Diwali, festival of new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness is celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. This year Diwali takes place over five days from 10 November to 14 November. Hindus celebrate the return of deities Rama and Sita to Ayodhya after their 14-year exile, and some also celebrate Mother Goddess Durga destroyed a demon called Mahisha. Sikhs celebrate the release of prison of the sixth guru Hargobind Singh in 1619. The founder of Jainism is Lord Mahavira when Jains celebrate the moment he reached a state called … Continue reading Diwali: Festival of Lights

Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer’s right hand man failed to declare more than £738, 492 of donations received from small group of millionaire backers like Marin Taylor, a hedge fund manager whose Cayman Islands firm invested in the Russian oil giant Gazprom, and Sir Trevor Chinn, a philanthropist  and friend of Sir Tony Blair, between June 2007 and April 2020. McSweeney was Labour together’s ( organization created in June 2015 during the leadership election which Corbyn won) full- time director and company secretary, responsible for day to day administration, including compliance  with regulations and laws. Three of Ed Milliband’s former … Continue reading Starmer’s right hand man failed to declare £738, 492 donations

12 Nov 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore Cricket India Vs Netherlands India 410-4 (50ov) Rohit 61 off 54, 8 fours, 2 sixes, Shreyas 128 no off 94, 10 fours, 5 sixes, Rahul 102 off 64, 11 fours, 4 sixes, Gill 51 off 32, 3 fours, 4 sixes, Kohli 51 off 56, 5 fours, 1 six, de Leede 2-82 Netherlands 250 ao off 47.5ov Engelbrecht 45 off 80, 4 fours, Nidamanuru 54 off 39, 1 four, 6 sixes, Bumrah 2-33, Siraj 2-29, K Yadav 2-41, Jadeja 2-49. India win by 160 runs Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul … Continue reading India Powers into World Cup semi-finals

When Ray Dalio, billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, announced in October 2022 that he was stepping down from the company he founded forty-seven years ago, the news made headlines around the world. Dalio achieved worldwide fame thanks to a mystique of success cultivated in frequent media appearances, celebrity hobnobbing, and his bestselling book, Principles. Tracing more than fifty years of Dalio’s leadership, The Fund peels back the curtain to reveal a rarefied world of wealth and power, where former FBI director Jim Comey kisses Dalio’s ring, recent Pennsylvania Senate candidate David McCormick sells out, and countless Bridgewater acolytes … Continue reading Surfing economic trends

Shonda Rhimes’ Bridgerton, based on a series of books by Julia Quinn published 20 years ago was released on Netflix on Christmas 2020 set in the Regency-era London marriage market the raunchy series  seemed to provide escape. Romance author Emily Henry is on the top of US and UK bestseller lists with romantic comedies such as People We Meet On Vacation and Book Lovers. Sarah J Maas, whose series about a kingdom of sexually charged faerie warriors, A Court of Thorns and Roses, has been optioned by Hulu. Colleen Hoovers’ 2016 novel It Ends With Us was discovered on TikTok, … Continue reading Romance is in the air

ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, Mumbai Afghanistan 291-5 (50 ov) Zadran 129 no off 143, 8 fours, 3 sixes, Rashid 35 no off 18, 2 fours, 3 sixes,  Hazelwood 2-39 Australia 293-7 (46.5 ov) Maxwell 201 no off 128, 21fours, 10 sixes, Rashid 2-44 Australia won by three wickets Glenn Maxwell’s double century propels Australia to  World Cup Semi finals Spilled catches does not win matches for Afghanistan. Glenn Maxwell smashed 10 sixes to complete a double century 201 not out off just 128 balls,  and win over Afghanistan, that put Australia in the World Cup semi-finals. Set 292 to … Continue reading Glenn Maxwell’s double century propels Australia to  World Cup Semi finals

5 Nov 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup India Vs South Africa India 326-5 off 50 ov Rohit 40 off 24. 6 fours, 2 sixes. Kohli 101 not out off 121, 10 fours Shreyas 77 off 87, 7 fours, 2 sixes, Ngidi 1-63, Jansen 1-94, Rabada 1-48, Maharaj 1-30, Shamsi 1-72. South Africa 83 all out van der Dussen 13 off 32. 1 four. Jansen 14 off 30,1 four, Jadeja 5-33, Siraj 1-11, Shami 2-18, K Yadav 2-7. India win by 243 runs off 27.1 overs. The one day World Cup cricket match between South Africa and India was billed as … Continue reading India thrash South Africa aided by Kohli’s 49th ODI Ton

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, his 17th victory of the season. The race was incidentally interrupted by an early red flag after debris was spread on the circuit at the first corner following contact between Kevin Magnussen and Alexander Albon. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc failed to take the start of the race after a hydraulics failure sidelined him into the barrier on the formation lap. Lando Norris of McLaren scored his fifth podium in six races, while Fernando Alonso survived battle with Sergio Perez in the final laps of the race to take his … Continue reading Max Verstappen wins F1 Brazilian Gran Prix at Interlagos

In Fanatic Heart, Booker Prize winner Thomas Keneally takes on one of the most controversial figures of the fight for Irish independence to wrestle with the conflicts at the centre of a complicated legacy. John  Mitchell, the lawyer and polemicist newspaper editor with pro-slavery views, stands between Irish patriots  Daniel O’Connell and Charles Stuart in the pantheon of the 19th century, sworn enemy of British crown. Summer 1847 people are getting used to the corpses lying by the road and along the ditches as the world famine will  forever conjure the hollowed faces of Ireland’s dead, the liquid Irish of the past … Continue reading Fight for Irish Independence

From Uzbekistan, Nadira when in her twenties,   ended up  for some time in Scotland. Her  father was a dermatologist and playwright, and her mother was an actress. Growing up, Nadira  spent a lot of time in the theatre outside school where she   witnessed a lot of behaviour that most young people would not have seen – possibly loving interludes etc in the theatre backstage.  When Russia got involved in policing Uzbekistan, everything changed and it turned her father to alcoholism. Nadira came to the UK  and did theatre courses including a lot of Shakespeare and then came to Raindance amd … Continue reading Nadira Murray – a talk –  Raindance Festival 2023