At a party on the weekend in Kew, one of the guests after a few pints enthused to me about what a cosmopolitan place Richmond is. Initially I thought I had misheard him. Richmond is about as ethnically diverse as the Royal Family, white with plenty of Germans.
But you know he may be right. Richmond may not be as multicultural as Southall or Dalston, but most people living here talk about multiculturalism with great enthusiasm. Sure it may be a little token - after all a trip down to the Cafe Marsala for a mixed grill is hardly demonstratative of a cosmopolitan lifestyle, but its the thought that counts. Oh and the mixed grill is pretty good just in case you were wondering.
So that brings me on to the topic of my first blog, 'what not to wear'. Over the last week, Jack Straw's now notorious comments on the burka, have led to a string of opinions on what you should and shouldn't be wearing. So what better than a guide to what's hot and what's not on Richmond's George Street.
Well to start with short skirts are out because they might offend our burka wearing friends, so if you're heading off to Edwards please cover up. But don't cover up too much since according to Mr Straw, leading fashion critic and part time politician, burka's are also out. What's a girl to do?
As for the men out there, this week hoodies are also out, so if you're off to O'Neils for a couple, just put on a v-neck, as apparently this will help you communicate better with the barman since he will be able to understand what you want from your facial expression. That's a smile for a Guinness and a frown for a lager, and a sort of contorted half smile is you'd rather a pint of bitter.
However, don't worry, if you vote Conservative, than you can keep your hoodie, as apparently it will make you more huggable, so you may have a better chance of pulling. But don't go near the fit bird with the designer sunglasses in Henry's. You see sunglasses are also out this week, as they are also a barrier to communication.
Seriously though, just how is it that Mr Straw can believe that a burka is a barrier to communication? Does this mean that he believes that people can't communicate over the phone since they can't see each others faces? What about communicating through literature? Perhaps Jack thinks Shakespeare shouldn't have bothered. And what about the blind? Are they incapable of communicating with people because they can't see?
And finally, do people really wear their views on their face? Just imagine if they did - we would immediately know if someone fancied us just by looking at them. Sounds great doesn't it? But the trouble is this is purely science fiction. If Jack Straw honestly believes he can communicate with someone better simply by looking at them, than I'd love to know his secret!
3 comments:
Predominantly white, middle class areas tend to be pro multi cultural because it is idealised. Multi culturalism in Richmond means having a Tesco that sells a wide range of herbs and spices so that people can stick to the authentic recipes in coffee table recipe books.
Come to Leicester
I love multiculturalism, but here not everyone does and it's easy to see why.
By the way, mixed grills are always great - check out my blog, especially "we are the pigs"
Poor old Jack Straw.
You were a bit harsh on the chap. He's got a point. It is very hard to know even who you're speaking to and whether you've even
met them before if you can't see their face. Burqa's cover the face. try telling me you could have a meaningful conversation with
this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Woman_walking_in_Afghanistan.jpg
Seriously, Andrew for hundreds of years women have been downtrodden through Islam. In this country they were downtrodden too and
are still stuggling for equal pay, status and rights. The Burqa is holding women back, it prohibits them having relationships with
people other than their husbands because no-one else gets to see them. And contrary to what you said in your blog, huge amounts of
information are conveyed through the face. So much so that good friends only need look at each other to answer a question
sometimes.
Kicking Islam for the sake of jumping on a bandwagon is too obvious. But in the real world, if you resit change for too long,
evolution gives way to revolution. Perhaps that's what is happening here. We don't live in the same society we did 25 years ago.
This is for the better. It comes with it's problems, communities help each other less, the dissapearence of the class system has
caused all sorts of problems as people have had to progress through life increasingly on merit. But that's progress. Islamic women
deserve the same freedoms as any of us. It is the men that maintain insistance on wearing the veil and in my view the women
wearing them are not in a sufficiently strong position to resist. The are either too downtrodden or too brainwashed.
Time the playing field was leveled!
Luckily for everyone on my street in Richmond, I am their token mixed race neighbour.. Lucky ole them.
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