A person's progress and more

I am never tired of capturing the sights that I like! Not yet, anyway... ;-)

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Yesterday I heard from a friend who has done an acting course recently. Mind you, he did it in his spare time, after regular working hours, on top of many other extra activities that fill his timetable from dawn into the night!)
Regretfully, last Sunday I missed his stage debut. I coughed too badly to attend any public event. Afterwards, this most humble man told me that he was terrible on stage and it was a complete failure. He concluded that there is no way for him to become an actor.Well, I knew he was exaggerating! And guess what?  This friend is performing live at a central London pub this Sunday! I am so proud of him!
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Today I had my first physiotherapy, after a long wait of several months! Arriving at the Ealing Hospital I saw a genuine manifestation:

The hospital cleaners, porters and other non-medical staff walked out of work to demand fair treatment. At the hospital they are paid a mere 6.31 pounds per hour while the workers at other NHS facilities earn much more, even up to 9.70 pounds per hour! Surely, I could only be guessing what the whole hassle was about when heading for my appointment. However, on leaving I was stopped by one of the protesters and then heard their side of the story. Actually, a visit to the hospital toilet was the sufficient evidence to convince one how indispensable these employees are and how inadequate their gratification is.
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On leaving the physio department I headed for the lift. Having got near it, I encountered a man whose appearance made him look like a biblical prophet who has just left the hermitage. A young female staff member was explaining to him how to get out of the hospital. To tell you the truth, I experienced a slight pang of anxiety at the thought of getting into the lift with him and nobody else. No need there was for that. The man turned out to be a retired teacher with a degree in Social Sciences. Many years ago he came to the UK from Pakistan which then was still part of India. What an interesting life! How sad to see  this man struggling after decades of hard work. So many ordinary people have been facing such a fate whether it is nowadays or at any time in the past....
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There is somebody else I want to mention today. An amazing, but little known Iraqi painter, whose life met an untimely end when he went back to his home country after years on exile. A bomb exploded outside a Baghdad cafe and ended it all for him and many others. Friends had been warning Yasin Atia against going to Iraq tormented by terrorist attacks, but he would not listen. Too big was his longing for the country he had always loved and fought for. He never adapted to the lifestyle of Denmark where he settled having escaped traumatic persecution, incarceration and tortures during Saddam's regime. Yasin contacted Yousif Naser, another famous Iraqi painter, more or less a fortnight before his fatal trip to Iraq and wanted to talk to him about art. He thought Yousif could advise him on painting in black and white, as the colourist Yasin thought that black and white will better reflect the torments of his soul and mind. They communicated on Facebook a lot and were making plans for Yasin to come to London for a visit. Yousif offered him to stay at his own place. On hearing about Yasin's plan to visit Iraq, Yousif did his best to persuade him not to go there. He wouldn't listen to anybody. The desire to go back to his own country and laugh his oppressors in their faces appealed to him like nothing else. Again and again I have been looking at Yasin's paintings this evening. Truly amazing colours!
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