INTRODUCTION TO AYURVEDA 1: AYURVEDA & HEALTH

At Christchurch, Clarendon Park, for the first session in a new course, "Introduction to Ayurveda", offered by Christians Aware as part of their Faith Awareness programme.

The five-week course (interrupted by holidays on two successive Mondays) is led by Neena Joshi (photo above), who runs yoga classes locally, as well as being involved in Leicester’s Art of Living centre. There are 38 Art of Living centres throughout England (25 of them outside London).

 

Neena introduces us to many technical terms this evening, some of which will be more clearly defined as we progress through the course. As far as this introductory session goes, probably the most important one to grasp is the meaning of Ayurveda itself: Ayur means "life", Veda means "knowledge".

 

After being immersed in a lot of theory, Neena closes the session by leading us through a quarter of an hour of breathing and movment practice, to relax the body and calm the mind.

RETHINK YOUR MIND LAUNCH EVENT

This evening I'm at The Cookie Jar (downstairs at The Crumblin' Cookie on Leicester's High Street) for the launch of Rethink Your Mind. 

Rethink Your Mind is an innovative new mental health project from Safe Inside Safe Outside (SISO), a well-being organisation run by service users for service users, supported by Advance Housing and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. SISO encourages and empowers service users to engage in creative outlets (e.g. music, writing) as part of the process of dealing with their conditions.

I found out about this project through Pete Hirst (who is a member of the board of SISO). Pete has gained a strong positive reputation with his band Refuge. I first met him when I taught Creative Writing for ReMit (Leicester City Council's education provision for adults with long-term mental health issues) at the Watershed Youth Centre. Pete was in my Tuesday afternoon group there. That’s Pete in the photo above (all smiles, on the left) with Lyndsey Shaw, Manager of SISO.

Rethink Your Mind will feature a competition, starting October 2012, based around the positive brief, "With good mental health I have ...”. SISO ran a similar competition last year, the entries of which were quite dark. They’re going for a different outcome this year, hoping to create a new public profile for mental health.

Cllr Manjula Sood, Assistant Mayor, who holds the Cabinet brief for Health and Adult Social Care (and, of course, Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths), speaks in support of SISO, of this project and of Pete in particular.

Lord Kamlesh Patel, Patron of SISO, will host an award presentation for the completion in the House of Lords next year.

When event kicks off, there are two dozen people in the room. By the time I leave, some two hours later, that’s grown to at least three dozen. And the evening wasn’t over yet as Refuge were yet to take the stage for a live set.

THIS WEEK'S VISITORS (1,813)

Regular update on the number of pageviews received from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

1. United Kingdom 661
2. United States 582
3. Russia 286
4. India 99
5. France 71
6. Netherlands 37
7. Germany 28
8. China 18
9. Ukraine 16
10. Canada 15

This week's total: 1,813 (last week: 1,953). These are aggregates of figures from the top ten countries only. Blogger's stats software doesn't show me numbers of pageviews below the tenth-ranking country.

The world map at the top of this post is the graphic that I see on the stats page. The darker the green, the more pageviews from that country. I can see different versions of that map for "now" (i.e. in the last two hours), "today", "this week", "this month" and "all time". They're updated each time I look at them.

MBE HONOUR

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

MBE honour

A doctor visited Buckingham Palace yesterday to receive his MBE.

Dr Marcus Solanki, a mental health clinician with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, was told he would get the honour for services to the community in June but his medal was presented to him yesterday.

Dr Solanki is chairman of Savera Resource Centre, in Leicester, which helps Asian people using mental health services, and a spokesman for the city's Gujarati Christian community.

The article doesn't mention that Marcus is a long-standing member of Leicester Council of Faiths and that he served for four years as its Assistant Secretary (2007-2011).

MOSQUE RALLIES TO HELP VICTIMS OF FAMINE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Mosque rallies to help victims of famine

An MP has visited one of the places of worship which rallied to his appeal to raise money for famine-struck Somalia.

Jon Ashworth, Leicester South MP, received a £500 cheque from the Darus Salam Mosque, Highfields, Leicester, in front of about 100 worshippers.

The money will be used towards the cost of a £3,000 ambulance.

Last year, Mr Ashworth encouraged all places of worship to raise cash to help the humanitarian efforts.

He said: "I am very pleased Darus Salam Mosque raised over £500 towards the cost of the ambulances for Somalia following my appeal to places of worship to raise funds for humanitarian efforts following the devastating famine in Somalia last year."

He said Leicester had close ties with Somalia so it was heartwarming so see such a good response.

Nizan Chowdhury, a trustee and general secretary of the Darus Salam Trust, said: "Darus Salam Mosque was honoured to be able to assist in this crucial appeal.

"The ambulances purchased will provide essential care to the citizens of Mogadishu."

DECISION DELAYED ON CREMATORIUM

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Decision delayed on crematorium

A decision about the lease for a crematorium set to be built in a village has been delayed after a passionate plea.

Leicestershire County Council's cabinet was due to rule on whether to give developer Westerleigh Group a lengthy lease on land near Leicester Road, Countesthorpe, on Tuesday.

If approved, the firm could have then lodged a planning application to build the £3 million crematorium.

However, after a passionate speech by Countesthorpe councillor David Jennings, the decision was delayed to give members a chance to get the views of Blaby District Council.

He told the meeting: "The very thought of a crematorium on this site is frankly appalling. The crematorium would be built in full view of a proposed 168-home estate. "When residents wake up in the morning and look out of their bedroom window, they'll see it. When they go downstairs to make their breakfast, they'll still be able to see it.

"I simply can't overestimate the level of opposition from residents."

Alan Moore, 50, who lives close to the proposed development, said: "I understand that crematoria have to go somewhere, but surely somewhere away from a built-up area would make more sense. I hope the whole thing is dropped."

One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "Politicians have finally sat up and started listening to the concerns of residents here.

"There are hundreds of places more suitable for a crematorium then [sic] a village like ours."

The proposed crematorium would include a ceremony room, memorial gardens and landscaping, and hold four to five services a day.

There would also be wash rooms and a viewing area for Sikh ceremonies, which traditionally involve watching the coffin entering the furnace.

The company's commercial director Adrian Britton said yesterday: "I understand councillors need time to consider the issue and I'm confident it will eventually go through."

He has previously said: "The idea is to design the crematorium in a manner which will offer an atmosphere families can grieve in peaceful surroundings. We want to make sure it is sensitively designed."

Developers said the site had been chosen because it is accessible to people living in south Leicestershire.

MUSLIM BURIAL COUNCIL OF LEICESTERSHIRE: NEW PREMISES

This afternoon I make my first visit to the new premises of MBCOL: Muslim Burial Council of Leicestershire. And very nicely appointed they are too: modern but comfortable, stylish but simple, dignified but welcoming - and with some decent fresh coffee too.

MBCOL has been at this new address in Moat Road, Spinney Hills, for three months. Mind you, I never set foot in their old premises on East Park Road, so make this my first visit to MBCOL, period.

That's my friend and colleague, Suleman Nagdi, Chairman of the Board of MBCOL, outside their offices. The green door that's the farther away of the two leads into a smaller office specifically for those wishing to arrange a funeral. The larger entrance and the area it leads into is general reception, office, kitchen and stairs to the boardroom on the first floor. In the boardroom, MBCOL provides training for different faith groups and community organisations on all aspects of death and bereavement (e.g. how to register a death; managing relationships with General Practitioners, hospitals, cemeteries and crematoria; involvement of police and ambulance services; how to deal with a death at home). This advice, guidance and training is offered free of charge, not just to the Muslim community but also to any and all who wish to avail themselves of it. MBCOL is also involved with innovative projects such as virtual autopsy device pioneered by the University of Leicester, which will be to the benefit of all those communities and families who find intrusive techniques objectionable. 

I'm glad of the opportunity to chat with Suleman about the historical development, present situation and future prospects for MBCOL. We discuss how to help more community groups benefit from the work that MBCOL is doing. MBCOL has already established its credentials for being an open, all-embracing organisation through the publication a year ago of its book, Discovering Though Death: Beliefs and Practices (the launch event for which I blogged here). The book explores death, dying and bereavement from several perspectives: Bahá'í, Buddhist, Chritisn, Hindu, Humanist, Jain, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh. It also contains introductory sections on each of these religions or beliefs (bar Humanist), adapted from the public information leaflets I wrote for Leicester Council of Faiths early on in my post.

CALLS TO ORDER: ENGLAND'S ANARCHIC AUGUST REVISITED

At Secular Hall, Humberstone Gate, this evening, for the regular weekly public meeting hosted by Leicester Secular Society. There are 30 people here: good turnout for a Bank Holiday weekend (and on the first day of decent weather we've had in weeks) and considering the fact that Humberstone Gate is something of an obstacle course right now, with all the redevelopment going on there.

Guest speaker tonight is Dr Stuart Price, Reader in Media Discourse; Senior Lecturer in Media, Film and Journalism at De Montfort University. His title: "Calls to Order: England's Anarchic August Revisited."

In this illustrated talk, Dr Price examines media coverage of the riots that took place in several English cities in August 2011, concentrating on front pages and opinion columns from print media. he asks us to consider, if disorder is portrayed in a certain way, then what kind of order is it that needs to be defended and preserved?

VOICES TOLD ME TO BURN MOSQUE, MAN TELLS LEICESTER CROWN COURT

This article appears on the front page of today's Leicester Mercury:

Voices told me to burn the mosque, man tells Leicester Crown Court

A mentally-ill man set fire to a mosque after voices in his head told him there were extremists inside and that they were out to get him.

Dozens of worshippers fled in panic when curtains and soft furnishings caught fire, causing rooms to fill with smoke.

Saleebaan Sheikh-Omar had ignited petrol he had spread around the mosque in St Matthew's, Leicester.

Sheikh-Omar admitted arson being reckless as to whether lives would be endangered in the incident on June 21, 2011.

Leicester Crown Court was told he took a can of petrol in a plastic bag after the voices told him members of al-Qaeda and al-Shabab – an insurgent group in Somalia – were in Masjid Al Furqan Mosque, in Kamloops Crescent.

He believed they were out to get him.

James Varley, prosecuting, said Sheikh-Omar arrived at 1.30pm as prayers were finishing. More than 50 people were in the mosque.

He said: "The defendant told some people to leave and is seen on CCTV pouring petrol quite liberally in three locations, then setting fire to furnishing and curtains.

"You can see people running out in panic. Some tried to restrain him and he threw petrol towards them before continuing his fire-raising.

"He then went to a police station and surrendered himself."

No one was hurt and no estimate of the cost of damage caused was given.

Sheikh-Omar, of Claremont Street, off Loughborough Road, Leicester, was placed on a hospital order under section 41 of the Mental Health Act, to be detained indefinitely.

He will be treated at Leicester's medium-secure psychiatric hospital, Arnold Lodge.

Dr Nicholas Taylor, consultant psychiatrist at the hospital, said the defendant had a history of auditory hallucinations.

Sheikh-Omar's schizophrenia was said to have been exacerbated by long-term use of the herbal stimulant khat.

But he was making progress on anti-psychotic drugs, the court was told.

James House, mitigating, said the defendant came to the UK from war-torn Somalia.

Judge Philip Head said: "Anyone who suffers from a mental disorder of this degree is entitled to the greatest sympathy.

"He heard voices and suffered delusions which caused him to buy a can of petrol and take it, at prayer time, to the mosque."

He said the defendant's happy upbringing in Somalia was brought to a brutal end by the onset of civil war.

Sheikh-Omar was shot and some relatives were killed, leaving him with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Judge Head said: "I've no doubt he had a predisposition to schizophrenia and, unfortunately, he was a prolific user of khat.

"I'm satisfied there is treatment which will assist in improving, or fully remitting, his condition."

Sheikh-Omar's release would have to be approved by a mental health tribunal.

A DECADE SPENT TRANSFORMING A CITY COMMUNITY

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

A decade spent transforming a city community

A few days ago I was at a reunion. It was a farewell party given for me by the Braunstone Foundation to say goodbye as I move to be Bishop of Bedford. It was a moving occasion because gathered were many of those who had worked together to bring the Braunstone New Deal Programme to a successful conclusion.

Mercury readers with longer memories will recall how this £50 million social and economic regeneration programme ran into severe difficulties. Ten years ago, when I arrived in Leicester, it was at a point of crisis. The Mercury carried story after story of its troubles, internal dissent was unpleasant and vindictive, and the government were considering pulling the plug. There was real risk that this needy community would once again lose out.

In a First Person column the Bishop of Leicester challenged the city to remain committed and called for new leadership. In fact, he went one step further and nominated me to be the independent chair; a role I held for four years.

Ten years on, Braunstone is a different place. There is the leisure centre, the BRITE centre, the health centre and other new resources; there are new opportunities and people working together for the good of their neighbourhood; and the Braunstone Foundation has an income stream to support ongoing work. It is a story of which Leicester can be proud; and in particular should honour those staff and local residents who led it forward.

One year on from my appointment as chair we held a re-launch of the programme. At that occasion I was asked why I bothered with what was hard work, brought considerable grief and was still at risk. I was clear with my answer. It was a conviction that God values all His people, especially those in our poorest communities.

The good news of Jesus Christ is the potential for transformation in our lives and in our communities; transformation that I have seen in practice again and again across city and county during my 10 years as Archdeacon. I've met prisoners in Leicester Prison who, through the Sycamore Programme, have taken responsibility for their actions; worked with a new congregation in Hamilton; seen the renewal of Launde Abbey and the creation of St Martins House; shared in partnership with our Faith Communities for the common good; and above all else experienced our parish churches as places of life and renewal at the heart of our communities. Thank you Leicester and Leicestershire for 10 transformative years!

Richard Atkinson, Archdeacon of Leicester