Meandering thoughts - Sita Sreeraman

A beautiful sunny day yesterday, so we ventured out to the park. It was delightful seeing so many people and squirrels, geese, pigeons, robins etc... almost like everyone wanted a bit of sunshine.. We were all basking. The daffodils were beautiful, the way the flowers can only shine (almost with an ethereal aura) when sunlight dances on them, so bright and yellow.. I came back home and read my favourite poem by Wordswoth. Wordsworth saw these flowers in the wild in the Lake District, a very scenic place indeed, full of mountains and hills and lakes. I leave you to read and enjoy the poem ... I wandered lonely as a Cloud That floats on high o'er Vales and Hills, When all at once I saw a crowd A host of dancing Daffodils; Along the Lake, beneath the trees, Ten thousand dancing in the breeze. The waves beside them danced, but they Outdid the sparkling waves in glee: -- A poet could not but be gay In such a laughing company: I gazed -- and gazed -- bu...

The sun descended bright and shiny last Saturday and what a glorious day it was indeed, especially coming after a 6 week long spell of cloudy and rainy, cold and wet weather. We decided to make the most of this glorious sunshine by making a trip to Greenwich or Grenich as it is locally called. The visit involves a tube ride to Embankment (we lived in Bayswater at that time) and then a boat ride across the Thames to Greenwich Pier. The boat takes in many sights of London's skyline - the London Eye, The Royal Festival Hall, London bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, O2 center and other buildings. If you are lucky, you get to see the Tower Bridge open up and lift its two forks to let a tall ship pass. Greenwich is famous for the 0 degree longitude. In addition, it is home to London's only Planetarium- the Peter Harrison Planetarium as it is called. I was as excited as my young son and really looked forward to seeing the planets, stars etc. I told him stories of gian...

I was reading Nelson Mandela's A Long Road to Freedom. After his 27 year long imprisonment, when Madela visited his home town, he was dismayed to see plastic bags and litter, spoiling this once serene hometown. And he mentions how he went away before plastics and when he came back it was shocking to find this new thing and to see it littered pretty much everywhere. How did this happen - how did we let this little(convenient) monster in? Before plastics became mainstay: Milk was delivered to the doorstep in bottles or one collected it from a common collection center. Yogurt was/is made at home, so yogurt pots are not a menace. One carried bags to the grocery stores, and whatever was needed was packed in Paper and coir thread. For oil, one took steel containers. No shampoo, cosmetics in plastic Soap came in bars wrapped in paper. No diapers, baby food, buggies No restaurant take-ways in plastic. Again one took containers or the food was wrapped in bananan leaf and pap...

1. The only city that has so many lovely parks in prime acerage : Regents Park, Green park, St.James Park, Hampstead Heath 2. The lovely museums - National Gallery, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum(V&A), Natural History Museum.. all free to boot 3. Thames and the Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament - what a view 4. Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: the National Trust, a charity has identified and preserved many areas of outstanding beauty 5. The local libraries especially in London, brimming with books of all genres and the reference sections filled with so many newspapers. 6. The newspapers: Guardian, Observer and The Independent - the best journalism and reporting in the world - Fleet Street at its best sans personal judgement and prejudice! 7. The city that is a pedestrian delight - lovely areas to walk by! 8. The small circular tablets on buildings - indicating their hsitorical signifance eg. The one on the wall of St.Mary's Hospiatl, Paddington where penicillin ...

When I first came to London, I wondered what the Christmas fuss was all about. Beginning October and November, the stores all got decked up in Christmas finery and look grand, colourful and inviting. The High Street (main street in each area) and other important streets like Oxford Street, Regents Street, Bond Street etc get decked up in colourful lights and look festive. And Christmas carols fill the air - Jingle Bells and others. There is a change in mood, people are thinking of gifts to buy, family get togethers, family dinners and churches. And homes and shops sport Christmas trees- the evergreen pine with a tangy turpentine smell and a conical shape, colourfully lit with lovely baubles and decorations. The local flower stores all begin to stock Christmas trees, sometimes the Farmer’s Market does some and in the weeks leading to Christmas, you sometimes find trees for Sale on the Pavements near the Underground tube stations. Last year plastic black Christmas trees were the fad, thi...

When I first came to London and had yet to find a job, Sekar suggested I do some volunteering work. This would help me network and interact with people. One day as Narayan and I were coming back from Waitrose our local grocers, a ‘Volunteers Urgently Needed’ board caught my attention. So we walked towards it and I found a notice that said “The Oxfam Book Shop needs volunteers urgently”. So the next day without much confidence, I walked into the shop and asked to see the Manager. Martin Penny the Manager said I was welcome and gave me a form to fill. He explained I would work on replacing books in the shelves and I could do either mornings or afternoons (10 to 2) and (2-6) on weekdays or 12-5 on Sundays. I went back on Monday at 10:15 and Martin showed me and another volunteer called Naila around. He showed us the different sections in the bookstore and the basement where the books were stored and sorted. He showed us how to price the books and how they need to be organized on the book-...