Trip to the Indian Hills (Kasol) - Part 1

Read this excellent account of a trip to Kasol in the India Hillside. Sounds like a bit of a mission to get there but well worth it!

Trip to Kasol, India.

Pictures from Muhammad Ali Exhibition

Here are some more pictures from the Muhammad Ali Exihibition at the O2. You couldn't use flash so some of the pictures came out blurred. Enjoy.

"Every man wants to believe in himself, and every man wants to be fearless. We become heros when we stand up for what we believe in, before I won the gold medal at the Olympics, before I became the heavy-weight champion of the world, before I stood up to the United States Government for my religious beliefs, before I was named a United Nations Ambassador of Peace, and before I became the most recognised person in the world, I was just a kid from Kentucky who had the faith to believe in himself and the courage to follow his heart." Muhammad Ali

"My first amateur fight was against Ronnie O'Keefe. A white boy who was bigger and older than me. I was scared to death. I said to my Dad,'Cash do you see who I'm Fighting?'
Cash looked me in the eye. 'Yes and we're going to whup him.' Hearing my father say that inspired me, suddenly I felt good. I had my Dad in my corner and I won my first fight. All of a sudden I had a new life." Muhammad Ali

 

"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't leearned anything." Muhammad Ali

Post 1: Summary of my day out to Greenwich and Canary Wharf. 
Post 2: An overview of the Exhibition.
Post 3: My notes from the Muhammad Ali Exhibition

My Notes from the Muhammad Ali Exhibition (and tribute to the man)

Prelude
 

Muhammad Ali:
17^th January 1942 – 3^rd June 2016.

This morning (Saturday, 4th June 2016) I woke up to the sad news of the passing of Muhammad Ali. May Allah have mercy upon him, forgive him and grant him Jannah, Ameen. My thoughts and prayers are for him and with his family and friends. I had already composed the post below, and was going to post it in a few days. But the time is now. 

I know that I am more touched, more sadden and more moved having attended the exhibition and learnt about him than if I hadn’t. Muhammad Ali had a public persona but I learnt about the man behind this show. Ali suffered segregation, discrimination, was part of the civil rights movement, fought for truth, justice and equality. Later, he was a humanitarian, an ambassador, and tested with Parkinson's disease.

The exhibition was curated by one of his good friends, and has the support of his family. It was hoped that Ali would attend the exhibition with his wife, Lonnie. Sadly, it was not to be. If anyone is in London, I urge you to attend the exhibition; it is on till the 31^st August. You will not regret it.   

I wasn’t going to mention this, but I will. In the 90’s, when I was at school Muhammad Ali came to visit. I don’t actually remember much about the visit. I don’t remember if he said anything in the special assembly that had been arranged. But I remember him to be a humble, quiet person, emanating an aura, noor and respect.

Ali at the O2:  http://www.aliattheo2.com/

The Post

This is a summary of notes I made and things I learnt:

• Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, was born on 17^th January 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. His parents were Odessa and Cassius Sr, known as Cash. He has a younger brother Rudolph.
• He grew up in racially divided America. He lived in a black neighbourhood. His neighbours, the school he went to etc. was all black. His family were considered middle class.
• “For me, it was all about the bike. I told Mr Martin I was gonna whup whoever stole my bike.”  
  When Cassius was 12, someone stole his bike. He was so upset. He went to see Joe Martin who was the local officer of the area, but also ran the local boxing club. He told Cassius, if you want to whup the guy who stole your bike, you had better learn to fight properly.
• At school he was a quiet boy, hardworking. The other kids say sometimes he would be almost meditative.
• He didn’t take the bus to school. He used to race the bus to school.
• He used to drink water from a bottle which contained a clove of garlic to keep his blood pressure down. He used to get the other kids to throw rocks at him so he could practice dodging.
• By 1958, he was the best amateur. Had won 100 fights (lost only 5). Won 6 Kentucky Golden Gloves.
• In 1960, he went to the Olympics in Rome and won gold in the light-heavyweight division. He was 18 years old.

"To make America the greatest is my goal, so I beat the Russian and I beat the Pole. And for the U.S.A. won the medal of gold. The Greeks said, 'You're better than the Cassius of old.' " Muhammad Ali.

• After returning from the Olympics, Cassius went to a restaurant with a friend. They ordered a meal, Clay ordered steak. The waiter said, “We don’t serve …… .” Clay replied, “Well, that’s good. Coz I didn’t order ……. I ordered steak!” And this was after he had won an Olympic gold for his country.
• His coach was Angelo Dundee, who was with him for the whole of his career expect for the first two fights. Dundee was probably the only guy who could coach Ali. Ali’s fighting style was unorthodox – not out of the coaching manual. But Dundee didn’t try to change that or coach him. He let Ali fight natural.
• In 1964, he beat Sonny Liston and become the heavyweight champion. 
• Shortly afterwards, Cassius Clay announced he had joined the Nation on Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. 



"Cassius Clay is a name that white people gave to my slave master. Now that I am free, that I don't belong anymore, that I'm not a slave anymore, I gave back their white name, and chose a beautiful African one." Muhammd Ali

• When the Vietnam War broke out, in 1967, Muhammad Ali was called up to be enlisted into the US Army. His name was called and he was asked if he agreed to join. He replied in the negative. This happened two more times. After the 3^rd time Ali was taken outside. He was arrested. His passport had been taken from him, his boxing licence was suspended and he was stripped of all his titles. Later he was handed a $10,000 fine and 5 years in prison. Muhammad Ali was just 25 years old. He was in his prime, at his peak, and he lost three years. 
• He had no means of making money or supporting his family. So he used to tour different colleges and give talks. The US government were wary of Ali: they saw him as a powerful young black man, who didn’t want to conform, who didn’t want to do what they wanted him to do. Outside of the US, he was seen as a hero: a man who stood up for peace, for justice.    
• What Ali said, “Man, I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong. They ain’t called me …… .”  
• Although he never went to prison, it was 3 years before Ali would fight again. One of the men who helped Ali to get back in the ring was a young bare-knuckle fighter from Ireland (or Northern Ireland – can’t remember) called Paddy Monaghan. They became friends for life. When Ali came to Britain he went to stay with Paddy.
• 1970 was Ali’s comeback fight against Joe Quarry. He broke one of his ribs in training but couldn’t let on. He carried on training like normal. He won.
• Famous fights:
• (As above) 1964 – Sonny Liston – Won against expectation
• 1974 – George Foreman –Rumble in the Jungle
• 1975 – Joe Frazier –Thriller in Manila.
• In 1978, Ali was 3 times heavyweight champion.
• Only two men have fought Ali three times: Joe Frazier and Ken Norton.
• Fought Henry Cooper in 1966.
• After briefly retiring, he returned to the ring. His last fights (which he lost) were in 1980 and 1981. He was not the boxer that he once was and the fights were not nice to watch. But Ali went out on his own terms.
• Muhammad Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1984.
• Post boxing, he has mainly been involved in humanitarian and philanthropic work and been appointed a peace ambassador. He still has remained involved in sport.
• Quote: “The most important thing you can give to someone is your time.”
• There was a lovely story from a young journalist (can’t remember his name). Ali was visiting his Mum and the journalist, driving by, saw Ali’s car outside. He thought: I’ve got to do it. So, tentatively, he knocked on the door and asked if he could speak to Muhammad Ali. Initially, his family refused but when Ali got to the door he ushered the journalist in. They talked, had a nice conversation and the journalist got his exclusive interview. Later, they went outside and started playing with a basketball. Slowly, the kids and passers-by stopped and joined in. They just had so much fun; and Ali was totally gracious and giving but he did have to stop after a while.   
• When the first Gulf War was about to start someone called Ali. There was a journalist (another one) sitting with him in the room. He was on the phone for 15 minutes. They were asking him if he could go over there and help. Ali was unwell and there were two armies amassing on the border so the journalist advised Ali to leave it. A few weeks later, Ali is in Iraq talking to Saddam Hussein and he has managed to negotiate the release of 15 American soldiers. Even the President of the US couldn’t have managed that.
• One moment that no-one will forget is the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta: when Muhammad Ali, trembling due to Parkinson’s, lit the Olympic torch. They also gave him a new Olympic medal to replace the 1960 one that was lost.  
• Muhammad Ali later left the Nation of Islam and follows more orthodox Islam.

I did take quite a few photographs but we weren’t allowed to use flash, so some of the images came out blurred. But I’ll post a few more next time, Insha'Allah.

Post 1: Summary of my day out to Greenwich and Canary Wharf. 
Post 2: An overview of the Exhibition. 

Canterbury in Eight Dates

Our tour guide, Andreas, from Canterbury Guided Tours was really brilliant. he was funny, knowledgeable and helpful. Our tour was an "interactive tour." But what was also really good was that he didn't just want use to learn a bunch of facts then forget about dear Canterbury, he wanted us to try and remember some key points.

So these are Andreas' Eight key dates in the history of Canterbury: 

1.  43 AD – Britain conquered by the Romans.
2. 410 – Romans left and returned to Italy.
3. 597 – Augustine came to Canterbury from Rome to establish Christianity.
4. 1066 – Norman invasion of Britain.
5. 1170 – On 29^th December, Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral.
6. 1538 – King Henry VIII changed the religion of Britain. The dissolution of Catholic faith and reformation of Christian Church.
7. 1830 – The world’s first passenger railway journey took place, from Canterbury to Whitstable.   

I can’t remember the specific 8^th date that Andreas told us (I’ve got a few) so I’m just going to add:

8. 1543 - Christopher Marlowe was born. The same year as one William Shakespeare

Read my other posts about my trip to Canterbury:

• Trip to Canterbury - An Overview
•  Eating and Accommodation
• Guided Tour of Canterbury

“I am the Greatest.” Muhammad Ali Exhibition at the O2. May 2015

Tickets: On the official website the tickets are £18.00 plus £2.75 booking fee, so nearly £21.00 in total. I thought that was a bit much. I bought my tickets from Box Nation http://www.boxnation.com/boxing-news/new-muhammad-ali-o2-arena-exhibition-discounted-ticket-prices/  it was £14.40 plus £2.50 booking fee so £16.90 in total. There was another website which offered £14.50 tickets and just a small card fee but their ticket entry time was 11:30am only and I wanted to get there early. Box Nation offered different time slots. To be honest, I don’t think it would have mattered because we got there nearly half an hour early and I don't think the lady even checked the time. I think the time slots are more relevant at busy periods.

We arrived at 10:40am. It was very quiet. The Dome was quiet. (That's why I think the entry time wouldn't have made too much difference.) We spent about 2 hours in the exhibition, which I was very surprised about. I didn't expect to spend that long there.

Although I am a sports fan, I am not really a boxing fan. But Muhammad Ali transcends sport. His life, his achievements, his fights inside and outside the ring, his principles and what he stood for. Masha'Allah, he is a great man who had more influence than probably he realises but he has used the status that Allah has blessed him with for good. I got the impression that the talk and bravado was simply just that; for his fights. Deep down he is a quiet man.

For the exhibition you are given an audio guide. You see the numbers on the wall (e.g. round 1) and enter it in the guide then listen to the clip. The beginning is a series of rooms dedicated to the early part of his life: where he was born, his family, where /how he learnt to box, his career as an amateur, the Olympics, his conversion to Nation of Islam, his early professional fights, the Vietnam War up until the George Foreman, 1974, fight. Then you reach the rotunda, which is where it got a bit confusing. The rotunda showcases his professional fights. 

There is lots of video footage, his belts, his gowns, the magazine covers etc. But it was hard to follow the audio guide because it was hard to find the numbers around the room. I basically just started listening to the guide in numerical order regardless of where I was standing in the room. But even then the guide wasn't in chronological order. For example, a clip was playing regarding Sonny Liston. But then it talked about all of the fights the early one and the later ones and Sonny Liston’s death; same with George Foreman. So I found it confusing. It wasn’t really in chronological order. There a few additional rooms off the rotunda. They were regarding Henry Cooper and Paddy Monaghan. And the last room reflects on his life post boxing; particularly the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and that moment when he lit the Olympic flame and was given a replacement gold medal. But also his humanitarian work, his efforts to help others, his fight towards peace.

 On the whole, I really liked it. As I mentioned, I’m not a boxing fan but Muhammad Ali is one of those people whose life is about more than just sport. And he made as big an impact outside his field as he did in it. I, like everyone else, knows that Muhammad Ali will always remain a legend in his sport and will always be regarded as one of the greatest ever sportsmen. I found it interesting to learn more about his life, his famous fights and rivalries and I did like seeing the belts and gowns.

Things I didn't like: the confusing rotunda part, as was stated earlier. I also thought it was very loud! In each room or area there was a video tape playing on loop and the volume was quite high. And then you're trying to listen to the audio guide as well. I did actually get a bit of an earache!

I will write some notes and post some more pictures soon, Insha’Allah.

A Day Out in London: Greenwich and Canary Wharf, May 2016 – Overview.

My Mum had heard a lot about Canary Wharf and wanted to go and visit. I did tell her there is nothing to see there: it is the business district of London. However, there is currently an exhibition about Muhammad Ali at the O2 Arena (until August), which I wanted to see, so, decided to have a day out. This is the official website for the exhibition http://www.aliattheo2.com/

         

Firstly, I want to get one thing off my chest. Why is “The O2”, formally known as the Millennium Dome, called “The O2”? I know it is probably because O2 sponsors the Dome. But why can’t it be called “The O2 Dome”? The problem is that in Northwest London, there is a centre on Finchley Road, Swiss Cottage, called “The O2”. It was built (and therefore named) before the Millennium Dome. So whenever anyone says “The O2” we, north Londoners, automatically think of the one in Swiss Cottage. 

Usually, places keep their names with the addition of their sponsor’s name. So, British Airways London Eye, Emirates Air Line (the zip wire across the Thames), The Kia Oval, The Barclays Premiership, even that bastion of sport Headingly is now Headingly Carnegie. So, couldn’t it be “The O2 Millennium Dome” or “The O2 Dome”?

For clarification the one in Swiss Cottage is: The O2 Centre http://o2centre.co.uk/

The former Millennium Dome, in Greenwich is: The O2 Arena http://www.theo2.co.uk/

Anyway, back to our day out. To summarise:

• First we went to Greenwich to the Dome. From Northwest London it literally took 1 hour to get to there. I was very impressed.
• Then we took the DLR to Canary Wharf.  
• Went to see the Crossrail Garden Bridge.
• Then to the Docklands Museum of London.

  

I will write about each location in more detail in due course, Insha'Allah.

Guided Tour of Canterbury

On the day we arrived, we went on a walking guided tour of the city. Website http://www.canterburyguidedtours.com/. If you are in Canterbury for even just one day, you have to go on this tour. You will receive a comprehensive, interesting tour of the whole (historical) city. In summer the tours are 11am and 2pm, in winter only in the morning. Tickets cost £7.50. Apparently the ticket allows a discount at some places but when I asked at the places, they didn’t know anything about the discount!

Our tour guide was called Andreas, who was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. A walking history book! He made the tour interactive and kept repeating important dates, so that we would walk away with some information retained! 

Sights included:

• The Old Buttermarket (starting point).
• Taken inside the precincts of the Cathedral, but not the Cathedral itself, viewing of the King’s School.
• Around the narrow winding roads of Durovernum Cantiacorum.
• Interesting places: jutted houses, Tudor architecture, the wonky house, first inn in Canterbury, house of Mary Tourtel (Rupert, you’re a wonderful bear), the place where the plot to murder Thomas Becket was planned, residence of Mr Parker, Marlowe Theatre and much, much more.

You will not be disappointed.