I had a strange kind of a day yesterday, I often feel spaced out and out of sorts when I have a lot to do and don’t break it down into chunks to stop it overwhelming me. I had a long to-do list to get the housekeeping in order, but an utter disinclination to getting […]

This is very much a traditional Pakistani recipe, one which makes an appearance at parties, on Eid and during Ramadan (especially in my Lahori in-law’s house). It also abounds in bazaars and people snack on it as they shop. It’s simple and fairly quick and the chickpeas (garbanzo bean or channa in Urdu/Hindi) and potato […]

Yesterday morning I had a miserable time, made worse by an argument with a Dr’s receptionist that pushed me right to the edge.  I am a very honest and open person, I blog about how my real life is  – both the good times and the hard ones. I am by nature upbeat, positive and […]

Kooky Little Sister has been on her honeymoon in Istanbul and brought us back some gorgeous gifts: The kids got floral headbands, mini spiro-graph games and Turkish delight.  I got the gorgeous scarf above which I can’t wait to wear, a very pretty journal (she knows I love stationary) and Turkish chocolate. Some of her pictures from her […]

I made a note of Islamic Awareness Week ages ago, so that I can mention it on this blog nearer the time, and then I promptly forgot in the chaos of the last few weeks. This year it runs from Monday 17 – Sunday 23 November and the theme is “Celebrating the Best of Britain […]

We all make the good intention to perform good deeds and find ways to balance out the small sins we knowingly or unknowingly commit in our everyday lives. Our dreams of the big sadaqah project, of doing community work, of making time to learn more Quran or gain more knowledge or do something substantial that […]

Coming from a British South Asian background, the concept of beauty can often be confused and to my mind very limited. Beautiful is fair, beautiful is large eyes and small lips and long black hair. Anything else is flawed. Black cannot be beautiful, white is better.I’ve looked over this whole issue with distant disapproval until […]

My mum’s garden is her pride and joy.  Last year my brother spent a day cutting back all of her rose bushes and the trees quite drastically as with time she is finding it harder to manage the larger plants. So this year she has much more of a clean slate in terms of planting. […]

My latest column for InCulture Parent has now been published: “What’s an Asian? Race and Identity for a New Generation” is my response after reading and thinking about another article in the same magazine by J. Claire K. Niala called “Mama, What Colour is Me? How My Child Defines Race”: My eight-year-old daughter did something a […]

Thursday evenings is usually the time I clean the bathroom, clear the fridge, empty the nappy bin and put all the bins out.  On the way home from picking my daughter up from Arabic class yesterday, I met my neighbour and her two girls heading out.  She told me that a new Indian sweet shop […]

I spent an afternoon with my oldest in central London shopping, squabbling, disagreeing and trying to hold my tongue.  Her GCSE exams are finished now thankfully, and she is job hunting, I hope this is enough to keep her busy and out of mischief. I have come to the conclusion that we have different values […]

I promised the kids I would take them to the teddy bears picnic, only to find that on the day it was 32 degrees, way too hot to go and sit in the park. So after some thought, I ordered them all to take a nap, they were a bit annoyed, but once they realised […]

The Shadow of the Wind is the story of ten your old Daniel, son of a gentle bookseller in 1945 Barcelona – how many books have you come across set in 1945 Barcelona? Certainly had me intrigued.On Daniel’s tenth birthday his father takes him to a secret library hidden underneath the city where he is […]

We wanted to take the kids out for a day during the autumn half term holidays.  One of the problems we are starting to face, is finding somewhere new that everyone can agree on.  The kids want theme parks, or at the very least “no more castles and old houses”, I hate theme parks and […]