White Hart pain

Cauldron at the Lane got hot
Harry went for three on the trot

Skrtel popped in the Reds opener
Then followed for Woy a total downer

Three times failed to pull the trigger
Three times failed to show vigour

Buoyed Spurs went head on
Injury time clincher by Lennon

It's a dead cert we need to impwove
Torres looks set for a January move

28.11.0

Number 7
(c) Emdad Rahman
www.football-poems.com
 

Donald Simpson Bell

Second Lieutenant from Harrogate
First pro to join the army
Bell who stormed a machine gun nest
Courage rewarded with the VC

Twas the Battle of The Somme
Donald took on a mighty enemy
Aged twenty five in 1916
Victoria Cross granted posthumously

With Mill Bombs he advanced
Yorkshireman born in 1890
Dead five days later at Contalmaison
Only footballer to receive the VC

Number 7
(c) Emdad Rahman

Demolition of Bengal House

It was dark, smelly, and a nightmare for posties and visitors to navigate around.

The stairwells were poorly lit, foreboding and often littered with drug paraphernalia.

Me and my classmates from Stepney Green spent countless fun hours at Miz's no. 76 flat.

Wates will build new flash abodes and Bengal House will disappear into the far reaches of the memory.

It was a dump but still sad to see it go.

Stoichkov

From Sofia to Barca
After gaining a golden boot
Cog in the Catalan Dream Team
Where Cruyff plundered the loot

Once stomped the refs foot
Dark clouds and raging esprit
Four time league winner
European Cup at Wembley

Azurri boss Sacchi was asked 
"How to combat the troll?"
Speed, skill, and strong as an Ox
"I don't know, maybe a pistol"

Number 7
(c) Emdad Rahman
www.football-poems.com

Sir Taggart destroys Big Sam

Festive cheer

Cranleigh Gardens, Barking: I'll try highlight the best of the festive lighting...

Eid gift

Ishrat gave this to me today. The packaging is so delightful I'm loathe to open it...

Cavell Street drug warren reopened

I did bank on this happening. Driving home just after four I decided to stop off at Nelson Street. Well the bricks are still intact but there's a gaping hole in the woodwork.

With such cold weather what did one expect?

Demolition of Bengal House

Parking in Tower Hamlets

Seriously! Did you think that would help you avoid a ticket?

Transforming the Ocean

Week 3: This week saw the start of the knockdown of the iconic Bengal House. If you look closely you can see the top right corner knocked off.

This ceremonial event took place yesterday with Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman, Deputy Mayor Ohid Ahmed , Councillor Rofique, and Councillor Abdal Ullah attending. Khalid Hussain & Minal Miah have put together a nice video. 

I will do a separate post on the demolition of Bengal House.

Stepney FC celebrate a year of success

Emdad Rahman: Premier Champions Stepney FC celebrated a year of achievement at a lavish evening dinner this week.

The lavish three course dinner was attended by 100 young people who have participated in activities as well as playing for the elite club.

Notables in attendance included the council Chair, Councillor Motin uz Zaman, representatives from club sponsors TATA, and Councillor Abdal Ullah, the honorary President of Stepney FC.

“Stepney FC has come a long way since 1993,” Said ex manager and Club Vice President Forid Ahmed.

“We have proudly gone from strength to strength and as a community club are on course to celebrate our 20^th year in 2013. We hope you will all continue to support us reaching this milestone and beyond.” 

Club President Councillor Abdal Ullah thanked TATA for their support; “Your support is vital in supporting and developing the aspirations of our young people. Your support is vital in shaping our tomorrows.”

“It gives me such overwhelming pleasure to look around this venue tonight,” said Councillor Motin uz Zaman, the Chair of the Council.

“Stepney FC provide an integral service to the community. The staff, management and the sponsors have an airtight working relationship from which the community is reaping the benefits. I am delighted to support such a brilliant initiative and I wish you all future success.”

A thoroughly entertaining evening included a viewing of the DVD highlights of the teams DANA cup adventures.

Stepney FC was established in 1993 for the purpose of using football as a medium to engage young disaffected people into the mainstream. Over the past seventeen years the local club has gone from humble beginnings and blossomed into a recognised borough wide initiative, bringing young people from all backgrounds and abilities together. 

 

Awards Categories & Trophies List 

TATA Consultancy Services Achievement Award

Kamuran Ozalper / Marcin Kmiec / Kevin Ojomo / Mizan Hussain / Alongir Hussain /

Ibrahim El-Chihimi / Foysal Ali (e.g. look below) / (Special Award)

Stepney FC 2009/10

TATA Consultancy Services Achievement Award

Kamuran Ozalper

Top Goal Scorer - U16, U18 & Senior Team

Ashraf Ali/ Danny Lombardi / Jahed Khan

Top Goal Scorer - U16

Ashraf Ali

Players Player of the Year - U16, U18 & Senior Team

Mahin Ahmed / Danny Lombardi / Foyzul Hoque

Players Player of the Year - U18

Danny Lombardi

Managers Player of the Year - U16, U18

Ahmed Nasser / Abdullahi Ali

Most Improved Player of the Year - U16, U18

Alaur Rahman / Tosin Folarin

Most Improved Player of the Year - U18

Tosin Folarin

Young Player of the Year - U16, U18

Labib Ali / Foysal Ali

Young Player of the Year - U16

Labib Ali

Dana Cup Player of the Tournament July’10

Mamun Islam

Special Thanks Award

Zaheer Saleh / Chakir Mouden / Rachid Chibou

 

Alien Beauty - Alien Freedom

New Work by Robert Dunt and Alistair Baxendale

12a Vyner Street , London, E2 9DG

Emdad Rahman: Following on from their much talked about ‘Fun House’ installation exhibition at the DegreeArt.com Gallery - Robert Dunt and Alistair Baxendale are back with another inspirational and experimental installation/exhibition that showcases their latest work.

The Alien Beauty section of the title refers to the artists’ joint search for an out of category excitement and beauty – the kind of art work that is full of surprises and fills the viewer with its wonder. Alien Freedom sums up the kind of chaotic freedom of working practice that is needed to discover this kind of revolutionary beauty.
Robert Dunt’s trademark distortion forms – abstract shapes that are a metaphor for the sound of feedback and noise – are once again evident, but this time they are obscured by transparent images of classical Indian portraits.

Robert has taken tiny images of faces from Indian paintings and blown them up in size until the obvious beauty of the portrait is joined with the more alien beauty of the printing process – tiny honeycomb like hexagonal shapes that cover the picture, and which are part of the printing process, become part of the beauty of the work.

Alistair Baxendale once again lets his imagination and creativity loose on a variety of materials from many small paintings on Perspex to extraordinary alien creations involving strip lights and trainers.

Alistair’s questing creativity is most evident in the huge set of Perspex paintings, each which has its own fanciful identify, ranging from organic abstract pictures to strange still lives involving bottles and paint tins – the overall effect is mesmerizing and bursting with chaotic freedom.

Unintentionally, the artists have discovered similarities between their works – with both offering re-humanising effects. Each sets of work use industrial items, Alistair’s strip lights, the nails Robert has incorporated in his paintings, or the processes of reprinting.

But within both bodies of works there is a handmade quality that takes these processes and puts a human touch back into it. These ‘out-of-category’ works are bursting with Alien Beauty and Alien Freedom. Some of the most exciting, challenging and imaginative works to be seen this year.

Blooming Tower Hamlets

Rich Mix window cleaners

I watched these chaps for a while. Cleaning the windows or rather the protruding metal frames requires quite an acquired level of skill.

Hope Rich Mix pay good money :)

Cavell Street drug warren bricked up

These boys have completed a day's hard work bricking up the hole used as an entrance for this Cavell Street night refuge for crack addicts. Doubt it'll be up for long though.

The lights are going up

Seven Kings

Heavenly Creatures

The Aubin Gallery 4th Nov -24th Dec 2010

The Aubin Gallery is pleased to present Heavenly Creatures, a group exhibition curated by ARTNESIA that will take place from the 4th of November to the 24th of December 2010 featuring works by fourteen artists from across the globe.

Since 16,000 BC with the depictions in the caves of Lascaux (France), animals have featured in the realm of visual arts in everything ranging from mere decoration to symbols and allegories.
Heavenly Creatures aims at showcasing how, in the past decades, artists have tackled the representation of animals not only on a purely visual level but also on a more theoretical one.
Among the several themes that run throughout this exhibition are a questioning of the wild/tame dichotomy and a confused duality between human/animal.

This latter issue is present in two extraordinary paintings by George Lilanga (Tanzania, 1934- 2005), whose vibrant use of color and rhythmic movement, which represents Mapico dance, is enhanced by the simple expressionistic forms and tribal references that present the culture and mythology of his people. Lilanga’s imaginary world is inhabited by characters who have fingers coming from their heads, three toes on their feet or elongated ears.

A wild/tame conflict is present in an early painting from 2002 by the renowned Chinese artist Liu Ye (Chinese, 1964). “Girl with Piggy”.
A less visually obvious reference to animals is a new sculpture by Italian artist Gianpietro Carlesso (Italy, 1961). He has conducted extensive research on animal placentas and the way snake eggs are cracked by newborn and his results are presented in a visually striking piece called Transgenesi hand carved from a single alabaster stone.

Heavenly creatures will feature works by: Appau Junior Boakye-Yiadom, Alighiero Boetti, Bhutanese Textile Project, Luigi Carboni, Gianpietro Carlesso, Michele Giangrande, Damien Hirst, George Lilanga, Liu Ye, NERO (Alessandro Neretti), Pino Pascali, Pablo Picasso, Erinc Seymen, Giuseppe Teofilo.

Whitechapel Art Gallery

Current Exhibitions:-

Walid Raad: Miraculous Beginnings

This is Tomorrow

Keeping it Real: Act 2
Claire Barclay: Shadow Spans

Stephen Sutcliffe

Richard Wentworth

sky sports liverpool vs ac milan 2005

Glorious Winter

Aston Street, London

What lies beyond

Seen today - Carr Street, London E14...

Winter warmers

Hot coco and cookies at Zahir & Tanvir's. Perfect pick me up!

Dinner starters

Took me one hour flat from beginning to end...

Blooming Tower Hamlets

Aston Street... 

Hammer time - Liverpool 3-0 West Ham

Tell tale signs in the warm up sprints
Followed surely a first half blitz

Glen Johnson regal in his Red Manor
First blood drawn by the ex Hammer

He Man Kuyt the spotkick vandal
Torres forcing Gabbidon to handle

Without wounded skipper Gerrard
Battling Meireles impressed the home yard

Torres and Poulsen both with a pop
Green with a stunning double stop 

Clincher via ex Hammer Konchesky
Box cross angled in by Maxi

Without Parker the West Ham lynchpin
Claret hopes always looked thin

Not an Iron win since 1963
Still no sign of beating that Anfield bogey

20.11.10

Number 7
(c) Emdad Rahman
www.football-poems.com

Frustration at JJB - Wigan 1-1 Liverpool

Roy warned us not to get giddy
After the Chelski elation on Sunday
Quest for fourth win on the trot
To frustration on the Wednesday

Torres with a quickfire salvo
First away strike since the Spring
Inch perfect precision from Gerrard
Al Habsi no match for the swing

Reds slacked the pedal
The outcome became a no brainer
With cutting edge failing
Rodallega smashing past Reina

10.11.10

Number 7
(c) Emdad Rahman
www.football-poems.com

Potter's historic Kenwyne - Stoke 2-0 Liverpool

Stoke first in twenty six years
Torres looked for three in three
Lucas dismally red carded
Halted Nando's scoring spree

Fuller struck from a pinball move
Roy faced anxious withdrawal
Maxi came very close
Asmir Begovic sat on the ball

Leaping the Reds into tenth
Kenwyne roused Britannia market
Nudging Reds down the pecking order
Sucker punched by a Rafa target

13.11.10

Number 7
(c) Emdad Rahman
www.football-poems.com

Blooming Tower Hamlets

Aston Street...

Blooming Tower Hamlets

Smithy Street, E1

Transforming the Ocean

Week 2: Bit of excitement after I got pulled by a burly security guard/contractor today whilst taking these on my lunchbreak.

He was fair though and told me that I may get questioned by Wates Contractors.

Fair enough - I'm going to write to Wates this evening to see if I can get permission to take snaps once a week.