Welcome 2006

Here's a warm welcome to 2006, which started with a bang: a group of friends from LBS and I went to see Big Ben turn twelve and to watch the fireworks that were staged from the London Eye. I'd seen both of these before on the telly, but never in real life, and it was fab. The fireworks were so beautiful and innnovative, I completely forgot to put my hands over my ears (and for me, that is a BIG thing, I hate the noise of fireworks). I just stood there, occasionally uttering phrases like 'D**n, this is great!'.

Today, on the first day of the New Year, another first: I visited a Sikh temple (in Southall, the biggest outside India) with a friend. He's Sikh and told me all about Sikh religion, the history and the customs. I was very impressed, the atmosphere was so serene and peaceful, and no one thought it strange that I, a European girl, was in their temple. A lot of things, such as the beautiful stained glass windows, reminded me of my own catholic upbringing. We finished our visit in the communal kitchen with a very tasty Indian meal and the experience left me floating on a cloud of serene-ness the rest of the day.

On the way back from the temple, I picked up a copy of the book 500 Ways to change the world, which is the book version of a bunch of good ideas that people have sent to the Global Ideas Bank. Ideas vary from 'give dogs number plates so foulers can be fined' to 'play piano in the park' to 'let happiness be a nation's measure for succes'. I love this book and can recommend to anyone wanting to think about answers to common problems in a different way. Check out the Global Ideas Bank blog for more information.