For our Hong Kong in London entry we looked no further than the London Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival. This annual event has been held in London since 1997. After 10 years at London Docklands Watersports Centre, it moved to London Regatta Centre at Royal Albert Docks in 2007, allowing it to become a lot bigger. This year’s London Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival is expected to attract around 10,000 spectators.

The Hong Kong connection lies partially in the sponsorship – the HKETO (Hong Kong Economic Trade Office) is the event’s principal sponsor. And, the less-than-serious nature of the London race perhaps reflects the fact Hong Kong has enjoyed more freedom than mainland China during the past century. But event organiser London China Town Lions Club‘s Monita Hung is quick to add that Dragon Boat racing is a longstanding Chinese tradition, with events held all over China although some of the most serious competitions are to be found in Hong Kong.

The main aim of the London race, however, is enjoyment. “How much practice competitors do beforehand depends on how much they want to win! But this is not a serious race, it’s more about a fun event that everyone can enjoy,” says Hung.

The festival grows in size every year and is now second only to Chinese New Year on the Chinese cultural calendar in London. “Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival is a lighthearted event that’s not as serious as Chinese New Year.

“It’s more of a community event for locals and is very family friendly as it’s free to enter, with lots of food and children’s activities such as a bouncy castle.” Hung says the event is also very popular with Hong Kong-born students who are studying in London, of which there are many.

Besides the festival, Hung, who is originally from Hong Kong but has lived here for 30 years, says she finds “Hong Kong in London” by shopping at Chinese supermarkets, particularly in Chinatown. “Tesco is getting better but you’ve got to go to a Chinese supermarket for all the sauces and other Chinese essentials. You can’t not go to Chinatown – you’ll always find something great there.”

The next London Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival will be on 19 June 2011. Find out more at www.lclc.co.uk

We speak to Laura Ouseley from London-based organisation Central America Women’s Network (CAWN), which supports women’s rights groups in Honduras and across Central America – and is celebrating its 20th birthday this Thursday.

What does CAWN do?

We help women’s organisations in Central America with advocacy and campaigning, for example organising speaker tours and building links between women’s groups in the UK and Central America.

Our main areas of work are around gender equality, women’s rights and violence against women. CAWN’s main project at the moment is supporting a women’s organisation in Honduras to set up self-help groups in order to tackle gender-based violence.

How long have you been running?

We’ve been going since 1991. This Thursday is our 20th anniversary.

You have a speaker tour this week in London, what’s that about?

We have two women’s rights activists from Honduras coming here, Evelyn Cuellar and Mercedes Lainez. They’ll be here for two weeks to talk about their work for Centro de Estudios de la Mujer Honduras (CEMH), our partner organisation in Honduras.

What events are planned in London as part of the tour?

Tonight the two speakers will be at a public meeting we’re holding with the London Feminist Network in the House of Commons, talking about femicide and the role of feminists in social transformation.

Then on Thursday we have a smaller meeting at The Institute for the Study of the Americas at the University of London about violence against women in Honduras. Later than evening it’s our 20th anniversary celebration at the Human Rights Action Centre, which anyone is welcome to attend, whether you have been involved with CAWN over the last 20 years, or would like to know more about our work.

The two speakers are then going to Manchester and Scotland before coming back to London for a panel discussion at The Commonwealth Club on 12 April for the Women Reaching Women Conference 2011.

How can people learn more or help with the work you do?

We often rely on volunteers to help us carry out and promote the work we do. Some CAWN volunteers and activists help with translations, for example, while others organise events, fundraise and promote our work.

The best way to get involved with CAWN is to become a member and receive more information about the work we do, or come along to one of our events and speak to us in person.

Where else can you find out about Honduras in London? Tell us in the comments below.

There’s plenty in the news about the plight of Haiti at the moment. But for our World in London series, I wanted to highlight something other than the earthquake and cholera outbreaks that we associate with Haiti today. Haiti is an historic country, with a colourful past and a fascinating blend of cultures. In the Horniman Museum, you can find a Haitian Vodou Altar that has been created with guidance from Haitian priests, a piece of Haiti right here in South East London.

The first thing that strikes me about the Vodou Altar is just how glitzy it is. After examining Mestizo’s Day of the Dead altar last week, I’m getting used to seeing different worshipping platforms, but I wasn’t prepared for this. Every piece of the altar seems to shimmer and shine with gaudy sequins and colourful material. The Haitian spirits must really enjoy their bling.

There are skulls with dollar bills in their eye sockets, dolls’ heads in bottles, brightly coloured scarves, tinsel, bottles of alcohol, and a very strange-looking goblin at the base, its head fixed to a cross with a single eye embedded into its tongue. Alongside the more weird and wonderful items, you can also see more everyday things, like a simple straw hat, and what looks like a tube of mascara.

I learn that this altar is dedicated to spirits including:

• La Sirene, the goddess of the sea (linked to the sirens of Greek mythology). The sequin flags symbolise her presence
• Baron Samdi, the spirit chief of the graveyard, is represented by the coffin shaped bottles, the skulls and the snake stick
• Papa Zaka is associated with farming. His dedicated objects include the straw hat, clothing and bag, which on first glance look quite incongruous against the other more decorated items
• Ezulie Danton, the goddess of beauty and love, is represented by those weird-looking dolls heads in bottles

Alongside these items, you can see the mixing of Catholic and traditional African beliefs that make Haiti unique: pictures of Christian saints like St Michael, with wings and a sword are a reminder of the clash of cultures in the 16th century when Europeans brought African slaves to Haiti. The Horniman’s fantastic website explains that this process of mixing continues today; altars in Haiti include images from American popular culture such as Darth Vader and Fred Flintstone.

Check out the Haitian Vodou Altar in the African Worlds gallery at the Horniman Museum. Entrance to the Horniman is free, and the museum is open every day between 10.30am and 5.30pm. And if you know of any other opportunities to explore Haitian culture in London, add them to the comments below.

As you might expect, Hungarian ex-pats are among the regulars. “There has been a great increase since Hungary joined the EU [in 2004],” explains manager John Wrobel.
 
“We can bet every evening there will be one or two Hungarians here. They’re nearly all young professionals who bring their friends and colleagues.”

But it’s not just Hungarians that frequent the restaurant. The Gay Hussar has long been a haunt for the great and good of London’s political world.

Peter Mandelson popped in the other day for cherry soup and crispy roast duck. Portraits of famous diners by political cartoonist Martin Rowson adorn the walls, among them Michael Foot, Alastair Campbell, Glenda Jackson, Jeremy Paxman and Greg Dyke.

The Gay Hussar menu hasn’t changed much over the years. Customers come for the staple dishes, which include chilled wild cherry soup, crispy roast duck, beef goulash soup, stuffed cabbage, and chicken in paprika sauce.

“In some cases cuisine in Hungary has evolved, but this hasn’t evolved much,” says Wrobel.

“This is very old-fashioned Hungarian cuisine,” adds assistant manager Gizella Suke. ”It’s very hard to find a traditional Hungarian restaurant in Budapest now.”

The staff are another constant. The Gay Hussar has had the same chef for 25 years and, after 23 years, Wrobel is a Soho institution in his own right.

Hungarian food can be difficult and time-consuming to make – stuffed cabbage can take six hours. But once prepared, a dish could last a Hungarian family a week or more, and many dishes improve with time.

“Customers would call and say ‘How old is your stuffed cabbage’,” laughs Wrobel “meaning not that they wanted it fresh, but that they wanted it at least three days old!”

Read more about the history of the Gay Hussar at www.gayhussar.co.uk