Ramadan and Winners in the Family!

It's our blessed month of Ramadan. We follow the lunar calendar to decide when Ramadan should begin. We’re going into the summer months for fasting and you learn to cope with the sudden change in eating habits. We begin fasting before sunrises and break it at sunset. Yes, can you imagine getting up at three in the morning to eat and breaking fast close to eight in the evening? I shouldn’t really complain as there are plenty of people around the world who can't break their fasts, which does help you to keep going. Ruqayyah my youngest has managed to keep three off her own accord. We are on our eighth fast and there are twenty two to go!

Besides the fasting, I've got some good news to share. Eemaan and Ruqayyah (my two daughters) decided to enter for a fantasy story competition run by Leicester Libraries. Guess what? They both won first prize! With no help from me, Eemaan had to do a story with graphic illustrations. She did a story on pirates with sea demons and sea dragons etc...etc. She's a good artist and I'm so proud. Ruqayyah had to draw a fantasy library of her choice. She has a great imagination. I wonder where she gets it from?

Walking with Dinosaurs

While I was down in London, I was lucky enough to get tickets for the arena spectacular of ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’. The BBC documentary series- which has been seen by over 700million people worldwide- the production is one of the largest and most acclaimed shows to come out of Australia. They are holding a series of shows at the O2 arena throughout August. It was amazing to watch talented individuals like William May who is the artistic director, Scott Faris director, Warner Brown script writer, Sonny Tilders creature designer, bring these huge dinosaurs back to life. It is definitely high-end stuff.

I came away from the show feeling well informed and excited to learn more about pre-historic life. In my school days, I used to find Evolution studies boring. But, this show has made re-think my understanding of the topic. Learning about theTriassic period (245-208 million years ago), the Jurassic period (208-144 million years ago) a time when Stegosaurs and Alloraurus existed. The most interesting part was the Cretaceous period (144-65 million years ago) a time when Torosaurus, and Tyrannosaurus- Rex roamed the world. It was mind boggling stuff! Before you say it, yes, it's great material for my fantasy book!

I did have concerns about the show. I wouldn’t recommend taking young children. The sounds were loud and the dinosaurs pretty believable. It scared my six years old niece, but she insisted on staying till the end. The steep steps were my other main concern. I didn’t think them suitable for young children. Funnily enough, I saw an older woman weeping outside our entrance section. She hadn’t realised how steep the seats were going to be and couldn’t sit through it. If you’re thinking of going please do check with staff if the seats are suitable for young children. Otherwise, it's a brilliant show to watch!

Tate Britain

I spent a week visiting parents and family in London. It didn’t take my kids long to get bored and pester me to venture out to central London. Both of my daughters, Eemaan, and Ruqayyah are into art. It was the most natural choice to visit an art gallery, so, we headed for Tate Britain situated in Pimlico. The good thing about London is there are so many free places to visit. Do your homework right and you’d be surprised how much fun you can have.

I’m a writer not an arty person, so, I did find some of the art on display quite bizarre! Especially, some of the modern stuff and I’m convinced my daughters stand a good chance in making it into art world! LOL!

Before you think me arrogant let me explain what was on view for the public. Bicycles with a bit of concrete slabs were displayed in the first few room of the modern section??? Exactly! Is that art? I don’t know. Another strange example was a cabinet display of medicines. No joke! It looked like we were about to be served in ‘Boots!’ Am I bad? No offensive to the art world but it was hilarious.

The part I enjoyed was doing creative art in room 17. Forget kids, parents were just as enthusiastic and competitive to show off their artistic streak. I don’t think my son, Ahmad, thought much of my attempt to make him a boat. Yes! I have to admit it was lame! LOL!