I’m a Londoner of mixed Turkish and Turkish Cypriot descent, who has lived in the London Borough of Barnet for twenty years. Like many other British Turks inside and outside of this north London borough, I have seen my local authority’s relentless anti-Turkish and anti-Turkish Cypriot bias over many years. It’s gotten to the point […]
On Thursday, 4 July, the UK goes to the polls to determine who our next government will be. As a proud British Turkish Cypriot and lifelong Conservative voter, ordinarily, my concerns would be on the economy, crime, and North Cyprus. However, this election my priorities have changed due to a chronic illness that I was […]
Rishi Sunak has sounded the klaxon for the General Election, which will take place on Thursday, 4 July 2024. Most political commentators see no way back for the Conservatives and their miserable period of government lasting 14 years is finally about to come to a crashing end. As much as I enjoy writing about the […]
In the old days, back in the time of Abraham and Moses, there was a law that said “Thou shalt give life for life, eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot”. It wasn’t a very progressive law – as Mahatma Ghandi was to point out two thousand years later […]
From television cooks Nigella Lawson and Sabrina Ghayour-Lynn to food writer Diana Henry and the Stylist Magazine, Turkish culinary expert Özlem Warren has got everyone raving about her brand new cookbook Sebze, which is now available worldwide. ‘Sebze’ translates as vegetables in Turkish and this gorgeous new hardback features a treasure trove of vegetarian recipes, […]
The foodies among you may well have clocked the second series of the BBC’s Young MasterChef show, where nine young budding chefs were aiming to show off their culinary skills to win the coveted title. Chef, author and YouTube food star Hasan Semay, or Big Has as he is more commonly known, joined the show […]
The Government has announced its intention to ban new burials at Tottenham Park Cemetery, except for previously reserved graves. Tottenham Park Cemetery is full. Two Ministry of Justice reports have now confirmed this. From having an original capacity of 6,500 in 1912, when the cemetery was first opened, to now having almost 50,000 people buried […]
A very happy new year to all our readers. We hope 2024 will be a joyful year for each of you, full of good health, peace and love. The past 12 months have been a roller coaster ride of tragedies and triumphs, and everything in between. And, as the clocks struck midnight to indicate the […]
In every community there are hidden talents, not least in the British Turkish community. We recently discovered the immensely gifted multi-instrumentalist Salahi ‘Sal’ Ormandji. This Turkish Cypriot from Islington, North London, has been performing for over 35 years, and, at the tender age of 51-years-old, has just released his first ever solo album Sazmania – […]
Seeing Conservative politicians vote against the ceasefire in Gaza in the UK Parliament was disappointing, but at the same time expected. However, so many abstentions from Labour Party MPs was totally heartbreaking, as it is because of their silence that this genocide against the Palestinian civilians of Gaza is being allowed to continue. Considering that […]
