Last night we went to a screening of the movie Storm (DK: Hannahs Valg) which tells the fictional story of a trial at the tribunal in The Hague and how the prosecutors struggle to ensure evidence, witnesses and at the same time make political bargains with the local government of the Balkans.
The conflict of the Balkans is not easy to understand – yet I think it is important that we try. This is a war that happened in our lifetime, right in the middle of Europe and with horrible war crimes of ethnic cleansing, genocide and rape camps.
I found the movie very interesting and it displays some of the dilemmas of trying to achieve justice for the atrocities while trying to rebuild the stability of the region and what one persons sacrifice mean in a bigger political game.
After the movie there was a panel debate with the former diplomat Charles Crawford, journalist Rajeshree Sisodia, Elena Wasylem from a rape victim help group and Lisa Gormley from Amnesty International. They all had some interesting inputs to the different themes of the film and put it into context. One of the things that they mentioned in the debate afterwards was that the bargaining and some of the actions of the barristers were quite unrealistic.
The film is a great example of European collaboration as it was created with funding from three countries and cast from at least eight.
We live in the borough of Brent which is the most ethnic diverse in England and also the place with most Irish people in London. Wednesday last week was the real St. Patrick’s day which meant they put on a parade right down the street from us.
Around 6000 people came out and celebrated everything Green, Guinness and Irish and it was quite a show. It was great to see not just the Irish but everyone celebrating. Like these kids which looks anything but Irish playing the Bodhrán.
I also enjoyed the fact that the lineup before the actual parade was in front of the local mosque. Here with a truck with the title of an Irish rebel song called “Follow me up to Carlow” which is a celebration of an Irish victory over a 3000 men English army.
The tube station at Chalk Farm is my favorite of the ones I have come across in London. It’s a big red triangular building on the corner of Adelaide Rd and Haverstock Hill.
It was opened on June 22nd 1907 and like a number of other stations built at that time it has ox-blood red glazed terracotta blocks on the front to provide it’s very bold unique look.
