This morning, the 2010 Moonwalk took place in Edinburgh. I wish I had the energy to volunteer for this event as well! I was looking at running and walking events in the UK this year, when I suddenly chanced upon the Playtex London Moonwalk web pages a few weeks ago. At that point in time, the organisers were still looking for volunteers. So, all I did was click on the link, add my details and skills and interests, and chose the times I would like to volunteer.
The very next day, I received an email, confirming my application had been received and that I would shortly be receiving details of my volunteering stint. I was absolutely delighted to get them by post a few days later, informing me that I was to be a Marshall along the route! There was a booklet answering FAQs, so I knew what to expect.
The night of the London Moonwalk, I took the train from Essex up to London Liverpool Street. At the station in my tiny town, I met a handful of other runners and their family members and was chatting to them. The excitement had already begun for me. Once in London, I decided to have a good meal, and so, wandered into Ravi Shankar, one of the many Indian restaurants on Drummond Street near Euston Station. They had recently introduced 2 new dishes, and I was happy to try one of them. As I ate, I realised that as a new food blogger, my responsibilities increased with each meal that I ate out! So, I did my duty by informing the management that while the dish was good on the whole, one item had a bit too much salt in it. The reaction I got from the staff had me in splits later on: while some were plain stunned that a lone diner was making herself heard, the Manager was gobsmacked when I told him I am also a food blogger! But, they immediately took my comment into consideration, and thanked me for it. I wish them well.
From there, it was a short walk to Marble Arch, near Hyde Park where the organisers had sent up a huge pink tent. The atmosphere was awesome...milling with excited runners and volunteers. I made my way to the volunteer tent, where I was given my t-shirt, waterproof jacket, cap and a magazine to keep me occupied till the first runner made her way to where I was standing! All volunteers could also have tea/coffee and fresh soup. My team quickly got together, and were briefed by our team leaders. All that needed to be done was wait for the coach that would take us to our final positions.
Once at the stretch of the route which we were patrolling, the team was further divided into groups of 2-3 persons, as we were not to stand alone anywhere, for reasons of safety. My team was posted in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, near the Yacht Club. The three of us waited for a while, and before long, the first runner arrived...and then, a slow trickle, which then turned into a massive avalanche of runners over several hours of the early morning, that slowly trickled again into a dwindling number of walkers and then the last few...We were on our feet for a good 7 hours that night, helping runners and walkers cross one of the busiest roads of central London, for a good cause - fighting against breast cancer. We were witness to all kinds of emotions - from sheer exhilaration and happiness, to sorrow at the memory of the loss of a loved one, to tiredness and exhaustion. I spotted the ladies I had met earlier at the train station and they shouted out to me:-) I met a few Indian runners too, one of whom, a Bengali gentleman, asked me how I was - in Bengali! I smiled and waved back. I saw a grandmum n grandaughter hugging each other as they passed us, in tears, and we knew a loved mother was not there to see this and was greatly missed...
It was an unforgettable experience for me. The high points were the fantastic costumes some of the runners had created and worn, and the blasting of horns by passing drivers who wanted to salute the spirit of the runners. There were one or two ugly turns as well, as some drivers stubbornly refused to stop for the hordes of runners and walkers - nothing but bad manners, considering they also broke traffic rules: Zebra crossings had to be heeded. The Met Police did a great job of coming around often to see if things were running smoothly. Hats off to you officers! At about 4am, the organisers sent around fresh steaming hot coffee for the Marshalls along the route...And at about 7:30am, it was all over for my team. The coach collected us once again, and we made our way back to Hyde Park. We were offered hot tea and coffee once again along with sandwiches, including vegetarian options...which I think was rather thoughtful of the organisers. Thank you, Tina.
I would love to do this time and again, schedule permitting! The next one is coming up in Bristol, and for those who are interested, please check out the website below:
http://www.walkthewalk.org/home
I hope this blog post inspires readers to try and do their own little something for charities. Its not always about money; sometimes, just giving your time is enough...
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Life without Facebook:-)
This is something I have been deliberating for the last few weeks. And here's the story in its entirety...
It all started when I decided I would let everyone know where I stood with respect to the countries competing in the ongoing FIFA World Cup...Yes, I do live in the UK, but (with all due respect to its citizens) I do not always support the national football team:-) In the match against the USA last week, I cheered the "other" team. I swapped my Facebook profile picture for the Stars and Stripes! And within hours, one of my so-called "friends"(a former colleague) wrote the comment "Traitor" on my own post cheering the Yanks on. What transpired during the game itself was debated in pubs across this country. And poor goalie Green was the butt of innumerable jokes and snide remarks. The game ended in a draw...
A few days later, it was the turn of Algeria against the likes of Lampard, Gerrard and the lot. Where did I stand? Well, as an academic researcher whose works centred on literature from north Africa, obviously, I wanted to cheer the Algerians. Coming from my country as I do, I am well aware of the hardships faced by sportspersons in developing countries. Lack of encouragement and more importantly, of resources, means talented players are challenged every single day. Despite all the internal strife going on, the Algerians did very well for themselves. That match too ended in a draw...
Yesterday, someone I hold very dear changed their Facebook settings, and I asked myself if I really wanted to continue putting myself through this daily agony? And the answer was a resounding NO. I was wasting far too many hours every month on this showcasing of one's friends (shouldn't it be "acquaintances"?), a lot of which appears quite banal and superficial...
And so, I de-activated my Facebook profile...And gained some peace of mind in the process. I hope to devote more time to this blog, and on my fiction-writing from now on.
It all started when I decided I would let everyone know where I stood with respect to the countries competing in the ongoing FIFA World Cup...Yes, I do live in the UK, but (with all due respect to its citizens) I do not always support the national football team:-) In the match against the USA last week, I cheered the "other" team. I swapped my Facebook profile picture for the Stars and Stripes! And within hours, one of my so-called "friends"(a former colleague) wrote the comment "Traitor" on my own post cheering the Yanks on. What transpired during the game itself was debated in pubs across this country. And poor goalie Green was the butt of innumerable jokes and snide remarks. The game ended in a draw...
A few days later, it was the turn of Algeria against the likes of Lampard, Gerrard and the lot. Where did I stand? Well, as an academic researcher whose works centred on literature from north Africa, obviously, I wanted to cheer the Algerians. Coming from my country as I do, I am well aware of the hardships faced by sportspersons in developing countries. Lack of encouragement and more importantly, of resources, means talented players are challenged every single day. Despite all the internal strife going on, the Algerians did very well for themselves. That match too ended in a draw...
Yesterday, someone I hold very dear changed their Facebook settings, and I asked myself if I really wanted to continue putting myself through this daily agony? And the answer was a resounding NO. I was wasting far too many hours every month on this showcasing of one's friends (shouldn't it be "acquaintances"?), a lot of which appears quite banal and superficial...
And so, I de-activated my Facebook profile...And gained some peace of mind in the process. I hope to devote more time to this blog, and on my fiction-writing from now on.
A few basic (and healthy) recipes
I have a really simple 5-powder mix of spices that I use for most non-gravy vegetable dishes:
Ingredients:
Salt: 2 spoons
Chilli Powder: 3 to 3.5 spoons
Coriander Powder: 2 spoons
Turmeric Powder: 0.5 spoon
Asafoetida: 0.5 spoon
Method:
Mix any proportion of this, and store in an airtight container. When in a hurry, heat some oil in a pan, add frozen vegetables of your choice (either mixed or individual like okra), add some water (if need be), and cover with lid, after giving a stir. The dish is ready to eat in a few minutes. To be served with rice or breads.
Paprika/Chilli Hoummous
Ingredients:
Half a can boiled chickpeas
Olive oil: 2 spoons
Tahini paste: 3 spoons
Lemon juice (freshly squeezed): 3 spoons
Paprika/Chilli powder: 0.5 spoon
Garlic: 1 clove, chopped
Salt: a pinch
Water
Method:
Use a blender to grind the chickpeas with tahini, garlic, paprika/chilli powder, water and salt. Then, add the olive oil and lemon juice, and blend for a few more seconds. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for upto a week.
I do the following for a quick-fix sandwich:
Heat some oil in a pan, throw in 2 spoons of the above spice-mix, then add frozen mixed sliced peppers. Leave it on the hob for 5 minutes. Spread some hoummous on slices of wholemeal bread, add the peppers, cover with another slice of bread, and slice through. Beats any shop-bought sandwich...as far as I know! You always have the option of adding lettuce leaves.
Spinach side-dish:
Ingredients:
Oil: 1 spoon
Dried red chillies: 4-5
Mustard seeds: 1 spoon
Cumin seeds: 1 spoon
Cumin powder: 1 spoon
Asafoetida: a pinch
Salt: to taste
Frozen Spinach
Water
Method:
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and wait until they pop. Throw in the broken red chillies, and asafoetida. Give it a stir, then add the spinach and cumin seeds. Wait for the frozen spinach to start wilting. Then, add the salt, cumin powder, and water. You can add some cooked lentils, but these are optional. Leave on the hob for a good 5-7 minutes, and when the leaves wilt completely, they are ready to eat. For a bit of crunch, try adding some dry roasted nuts.
Ingredients:
Salt: 2 spoons
Chilli Powder: 3 to 3.5 spoons
Coriander Powder: 2 spoons
Turmeric Powder: 0.5 spoon
Asafoetida: 0.5 spoon
Method:
Mix any proportion of this, and store in an airtight container. When in a hurry, heat some oil in a pan, add frozen vegetables of your choice (either mixed or individual like okra), add some water (if need be), and cover with lid, after giving a stir. The dish is ready to eat in a few minutes. To be served with rice or breads.
Paprika/Chilli Hoummous
Ingredients:
Half a can boiled chickpeas
Olive oil: 2 spoons
Tahini paste: 3 spoons
Lemon juice (freshly squeezed): 3 spoons
Paprika/Chilli powder: 0.5 spoon
Garlic: 1 clove, chopped
Salt: a pinch
Water
Method:
Use a blender to grind the chickpeas with tahini, garlic, paprika/chilli powder, water and salt. Then, add the olive oil and lemon juice, and blend for a few more seconds. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for upto a week.
I do the following for a quick-fix sandwich:
Heat some oil in a pan, throw in 2 spoons of the above spice-mix, then add frozen mixed sliced peppers. Leave it on the hob for 5 minutes. Spread some hoummous on slices of wholemeal bread, add the peppers, cover with another slice of bread, and slice through. Beats any shop-bought sandwich...as far as I know! You always have the option of adding lettuce leaves.
Spinach side-dish:
Ingredients:
Oil: 1 spoon
Dried red chillies: 4-5
Mustard seeds: 1 spoon
Cumin seeds: 1 spoon
Cumin powder: 1 spoon
Asafoetida: a pinch
Salt: to taste
Frozen Spinach
Water
Method:
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and wait until they pop. Throw in the broken red chillies, and asafoetida. Give it a stir, then add the spinach and cumin seeds. Wait for the frozen spinach to start wilting. Then, add the salt, cumin powder, and water. You can add some cooked lentils, but these are optional. Leave on the hob for a good 5-7 minutes, and when the leaves wilt completely, they are ready to eat. For a bit of crunch, try adding some dry roasted nuts.
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