He came from a little-known region of China to paint – but Akbar Mijit died soon after ariving in Britain. Dan Carrier uncovers a tragic love story behind the death of a young artist

IT wasn’t love at first sight, but within weeks the English teacher from Chalk Farm and the artist from the ancient city of Kashgar in the north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang Uighur were spending more and more time together.
Working in the same school, Sally McCrae and Akbar Mijit realised they had much in common, despite coming from vastly different cultures. Sally, 42, had been sent to China on a Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) scheme to help English teachers. She knew little about the place she had been posted to. She didn’t speak Chinese – nor did she know about the Arabic dialect in the western provinces of the People’s Republic where she was working.

Comedienne Jenny Eclair doesn’t crave fame. But some do – and that’s why she co-wrote a play about the famous 15 minutes, writes Sunita Rappai

JENNY Éclair, writer, performer, comedienne – famously the only female winner of the prestigious Perrier award for comedy – refuses to call herself a celebrity.
“I am not famous,” she says. “I am well known in a certain arena but I’m no more a celebrity than some footballer who doesn’t play in the premier league. I see myself as a professional working girl.”
The notion of what constitutes a celebrity these days – and why some crave it – is an interesting one.