2023年02月20日

Street art in Pakistan

IMG_1110.jpegIMG_1112.jpegIMG_1113.jpegIMG_1117.jpegIMG_1140.jpegIMG_1142.jpegI hope that you are all keeping well, goodness me the cold weather continues for you it seems endless. Well in England the valentines paraphernalia has been supplanted by Easter. The herald of Easter is pancake day which is 21/2/23. There was an article in the newspaper about a man in Shropshire, who had stolen over £30,000 worth of Easter eggs mostly small cream ones. He was dubbed the Easter bunny by the police. What was truly bazaar was he put them on a trailer highly visible stolen goods!
In my local convenience store there’s a really lovely young woman she’s originally from Pakistan. She talks to me about what she misses from her county; food smells beautiful scenery. I had a pretty limited knowledge of Pakistan, mostly derogatory so I did a bit of research. Pakistan has a very diverse landscape, beautiful scenery ranging from the Himalayas to forests and the Himalayan salt mines.
 Karachi is the most densely populated in Pakistan. But there is something called truck art, brightening the streets and providing cheer by bringing colour to the urban grind.
People spend thousands of pounds on getting their trucks decorated. The trucks are known as Chaltihui Duhan which translates as moving brides. Truck art decorates all modes of transport including rickshaws boats and buses.
The art includes many designs; floral, patterns and political slogans. Acrylic paint is used and other materials, no 2 vehicles are the same. They are moving works of art they are also important in other ways. They play a role in raising awareness about the many things including the importance of education for girls.
One of the most renowned artists in this art form is Haider Ali. He paints a wide range of objects the most famous being the Nike sneakers. I'd love a pair.
Pakistan also has many wonderful birds, a very colourful chap is the strawberry finch. The males usually a brownish colour, become bright red with markings like the ones on a strawberry when they want to attract a mate. Nature can not be surpassed.
Bloggers I wish you all a good week over and out London.







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posted by MateoES at 23:16| diary

2023年02月12日

Love light and fun

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Hello I hope you are all keeping well, I saw the snow returned I do hope that it ceases soon.
In London shops are revving up for another celebration Valentine’s Day, roses chocolates and meal deals proliferate the shops. However the Animal Welfare department in the Indian government has taken a somewhat different approach to Valentine’s celebrations. They are promoting the concept of make the day a hug a cow day. They are aiming to promote Hindu values, and oppose the western way of celebrating. The cow is revered by Hindus, and the department is saying hugging a cow will bring emotional richness and collective happiness. Who knows? I won’t be able to test this theory.
I saw a fantastic article about a project called a Litre of light has as a Solution. They have come up with a cheap way of lighting up homes. An upcycled plastic bottle water and bleach placed on a roof can provide light. The light refracts from outside to inside. It sounds almost too good to be true, but it is. The concept is being used in South East Asia and South Africa. The project was given an award by the World Habitat. A small amount of bleach is used to prevent mould in the bottle. To enable the bottle to provide light at night a small LED light is used along with micro solar panels. It benefits people and our environment what a magnificent idea.
Meanwhile in Yorkshire a fun day at the races can be had, not horse racing ferret racing. A publican in Yorkshire had the idea and the day of racing began in 1978. More than fifty ferrets will participate in group and individual events. Ferrets were bred as working animals to track rabbits and rats. Apparently they are very talented they like dancing and socialising. Personally I’d rather a cat.
I was sad to hear about the death of Burt Bacarat. Lots of his songs have been played on the radio in memory of him. I was amazed at what a huge range of musical genres his songs covered. So many brilliant songs one of my favourites and in my opinion necessary currently is, What the world needs now is love.
So bloggers have a good week over and out London.



















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posted by MateoES at 00:18| diary

2023年02月05日

The value of a count

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Hi bloggers I hope that you are all keeping well and warm. London is still cold but today is a lovely day sunny and bright. Last weekend in the UK people were invited to participate in a bird count. They were asked to observe how many birds and species they saw either in their garden or outside their window. Sadly the UK has lost 38 million birds over the last fifty years. There’s a red list of birds who are in danger of extinction, so these counts are very important as experts can see what’s happening. Dedicated conservationists have been able to save species by planning and creating special habitats. That’s encouraging.
The most common bird currently is the wren. These are adorable little birds. The result of this years count will be published after 19th February. I’ll let you know.
Selfies are very popular with some people but I was delighted to see that a bear in the USA seems to have developed a taste for a selfie. The curios bear stumbled upon a wildlife camera she triggered hundreds of selfies. I particularly liked her three quarter pose, perhaps a new career in modelling.
I really think some Ancient proverbs are so incredibly wise and so relevant let’s hope people take heed.
Have a good week over and out London.








Sent from my iPad
posted by MateoES at 23:37| diary