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Dear Betsy, I have a beautiful relationship with my loving partner of the last six years. I am sad as he is terminally ill and I don't know what I will do without him when he is gone. He cheers me up every morning and is always waiting for me when I get home from work.
I want to keep him near me when he is gone so do you know if there is a taxidermist on the island who could stuff him for me? Did I forget to mention he is a parrot called Cheeky?
Bird Man of Budaiya
Dear Bird Man,
I am sorry to hear your sad news. I have exhausted all my contacts and have failed to find you a taxidermist. I have also failed to locate a pet cemetery here either.
Have you thought about burying him in your garden instead?
At least that way he would be close to you. Why not take lots of pictures of him and perhaps of the two of you together to cherish when he is gone.
You could also consider having him painted which would be a good keepsake.
I am trying to think of something to say that would comfort you but can only think of "better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all".
Dear Betsy,
Thanks for your article about waxing. Now I know what goes wrong when I have my legs waxed, as I too suffer the same problem on my hands and arms. I wish salons would have better trained staff who would explain those tips for taking care of our skin after wax.
I would like to ask you is it OK to have a Moroccan bath after my full body waxing each month.
Charmaine.
Dear Charmaine,
No, please do not have a Moroccan bath or any other heat treatment like a sauna or steam bath or even a hot bath at home, for at least 24 hours, or, if your skin is sensitive, 48 hours, after waxing.
If you are having your whole body waxed, I would recommend that you prepare your skin by having a body scrub 24 hours before you wax to help prevent ingrown hairs. Buy some aloe vera gel from the pharmacy and apply this all over after waxing to prevent sensitivity problems.
Dear Betsy,
I agree with you that most exercise is boring and I also agree that this new double resistance exercise is just great. I am a regular visitor to one of the centres you mentioned last week. I have lost 6kg and really toned up in just six weeks of doing this exercise. Your readers should know that it does work and it isn't boring.
I would recommend that she buys some training gloves to wear, as the machines are continuously used and with all those sweaty hands on them, I feel it is more hygienic to wear gloves. I read your column every week and always find it interesting and thought provoking. Thank you for being original.
Janette T.
Dear Janette,
Thank you for sharing your story with us. It can be so motivating when you hear success stories. I agree with you about hygiene concerns as our hands can carry all sorts of nasty bacteria, so your tip about wearing training gloves is an excellent idea.
Dear Betsy,
I thought you would like to know that THE ONE now sells wallpaper, it is not yet on display but if you ask them they will be happy to show you the samples.
K.
Dear K,
Thank you so much for passing on this information to our readers. That just gives us another good reason to visit THE ONE, apart from the scrumptious cafŽ upstairs!
Dear Betsy,
I recently visited my regular opticians to buy some new glasses and whilst there I tried on some new sunglasses by Bvlgari.
They were beautiful but I gasped when I heard the price of BD345! I declined to buy them but a week or so later I returned to the store with my friend to collect my new prescription glasses and asked the salesman to see the Bulgari sunglasses again.
My friend agreed they were beautiful and asked the price and was told they were BD385.
I queried this with the salesman and he said the price had gone up in the last few days! Isn't this shocking? I mean just by lying there on the shelf the price had gone up by BD40!
My friend loved the glasses so much she went online, bought them from a USA shop, had them delivered three days later and what did she pay? A mere BD150, including courier delivery charges.
I am beginning to think that someone is taking the Mickey out of us poor consumers. How can there be such a huge price differential? If shops here want to stay in business they need to be realistic.
Freda Four Eyes.
Dear Freda,
Wow! That certainly is a huge price difference. Retailers do have to take their overheads into account and there is no doubt that costs are rising around the world. However, ordering goods online from USA means we benefit from the generally low Courier Delivery charges and, of course, from the Free Trade Agreement between our two countries, meaning we don't have to pay customs duty on goods imported from the US.
I have a friend who orders just about everything online from the US and she saves a fortune and has never had a problem.
The downside sometimes can be that goods ordered are not always originals so I would urge anyone thinking of ordering online to do so from a reputable retailer.
Dear Betsy,
I have been invited to a Bahraini colleague's house for dinner and as I am new to Bahrain, what is the correct etiquette for taking the hostess a gift? In the UK we would take a bottle of wine but, of course, I won't do that in this case, so what do you suggest I take?
Margaret R G.
Dear Margaret,
It is perfectly acceptable to take along a dish of food that you have cooked yourself, such as some hors d'eouvres or a dessert, or perhaps a dish of Arabic sweets or chocolates or even some fresh flowers.
Obviously any food you take should be free from pork or alcohol.
Many people are health conscious these days and watch what they eat so why not make up your own Fresh Fruit Gift Basket?
This is sure to have something that will appeal to everyone and is easy to do at this time of year with such an abundance of tempting fruits in the supermarkets.
This, I think, is a much more thoughtful way to show your appreciation.(personally I would rather have the chocs, of course!)
Enjoy your dinner.
Dear Betsy,
I have tried everything to get my neighbour to stop dumping her litter outside my door instead of putting it in the large bin provided at the end of the street. I have asked her politely and she smiled and apologised but she just keeps doing it. Now it is hot, it stinks and I am worried about germs. How can I get her to stop doing this and use the bin?
Bag Lady
Dear Bag Lady,
As I see it you have a couple of options.
Dump the garbage back on her doorstep or move the bin to right outside her door. Either way, once she gets a whiff of that rotting garbage on her own doorstep, she should get the message.
BETSY SAYS RELAX
School is nearly over and eight weeks dealing with raucous, holiday-time children lie ahead ... so enjoy the peaceful mornings while you can.
IF ONLY YOU DO ONE THING THIS WEEK
Recycle those wire coat hangers lurking at the bottom of your wardrobe......we all have them. Take them along to a charity shop or give them back to one of the laundries to reuse.
