A New Sound

The newly re-opened window on the summery heat is bringing new sounds to my little nest of a room. Many sounds have become familiar companions that have receded into the background: sirens, distant traffic hum, a few rare birds, helicopters, at night, the sighs of the Bakerloo line trains as they come to rest or leave to work, school children during the day, the odd unidentified banging. A couple of days ago, what I assumed to be new neighbours where playing Bee Gees songs quite loudly. This morning, as the day is already heavy with the promise of the heat to come later, a different chant wafted in: a soft, almost apologetic, monotonous chant, rusty with the harsh sounds of the arabic language, slightly distorted by the speaker it was coming through, sang to me of early prayer, of a different, for me rarely heard, experience, of another face, a bearded and dignified one, of our beloved London.