Londoners will see an increased police presence in areas of the city this summer, as the Met steps up its targeted enforcement activity, reports Asian Lite News
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the Met Police have set out plans for the police, City Hall, local authorities and criminal justice partners to work more closely across London to drive down violence ahead of the summer.
The Met and City Hall have set out their continued partnership approach and a strong plan to tackle violence, focusing on enforcement to bear down on offenders, and early intervention to provide positive opportunities and prevent violence from happening in the first place.
(Source twitter@MayorofLondon)
Londoners will see an increased police presence in areas of the city this summer, as the Met steps up its targeted enforcement activity.
Alongside that, the Mayor has also announced £2.4 million of additional investment through London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), for up to 4,000 school-aged children both during the summer and beyond.
Tackling violence and making our city safer is my number one priority. That’s why I’m investing an additional £2.4 million this summer into working with communities on the complex, underlying causes of crime.
— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) July 2, 2021
The investment, which is on top of the record £20m Sadiq has invested in the VRU, is focused on programmes running in areas including Brent, Enfield, Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Camden.
The Mayor on Friday joined Met police officers on patrol in Kentish Town, to see first-hand the work neighbourhood officers are doing to keep the area safe and to bear down on violence.
(Source twitter@MayorofLondon)
“Tackling violence and making our city safer is my number one priority and I’m determined to be tough on crime with support for the Met Police, and tough on the complex causes of crime, with support for our communities,” Sadiq Khan said.
“As lockdown restrictions continue to ease ahead of the summer holidays, it’s really important we work together to address concerns about a potential rise in violence.
“Working with the Met Police, the National Probation Service, London’s Violence Reduction Unit, local authorities and other criminal justice partners across London, we have a strong plan in place to suppress violence with targeted enforcement of violent offenders, combined with support to help divert people away from crime and a programme to provide positive opportunities for young Londoners,” he added.
(Source twitter@MayorofLondon)
Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave of the Met Police said: “The Met is stepping up its operations to suppress and deal with violence as much as we can over the summer with a large scale multi layered operations that will target the six strands of the Serious Violence Strategy. Working closely with our partners and the Mayor to explore opportunities and take action through meaningful interventions to prevent violence from occurring in the first place.
Mayor visited the Cookbook Edible Library project in Tottenham, which is enabling the local community to grow and cook their own food and providing positive opportunities for young people, reports Asian Lite News
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has announced a further £6 million of fresh investment in improving green spaces across London.
The £1.2m Grow Back Greener fund, with £500,000 provided by Thames Water, will offer grants to dozens of community-led projects to help more Londoners access green space in their neighbourhoods, the Mayor’s Office said.
It will focus on the most disadvantaged areas, supporting community gardens, food growing projects, pocket parks and cleaner waterways.
Separately, the new £4m Green and Resilient Spaces Fund will support large-scale green space projects, helping to tackle the climate emergency by reducing the risk of floods and keeping the city cool, it said.
This could include restoring rivers, creating new wetlands, opening up new green connections between parks, or creating new woodlands.
Funding will be targeted where it is most needed, using cutting-edge data, including new climate risk mapping, that highlights where Londoners are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It will also target areas with the least access to public open space.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vital importance of London’s green spaces for Londoners’ health and wellbeing. London’s parks saw the highest increase in usage of anywhere in the country during the first lockdown last spring.
Yet it has also brought into sharp focus the inequalities in access to green space across our city. The Mayor believes this is a matter of fairness, and wants all Londoners to live within a 10-minute walk of a green space.
The Mayor on Wednesday visited the Cookbook Edible Library project – a partnership between Haringey Council, Edible London and Volunteer It Yourself – awarded funding through the first round of the Mayor’s Grow Back Greener Fund in December 2020.
The project has transformed an unused piece of land to create a community kitchen and a garden at St Ann’s Library, which is helping local families and young people learn to grow and cook their own food, as well as giving 14-24 year olds the chance to learn new skills whilst participating in outdoor activities, including construction and gardening.
The Mayor’s Office said approximately one in six Haringey pupils are known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals (16 per cent), but provisions are not available out of school hours. This project aims to be up and running in time for their planned summer holiday food programme for children and young people who often have little or no access to healthy food, it said.
“As Mayor, I want London to lead the way in tacking the climate emergency and for all Londoners to be have access to great green spaces close to where they live,” Mayor Khan said.
He said the new funding announced during London Climate Action Week is “just the start of even more investment in green spaces, nature and projects to help tackle the climate emergency.”
“The community-led projects that benefit from this programme provide so much more than just improved green space for local communities,” he added.
He also said the Cookbook Edible Library project provides an “educational, safe space for young people to develop new skills – providing positive opportunities and alternatives to those who might be vulnerable to getting drawn into gangs.”
The Mayor on Wednesday visited Perivale bus depot in Ealing to see the new hydrogen double decker and new hydrogen refuelling station…reports Asian Lite News.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has launched England’s first ever hydrogen double decker buses, marking a major step towards making the bus fleet zero-emission and cleaning up London’s toxic air.
The 20 new environmentally-friendly buses, the first of their kind to be launched in England, will produce no pollution from their exhausts and join more than 500 electric buses in the core fleet which are already zero-emission.
The new hydrogen fuel cell double decker buses are first being introduced on route 7 between East Acton and Oxford Circus.
Hydrogen used in a fuel cell is free from harmful emissions. The only by-product is water from the chemical reaction of hydrogen with oxygen from air, a process that produces electricity to power the bus
🚏 London's first double-decker hydrogen buses have landed! These 20 new hydrogen fuel cell buses will further reduce harmful emissions to help ensure Londoners breathe cleaner air. #LetLondonBreathehttps://t.co/inp7DDQ6Xl
— LDNMayor Environment (@LDN_environment) June 23, 2021
The buses will help clean up the air and improve the health of Londoners by reducing the level of harmful nitrogen oxide in the air. Passengers will benefit from smoother, quieter journeys due to fewer vibrations and will be able to take advantage of free-to-use USB charging points.
A new, state of the art fuelling station completed by Danish engineering firm Nel Hydrogen will top up each hydrogen fuel cell bus just once per day in as little as five minutes.
The Mayor on Wednesday visited Perivale bus depot in Ealing to see the new hydrogen double decker and new hydrogen refuelling station.
He said, “Our investment in these hydrogen buses is not only helping us to clean up London’s air, but is supporting jobs and local economics across the UK. This is a great demonstration of how tackling air pollution and the climate crisis and boosting economic growth is about regions working together, investing in the very latest technology.”
“I’ve worked hard to ensure TfL’s entire core bus fleet across London now meets the ULEZ standards, and this includes 500 electric buses. Our new investment in hydrogen buses will move us even closer to our ambition of making all London buses zero-emission by 2030,” he added.
In addition to around £6 million of funding from TfL, more than £5 million of funding has been provided by European bodies – by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, and the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), an executive agency of the European Commission – as well as £1 million from the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles.
TfL has paved the way for cheaper hydrogen buses across the rest of the UK, having led the UK procurement within the Joint Initiative for Hydrogen Vehicles across Europe (JIVE), to buy in bulk with other UK authorities.
“From football stadiums to shopping centres, churches to community pharmacies, this weekend saw a phenomenal effort to get tens of thousands of Londoners vaccinated,” Khan said…reports Asian Lite News.
Tens of thousands of over-18s Londoners received a first or second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine over the weekend as the capital makes the “final push” towards ending lockdown, media reported.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has hailed the “phenomenal effort” and has urged every adult in London to get vaccinated “as soon as possible”.
“From football stadiums to shopping centres, churches to community pharmacies, this weekend saw a phenomenal effort to get tens of thousands of Londoners vaccinated,” Khan said.
This weekend we saw a truly phenomenal effort across London from councils, NHS staff and volunteers as we embark on a massive city-wide vaccine drive.
London: you do not need to be registered with a GP to get a jab.
“With over 260 vaccine centres open across the capital, including five football stadiums – the NHS, local authorities and volunteers have led one of the biggest vaccine rollouts over one weekend our city has ever seen. Seeing their efficiency, passion and professionalism firsthand was inspiring.”
It's important to get the second dose of the #COVIDVaccine when you are offered it to get maximum protection from coronavirus.
Don't delay – the vaccines are safe, effective and save lives.
He said the vaccine is a gamechanger in the fight against the virus, and “we are now in the final push.”
“I can’t emphasise enough how crucial it is for all Londoners over 18 to go out and get vaccinated as soon as possible, and for everyone to ensure they have their second dose. You do not need to be registered with a GP or know your NHS number to get vaccinated. Vaccination is the best route for us to protect our loved ones and to continue opening up our city safely, so that we can return to doing more of the things we love,” he added.
Mayor Khan, said, it was deeply disappointing that the Prime Minister this week announced an extension of COVID restrictions without a single mention of extending the vital financial support that our businesses need..reports Asian Lite News.
On a visit to businesses on London’s Piccadilly the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has warned of the ‘calamitous’ impact of ministers continuing with the plans to reduce financial support for businesses at the end of June despite the continuation of COVID restrictions announced this week.
Mayor Khan, said, it was deeply disappointing that the Prime Minister this week announced an extension of COVID restrictions without a single mention of extending the vital financial support that our businesses need.
“With so many venues in retail, culture and hospitality already on a financial knife edge the reduction in financial support at the end of this month could now be a calamitous blow to their chances of survival,” he said.
“Our world-class theatres, cultural venues, bars, shops and restaurants desperately want to welcome back Londoners and tourists safely from across the UK. And we continue to showcase what all our amazing venues have to offer through our #LetsDoLondon campaign.”
But he said “until restrictions are fully lifted, whacking our venues with a large business rates bill and other costs from next month will simply hamper the capital’s chances of recovery.”
He said that Central London remains the engine of the UK’s economy. “But there simply won’t be a national economic recovery from COVID if ministers take the survival of London’s unique eco-system of shops, hospitality and world-leading cultural venues for granted,” he added.
According to UK Hospitality, the further delay in the roadmap will cost the hospitality sector £3bn in lost sales across the UK, and put 300,000 jobs in the sector at risk. Strikingly their latest figures show that around a quarter of hospitality venues still remain shut.* Nearly one in five of the UK’s hospitality jobs are based in London – over 10 per cent of London’s employment. In the capital hospitality venues has already seen an average decline in sales of £1.3m since the start of 2020.
Mayor has visited a number of businesses around London’s Piccadilly. Alongside Kate Nicholls (Chief Executive of UK Hospitality), and Ros Morgan (Chief Executive at Heart of London Business Alliance) he is urging the Government to continue with its full package of financial support for businesses beyond the end of June – until the final lifting of restrictions.
Tagore became a sensation all over Europe and his work was translated in all the major European languages and was a complete sell out with reprints. Tagore’s popularity has outgrown even today in Europe particularly in Germany and Sweden where Tagore is almost a household name …. Writes Dilip Roy
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) in many ways was the embodiment and manifestation of India’s greatest classical poet KALIDASA(First Century BCE) Tagore’s stature as 20th Century’s most esteemed and revered poet of the world remains unrivalled to date.
Tagore’s poetry Geetanjali (Song offerings) published in English in 1912 had made Tagore famous in Europe almost overnight. The book was reprinted ten times within a year; and in 1913 because of his profoundly sensitive and beautiful verse, he has made his poetic thought expressed in his own English words, a part of literature of the West, he was awarded a Nobel prize in literature and remains the only Indian to win this award so far. His admirers included intellectuals and fellow Nobel laureates such as Bertolt Brecht, Albert Einstein, Andre Gide, Herman Hesse, Thomas Mann, Pablo Neruda, Boris Pasternak, Romain Rolland, G.B. Shaw, W.B. Yeats and Ludwig Wittgenstein of Vienna Circle ( who translated Tagore’s famous play “King of the Dark Camber.”)
However, it was with Einstein that Tagore forged an intellectual friendship and their discussions on music, philosophy and science has been published in many literary books and journals of the West. Tagore became a sensation all over Europe and his work was translated in all the major European languages and was a complete sell out with reprints. Tagore’s popularity has outgrown even today in Europe particularly in Germany and Sweden where Tagore is almost a household name. Some of the streets are also named after him.
Among the Nobel laureates at least six names come to mind who were Wagner admirers they are Herman Hesse, Thomas Mann, Boris Pasternak, G B Shaw, W B Yeats and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Incidentally it was Yeats who was a great admirer of Tagore also wrote 16 page introduction to Geetanjali in September 1912 and he even quotes Wagner’s Tristan in the last page. Tagore in his early days developed a special interest for German language and was reading Goethe and Schiller in its original and at the same time went on to translate the poems of Heinrich Heine. Tagore was also reading the works of German Indologists such as Friedrich Max Muller, Dr. Julius Jolly a German scholar and Friedrich VON Schlegel.
Tagore became second only Indian to receive Hon Degree from Oxford (D lit) in 1940 the first was a distant relation Sir S M Tagore received Hon Degree in music (D Mus) in 1895.
Most significantly, Tagore’s poetry struck a chord with wide variety of European composers among them Franco Alfano, Phillip Glass, Leos Janacek, Nino Rota, Arnold Schoenberg, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Karol Szymnowski and Alexander Zemlinsky to name but a few. Alfano who completed Puccini’s libretto for Turandot set to music twenty six poems by Tagore eleven of them from Nobel prize winning Geetanjali and fifteen from The Gardner the songs were beautifully sung in Italian. Phillip Glass whose opera Satyagraha based on Gandhian philosophy, has Tagore as silent character. Janacek was attending a lecture given by Tagore in Prague (1921) he was so carried away that he set to music from the (Gardner)Nino Rota the composer of Italian films of Federico Fellini, set to music Tagore’s four poems from award winning Geetanjali in bel canto style and Szymanowski set to music four poems from the popular Gardner in German. However, the most outstanding work was done by two Wagnerian composers and conductors namely Stenhammar and Zemlinsky.
The Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927) who describes himself as Wagnerian, belongs to the period of transition between the late romanticism and modernism better described as highly romantic. Stenhammar showed greater interest in the more progressive music of Liszt and Wagner. This is seen nowhere better than in Das Fest auf Solhaug (after Ibsen, Stuttgart 1899) was certainly the foremost Swedish concert pianist of his time, he devoted himself to composition and conducting. He was the conductor of Royal Opera in Stockholm from 1907 until 1922.
Tagore’s philosophical play Chitra based on the legends of Indian epic Mahabharata was written in the year he received the Nobel prize in 1913 and in Nobel’s home country of Sweden there was a real Tagore boom most of his works were rendered into Swedish almost as soon as they appeared, and several of his plays could be seen in Swedish theatres. Tagore became the leading representative of the Indian romantically inclined tradition. Tagore’s play Chitra was produced at the Lorensberg Theatre in Gothenberg in 1920. Stenhammar had been a conductor and director of Gothengerg Symphony Orchestra and was commissioned to write incidental music for the performance for the Tagore’s play Chitra which was completed in 1921 which he dedicated to his wife Helga Stenhammar and had its premier on 29th March 1921.
Alexander VON Zemlinsky (1871-1942) the Austrian born Zemlinsky’s “Lyric Symphony” is regarded as his major work. Zemlinsky was first and foremost a composer of operas, and Schoenberg thought highly of him as such: “I dot not know one composer after Wagner who could satisfy the demands of the theatre with better musical substance than he. (Lyrische Symphonie)now famously known as “The Lyric Symphony” in seven songs after poems by Rabindranath Tagore for Orchestra, Soprano and Baritone was composed in 1922 and it was premiered in Prague on June 4th in 1924. In Zemlinsky’s own Krollwords – belongs to the tradition of the Song of the Earth. It shares with Mahler’s work not only it’s genre, that of the “song symphony”, but with an exotic choice of text. The poems of Tagore combine Indian traditions with elements of European poetry of the turn of the century – a syncretism that won him the Noble prize for literature in 1913. The inner affinity of the seven songs, with their preludes and interludes which all have one and the same profoundly serious passionate basis. It’s a kind of a love drama, from the first stirrings ground of the desire to the agony of farewell. His music is often Wagnerian, with recitatives punctuated by Lohengrin inspired orchestral interjections figures similar to those which adorn the melodic lines of Tannhauser, softly pulsating figures for solo timpani as in Wagner’s epic the Ring Cycle. Zemlinsky was also the music director of Prague opera (1911-27) and of the Kroll opera in Berlin from (1927-32). The most famous ground breaking recording of Lyric Symphony was done in Germany under the baton of the legendary conductor maestro Lorin Maazel for the Berlin Philharmonic in 1981 and sung in a Wagnerian style by famous German Baritone Dietrich Fischer- Dieskau and Soprano Julia Varady. (This is probably the greatest tribute paid to Richard Wagner from Zemlinsky a great Wagnerian himself.)
For Tagore, poetry and music were the essence of life which gave it rhythm, and his philosophy was one of living in harmony with the nature.
( Gandhi )
Tagore, the Goethe of India, gives expression to his personal experience that this is the truth ( life affirmation ) in a manner more profound, more powerful and more charming than any man has ever done before him. This completely noble and harmonious belongs not only to his people but to the entire humanity.
( Albert Schweitzer )
India’s only World renowned European classical music conductor Maestro Zubin Mehta was conferred the most prestigious Tagore Award on the eve of Tagore’s Noble centenary in 2013 for cultural harmony instituted by Govt. of India on the 150th anniversary of the poet.
The internationally celebrated film-maker SatyajitRay who has interpreted many of Tagore works on to the screen sums up thus: Tagore remains the most original, prolific and influential artist India has produced “there is no equal not even in the West.”
Postscript: Just like Wagner, love has been main theme in Tagore’s poetic works as also his interest in Buddhist philosophy. Tagore like Wagner was a polymath. He was an artist, a poet of the first order, an essayist, a short story writer, a dramatist and a novelist also a composer of some two thousand songs but, most of all a philosopher. Tagore remains one of the greatest literary giants to date.
(Dilip Roy is an ardent Wagner enthusiast and also the author of a major article of 19th century Indian musicologist Sir S M Tagore (1840-1914) which was commissioned by the Royal College of Music London, for its Annual Review of 1996/97. Dilip is an Indo-German cultural enthusiast and like most Germans, he admires India’s classical cultural heritage. Dilip Roy’s articles on Richard Wagner has been published by various Wagner Societies)
Mayor Khan has called on the government to change course and announce an extension to the 30th June deadline…reports Asian Lite News.
With only a month to go until the application deadline for the EU Settlement Scheme the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has warned that some European citizens face a loss of rights such as experienced by the Windrush Generation, as new figures show thousands of European citizens still without confirmed Settled or pre-Settled status in the UK.
From 1st July, European (EEA+) citizens will need to start relying on a digital immigration status to navigate life in the UK such as taking up employment, renting a flat and accessing public services.
But the latest Home Office data released last week shows there remains an application backlog of 101,500 in London, and 302,300 across the UK overall – risking the creation of a new group of undocumented migrants overnight unable to prove their status and access services in the capital, according to a press release from the Mayor’s Press Office.
The Home Office has recently issued the long-awaited guidance on late applications to its EU Settlement Scheme, but this still risks leaving eligible European citizens and their family members undocumented from next month, it said.
Evidence shows that it is the most vulnerable in society who are in greatest danger of slipping through the cracks, including children, older people and rough sleepers, it added.
It also said there are real concerns European citizens will be discriminated against by third parties such as employers or landlords who will require evidence of right to work and to rent.
Mayor Khan has called on the government to change course and announce an extension to the 30th June deadline.
“While many of those eligible have now secured their status in the UK, I remain deeply concerned about those whose status is still not yet confirmed. Many are now at risk of discrimination, whether from an employer, landlord or accessing public services,” Khan said.
“So today I’m appealing directly to ministers. Those eligible deserve a cast-iron guarantee that any delays in processing their application won’t lead to them or their families losing their status or being discriminated against from next month.”
A recent survey from the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements found a significant lack of trust in UK public bodies by European citizens living in the UK. The survey of 3,000 European respondents released in May found that a third are not confident that their citizens’ rights will be upheld by public bodies and 1 in 10 are considering leaving the UK after 30 June.
“This new public garden is a lasting living memorial in recognition of the impact that COVID has had, and continues to have, on our city,” Mayor Khan said…reports Asian Lite News.
London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has opened the London Blossom Garden as a lasting living memorial to the impact of COVID-19 on the capital, as he also announced the first phase of a new bereavement support programme to help grieving Londoners.
The Mayor was joined by Hilary McGrady, Director General of the National Trust, and key workers and their representatives from the NHS, TfL and other frontline roles in a ceremony to open the new public garden at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
“This new public garden is a lasting living memorial in recognition of the impact that COVID has had, and continues to have, on our city,” Mayor Khan said. “It is a place to join together to remember the more than 19,000 Londoners who have tragically died, to reflect on our own experiences of the pandemic, to highlight how this virus has disproportionately impacted many of our communities, and to pay tribute to the ongoing efforts of our key workers.”
Today I was honoured to meet some of London’s incredible key workers at the opening of the new Blossom Garden. This place is not only a living memorial to every single Londoner lost to COVID19, but a tribute to all our key workers. pic.twitter.com/GQNKLBVIky
— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) May 24, 2021
In partnership with the National Trust and with support from Bloomberg, a total of 33 blossoming trees have been planted to create the new garden. It has been designed to be a place to contemplate and reflect on the impact of the pandemic, honour the vital efforts of key workers and remember those who have died.
The 33 trees represent all London boroughs and the City of London, with eight spring blossoming tree species chosen as the blossom season coincided with the first national lockdown last year. The garden is the first and flagship site in a series of National Trust blossom plantings in towns and cities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Mayor also announced the first phase of a new bereavement support programme to help those experiencing loss and grief in London. The Recovery Bereavement Programme is aimed at developeing a range of support for Londoners with partners, and begins with a public awareness campaign led by Thrive LDN. ‘In loving memory of Londoners lost’ will help direct Londoners to information, advice and support to cope with their grief.
The ceremony was hosted by Gardeners’ World presenter Arit Anderson, and featured poetry by Jay Bernard and a performance by the London International Gospel Choir as they remembered the more than 19,000 Londoners who have died from COVID-19.
London Eats campaign was launched with an aim to attract domestic tourists back into the capital to enjoy all the culinary delights it has to offer, reports Asian Lite News
London Mayor’s year-long Let’s Do London campaign to bring people back to the capital kicked off its focus on the city’s diverse food and drink offering on Monday with London Eats.
“London Eats celebrates the very best culinary delights central London has to offer. From cheap street food eats to fine dining, food markets to drinks festivals, exclusive interviews, food trails, surprise announcements on the Tube and the unveiling of new restaurant and street food market openings – there is something for everyone,” Mayor’s Press Office said in a statement.
As Covid restrictions ease, and as more restaurants open up, the Mayor Sadiq Khan joined by celebrity chefs and successful restaurateurs, Monica Galetti and Angela Hartnett MBE at Geoff Leong’s Chinatown restaurant Dumplings’ Legend, launched this food-focused part of his Let’s Do London campaign to promote central London and protect jobs in the capital.
Mayor Khan said he was “proud to be launching London Eats as part of my Let’s Do London campaign – the biggest domestic tourism campaign the capital has ever seen.”
“The hospitality sector has been one of the hardest hit by the impact of the pandemic with too many jobs lost and under threat. As the government continues with a roadmap and more businesses are able to open up, we are joining with famous chefs, foodies and hospitality venues to celebrate our city’s world-renowned industry. Together we will be sharing our favourite places to eat and drink in London and highlighting the huge range of exciting events and openings that will be taking place this summer.
“There is no doubt that our capital has the greatest food and drink offer in the world, and I’m proud to be getting the message out to Londoners and people across the country that the capital is ready and waiting to welcome you SAFELY once again,” he added.
London Eats sees the coming together of some of London’s most famous chefs, hospitality venues and foodies to share their hidden gems, foodie trails and the must-try bars and restaurants they’re excited to get back to as London comes alive again over the summer.
The series of insider tips features Indian-born British chef Asma Khan, French maître d’hôtel and star of Channel 4’s First Dates Fred Sirieix and Masterchef judge Monica Galetti as they highlight the huge variety of food on offer in the capital.
A collection of passionate Londoners including an NHS worker and a city busker, alongside famous faces such as singer Jessie Ware, King of The Jungle and football legend Harry Redknapp, star of Drag Race UK Bimini Bon Boulash and restaurateur and Masterchef judge Monica Galetti, are sharing their favourite food hotspots with surprise tannoy announcements across central London’s Tube network – heard at stations including London Bridge, Covent Garden, Westminster and Euston.
“London has been incredibly generous to me and I promise to continue giving my 100% to serve it,” he added…reports Asian Lite News.
Sadiq Khan, who was re-elected as Mayor of London last week, has reappointed India-born Rajesh Agrawal as the Deputy Mayor for Business in the England capital.
“I’m hugely grateful for the opportunity to serve Londoners for the second term as their Deputy Mayor for business,” Agrawal wrote on twitter.
I’m hugely grateful for the opportunity to serve Londoners for the second term as their Deputy Mayor for business.
London has been incredibly generous to me and I promise to continue giving my 100% to serve it. pic.twitter.com/rpkEySfgSY
“London has been incredibly generous to me and I promise to continue giving my 100% to serve it,” he added.
Born and raised in Indore, India, Rajesh moved to London in 2001 with £200 in his pocket. As an entrepreneur he founded two global businesses from scratch – RationalFX in 2005, and Xendpay in 2014, both companies utilising technology to reduce the cost of international money transfer for businesses and individuals.
He was first appointed in this role in 2016 and has since driven business & economic brief from London’s City Hall through the unprecedented crisis caused by Brexit & COVID-19.
The Mayor on Tuesday also announced key senior appointments who will work with him to “drive forward London’s recovery from the pandemic and create a fairer, more equal and more prosperous city.”
Sadiq has made ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’ a top priority for his second term in office and has vowed to do everything he can to put young Londoners at the heart of the capital’s recovery.
