Victoria Stewart attends a public iftar during the Muslim festival of Ramadan

Sitting cross-legged on the floor of a huge marquee, it is only when my neighbour offers me a bowl of dates to share, before quickly swigging from a bottle of water, that I realise a huge feast has begun. Nodding at my sister who is seated a few places down from me, we follow suit.

Then 14 days into the Muslim festival of Ramadan, Kubra, a British Turkish architecture apprentice sitting to my right, tells me that it has been a long day of fasting – she last ate just before she went to sleep the night before – but that it feels nice to be here sharing iftar [the meal eaten around sunset when followers of the Islamic faith can break fast] with people she has never met, including me. Indeed, only last week, Prince Harry was photographed in Singapore doing a similar thing – sharing iftar with some of the Muslim community there.

Tonight I have come for the second time to a public iftar in Malet Street Gardens in Bloomsbury. Set up by RTP, an initiative that as well as running a media channel, social action projects and workshops for youths, also runs Open Iftar, inviting anybody to share the breaking of fast during Ramadan.

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To read the story, which appeared in full in The Evening Standard in June 2017, click here