September 2022 - An eventful month

September was a stressful month, with a lot going on. To the point where the month felt a little overwhelming current events wise. It started off with news that we had a new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, who won the Conservative party election. She was replacing the toxic Boris Johnson, who had resigned before he could be removed from his post. It made it the third time now we were given a new Prime Minister without an election with this government. It happened with Teresa May, in 2015, then Boris Johnson in 2017. It didn't feel fair somehow, and it was very frustrating that nobody got a say in it unless you were a member of the Tory party, which lets face it, not many people are. I will however say one thing, with the choice between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, it was a good example of representation, and a nice change from the almost constant stream of white men that had ruled Britain since the post was created. We had only had two female Prime Ministers before, Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May, both of who were ousted from the position by white men. Interesting isn't it?

Then, things got even more complicated. Days later, news broke of the death of Queen Elizabeth. I'll be honest, I couldn't have cared less. I don't like the royal family, I don't like what they stand for, and I hate the fact that the country came to a standstill during the mourning period. Absolutely, she was someone's mother, a grandmother & a friend, but she was a person, just like you and me. The fact that the whole of the country was forced into mourning her, and people like me who didn't want to join in were made to feel like a problem. I think it was shameful how it took over all of our lives, and anyone protesting the fact were arrested. Britain generally is a free country, and we are lucky to be able to have conversations and debates about most issues & problems in the country without issues, but as soon as you mention anything about the royal family, the mood instantly changes, and people who have never even met them or gained anything from them are all of a sudden fiercely loyal. It's very curious, and I find it rather fascinating, but odd. The royal family don't even know you exist, or care that you do, so why do you think they are so great? I even read that the state funeral cost around £160 million, a staggering amount of money, especially when the use of food banks is at an all time high, people are waiting years for operations on the NHS, and many of our children go to school hungry.

Anyway, I digress. One thing of real interest did come about, during the Lying-in-state was the queue. Now I know that people think that British people love to queue. It's quite a stereotype, yet there is some truth to the matter. At its longest, it was 10 miles, and took 24 hours from start to finish. Numerous first aid stands, portaloos water station and snack stops appeared along the route, and it was perhaps the longest queue ever seen in Britain. And that's really saying something!

Once London had calmed down and returned to a state of normality, we spent the day there, visiting the Feminine power exhibition at the British Museum. It hosted a wide range of art either featuring powerful women, or made by women. One of the most striking, was the statue of Lilith, made by Kiki Smith, which features Lilith, believed by some to be the first woman god made, from the same dust as Adam. She fled Eden, not wanting to be subjugated to Adam, with Eve being made of a piece of Adam's rib. It's a piece of art that really captures your attention, and the curious expression on Lilith's face only adds to the interest. Is she proud to have fled, regretting it, or is she ambivalent towards it?

There was also some Greek & Roman sculpture there, depicting many of the goddesses and empresses that were worshipped in ancient times. The whole exhibition was really well put together, and contained additional information and discussion notes from leading women in many fields, including Mary Beard, who has spent so much time and effort into bringing the roles of women within the Roman Empire to light. It has now finished, but if you would like to see what else is on, follow the link to the British Museums website. www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions-events

We then headed up to Camden for a wonder around and to get some lunch, before coming back down and over to Battersea power station. It was nearly ready to open, after many years of being a near ruin and the consequent reconstruction. Only a month or so till it was opened, so there was a lot of activity going on, getting the final finishing touches done. I can't wait to come back and see what it's like! It's such an iconic building, and a renowned part of the London skyline, and it's good to see it back to it's former glory.

Me and James then headed to Queensway for dinner, where we had a reservation at Uzbek Corner Kitchen. We had been before, but couldn't resist returning. The food was simply incredible, here are the Manti we had, they were just gorgeous. It's tucked away in the back of the Queensway arcade, you've got a little bit of a job to find it, but it feels like you've arrived in Tashkent. They ask you to order your food 24 hours ahead, as a lot of it is slow cooked for hours to make it fall apart in your mouth. If you ever get a chance to eat there, take it! You will not be dissapointed! I think it must be my favourite place to eat in London.

I thought September was going to quiet down a little, but it continued to get busier. Work was mega busy, and we were in the middle of trying to raise as much money as possible for charity, as September was our fundraising month. We were sponsoring Macmillan Cancer Care, a wonderful charity that does so much to help people struggling with the effects of cancer. I dyed my hair green for the month, and the team all got to throw wet sponges at the management team to raise even more funds. Interestingly, I was not the one that got soaked the most! And like I said to Mel, if she threw a bucket of water over me, I would cancel all of her holidays and make her work a lot of unpaid overtime. She soon chose another manager to soak!

Politically things got worse, the disastrous mini budget was announced, which caused widespread political and economic turmoil, and created a huge political mess for newly made PM Liz Truss to sort out. The mini budget came at a time where prices were slowly rising, and with a bleak economic outlook for the country, as we grappled with the fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, post Covid Economic changes and steadily increasing national debt.

It was also in September, that I received a message from my Mum out of the blue. We message quite a lot, but I was at work when the message came through to say she had been diagnosed with skin cancer. She was incredibly lucky, it had been caught early enough, that they were able to surgically remove it all, and so far she hasn't needed any further treatment aside from regular check ups. She was left with a large scar on her face, but like she said, it was better to be scarred but alive. It really brought home how important it is to keep checking your body and to make note of any changes, no matter how small. It could just save your life. If you find any symptoms that worry you, like lumps in your breasts or testicles, new moles or skin marks, or other symptoms like changes to bowel symptoms, unusual tiredness or blood coming from area's it shouldn't, then speak up as soon as it happens and contact your local GP or doctor. The earlier you catch it, the better the chances of survival are.