Folks I’m back on BBC Radio 2 at 7:40am GMT on 10th June. Here is a sneak preview of areas I’ll be covering.
Here is a link to the show schedule: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jqd7w
Its a pity that Alexander McCall Smith the aclaimed author of the Ladies Detective Agency is going to be calling in from Scotland. I would have loved to meet him.
Back to my bit!
NB These are ideas, actual ‘live’ commentary and other questions will vary.
Topic 1 : Did the ‘Big Lunch’ bring people / communities together?
Yes, I believe it did help people explore not only who their neighours are but also share in the diversity of communities & respective approaches to life. Maybe its the weather in the UK that innocently forces us to keep our doors closed as for most of the year we rush in from the bustling wind to our warm living rooms to share our lives with our family, partners and the TV! The world of TV soaps suggests that we all get along down the local pub but reality is that there is detachment and a conservatism that is based on our busy lives and fear of the unknown. We need more events to help. Saying that I remember at school during Xmas, Easter and harvest festival we were always asked to identify any elderly neighbours living on their own. Thats great but why is our society not more orientated towards self-less service.
I know that there was a
Topic 2: What is self-less service?
Sikhs believe in Honest living, sharing wealth and self-less service. The latter helps communities to become stronger in terms of mutual trust and support. I’m not implying that it is a reward as true self-less service suggests nothing in return. Consider in the context of giving a gift, the reward is the feel good factor. However, true self-less service assures no return or reward, just the motion of giving to help others.
The UK is a great example of supporting charities, just look at the Sport Relief achievements this year in terms of fund raising and people getting together.
Topic 3 : With Euro 2012 kicking off with talk of racism, what can teams and authorities do to
There has been a suggestion that if any racisim is exhibited by fans from the host nations, the teams on the pitch should simply walk-off.
I saw this suggestion on Twitter when the BBC Panorama programme aired a few weeks back.
I’m not a die-hard football fan so I asked a few people I know who go to the Indian Gymkana in London that originates back to the 1930s.
They suggested that teams should carry on and ignore the antics of mob-based/extremist fans, suggesting that it is up to the local authorities & police to root out the trouble makers using greater survillance techniques. My fear is for overseas fans. Surely leaders of the host nations should be more public about how they will not tolerate such behaviour and in sharp implications of being caught exhibiting racism. Isn’t football called the beautiful game?
Topic 4 : Coming back to the feel good factor, do you think events like the up and coming Euro 2012 and Olympics ?
I believe that they do help us celebrate the success of the pursuit of excellence in human endevour or even endurance – They are inspiring & we live our dreams through the performances we view. Supporters get together to celebrate life and joy of winning or simply taking part!
Its this celebration that is the key to the feel good factor, i.e: the anticipation or build-up, the emotions during each event, sharing in eatiing and drinking and finally the after party.
The multitude of colours produced by the spectacle of it all shows how if we all work together we can put on a great show.
MOR – Moment of Reflection
Making That Feel Good Factor Last
Are you sad that the buntings that facilitated a sense of joy last weekend are now being taken down ?
The big lunch in streets up and down the country certainly created a sense of community both local and national.
Why do we need a big national event to facilitate this? Surely, loving thy neighbour all year round would help build harmony and unity.
One approach could be to establish outreach projects from churches, temples, Gurdwaras and Mosques. For example, if a place of worship is near a troubled neighbourhood, perhaps the trustees of the place of worship could arrange to sponsor local football coaching sessions.
People from different walks of life could be influenced to meet, converse and understand their common goals of survival and ownership of their locality. Together they could work on projects to help others and themselves, effectively becoming self-less in their service. Maybe this is the key to a sustainable feel good factor.
Thanks for listening in advance!
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