Diversecity...

This wonderfully cheesy phrase is painted all over the walls of this lady's old school... but over the last few days, the very concept of diversity has become fresh and exciting once more to me! To think God actually bothered to create such a diversity of peoples on this earth, of so many cultures, , colours, languages sights, music, foods... I know I'm singing an old cliched tune here but after this weekend...
- 28 degree heat (resulting in the odd waterfight)
- the start of the westend festival
- sweaty silly swashbuckling sambasambaSAMBA
- an Asian-swamped Mela in Kelvingrove, full of pretty pretty material, bangra pop, where there was a falooda stall and it was surreal not to be in the minority
... I feel like I've just returned from a holiday in some exotic country! (I'm sure photos will appear at some point from various different corners in the near future.) The travelling bug has been fed and I didn't even need to leave the bubble that is the westend this time.

But I think the awesomeness of diversity really hit me while I stood waiting for a bus outside a 30 floor tower block in Springburn containing around 200 asylum seekers of over 25 nationalities still in the process of trying to make asylum claims, ... standing in a Glasgow bustop and listening to banter in 3 or 4 languages... the language student in me jumped for joy!

A few words of advice: DO NOT try to climb 28 flights of stairs in one of these...


...even if you can't find the lift. Be sensible and ask where the lift is. This is far more favourable than nearing colapse as you reach the 20th floor.

If you go to Springburn, do not be misled by deceptively short train journeys, because if you add on findingyourdestinationandgettinglostontheway time, it will be inevitably be a lot longer than getting the bus that goes straight to outside the door of where you're meant to be.

Samba is cooolio... anyone feel like forming a samba band with an aspiring conducteress and me?!