Reminiscing London

My first visit to London was in sometime in Spring of 1977.  London, a city that I had read so much about when I was in school, was to be my "home" for a good five weeks, with a week in Birmingham. The first impression was that London was a very old city, people were friendly and there was an air of formality in the way they spoke. I caught the train down to the city and checked into a hotel at Queensway. It was another old building and very Victorian in design. The hotel was run by Indians, who of course spoke with an English accent. After checking in, I wandered about the neighbourhood, discovered that Sunday was meant to be a leisurely day at the park, at the open air market or at Speaker's Corner. It was my first encounter with the Underground tube, but it wasn't difficult to get accustomed to him and especially with the help of my colleagues based in the London office then located at Fleet Street. Before long, I was bus hopping to Trafalgar Square, Carnaby Street and Piccadilly Circus. I was on a training attachment with the British tabloid newspapers, spent time in their newsroom to learn how they operated. It was meant to be an exposure for me before I took on the responsibilities as a New Editor in the newspaper back home.

I love London, for its theatre, its museums and all things British. Language was of course not a barrier though I had to time and again remind myself that I had to watch my spending lest I bust my budget. Food and transport was much more expensive than back home. I did what tourists would do in London, though I wasn't quite a tourist by day. Certainly by night, I took in the sights and even went to the casino where lo and behold I meant another fellow colleague who was also there on holiday.

I traveled to Birmingham by train; and was attached to another tabloid paper. The pace was slower here and indeed there was a noticeably larger population of people from India and Pakistan. I remembered the News Editor spoke to be about the "black edition" which I didn't quite understand the reference at first. He explained that it was the newspaper edition that was meant for the foreigners who were working in the city - he meant the Indians and the Pakistanis. One thing that I didn't regret visiting Birmingham was my visit to Debenhams Department Store where I bought an executive briefcase and a pair of semi-boots that were to last me for years.

Before long, it was time to leave London. I looked back at Big Ben and wondered when would I be able to come back again for another visit. Little was I to know that since then I had re-visited London another three times.

Remembering Goofy and Snowy

March 12 and March 17 - two poignant dates in my calender. In 2009 I lost the first pet Goofy and then a year later 2010 it was Snowy. All's left is their son Richie, who behaved oddly on 17 March around the time of Snowy's departure at 8.10pm. He suddenly got up and sniffed incessantly around the dining table and the room as if in search of someone, or something familiar. It went for a good 20-30 seconds before he sat down calmly while everyone look in amazement. How the time flies but we still couldn't forget the two lovely pets we had, with their snow white fur, their camaraderie and their warmth. Indeed ever so often we speak about them as though they were still around us to share our happiness as members of an extended family. Now we can only look out into the open space, call out their names and wish that they enjoy their freedom together.

Destruction, devastation....whither the world is going

In recent months we have seen so much devastation and destruction of human lives that it raises a few eyebrows and beg the question: where is the world heading? There was the outbreak of civil disturbances in the Middle East which swept across many countries. Guns were turned by those in power against their very own citizens all in the interest of the protection of their own wealth. The down under Australia was hit by floods never before seen, when only a while ago it was fighting uncontrollable forest fires. Intermittent earthquakes rocked cities in north Asia from Taiwan to China, until last night's monstrous quake rupture Sendei city in northern Japan. It brought with it a tsunami that punctured the lives of many innocent victims, disrupted civil life and captured the news headline of all media across the globe.

While many may not link the two, I have always felt that much of the movement in tectonic plates would have been triggered at least in part by the many underground nuclear tests. Governments in Asia, from Pakistan, India to China and North Korea have been conducting underground nuclear tests. The human triggered shaking of the ground beneath the earth would invariable cause a disturbance to the already sizzling core of the earth crust.

What can we expect next? Another war in the Middle East, another superpower intervention would appear inevitable if the people who seek liberation from dictators are not to be left abandoned. Bombs will be dropped and there will be more burning...while everyone is talking about saving the environment. FAO has warned of the spiralling cost of food production; given the rise in oil prices caused by the outbreak of conflagration between oil-producing governments, we can only see high inflation with no solution in sight. The clock is ticking...but who is doing all the thinking?