The journalist who wasn’t and other stories
by Rashmee
Posted on April 4, 2021
/ TRAVELS IN MY MIND China’s alleged attempt to fake approval by western journalists is like something out of a rather unbelievable short story. According to reports, Beijing conjured up someone called Laurene Beaumond (see screenshot of her piece on the CGTN site) and described her as a French journalist who had studied at the … Continue reading “The journalist who wasn’t and other stories”
Read MoreA social life after lockdown? Inquiring minds want to know how it will work
by Rashmee
Posted on March 7, 2021
/ TRAVELS IN MY MIND I haven’t read Pamela Druckerman’s books but they’re on my list now that I’ve perused her elegant, insightful and occasionally funny ‘1843’ look-ahead to social life after lockdown. It may be a bit precipitate – virus variants could still sicken the prospects for a socially carefree summer – but Ms … Continue reading “A social life after lockdown? Inquiring minds want to know how it will work”
Read MoreIn Texas, 1870, Tom Hanks’ character reads The Times of India. About right
by Rashmee
Posted on February 21, 2021
/ TRAVELS IN MY MIND The opening scene of ‘News of the World’, the new Tom Hanks film, features a stack of newspapers. Some are Dallas titles, the New York Times, and then Captain Jefferson Kidd (the Hanks character) picks up The Times of India. In the film, the paper’s masthead looks like the one … Continue reading “In Texas, 1870, Tom Hanks’ character reads The Times of India. About right”
Read More‘The Mermaid of Black Conch’ takes us on an enchanted journey
by Rashmee
Posted on February 14, 2021
/ TRAVELS IN MY MIND I was three-fourths of the way through fellow UEA alumna Monique Roffey’s Costa award-winning ‘The Mermaid of Black Conch‘ when I heard Bridget Kendall ask on the radio: “When did mermaid stories first appear?” The question gave me pause. I knew when mermaids first appeared in my imagination. Like many … Continue reading “‘The Mermaid of Black Conch’ takes us on an enchanted journey”
Read MoreThe Pomskies and Cavpooshons of Greenwich Park
by Rashmee
Posted on February 7, 2021
/ TRAVELS IN MY MIND Move over Goldendoodles, Maltipoos and Morkies. The Pomsky and the Cavpooshon are here. Every week, I see new varieties of mixed breed dogs gambolling in Greenwich Park in southeast London. The Pomsky, a cross between a pomeranian and a husky, had the erect triangular ears and distinctive face markings of … Continue reading “The Pomskies and Cavpooshons of Greenwich Park”
Read MoreThe Real Bread movement arrives in East Greenwich
by Rashmee
Posted on January 31, 2021
/ TRAVELS IN MY MIND Rejoice, all ye in east Greenwich, we have a real bakery. Not only is it now possible for everyone wending their way up Trafalagar Road to buy a fresh loaf, a scone or a slab of chocolate cake, Fingal’s Bakery is part of the Real Bread movement. That 12-year campaign … Continue reading “The Real Bread movement arrives in East Greenwich”
Read MoreFrom Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, here’s something you may not have heard…
by Rashmee
Posted on December 24, 2019
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Kairouan has magic and mystery and it’s on the map
by Rashmee
Posted on November 18, 2018 / The Arab Weekly
KAIROUAN, Tunisia — Tunisians boast that Kairouan, a couple of hours south by car from Tunis, is Islam’s fourth holiest city, after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. Perhaps. Ethiopians say the same of Harar. Both Kairouan and Harar are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Both know Islam from its very first century. However, fourth holiest or not, Kairouan wins … Continue reading “Kairouan has magic and mystery and it’s on the map”
Read MoreTozeur, lush and bountiful oasis in southern Tunisia
by Rashmee
Posted on June 2, 2018
Tozeur is a lush and bountiful oasis dotted with “palmeries” as they call them here. These are farms – of date palms. The more ingenious grow a great deal else too – pomegranates, figs, peaches, bananas and various vegetables. The oasis is enormous – and rich – fed by hot springs and carefully tended like … Continue reading “Tozeur, lush and bountiful oasis in southern Tunisia”
Read MoreTozeur in southern Tunisia wears its storied history fairly lightly
by Rashmee
Posted on June 1, 2018
Aboul-Qacem Echebbi, the 20th century poet whose style is admired throughout the Arab world and is responsible for the current Tunisian anthem, belonged to Tozeur. So did Ibn Chabbat, the 13th century engineer who built this oasis-city’s sophisticated, still-functioning irrigation system. The city has commemorated both men in stone. For Echebbi, whose poetry … Continue reading “Tozeur in southern Tunisia wears its storied history fairly lightly”
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Rashmee has lived and worked in several countries in the past decade, including Afghanistan, India, Haiti, Tunisia, the UAE, US and UK