TV STAR WOULD RETURN TO "FRIGHTENING" CITY

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

TV star would return to "frightening" city

Clarissa Dickson Wright has refused to apologise for "hurtful" comments about the city's Muslim community – but says she would return to the city.

In her new book, the celebrity cook described a visit to Leicester "as one of the most frightening experiences of my life".

The 65-year-old wrote that she came off the ring road to escape a traffic jam and found herself lost in a part of the city she described as a "ghetto" where she felt like a "complete outcast and pariah".

Ms Dickson Wright was invited to defend her views by BBC Radio Leicester yesterday and said: "I'm not going to apologise. I'm not saying it's entirely accurate for the whole of Leicester, but I am describing an experience that I went through.

"I know other people who have had a similar experience, not necessarily in Leicester."

In her book, Clarissa's England: A Gamely Gallop Through the English Counties, the cook dedicated a chapter to Leicestershire's culinary and cultural merits.

"I found myself in an area where all the men were wearing Islamic clothing and all the women were wearing burkas and walking slightly behind them," she wrote.

She said none of the men would talk to her when she tried to find out where she was and how to get out of there, because she was an English women and they "would not talk to women they did not know".

"Here I was, in the heart of a city in the middle of my own country, a complete outcast and pariah," she wrote.

Ibrahim Mogra, assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, described her comments as hurtful.

Speaking on BBC Radio Leicester, he invited Ms Dickson Wright to come back to the city and have dinner with his family.

"I would be delighted to host her at my home and take her to meet real Leicester people," he said.

Deputy city mayor Rory Palmer also invited her to return – and apologise for her comments.

He said: "I read the comments she made in her book in the Mercury and I was lost for words – and I am rarely lost for words.

"They are unwarranted and not the Leicester I know.

"Perhaps she ought to stick to what she knows – making pies and souffles.

"I think, given the reaction to her comments, that she ought to be prepared to make an apology.

"I'm not going to be rushing off to write her a letter of invitation, but if the opportunity presents itself in the future, I am sure we will all show her the real city."

Speaking on the radio, Ms Dickson Wright said: "They want me to come back? Yeah, of course I would accept."

THIS WEEK'S VISITORS (2,016)

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

1. United States 770
2. United Kingdom 634
3. Russia 337
4. Ukraine 101
5. France 83
6. India 48
7. Poland 42
8. Germany 41
9. Spain 40
10. Singapore 20

This week's total: 2,016 (last week: 1,659). These are aggregates of figures from the top ten countries only. Blogger's analytics doesn't show the numbers of pageviews below the tenth-ranking country and they don’t show the cumulative total including those additional countries, which is undoubtedly larger than the number shown above.

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.

FURY AT TV CHEF CLARISSA DICKSON WRIGHT'S COMMENTS ABOUT MUSLIMS IN LEICESTER

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Fury at TV chef Clarissa Dickson Wright's comments about Muslims in Leicester

A celebrity chef has come under fire after making "hurtful" comments about the city's Muslim community.

In her new book, Clarissa Dickson Wright describes a visit to Leicester "as one of the most frightening experiences of my life".

The 65-year-old dedicates a chapter of Clarissa's England: A Gamely Gallop Through the English Counties to each county in England, discussing their culinary, cultural and historical merits. On Leicestershire, she writes of the city's "ghetto".

She describes coming off the ring road to escape a traffic jam and becoming lost.

"I found myself in an area where all the men were wearing Islamic clothing and all the women were wearing burkas and walking slightly behind them," she wrote.

She said the men would not talk to her "because I was an English female and they don't talk to females they don't know".

She said: "Here I was, in the heart of a city in the middle of my own country, a complete outcast and pariah.

"If multiculturalism works, which I have always been rather dubious of, surely it must be multicultural and not monocultural.

"I can only hope that in generations to come there will be a merging of the cultures and not the exclusion zone that is the ghetto."

Ibrahim Mogra, assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, and a city imam, said: "How is she judging an entire community on her one-off rare time of getting lost in Leicester?

"I find it very hurtful to read because everybody is working so hard to create a peaceful and happy Leicester.

"It showed a complete lack of appreciation of the fact we are almost two million in this country, doing our bit for our country.

"When she says that she was in the centre of a city in the centre of her own country, I take objection. This is also my country and this is also my city.

"I would like to call on Leicester people to be even more welcoming and hospitable than we've been so far."

Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "That is the sort of thing that makes me very angry – when someone breezes in from outside and paints a picture of Leicester that does not have any foundation in reality."It may help sell books but it is cheap."

Councillor Manjula Sood, chairman of Leicester Council of Faiths, urged readers to ignore her comments.

"I don't believe a meeting with one person on one street should mean you can label a whole city," she said.

Both Coun Sood and Mr Mogra invited Ms Dickson Wright back to the city for an opportunity to change her opinions.

When contacted by the Mercury, the chef, who lives in Edinburgh, said: "I'm surprised any of the people who might object could read what I wrote as it is written in English.

"When you get to 65, you will think back on this conversation and I think you might find yourself in my frame of mind."

She said she had a lot of Muslim friends but her experience of Leicester was "unpleasant".

"It scared me and I am not scared easy," she said.

Asked why, she said: "Because it was part of my country that I was born in and there are a lot of radical Muslim preachers in this country.

"I was in London when the July 7 (2005 bomb attacks) happened and this to me was proof for those people who have been saying we're getting ghettoisation of Muslim areas.

"I have never believed that political correctness was a reason not to say what I have experienced."

She said she had "done a lot" for Leicestershire, campaigning for the protected geographical status of Melton pork pies and Stilton.

In her book, Ms Dickson Wright praised Melton's food festival, saying "it was just everything that a good food festival should be".

She also wrote about "charming" Market Harborough, and "pleasant" Oakham.

She is signing copies of her book at Northfield Farm Christmas Fair, in Cold Overton, on Saturday.

---

ON THE COUNTY

In her book, Ms Dickson Wright wrote:

Melton: I first came across it at the original Melton Mowbray Food Festival, which, in the first two years, was held in the cattle market in Melton Mowbray and was to my mind without doubt the best food festival in the country.

(It had) produce from the Asian communities, in particular in Leicester, and the West Indian community, and it was just everything that a good food festival should be.

Market Harborough: A charming old town.

Rutland: Rutland is a triumph and a lesson to us all.

Oakham: A pleasant town with all the right sort of shops and bookshops and I am always happy to visit it.

ON LEICESTER

I had one of the most frightening experiences of my life there.

Leicester has a very high Asian Muslim population and I found myself in an area where all the men were wearing Islamic clothing and all the women were wearing burkas and walking slightly behind them.

None of the men would talk to me when I tried to find out where I was and how to get out of there because I was an English female and they don’t talk to females they don’t know, while if the women could speak English they weren’t about to show it by having a word with me.

(She bought a map at a newsagents.) Somebody, very reluctantly, pointed to where I was and then I had to work out the rest myself.

I have many good acquaintances and even some friends among the Muslim community, yet here I was, in the heart of a city in the middle of my own country, a complete outcast and pariah.

If multiculturalism works, which I have always been rather dubious of, surely it must be multicultural and not monocultural.

However, everything has an upside and one of the results of this is that Leicester has a very good selection of Asian restaurants.

I can only hope that in generations to come there will be a merging of the cultures and not the exclusion zone that is the ghetto.

MISSION TO MELTON

A quick pop out and back again to Brooksby Melton College (Melton Campus) this afternoon, with some material and moral support for the events that the college will be holding during Inter Faith Week.

We're loaning the college the set of pictures we had produced for our Favourite Faiths Photo exhibition last year. They're not being used anywhere else during Inter Faith Week and it would be a pity for them to be left under wraps when they could be put to good use here. Well, not just "here": the collection will be split between the Melton and Brooksby campuses. These pictures were originally planned to be 16 in number - two for each of the member communities on Leicester Council of Faiths, one large, one small. I mentioned elsewhere on this blog (23 November 2011) that when these photos were digitally printed (direct onto thick mounting board) several of them were made too large to fit into the display spaces at Leicester People's Photographic Gallery. So the printer (John E. Wright) offered replacement copies at no extra cost and we were able to hold on to the originals too. We had no plans to use the pictures this year, so when Nicola Welbourne (photo above) of the college's Learner Services, asked if we had any visual material that could help beautify the room where their Interfaith Events Day is to be held next Wednesday (21 November) I jumped at the chance to offer these photos.

I'll be here for that day, with a display which will be "dual-badged" for Leicester Council of Faiths and Faith Awareness (the inter-faith programme of Christians Aware). It'll be a busy day for me: putting up the Council of Faiths table in the second Choice Unlimited at Leicester Tigers between 0630 and 0800; dashing out to the Melton campus for their Interfaith Events Day from 0930 till 1415; back to the Tigers, to front the display there till it closes at 1800; and keeping a watchful eye on the Highcross exhibition. I'm looking forward to it!

Even though the college is concentrating its Inter Faith Events Day into less than four hours on Wednesday, Nicola and her colleague Humera are already generating interest and enthusiasm around the college. They've prevailed upon staff in the Forestry and Arboriculture Department to provide an Interfaith Tree at both campuses on which students and staff are invited to hang heart-shaped labels bearing a wish, a prayer, a remembrance or something of that type. These will be collected for a blessing at the end of Inter Faith Week. You can see the Interfaith Tree to the right in the photo above. It's a big branch, spray-painted silver, stuck in an Oor Wullie style silver bucket; I'm going to see if we can get something like it for our exhibition in Highcross. And from Monday, prayers from different faiths will be circulated around the college, related to study, students or the theme of inter-faith dialogue and relations. I think they're doing a terrific job here.

OUR DIVERSE CITY SHOWN IN PICTURES

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Our diverse city shown in pictures

A photography exhibition exploring Leicester's diversity is taking place at an unusual venue – shop windows across the city.

Dozens of pictures will be on display at 20 shops in Belgrave, Highfields and Spinney Hills as part of the From Here and There exhibition until December 16.

Artworks are also on show in the street and at community spaces in the city.

The display looks at Leicester's cultural diversity, our notions of Britishness and also commemorates the 40th anniversary of thousands of Asians moving to Leicester after being expelled from Uganda.

It also marks this year's Olympic Games.

It is a collaboration between Leicester artist Ashok Mistry and award-winning Indian photographer Pablo Bartholomew.

Ashok said: "The exhibition is about celebration and the communities we have in Leicester, the way they co-operate and flourish."

He said it was also about looking at plurality, as Leicester is expected to be one of Britain's first plural cities, where there is no clear ethnic majority group.

Ashok said the pictures were being displayed in shop windows and on the street as the display was aimed at people not normally catered for in galleries.

Pablo, who is based in New Delhi, said the idea of the exhibition was "to bring out something on the streets".

He said that spreading the posters throughout Leicester was a "great way to communicate with different types of audience" and also "different areas of Leicester.

One of the shops which is displaying photographs as part of the exhibition is Milan's, in Belgrave Road.

Manager Kishor Chauhan said the shop took part in the exhibition "because it sounded very interesting".

A celebration event to mark the exhibition will take place tonight from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at Chennai Dosa, in Belgrave Road, Leicester.

For the full art trail and more details about the exhibition, visit the website: http://fromhereandthere.info

KEEP POPPIES ON THE CROSS

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Keep poppies on the cross

Replacing the cross that the Royal British Legion poppies are attached to with other religious symbols, in order not to exclude or offend those who belong to another religion (or none), does not make any sense to me.

The poppy is not attached to the cross because the soldiers who died belonged to some sort of Christian cult or club which excludes everyone else.

The soldiers died giving their lives, and their sacrifice is united with the greatest sacrifice in the history of the world, of He who died on the cross.

The poppy united with the cross also shows the great hope that they who gave their lives will one day rise again in glory with He who died and rose again.

Our forebears knew that there is no shape in the universe that can begin to mean the same as the cross, that of ultimate sacrifice and eternal hope.

That is why the red poppy of Flanders has always been united to the cross in memorials of those who have died in battle and I believe it should remain so.

Francisca Martinez, Leicester

BRILLIANT DIWALI!

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Brilliant Diwali!

Thirty thousand people packed the Golden Mile for the Diwali Day celebrations on Tuesday night.

Visitors from all over the world joined families from closer to home in a celebration of the festival of lights, marking, for Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, the triumph of good over evil and the start of a new year.

Belgrave Road was closed to traffic for more than three hours while the street party went ahead.

In Cossington recreation ground, a lively show, featured classical Indian, Bollywood and bhangra dancers.

Sanjay Hadapi, 39, from Mumbai, who is in the UK for a cricket coaching course, said: "It's the first time I have experienced Diwali celebrations in the UK.

"I am amazed by the number of people.

"It is also very big in India where it is a national holiday, but I didn't know something of this size happened outside India."

Friend Bhavin Patel, 34, of Loughborough, said: "It is the most important day of the year.

"It's a time when everyone gets together, has a good time and eats too much food."

Wassila Maafi, of Aylestone, Leicester, said: "I think it's lovely entertainment. I wish they had more of this type of event in Leicester.

"It's a good, entertaining event for the family and it's good to see different cultures being celebrated."

Mahendra Mistry, 52, of Scraptoft Lane, Leicester, said; "It's a new year, new beginnings. It's a brilliant event, you can't move. It's nice to see so many young people here."

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "Leicester has been famous for its Diwali celebrations, which are the largest outside India and which the city council is happy to support."

Police said the night passed without major problems.

Speaking on the day, Chief Inspector Martyn Ball said: "Our estimate is that there are 30,000 people here, but we haven't had to deal with a single incident – it's a fun, family-oriented event and everybody is happy."

The celebrations, which are run by Leicester City Council and Leicester Hindu Festival Council, finished with a spectacular firework display which drew gasps of admiration from the crowds.

ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU DISCUSSES FAITH AND RICHARD III DURING LEICESTER UNI VISIT

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Archbishop Desmond Tutu discusses faith and Richard III during Leicester Uni Visit 

Hundreds of people packed into a lecture hall to hear a talk by Desmond Tutu.

Archbishop Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, gave a lecture titled Public Faith in a Secular Age.

Before yesterday's talk, Archbishop Tutu met University of Leicester staff to hear about the search for the remains of Richard III.

The university helped the Richard III Society exhume a skeleton believed to be that of the last Plantagenet king, from Greyfriars car park in New Street, in the city centre, this summer.

Professor Lin Foxhall, head of the university's school of archaeology and ancient history, spoke to Archbishop Tutu about the project.

Professor Foxhall said: "It was an honour to be able to present our work on the project to someone of the stature of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

"It was extraordinary to have this opportunity.

"We wanted him to see the work we are doing, not only in researching the past but also with people in the present."

Archbishop Tutu gave his lecture in the Fielding Johnson Building, while a live feed was shown in another lecture hall.

SPIRIT OF DIWALI BURNS BRIGHTLY

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Spirit of Diwali burns brightly

From youngsters making decorations to shoppers taking part in a vibrant interactive art installation, thousands of people across Leicestershire celebrated Diwali Day yesterday.

Restaurants in Melton Road were overflowing with revellers, while more than 10,000 people gathered in Cossington Street Recreation Ground for the traditional fireworks display and celebrations last night.

With decorations up in houses across the city and county, thousands of people celebrated the end of the Hindu year by giving gifst at home.

Youngsters at the Kiddycare nursery, in Melton Road, painted rangoli designs – a traditional decorative design used during Hindu festivals – and took part in games.

The children, aged between six weeks and five years, were joined by their mums and dads yesterday morning.

Nadine Farrington, operations manager for the city's four Kiddycare nurseries, said: "It was a lovely day and involved lots of families who took part in games and competitions. We want to wish everyone a happy Diwali."

The festival of lights was also given a modern twist with an interactive art installation using Humberstone Gate's big screen.

Images of people walking past were transformed into dancing balls of light, which were then displayed on the huge television.

Kalpana Bodalia, 46, of Thurmaston, was transfixed by the display.She said: "I really like it because Diwali is all about the festival of light.

"It doesn't matter what culture or religion you are, light is for everyone.

"Everybody is invited and welcomed to get involved with the celebrations."

Mum Teresa Lewis, 42, was also at the screen with her three children.

She said: "It looks really cool and it fits in with Diwali because of the light element."

Restaurants along the Golden Mile were packed throughout the day.

Floyd Rosario, senior supervisor at Feast India, said: "Feast India is generally quite busy anyway, every day is like Christmas. But with Diwali it is even busier."

Ashok Raval, chef and manager at the Khyber Tandoori Restaurant, said: "We get people coming from all over, from places such as Nottingham and Birmingham, who come to Leicester to spend Diwali with their families."

Yesterday evening, more than 10,000 people cheered as fireworks exploded and echoed around Cossington Street Recreation Ground.

The event was organised by the Hindu Festival Council, which has been hosting Diwali celebrations since 1991.

Chairman Maganbhai Patel said: "In the beginning, it wasn't very big, but we have tried to include more people and entertainment and it's grown and grown.

"It's the last day of the Hindu year and is celebrated by millions all over the world.

"Everywhere you go, people will get together and wish each other a happy Diwali – it's just like Christmas."

Leicester's Diwali celebrations, which mark the triumph of good over evil, are among the biggest in the world.

The festival began on November 4, when 35,000 visitors watched a lights switch-on spanning 1km along Melton Road.

As well as the official entertainment at the park last night, scores of other events took place across the city yesterday.

LEICESTER STUDENT'S T-SHIRTS CHALLENGING VIEWS ABOUT MUSLIMS ARE A GLOBAL HIT

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Leicester student's t-shirts challenging views about Muslims are a global hit

When medical student Umair Khan started making slogan T-shirts to challenge negative views about Muslims, he did not expect more than a few orders in the UK.

But his idea proved so popular it is now a global business, with orders coming in from Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, America, Australia, Canada and across Europe.

The T-shirts have slogans which aim to convey positive messages about Islam, such as "Terrorism Hijacked My Religion", "I'm a Tourist, Not a Terrorist", and "Islam – 0% APR", in reference to the interest-free ideology of Islamic banking.

The demand for the T-shirts has been so great Umair's Design Molvi business, which started as a four-person team in the UK, has opened a second office in Pakistan.

Umair, who is in his final year of a medical degree at the University of Leicester, said he was amazed and pleased at how successful the business had become.

The 23-year-old, who lives in Scraptoft, Leicester, said: "It's such a contemporary topic.

"We are trying to challenge those stereotypes."

Umair, who was born in Pakistan and moved to the UK 11 years ago, said: "When we started, we were just thinking we would sell them in the UK.

"But people started to ask if we could ship to this country, then another and suddenly we were getting orders from all over the world.

"It was a pleasant surprise and very encouraging."

Umair's project was helped with a bursary from Enterprise Inc, which gives students or recent graduates looking to start a business in the East Midlands up to £2,500 in funding and business start-up support.

He is keeping the project in the family, with his brother and co-founder, Ammar, setting up operations in Pakistan and their cousin, Ibrahim, marketing the product.

Volunteers have been brought on board to help with social media and design.

Following the success of the T-shirts, the company has launched a line of hats, bibs and other baby clothes.

Umair said he wanted to add mobile phone covers and accessories within the next year.

Although Umair plans to pursue a career in medicine once he finishes his degree, he said he was keen to keep going with Design Molvi in his own time.

He said: "I am passionate about both. It's just about time management and delegation."

Irene Zempi, a tutor at the University of Leicester's department of criminology, has published research on hate crime towards veiled Muslim women.

She said the T-shirts were an effective way of challenging people's misconceptions.

"Design Molvi is a very innovative way to tackle Islamophobia," she said.

"It is refreshing and encouraging to see students addressing anti-Muslim prejudice in such an intelligent manner.

"This idea is inspiring and, hopefully, it will contribute into dispelling myths surrounding Islam and Muslims."

www.designmolvi.com