The Fabric of Society

It's been an eventful few weeks since my last post. I've been to Edinburgh Fringe - highly recommended by the way - and returned home to find London in turmoil, ripping itself to pieces. Like many Londoners I've been watching the news and worrying as police sirens whiz past. So far, touch wood, where I live has been relatively unaffected by the riots. Thanks, at least in part I like to think, to the sense of community here. London is infamous for being a lonely place if you want it to be, despite the great number of people. In Shepherds Bush ignoring your neighbours is made that much harder by the people that live here. Walking down Uxbridge Road you will get nodded to and smiled at by the characters in the shops, even in the middle of Ramadan when many are understandably a bit more grumpy than usual!

This Saturday's Bush Festival on the Green promises to be riotous celebration of the different communities which make up the cultural melting pot which is the Bush. And, as you know from my previous post, wor Claire is running a stall with our friend Mel selling knitting and other homecrafts. Tonight I was recruited to take some photos of the goods on offer so I will give you a sneak preview of what you can get your hands on...

I'm sure these items will go down a storm in our close-knit community, but just in case you're wavering; if you turn up early enough Claire has promised to knit readers of my blog mice to order in colours of their choice! Huzzah. The stallholders will also be bringing along spare knitting needles if you want some tips or just to sit down and enjoy a natter and a knit in between all the other fun activities.

Other ongoings at the festival include:

• Face Painting
• Live Music
• Dance lessons
• Other craft stalls
• Capoeria
• Drum workshops

and many more... (see http://www.bushfestival.org/)

Well guess what I was promised in exchange for taking some photos? Mel's  speciality-Jerk Chicken!

And as many of you know, Shepherds Bush is renowned for the quality of the Carribean food available here and I will certainly be having some Jerk Chicken on Saturday at the festival! If I can get one of the guys serving food at the festival to share their recipe, well, I might even post it on here in future. See you on Saturday!