Makan-makan, Tazkirah and Football

Thank to Allah, I've safely arrived in Manchester yesterday afternoon after a five-hour journey on coach from London. This time my stay in London was longer than my previous trips. I spent about 11 days at my aunt's place in Brent. And I considered it as a very productive visit. I've managed to attend two tazkirahs, which were facilitated by Ustaz Fairuz - one at Datuk Ali's house and another one at my aunt's place. Datuk Ali, like my uncle (known by Malaysian Londoners as Tok Din), is a good cook. He is now running his own oil and gas company in London after quiting from a senior post in Petronas.

Below are two pictures which I secretly snapped at the said majlis ilmu. Believe me, it was an informal function, with lots of makanan. Before Ustaz Fairuz started his 30-minute tazkirah on one of the 40 hadiths compiled by Imam Nawawi, we had a 15-minute starter; minum-minum and of course the kueh mueh tasting session. The third agenda was the question and answer session. This is my favourite part of the tazkirah because of the eyebrow raising questions asked by pakcik-pakcik and makcik-makcik in this group.

"Ustaz... saya ni, kadang-kadang tu, bila terserempak dengan orang-orang yang jalan hentak-hentak kaki ni, tiba-tiba terfikir... sakit agaknya bumi ini diperbuat sedemikian. Kasihan pula saya kepada bumi dipijak-pijak. Macam mana tu Ustaz?"

"Ustaz... kalau perempuan tu kahwin lagi selepas kematian suami, di syurga nanti dia jumpa suami yang mana?"

"Ustaz... kalau seorang yang sudah tukar jantina, berkahwin dengan orang putih di sini dan kemudiannya mati. Kita yang tahu dia ni asalnya lelaki, perlu ke kita usulkan supaya dia dikebumikan sebagai lelaki?"

After brief discussion about some of these questions, the tazkirah was closed by another makan-makan, which to my standard it was another heavy dinner (they called it supper) at about 10.45 pm. Anyhow, I really enjoyed the two sessions that I've attended while I was in London. Insya-Allah, for the next trips, I will try to ensure that my itinerary will includes this tazkirah on Saturday night. However, Ustaz Fairuz will return to Cairo to start the second year of his Master degree. According to Tok Din, they are currently looking for a new Ustaz. So, if anyone out there interested to facilitate this group, do not hesitate to email me so that I can make the necessary arrrangement to introduce you to them.

On last Sunday, Tok Din, Fauzi and Nurul were kind enough to bring Ustaz Fairuz and I to the Emirates Stadium, the official home for the Arsenal football team. Don't be surprised, this was my first visit to the stadium, which is the third football stadium in UK that I've visited. The first one was, of course, the Old Trafford Stadium and the second one was the Aston Villa stadium in Birmingham.

Tok Din and Fauzi are a big fan of Arsenal while Ustaz Fairuz is a fan of Manchester United. Although Nurul bought herself an Arsenal's jersey, I don't think she is a football fan and I won't surprise if later she gives the jersey to her newly wed husband. And me? Hehehe... let just say, I'm a kaki-bangku.

In terms of design and architecture, I think the Emirates Stadium is more good-looking than the Manchester United stadium in Old Trafford. Nevertheless, the latter is bigger and more commercially driven than the former.

Nurul asked me if I want anything from the Arsenal's merchadise store. Well, I wish she asked me the question somewhere else, like the Hard Rock Cafe! I politely declined her generous offer. Thanks, Nurul. I really appreciate it.






In case you guys were wondering, hehehe... believe me, I really know the players in the poster behind me. Kenapa? Tak percaya ke?