Niketown London.

Morning Gang,

On my list of must visit place in London is a place which is not a landmark as in Buckingham Palace nor an Art Gallery as in Tate Modern nor a famous eating spot as in Busaba Eathai but a shop selling sportswear! Mind you, this is no ordinary sports shop, it’s the face of Nike itself and it’s called Niketown!

First, a bit about sportswear. Sportswear as we know it has changed during the last decade. It’s no longer
appropriate to call it sportswear in fact. Leisure wear would be more appropriate, I think.

In the West where public transport is the norm, during the morning and evening rush, it would be no surprise
to see throngs of people all smartly dressed in their business suits but wearing trainers! It’s very practical as in places like London, we tend to walk a lot and ladies especially would not be comfortable in their Manolos or Jimmy Choos! Hence they would be wearing trainers and would change into their ‘normal’ shoes once safe in their offices.

Niketown is situated at Oxford Circus, right at the intersection between Oxford Street and Regent Street. On entering, anyone would immediately sense that this is no ordinary store. It’s more than that. It’s a concept store and seeks to capture the meaning of sports and its place in our day to day life.

It’s comprised of three storeys and right in the middle is an atrium which opens the whole space to all the floors. Part of the interior is made out as if its part of a street, hence the name Niketown, I suppose.

Right girls, the most important floor for us is on the third level! The Ladies level! As in all the floors, the fashionwear are grouped according to the sports, for example tennis and there is also a section for the latest fashion. Many a time I have gone there and, instead of buying something which caught my attention, said to myself that I will come again in a few days only to find….yes it’s gone! The rate of turnover here is beyond comprehension. So my advise is if you fancy it, grab it, don’t let go and pay for it immediately!
Ha ha ha….

There are sections for men, boys, heck even… toddlers!
On the second level, there is even a section where we
can customize and create our own shoes! Basically we
go through a selection of colours, type of soles,
material and the permutation is never ending. A
printout is then made of the final product which you
can then collect within a short period of time.
Imagine…your very own Nike trainers which is a one
off! How’s that for exclusivity?!

If anything, Niketown to me represents the nature of
the consumer society today which is fast, dynamic and
ever changing. Gone are the days where we seem to be
able to survive with a pair of sports shoes for the
year! Nike is of course the world’s No 1 sports
company and their swish logo is seen everywhere and is
endorsed by the likes of Tiger Woods, Roger Federer,
Maria Sharapova.

So, if you are in London, go and visit this fun store
of sports and enjoy!
There are sections for men, boys, heck even… toddlers! On the second level, there is even a section where we
can customize and create our own shoes! Basically we go through a selection of colours, type of soles, material and the permutation is never ending. A printout is then made of the final product which you can then collect within a short period of time. Imagine…your very own Nike trainers which is a one off! How’s that for exclusivity?!

If anything, Niketown to me represents the nature of the consumer society today which is fast, dynamic and
ever changing. Gone are the days where we seem to be able to survive with a pair of sports shoes for the year! Nike is of course the world’s No 1 sports company and their swish logo is seen everywhere and is endorsed by the likes of Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova.

So, if you are in London, go and visit this fun store of sports and enjoy!

Have a fun and sporty day,
Ruby.

Krispy Kreme.

Morning Gang,

Just to show that we are well rounded gals, instead of touching on big issues such as Glocal Malaysians, Religion and Spirituality, Nature, Snow, figs, I am going to touch on Krispy Kreme, that oh-so-knee-tremblingly-yummy doughnut from USA. It is so moist and light as air...never before in any doughnut. Honestly!

I was introduced to Krispy Kreme when it was brought over to London last year. It could only come from the Land of Plenty, the USA! Watch a scene of a policeman in a movie doing a stake out and what do you see them eating….doughnuts right? This however is the creme de la creme or rather Kreme de la Kreme (ha ha ha!) of doughnuts, the mother of all doughnuts!

I read about the opening in Harrods and initially thought…what’s the big deal? It’s a doughnut. I got that 'been there done that' feeling. Then I saw the queue! A queue for doughnuts?!

The Americans are, whatever we may feel about them politically, are masters in marketing. On reaching the counter, everyone was given a free doughnut. At 95p a doughnut, this is no cheap freebie OK! I was hooked! It may not be love at first sight...but certainly at first bite! Ha ha ha!

How would I describe this sensation? Well, firstly, this is not for the faint hearted, at least not those in the watch-the-calorie category. This doughnut is sin with a capital S! Ha ha ha!…It has more calories per doughnut than a beefburger! It’s lethal but after a mouthful, you are automatically in a dazed-nirvana-like state and can only say…’I’ll-have-a-dozen-please!’

As part of the attraction, you can watch the doughnuts rolling out on this conveyor belt behind the counter. The Krispy Kreme sign lights up when the doughnuts rolls out but I can assure you no one is watching. We are all eating OK!

The doughnut of the month is the New York Cheese cake doughnut. The rumour mill has it that Krispy Kreme will make an appearance in our capital soon. A--d--u--h!!

I can only say…. there goes the waist line!

Cheers,
Ruby.

Photo 1 Krispy Kreme Promotion outside Harrods.
Photo 2 Part of the queue.
Photo 3 The conveyor belt.
Photo 4 New York Cheese cake doughnut.
Photo 5 New York Cheesecake doughnut, 3 seconds later! Ha ha ha!

Glocal Malaysian Part 2.

My Dearest Gang,

Please scroll down and read Glocal Malaysian part 1 first for continuity. Thank you.

I have broken the blog into two parts to make reading easier. In this second part, I have included K Asma's summary of her talk at ISIS, which to my mind is most enlightening and contain a lot of answers as to what is the Malay culture and their traits, in other words a serious step in getting to know our roots better. From here we are then able to make the necessary changes to become more dynamic and today, as a race. Be enlightened gang!
Cheers,
Ruby.

Dear friends,

Thank you for your input. My talk last Monday at ISIS went well. There were about 70 Malaysians plus foreign diplomats who came.
I think it generated a lot of interest based on the feedback I received and
I hope there'll be more opportunities for Malaysians to discuss such issues.
I see the Malay problem as a Malaysian problem. To solve it, all groups must be engaged.. I think Malaysia is such a complex society because each ethnic group (Malay, Chinese, Indians and Others) is group driven in terms of their respective value programming. What is possible in a homogenous society like Japan and Korea may not be so easy to do in Malaysia because of our diverse ethnic mix.

Most of my points centered on the materials from my Going Glocal which are as follows:

1. I focused on our akar and the need to understand our core values and
assumptions as I believe we can prescribe when we know how to describe. Culture is often learned but not taught and most of us who do not make a conscious attempt to study our own culture especially those who received their education overseas may do something which can seen as counter culture. Our point of reference is still England - and we still prefer to look to the West to provide the right answers.

2. We all relate at 3 levels of cultural interface and to be Glocal will require us to deal with diversity in values and be comfortable with others who are not like us. The "jaguh kampung" slogan will have to make way for the "worldclass champion". But how do we do it if we are all the time protected and some may even say "sedated". To acquire competencies and skills which are contextually appropriate for all levels of interface takes
time and exposure. Some are lucky because they are given the opportunity to travel, see the world, work with foreigners but others are pretty much sheltered.

3. We need to do ongoing cultural surgery as some of the values in the Malay culture --- when carried to the extreme can be counterproductive. The only people to criticise the Malays are the Malay themselves and we do this by looking at the strengths and weaknesess within us. Some of our core values can cause us to be too compliant, afraid to speak up and make the first move, not open to constructive feedback and always wait to be told. As you know, I teach at a couple of universities at Masters and Doctoral levels and there are enough evidence to indicate that the people who need the most training are the managers themselves. The rest of the time the discussion was centered on how to make Malays be competitive as indicated in the 5 point on Glokal Melayu by DPM..

How do we internalize this value of competitiveness in a culture known for harmony, relationship and group orientation. Maybe our cultural programming and the affirmative action policies of NEP have softened us. So, how do we reengineer ourselves and promote the values of achievement and excellence rather than competitiveness. Are we doing the right thing to develop individual enterpreneurs or should we focus on the group? For some, wanting to win as individuals can be discomforting - so how can we sponsor uniqueness if we are taught to be a face in a crowd at an early age. There were also concerns raised over islamisation, polarisation, our education system, proficiency in the English language.

What can the ordinary men in the street do to bring about change? I believe each culture has its own recipe for success and the task is to locate a set of values which can be harnessed to make its members become high achievers. I also used the historical analysis on two groups of medieval merchants (thanks to Vijay) and how they have developed their best practises based on their own cultural values. Anyway, let me share with you the questions from the floor which I managed to capture. Perhaps you have some reactions?

1. How to address the need to go back to our roots "nativism" - Who defines the brand of a country? What do we emphasize? global or local ?
2. What do we need to do to be competitive? How do we change? Is there a
quick fix approach as we do not have the luxury of time?
3. There are many different interpretations of Islam. How do we use it to brand ourselves in Malaysia?
4. The problem is that we are spoilt and we need to look at it seriously. How do we incorporate positive values among Melayu Baru ?
5. We are still a feudal society where showing initiative is not appreciated. How do we speed up change? We tend to send students in large numbers to study in the West and they group together. This needs a review if we want them to become competitive and be self reliant.
6. There are good values in all cultures. But the trend in Malaysia is to have racial rigidity in education, business and health. Polarisation is becoming more obvious. How to deal with this?
7. We should be looking at value driven leadership. What are the core values common to all groups?
8. There are common traits on entrepreneurship. How do we nurture them?
9. Is polarisation in society a generational thing? Should we separate religious studies for Malay Muslims and moral studies for non Malays in our schools.
10. Our multiracial features are unique in branding ourselves as Malaysia Truly Asia. But in capitalising on our strengths, too much emphasis on ethnicity can also be destructive.
11. The way religion is taught in schools should be examined. Perhaps we should teach values which are universal to all religions. We need to push for values instead of those championed by one religion
12. The concept of Open House is for 30 days/24/7. In the old days it is mandatory to visit relatives and we drop in unannounced. Children have non-Malay friends. Now there must an Invite. Why?
13. How many West Malaysians know their friends in East Malaysia? We need to encourage inter cultural marriages
14. Why do Malay leaders talk about ungratefulness when the young question them?15. How do we prepare Malaysians to go international? Who should support them in doing business overseas? Is there a body looking at this? How do we develop Malaysians to have mental perseverance to survive on their own?
16. Our Malay society also puts pressure on Malays who want marry a Non-Muslim. Some policies relating to conversion need to be reexamined
17. When were the Malays ever competitive? Maybe we need to revisit the history of the Melaka Sultanate in which created policies to encourage trade
18. There is now intense arabisation of Malays. Are we associating it with islamization?
19. How do we inculcate spirituality? In the convent school setting there was a difference between religion and spirituality
20. Culture change over time. Now there are individual Malays who are competitive. Most of them are in private sector and are proficient in both English and Malay languages. But they are insufficient in numbers. We need to instill the values of achievement and excellence among the Malays.

Till then, all the best

Kind regards,
Asma

Glocal Malaysian Part 1.

My Dearest Gang,

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion generated upon the need for Malaysian to be ‘glocal’ ie global in outlook and yet local in our mannerisms. This was touched upon by YAB Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak and I feel it could not have come at a more appropriate time.

We live in an increasingly small world. It is competitive and we can no longer afford to be smug or comfortable in our so called cocoon called Malaysia. Events which take place beyond our shores affects us on an immediate basis and therefore the call to be globalised in our outlook and thinking is not only imperative but mandatory if we are to enjoy the life that we have almost taken for granted in this country.

I also had the privilege to attend a talk at ISIS recently given by our very own Old Girl, Professor Asma Abdullah, on this subject. Now it may be unknown to most of us but she had actually coined up this term all those years ago! K Asma is the author of 'Going Glocal, Cultural Dimension In Malaysian Management'. It was a very interesting and well attended lecture and of course, the grounds to be covered are too vast to be summarized here.

It’s sufficient to say that Malaysia being a multi ethnic country poses a more difficult proposition when it comes to the ‘local’ aspect of a glocal Malaysian. However, I would like to touch on this subject in a general fashion at this stage, at least on the ‘global’ aspect of this issue

Why now? Why are we questioning and raising this matter?
I would like to bring up three points which come to my mind on reflecting on this issue of a global Malaysian

Firstly, a bit of history. In 1981, the Government of Malaysia launched a dawn raid on the London Stock Exchange and took control of Guthrie which subsequently was listed on the KLSE. Now, I may be wrong but the audacity of that action put us on the world map. Obviously, we were global in our action all those years ago, perhaps even before the term global was even coined.

Secondly, yet today, I read that a foreign bank commented that for the revamp of the current Malaysian Government Linked Companies, GLCs, there need to be a change in the mindset in the companies involved. Have we gone backwards?

Thirdly, I read recently that an American think tank, if I am not mistaken, pointed out that Singapore has a secret weapon. What would that be, you may ask? Bombs, the latest war planes? No, none of that. It’s called EDUCATION.

Perhaps we need to ask ourselves whether our education system prepares us to be glocalised, if that’s the term. Don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating an English based education. Let’s not get into the Bahasa Malaysia/ English debate. Are we, on realizing the need for Malaysian to go to the world out there and conquer (so to speak), being adequately prepared in terms of our education.

Education is not about a set curriculum to be memorized and regurgitated during examinations in order to obtain that longed for certificate. Education is more than that. It’s about preparing us mentally as well, to be confident and sure of ourselves. I think we need to be brave enough to change the course of our ship called Malaysia if we feel there is a need to chart a different route.

I think to be glocalised, we need a mental revolution and education will play a part if not the most important part in achieving this change in mindset.

Come on Malaysia!

Cheers,
Ruby Ahmad

Photo 1 K Asma, Dato Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, Director General , ISIS Malaysia and ISIS staff (apologies didn't get her name). Photo courtesy Pn Maria ISIS.
Photo 2 Puan Sri Fauzah Mohd Darus.
Photo 3 Assoc Prof Dato Dr Zaliha Omar.
Photo 4 Yours Truly.

There was quite a good crowd at the talk. I met our K Fauzah ( our TKC OGA President Puan Sri Fauzah), K Lai (Assoc Prof Dato Dr Zaliha Omar), Datin Rehana Kassim, Sharifah Zuriah al Jefri. Also present was Ex-RMC OPA President Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali. I happened to sit beside the author Bridget Menezes who wrote 'Self-Empowerment'. How inspiring

Tunku Kurshiah College Old Girls Association Committee.

Hi there Gang,

Here's the photo of the line-up of the TKC OGA committee, for your information, headed by Puan Sri Fauzah Mohd Darus. Happy getting to know then.


Click twice on photo for larger view.

Cheers,
Ruby.

Taj Mahal

...the Monument of Great Love!


The first thing I remember about a trip that I made to Agra is the landing. It was on an internal flight from Delhi and instead of a slow smooth descent, the plane dived (almost nose-dived) at the last minute! I had read or was informed somewhere that some of the Indian Airline pilots had received training from the Indian Air Force. Evidently, the pilot had not forgotten his flight manoeuvers in his MIG! Ha ha ha! (It was not funny on t-h-a-a-a-t day!)

I was in Agra of course to see the famed Taj Mahal, the monument that the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, had built in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. First, however, we made our way in the reliable Indian car, the Ambassador, to our hotel, the Mughal Sheraton. This was in itself an interesting building as it had received Asia's first Aga Khan Award for Architecture. It is a beautiful resort hotel spread over 35 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens.

After checking in, we hurried to our first appointment which was a visit to a famous artisan who was involved in the art of inlaid marble. The Taj Mahal is, of course, full of these intricate work and we wanted to see for ourselves the actual process. It is still very much cottage industry and can only be described as a laborious, skilled and precision work of art.

The lace-like art work is first drawn onto marble after which the design is carved out. All sorts of gemstones or other coloured stones are then cut to similar and inserted into the carved portion of the marble. This involves a lot of of grinding and after insertion, the finished work is then made smooth so that no stone stands out of the marble. Today, these work is limited to basically coffee tables as it is time consuming and when you are equipped with this knowledge that one would appreciate the amount of work that went into the building, the Taj Mahal, where inlaid marble is everwhere.

We then had time to see the Taj at dusk. What can I say? Words cannot really describe the sight of this wonder monument to love. It was breathtaking and not for nothing. It is described as one of the most beautiful building in the world. The eighth wonder of the world!



The Taj Mahal took 21 years to build! It took a workforce of 20 000 and included craftsmen from Italy, Persia ad Turkey. The whole structure is in white and yellow marble and the monument itself is flanked by two buildings, one a mosque and the other a rest house. We could not see the actual building itself as it was closed but ahhh, the Taj Mahal at dusk...

The next day, we went to explore the Taj Mahal and its surrounding buildings at closer view. The actual complex is made of five components, the Taj Mahal and the two adjacent buildings, the garden and the Gateway to the Taj Mahal itself. Exploring the garden and seeing the monument from different angles was in itself a treat. Built on the bank of the River Yamuna, I was informed that the Emperor had ideas of building an identical monument on the opposite side of the river bank!

It is inside that the intricacies of this monument is of fine carvings decorated with precious and semi precious stones...sapphire, agate, cornelian, topaz, jasper, coral, lapis lazuli and more. A lot of the interior decorations are also made of transparent marble. Below in the basement is the actual cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal itself, also built of marble inlay work.

In the garden, right at the centre is of course where the late Princess Diana took the sad forlorn photo...digression! In any case, it is an obligatory site to take a photo. I could go on and on about this monument and still do not do justice to it! Sigh!

From Agra, we travelled to Jaipur by car, stopping by Fatehpur Sikri...but that's another story....

Cheers,
Ruby Ahmad.

Girls, do we have some sense of humour?

My Dearest Gang,


To have a good sense of humour is imperative in todays time! To survive elegantly...that's the way to go.

Now, I just received this from my gal pal, Zeijun.


Girls will be girls. Ha ha ha! Here you go gals...





Which of the two birds is a female?

Below are two birds. Study them closely.........See if you can spot which of the two is the female. It can be done. Even by one with limited bird watching skills













I thought it would be a toughy to pick the gender, before I saw the animation! How awfully wrong I was. Sigh!


Cheers.
Ruby Ahmad.

p/s...chinwag gals...it's therapeutic!

Don't Be Sad by Aaidh Abdullah al-Qarni.

'Don't Be Sad' by Aaidh ibn Abdullah al Qarni.

It was recommended to me by a TKC senior (Thank you, Zai). A book recommended by her, I would take quite seriously, and it is now in my possession.

A must-have!

I find the book, very heartening, encouraging and delightful reading. It is like a book full of magical cures from the clever way the author has itemised all the possible pains and angsts that we face...anxieties, sorrows, remorse, dejections, aches, confusions, worries and more...any possible human feelings and emotions that one can contemplate...a complete compendium of cures for all possible ills!...to deliver joy and happiness in an instant...and immediately brighten up our lives!



What I love about this book is, it nudges us, ever so subtlely and gently, to embrace humility (and not anger and become irrational) as we face ills and sorrows of this world (which I found out, God, has promised, none of us will escape, anytime). Knowing this truth, such a book is a sweet reprieve.

This book is full of practical lessons of spirituality, that is lacking in most of our societies from around the world, today. It is about what goes on, in our hearts, followed by sincere actions...and that to me, count the most!!

The part of the book that touched me the most are pages 121-124 (will post these pages later)...Don't be sad, Do Good to Others! One word...Kindness! That is testimony of people who are real and true!


Happy reading,
Ruby Ahmad.

Click twice on illustrations for larger view.

Illustrations from, (shop.store.yahoo.com/talkislam/b7651.html).
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Coconut Oil is vindicated.

My Dearest Gang,

Let me share with you the little that I know of our once upon a time friend, in the kitchen, (most unfairly, for many years it became infamous), well...none other that the coconut oil.

Three years ago, I found out all the slander that has been thrown at coconut oil (that it brings on heart diseases and more nasty allegations) were untrue. I was in United Kingdom and was subscribing to some health journals and read about this. I decided to read around on this issue further. Here goes...

Coconut Oil is now starting to get the respect it deserves as not only the healthiest oil you can consume, even superior to olive oil, but as one of the most nutritious of all foods.

Coconut oil is vindicated!

'Coconut oil has been used as cooking oil for thousands of years. Then came the anti-coconut campaign and the promotion of flaxseed, canola, soybean, safflower, corn, and other seed and nut oils plus their partially hydrogenated counterparts (margarine, "I can't believe it's not butter" said a renowned food nutritionists) as the way to go'.
(www.coconut-info.com/coconut_oil_why_it_is_good_for_you.htm)

To be sure, this was some kind of an economic propaganda from some strong food association.

And today we learn again that Coconut Oil has the ability to help the body burn unwanted fat, triple your energy, greatly help those with thyroid problems, improve the condition of diabetic patients, prevent infectious diseases, reduce the risk of heart diseases, rejuvenate your skin and help prevent wrinkles and a host of other benefits, too long to list here.



I would like to add, Coconut oil is uniquely effective at protecting your health, primarily because of its high concentration of lauric acid (which is also found in abundance in mother's milk). Lauric acid kills bacteria and viruses. Therefore, coconut oil has anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.

From my reading around in health journals, I have learnt, how the oil is processed, is key to the final quality. Most of the coconut oil we find in the supermarket that is lowly priced, I'm afraid to tell you, that they are unhealthy.

You see, those ones are processed from low quality copra (Copra is the meaty inner lining of the coconut that has been dried in the sun). When oil is pressed from these copra, we get brown oil that has unpleasant odour. To make this oil presentable to the consumers, it has to undergo a refining process. Refining consists of neutralization, bleaching and deodorizing. Even the word bleaching scares me! This means the oil is chemically treated and processed on high heat. Can we imagine how all the nutrients are gone by the end of the process? There you go...

The good quality oil I'm talking about is extra virgin coconut oil. This is processed from fresh coconut meat using very low heat (cold pressed). Therefore all nutrients are intact. No chemical treatment introduced anywhere in the process. It spells healthy.

Here is something great for us to know too girls, that I read.

'For skincare, using the extra virgin Coconut Oil, is
ideal. It prevents destructive free-radical formation and provides protection against them. It can help to keep the skin from developing liver spots, and other blemishes caused by aging and over exposure to sunlight. It helps to prevent sagging and wrinkling by keeping connective tissues strong and supple. In some cases it might even restore damaged or diseased skin. The oil is absorbed into the skin and into the cell structure of the connective tissues, limiting the damage excessive sun exposure can cause.

Coconut oil will not only bring temporary relief to the skin, but it will aid in healing and repairing. It will have lasting benefits, unlike most lotions. It can help bring back a youthful appearance. The coconut oil will aid in removing the outer layer of dead skin cells, making the skin smoother. The skin will become more evenly textured with a healthy "shine". And the coconut oil will penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin and strengthen the underlying tissues'. (www.hippocrates.com.au/coconut.html). Isn't this great!

Okay gang, if we already know that the extra virgin olive oil is expensive, extra virgin coconut oil is equally expensive (due to the way it is processed, as I have described before). Sigh! What do we do?

I suggest the most ideal way (please, I'd like to stress the word ideal here, meaning not the easiest to achieve), is to have at least three oils in the kitchen. Extra virgin coconut and extra virgin olive use them for salad dressings and sauteing (since they are expensive) and good quality palm oil (cheaper in price) for deep frying (as this involves volume). Oh!! How we Malaysians love oily food. So do make sure we use good oil to maintain good health.

A word of warning, when you do google this product, they do say you can consume coconut oil for slimming purposes. I'd like to stress here (or rather caution all of us), please consult your doctors first. Be mindful of commercial suggestions. It is always better to be safe than sorry!

Folks, do remember to excercise. This helps to remove toxins we accumulate in our body from our not-so-good food habits!

Do remember to be happy!

Good luck.

Cheers,
Ruby.

Photo 1 and 2 www.portalmarket.com
Photo 3 www.tropicaltradition.com
Photo 4 www.virgincoconutoil.co.uk

Please do not self-prescribe. It is after all just your health. Seek advice from experts always.

Snow frolics in London?

My Dearest Gang,

'I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas'.

Remember this song?

I do!

Our romantic notions of snow all our lives somehow is entertwined with this song mainly. Ha ha ha! How we were hit in all manners by Christmas jingles all our lives via television, radio and other media. Most of us know the classic Christmas scene, skating, deep snow, and frozen rivers, was Victorian nostalgia for the mini-ice Age of 1790s when the Thames froze over.



London in recent years has rarely seen snowfalls. London had only light snow. Not the past couple of years though, London HAD snowfalls. (This is an effect of global-warming, and that is another long story). I was in the thick of it! I was there to witness this phenomenon in this whatchamacallit...'Latest Everything city', that is London!

My first encounter with a real snowfall was w--a--y back when I was studying at University in United Kingdom.

It was surreal for me the first time I saw snowflakes from my home window, after all these years of yearning. It was mesmerisingly enthralling. The snow fell poetically that it was enchanting. It had such a grip on me, to just watch every drop. I watched all engrossed, from the window. I was only awakened from the sheer spellbinding hypnotism of it all when I heard peals of laughter from my friends, engaging in snow frolics in the backyard. I dashed down to join them.

It was a full day of joy then, all wrapped up with this new acquaintance, S-N-O-W.



Day one was esctatic.

Not day two.

When I woke-up and opened the front door to go for class, the second day of snowfall, the beautiful white landscape was gone. The surreal-white-smooth-fluffy snow was replaced with muddy and dirty slush. It was awful. We had to also watch out for slippery black-ice on the pavement which is a common occurence.

I recalled, my friend stepped on black ice, she fell and broke her arm. Sigh!

Back to the recent London snowfall, my friend from Sarawak (who has lived in London for the past twenty years) told me he was caught up in a traffic jam for nine hours during the first snowfall!! It was horrendous he admitted. There were accidents as roads were slippery. The council had not spread enough grit on the roads as they too, were taken by surprise with the heavy snowfall!!

The downside of snow that I didn't know when I was little, watching all the romantic Christmas offerings on television then.

The downside of snow that I didn't know when I merrily hummed 'I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas'!...

Brrrrrr....
Ruby Ahmad.
p/s...Song title 'White Christmas' by Bing Crosby.
All snow pictures taken in London.
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Figs!

My Dear Gang,

Fresh figs (buah tin or teen) and dates (buah tamar) are two of the most nutritious fruits in the world. From my reading around, I found out that fresh figs could be a notch or two, more nutritious than even the fresh dates.



It is said that if one were to live on nothing, but the figs, one can live just on them for 40 days (don't hold me to this...I just happened to read this in some journal, sometime back). But again this is testimony of how highly nutritious the figs are. Unfortunately, the fresh figs are not that readily available here. Even abroad they are seasonal, found in supermarkets, only in summer. Each fig costs like gold!!

(By the way, figs are known to be able to alleviate the symptoms of gout, I have found out).



Figs (Ficus carica) are not naturally the dried, leathery things that are available all year round, but are in fact some of the juiciest, sweetest and most fragrant fruits around. There are lots of different varieties of figs which have different characteristics. Some have dark purple almost black skins with ruby red or garnet flesh, whilst others have yellow skin and pale pink flesh. All of them are delicious when grown fresh and are about as far away from the dried version as it is possible to get.

From the translation of 'The Meaning of the Quran' by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, in surah al-Tin (surah 95), it is stated that the fig tree under cultivation, it can be one of the finest, most delicious, and most wholesome fruits in existence. In its wild state, it is nothing but tiny seeds, and is insipid, and often full of worms and maggots. So symbolically, man at his best has a noble destiny, at his worst, he is 'the lowest of the low'. The fig is one of the four symbols in the surah alongside the Olive, Mount Sinai and the sacred City of Mekah.



In my previous blog, 'Intrigued with Nature', I mentioned my visit to a gem of a garden in Janda Baik. I have seen fig trees before, but not like the one I spotted in that garden!! It was full of fig fruits.

I tasted the figs and they were h--e--a--v--e--n--l--y!!!

To me, of all the figs I've tasted around, the ones in that garden were the most delicious and the sweetest ever!! Hmmm....

Now you know why I went crazy in that gem of a garden. Finding some excuse to go there again indeed!

Email me at rubyahmad@gmail.com for any comments.

Cheers,
Ruby Ahmad.

p/s...click twice on photos for larger view, the fruits look scrumptious on larger view. I'm no Annie Lebovitz (one of the top world-class photographers), not yet (...ha ha ha!...so there's hope yet!)

Intrigued with Nature!

My Dearest Gang,

I have always been intrigued with nature, as do most of us.

My late dad used to do a lot of gardening. As a child, it was only natural to be interested in the same things as your loved ones did. So I have always viewed gardening with great interest and fondness, but never really gotten into it, until quite late in my life and that was a number of years ago when I was staying in an Asean neighbouring country.

What triggered my gardening interest?

It was a holiday at the Holiday Inn, in Miri. When I was having a walk around the compounds of the hotel, I caught sight of this most unique banana specie. It took my breath away! I have never seen another version of a banana tree except what I know of in West Malaysia, the normal-green-leafed-edible-fruit-bearing banana tree.

Not this one.

It was reddish-brown with carmouflage-army-like leafs (architectonic to me) and bearing non-edible fruits, in other words...ornamental! For me...it was an awesome encounter.

These unique beings (flora in the form of banana ornamental trees) simply stopped me in my tracks. They looked at me and I looked at them. Time froze on us! We fell in love.

Anyway the rest is history.



In my other blog, 'Donation of Reading room/Library', I mentioned I went to Janda Baik (that explained why we were in 'baju kurung' in this photo). Well after the launch was over, we visited somebody's garden in the vicinity. A whole 6-acres of garden. Guess what? I went crazy! No words can describe what I saw in the garden...it was spellbinding! It was fantabulous!

Just look at some of the plants I met in the garden...and fell in love...all over again! Ecstatic!

(Btw, that out-of-this-world-plant...they call it pokok 'pisang-seribu' ('thousand-banana' plant)). Quite something that!! Yeah! That's Chris in purple.

Write to rubyahmad@gmail for any comments.

Cheers,
Ruby Ahmad.

Donation of Reading Room/Library.

Hi there Gang,

Some weeks back, I went to Janda Baik with K Asma Abdullah and Christine Hogan (who flew in from Perth, to speak at a seminar with K Asma).

Dr Humairah Samad (K Mai) who is a TKCian (K Asmah's former classmate) had a soft launch for a reading room/library which she and her family had graciously donated to the community of Janda Baik. That is really generous of K Mai and her family indeed. The kids from the school in Janda Baik would now be able to read all sorts of books that will empower their minds. All sorts of interesting books that will open up their world...big.

(Btw, if any of you wish to donate books to the library please email me at rubyahmad@gmail.com. We'll discuss logistics).



Whoa! The wooden houses (there were two) were two dream homes in the most beautiful of settings. I just felt one can't ever be unhappy in such a natural inspiring setting. Personally, if I were to live there, I'd be able to suddenly write thousands and thousands of poems. Ha ha ha! I just felt like that. The smell of the fresh breeze was enough to set the mood. Move ooovvveeerrr Kahlil Gibran!! Ha ha ha!

Thanks K Mai. You have left a mark indeed. Well done!

From left, K Mai and K Asma.
(Click any photo twice for larger view).

Inspired,
Ruby Ahmad.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Beings, oops... Ah Bengs

Salam...

Today I'd like to share with you a picture which I got thru my email this morning.

Funny, but it's true... sometimes the advice we get from professionals are just the same things we get from our elders - but we don't seem to digest them quite the same...

(click on the image to see a bigger version, then move your cursor to the bottom right hand corner to even expand it further - to be able to read the writings)