Cockney Curry

London picks up the piecesMayor Ken Livingstone8217;s palpable shock at the attacks prompted his moving speech which some have likened to h...

London picks up the pieces
London8217;s sweltering heatwave of the moment is, as usual, a trigger for the city8217;s young and young-at-heart to head to the parks and strip off to sunbathe 8212; and everywhere from Hyde Park to the local green patch is fair game when it comes to tan-hunting.

While Londoners as a whole are showing their defiance against the terrorist attacks by continuing their lifestyles as normal, there8217;s no doubt about the undercurrents. Usually people sprawl out on the grass, angled to get maximum sunshine, and don8217;t care a hoot about who8217;s looking to see if they8217;ve pulled their tops down. Now, eyes are darting everywhere 8212;but it8217;s more at young men carrying backpacks of Asian and Middle-Eastern appearance.

The phrase 8220;a week is a long time in politics8221; has never struck a truer note than this past week and a half. At Trafalgar Square , this Thursday saw a mass rally as a symbolic protest against the Islamic terrorist attacks which have so far killed over 50 Londoners. While the mood of defiance and disbelief still permeates the city, the shock is growing that these 8220;home-grown8221; terrorists of Pakistani origin who were born and brought up here could have gone this far. Yet, the previous Thursday Trafalgar Square was the focal point of the Olympic jubilation as thousands of Londoners hugged strangers when the news was relayed from Singapore.

Mayor8217;s Giuliani moment
Mayor Ken Livingstone8217;s palpable shock at the attacks prompted his moving speech which some have likened to his 8220;Giuliani moment8221;, a reference to Rudy Giuliani, New York8217;s mayor after the 9/11 attacks. Both supporters and critics of Livingstone have admired his memorable speech and his call for a two-minute silence in London on Thursday.

Over at the Angel in North London, the Co-operative Bank has paid tribute to their employee Shahara Akther Islam, a vivacious 22-year-old young Bangladeshi who was killed in one of the three underground blasts. It is all the more poignant that the bombers killed a practising Muslim who embodied both cultures.

Faria8217;s 15 minutes
On a lighter note, the Faria Alam legal case showed the Bangladeshi former FA secretary still trying to cling onto the vestiges of a few moments of fame 8212; and a matter of pound;30,000. But as she8217;s bitterly found out, the cover shots are no longer of her. Nancy dell8217;Olio, Sven-Goran Eriksson8217;s partner, who returned to him after his dalliances says simply in an interview 8220;They mean nothing.8221; And it8217;s Nancy, not Faria, who is back on the magazine covers. This time, however, she is taking no chances on taking her eye off the ball8230; or Sven. Nancy, who is a qualified lawyer although she doesn8217;t practise, describes her job of being Sven8217;s partner as almost 8220;full-time8221;. After Camilla, sorry Duchess of Cornwall, is this Britain8217;s most famous consort?

Bowled over
THE 8220;royal wedding lite8221; also due shortly is that of Camilla8217;s son Tom Parker Bowles, who is following close on the heels of his mother and getting hitched to a fashion editor. Very mysteriously, the wedding invitation does not reveal the location of the marriage: it merely informs guests that if they arrive at Sloane Square, transport has been arranged to whisk them off. Whether or not security will also frisk them to see if they have cameras remains another matter. Though surely this happy couple would not be so tacky as to sell their wedding photos to a celebrity gossip publication. Then again8230;

The author is Editor of Shoo Magazine
http://www.shoomagazine.com