A pictorial blog of sorts, of some fabulous recent moments. As usual, my love for life entails family and friends, food and drink, beautiful views, films and music.
First off, it was the hubby’s birthday and we enjoyed that awesome Cineworld D-Box experience with Avengers, which has now broken a plethora of worldwide box office records. I may have already mentioned them, but here’s the visual – the Gourmet Burger Kitchen does these super yummy Rosemary fries – perfectly salted, herbed (if that’s even a word) and beautifully crisp. As described on the menu, these indeed encapsulate one of my favourite foodie words, ‘moreish’.
I was very excited when my dear friend Charles Bosco, a young British Asian music producer, told me that the cable cars of North Greenwich were almost in action, more so, when I saw them being tested – I won’t comment on how this may affect the British tax payer. Emirates, the airline, has made these to facilitate easier crossing over the River Thames, in line with the London Olympics. The last time I’d been on a cable car was on a trip to Mount Pilatus, in gorgeous Switzerland, what seems like an eternity ago. And before that, my reminiscence was in Genting Highlands, Malaysia, as a child, where one of my most favourite memories happened – I touched a cloud. As I recollect, it was absolutely magnificent, I jumped, touched and it felt like snow, only better.
As we’re dwellers of the newly Royal Borough of Greenwich, we frequent the O2. I’m always fascinated by the sunsets in that area and love exploring. This is the Quantum Cloud, by the famous ‘Angel of the North’ artist, Antony Gormley – his tallest sculpture to date, I’m told. This sits very close to the cable car area and fits it’s surroundings very well. I remember becoming a fan of his art after seeing Zero degrees, with the dance legend Akram Khan, whom I recently had the pleasure of meeting at the South Bank Centre. This production also featured the superb Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and the brilliant British musician, Nitin Sawhney.
This is the O2 at sunset, just as one of my oldest friends, the hubby and I headed to see Morten Harket of A-ha, a Norwegian pop group that I loved as a kid in Nigeria. I dedicate this experience to one of my old friends, who introduced me to their work – Manosha in Michigan. Their Take on me video, is still one of the most creative visual works I’ve seen, and for a guy in his early 50s, Harket is looking fabulous and still hits those falsetto notes he’s renowned for, with perfect pitch. This blog by Akin Aworan captures the sold out concert at IndigO2 to a tee.
Next up, 3 perfect culinary moments. It’s no secret to those who know me, that I am extremely partial to Dishoom, the fabulous Parsi style ‘Bombay cafe’, in the heart of Covent Garden. After one of our BAFTA meetings for the upcoming London Indian Film Festival, my dear friend Naman, who is a renowned journalist, academic and writer (more on him another time), and I headed down. We were presented with the brand new Thums up float, a heady non alcoholic mix of India’s Coca-Cola substitute, until Coca-Cola came back with a vengeance circa 1993. Teamed with good quality vanilla ice-cream (complete with vanilla bean flecks), it truly was a lovely juxtaposition of flavours.
Then came some spicy yet yummy kebabs, with the 3 Dishoom condiments, tamarind, coriander/mint and chilli.
I topped this off with some ‘naughty’ chocolate chai, a firm favourite of mine, from when I tried it before my surgery, back in early December 2011, at a special tasting event.
As always, bidding you wonderful memories and make every minute count, even if it means taking time out to reminisce about how beautiful life is and how God’s nature is truly magnificent.
Ashanti OMkar, She/Her, London. UK 