About 200 people gathered at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys on a wintery Saturday evening. Tables had been arranged so that people from different faith groups would sit together during the evening.
We were greeted by the AIG Chair person Dr Poonam Kakkar who introduced the Mayor of Trafford, Councillor Mrs Jane Baugh. The mayor said that she was happy to be at another AIG dinner as she had attended last year and that she considers interfaith dialogue an important part of developing the local community.
Meanwhile the children were sitting at their own table with a variety of activities for them to do.
We then had the dinner; the Jewish ladies had prepared kosher food, the Muslim ladies hallal, and the Indian ladies and gentlemen wonderful curries. As usual everyone wanted to try some of everything from this magnificent collection of home cooking.
The Chair person then introduced Tommy Nagra, Executive Producer, BBC Religion and Ethics Department, our guest speaker. He told us of how happy he and his family are to be living in Altrincham. He told us of the wide range of religious programmes produced by the BBC covering the special interests of many communities.
We then had deserts provided by the Christian ladies – again a wide range of homemade sweets of all types.
Dr Kakkar thanked everyone who helped prepare for this excellent event. At the end of the evening there were so many questions being asked about how to make the food, someone suggested that we should collect the recipes together.
This is our largest event each year and will surely continue to be popular for many years to come.
samosas and kebabs. These interfaith events where we share each others experiences and traditions of worship are vitally important in breaking down barriers of suspicion and fear that may exist, as well as proving to be of great interest in themselves, and in this way Altrincham Interfaith Group is helping to promote harmony and understanding between all peoples.