Ramadan

It's Ramadan. A month fasting between sunrise and sunset for our Moslim friends and neighbours. In fact, there's been a month of Ramadan every year of my life. I never used to notice it. Not until some years back when I worked for the UN in an office full of Moslims. By the end of the month, they were walking round like ghosts. Not that I'm mocking the idea of a time of reflection - I think that's a good idea. It's just that a month of fasting during the day and feasting at night isn't too healthy, in my view, and doesn't fit well with western life. Luckily, this year it's in autumn when the days are getting shorter. Some years it falls in summer and that's pretty tough for a western Moslim. In mid-November the month will end with the Sugar Festival. I never used to notice that either but it will be featured on the TV news in Holland. Life's changed a lot since my hymn singing days in a church-owned school in England.