From July 4 – 24, various venues across London are hosting ‘Shubbak,’ a festival of Arab culture. As the program for the festival says, ‘the Arab community has long been a major part of what makes the city exciting,’ and this festival – inititated by London’s Mayor, and the first of its kind in Europe,  shows that the creative achievements of London’s Arabic community stretch far beyond the Edgware Road (the vibrant part of London where you can drop in at a shisha bar, grab a kebab and glass of delicious mint tean and otherwise indulge in a taste of Arab life in London 24/7).

Many events are free or extremely reasonably priced, and  include Rania Matar’s ‘A Girl and her Room,’ – candid portraits of teenage girls from USA, Palestine and Lebanon (until July 22) and next Wednesday, July 13, you can catch two more free events: ‘The Arabs: A history,’ explores Arab identity from Ottomanism to Islamism with Eugene Rogan, the author of the book of the same name. It’s at Foyles bookshop in Charing Cross Road at 6.30pm, and at the same

 time at the Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Roadd, is ‘Sex and Power: Seeds of Change in the Arab World’ – a discussion between Britan Whitaker, author of ‘Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East’ and Nesrine Malik. This promises to be a lively affair, centring as it does on how the gay community fares in and amongst the calls for freedom in the Arab world. To find out more about Shubbak, visit www.london.gov.uk/shubbak

Just down the road from Faraday House at 215 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE, you will find the Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation dedicated to improving human and animal health. The Wellcome Trust houses the Wellcome Collection, home to many weird and wonderful exhibits that the general public can wander in and admire free of charge. It often stages guided tours and other activities/exhibitions, most of which are free or reasonably priced. There is also a lovely little cafe and a Blackwells (bookstore) concession, and as it is so conveniently situated just down the road from Faraday House, right opposite Euston Station, it’s really easy just to pop in if you happen to have a few minutes to spare. There you’ll find their exhibition and related activities on the intriguing subject of dirt. That’s the thing I like about the Wellcome Collection: it takes a subject we generally avoid thinking about and challenges our preconceived ideas about them. Result – a slightly more open mind!  If you’d like to know more, check out their site here.