Too Geek To Be True

This is going to be a bit out of topic post, but I’m taking part in My Community contest that is organized by Gumtree.  The idea is to write an ads that highlights things that people like about their community, where they live.

So, check out the ads I’ve created, and the forum thread about it.

It was actually an interesting experience for me when I tried to gather material for this ads. As I walked around my neighborhood, I found things that I didn’t notice before.  For the full ads that I wrote, please visit this link.  I encourage you to ‘chip in’ with comments, either in this post, or on the ads.  Tell me how my community differ to yours, and what do you like about the place where you live.

Here are some things about my community:

I live in Ealing, that’s a Borough in the West of London. You can check it here in the map.

View Larger Map

Here are some of my favorite things about Ealing:

1. Strategic! It’s very close to the main London Airport (Heathrow), and surrounded by major Motorways (that’s the Highway or Toll road for some of you) that are designed to ‘hyper’ link part of the cities.  That means I could go fairly quickly to other part of London (unless there is traffic jam of course).

2. Lots and lots of greens! Big parks, small parks, botanical gardens, etc.  Perfect place to catch the ‘rare’ England sun, or just to have a little walk and relax.

3. Diversity.  London as a whole is a multi-cultural city, and you can sample a little of this reality in Ealing.  Just walk down the main High Street and you can meet people from many nationalities, speaking many languages.  Though as a speciality, Ealing has a very strong presence of the Polish community, many of them migrated to England after the World War 2.

4. This diversity is also reflected in the myriad of local shops, and local eating places.  All of the major cuisines are represented here. From Italian to Lebanese, from Indian to Spanish Tapas.  There is something for everybody.

Some of my favorites are as follows:

La Siesta Bar de Tapas
This Spanish place has got authentic taste of Spain, I know I’ve been there :)
The waitresses are genuine from Spain, and they know what they are talking about.
Prices are reasonable, compare to other pseudo-spanish restaurant.
Very recommended!

Osteria del Portico
Blink and you will miss this small restaurant, which situated an alley, sandwiched between another Italian and a clothes shop.
Like La Siesta, Osteria has got a really authentic taste of Italy :)
Some of the waitresses are Italian, and the owner/chef often comes out of his kitchen and begins to engage a banter with his customers :)
Very cool indeed!

5. Spiritual/Interfaith Community

On the spitual side, Ealing is a very much Interfaith community.  You can find many churches from all major denominations being represented here (even the Jehovah Witness).

One community is worth to mention, it’s the Ealing Abbey. It’s one of the few centre for Benedictines in the UK.

The many denominations are very much involved in Interfaith dialogs and events throughout the year.

Ealing Abbey

6. Ealing Summer Festival

Most boroughs in London has their annual festival, Ealing has its Summer Festival.  Every year a mixture of Comedy, Jazz, Opera, Blues and other activities are held at a local Park.  This event usually culminates with the explosive London Mela to celebrate modern and traditional Asian culture.  Check out the following videos:

7. Ealing Studios

Ealing Studios is the oldest continously working film studio in the world. Established in the early 1930′s, Ealing Studios has been producing or taking part in producton of both movies and TV productions, like, among others: The Ealing Comedies, The Ladykillers, Notthing Hill, Star Wars – Episode 2, Sean of the Dead, Bridget Jones, St. Trinians, BBC’s Let’s Dance and Sport Relief.

8. Last but not least … the pubs. Ealing has enough Cafes and Pubs in every possible permutation to fill your thirst.  Though, it’s worth to notice some of the well-preserved locals, you can see in the photos.

Here is a montage of photos I took for this project:

So, that was a bit of my community where I live. What about yours? Tell me what you like most from your community?

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