design by mohamed zafran

happy eid-ul-alha festival for my dear friends

2011-11-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

happy ramazan for my dear all muslim friends...!!!

2011-07-31T21:39:00.001-07:00

2011-04-11T03:03:00.000-07:00

happy new year my dear friends

2011-04-09T22:27:00.001-07:00

my tour

2011-02-07T01:09:00.001-08:00

mohamedzafran

2011-01-31T03:27:00.000-08:00

my trip in trincomalee

2011-01-31T03:13:00.000-08:00

History of Islam in Sri Lanka

2010-12-05T23:29:00.000-08:00

With the arrival of Arab traders in the 8th century, Islam began to flourish in Sri Lanka. The first people to profess the Islamic faith were Arab merchants and their native wives, whom they married after converting to Islam. By the 15th century, Arab traders had controlled much of the trade on the Indian Ocean, including that of Sri Lanka's. Many of them settled down on the island in large numbers, encouraging the spread of Islam. However, when koksakers the Portuguese arrived during the 16th century, many of their descendants- the Sri Lankan Moors- were persecuted, thus forcing them to migrate to the Central Highlands and to the east coast of the country.

During 18th and 19th centuries, Javanese and Malaysian Muslims bought over by the Dutch andBritish rulers contributed to the growing Muslim population in Sri Lanka. Their descendants, now theSri Lankan Malays, adapted several Sri Lankan Moor Islamic traditions while also contributing their unique cultural Islamic practices to other Muslim groups on the Island.

The arrival of Muslims from India during the 19th and 20th centuries has also contributed to the growth of Islam in Sri Lanka. Most notably, Pakistani and South Indian Muslims have introduced Shia Islamand the Hanafi school of thought into Sri Lanka, however although most Muslims on the island still adhere to the traditional practices of Sunni Islam.

In modern times, Muslims in Sri Lanka are handled by the Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Department, which was established in the 1980s to prevent the continual isolation of the Muslim community from the rest of Sri Lanka. Today, about 8% of Sri Lankans adhere to Islam; mostly from the Moor and Malay ethnic communities on the island with smaller numbers of converts from other ethnicities.

happy eid-mubarak for my dear friends..!!

2010-11-17T20:48:00.001-08:00

my brother @umrrah

2010-09-09T08:10:00.001-07:00

happy eid-mubarak

2010-09-09T07:56:00.001-07:00

i love uuuu

2010-09-03T23:35:00.000-07:00

pllllz give my true love

2010-07-25T01:45:00.000-07:00

in the heart beat of phone is your sms

in the name of allah,the most beneficent and the most mercifull

2010-06-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

my friend play room

2010-06-27T22:46:00.001-07:00

plzzzzzzzzzz

2010-06-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

2010-06-11T23:42:00.000-07:00

happy birth day 2 you

2010-06-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

2010-05-28T06:24:00.000-07:00

Mohamed zafran
when love is perfect it is
shred only

tiger beer tower

2010-05-28T06:18:00.001-07:00

my sister

2010-03-27T22:30:00.001-07:00

umar muneer

2010-03-14T06:14:00.001-07:00

how is my pic

2010-03-14T06:12:00.000-07:00

my poto

2010-03-07T09:53:00.001-08:00

my sister home

2010-03-07T09:52:00.001-08:00

win this gift pack...

2010-02-25T22:06:00.000-08:00

i think so...

2010-01-27T20:08:00.001-08:00

mmmmm

2010-01-18T07:41:00.001-08:00

my friend @ weeding

2010-01-18T07:39:00.000-08:00

fazna's weding day

2010-01-18T07:36:00.000-08:00

my friends

2010-01-11T01:53:00.000-08:00

mm.sumai.nadiya..

zafran

2010-01-07T08:42:00.001-08:00

my potos

2010-01-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

my potos

2010-01-06T09:35:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR...!!!

2010-01-04T19:52:00.000-08:00

zafran,muneer

2009-12-22T05:56:00.000-08:00

zafran,sister,haqeem

2009-12-22T05:53:00.000-08:00

2009-12-11T02:15:00.000-08:00

men looking gril

2009-12-11T02:14:00.000-08:00

Pleasing and attractive personality.
- Good looking.
- You adapt well to new situations.
- Joyful attitude towards life.
- Independent.
- Secretive.
- Intelligent mind.
- You get easily angry.
- Very stubborn at times.
- You love attention

HAPPY EID-UL-ALHA FOR MY ALL FRIENDS..!!!

2009-11-27T21:27:00.000-08:00

2009-11-22T06:59:00.000-08:00

selamat hari raya

2009-11-22T06:55:00.000-08:00

London Muslim Centre

2009-11-15T21:17:00.000-08:00

The London Muslim Centre (known as LMC) is a spiritual, cultural and educational institution based in the east end of London.

Opened on 11 June 2004 at a cost of £10.5 million with funds raised mainly from the public in the UK it aims to promote inter-faith dialogue and understanding between muslims and non-non muslims. On the opening day 15,000 people came to see the new building and the facilities it had to offer. There was a fairground for children and many guests had arrived at the opening. Shaykh Abdur-Rahman al-Sudais, Imam of the Ka’aba in Mecca (Islam’s holiest mosque) had also come from Saudi Arabia to open the centre. He told the thousands that had gathered that day that this was a shining example of how the British Muslim community were taking great steps forward to enhance community cohesion.

The mosque leaders that day said: '"This uniquely British Muslim centre will bolster London’s reputation as a vibrant and diverse international city."'

Amongst the guests were Racial Equality Minister Fiona Mactaggart, Trevor Phillips, the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and senior officials from the Muslim Council of Britain. Prince Charles, who was in Washington for the funeral of the former US president Ronald Reagan, sent a video message of support.

LMC is situated on the right-hand side of East London Mosque who were responsible for its construction and development.

The building is a six-story building. It has a gym, a library, a créche and classrooms. There are many lessons/ courses that take place within the classrooms. All of them are taught by fully qualified teachers. The building can hold over four thousand worshippers

this is it

2009-11-15T20:59:00.000-08:00

as a muslim

2009-11-15T09:13:00.000-08:00

bell france

2009-11-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

su_mayya

2009-11-12T08:58:00.000-08:00

my young sister

2009-11-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

my sister

2009-11-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

2009-11-09T23:09:00.000-08:00

allahu akbar...!!!

2009-11-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

my friends

2009-11-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

college life

2009-11-03T20:06:00.000-08:00

my sister and son rakib

2009-11-02T08:25:00.000-08:00

my sister's son

2009-11-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

live in love for ur sweet heart

2009-11-02T08:16:00.000-08:00

my sister's son

2009-11-02T08:13:00.000-08:00

i lost my fist love

2009-10-29T04:13:00.000-07:00

montreal park mrt station

2009-10-13T22:25:00.000-07:00

farrer park mart station

2009-10-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

sky tower in singapore

2009-10-13T22:22:00.000-07:00

download potos and earn

2009-10-12T22:52:00.000-07:00

download potos for ur fun

2009-10-12T22:48:00.000-07:00

zafran and muneer

2009-10-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

Happiness is like a kiss...you must share it to enjoy it

लाइफ ऑफ़ monkey

2009-10-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

i've been tagged by my mom to complete these sentences..

2009-10-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

1. A person is only as good as he/she can make happy,..

2. Friendship is always making me smile but sometimes makes me cry

3. To love is to give and to accept.....

4. Money makes me CRAZY!!

5. I miss kissing mimi, eating mummy’s pudding, bau stokin izzat ( heh heh ), miss my pinky room..

6. My way of saying I care is by saying that I care

7. I try to spread love and happiness by keep smiling and laughing..

8. Pick the flowers when they’re blooming

9. To love someone is to show that you appreciate them

10. Beauty is what’s inside your heart

11. When I was thirteen, what I remember the most was ...i got a new little cute sister....

12. When I was twenty one, I remember nothing..ask me again in 2009

13. I am most happy when I’m with my family

14. Nothing makes me happier than seeing everyone's happy

15. If I can change one thing, I will change this semester into holiday....

16. If smiles were the way to shine everyone’s life .then I’ll keep smiling.

17. Wouldn't it be nice if we could live together in peace

18. If you want to be respected then you have to learn to respect

19. Money is not everything but what is life without money?.....

20. I smile when I’m feeling great

22. When I am happy, I laugh and jump happily

23. The best thing I did yesterday was talking with bakal pengantin..my bro

24. If I ever write a book, I will give it this title, "pinky princess...."

25. One thing I must do before I die is to get halawatul iman

26. Doing this meme, I feel like smiling

ip 2 location

2009-10-08T09:58:00.000-07:00

Powered byIP2Location.com

model of zafran

2009-10-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

brithish airways world quality class airlines

2009-09-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

bbc in london

2009-09-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

musrif with friends

2009-09-27T10:28:00.000-07:00

mohamed zafran

2009-09-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

mohamed zafran from srilanka

muneer with ice-cream

2009-09-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

muneer in job

2009-09-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

mohamed musrif in liverpool

2009-09-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

muneer in shop

2009-09-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

please submit ur comments to me mohamedzafran@gmail.com

2009-09-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

muneer in harrow

2009-09-22T07:49:00.001-07:00

muneer and umar

2009-09-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

murshidah and rakib

2009-09-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

muneer in topshop

2009-09-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

muneer and imran in london

2009-09-22T07:43:00.001-07:00

muneer and musrif in london,uk

2009-09-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

zafran mother

2009-09-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

muneer and zafran srilanka airport

2009-09-22T07:36:00.001-07:00

montreal,canada

2009-09-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

Montreal (French: Montréal)[4] (pronounced (help·info) in French, /(help·info) in English [5]) is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie ('City of Mary'),[6] the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the city is located,[7][8] or Mont Réal as it was spelled in Middle French,[9] (Mont Royal in present French).
The official language of Montreal is French as defined by the city's charter.[10][11] Montreal is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the world, after Paris.[12][13][verification needed] As of the 2006 Canadian Census, 1,620,693 people resided in the city of Montreal proper,[1] ranking it the 2nd largest city in Canada and 7th overall in Canada and the United States. The population of the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (also known as Greater Montreal) was 3,635,571 at the same 2006 census. In the census metropolitan area, French is the language most spoken at home by 70.5% of the population (as of 2006 census).

srilanka

2009-09-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka (from the Sanskrit “Venerable Island”), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (pronounced, Sinhalese: Tamil: இலங்கை; known as Ceylon before 1972 and as Taprobane in ancient times), is an island country in South Asia, located about 31 kilometres (19.3 mi) off the southern coast of India. It is home to around twenty million people.
Because of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia.[citation needed] It has been a center of Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times.[citation needed] The Sinhalese community forms the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs and the Malays.
Famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, coconuts and rubber,[citation needed]. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka's tropical forests, beaches and landscape, as well as its rich cultural heritage, make it a world famous tourist destination.[citation needed]
After over two thousand years of rule by local kingdoms, parts of Sri Lanka were colonized by Portugal and the Netherlands beginning in the 16th century, before control of the entire country was ceded to the British Empire in 1815.[citation needed] During World War II, Sri Lanka served as an important base for Allied forces in the fight against the Japanese Empire.[8] A nationalist political movement arose in the country in the early 20th century with the aim of obtaining political independence, which was eventually granted by the British after peaceful negotiations in 1948.

nothport,new york

2009-09-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

It was a short flight from Toronto to LaGuardia in New York. We had an absolutely wonderful landing into New York as the plane had to come in over Manhattan - the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty were clearly set out below us as we flew down the Hudson (thankfully not into it!) and around and up the East River taking us over Flushing Meadow and the old Shea Stadium as we made our way into the airport.
As the US has an arrangement with Canada to carry out all US immigration and customs formalities in Toronto, we had the easiest and ostensibly domestic, entry into the US. Before we knew it we were in the baggage reclaim hall where Pat & Todd were there to meet us. Although we'd seen Pat about 5 years ago when she visited us in Ashtead with her niece Stephanie, we hadn't seen Todd since 1999 so it was great to see them both looking so fit and well. LaGuardia is actually on Long Island but it was still a longish drive to Northport where Pat & Todd live. This is a nice New England style town right on the waterfront looking over to Connecticut. It was cold and there was plenty of snow on the ground after a heavy snowfall a few days before. Once inside their lovely house, which we'd only had a glimpse of during a Skype video call, we met their dog, Halle, a Briard (French sheep dog). It was then catch-up time over lovely spicy Thai chicken, good beer and wine.
Although the reason for our visit was to see Pat & Todd, we were staying longer than planned so had pencilled in a few days for New York. Leaving early (for us) next morning, on his way to work Todd gave us a lift to a local station where we caught the train into Penn Station. While making our way along Long Island we had wonderfully different views (from our previous day's flight) of Manhattan and the famous skyline. It was fantastic to be back in New York, and feel the hustle and bustle of the city.
Our thoughts were to visit some of the sights we hadn't seen as well as revisit some we had and a key target for that day was the Metropolitan Museum of Art just off Central Park. So making our way through the city we stopped by Macy's (largest department store in the world), an optician (where E bought glasses to replace those lost in Peru), Grand Central Station (to admire the grand ticketing hall and concourses), Chrysler Building (where, apart from enjoying the classic Art Deco styling of the exterior, you can go inside to see the decorative foyer at close quarters) and St Patrick's Cathedral (a Gothic Revival building built 150 years ago). By then we still had two thirds of our walk to go reach the Met. Fighting the biting cold we eventually made it to what is a stunning collection of everything ART and spent a few hou rs wandering around a collection that could take days to see properly. Absolutely wonderful and - together with AGO (in Toronto) - our desire for modern and impressionist art was being realised after nearly 5 months of medieval/religious stuff in South America which, to be fair, is good but rather heavy going. We ate in the city at Pete's Tavern which is one of the city's oldest - we'd visited it 13 years ago to sample their fine ales!
With Todd planning to take Friday and Monday off work, we went back to NY on Thursday to revisit the Empire State Building (still wonderful), enjoy watching ice skaters in the city's parks, the opticians (to collect E's specs), and the American Museum of Natural History which was one of our main objectives for the day. It was huge and had so many interesting exhibits that we hadn't really allowed enough time especially when we just had to watch a good 30 minute planetarium film about cosmic collisions. We were shuttled out the door at closing time still having much to see. Friday was spent around Northport and Todd did a BBQ - our second one in freezing conditions over the previous two months - cooking his famous 'football' (a huge steak rolled in salt) and it was gorgeous. After some beer and wine we rolled down the hill to the theatre in Northport to see The Foreigner. Some of us struggled to keep awake for the first act which took a little time to get going and set the scene. But after the break and refreshed by gin & tonics and exceptionally large glasses of wine, we got the plot and The Foreigner turned out to be a good hoot.
One of the notable Long Island things we'd always wanted to see was The Hamptons, that exclusive area that was famous from books and films - and which M, when she was a kid, had thought was just a fictional place. It was a beautifully clear and crisp sunny day as the four of us - with Halle in the back - drove east to explore The Hamptons, which we discovered consists of a number of small towns, each one more exclusive and expensive than the last. First, we stopped at South Hampton where we all enjoyed Halle having a run on the beach, before finding our way to the last and most exclusive of all, East Hampton (hmmm - kept expecting to see Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn sitting on their porch). A very attractive town with lots of historic buildings all of which but one were closed for winter, the interesting small Osborne-Jackson House which dates from c. 1740. But not much to see of the really huge houses of the rich and famous as these are all hidden away in gated communities.
Earlier, when we'd discussed with Pat and Todd the things we wanted to see in New York they said that there were some things they'd also like to see again. So we decided to go into the city together to visit Ground Zero and MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). We'd met Pat's son Tom and his wife Tara a few times before, both in the US and the UK so we were pleased when they suggested meeting up with them at MOMA. Our first stop on a bitterly cold morning was Ground Zero where the enormous gap left by the WTC Twin Towers and neighbouring buildings is just immense. Standing right next to the Twin Towers, St Paul's Chapel amazingly suffered no damage when the Towers came down, not even one window was broken. The Chapel played a major role on and after 9/11, first as a refuge and rest area for the workers, firemen, police, etc who were undertaking the rescue work and subsequently as a place of memorial. It has a very special feel to it today which embodies a very warm community spirit - exactly what churches and religion should be about. We then went to the nearby Ground Zero Museum which has exhibits, photos and film of the World Trade Centre and 9/11 events. It is a very moving museum especially when so much of what can be seen occurred only a few years ago and is a reminder of the enormity of the tragedy.
MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) is another vast art collection and a major attraction in the city. It was good to meet up with Tom & Tara and their children Cassie and Alex (the children were the only MOMA members). After lunch we took in some of the galleries. One is attracting much attention - Pippilotti Rist's film is a feature where you are invited to take off your shoes and lounge on a massive red 'doughnut' of a sofa and watch large ongoing films on three walls. Not surprisingly Alex (Tom & Tara's younger child) was terrified by the sight of a huge wild boar and a close-up of its snout and mouth! Another gallery was displaying art by Marlene Dumas and while some pieces were disturbing, others were extremely interesting. Obviously the children didn't have the stamina to spend a lot of time so Tom and Tara said their goodbyes leaving us and Pat & Todd to take in a wide range of art by Warhol, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Rodin, Gauguin, Munch, to name but only a few.
On Monday Todd drove us around the immediate area and Todd's workplace at Cold Spring Harbor (yes - Billy Joel's home town and title of his first album) at the DNA research station established bt Dr James Watson who discovered DNA. Later Halle had another chance of a run around in a neighbourhood that doesn't have many open spaces for dogs to run freely. Over the weekend we'd been on the lookout for a haggis to celebrate Rabbie Burns' birthday. Unfortunately New York and Long Island are rather devoid of Scottish fare (we even found a dearth of Scotch whiskies at JFK when we flew out) so the best we could do was salmon. Beforehand we popped into one of the locals for a drink, then it was back home for the traditional meal of - roast salmon, sauted potatoes, and asian slaw. Bet Rabbie would have loved it - even if it was a day late!
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Pat! Yes it was Pat's birthday on Tuesday and we'd be going out at night. As Todd was back at work, and E had planned to return to NY to use his already bought ticket for the Guggenheim Museum, M and Pat went for lunch and a visit to the Vanderbilt house/museum in nearby Centreport. Pat and M had more luck than E because despite checking the website, the Guggenheim was as good as closed with only 2 of its 7 galleries open. As it was Pat's birthday and conveniently Tom was working in the area, he was able to join us for a meal in Northport. Back home - and Tom safely on his 2 hour journey back to New Jersey as thick snow was forecast - it was time for Pat's birthday cake that Todd had baked the previous evening (how had he done it after the beer, wine, whisky, etc we'd consumed!).
We awoke next morning to thick snow and heavy skies - and wondering whether our flight back home to the UK would be cancelled, but soon it was off to the airport. We'd had a great time with Pat & Todd and North America, particularly as coming here had been a last minute decision. Most of all we can honestly say we've had a great time in the Americas since August 2006. Next stop Dublin, then Worcester Park and the next phase of our life.
Lots of love
E & M xxx

toronto,canada

2009-09-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

After so long in the southern hemisphere it felt a bit strange to be heading over the equator and much further north. Our flight to Toronto was via Miami and it certainly was strange to be in a US airport with all the peculiar arrangements for luggage handling and security, surrounded by masses of Americans of all shapes, sizes and colours. Landing in Toronto we saw the ground covered in snow and were hit by really cold air. Although we'd been exchanging emails with Lorna and Willy (who were meeting us at the airport) we hadn't had the benefit of seeing recent photos of them - but they'd seen our photographs on our blog. However, emerging into the arrival hall we couldn't miss Lorna's beaming face as she tracked us down through the crowd. It was really great to see her and the missing 34 years since we'd last seen each other just fell away. After hugs and introductions (E had never met the Canadian side of the McPhillips family) Lorna was quick to regale us of that day's major news story of a New York plane that came down in the Hudson River shortly after take-off from Laguardia (the airport we're flying into next week!). We were to get our next shock when we went outside to meet Willy, who was keeping the car warm, and saw thick, thick snow (there was about a foot on the roof of Willy's car) and felt the icy freezing air - lucky we still had some of our Antarctic gear with us.
Willy soon had us home along roads that were only passable thanks to the gritters and snow ploughs - apparently this was the coldest spell that Toronto had had for some considerable time. Strangely, as we were to discover, North American houses seem to keep their Christmas decorations up for a long time and Lorna and Willy's suburb looked quite festive, colourful and very welcoming. Once inside Lorna cooked a lovely meal and with Willy serving up an array of beverages we had a great evening talking non-stop about family and our travels into the wee small hours - Lorna and M didn't get to bed until 4.30 am!
With only a few days in Toronto, the following morning Lorna took us a quick spin round the local area where the family had lived for many years and which M had last visited in 1975. It was a beautiful clear, crisp, sunny day and Lorna took us to one of her favourite places, Scarborough Bluff which overlooks the vast Lake Ontario.Well, when we got out of the car we can honestly stay we'd never ever been as cold in our lives as we were then. As we stood overlooking the lake, with the temperature in the minus 20s Celsius (and with wind-chill would be much, much colder) we were covering our faces with our gloves because the cold was actually painful. Seeing the distress on the faces of two Antarctic explorers Lorna soon had us back in the warmth of the car and whisked us off into the city where she dropped us off to do some exploring ourselves. It being such a clear day the obvious first stop was the CN Tower, which we understand may still be the highest tower in the world. We got excellent 360 degree views and the snow and ice provided a great definition of the landscape below.
Toronto has a double life and in days such as this, not surprisingly, most of life takes place underground and out of the cold.So as we made our way through the city we kept dipping down into these underground havens. Eventually we found Eaton Mall, the main mall in the city centre, which was to become a regular haunt but on our first visit was where M got a much needed haircut. As darkness descended we took the streetcar (tram) back to Lorna's and had another good night catching up on news.
Saturday, still bitingly cold, saw us back in Toronto at the excellent Art Gallery of Ontario where we enjoyed a vast selection of mainly modern art, the highlight being Stretch, a 3D bust of a bloke, which in many ways was so lifelike. It brought smiles from everyone who saw it. Back at L & W's they'd organised a party where we met cousin, Linda and her husband Tom. It was also great to see our other cousins Anne, Cathy and her daughter Julie. We also met many of their interesting friends. As you will now expect we had a jolly fine evening enjoying the excellent spread laid on by Lorna and were amply 'watered' by Willy in his role of barman. Once again it was great catching up with family stories as well hearing tales from their friends. We fell into our bed at yet another ungodly hour.
Thirty four years ago Linda and Tom (as a couple of young lovebirds) had taken M to Niagara Falls. Today (Sunday) in somewhat different weather conditions they repeated the courtesy and took us to see a very cold and frozen spectacle. It was a long drive there and back for Tom in very, very wintry conditions but they also seemed to enjoy seeing it at this time of year. Whilst great swathes of water were still thundering over the Falls it was accompanied by huge sheets of ice. The sides of the Falls were covered in ice floes, giant icicles all rather the inside of underground caverns, and the surrounding railings were transformed into magnificent ice statues. Only a short distance from where the Falls tumbled into the Niagara River below the river was totally frozen over. We went into the tunnels beneath and behind the Falls only to find that what is usually a roaring rush of water was a still and massive sheet of ice. On our return journey Tom took us through the lovely quaint village of Niagara on the Lake. By this time it was snowing heavily and with about 140 kms to go to get back to Toronto we just didn't have the time to stop - other than to pop into the fudge shop where we bought the best ever peanut and cashew nut brittle. Tom did sterling work getting us home along snow covered roads to a great roast dinner at Lorna's. Sunday night was spent watching ice hockey and the dismal sight of the local team, The Leafs, getting gubbed yet again - all to the sounds of Willy's moans and groans (sounds like he's used to it!). After a wander around the city on Monday afternoon, we met up with Lorna, Linda, Willy and Tom in the Spice Route Restaurant for an excellent and (spicy) meal. On Tuesday morning, we got packed and Willy took us to the airport via a local diner for breakfast. We'd had a wonderful time and had been treated royally by Lorna and Willy. It was like the 34 years had never happened.
Lots of love

vancouver city festivel

2009-09-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

One of my daily reads, The Business of Fashion, came out with a post earlier this month, Vancouver’s new Fashion Cycle. I thought, cool, an article about Vancouver and fashion! Turns out the article had slightly more to do with lifestyle than solely fashion, but put a lot out there for me to think about. As part of my program, we have to design a collection in 4th year based off a niche market. In other words, we can’t just design what we “feel like” designing – we have to prove that there is a viable market and an underserved niche. A few years ago, this may seem more like a hindrance to students who think that all they want to design are pretty dresses for “real women”, and by real women, they are thinking women who look and dress like celebrities and socialites. When I first applied to the program almost 4 years ago, the concept of a niche market was foreign to me, a criteria for a school project, at best.
There is a lot to say and observe when it comes to Vancouver’s fashion scene, one that I think links a lot more to lifestyle than the traditional fashion capitals do. Vancouver seems to be starting to make an appearance on the list of “hot” cities on the international cultural who’s-who and what’s what. We’re young and have so much to build on, with tons of creative energy. What I’ve really noticed is lacking are the resources to really harness that creativity and create a strong industry base that could rival New York or London or even Toronto or Montreal (though organizations like Fashion West, formerly Apparel BC, and Fashion High are bravely trying to change that around). We don’t have a centralized location for apparel businesses. You can’t just walk out the door of a fashion company and pop down the street to look at fabrics or get retail inspiration. Everything is so spread apart in this city. I guess that’s because our infrastructure was built primarily before we even had an apparel industry to speak of. Our main purpose as a city is its convenience as a port location between North America and Asia – we weren’t built for manufacturing, we were built around trade. Of course, out of that comes what we are known for now: our beautiful landscape and natural environment. Though, when it comes down to it, what we have is, in my mind, not that unique. We’ve just marketed it well and as a city, have the right balance between an urban setting and a natural, clean, fresh environment, all due in part because of the fact that we are not a very large city in the grand scope of things. And because of this, we’re just the right size to be able to take on the new creative model. And this all leads to my theory, that we are well poised to become a big player in the fashion world not by competing with the traditional model of a fashion capital, but by paving the way for a new one: one that makes sense for the new knowledge economy focusing on holistic aspects of living, not just aesthetics. Gregor Robertson, mayor of Vancouver, is a big advocate of not only sustainability, but creativity as well:
“A world-class city needs to foster entrepreneurial and artistic creativity, and attract innovators from all sectors around the world. It’s time we ditched the red-tape, ‘no-fun city’ label and embraced a culture of creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation, to help our artistic and small-business sectors thrive in a competitive economy.”
I’m interested in how Vancouver’s fashion industry will play out as this city makes strides forward where many cities have already plateaued. Our fashion industry is not at all big, but yet, we have many internationally recognized companies based out of here. As the article on BOF pointed out, there is huge potential for a niche market in lifestyle apparel for fashionable cyclists in the city. It’s interesting how Vancouver was singled out for this – as I was saying, we are seen as a fresh city with room to grow, and our international presence is about to get bigger with the 2010 Olympics slated to take the city in just a short 6 months.
I am excited to see Vancouverites making a splash on the fashion scene through innovative ways of looking at design, fashion, lifestyle, and marketing. Fashionable cyclist wear is one idea, but there are so many others to be dug up in this city that have to potential to percolate internationally. Plus, the only fashion degree program west of Toronto has as part of its criteria that the 4th year collections be based off a niche market. It’s not just a coincidence; someone was smart, and recognized that doing this was crucial in moving Vancouver fashion forward and creating careers in a city that isn’t known for Veras, Calvins, and Karls. I myself am examining niche markets in deciding my market and vision for my grad collection. Hmm, hmm, food for thought!

canada day

2009-09-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day...On July 1st, Canadians celebrate the day the British North America Act created the Canadian federal government on July 1, 1867. This date was originally celebrated as Dominion Day up until the year 1982, when an Act of Parliament changed it to Canada Day.

city of london

2009-09-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

London (pronounced is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom. It has been an influential city for two millennia, and its history goes back to its founding by the Romans, then named Londinium.[6] London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries. However, since at least the nineteenth century, the name "London" has also referred to the whole metropolis that has developed around it.[7] Today, the bulk of this conurbation forms the London region [8] and the Greater London administrative area,[9] with its own elected mayor and assembly.[10]
London is a preeminent global city [11][12] and one of the world's largest financial centres.[13][14][15][16] Central London is home to the headquarters of more than half of the UK's top 100 listed companies (the FTSE 100) and more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest. London's influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion, the arts and culture in general contributes to its global position. It is a major tourist destination for both domestic and overseas visitors. London hosted the 1908 and 1948 Summer Olympics and will host the 2012 Summer Olympics.[17]
London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; the historic settlement of Greenwich; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; and the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's Church.[18]
London has a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, and more than 300 languages are spoken within its boundaries.[19] In July 2007, it had an official population of 7,556,900 within the boundaries of Greater London,[20] making it the most populous municipality in the European Union.[21] The Greater London Urban Area (the second largest in the EU) has a population of 8,278,251.[2] while the metropolitan area (the largest in the EU) has an estimated total population of between 12 million[3] and 14 million.[4] The public transport network, administered by Transport for London, is the most extensive in the world,[22] London Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers [23] and the airspace is the busiest of any urban centre in the world.[24]

mosque

2009-09-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, masjid, Arabic: مسجد‎ — Arabic pronunciation: (pl. masājid, Arabic: مساجد‎ — . The word "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship, although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller, privately owned mosque and the larger, "collective" mosque (Arabic: مسجد جامع‎, masjid jāmi‘), which has more community and social amenities.
The mosque serves as a place where Muslims can come together for salat (prayer) (Arabic: صلاة‎, ṣalāt) as well as a center for information, education, and dispute settlement. The Imam leads the prayer.
They have developed significantly from the open-air spaces that were the Quba Mosque and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in the 7th century. Many mosques have elaborate domes, minarets, and prayer halls. Mosques originated on the Arabian Peninsula, but are now found in all inhabited continents.

enemies of islam

2009-09-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

canada

2009-09-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

i love canada...!!!

hsbc bank card

2009-09-18T10:53:00.000-07:00

ramazan

2009-09-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

happy ramazan for all muslims for the all over world........

thank you....

selamat hari raya.....!!!

my mother

2009-09-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

zafran and family

2009-09-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

singapore f1 show

2009-09-18T09:25:00.000-07:00