. <--more--!>