In London a fire in a tower block inhabited by refugees killed perhaps a hundred. In Bahawalpur a fire at an overturned oil tanker killed perhaps two hundred poor rural people who came to collect the fuel. In both cases there is a breakdown of state and society’s responsibilities towards its weakest. Neither administration or […]
Long awaited day
The ICC Champion’s Trophy final was a long awaited delight yesterday. I used to follow cricket avidly, was even a cricket correspondent for a newspaper for a time. That experience during a historic India-Pakistan series which took much that I found interesting out of the game and replaced it with hype, along with the changes […]
Aneurysm
Nearly had one today when I finally got hold of the accountant and it turned out he hadn’t done what he was supposed to during the fortnight I was away because it slipped his mind. Never mind that his previous forgetfulness has led to a penalty imposed on me which I am trying to get […]
In Lahore
I had my first bit of jewellery made today, so now I can feel like a proper Pakistani adult woman I daresay. I’m not entirely happy with it, and suspect I’ll have it remade at some time. It is stitched together of scraps. The centrepiece is a gold bead that my father found on our […]
Yesterday
Got through yesterday, a week after the long-awaited news arrived. Left a little ragged by it, but still walking. It is notable to me how very different the approach is to death between Pakistan and the UK. Perhaps it’s a sign of increasing age and conservatism, but I strongly prefer the Pakistani way. A person […]
News
The news came and I leave for London on Saturday. Accountant dealings slightly calmed yesterday’s rage but was fanned again during my visit to his office. I had to take my father (he is, I hasten to add, a family accountant) who had contacts in the appropriate department to connect to the accountant. Throughout the […]
Fury
Was sent into a blind fury today by my long-time accountant after discovering a significant liability he had be dealing with through the ostrich school of accountancy: put it in a filing cabinet and hope it’s forgotten. I have my theory as to how this happened and it’s not a flattering one to him – […]
Afternoon with a toddler
And a very pleasant afternoon it was too, with my nephew and his parents, though I slightly overstayed my welcome due to not realising that the car was waiting to take me home. His favourite game is to take his stuffed cat and fling it in air shouting ‘flying cat!’. He has finally agreed to […]
Not maternal
My little nephew, ZZZ, arrived from Karachi yesterday. He lives in Lahore but my sister-in-law had taken him to see his grandparents so this was the first I’d seen him since arriving from KL. He is very sweet, nearly two. I do still get a pang sometimes that my mother never saw him, but these […]
Old friends
Dinner with old schoolfriends last night – more than 20 years after O’levels. One actress, one doctor, one art historian/ teacher, one businesswoman, one housewife, one office drone and two editors. Of these, three were unmarried, two were married but childless, one had only one child. Unsurprisingly, there was much bitterness expended at the older […]