Nothing Stranger than Truth!

Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.

The year was 2004. I was new to London.

I had just been there for work. My office was located on Marsh Wall Road and Canary Wharf, the famous financial district, was just 10 minutes’ walk away.

At the close of office hours, I used to take a stroll to see the place around Docklands.

The Canary Wharf is home to many tall buildings, including the UK’s second tallest, One Canada Square.

Canary Wharf was a scenic beauty with a footbridge hung by wires and barely touching the waters, a huge shopping mall, seagulls flying so close to the waters in the Thames, the toy-train DLR (Dockland Light Railway) transporting commuters and visitors (in a solemn silence), the green parks & benches, punishing wind passing through skyscrapers, cycling lane and clean roads all around. It was simply a treat to watch.

I had a DSLR camera. The weekends in that part of the world are normally quieter. As one who had just landed in London, I wished to click some pictures and wanted to send them home to India.

I was snapping away all that came within my eyesight.

I had just stopped when I saw a group of kids getting ready for a face-painting competition.

I watched them gather in groups and some sitting on tall stools. The make-up artists were busy drawing cartoon characters on their faces. I guessed an event was being organized. I didn’t want to miss one.

I started clicking. Shots of the venue, the audience, kids running, laughing and joking. I took the camera very close to the kids’ faces and clicked. The cartoon faces just began to fill my camera.

No sooner had I finished doing a great photographer’s job for the week than I was stopped by the long arm of an adult. Someone tapped on my shoulder.

“Sir, can I have a minute?”

“Yes, sure” I said. I was a bit worried.

The man said he was the father of one of the kids participating in the competition. And he wanted to know who I was and what business I had there.

I started sweating. Did I do anything wrong?

I explained who I was, the reason I had been in the Docklands and told him photography was my passion.

The man who was a complete stranger warned me that I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of kids unless I carried an ID or authorized by the organizers of the event.

Secondly, he said it was a crime to take pictures of kids without permission from parents or the kids’ guardian. I was gobsmacked!

He told me to show him those snaps. I quickly obliged, pressed the cam on and showed him the whole sequence of my evening at Canary Wharf.

He asked me to delete each one of the kids’ photos. The other parents soon gathered. They made sure I deleted all the kids’ pictures.

I apologized and left home. It dawned on me how ignorant I was.

That was surely a positive lesson to learn in life.

‘Population Collapse’ is now no Greek!

Any nation with a birth rate below replacement will eventually cease to exist. – tweets Elon Musk.

Reports coming in saying Greece is facing a population decline, possibly becoming the first country to experience “population collapse.”

What’s population collapse?

Wikipedia says population decline, also known as depopulation, is a reduction in the human population size. It’s an alarming trend.

Throughout history, Earth’s total human population has continued to grow. The growth rate of the population accelerated to a peak of 2.1% annually during the 1962–1968 period, but since then, due to the worldwide collapse of the total fertility rate, it has slowed to 0.9% as of 2023.

Greece’s dwindling population sparked discussions on social media, with billionaire Elon Musk expressing worry. Greece lately is in the news for all wrong reasons.

Increased mortality rates among young, healthy individuals due to conditions like heart failure, stroke, blood clots, and cancer, especially after COVID-19, are major cause of worry in the nation now.

Prime Minister of Greece, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis has described the situation as a “ticking time bomb” and a “national threat.”

According to The Hellenic Statistical Authority (2015), the unemployment rates in Greece rocketed from 7.8% in 2008 to 24.9% in 2015.

The proportion of the population that is at risk of poverty in the country rose from 28.1% in 2008 to 36% in 2014 and 35.7% in 2015.

The reports say Greece’s population is projected to decrease by over a million by 2050.

The country recorded just one birth per two deaths in 2022, PM Mr. Mitsotskis has stated. (So sad!)

“This is one of the most serious problems we face not only in Greece but in the EU as a whole,” Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis told news agency Reuters.

The demographic problem is due to lower birth rates, causing a negative natural population change, coupled with elevated migration.

Greece is not just alone.

Japan is experiencing a similar trend. The country’s population is currently (2022–2026) declining at the rate of 0.5% per year.

China, whose population has peaked and is currently (2022 – 2026) declining at the rate of about 0.04%.

By 2050, Europe’s population is projected to be declining at the rate of 0.3% per year.

The UN Population Division data says that it took the world 12.5 years to go from 7 billion to 8 billion people, but it will take 14.1 years to go from 8 billion to 9 billion. It’s projected to take another 16.4 years to go from 9 billion to 10 billion.

The long-term projections give a dismal figure though. The growth rate of the human population of this planet will continue to slow and before the end of the 21st century, it will reach zero.

You know now why ‘Population Collapse’ should sound no Greek to the economists of the world.

Life in the UK. Too difficult to say goodbye.

Describe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.

We lived briefly in the UK between 2003 and 2013.

A roller-coaster of a life, to be honest. A decent job, but low pay. Good food but expensive to stay in.

Two extremes of weather in a year. Chill in winter and hot during summer.

Clean roads. Good governance. Less pollution.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth was the longest serving Queen in British history.

Her son, the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, is now the reigning King. It was ‘wow’ to see Buckingham Palace.

Big red double-deck buses were a delight to watch and travel in. Their time-keeping, spot on.

Football runs through the blood of people in London. The game is a new faith in the UK.

“Drinks will be on the house” – is how the owner of the pub treats you when his favorite team wins on a Saturday or Sunday.

The Tube will be free to travel through the city on New Year’s Eve.

We saw the PM, Mr. Cameron was once waiting in the queue with others to pick up his lunch in Canary Wharf.

On his birthday in December, our son received his IDL stamp on his passport. That was a treat.

British Airways allowed an extra allowance for our luggage when we said we were traveling to India to celebrate my birthday in October.

The UK is the only country where we have had occasions to celebrate all popular religious festivals, including Christmas every year.

We would all look like Santa when it snows in December.

Though we have switched to life in India now, our memories still go back to those beautiful moments we enjoyed.

Life in the UK, therefore, is a phase that’s too difficult to say goodbye to.

Nothing like a large glass of Magners on Ice.

What is your favorite drink?

We usually choose to drink according to how the climate behaves around us.

People in India usually drink a lot of coconut water, lemon & watermelon juice, buttermilk and lassi (a thick yogurt drink).

Come winter, they drink a lot of hot beverages, such as soup, tea, coffee and alcoholic beverages.

My favorite: ‘Magners on ice’ and Mojito for the summer. And Martell when the weather chills my bones during the winter.

Red Bull to kill sleep when I drive long on the motorways.

But make sure you carry a bottle of water when you commute by Tube. Always.