PLAN FOR TWO-DAY FESTIVAL UNVEILED

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Plan for two-day festival unveiled

by Dan Martin

Organised by Leicester City Council, it will be an amalgamation of celebrations already held in the city, as well as a number of new events.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "For the first time, we are bringing together a lot of separate events which will effectively double the size of the celebrations across the city.

"If it proves a success, as I am sure it will, we will look to make it a bigger and even better event last year."

The idea was conceived last year as part of a city council review of festival funding.

This year, the budget has been cut from £366,500 to £308,500 and will fall to £288,500 in 2014.

The events making up the City Festival will be mostly free and the mayor hopes it will become an annual event to bolster Leicester's bid to become UK City of Culture in 2017.

Humberstone Gate West and Gallowtree Gate will host the eighth annual Sports Fest on the Sunday, with coaching sessions on offer in basketball, football and boxing.

There will also be live music and dance, including Chinese dragon dancing.

On the Sunday, from 11am to 4pm many city streets will be shut so cyclists can take part in the annual Sky Ride.

On the same day the market will host Our Leicester Day, a celebration of the city's community groups, clubs and societies.

On Bank Holiday Monday, the city's history will be celebrated with the Old Town Festival at Magazine Square, Newark Houses Museum and Leicester Castle. There will be medieval re-enactments, the opening up of historic buildings and a food fair.

Leicester Mela, traditionally held in July, has been moved to the Monday and will take place around the Clock Tower with a Bollywood and Bhangra celebration of South Asian culture.

Town Hall Square will host the Journeys Festival over two days. Involving art, drama, music and poetry from refugees, it will tour the East Midlands.

Finally Orton Square, outside Curve theatre , will host End of Pier Delights on Sunday and Monday. It will be a seaside celebration for youngsters.

http://www.visitleicester.info/cityfestival/

DELIGHT AS RIAZ GIVEN HONOUR

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury: 

 

Delight as Riaz given honour

A charity working to strengthen interfaith relations has congratulated a member of staff who has received a major award from De Montfort University.

The director of St Philip's Centre, The Rev Canon Dr John Hall, expressed delight after Riaz Ravat, deputy director of the centre was honoured as Alumnus of the Year. He accepted the award at a graduation ceremony at Curve.

UK CANDIDATE CITY OF CULTURE 2017 BID DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP

At Curve (Rehearsal Room 3, to be precise) this morning, attending Leicester UK Candidate City of Culture 2017 Bid Development Workshop.

The groups working on different aspects of the final bid are well represented here today, sharing ideas, strengthening team spirit, consolidating our unity of purpose. The meeting is opened by City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby and led by members of the team responsible for writing the final bid.

There's an impressive level of commitment, creativity and inventiveness among all those present, reflecting a palpable sense of engagement, enthusiasm and interest among an increasing number of people from all walks of life in the city and county.

In one of the breaks I speak briefly with the Mayor about the article in the Independent on Sunday's New Review, which included a few comments from him. He was happy with it - and particularly pleased to see Leicester described as "the most diverse city on the planet"! Several other people mention the article, all of them saying that as well as being a good thing in its own right, it will surely boost our UK City of Culture 2017 bid.

CREATIVE COFFEE LEICESTER, 31 JULY 2013

At Phoenix this morning, for the regular fortnightly meeting of Creative Coffee Leicester. I've been unable to attend the last three sessions (since 5 June) so am glad to be here today - although I can only stay for the first hour.

I'm pleasantly surprised to see Julie-Ann and Barry Heath here. I'd be pleased to see them here any time, of course, but it's especially the case since I'd been with them at Cathedral AM hardly an hour-and-a-half before. Julie-Ann is in her civvies, here to follow up on a recent exhibition of her art at LCB Depot.

I meet, for the first time, Hannah Patterson, presenter and voiceover artist fort TV, radio and the web. Hannah used to work at BBC Radio Leicester. I mention about occasionally having been on the station, doing things like Thought for the Day from time to time. Hardly do I say this when my iphone rings. It's John Florance, from BBC Radio Leicester, asking me to come in to the studio and record a Thought for the Day!

That's Hannah on the right in the photo above, with Michael Tedstone, composer and musician, one of the regulars at Creative Coffee Leicester.

Just before 1100 I dash round to Curve, for a workshop for members of all those working on Leicester's bid to be declared UK City of Culture 2017.

MY CRAZY WEEK: GET READY FOR AN INDIAN SUMMER

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Bipin Anand

My crazy week: get ready for An Indian Summer

Monday: It begins on the back of four hours' sleep for the third day in a row – a whole lot of coffee and the excitement of the impending An Indian Summer (AIS) festival will keep me going, writes Bipin Anand.

After gulping my coffee, I head to the Curve theatre to run through the 20-odd AIS activities they will be hosting from June 27 to 30.

I grab a quick lunch on the mad dash back to the office where there are e-mails to be answered and social media to update. I attend a daily festival team meeting in the afternoon and then head back to the office and catch up with the leaflet and event guide distribution team.

Tuesday: Another early start. I do an interview on Tommy Sandhu's Breakfast Show on BBC Asian Network, meet with local car park owners to organise parking for An Indian Summer artists and continue inviting people from the UK/Europe to An Indian Summer, which is now just nine days away.

Soon it's 5pm and I realise I've forgotten to have lunch and grab a quick sandwich. I fire off a few e-mails, plough through paperwork and finally go home exhausted – at 10.30pm. I sign off after midnight, even with the buzz of the festival I just can't work anymore.

Wednesday: Arriving at the office I find three team members already there hard at work, everyone's so excited, it's a great atmosphere!The morning is spent setting up interviews with Pukaar News before a lunch meeting with AIS project and event managers Swati and Jiten.

The team is buzzing with the announcement that Leicester has made the final four of the City of Culture finalists! I pop over to the University of Leicester to run through details of their involvement in the AIS launch, meet with Phoenix's CEO to run through details for next year's AIS, and confirm transport for tabla artist Mayur Narvekar (arriving by flight from India) is all good for the following day.

Thursday: I'm jolted awake with a mixture of nerves and excitement at the realisation that there is now just one week to go. I have a meeting with AIS media team coordinator, Simon Aitchison, a health and safety walk through with my brother and event manager Jiten.

Lunch is delivered by my wonderful mum on her way to work. I edit video footage, help with leaflet distribution and attend a meeting with the manager of Chutney Ivy to discuss our launch – in aid of Unique Homes for Girls – next Wednesday. A break is much-needed so I switch off my phone and sneak off to catch a movie at Phoenix.

Friday: After a jog and meditation session, I am fired up and ready for the day ahead. I'm greeted by Gurdeep, AIS's creative director, and the decoration team – they will be putting into action the AIS decoration plan as of today. I attend the City of Culture team meeting as one of the executive board members of the bid team. A day of meetings, run-throughs with the team follow before I pack up slightly early, head home and put my feet up – an awesome feeling.

Bipin Anand is festival director of An Indian Summer, from June 27-30 in Leicester's Cultural Quarter

FAITH AWARENESS SUMMER VISITS: ISLAM INFORMATION CENTRE

Some of the group at the Islam Information Centre this evening

The Faith Awareness series of summer visits to places of worship and other faith-related sites in Leicester continues this evening at the Islam Information Centre, Highfield Street. As well being contracted to work 20 hours a week for Leicester Council of Faiths, I now do a day and a half a week with Faith Awareness, the inter-faith programme of Christians Aware.

I was last here less than a week ago, helping out with a group of Year 5 pupils from Sandfield Close Primary on a visit arranged in association with The Mighty Creatives. The children had cameras, digital voice recorders and all kinds of art materials, to capture their experiences and impressions visiting not only here, but also the Jain Centre, Leicester Cathedral and BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir. Back in the classroom they'll be producing material for a display entitled "Faith in Neighbours" that will be on show in Curve during An Indian Summer later this month.

I'm glad to say that we have the biggest turnout so far for these Monday evening visits, with an even dozen of us at the start. Had any more arrived, the group would have had to be renamed "Christians Galore"!

Each of the three floors in the Centre has themed rooms. The ground floor and reception area is "Discover Islam". On the first floor are two rooms, "Status of Women" and "Islamic World of Science". In the last of these, we watch a short DVD feature, Library of Secrets, starring Sir Ben Kingsley, which reveals some of the contributions that Islam has made to some of the most essential aspects of the modern world. We're introduced to illustrious figures from the Golden Age of Muslim civilization (roughly coinciding with what is still called the Dark Ages in European history) who pushed back the frontiers of theory and practice in matters such as

• astronomy (Meriam al-Astrulabi, 10th century CE)
• mathematics (Al Kindi, c 801-873 CE)
• manned flight (Abbas Ibn Firnas, 810-887 CE)
• mechanics (Al-Jazari, 1136-1206 CE)
• optics (Ibn al-Haytham, AKA Alhazen, 965-1040 CE)
• surgery (Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi 956-1013 CE).

This is very well made, à la Harry Potter: accessible, enjoyable and interesting for children and adults alike.

I remember when I first heard about characters such as these and their achievements, the glories of the Golden Age of Muslim civilization and how much that magnificent culture has bequeathed to our modern world. That was in 1979, when I was 19 years old. I was astonished at what I learned then and questioned why I hadn't known any of this before. How could I have gone through a liberal educational process, the finest that the Scottish system - long the envy of much of the rest of the world - had to offer, yet been taught nothing about this? Did my teachers even know about these things? Did those who had taught them? I felt like I uncovered these hidden truths, which are now gaining ground as common knowledge, through the writings of William Sears and George Townshend, little known apologists for what was a little known faith in my late teenage years. Sometimes it felt like being a detective or lifting the lid on a conspiracy theory as I found out more and more. It's good that institutions such as the Islam Information Centre exist today to redress the balance and close some of these yawning gaps in our knowledge.

Kamran Qayyuam & Abu Bakar

Kamran Qayyum and Abu Bakar are our guides through the rooms. They're supported by Daud Sameja (Joint Coordinator of the Christian-Muslim Dialogue Group), who gives a short introductory talk and fields the Q&A at the end. In the photo above, Kamran and Abu are seen with a display of copies of the Qur’án in different languages. To the left of the picture are translations of the Qur’án in Albanian, Chinese, French and German; to the right, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil and Urdu translations. This in "The Noble Qur’án" room, one of the two themed rooms on the top floor. The other is dedicated to a display on "The Prophets of God (Peace Be Upon Them)".

After we've toured the themed rooms, we return to the reception area, where some food is laid on for us. We end with a relaxed Q&A and I present Kamran with a copy of Meeting Muslims, the latest in a series of books on encounters with people of different faiths published by Christians Aware. I checked beforehand that they didn't already have a copy of this. They didn't, surprisingly, since it was done with the help of several friends in Leicester (including Daud) and is published by an inter-faith organization based a mere stone's throw away. I'm glad to be able to rectify that omission this evening.

I get the remaining members of the group to pose for a photo at the front of the building. As we're leaving, I encourage our Muslim friends to join us on the visit to Neve Shalom - Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation's synagogue - next Monday evening. I hope that some of them will be able to take us up on the offer.

This is the fourth of six Faith Awareness visits planned for Monday evenings in May and June, the others being

• Jain Centre, Oxford Street (13 May)
• All Saints Church, Kerrysdale Avenue (20 May)
• BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gipsy Lane (3 June)
• Neve Shalom Progressive Synagogue, Avenue Road (17 June)
• Guru Amar Das Gurdwara, Clarendon Park Road (24 June)

I may not be ale to attend every visit personally, but I hope to arrange for a blog post on each of them. Watch this space!

SANDFIELD CLOSE PRIMARY PUPILS VISIT ISLAM INFORMATION CENTRE

This afternoon I'm at the Islam Information Centre, Highfield Street, helping out with a visit of Year 5 pupils from Sandfield Close Primary.

This is the last of four visits in two days to local places of worship, arranged in association with The Mighty Creatives (a charity based in Leicester's LCB Depot, working across the East Midlands to champion young people's creativity and innovation).

The group is kitted out with cameras of different kinds (for stills and video), digital voice recorders and good old fashioned paper, pens, pencils and crayons. Artwork that the children produce as an outcome of their visits will be on display under the title, "Faith in Neighbours" in the Mezzanine at Curve as part of An Indian Summer later this month.

Each of the three floors in the Centre has themed rooms. The ground floor and reception area is "Discover Islam". On the first floor are two rooms, "Status of Women" and "Islamic World of Science". In Science room, we watch a short multi-award winning DVD feature, Library of Secrets, starring Sir Ben Kingsley, which reveals some of the contributions that Islam has made to essential aspects of our modern world. This is very well made, à la Harry Potter: accessible, enjoyable and interesting for children and adults alike.

Our guides today are Kamran Qayyum and Abu Bakar. In the photo below, they're standing with a display of copies of the Qur’án in different languages. To the left of the picture are translations of the Qur’án in Albanian, Chinese, French and German; to the right, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil and Urdu translations. I took this photo last week, when visiting with the chldren from Sandfield Close Primary, but it's such a good one that I make no apology for using it again. This is taken in "The Noble Qur’án" room, one of the two themed rooms on the top floor. The other is dedicated to a display on "The Prophets of God (Peace Be Upon Them)".

Kamran Qayyuam & Abu Bakar

I've met Abu and Kamran separately before but this is the first time I've seen them work together. I have to say that they make an effective double act. They have a great rapport with the children and generate a good deal of fun and laughter during their presentation. The kids clearly enjoy their short visit here and it's hard to get them back on the coach when it's time to leave.

This morning we were at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gipsy Lane. Yesterday morning we were at the Jain Centre, Oxford Street; yesterday afternoon, Leicester Cathedral. It's been great working with these ten children, whose energy, engagement and enthusiasm has remained at the same high level from first to last. It's also been a pleasure to spend time with Asha Sodha and Raksha Patel, who have accompanied the children. Raksha is a PTA member and volunteer on school activities. Asha is a Teaching Assistant and Secretary of the PTA. She also works as part of Nupur Arts Dance Academy, which took part in the recent Spark Festival and will be involved in An Indian Summer at the end of the month. I've also been glad of the chance to work alongside "G" too. It's hard to pull of that look of wearing a bunnet indoors, but he manages it with style.

I'll be coming back to the Islam Information Centre on Monday evening (10 June) with a group of adult visitors for one of Christians Aware's Faith Awareness summer visits. I'm looking forward to that already!

SANDFIELD CLOSE PRIMARY PUPILS VISIT SWAMINARAYAN MANDIR

This morning I'm at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gipsy Lane, helping out with a visit of Year 5 pupils from Sandfield Close Primary. I arrive here hotfoot from BBC Radio Leicester, where I was recording a Thought for the Day earlier this morning (a Bahá'í comment on the upcoming G8 Summit in Northern Ireland).

This is the third of four visits in two days to local places of worship, arranged in association with The Mighty Creatives (a charity based in Leicester's LCB Depot, working across the East Midlands to champion young people's creativity and innovation).

The group is kitted out with cameras of different kinds (for stills and video), digital voice recorders and good old fashioned paper, pens, pencils and crayons. Artwork that the children produce as an outcome of their visits will be on display under the title, "Faith in Neighbours" in the Mezzanine at Curve as part of An Indian Summer later this month.

Our host today, Dipak Kalyan, wastes no time in getting us started on the guided tour. Photography and video recording is not permitted anywhere inside the mandir, so the children get the chance to do more drawing and sketching here than at the other venues.

One interesting topic that comes to the surface this morning is the symbolism of colours. Orange robes on statues of spiritual enlightened figures signify the fire that burns away worldly attachment, for example. We relate this to the bright red jumpers of the children's school uniform. Why is their top red, when other schools have other colours? How does it make Sandfield Close stand out? Does it make them different from other schools which have other colours? Does it make them better than other schools to be red?

A little correspondence that strikes a chord is when Dipak mentions about there being 108 beads on the rosary that devotees use, representing 108 names of God. There's a show on Cartoon Network called Hero 108 that might be said to draw on some themes of spirituality, oneness and the conflict between humankind and nature, which are not out of place with the kind of things we learn in the mandir today.

One of the children asks why we should remove our shoes in the mandir. Dipak starts with the standard answer, about not bringing (literal and metaphorical) dirt from the outside world into a sacred place. then he says that it's also because shoes are normally made of leather, which comes from a dead animal and we shouldn't bring that before the deities. Now, goodness knows how many times I've come into a place of worship and removed my shoes without thinking beyond the first of these reasons, the most obvious (most superficial?) one. It comes as a bit of a shock to realise that I usually wear a leather jacket and have never thought that I should remove it. Nor has anyone ever asked me to remove it in a place of worship either, I should point out. It's an uncomfortable moment of self realisation and as I speak about this, sharing my thoughts and feelings with the group, Bipin leans over and tugs at the shoulder strap of my leather messenger bag. Now that I know, it would be hard to carry on regardless. Later, someone asks about leather belts. I've never seen anyone remove their trouser belt in a place of worship. This reason for removing your shoes (and possibly other leather or suede items) won't apply in every place of worship of course, but still - food for thought I'm sure you'll agree, faithful reader.

This afternoon the group moves on to the Islam Information Centre, Highfield Street. Yesterday morning we were at the Jain Centre, Oxford Street; yesterday afternoon, Leicester Cathedral.

Our friends at BAPS Shri Swaminarayn Mandir were able to squeeze our group in this morning due to a last minute cancellation. Thanks to Narendra and Dipak for doing that.

SANDFIELD CLOSE PRIMARY PUPILS VISIT LEICESTER CATHEDRAL

This afternoon I'm at Leicester Cathedral, helping out with a visit of Year 5 pupils from Sandfield Close Primary.

This is the second of four visits in two days to local places of worship, arranged in association with The Mighty Creatives (a charity based in Leicester's LCB Depot, working across the East Midlands to champion young people's creativity and innovation).

The group is kitted out with cameras of different kinds (for stills and video), digital voice recorders and good old fashioned paper, pens, pencils and crayons. Artwork that the children produce as an outcome of their visits will be on display under the title, "Faith in Neighbours" in the Mezzanine at Curve as part of An Indian Summer later this month.

We weren't expecting the services of a guide (so I've spent some time boning up on what I think the children need to know, including spending an hour yesterday afternoon, during which time I had useful chats with the Dean and Verger) but I'm glad to say that we do have one after all. Bev Farrand is on volunteer duty here today and she steps forward to give us her time and the benefit of her knowledge. Much appreciated, Bev!

A few of the boys venture outside with a very expensive camera, so I keep tabs on them. While I'm doing that, I notice a woman is standing nearby, gazing quizzically at me. I don't recognise her, but return her smile. She comes over and asks if I'm George Ballentyne. When I reply that I am and ask if we've met before, she says we haven't, but she recognises me from my brief appearance last week on East Midlands Today. I wonder if this is how Matt Smith feels! As I often do when taken by surprise, I make an incongruous remark: "I've trimmed my eyebrows since then", I say.

This morning we were at the Jain Centre, Oxford Street. Tomorrow morning we'll be visiting BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gipsy Lane; in the afternoon, the Islam Information Centre, Highfield Street.

SANDFIELD CLOSE PRIMARY PUPILS VISIT JAIN CENTRE

This morning I'm at the Jain Centre, Oxford Street, helping out with a visit of Year 5 pupils from Sandfield Close Primary.

This is the first of four visits in two days to local places of worship, arranged in association with The Mighty Creatives (a charity based in Leicester's LCB Depot, working across the East Midlands to champion young people's creativity and innovation).

The group is kitted out with cameras of different kinds (for stills and video), digital voice recorders and good old fashioned paper, pens, pencils and crayons. Artwork that the children produce as an outcome of their visits will be on display under the title, "Faith in Neighbours" in the Mezzanine at Curve as part of An Indian Summer later this month.

This afternoon the group moves on to Leicester Cathedral. Tomorrow morning we'll be visiting BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gipsy Lane; in the afternoon, the Islam Information Centre, Highfield Street.

FESTIVAL TIME FOR VENUES

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury (but not on its webiste).

Festival time for venues

Leicester's Cultural Quarter will host An Indian Summer Festival when it returns to the city next month.

The festival - which attracted 3,500 visitors last year - will run from Thursday, June 27, to Sunday, June 30. Film festivals, workshops, performances and Indian stalls will be held at venues including Curve, the LCB Depot and Phoenix Square.

Phoenix, which will screen Indian films including Zanjeer, Barfi and Midnight's Children.

www.indiansummer.org.uk

BACKING BID TO BE CULTURE CITY

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Backing bid to be culture city

by Alan Thompson

More than 150 people representing businesses and organisations answered mayor Sir Peter Soulsby's call to get behind Leicester's UK City of Culture bid.

In two briefing sessions at Curve this week, Sir Peter and his bid team told representatives of business, arts, faith and other organisations involved in the cultural life of the city about the latest stage of the bid.

Leicester is seeking to become the UK City of Culture in 2017.

The city's initial bid will be submitted on April 30 and the final entry in September.

At least £10 million will be needed to stage a UK City of Culture programme, according to the Government.

Leicester is one of 11 areas hoping to successfully bid for the title, held by Londonderry, in Northern Ireland.

Neil Peterson, one of the bid writers told the audience: "When Liverpool was European Capital of Culture, £120 million was spent over five years. It brought in £800 million in additional economic benefits.

"People go to places other than Leicester. It isn't as well known for its attributes as it should be. Overall, it has so much to offer. It has an outstanding cultural offer.

"A successful bid could offer significant long-term economic impact."

Artist Ashok Mistry said: "I am born and bred and work in the city. Whatever we put together needs to be artist-led – and from the heart."

George Ballentyne, of Leicester Council of Faiths, said: "I experienced Glasgow as the European City of Culture. It signalled a renaissance of the city which kick-started it as an ongoing city of culture."

Mr Ballentyne, who took his 11-year-old daughter Grace and son Harry, 12, to the meeting, said: "We need to engage people in this age group now and co-opt them in the creative processes. From now until 2017 is a huge gap in the life of a young person."

City councillor Ted Cassidy said: "There is a huge opportunity over the next five years, bringing together grassroots and young artists, people making things happen in the city. Don't let's wait until 2017."

City councillor Susan Barton said: "Leicester is already a city of culture.

"We need to make sure everyone outside Leicester knows about it as well."

"GET BEHIND THE CULTURE CITY ATTEMPT"

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

"Get behind the culture city attempt"

Sir Peter Soulsby has written to more than 350 organisations inviting them to get behind Leicester's bid to become the next UK City of Culture.

The city mayor wants groups and individuals – including all 54 members of the city council – to find out more about the Leicester's bid to succeed current City of Culture Londonderry in 2017, and is holding a briefing session at Curve today.

Sir Peter said: "This is an opportunity for organisations in the city to find out why we decided to bid for the title – and how they can help us to win.

"We'll be explaining what we think the UK City of Culture title could mean for Leicester and discussing some of our initial ideas for the events that could be part of the 2017 programme."

The city's initial bid will be submitted on April 30, and a final bid in September.

If the city is on the shortlist, which will be announced in May or June, many more sessions will be arranged to give as many people as possible the chance to contribute to the bidding process, before the city's final bid is submitted.

CELEBRATING OUR CULTURE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury: 

 

Celebrating our culture

Leicester is to launch an ambitious bid to become the UK's next City of Culture.

The city is hoping its multi-cultural history, track record of staging events such as Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival, Diwali celebrations and the Caribbean Carnival will help it secure the title in 2017.

Its bid will also draw on the recent high-profile discovery of Richard III's bones under a council car park.

Bid organisers hope the role could lead to an influx of tourists generating millions of pounds of wealth for the city. They say Leicester's time as the UK City of Culture would feature a large programme of festivals and participatory events.

Leicester is bidding for the title for 2017 as this is when the 2013 UK City of Culture and inaugural holder – Derry in Northern Ireland – will hand over the honour.

So far rivals include Plymouth and Aberdeen, who have already announced their bids.It is rumoured that Nottingham may also enter the competition.Leicester City Council is pledging £50,000 to cover the initial stage of the bid.

In May or June cities will be short listed and, should Leicester progress, a similar amount would be needed to complete the bid.

Businesses and sponsors are being sought to provide financial backing.

Chief executive of Curve theatre Fiona Allan, who is a member of the consortium planning the city's bid, said: "There would be so many benefits if we won. Firstly, I hope people would feel pride in this city. "To win would show we are confident in our cultural offer. There would be a significant media and tourism knock on.

"We have all the ingredients already.

"Leicester is one of the UK's most culturally diverse and interesting cities."

From our Roman history, medieval growth, industrial prosperity to today welcoming people from all over the world to our diverse and vibrant communities, Leicester has rich stories to tell. The king in the car park is just one of many."

While cultural organisations here like Curve already enjoy a global reputation, with significant investment having been made in Leicester's cultural infrastructure and the development of our creative industries, the time is ripe for Leicester to show its creativity to the world." It would be like the cultural equivalent of the Rugby World Cup." Ms Allan said a program of proposed events would be drawn up. She said: "Leicester is known as a city of festivals and there would be a large programme of festivals. We would want some real showcase events.

In recent years, new events – including Indian Summer, Leicester Fringe, Tales of the Riverside and the Green Light Festival – have appeared on the city's calendar alongside established favourites such as the Caribbean Carnival, Diwali, the Spark Children's Arts Festival and the comedy festival." I think people outside Leicester will be surprised by what we can offer," said Ms Allan.

"We need to change the narrative of the city which has been a bit negative in the past. We really underplay ourselves."

"There would also be participatory activities to get as many people as possible involved."

We don't want to announce too many of our good ideas to rival cities. I am sure we will see more bids coming out of the cupboard in the next few weeks."

Cities vying for the title have until April 30 to submit a bid for consideration by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. 

Leicester's bid will focus on its lively arts scene and highlight the breadth of cultural activity taking place, with workshops in museums and galleries, stand-up comedy in city centre pubs, international stars taking to the stage at Curve, and a Bollywood blockbuster – Mad, Madder, Maddest 2 – set to have its world premiere in the city in June.

Chief executive of the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce Martin Traynor, is also a consortium member. He was part of a Leicester delegation to Derry last year when the bid was being touted.

He said: "We are convinced this is something Leicester could do very well. We already have a rich multi-cultural offering."

We have suffered from a low international and national profile but that can change."

Richard III is already changing that and becoming UK City of Culture would be another springboard with massive potential impacts."

Leisure and tourism is worth £1.4 billion per annum to the city and county. If we could increase that by just one per cent that would be £1.4 million and could create hundreds of jobs."

City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, who is leading the consortium, added: "Becoming UK City of Culture would bring huge benefits to Leicester, giving us an opportunity to highlight the city's history and reinforce its identity, while providing a much-needed boost to the local economy."

A city council spokeswoman said: "In 2008, Liverpool was the European Capital of Culture – a title that business leaders estimate was worth an extra £200 million to the city's economy."

Although the UK City of Culture competition is on a much smaller scale, it's clear that the opportunities for the winner are there to be seized."

The winner will be announced by the Government in November. 

---

North and south – the two rivals, so far

Aberdeen, nicknamed The Granite City, is one of Leicester's rivals for the capital of culture title.

It is renowned as an oil city after the discovery of vast deposits under the North Sea.

It is home to a maritime museum, an art gallery, a number of cinemas and hosts the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, said to be the world's largest arts festival for young performers.

The city football team won the European Cup Winners Cup and the European Super Cup in 1983, under Sir Alex Ferguson, and has won the Scottish Premier League four times.

Aberdeen Lord Provost George Adam said: "Aiming to win the City of Culture title in 2017 presents Aberdeen with a tremendous opportunity and a terrific target to aim for.

"A proud city like Aberdeen should be aiming high and I have no doubt that everyone will pull together."

Aberdeen City Council chief executive Valerie Watts said: "Aberdeen already plays on a world stage in the competition for business and investment – and bidding to win the City of Culture title will be a huge benefit in terms of putting ourselves firmly on the international map."

The quality of life here in Aberdeen is already very high. We can all now work together to build on that to make the city even better – and to let the whole world know."

The south coast city of Plymouth, in Devon, is also hoping to clinch the title.

The old naval base is home to the annual British Fireworks Championship and is also home for the Royal Marines.

It has a range of cinemas, arts centre and galleries.

Plymouth's bid leaders hope that if they win, the city could host top-class events such as the Brit Awards, the Turner Prize and the BBC Sport Personality of the Year ceremony.

Plymouth Culture Board executive director Abby Johnson told The Herald newspaper: "I believe Plymouth has got such potential. People can help by simply talking up the city and talking up their cultural experiences."She said winning would create jobs, boost creative industries and see visitors' spending rise, adding: "Liverpool got £8 back for every £1 it put into the European Capital of Culture bid."Plymouth City Council and Plymouth University have each pledged £20,000 towards the bid on the condition the £40,000 handout is matched by the private sector.

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Leicester City's Cultural Diary

The main events in Leicester’s cultural calendar include:

Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year.

The February event – which is thought to boost the local economy by £2 million – annually sees appearances from both world-famous performers and some of the funniest up-and-coming comics, at venues across the city.

Leicester’s Caribbean Carnival has brought the city centre to life every August since 1985, with the exception of 2006.

The celebration attracts thousands of visitors with its colourful city centre parade, street dancing and music.

Leicester’s annual Diwali celebrations are thought to be the largest outside India.

Huge crowds flock to the city’s Golden Mile. The Hindu Festival of Lights began last year with 35,000 watching a lights switch-on spanning a kilometre along Melton Road.

Leicester Pride is popular celebration of the city’s gay, lesbian and bisexual and transgender communities held in late August or early September each year.

Marchers in weird and wonderful costumes parade through the city centre before heading up to Victoria Park for a fairground and concert.

Christ in the Centre is the city’s dramatic recreation of the Easter story, with Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection being played out before thousands of people in Humberstone Gate.

It has become established as one of the biggest and most effective pieces of Christian celebration staged in the country.

GOING ON BEYOND 5: A SIKH PERSPECTIVE ON MEDITATION

At ChristChurch, Clarendon Park, this evening for the fifth session in the course, "Going On Beyond: Meditation and Mysticism in the World Faiths".

This nine-week course is an interfaith opportunity presented by Christians Aware, as part of its Faith Awareness programme. It is presented in association with the Leicester Serene Reflection Meditation Group.

This evening we approach the subject from a Sikh perspective. The person we'd asked to deliver the presentation has called off, so we have prevailed upon our friend Kartar Singh to step into the breech at very short notice. I can't imagine that Kartar would suffer much trepidation at the prospect though - just last week he spoke up on BBC One's Question Time when it was televised from Leicester's Curve. George Galloway was on the panel that edition - so Kartar should have no reason to fear his reception here this evening! By the way, you can watch that edition of Question Time from Leicester on the BBC iPlayer till 13 February 2014.

So as not to give Kartar too onerous a task, I've offered to prepare a handout on the topic, which attendees can read and to which he'll respond. The text of the two-page handout, adapted from an article on SikhiWiki entitled, "Meditation, the doorway to higher consciousness", is reproduced in full below:

Meditation – the door to higher consciousness

Meditation is any practice whose goal is attaining a state of higher consciousness. It is the process of retraining our awareness to operate not from the conscious or subconscious level, but from the level of the super-conscious.…

The Gurmukh attains the fourth state of higher consciousness.“To attain this higher level of consciousness, one has to disengage the mind away from mundane interactions and join it to a much higher level of awareness.”

When considering awareness, it is clear that man is more aware of his surrounding than animals. Man is conscious of his parents, grand-parents and other relatives while animals in general may not be so conscious about some of the complex relations that they may have. Most animals’ behaviour is driven by their immediate sensory needs while most human behaviour is driven by etiquette and social norms rather than sensory demands. The concept of correctness and fairness has crept in - this can be termed “consciousness”.

When a hungry animal sees food, it will not wait for its frail parents or grand-parents to eat first before it starts eating; however, with most humans, we would distribute the food so that the frail receive a fair share of the food. This highlights the better consciousness instilled in humans.

But if one does not pay regards to these “higher” human qualities then the Guru reminds us, "Those who do not serve the Primal Being, and do not reflect upon the Word of the Shabad - do not call them human beings; they are just animals and stupid beasts".

However, consciousness does not stop with material needs; many other things have to taken into consideration - emotional needs, moral support, community welfare, social cohesion, global well-being, etc.

Meditation - a way to better awareness

Meditation is a way to improve one’s awareness of the world and to become better equipped to play a better, more finely tuned and fairer role in life. The essential attitude for correct meditation is one of listening. To listen clearly one must subdue the level of interference that is exerted on ones mind in our daily life; to still the mind and to listen to the "internal vibrations" of the mind.

Without this internal stillness of the mind, listening clearly is impossible. It’s like trying to teach quantum mechanics to someone while there are very loud thunder storms all around - a completely impossible task!

Once a state of tranquillity has been reached and the chaos of everyday turbulence of random thoughts has been subdued from the mind, only then can one listen to the internal vibrations of the mind and soul. In this stillness one can tune into the natural vibration of nature - the need and requirements of the Universe.

In Sikhi, this vibration is referred to as Naam - or even God - Waheguru. So the Sikh masters require the Sikh to recognise this energy of Nature and recognise this within the person's own mind. The Sikh Gurus asks the Sikh to instil the name of the Lord within his/her mind. As Guru Ram Das says, "Listen, O mind: meditate on the Name of the Lord.”

Oneness

Many consider God to be an all-knowing super-conscious Being; others consider God to be indefinable, not a Being at all. One needs to replace the chaos of random uncontrolled thoughts in the mind by only one thought - the remembrance of the Lord's name; the pure love for the Creator. "The minds of those who listen to the Lord's Name are drenched with bliss; I worship their feet continually." (Shri Guru Granth Sahib p. 1135).

Once this pure state of tranquility is present in the mind, the realization of the oneness of the universe becomes known. We must learn to listen to the deep voice within our "inner" mind because as Guru Nanak states in Japji sahib, "Within the mind are gems, jewels and rubies, if you listen to the Guru's Teachings, even once" (Shri Guru Granth Sahib p. 2)

The mind must be kept totally receptive, because we can’t think our way into deep meditation. Nor, indeed, can you think your way to true guidance and inspiration. You can only receive wisdom: you cannot concoct it.

Recognise the truth within

A truth must be perceived in that calm awareness which is super-consciousness.

Meditation, then, is not creating answers: It is perceiving them. And this is the secret of true guidance. The stilled mind will be able to start functioning properly and one become more aware of the reality around us.

Most people seldom listen. They “listen” while thinking, when can I interrupt and what can I say. They’re like an out-of-tune musical instrument. Because they no longer are able to tune into their own essential nature, their inter-actions with life and other people produce only discords. They are deaf to the symphony of sounds in the world around them. They are deaf to other people, for they are more interested in speaking their own minds.

Listening deeply is necessary

They behave as though perpetually campaigning for their own ideas. However, Guru Arjan Dev reminds us that, "Those who listen with their mind and ears to the Lord's meditative remembrance, are blessed with peace at the Lord's Gate, O mortal" (Shri Guru Granth Sahib p. 200). So if you wish to obtain peace in this life and later, then you need to remove the randomness in the mind and replace it with love for God's name …

To understand what meditation is we must learn to listen to what is, and not keep insisting on what we think it ought to be. We must try to tune in to things as they are. Meditation is the opposite of imposing your will on the world. Try to relinquish, even for just a few minutes, the process of concocting plans and projects for the future. Be more, not less, conscious.

Guru Arjan Dev tells us, that we forget the Lord and indulge in our plans and schemes: "They do not know the One who created them; they think up all sorts of schemes and plans.” (Shri Guru Granth Sahib p. 297). For true connection with the Creator, one has to break this constant loop about our personal schemes and plans that are perpetually going round in our minds.

Based on an article by Swami Kriyananda, adapted from SikhiWiki: encyclomedia of the Sikhs

Kartar responds to our questions and comments (about unfamiliar terms and concepts mostly) and extemporises  on themes and topics contained in the handout - and some that are not. He points out (and I acknowledge) that the handout is missing important information about Sikh worship, in particular prayers and hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib. The handout had some of this earlier in the day but it was excised, purely for the sake of the time available to us this evening.