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Dear Stan, I was delighted to read the positive comments about the management team of the Crowne Plaza trading places for the day with some of their employees to get a better understanding of other roles away from their usual daily tasks.

In response to Mrs J Taylor of Budaiya (GulfWeekly, Issue 32) and her request to utilise my services as a driver for the evening, I would like to thank her for her interest and confirm that

I am available to drive her and her husband around for their anniversary. I would also like to extend the offer to include dinner in one of our restaurants to truly make the evening quite memorable.

In fact, to really deliver a team experience from the hotel I will arrange for our very own director of sales and marketing, Kate Simmonds, to be on hand for service at the restaurant. Kate although accomplished in her field of sales and marketing was quite taken aback by your letter and wanted to get involved to help you celebrate a truly spectacular anniversary and this is her way of contributing to a great evening.

Coverage of this day will also be passed on to GulfWeekly so please look out for updates on this.

James W Hewitson,

Executive assistant manager, Food & Beverages,

Crowne Plaza Bahrain.

Dear Stan,

I left my house at 6pm on the third day of Ramadan, obviously I'm fasting and really hungry.

There were15 minutes left to athan al isha (the prayer call at sunset) so I found myself - without thinking - stepping on the gas to make it to my family's house on time.

I swiftly operated the vehicle and at the same time thought about all the delicious Ramadan food I was going to have.

My brain started to send signals to instruct my saliva to flow - or whatever that is left of my bodily fluids after a long day of fasting in the heat.

I noticed that other car drivers on the road were doing the same - driving recklessly fast and zigzagging, trying to beat the sun's descend and reach home just in time - not to pray, but to fill their mouths with gaimat and harees.

My brain also miraculously had the time to operate my conscience too, and what did my conscience tell me? It scolded me: "You have been waiting all day patiently, what makes these last five or 10 minutes so special? What makes them so hard to pass?

"Why are you endangering yourself and others? And, most importantly, who said you HAVE to be there exactly on athan to eat?"

Then I realised that Ramadan was not about rushing. Ramadan is about the dignity of the human being who defies his body and says no to its needs ... and when the time comes, with all the dignity you can muster, eat a small loaf of bread or a piece of date, or if you really want to, those sweet gaimat that your grandmother made, and go for a prayer which only takes five more minutes of your time.

After that, the table is yours to do with as you please and you will find yourself eating slowly and acting rationally.

At this point I thought back to the first two days of Ramadan, saw myself sitting there with my hands almost invisible from moving too fast from plate to plate, and then from plate to mouth, and then again from mouth to plate, and I thanked God for the generosity of the month of 'Ramadan Kareem' - for giving us a time to reflect on our behaviour and to regain our dignity which we can lose all year long to our lusts and cravings.

Mahmood A Abuidrees,

Bahrain.

Dear Stan,

With reference to Mr Brand's letter in GulfWeekly, Issue 34.

I fully agree with a number of his points and in no way suggested that sand golf was not a contributor to 'grass roots' golf. It is an excellent way into the sport and some people who started playing on sand are happy to continue doing so.

My reference to artisan's golf was by no means derogatory - I was merely pointing out a fact that, prior to the opening of the Riffa Golf Club in 1999, golf in Bahrain was played at an artisan level (according to my Collins Dictionary artisan means craftsman or skilled mechanical worker).

In this case, my reference to artisan golf was simply pointing out that the sport was not previously played at a corporate or tourism level.

It is true that new golf courses in this part of the world and many new golf courses across the planet are price prohibitive to many people. However, they are valuable contributors to the development of the game and the growth in the number of participants.

With this in mind, and trying to be all things to all people when redeveloping the site of the former Riffa Golf Club for the Riffa Views community, we were keen to offer an alternative to championship golf.

This effort resulted in the creation of the Royal Golf Club's Wee Monty Par 3 course, which at BD15 per round offers a very cost-effective and enjoyable golfing experience.

Furthermore, our driving range offers day rates of BD10 per person which allows patrons to hit as many practice balls as they wish (for as long as their stamina holds up!) - again a very pleasant and cost-effective way to spend an afternoon honing your golf skills.

As for developing golf at a grass root level, over the years we have introduced the sport to hundreds of people through our coaching programmes at our golf academy.

Many of our pupils have gone on to join Awali Golf Club or the Bahrain Golf Club. We have also seen large numbers of Bahraini and expatriate youngsters take up the game through taking part in our junior programmes and tailored after-schools programmes.

We continue to work closely with the Bahrain Golf Association in helping them develop strategies to encourage more young Bahrainis into the sport, to gain more corporate and government support and generally raise the participation levels of the game in Bahrain.

The Royal Golf Club has recently supported some of Bahrain's most talented junior players by offering them free membership to the club.

We have also taken the initiative to host the Faldo Series Asia Middle East qualifying tournament in October which will see young golfers from across the region gain valuable tournament experience while also encouraging more youngsters to take part in our development tournament and Mini Faldo series events.

When our owning company, the Bahrain International Golf Course Company was formed back in the mid-90s it was with the intention of building a championship standard grass golf course that would attract international tourists to Bahrain and to have a quality facility which would enhance the infrastructure of the country.

That vision remains in place for the new Royal Golf Club and while providing an excellent facility for residents of Bahrain, we believe that it also plays a vital role in attracting tourists, corporations and the MICE markets to Bahrain, thus helping to support the local economy.

Whist holding firm to the vision we do acknowledge our responsibility to grow the game of golf and make it as accessible as possible especially to young Bahrainis.

Finally, one of our objectives is to hold a major golfing event here in Bahrain with a view to raising the country's profile internationally as well as raising the profile of the sport within the country.

In order to be successful in doing this, the necessary facilities and infrastructure must be in place. I am pleased to say that this is very much the case at the new Royal Golf Club.

Michael Braidwood,

GM, The Royal Golf Club.