London Diary: Causes and their celebrities

What a Dame! One has to admit that on bestowing “Dame-hood” on Angelina Jolie in the Queens Birthday Honours list, the British government has done itself a huge favour. Of course, while Jolie might never be able to use this singular and purely symbolic honour because she is not British, it has given her stature an enormous boost. And there is no denying that British foreign secretary William Hague is looking like the cat that swallowed the proverbial cream. He and Jolie are co-founders of an initiative to prevent sexual violence, and Jolie was in London for a conference. She has received the honour for services to UK foreign policy and the campaign to end sexual violence in war zones. Undoubtedly, the beaming foreign secretary had a lot to do with making her a Dame, and ensuring she was in London for the resultant photo-op.

Becoming the Dame Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George did not come without controversy, as many argued that these “gongs” belonged to those who were less privileged and toiling to make a better world, sans recognition. But for many, when Jolie arrived for functions with Brad Pitt in tow, as supportive arm candy, all was forgiven.

So perhaps, Jolie was not such a bad choice. Throughout the week, thanks to her presence in London, there has been much debate on the nature and control of sexual violence. Whether Dame Angelina Jolie will be able to halt the globally escalating gender violence is still doubtful, but what she will do no doubt is to raise awareness. If only beauty and celebrity could solve these problems. Yet we continue to try. Author Hilary Mantel has also become a Dame and it was heartening that 49 per cent of the 1,149 recipients of the Queen’s Birthday Honours List are women. Apparently, there is a deliberate attempt to distribute the honours equally between the genders. Something, perhaps, the Indian government could also try to do in the Padma awards?

However, this week most Londoners had time only for one obsession: the beautiful game. Hectic preparations were underway this Saturday when the English squad played. Gaily festooned pubs were visibly open with crowds pouring onto the streets before the start of play late at night. The familiar red and white St. George’s flag flew everywhere, including homes and pubs and even over the Prime Minister’s residence.

The sunny weather made it almost mandatory to gather over beer. Of course, everyone knew, said the pundits, that England will lose, and thus there was a perfect calm of low expectations. It did not stop some, however, such as the Bishop of Leeds, from coming up with a set of five prayers for the occasion. The shortest was “Oh God.” No doubt it was repeated frequently as England predictably headed towards a 2-1 defeat. But, for once, the Bishop had pragmatically declared in advance that even prayers would not help.

This is also that time of the year when Londoners party and it is difficult to stay in for a single evening. It is made even tougher when, like me, you are an author with deadlines, trying to complete a new book.

However, some occasions are always worth making that extra effort for, such as the Women’s India Association summer ball, which this year was a glittering affair at the Grosvenor House Hotel. But behind the glamorous facade of all the lovely Indian women who run the organisation is a firm dedication to raise funds for all the 11 charities WIA supports, with a special focus on empowering women and children. The WIA also helps those charities that do not have strong fund-raising abilities.

Set up by Vijaylakshmi Pandit in the 1960s, this group has always worked hard in the UK, in keeping the community involved and integrated with social causes, albeit in a high-profile manner. And so this year we were with Meera Syal, the well-known actress is their celebrity ambassador, filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, billionaire and philanthropist Gopichand Hinduja and, of course, Baroness Sandy Verma, who is now actively championing causes close to the heart of Brit Asians.

The evening highlight was an auction adding to the charity coffers, conducted by David Bennett of Sotheby’s, as well as a generous dose of entertainment provided by the London Cabaret Group. As always the chairperson, Sangeeta Talukdar, and her band of hard working associates at WIA put up a superb show. Bravo!

As a booklover, among my favourite stories this week is of a 91-year-old former student of the University of Liverpool, who returned a book to the university library after 61 years. Ron Webster’s library fine was £4,510, but it was forgone when he agreed to, in future, return all books on time!

Kishwar Desai is an award-winning author