Category: Social Media

Magnificent Summer Art: roots to blossoms

Published on by Seema RampersadLeave a comment

The summer days are here and I have been looking forward to June with much anticipation. The reason for this excitement is the biennial E17 Art Trail 2017, which ran this month with a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) theme. In cold January, some of my neighbours and I met in the pub to discuss how were going to participate in the art trail.  After a brainstorming session, we agreed that we would try to begin the process of creating a community garden in a public space that was a little nondescript, and in need of some attention.  Our title art trail submission from this garden was ‘Tree of Life’ which worked with the existing trees already in the green space, and to highlight the environmental benefits of this little oasis on the corner of a residential area and busy high street.

Earth, Wind and Fire

Sun, Rain

Wind, Snow

Hail, Sleet,

Chaos, Calm

Energy, Light

Day, Night

Earth, Sky

Stars, Moon

Out and Open to the Elements

Our Tree of Life.

by Seema.

Fast forward a few months to June and we have now created a community garden with some community funded that was kindly suggested by our local councilor Cllr Saima Mahmoud. We also found out from Cllr Saima that for the long term, we can nominate the space for a council run project call ‘Making Places’. We most certainly will be looking to develop this place further.

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In the last few months, I have relished the art elements of helping to create the garden and sourcing STEAM items, such as solar lights, wind chimes, bird nests, paints and other items to showcase the trees. We also got dirty in the process of tidying and clearing the area one weekend, and planted the garden borders another weekend.  Without a doubt – I loved coordinating and decorating the terracotta pots that were distributed to 20 residents too decorate, and then plant them with an outdoor plant.  It was even more pleasurable to get them delivered to my home one by one – it was a privilege to hold them if only temporary in my own garden before the official launch of the E17 Art Trail on 3rd June.

Bob, a local resident, also came up with a brilliant idea to create cogs with the help of the local wood turners, Nichols Brothers, to the STEAM theme.  The cogs were a hit with the garden visitors, and I frequently saw children playing with them as I went past.  I also liked that it reflected the cycle of the life of a tree.  Since then I have paid attention to many by-products from trees – paper, furniture, buildings etc.  I was even inspired to buy a wooden bracelet from a shop off Walthamstow Market that only sold wooden products.

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We placed STEAM themed poems on one of the trees to add interest to the garden especially as we are officially known as Poet’s Corner E17. We have already showcased poems and stories a few years ago, and coincidently when I was researching this idea, I saw the Royal Botanical Garden in Scotland also had poems on their trees.  John Hudson, a poet with local connections, had one of his poems displayed in their tree…and ours of course! I was also motivated to write some brief poems (some on here, be kind to me!) as they were tweeted during the art trail.

Tree of Life

Give me a…

T – Towering

R – Rejuvenating

E – Energising

E – Elasticity

o – Oxygen

f – Fibrous

L – Living

I – Indigenous

F – Fruitful

E – Evergreen (sometimes)

Tree of Life.

by Seema.

We also wanted to encourage wildlife, and so we sourced two bird nests for one of the trees. I had the pleasure of painting them with my son.  I made a point of tagging on to 1000 Swifts project to raise awareness of Walthamstow Wetlands (one of the largest urban wetlands in Europe), and Swifts as part of the E17 Art Trail. There were literally fabulous artistic Swifts all over Walthamstow that were displayed everywhere locally!  The magic and serendipity was also apparent on social media with RSPB sharing facts and figures about the importance and habits of this extraordinary bird.  Swifts migrate all the way from Africa to Europe each year, and can fly without stopping for days and months.  They became a metaphor to me – the Swifts in flight were like music to my ears…floating and gliding on their merry way, and so I was inspired to include them in the garden.

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We collaborated with another art trail project called the Bird Box Stories (@birdboxstories). There were several artistically decorated Bird Boxes that were distributed around Walthamstow, and in them they contained a notebook and pens for you to continue the collaborative story. You can also draw a little picture if you preferred.  It was a lovely to continue the story written by someone else whilst sitting and taking in the garden view in the sunshine. Some writers used the Bird Box notebook to give us positive feedback on the garden too!

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The garden will continue hopefully in the long term as we are going to nominate it in the borough’s Making Places project as mentioned above. Hopefully it will develop into a proper place for the local community, residents and passer-bys near a busy main street with phenomenal amount of regeneration in the area. We really could not leave this spot neglected for much longer.  In our ‘Welcome Hour’ for the opening weekend of the garden, and frequently during the art trail – we had positive feedback from local residents, businesses, strangers and passer-bys on how some simple low-budget items, and plants had transformed the public green space and made it into a ‘place’.  I saw people reading, chatting, reading poems, admiring the space and generally appreciative of what we as residents and volunteers have completed.  It feels very worthwhile!

In the performance art side, we also held a puppet show ‘Vikings and Valkyries’ by E17 Puppets on the road at our new street gallery. The performance was brilliant, funny, interactive and very engaging for children and adults.  Our main concern was that it did not rain on the beautifully handcrafted puppets.  This area of our neighbourhood was recently pedestrianized and it a much more pleasant area than the rat-run it used to be.

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In the neighbourhood, we certainly had some serious fun with our 6th annual street party with the New York Block party inspired theme.  We had a live funk brass band called ‘The Cracked’, salsa instruction and dancing, serious grooves with our resident DJs and fun activities on one of the hottest summer days of the year. See more photos on our blog here.  Hopefully 40 years in the future…the children will remember these fun times as I remember growing up similarly in Trinidad.

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I also attended a fab concert a St Mary’s Church in the neighbourhood to see Senegalese Kora player, Seckou Keita, who is one of the best Kora players. The instrument is beautiful (partly made out of a Calabash tree fruit) and made mesmerising music. Seckou Keita was great at telling stories whilst playing the Kora and getting us to sing back, such as in a ‘call and respond’ gospel style.

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I was so pleased that I was able to see this concert as part of a new initiative call the St Mary’s Art Collective.  The same church also had displays for the art trail which included fab women in STEM by the artist Emma Scutt, a Caribbean Windrush installation and other pieces by young artists.

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It was funny that week as I went to churches three times for art trailing and social reasons! I also went into Westminster Abbey for a work-related Summer Reception and was impressed with the 1200s era mural, Poets Corner, stained glass windows and other interesting features of the abbey.  It was the first time I went inside the abbey after remembering Prince Andrew’s and Sarah Ferguson’s wedding televised live to Trinidad, as well as other televised state occasions since then.  I also visited St Saviour’s Church in Walthamstow to see Veronique’s, my friend, art trail display.  I even bought one of her pieces and she was raising funds for a local charity she supports called Carefree Kids.

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Special thanks to all the neighbours who helped create the community garden and also for the E17 Art Trail team for giving us the opportunity to create art in a place where we live for the whole community and guests.  There is always something creative going on in my neighbourhood, where I work and sometimes at home. So I may seem relentless on social media, as some of you have mentioned to me.  I can only explain that there is some special energy where I am, or it is just me being me.

If you want to see my neighbourhood’s art heritage, the ‘Be Magnificent’ exhibition on the art school influence of Walthamstow School of Art 1957-1967 is currently on at William Morris Gallery. This really is a motivation place to get your creative sparks, heat and inspiration.  Like our ‘Tree of Life’ small community garden in its’ natural living form, and with future plans for development of the place – the roots are there with hope and aspiration for its’ future, and I have an inkling feeling that out of this small art project, the best is yet to come!

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Information Superhighway: access all areas

Published on by Seema Rampersad1 Comment

The Information Superhighway was a term used when I started working in the information industry in the early 1990’s. There are also a few books published on the topic at the time and my manager ordered some for our collection in the library where I worked. Recently I was reminiscing with my ex-colleague, Lina Kouzi, about this and we discussed how revolutionary it was at the time. That was about 24 years ago…before “everyone” used the web. I had already attended lectures at university on the “information society” vision that was a precursor to the information superhighway or cyberspace, as we now know it. All of this is history, but there are two aspects of the information and library world that will remain relevant even now: (1) Some people can use web-based sources very easily for their information needs, cruise at their leisure and/or accelerate in the fast lane for such things as the deep web and e-commerce. But (2) there are also parts of society and the developing world that do not have access to this road – much less so to a superhighway. These access barriers get forgotten sometimes.

Librarians and information professionals are always keen to help users to access content regardless of format, and to provide content that is relevant, correct, critically analysed within research frameworks and standards in various fields of interest.

This month, it was such a pleasure to volunteer to represent SLA Europe in Dublin for the inaugural Information Professional Career Expo at the Dublin Business School in Ireland. I was keen to meet professionals and new graduates in the Irish Information Community and to make time to see my ex-colleague and friend Lina at the National Council for the Blind in Ireland (NCBI). I flew into Dublin City Airport early in the morning and Lina took me straight to her office at the NCBI. I have kept track of Lina’s amazing work over the years and I find the library and media services she provides to the blind and partially sighted to users across Ireland awesome and inspiring! There are many features about their services that are unique and tailored for their users, such as a collection of braille resources and various media output in audio recordings of news, magazines (journals), books, etc. Lina showed we around the purpose built office in the Dublin suburbs with traditional library storage, but also with BBC standard built recording studios and booths. It was also very nice to be introduced to her colleagues, and I made sure I told them how amazing their work is to their users.

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Lina is also working with the local residents in a deprived community on a programme for up-skilling and training with recording items from the collection to be sent to users. I also saw the postal bags for materials that are sent out across Ireland free of postage charges, and with easy postal bags for users who may find it challenging to return items to the library. Some of her users have access to content on memory USB sticks, which are then returned in these postal bags (see photo). Library users have machines and devices for playing the audio materials that they receive from the NCBI. Obviously, there are younger users who may have smarter technology but some of them still use tradition and antiquated machines, as they are familiar with the machines. Lina created an annual report with some amazing facts and figures of their work and the valuable contribution they provide for their users and the positive impact this service has on users’ quality of life.

We both loved catching up and it was non-stop chatting on old and new stories. That is the beauty of being with an old friend – you pick up where you left off! We both quietly recalled and congratulated each other on our careers’ progress and how those early days at Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) were foundations skills and learning in the ‘Books’ and ‘Journals’ sections even in a corporate library – the experience is still relevant to the services we provide today in our current roles in terms of the ‘content’, transferable and business skills that we possess.

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After a quick lunch at the Temple Bar district of Dublin, I made a quick dash in the Dublin Taxi to the inaugural Information Professionals Career Expo at the Dublin Business School (DBS). Bursting with energy and excitement after seeing my dear friend, I entered the expo in full swing to a warm welcome to meet Irish SLA Europe members and DBS contacts Siobhan McGuinness, Neasa McHale and Marie O’Neill. I was mainly here to network, exalt the benefits of SLA Europe as a global network of information professionals and to give advice to anyone who wanted to chat at our stall.  I had the pleasure of meeting a few new graduates and gave then a few tips on how they can keep in contact with SLA Europe and what we are up to by our social media channels.  I also spoke on some of the more important CPD and social events we host. I gave tips on job seeking and staying on top of their personal development and seeking emerging new roles as well as traditional ones.

Representing SLA Europe
Lovely Neasa, Siobhan and Emma
Philip from the Library Association of Ireland
SLA Europe Nibbles and Networking at Information Professional Expo 2017
Nibbles and Drinks.

In the general career mentoring area, I also met Florence Curley from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).  Florence and I (like many other geographical territories) used to communicate to exchange information and assist each other in finding information or leads for our library users.  It was nice to meet someone in person you have never met before – even if it was 10 years ago that I left PwC!

It was also a pleasure to give a short talk at the start of the SLA Europe hosted networking and nibbles, where I was introduced by Philip of the Library Association in Ireland.  Philip set the tone with any introduction that called for information professionals to be excited to “put information in the hands of their users”, but also to “fight the good fight” with all the changes in the industry. I had prepared for a light-hearted talk on my career and what SLA Europe has meant for me and my own professional development, but I went on to mention thoughts that was hopefully motivational, encouraging and praiseworthy. I also urged the room to be prepared for the fight that we face as information professionals.  There are various roles, industries, subjects and creative cultural aspects of our valuable contribution – and I made sure that point was not missed.  Siobhan has written a fab Information Professional Expo event review here.

Info Professional’s Career Expo
Promoting Professional Organisations
Meet people from industry.

It was really nice to meet many of the group attending the nibbles and networking afterwards for a more personal chat on issues and opportunities that they may face. It was a true pleasure to attend these different venues in Dublin with varied user experiences and professional elements, which personally put the library and information industry into clearer perspective on the roads that lie ahead.

My time in Dublin was not all work and I was able to take a nice walk to my hotel, spend the evening listening to live music in my music-themed hotel and go by train to Galway the next morning.  I have visited Ireland before about 15 years ago for St Patrick’s Day, and definitely, it is a fabulous city that is worth a visit.  The countryside on the way to Galway was beautiful and very cliche green with livestock roaming the fields.  It was such a joy to see the animals resting, playing or grazing in the green grass of Ireland.  Galway was really nice as shown in my photos and I hope to visit Ireland again one day to see more of the countryside.

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Not only did I spend time speed networking in Dublin, but I also attended the Business Show as part of the Business & IP Centre team at Excel in May.  It is amazing that information is ubiquitious and accessible night and day in the palm of our hands, but people still want face to face information or pointers for those hard-to-find information needs.  Even if it is to reassure them what they already know.  I assisted with about 15 speed mentoring sessions for the London Growth Hub at the Business Show and most speed mentees wanted information that was practical or confirmation of where they can go to find out what they were looking for. The Information Superhighway may be all well and good but there is still a need for information professionals to provide that face-to-face conversation or provide answers that some people still need…and they may prefer to communicate in person. We still do this everyday in the library where I work.

Fake News and digital literacy are other issues that have come to the forefront in the last year.  This had probably been exasperated by social media and mainstream news being manipulated by the powerful.  This is not a new issue and I have been interesting in the topic for a while but not overly passionate about it.  There is a fabulous article in Information Today May 2017 entitled ‘What’s behind fake news and What you can do about it‘ by Kate Dempsey – which gives some fabulous insight into the role of information professionals and librarians in fact-checking and preventing the spread of misinformation. Tracey end by stating “It is vital to prove your continued value, and this is a timely, powerful way to do it. It’s one thing to repeat the old trope ‘People need libraries now more than ever,’ and that is another thing to get out there to prove it”.

It is vital to prove your continued value, and this is a timely, powerful way to do it. It’s one thing to repeat the old trope ‘People need libraries now more than ever,’ and that is another thing to get out there to prove it” – Information Today, May 2017, ‘What’s behind fake news and What you can do about it‘ by Kate Dempsey.

As with all content, we eventually will manage archives for future scrutiny, analysis and fact-checking. We are here to provide accurate, impartial and unbias information for independent research and for the empowerment of our users. This is not always easy, appreciated or even possible, but we professional won’t have it any other way!  It is our standards. So if you get away with half-truths or disinformation – we will eventually catch up with you in time!  I remember telling the attendees at the networking event in Dublin that I would have changed my career by now if I didn’t like being an information professional. I haven’t always had the “luck of the Irish” in my career…but I do feel lucky to do what I do.  Information works for me.

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Emerald – Ireland from the airplane.

Put Spring in your step

Published on by Seema RampersadLeave a comment

April is the cruelest month, Breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.

The Wasteland.

I, The Burial of the Dead
T.S. Eliot (Poet)

T.S. Eliot obviously had his reasons for writing ‘April is the cruellest month…’ in his Wasteland poem, but it is in a puzzling and ambiguous style to remind us of Spring. In reality, it is one of the most upbeat time of the year to get outdoors in better Spring weather. It is a time when gardens are in need of some tender-loving-care (TLC) after the long and cold winter months, and so do us for our own well-being and happiness. It is exciting and compulsory to get the lawn cut, give the garden borders a new lease of life, renew with new soil, plants and ornamental features.

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I have always liked gardens and gardening. I used to help my parents maintain our garden at home and still like spotting tropical and exotic plants from the Caribbean on my wanders around London and on holiday. There some adorable gardens in the United Kingdom and Kew Gardens is am must if you are looking for garden inspiration, a place to picnic and for relaxing for the whole family.

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In March for the last few years, we have had a head start with gardening in my neighbourhood with a borough wide ‘Spring Clean’ Day. Residents usually register online with the council and are given equipment for cleaning, free compost and plants for public green spaces. The social and health benefits for this scheme is amazing for an urban environment, where residents can engage in their local communities and environment.  The results are that residents take ownership of these green areas and a positive dialogue with the local authority is in place. With this engagement in the community, we have frequent input into consultations and decisions that may affect our neighbourhood. Some residents have adopted some free spaces with gorgeous guerrilla gardening! Residents have so far transformed an alleyway, facilitated outdoor street art and changed our air quality with closure of a rat-run roadway. These little initiatives have enhanced our areas and created pride in our neighbourhood.

Guerilla Gardening in Neighbourhood
Encouraging wildlife with beautiful blooms
Resident sponsored and maintained flower planters.
Lancaster’s Garden Shop, Walthamstow.

I do have herbs, plants, and trees already in my garden and have been a keen urban gardener for about 20 years. Around springtime, I also start planting seeds for my favourite vegetables – such as courgette and herbs. I love planting courgette as it is easy to grow, get crops all throughout the summer, and I have my own supply of courgette flowers! The Italians have been cooking and eating it for years – the flowers are delicious.  I have made so many dishes with courgettes as you may have noticed on social media! …But I am not apologising as this year there was a courgette shortage crisis. So I am very pleased that it is not some sort of silly habit of mine. This spring, I am being more ambitious with planting tomatoes, French beans and more plants.

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I have an apple tree that looks beautiful in spring with blossoms now but later in the year I look forward to making apple crumble, apple pie, tart tatin, chutney or anchar from the apples in the tree. One day, I would like to plant another apple tree too.

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My mother-in-law is an amazing gardener and used to have a very self-sufficient garden. She is a bit older now and doesn’t plant a lot but she used to produce and bottle her own year-round supply of tomato passata from her own garden! Together with her home grown basil – the Italian ragu sauce was even more amazing!

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One social media Springtime success story is the humble bluebell in woods as described by the National Trust. If like me you have seen bluebells shared in Facebook, Twitter and blogs – it is one of the greatest pleasures that you would find for free in Spring. I found out on Twitter that there is a Bluebell woods near me in Wanstead, and went there last year for the photos below. I am hoping to go there again with two friends soon. It is magical to see the ground covered in colour! One request they ask for – is for visitors to stick to the pathways as the plants are adorable but delicate. If you are a professional or amateur photographer, the bluebells in April really is a must to see.

Bluebells Wanstead
Bluebells Wanstead
Bluebells Wanstead
Bluebells Wanstead
Bluebells Wanstead

The gardening business and industry are vast with large garden centres, independent businesses and markets too. IBIS world reports that Flowers and Plant Growing have had some recently “growth after some barren years” in the United Kingdom.  At work, we frequently get gardening startups coming into to do research for their business. A few weeks ago, I visited the Columbia Road Flower Market in Tower Hamlets. I have been there several times before, and it is best to go on a Sunday morning about 9am. Parking is restricted but you can get the bus or public transport. The flower and plant stalls are amazing to see with cockney stallholders. The shops along the sides are interesting and quirky – and you can grab a light brunch or lunch. There was definitely a street party feel with buskers outside on that sunny morning when I went recently. It was also Palm Sunday and there was an Easter Procession with a Scottish bagpiper and traditional donkey. A few years ago there were lots of Pearly Kings and Queens for an annual event. What is obviously changed is the large number of tourists that visit the market and you can tell by the various European languages heard.  They like me, were taking lots of photos of the flower market to share.

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There is a cluster of garden centres in Crews Hill, just inside the M25 in Enfield. If you are looking for that hard-to-find plant or garden ornament – do take make a visit but you may need a car for all the plants you buy!

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This Spring, I am keeping busy with our residents and volunteers in my neighbourhood to create a small urban community garden next to a busy high street in time for the launch of the E17 Art Trail with a ‘Tree of Life’ submission. We also have long term plans for this green space and will be working with our fabulous councillors to suggest ideas. We are actively sourcing plants and objects for the STEAM theme for the art trail, and excited for the long term plans to make this a little oasis of calm and beauty on a busy urban high street.

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As ongoing research has shown, the environmental and ecological benefits for gardening is for our own well-being, fitness, mental health and sustainability. The beauty, colours and gifts of flowers, plants and trees are great for us whatever the time of year. They are beautiful and naturally made…sometimes with help from us. April is just the beginning of this happy warmer season in colder northern hemispheres, and let’s remember with appreciation and anticipation that the best is yet to come with Spring and Summer blooms and fruits.

Fashion Conscious

Published on by Seema Rampersad8 Comments

I am not an expert, queen or slave to fashion but like most people, I have a keen interest in fashion throughout the ages. Growing up with lots of women and female cousins around me meant that we would chat, admire and pass on hand-me-downs items of clothing. I think that was such a lovely and memorable part of growing up. Again, I repeat that I come from a little island in the Caribbean but we were still in step with fashion trends. Matriarchs in my family have some fabulous photos of classic late 1950’s and 1960’s fashion, and some of these would look just as on trend today! There are two points that I like about this – the sustainability of sharing unwanted clothes with close ones, and the important creative inspiration that fashion archives are for new creations and innovations.

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It is so easy to find historic fashion on the web in various fashion archives. I follow Europeana on Twitter @Eurofashion, and I’m warning you that they frequently share real treasure designs and photos that will give you fashion flashbacks! The special thing about fashion is that it can still seem very fresh in the right context and setting. I am lucky because as I work at the British Library…and we have access to archived fashion books, magazines (Vogue archive) and even dress patterns.

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I have also met many start-up businesses that are using the current research resources to plan and grow their businesses from designing and selling fashion from childrenswear, women’s plus sizes, womenswear and menswear, lingerie, shoes, handbags etc. The fashion opportunities are endless. I have also blogged about fashion along these same lines here in this link in ‘Fashion has nowhere to go but in Circles’ on the Business & IP Centre’s blog.

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Jumpsuit

Customised and seamstress dressmaking was a great aspect of growing up in 1970’s and 1980’s Trinidad. We had fashion shops, markets and shopping malls but it was still special when we would go with our specific designs to seamstresses for these designs to be made uniquely in the fabric, colour and made-to-measure for ourselves. Before the internet, we would get fashion and design ideas from television, film, music videos and American shopping catalogues too – such as JC Penny. I remember a few seamstresses that used their dressmaking skills as a livelihood and business to support their families. Presently, some of my friends are keen dressmakers at home for their own consumption, and have been creating fashion pieces in their spare time to their preferred tastes, which I think is amazing!

One of my favourite customised outfits I remember, and have a photo of, was my first jumpsuit! I was about 7 years old and my lovely grown up neighbour, Radica, took me with her to San Fernando (a city in Southern Trinidad) to get it made. I remember the cotton denim look and the little red berries pattern on the fabric. I loved it! Jumpsuits were initially a world fashion trend in the 1970s (possibly older). However even then, I remember that it was awkward to go to the lavatory in a jumpsuit. Fast forward to the present – and the jumpsuit is back as seen in these Pinterest curated photos. And I am still trying to perfect the art of using a jumpsuit at parties and festivals.

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Jumpsuit for a boat party – Summer 2016.

Continue reading “Fashion Conscious” →

Pizza – a renaissance on the high street

Published on by Seema Rampersad1 Comment

There is an on-going pizza revolution in my part of the woods. Pizzerias have become ubiquitous with old and new pizza companies on the market. One of our favourite fast foods seem to be going through a renaissance right now with many independent shops on the high streets. This is not hard to believe as you may ask who doesn’t like pizza? No doubt about – it is popular on most of the planet!

I have always liked pizza even when I lived in Trinidad. We had our own pizza companies such as Mario’s Pizza, Pizza Boys and the familiar global brand Pizza Hut. Going out for pizzas was always something to look forward to when I went to the malls with my friend. I remember also trying to make pizza with roti (Indian flatbread) dough as a teenager. On a memorable school trip to Venezuela, we went to a Pizzeria where our tour guide suggested the ‘house special’. It was a delicious pizza with my first taste of one with anchovies and copious amount of other toppings as compared to those I had known in Trinidad at the time. I also remember a very amorous Venezuelan couple in the restaurant who had us giggling throughout the meal.  I have had my share of pineapple and ham pizzas too, and recently heard that the President of Iceland had to clarify his position on these toppings after a social media storm as mentioned in this Guardian article.

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Pizza in a Restaurant in Caserta, Italy.

Fast Forward to London where I have sampled British high street pizzas, and various other independent ones along my way. My husband is Italian and obviously my relatives make fabulous homemade pizzas. My brother-in-law also has an outdoor pizza oven at home and a pop-up pizza business as a ‘hobby’. Our friends own one of the first pizzeria’s in Bedford where they are made in wood-fried ovens, which adds some authenticity to the flavour.

Being married to an Italian, I began to hear and understand the origins of pizza in Italy. Here is a fabulous link on the history of pizza, and it explains the many innovations over the centuries from plain focaccia-like breads to the current form of pizza as we know it. Pizza Margarita was the favourite baked by Raffaele Esposito for Queen Margarita of Savoy as it evoked the colours of the Italian flag – which is topped with seasoned fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and basil. Buffalo mozzarella is originally from the Campania region of Italy and is the best you will taste anywhere in the world! The buffalo mozzarella is so good…it is served whole as a delicacy, and even the local Italians enjoy and savour it.

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Over the years, I try to make unfussy pizza at home which is simply made with fresh ingredients. I usually plan in advance to get fresh yeast from the supermarket bakery counter. I don’t have a wood-fired oven, but my pizzas are good and usually get positive feedback from family and friends who have tried it. Steady on though…I am not sure I am ready for large-scale pizza making! So I have no ambitions to open my own pizzeria.

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One of my pizzas.

There are pop-ups, restaurants and take-away pizzerias all over the world. The market for pizza is thriving, and there are so many ways that it can become a viable business.  I found that there are several market research reports on this, where in the UK alone – sales for pizza has revenues of £2.7Billion and there was a predictive 9.5% growth in dining-in restaurants. According to Mintel Research figures for 2016, the long term forecasts expects the industry to grow by 34% from 2016 to 2021. It is no wonder that it seems to be one of the most popular types of businesses in the food market,  and in our high streets. This insight from one of Mintel’s analysts states…

“Digital innovation and authentic dishes made from simple and fresh ingredients are transforming pizza and pasta into a destination business, helped by the expansive store presence of leading players. Independent players may be hit by competition from the swelling multitude of new entrants and deli-and-dining formats that are driving more customers into store.” – Trish Caddy, Foodservice Analyst. Mintel.

 

My teenage son’s pizza learnt at school.
One of my own pizzas.
Stuffed Crust in Italy.

In the last four years, there has been regeneration of the high street in my neighbourhood, which also introduced some new independent Pizzeria players such as:

Nuovo Mondragone – a local independent Italian restaurant who make fabulous pizzas and also great calzones. Their main restaurant is situated in the scenic village area of Walthamstow.

Sodo Pizza Café – a London independent pizza chain who took over the building previously used for a local café (where I used to go dancing sometimes!). The pizzas are good, and I particularly like their use of social media to remind us that they have specials on during throughout the week.

Peppe’s Pop-up – Peppe has been the longest running pizzeria on our high road situated outside the local community CAMRA award winning Rose and Crown Pub. Their pizzas are amazing, and Peppe’s pizza spinning is mindboggling.

Yard Sale Pizza – And the newest pizzeria on the block is this chain in London. I haven’t had time to try it as yet but going by tweets in the neighbourhood…the pizzas look amazing and everyone is excited!

Calzone with Proscuito and Rocket Salad, Italy.

One of my best experiences of pizza dining was at the Pizza Express Jazz Club last year. It was first opened in 1969 by company founder Peter Boizot, and is still grooving strong today. As you would expect, some new and exceptional artists and musicians have played there over the years. I went to see a Motown special (yes I hear you, I know that it was not traditional Jazz!) which was upbeat and fun. The dining is intimate and cosy with dimmed lights, and the ambience as good as a traditional Jazz club.  The added bonus is that they do pizza (which I didn’t have) and the service excellent too. It might be an ideal setting if you are looking for a jazz club experience after the hugely popular film of the moment…La La Land.

Motown Tribute Band.
Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho.
Sorry…not pizza but Risotto.
Jazz Memorabilia.

I am not the only one excited about pizzas. Earlier this month, National Pizza Day was celebrated highlighting all the new independent restaurants in town, and there is also National Pizza Month celebrated all throughout the month in October in the USA. The pizza vending machine also exists! Seriously, everyone has personal pizza favourites and it really is food fit for us all to enjoy. Pizza sells itself. It will always be around for hundreds of years to come…I hope.

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This Christmas…Christmas is Love.

Published on by Seema RampersadLeave a comment

It’s December and most of the world is celebrating the festive Christmas season. It truly is a magical time of year and we all will have special memories, whether it be at home, school, work and in our neighbourhoods. There is so much to enjoy, indulge and be thankful, and it is great to have time in the year ideally spent with family and friends.

I grew up in a tropical island in the Caribbean but although we did not have cold snowy weather, it was just as festive and special as in colder countries. We would look forward to choosing or asking for toys that were advertised on Television, in local shops and shopping malls.  My parents actually dedicated a day for looking at the shops downtown in the capital Port-of-Spain. Schools prepared us to sing carols weeks in advance, hosted Christmas parties and performance shows that were high-points both for children and parents. In secondary school, we had a fabulous variety show at Christmas, which was a great opportunity to showcase young talent. I still remember some of the dances by students and it forms our collective memories of a time gone by.

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Homely Scene at a Christmas Show – Business Design Centre, Islington.

We had fun and special celebrations with neighbours as children too. We would go from home to home to partake of food and drink until it was too late at night – and then the next evening, we would carry on from where we left off. As teenagers in the 1980s, we also had fabulous trendy disco parties that were very popular at our house. All the teenagers would pull together to organise the Christmas party with the approval of our parents.  It was very trusting of my parents to allow us to host this and my mother would again help with the cooking en masse. Everyone would work towards decorating the back yard with coconut branches for a boogie, and set up of the DJ sound system. It was very exciting. We did this for a number of years with about a hundred people attending by invitation only, and so had hired police security too.  Quiet time spent with family was very special and some of my most treasured memories.

Trinidad is still very much into Christmas traditions religiously, spiritually and culturally. We have a large proportion of the population who are Christians but regardless of religious background –  most of the country celebrates Christmas with home cleaning, decorations, food, drink, music and song. One unique aspect of a ‘Trini Christmas’ is Parang Music.  Originally from Venezuela, it is folk music that was brought to Trinidad by migrants who were primarily of Amerindian, Spanish and African heritage. It is mainly sung in Spanish and I read that it developed from musicians and singers going from door to door and street to streets for ‘fetes’ spreading the Christmas story in song. The villagers would offer food and drink to the serenading Paranderos. This genre of music is truly amazing, upbeat and even better to hear live! I haven’t heard any live Parang since I came to London, but I still like using You Tube to listen to music (you may have noticed!). The Latin fusion beats give the music a rhythm that even though the message and lyrics may be religious – the contagious beats and joy may make you want to move your feet! The music has evolved into what is now called Soca Parang.

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Classic Soca Parang Album ‘Christmas is Love’ by Singing Francine.

One of my favourite Vinyl albums is ‘Christmas is Love’ by Singing Francine which was bought by my father. Apparently the music is still played today as it contains the classics songs ‘Parang Parang’, ‘Hurray Hurrah’ and ‘Ay Ay Maria’. I heard recently in this article that vinyls have superseded downloads in the UK, and this LP would definitely be on my Christmas wish list should I go back to playing records.

Christmas in my neighbourhood in London is buoyant with activity and community spirit. For many years, the annual Lloyd Park Children’s Charity Winter Fayre was a great way to start the Christmas celebrations with Santa’s Grotto, Games, Food, and Children’s activity and market stalls. It was always festive fun but also a good fundraising initiative for local families and the community.

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This year in my neighbourhood known as the Poets’ Corner E17 area of Walthamstow, we hosted our first Christmas Market in a newly pedestrainised road layout. The stalls included products such as local honey and wax, graphic designers and artists crafts, charity groups such as La Leche League, and a community table with the funds going to a local charity called Haven House. We also had a programme of local talent such as Irish Dancers, Vestry School of Dance, Greenleaf School Choir and our own eager Poets’ Corner E17 Choir which was accompanied by the Salvation Army Band as shown our blog.

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Both of these winter events are not held in churches but they are great examples of market stalls, local businesses and community groups coming together to celebrate the wonder that is Christmas.

Christmas is obviously a time for selling, giving and gifting. On a commercial note, I briefly researched what businesses should expect at this time of year and there are a few prices on Euromonitor’s blog ‘Christmas Shopping Trends 2016’.  This is informative for consumer spending patterns with the top five goods shopped for in order are: (1) Clothing and Footwear (2) Toiletries and Perfume (3) Food and Drink (4) Toys and Games (5) Books.   It is also interesting to know that 86% of those persons surveyed also bought in store, and 76% shopped online. If you use the ‘Click and Collect’ shop services – you know how convenient it can be! It is nice to see there are both business cases for supporting the high street, and online businesses. My neighbourhood is also making a concerted effort to support local businesses with a free courier delivery service and shop local campaign.

Mintel market research ‘Christmas Shopping Habits 2016’ reports that November’s Black Friday, which is a predominantly American shopping day, has had an impact on UK spending and retail patterns in recent years with some shops taking part. Some shops prefer to still focus on the December sales period. Even I bought something on promotion this year for Black Friday as I got 20% of a jacket I had my eyes on.

Manchester Market
Selfridges
Oxford Street
Regents Street
Carnaby Street
E17 Art House, Walthamstow

And Christmas would not be Christmas without food and drink. I love baking at this time of year and there is something so comforting, reassuring and nostalgic about the scent of Christmas. My mother, aunties and neighbours got us into baking as children. We would help with breaking organic eggs (at the time we all had our own chickens) and then taking turns in mixing the cake ingredients. This was before my mother got a food processor which made baking easier but less of a communal fun ritual. There was something special about those cakes – not sure of it was the eggs, sugar or Trinidadian rum! I now do my own baking such as mince pies and Trinidadian Christmas Cake, but there are also Panettone around given by Italian relatives.

One of my Trinidadian Christmas Cakes
Panettone & Port
My Mince Pies
My cake for Poets’ Corner’s Christmas Fair

Christmas dishes are unique to each countries of the world but the English Christmas dishes are probably one of its’ best culinary traditions. I look forward each year to Roast Turkey, Pigs in Blanket (Sausages wrapped in Bacon), Stuffing, Yorkshire Puddings, Vegetables and Gravy with Cranberry Sauce and Bread Sauce (which I am not so keen on). Christmas Crackers are also good fun around the table! I have grown to like Christmas pudding and it is similar to Trinidadian Christmas Cake. I love spending time with family and friends at this time of year like everyone up until the New Year Celebrations. I do miss Trinidad but I hope I can spend Christmas there one day again in the future.

English Christmas Dinner
Christmas Pudding
Background Music Perhaps
Trinidadian Sorrel Drink in Local Shop

There has been so much going on in our troubled world and we are still nowhere near that elusive world peace. But still…Christmas has many and the best peaceful, thoughtful and universal human aspects to it for which we can keep hope. In these reflective lines, I have given you a flavour of my own seasonal experiences. You would have your own to share I am sure. This Christmas, my sincerest wish is for you to have a jolly time, spread the joy and peace of the season. And for the coming new year – sending another wish for a Happy 2017.

 

Creche at Italian Church in Bedford
Wish on Naturally Decorated Winter Tree
Christmas Wishes to You.

A Passion for Good Social Media in the Digital Age

Published on by Seema RampersadLeave a comment

I just came back from seeing Jim Jarmusch’s film ‘Paterson’ where the sweet character by the same name stated “Life was perfectly fine before smartphones”. Whereby, his equally sweet girlfriend’s response is “But it makes things easier.”

This resonated with me as I recalled older means of communication and how life was about 15 years ago when the internet was not at its’ current maturity. Telephones calls, written letters, snail mail, printed news and tradition media was the norm then. Fast-forward and things have definitely shifted with the exponential growth of social media in the digital age. We now live in a world of citizen news, social networks, digital connections, push media – where we have to be vigilant to distinguish what is trusted content or misinformation. The broadcast model is truly smashed! The smartphone is changing the way we use traditional media, with the young using internet sources and less so by the older population using tradition media such as radio, magazines and newspapers according to this eMarketer graph. The younger crowd are going for Instagram and Snapchat and the older crowd to Facebook and LinkedIn. The share of the market by demographics is a clear indicator of who and how we are using these.

emarketer1
Source: eMarketer

What about me? It has been about ten years since I started using social media but as a librarian and information profession, it is a skill set that we have been evolving naturally over a long time. We still are excellent at consuming, digesting, regurgitating, classifying, cataloguing and disseminating information for sharing, awareness and future use. Information overload is no big deal for us as we sort the “wheat from the chaff”. Don’t get me wrong! I tend to share a load of rubbish myself. I frequently explain to people that I handle serious, factual and hard-core information – so, social media is lightweight and therefore easy for me. What I try to do with social media is stay informed, self-regulate my content, be respectful and simply entertain you and myself in the process. I love sharing music, foodie stuff, art, photos and lots of fun things.

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Endlessly… Content is King.

Now let’s look at the show-stopping current figures for social media platforms. The market research publisher Key Note summarizes “that in the United Kingdom alone, the UK population have become intertwined into the daily lives of many consumers, facilitating what has been described by observers as the digital revolution. Social as a phenomenon is both immediate and ubiquitous, making it a compelling, and potentially viral, marketing platform for both large and small companies”. The figures for users are phenomenal too with Facebook having 1.55 billion users active per month, You Tube 1 billion, Instagram and LinkedIn 400 million each, Twitter had 320 million and Google+ had 300 million (but currently falling off a cliff). There are important and valid reasons for using social media, such as for the following:

  • Communication Tool
  • Customer Engagement
  • Product Development
  • Increase Revenue and Sales
  • Increase Brand Recognition and Credibility
  • Grow an Online Community
  • Be Transparent and Trustworthy
  • Word-of-Mouth Recommendations (such as our likes, comments, feedback)
conversationprism
Source: Wikipedia Brian Solis and JESS3 -theconversationprism.com

Social media makes businesses as smart and connected as the world we live in.  But you might have guessed that my personal favourite uses of social media are for current awareness, news, hot topics (a Knowledge Management term), to connect with people and to stay in touch with family, friends and acquaintances. Some of the regular activities we conduct on smartphones are listed as:

  • Read or send emails 60%
  • Visit social networks 52%
  • Browse websites for personal interests 42%
  • Download apps for free 39%
  • Online banking 38%
  • Watch video clips on sites such as You Tube 35%
  • Purchase goods or services online 34%
  • Download/stream music over the internet 24%
  • Use instant messaging services such as BBM 20%
  • Watch catch-up TV 14%

Source: eMarketer – note ages 15+; in the past 3 months Source: Ipsos MORI, “Tech Tracker: Q3 2015,” Sep 2, 2015.

If you are connected on social media to me – you would know that I am a prolific social media user. I am quite unique (but similar to other business librarians!) in that I have managed information on some HEAVY subjects (as I say…A to Z of subjects) and these are built into my psyche, consciousness and allows me endless mindfulness to share information and knowledge. This uniqueness is enhanced and highlighted as I work at the British Library, whose corporate motto is ‘The World’s Knowledge’. Enough said – there really is no stopping us here. There is enough soul, momentum and forward thinking content to keep us on our toes, fingertips and therefore to share constantly on multiple social media channels.

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Connectivity of Social Media

You may have noticed that I am passionate about life and find immense pleasures in sharing the best of humanity, good work and love that I encounter in my simple life. I would like to proclaim that I am a social media champion. I had spoken seriously at CILIP almost 10 years ago on ‘Strategic Library Services – Global Collaboration and Business Benefits’ on the finer points of using collaborative technologies. I also spoke with a panel of health professionals for Social Media Week 2012 on ‘Collaborating on Cancer’ at City Hall London. I have also been delivering with my colleague Neil Infield our ‘Social Media Masterclass’ Workshop and Webinar at the Business & IP Centre,  where we aim to demonstrate the various social media platforms and give you tips on how to use them effectively to engage customers to increase sales and brand awareness.

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As I conclude, the sheer speed that social media is moving in the world means that you MUST be active in using these to be au fait with all the functionality and features…or you will get left behind. In the short space of time, we have seen Google+’s launch to its current demise, Instagram grow, Twitter fade, Facebook saturate. I am still playing catch-up with Snapchat, What’s Up and whatever else will come our way.

The sheer speed that social media is moving in the world means that you MUST be active in using these to be au fait with all the functionality and features…or you will get left behind. …On Social Media.

Before these media shifts in communication, Sean Williams writes in ‘Connecting in the Social-Media Age’ U-Wire (University of Utah) – “people had to pay for expensive long distance calls. Social media makes it easier to send messages to thousands of people at the same time, all at no cost”. I remember being a foreign student and not being able to call my parents in Trinidad for months on end, and when I relied upon letters by airmail! This is no longer the case. With smartphones in the palm of our hands – the key is in the convenience. It is the game changer.

Social Media – Game Change

There is no letting up in technological advances and we must continue to use these platforms for businesses, but also for social good. Some irresponsible politicians deliberately choose to divide us and appeal to negative attitudes and menial behaviour. We must not let that deter us from all that is good and positive about social media. Personally – I think it will be quite boring if we were to talk about business or politics all the time. We can aim to continue to discuss our connected world, deepen our knowledge on issues and find innovative solutions to real problems. So what are we waiting for…let’s get on with it and have some fun!

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Share the Passion!

Diwali – Celebrating the Festival of Lights

Published on by Seema Rampersad2 Comments

In the United Kingdom, you can see the onset of the changing season with the changes in the environment – colours of leaves on shrubs and trees, falling leaves, perennial shrubs with winter berries, and the drying and withering of the summer blooms and greenery. As those autumnal weather and winds come in October, it signals the end of summer but there are a few celebrations that I like that make me optimistic for the new colder and darker seasons. It is the time of year that I can look forward to celebrating Diwali at home, in my small way.

Diwali may be spelt in English differently as Divali or Deepawali, but in essence it is the Festival of Lights that has been celebrated in India for thousand of years. As a child in Trinidad, Diwali was one of the highlights of the year and usually occurs in late October or early November. It is one of Indian Hindu traditional festivals that is still practised to this day in Trinidad by East Indian migrants.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s, there was a slow build up to Diwali by local community groups, businesses and other official celebrations in temples and fairs. In our village, the villagers used to plan weeks in advance to cut bamboo rods from local forests. The giant bamboo rods were split for their natural groves, which were then used to rest and decorated lit deeyas (clay pots). The bamboos were cut and shaped in various artistic ways, and in arches that ran along the streets. The deeyas were light with oil and cotton wicks, then set alight at approximately 18:00 hours when the sun was setting at this time of year. It is also believed that the Goddess Lakshmi enters homes at that time with her light.

ravi_varma-lakshmi
Goddess Lakshmi

Diwali is allegedly a traditional held on one of the “darkest night of the year”. Growing up in Trinidad – our streets would be cleaned, swept, weeded, pavement white-washed and homemade paper buntings would be placed from one end of the street to the other. Our street also had a musical stage and entertainment at one end including prizes sponsored by local business for various categories such as a Diwali Queen. I am not sure if our street started the Diwali ‘streets’ celebration (I guess it was as we were the hip ones!) – however it was a tradition that was influential. Eventually most of the village’s streets were decorated with bamboo arches with lit deeyas. It was truly amazing to see and experience the beauty of the lights! There was immense energy with people in thousands walking along the streets. Seriously…there used to be traffic jams on our street with the sheer quantity of people walking and cars on the streets to see the Diwali lights. As a child, I used to love walking around the streets and meeting other neighbours, family and friends. They were extra-special times and the memories are for us to cherish!

Eventually most of the village’s streets were decorated with bamboo arches with lit deeyas. It was a truly amazing to see and experience the beauty of the lights! There was immense energy with people in thousands walking along the streets. Seriously…there used to be traffic jams on our street with the sheer quantity of people walking and cars on the streets to see the Diwali lights.  …on Diwali.

Diwali Bamboo displays in Trinidad.
Diwali Deeyas.

There would be visitors from neighbouring villages and towns, including my own relatives from Port-of-Spain would come to see the lights, as well as the lovely delicious vegetarian food that was prepared at home that day. It was also a time to invite friends who don’t normally celebrate Diwali. My parents would intentionally invite non-Hindus to partake of our hospitality. Personally, it is also a time for remembering and being grateful for what it means to have a home and a loving family. Probably the same warm feeling we have at Christmas, Eid or other religious or cultural occasions. This tradition continued for about 10 years in my village, and sadly I don’t think it happens now. I do know that there is a Diwali Nagar village at this time of year, which started decades ago just before I left Trinidad.

Diwali in the home usually meant a time to ‘spring clean’ the house, vegetables and sweets were prepared in advance, and any precious time was used to prepare for the activities for the day…and night. When I initially came to England, I missed home a lot due to this lifestyle, traditions and the many multicultural festivals we celebrated. It is a time that I remember family, especially my father and his unique Diwali traditions. They were extra special to me, and his way of doing things was one of the best examples of family values and homeliness.

There were parks and fields that also celebrated the festivals as fairs with displays of lights and entertainment with song, music and Indian dance. The radio frequently played Diwali songs. Companies and local communities used to host Diwali with live entertainment and food stalls with the beautifully designed bamboos in their various styles and shapes. Celebrations also included sparklers, firecrackers, fireworks and Bursting Bamboo (making loud noises with petrol, fire and bamboos which comes with a health and safety warning). These were usually held in fields and open spaces as they are too nowadays.

At a corporate Diwali celebration one year, I was unwillingly judged to be the Diwali Queen to my horror for the Caroni 1975 Ltd at Brechin Castle Diwali Celebrations! But on the positive side, I won a lovely sari and some money. I still like wearing a sari and Indian wear when possible – and Diwali is an ideal time to do so.

I was really pleased when the Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner to London, The Right Honourable Garvin Nicholas, held a Diwali Celebration at his official Residence in London a few years ago. The deeyas were from Trinidad and it was really delightful to see them lit around his official residence and for him to invite ex-patriots to his home. It was great to hear the religious ceremony, as well as to partake of the Diwali food and sweets.

Deeyas at the High Commissioner’s Residence – London.
Lighting Deeyas in London.
Vegetarian Food & Sweets for Diwali.
Deeyas.

 

Generally in India, Diwali is still celebrated as a grateful close to the financial year, and signals the aspirations and blessings for the coming year. When I joined the British Library, it was also the start of the Mughal Exhibition. I honestly did not know much about the Mughal Empire, as our education of India in Trinidad tends to rightly focus on Indentureship of Indians to the Caribbean.

Mughal Diwali Scene with Deeyas
Mughal Diwali Celebrations.
Firecrackers for Diwali.
Deeyas and Diwali Celebrations.

Since the exhibition, I am certainly more aware of the Mughal Empire and life in that time. It was amazing to see their artwork in manuscripts and there are several pictures with Diwali, Holi and other celebrations depicted. The opening party for the Mughal Exhibition was also a memorable experience of Indian culture that reminded me of Trinidad.

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For these reasons, Diwali is one autumnal celebration that I look forward to at this time of year. I like when contacts share current photos on social media of Diwali in Trinidad, as I still see how it is celebrated and how it has developed over the years since I left. I usually have to ask Trinidadian relatives what is the date for Diwali so that I celebrate it in unison with them. It is a public holiday in Trinidad and I usually try to ‘fast’ for a few days by eating vegetarian food. I also prepare vegetarian dishes and sweets for Diwali night. I usually make Prasad as an offering – which is a sweet delicacy. I also light candles, sometimes in decorated jams jars as I can’t find deeyas here.  It is a time for me to give thanks for what I have and yes…even say a little prayer. This is my small way of continuing that tradition, rituals and hope for light to triumph darkness for the earth and my loved ones, but also for everyone all over the world.

My lit jam jars for Diwali at home – London.
My vegetarian dishes 2016.
Kurma – my first attempt.

A Summer adventure in New York

Published on by Seema RampersadLeave a comment

Sometimes when I read The Guardian’s Q&A question What is your earliest memory?, I am surprised that people remember moments as late as when they were three or four years old. On this, I have a crisp memory and remember symmetry in dreams when I was a toddler. I am not sure if this is unusual. Apart from that, one of my earliest childhood memories is telling family “I want to go to New York!”. My mother would attest to that. I always dreamt of travelling as a child, and New York was on top of my list. I’ve never made it until now in my 40’s, and this was also my first ever visit to the USA.

Growing up in Trinidad in the 1970’s and 1980’s, you really could not avoid being seduced and attracted by the media images of the USA. We had exposure to numerous American television programmes and film, such as, Sesame Street (aired morning and afternoon), Laverne and Shirley, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Taxi, Working Girl, etc. There are far too many other songs, films and books that represent the country and cities. New York to this day is still tops and will always be a magnet for these creative outputs. Here are some of my highlights of my recent visit ‘across the pond’ with family this summer.

My first impression at the airport was a bit of apprehension for being fingerprinted and photographed at the immigration desk, which seems like a normal Home Land Security procedure for visitors. However, trepidation was quickly replaced with genuine awe on the first sight of the city as we approached on a Go Link shuttle bus from New Jersey. There was an amazing moon above the night skyline of skyscrapers in Manhattan – I couldn’t help thinking of the film tune Arthur’s Theme with the line ‘…Caught between the moon and New York City’. As there was traffic, our shuttle driver also took us for an extended drive around the buzzing and luminous Saturday nightlife. We saw famous landmarks such as the Lincoln Centre, Times Square, Central Park and recognisable famous streets.

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Day One – Close to the hotel was the impressive art deco Chrysler building, and it is breath-taking to see this many times throughout the next week. For Sunday brunch, we tried Scotty’s Diner on Lexington Avenue. It was very busy around 10:00am with people having breakfast, which I presume was a Sunday morning tradition. It was interesting to observe the dishes being served such as French toast and pancakes with a variety of toppings. The portions are definitely bigger there!  Therefore I stuck to a muffin in preparation for the big lunch that came later at friends.

Next was the trip to Queens to visit family friends and it was an adventure from the start. The walk to Penn Station was about seven blocks but not far away to walk. Again, it was amazing to see the shops at ground level but also to look up at the amazing architecture. It was a fabulous surprise to see on route one of the world’s most famous and tallest buildings – The Empire State Building.

It was the first time I used the city’s public transport. The Long Island Rail train ticket was reasonably priced to take us to Queens and seemed to run quite frequently for a Sunday. It was packed with young people heading to the Babylon Festival and we had a friendly couple who sat next to us. The young man even checked his app to tell us when our train was due to arrive in Sutphin Boulevard. The station exit that we came out had an amazing tribute to Jazz Legends of Queens. Apparently, New Orleans may be the birthplace of Jazz…but Queens is proud to proclaim that it is “the home of Jazz”. There is even a Queens Jazz Trail. I also noticed that ‘On the Road’ author, Jack Kerouac, was also a past resident.

It was also great to spend time with very dear friends and to see the suburban homes and gardens in the neighbourhood. There was a Punjabi celebration in a park closeby and according to Wikipedia, Queens is now an ethnically mixed community.

Queens.
Tropical Blooms.
Jazz Legends Tribute in Queens.

Day Two – We decided to use the buses and to walk around Little Italy, Chinatown and the Lower East Side of Manhattan. There were no location plotters in the buses, so you had to play attention for your stop which was considerably easy due to the street grid system. I love that about New York! I think this systematic urban planning for a new city has fabulous benefits and must have been exciting for the generations that made the modern city.

As we stopped near Bleecker Street, there was street art that resonated the social and cultural heritage, including the splendid punk band  The Ramones, and others leading all the way to Little Italy. Little Italy is a must to visit, especially if like me, you have Italian connections or relatives. This is where Italian migrants settled, and although now they may have moved out of the area – it really was incredible to see the sights, story and to imagine what life was like then. Little Italy also runs parallel to Chinatown, and therefore it was interesting to see the similarities with another migrant community.

Little Italy is a must to visit, especially if like me, you have Italian connections or relatives. This is where Italian migrants settled, and although now they may have moved out of the area – it really was incredible to see the sights, story and to imagine what life was like then. …On Little Italy. 

Italian & Irish Migrants Tribute.
Artist on Street Art.
Little Italy.
The Ramones.
Chinatown.
When in Little Italy…Meal.
Italian cafe.
Little Italy.

Next was a walk to the shore through the financial district past Wall Street. The financial district had banners up boasting that it was the Best in the World’s Capital Market. As I walked through with my business information hat on – I also thought of the Wall Street Journal and NASDAQ.

Financial Market Banner.
Wall Street District.

A short walk away is the station for the Staten Island Ferry, which is free to use and runs every 30 minutes. It is interesting to read why it is free now, as it wasn’t always free. The wind was blustery on the ferry but the views of the city and the Statue of Liberty are breath-taking and worth a fortune for a free ride!

Statue of Liberty.
View from the Staten Island Ferry.
Staten Island Ferry and Views.

After the round trip back to the Manhattan shore, we walked up to the 9/11 Memorial. As I approached the memorial, my exhilarating holiday mood changed to sombre and reflection. Taking in the scale of Ground Zero and remembering the television images on that terribly shocking and sad day kept crossing my mind. It is surreal, but also strangely connections you to those tragic moments when history changed. I was there for the thousands of people who lost their lives on that day. It was both a pilgrimage, and a duty to pay my respect at the 9/11 Memorial.

9/11 Memorial Flight 93.
Ground Zero.
9/11 Site.

That day ended with a last walk along Broadway all the way to 37th street. It took about two hours but it was fabulous to go past the buildings, the African Burial Ground, Dean and De Luca Deli (from the film Manhattan), various shops and New Yorkers. It was nice just to observe people going about their normal business and leisure activities. It is fabulous to look up at the very tall buildings as you walk along the pavements on the ground. Again, I kept thinking of the people who had designed and planned the city in the past and how fulfilling it must have been to create this amazing city with towering architecture.

Dean and De Luca Deli, Broadway.
Dean and De Luca Deli.
National Museum of the American Indian.
African Burial Ground.

Day Three – Having worked in libraries and information centres, the next day I went to see the United Nations (UN) Headquarters from the exterior with it’s famous block architecture and international flags. You can get free tickets to see the visitors centre but time was short to spend a long time there. For many years and even now, I still use UN publications and their website for information. I have also blogged at work about their Year of Pulses 2016.

Next we walked along 42nd Street past the Woodstock Hotel where apparently my entrepreneur grandfather stayed on a business trip in the 1950s. And then we walked to 41st Street towards the New York Public Library (NYPL) on Library Walk. There was a great build-up of awe on the street approaching the library with plaques on the ground aptly designed with heart-warming and uplifting proses, excerpts and quotes on books, libraries, knowledge and information. The Library was close to our hotel and it inspired me a few times that week.

United Nations.
New York Public Library.

The NYPL building itself is designed in an European classic architecture and built on a spot that was once a water reservoir. I only had time to see one of the reading rooms but spent some time in the library’s shop too. It was very similar to the British Library’s shop and I bought some souvenirs. One tip – the NYPL (Twitter @nypl) has a fabulous Twitter feed that you should follow!

Just behind the library was the fabulous Bryant Park. My first visit was at lunchtime and it was fabulous to see the park being used during the lunch break by workers, people playing chess or just enjoying the warm summer outdoors. There was also live music one evening, and it was really awesome to take it all in with lofty buildings surrounding the park.

Ground Plaques on Library Way.
LIbrary Way leading to The New York Public Library.
Chess Players in Bryant Park.
Chess Anyone?

Times Square was a close walk away and good to see during the day and night. Coincidently, there was recently a BBC Two ‘New York – America’s Busiest City’ series that explained that Times Square initially was home to the New York Times, hence its’ name. The advertising boards have been a part of its’ peppered history and seedy days, but has been recovered to be a focal point for digital advertising boards, news feeds for advertisers and live news broadcasts. Day and night – it seemed to be a tourist hotspot.

Bryant Park at Lunchtime.
Listening to Live Music in Bryant Park.
Grand Central Station.
Times Square.

Day Four – We took the subway this time to Queens and again it was an opportunity to use public transport. Grand Central Station was not far and as you enter – you are impressed by the décor, the lights, astronomical ceiling mural and station elegance. There is an Oyster Bar apparently too, but I did not get a chance to see it. The journey to Queens was my first time on the subway and it is different, as well as similar, to the London Underground and other underground networks I have used. You literally go from deep underground to way overhead above ground rail tracks! New Yorkers were happy to help confirm and to give me directions. Knowing me, I still had time to look out for poetry, art and buskers.

I was meeting friends again and was picked up from Liberty station in Queens. It is the place in New York where the West Indies meets the East Indies. The shops represent a multicultural community – the melting pot that Trinidadian Angela Hunte wrote about in the song ‘Empire State of Mind’ sung by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. The food that my friends cooked or bought were on par to that in the Caribbean. It seemed like a home from home to the Trinidadian community there.

The shops represent a multicultural community – the melting pot that Trinidadian Angela Hunte wrote about in the song ‘Empire State of Mind’ sung by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. The food that my friends cooked or bought was on par to that in the Caribbean. It seemed like a home from home to the Trinidadian community there.

Lovely Busker at Foulton Station.
Rockaway Boulevard overhead tracks.
PTO – Poem on a Metroline Ticket.
Grand Central Station.

Day Five – After a fleeting visit on the bus to the Museum of Modern Art and a walk to Central Park, I was excited to dedicate some time to seeing the park and to having a Hot Dog! The park was created for the public health and wellbeing for the residents of the city. It is also fascinating to see in the BBC Two documentary the number of animal and plants species that have to be cared for and the enormous amount of work that needs to be carried out to maintain a park that size. The park is beautiful with lush green trees, picnic areas, street entertainers, space etc. I particularly liked the ‘Literary Walk’ with statues of favourite dead people such as Christopher Columbus, William Shakespeare and Robert Burns. The park is too big to see even in one day, but it is a must to see the contrast between the green spaces and the skyscrapers that surround it.  I also had a Hot Dog by the famous Nathan Hot Dog company, as recommended by one of the park guides.

Central Park meets city skyscrapers.
Robert Burns statue.
Shakespeare in Literary Walk.
Fountain in Central Park.

Later that day we took a train to Mount Vernon in Westchester County, which passed through Harlem and over the Hudson River. I couldn’t help thinking of the negative reputation the Bronx had in the past, but ironically and more positively the music, dance (e.g. Harlem Shuffle and Break Dancing) and art that it inspires. Apparently it is still a place of contrasting communities with gentrification creeping into areas that were once neglected parts of Harlem. On arrival in Mount Vernon on the other hand, it seemed more affluent and picturesque. The best of both worlds, it is not far from Manhattan and within reach to the city for commuters.

Nathan’s Hot Dog in Central Park.
Street Art – Love.
Summer Blooms – Mount Kernon.

Day Six – I had also dedicated a day to shopping at Macy’s. It was nice to spend quality time with my mother shopping. I didn’t go on a silly spending spree but it was still kind of my mother to buy me a dress in the summer sale. It was interesting to see a ‘sale checker’ in Macy’s. I haven’t seen this facility for shoppers anywhere before. It was great for checking prices when items get mixed up or are reduced further in the sales. It was also nice of the sales staff to offer us the Charity Weekend Card at $5.00, which allowed us to have a further 25% off the price of purchases. I was really pleased with the final sales and discounted prices. So the New York shopping sales is not a myth, even with the current sterling to US dollar exchange rate.

Macy’s.
Price Checkers in Macy’s.
My lovely mother and I.

I rarely use Taxis in London, but I used the iconic Yellow Taxis with my mother. There were lots of them around, reasonably priced compared to London and are frequently used in Manhattan. The fierce competition between Uber and these traditional taxis on the road is also mentioned in the BBC Two documentary.

I also liked the SMART City initiatives and innovations I saw such as the street platforms for checking your ‘on the go’ connections, device charging points etc. There are also digital boards to keep New Yorkers and neighbourhoods informed.

SMART Dining at Newark Airport.
Digital City.

The most negative aspect of the visit was the high quantity of homeless people in the city. Sadly, homelessness is everywhere in First and Third World countries. But I hope that they are cared for by the organisations responsible everywhere, especially in countries with cold winters.

On reflection, New York is one of those places where you just have to visit! I imagine it will be interesting whatever time of year you want to go, and there are many museums and shopping that would be better in the colder seasons. It is still one of the world’s greatest cities, and I hope to visit it again another time to have another bite of that Big Apple.

Eye-catching Street Art for All

Published on by Seema RampersadLeave a comment

In recent years, there has been an explosion of colour and creativity with eye-catching street art across the globe. I have had an appreciation of this art form for a long time as it is usually thought provoking, skilful and beautiful. This probably stems from seeing the cult hip-hop and rap movie ‘Wild Style’ set in New York in the early 1980s. Do look at the introduction to the film to understand how this stayed with me. Graffiti on underground trains were one of the first types of graffiti street art, tags, murals, stencils etc. When I moved to London there were a few to be seen, but certainly there have been an increase in the visual landscape in parts of London and other parts of the world I have visited recently.

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Cult Film ‘Wild Style’.

Graffiti and street art are not a new phenomenon. As with ancient civilisations, humans were writing on walls to decorate them, convey messages and for pure art. In Pompeii, we have seen evidence that graffiti was written on the walls in what would have been a bustling city. In the brothels, there were graphic drawings on the walls on the types of services that were available. There are parts of the world where art must have been drawn on walls or caves with primitive instruments.

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Graffiti in Pompeii.

In recent years, there have been real stories of how street art has moved from a covert hobby to a legitimate art form. Whilst researching the topic I found the article ‘The Law of Banksy: Who owns Street Art’ in University of Chicago Law Review by Peter N Salib, who goes into the details of street art for its social value and benefits to the community. He also discusses the financial and commercial value of street art to communities. The rights of property and creative intellectual property rights of the artists are explained in depth.

Banksy is a world-renowned artist, and so he has been keen to give voice to a world that is at times – unfair, corrupt and downright self-destructive. I love it when he collaborates anonymously and supports causes that make me think, shakes up the status quo, or that which is simply sublime. I have only seen a couple of his works close up. One of those was in Tottenham, where the artwork on the wall was removed and sold off for a large profit. I guess that is just the way of the world.

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Banksy’s ‘No Ball Games’ Street Art before it was removed in Tottenham.

There are many street artists doing this across the world as you may have noticed on social media. The Berlin Wall and Belfast have been galleries for fabulous street art and graffiti – that have changed the narrative of their recent darker past. I haven’t visited these two cities but their street art culture is very much an attraction and a valid reason for me to want to visit these cities one day.

The Berlin Wall and Belfast have been galleries for fabulous street art and graffiti – that have changed the narrative of their recent darker past. …On global street art.

I particularly like the German street artist Alias too, as a few years ago we had one of his thought-provoking calendars. I actually got excited at the beginning of each month to see what he had to offer as we turned the page each month in the calendar. To see if his art has the same affect on you – see his website for some of his street art!

The best way to see street art is to get out and take a walk. If you would like an informed guide, tours are available in clusters of London. A couple of years ago Rachel Kolsky, of Go London Tours, gave members of SLA Europe a walking tour of the East End of London. It was an added benefit to stumble across all the street art near Brick Lane. You can see the photos here on SLA Europe’s Flickr account.

Ramones in New York.
Angel in Rome.
Upmarket in Venice.
Wall of a Power Station in Trinidad.

In Hoxton, Shoreditch and Dalston in London – I usually have to glance at the magnificent artwork as I drive through the city. However, I have been specifically on my own walks to look and photograph street art. The whole creative energy and regeneration of the area has taken place for over a period of 16 years. I have seen changes from edgy rundown buildings to current hip venues and offices. The hoarding boards come in handy to create street art, but there are also many building walls with street art in a concentrated area.

Kingsland High Road.
Old Street.
Shoreditch.
Kingsland High Road.

There are many other remarkable areas of street art – such as Camden, Hackney, Islington, along the River Lea, and even closer than close, in my neighbourhood in Walthamstow!

In my neighbourhood, there has been a gradual increase in the number of street art visible around our corner. It is a fact that Walthamstow has seen a lot of regeneration, and the dreaded gentrification (which I am all for!). But also the new street art has created genuine community interest and pride in our environment. Wood Street Walls (Twitter @woodstreetwalls)  is based in my area and have worked with local businesses and buildings to add community colour, statements, beautification and identity with the local area. I can now walk five minutes to see some amazing artwork outside on walls of local pubs, cafes, shop shutters, parks etc.

Hoe Street, Walthamstow.
Salvation Army wall on Ruby Road, Walthamstow.
Event Venue & Pub on Hoe Street, Walthamstow.
Pub on Forest Road, Walthamstow.

As with most art forms, the community has been great in supporting artists. However funding and space for art works is still lacking, and therefore artists still require the assistance for local and central government. Street Art is fine if the walls are approved but artist also want a space for their art and therefore local authorities should be able to facilitate affordable artist spaces and studios. A couple of business engagement aspects I like are the crowdsourcing campaign by Wood Street Wall for the residents to ‘Pick Their Pattern’ of an image of William Morris that they wished to be painted on a wall near the William Morris Gallery. And campaigns that ran to crowdfund for specific art projects.

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Completed William Morris crowdsourced ‘Pick a Pattern’.

If you are without these in your environment – you can get a copy of the book ‘London Graffiti and Street Art’ by Joe Epstein. It contains great photographs of street art across London, but also some inspirational and admirable quotes from street artists and what their art means to them.

One fabulous quote in this book by artist Zaki Dee 163 – The Chrome Angelz/The Others is: “Having been born in London, and grown up here in the 70’s and 80’s, through the 90’s, I was lucky enough to have been involved in, arguably, the three biggest movements of the last 40 or 50 years. From Punk and New Wave, into Hip Hop, through to the House/Rave scenes – and it’s no coincidence that London was at the forefront of all these subs-cultures when they first exploded onto these shores. After all this time, the UK graff scene is still going strong, and in London you can see some of the best work this country has to offer.”

It is fantastic and uplifting to see street art in clusters, isolated or even in the most unexpected places. They are a joy to behold! And just to keep us hooked…street art changes over time, and so it is worth going back occasionally to see new displays that are freely available to us all.