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Dear Stan, A unified Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) currency would undoubtedly be of huge benefit to the participant states and those businesses with operations which span across those states.

It would create a substantial single economy, should increase liquidity as well as encouraging foreign investment. It would also, of course, eliminate the need for currency exchanges when travelling inside the GCC.

However, the UAE's walkout means that this long delayed project is still some way off being implemented. A unified GCC currency without the participation of the UAE does not seem a particularly viable option.

It will be interesting to see what developments take place over the summer with regard to a possible reconciliation and concessions around the location and operation of a GCC central bank.

Mark Lisgo, associate in the Abu Dubai office of international law firm Eversheds

Dear Stan,

I am quite impressed with Asma Salman's recent coverage on the photographic talent and achievement of the Bahrain-based schoolboy Master Jatin recently in GulfWeekly.

Such efforts in promoting the young talent through the media would go a long way in motivating and encouraging the children to take up productive hobbies.

Your style of coverage and the subtle language used in bringing out the whole picture in a professional way deserves appreciation.

Well done; keep it up!

K. A. Padmanabhan,

vice-president (technical), AGAS International, Manama

Dear Stan,

I read Anasuya Kesavan's article and I must say it made me feel very proud of our students' achievements.

I can say, hand on heart, that it was the best article I have read regarding our five years of exhibitions and would like to thank you for your interest and hard work.

The photographs were great and the comments by the students were insightful and clear. Congratulations.

Nick Atkins,

British School of Bahrain.

Dear Stan,

I have just read Liz O'Reilly's article and as a Ritz member and mother of a young child, it always amazes me how many unsupervised children there are at the pool area.

Mothers in abayas and nannies are all over the pool area - but how can any of them help in an emergency? Most of them admit to not knowing how to swim - half the time even the kids can't!

Has anyone ever asked the Ritz why they don't have a lifeguard on duty? There are enough people on the island moaning they don't have jobs I am sure they could train someone to watch the pool.

That said, friends and I spoke about how we wouldn't know how to handle different emergencies a few weeks back and we all decided to do a first aid course, and have our housekeepers do them as well.

We have someone coming to my house this week to teach it, dummies and all.

I just showed our housekeeper your story today and said to her 'you see why first aid is so important?' and she is really excited about the course now.

Thanks a million for highlighting the issue.

Donya Amin,

Bahrain.

Dear Stan,

I just finished reading Marie-Claire's column in the GulfWeekly. When I heard about the death of the young teacher, I had exactly the same thoughts as the ones she mentioned in her article.

I also thought, 'There is just no way of knowing' and was actually thinking more of his fiancŽe regarding this. He is gone to a better place, but it's his fiancŽe and family who have to deal with the pain now.

I lost my mother in a tragic car accident when I was 18. I remember very clearly thinking that life will never be the same again and that I can never be truly happy again.

I'm 40 now and have four kids, and guess what; yes, you can and you will be happy many more times and all will be well.

Reaching this stage was not easy, but I just always knew in the depth of my soul that death is not really the end, it's just another beginning, for the person who passed away as well as for the ones left in this life, and that we cannot be angry with anyone for causing this accident or that event.

Anger weighs you down. We don't know the reason why things happen as they do, but we should trust and believe that they do happen for a reason.

We don't know what the driver will take away from this tragedy and we don't know what Mr Clow's loved ones will take away.

It's everyone's individual choice to move up and be trusting and open and accepting to the laws of the universe, and when I look back on my experiences I think that without accepting pain as an occasional part of the cycle of life, we will not be able to appreciate the beauty of the universe and our little lives within it.

The pain we feel should not hold us back, we feel it, acknowledge it and let it go.

After reading about the accident I found myself thinking about how I would deal with the situation if anything happened to any of my children.

I had the thought, I made myself aware that I was thinking it and decided at that moment to accept all that will come and know that God/Allah/the Source, or (whatever you want to call it) within me will be there to help me deal with it. Then I discarded the thought, together with the negative energy it carried.

We never stop asking questions and we never stop learning, that's the mystery of life and that's what makes life worth living and death is just a small part of this cycle.

Lamis Ben Giaber,

By email.