London Diary: Red poppy ideas for India

You know it’s summer not when the swallows arrive, but when the Lamborghinis, the Bentleys and the Ferraris arrive in London, especially in Kensington and Knightsbridge. Many of them are brought in by the rich Arabs of Dubai, Kuwait and West Asia. One had heard of golden chariots in mythology, but these latter- day chariots are sometimes actually painted a flashy gold, because if you are making a statement about your personal wealth, what better way than parking a really ostentatious symbol of it on the street? During these months, the number of seriously wealthy people in the UK shoots up as do the sales at Harrods.

I personally have found shopping at Harrods or Selfridges a bit of a cliche, but it is all part of the summer extravaganza, especially for those in the Lamborghinis. And why not? The owners of these cars come to London to escape the heat and revel in the cool climes of expensive department stores. All to be encouraged as it is good for the British economy!

Meanwhile, this week there was a very moving ceremony to remember the start of World War I as the “lights went out all over Europe”. Exactly at 11 pm, all lights were switched off at iconic buildings such as St Paul’s Cathedral, except the one shining on the memorial to the Unknown Soldier.

Red poppies have also been a symbol of the War as many soldiers died in the poppy fields of Flanders (Belgium). To commemorate all the British and Commonwealth soldiers who lost their lives, 888,246 poppies, one for each soldier, were displayed at the Tower of London. The Duchess of Cambridge planted one as did her husband. These poppies are manufactured now by a ceramic factory and will not wilt.

India, under the new government, is at last beginning to think of ways to celebrate the lives of those brave soldiers who died to protect its citizens. Perhaps some of these beautiful and sentimental themes and ceremonies in the UK could be examined. The interesting part about these ceremonies is that they are also designed to make spectacular television and that, in today’s connected world, is very important.

Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, has also been in the news for becoming the first Royal who will do a proper job in civil society as a helicopter pilot for an Air Ambulance service. He will donate his salary of £40,000 to charity. It is a gesture that has been appreciated.

But one gesture that has not been appreciated by the government is the resignation of Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the highest serving Muslim woman politician, attending Cabinet. She has said that the government policy towards the conflict in Gaza is “morally indefensible”. Her resignation will create waves in the Asian community, especially as election season will soon be upon us.

But British Prime Minister David Cameron’s woes are set to increase with the popular mayor of London Boris Johnson (known for his wild mop of blond hair) declaring his plan to seek a parliamentary seat at the next election. As they say of Heineken beer, Boris reaches those parts which no one else can.
It means a very vocal rival for Mr Cameron on the backbenches when the next Parliament meets.

Meanwhile, many more members have been added to the House of Lords, which will now have nearly 850 representatives. The good news is that the Tories have chosen some very interesting women — Karen Brady, who is the vice-chairman of a soccer club, Nosheena Mobarik, who is of Pakistani origin and heads the IT company M Computer Technologies in Scotland, and the Bosnia born Arminka Helic, who was William Hague’s special adviser at the foreign office.

The Conservatives do have an image problem for being male, pale and stale, and Mr Cameron has realised that this needs to be addressed. The message went out when women were inducted in the Cabinet reshuffle a fortnight ago, and now they are being brought to the House of Lords. If this process of “gender balancing” can be done naturally and without reservations, why should we complain?

Pets are universally loved in the UK. But a few of them lead very special lives, especially Larry, the cat at No. 10 who sleeps instead of chasing mice. Freya, the cat at No. 11, (where George Osborne the chancellor lives) is a better investment and diligent mouse catcher. But it often wanders off, even south of the river. Recently, it got “clipped” by a car and lost one of its nine lives. Luckily, someone read the tag around its neck and brought it back safely home. The nation was relieved, but the mice at No. 11 are said to be severely disappointed.

Kishwar Desai is an award-winning author