Colourful Wedding Party

A drum with colourful cushions

It was my cousin’s wedding very recently and in true Pakistani style there was a party in the days before for the women of the family to get together to sing traditional folk songs, dance and eat great food in celebration. I wish my cousin a happy marriage, full of colour and adventure.

Edinburgh

I spent a few days in Edinburgh and it’s surrounding areas recently. The drop in temperature was a welcome reprieve from the heatwave in London and the city itself had lots to offer.

I spotted Scott Monument, visited the Princes Street Gardens and walked up Calton Hill with an unfinished National Monument in a Greek-style replica of the Parthenon.

I also did a day trip further out of Edinburgh and saw the beautiful Kelpies statues, visited Stirling castle with its blooming garden and then went to Loch Lomond’s village of Luss with it’s stunning scenery. I was even lucky enough to catch a lovely Highland cow.

I spent time in Edinburgh’s various museums, lively streets and soaked in the architecturally beautiful buildings. It was a short trip and I packed in lots and I look forward to going back again to see what else I missed.

Eid-al-Fitr 2026/1447: Eid Mubarak

 Macro white rose

This year Ramadan has been a difficult one with so many Muslims in the world in unsafe times. War, famine and occupation has been too present during the sacred month, and now we have reached Eid It will be an unsettling and sad day for many. I pray that Allah accepts our fasts and prayers and showers us with his mercy and blessings. I hope everyone is able to spend the day enjoying time with family and friends, being grateful for everything they have. May those going through hardships find peace and ease soon. Eid Mubarak everyone.

Lisbon

I took a short trip to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal very recently. Lisbon has the oldest bookshop in the world and is known for being quite hilly and also near the coast. I spent several days there and whilst it was a bit rainy it was still a really nice city to visit. Here are a few snaps, but my favourorite thing was seeing all the tiles on the buildings of various colours and styles.

Livraria Bertrand - world's oldest bookstore

Goodbye 2025

Today is the last year of 2025. There’s been highs and lows and sadly still too many wars being waged in this world. I pray that next year these come to an end and that people find peace and justice. Here are my favourite photos of 2025. May 2026 be a better one for us all. Happy New Year.

Knole house

I recently visited Knole house. It is said to be a calendar house, having 365 rooms, 52 staircases, 12 entrances and 7 courtyards. The house was built by Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, between 1456 and 1486. We didn’t have time to look in many the rooms but we did climb up steep spiral staircase in the tower up to the roof which gave us great views.

Knole house

Knole house also has medieval deer park, with deer roaming the grounds for 500 years. The deer we encountered were quite timid and let us get fairly close, which was amazing.

Deer

With large grounds to walk in and with the deer and nearby stream Knole house is a lovely place to visit.