CHANDRA AND MICE AT THE LORD MAYOR’S SHOW

What a day November 10, 2018 turned out to be! Chandra and the world of ‘The Heartstone Odyssey’ came to life at the historic Lord Mayor’s Show, a parade dating back to the 13th Century and part of the fabric of life in the City of London, the day when the new Lord Mayor of London begins his or her year in office with pomp, ceremony and spectacle. It was a thrilling event to be part of – scroll down to see the story of the day…..

Sitakumari as Chandra led the ‘Heartstone Odyssey’ part of the procession with Elena Noel, part of Heartstone as well as new role as Co-Chair of the Anti-Knife Crime Forum for the Mayor of London, in purple and gold Nigerian dress on the right, and Barbara Cleary, the latest member of Heartstone’s team, former Trustee for UN Women UK National Committee and led the London Leadership Team from 2009, on the left in turquoise trouser suit. Front two rows of the children wore specially designed mouse masks for the event.

Above: Our stewards for the procession on right and left together with Sitakumari and Anne Bamford, Director of Education for the City of London.

Above: Getting ready to start, everyone in position on what was a very cold morning. All the streets were closed to normal traffic in preparation for the procession.

Above: Hajia Saidat Oketunde, at left, with Barbara Cleary (in turquoise suit), Fawziyah and friend Maryam all took part in the parade in national dress to represent the title of Book 3 of The Heartstone Odyssey, Moonrise Over Five Continents and people of all nationalities coming together as one. Saidat is the Secretary of the Astley & Cooper Tenant Residents Association and Vice Chair of the Southwark Governor’s Association.

‘It was a great opportunity to be part of the Lord Mayor’s Show event this year 2018! It was a nice way to represent our culture. It’s an amazing historic experience. It was a nice way to interact with other people of different backgrounds.’Alhaja Fawziyah Oketunde

Above: Children from Shoreditch Park Academy with the slogans they had prepared for the procession following their reading ’The Heartstone Odyssey’ in their Story Circle.

Above: Young women from the Osmani Trust with their banner. They had also created a string of flags of the many different countries they represent to carry in the procession.

Above: The streets were lined with hundreds of people on the day and it didn’t rain! We told the story in mudras, the hand gestures of Indian classical dance which Chandra, the heroine of the story, would have used and danced the story as we walked…

‘It was a great pleasure to be part of this year’s Lord Mayor Show 2018. I am really thankful for this opportunity. I am so proud to be Nigerian. Thank you so much for giving us this big opportunity to express our culture and ethnic background.’Hajia Saidat (above right).

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