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Dear Stan, THE driving in Bahrain gets more and more bonkers ... and most of the problems must be down to instruction. Surely someone should have taught drivers at the learning stage that you do not flash hazard lights just because there is a bit of fog on the road.

How on earth can motorists travelling behind the hazard light-flashers have any indication that the car in front is about to change lanes or is thinking of coming off at the next junction?

Fog last Wednesday morning caused chaos on the school run and the trip to work as drivers panicked causing delays and several nervous breakdowns for those with the rudiments of road manners.

Simply switch on your brain and drive with consideration for others and there wouldn't be a problem. Lesson one: When do you turn on your hazard lights? Answer: when you have broken down and your car is stationary.

And, I've just thought of lesson number two, why I should make my children sit in the back seat with a safety belt on. I'll let GulfWeekly readers answer that one.

J. Cotton,

Budaiya.

Dear Stan,

Just thought I would update you on the final leg of my quest to get a landline phone installed in my no longer new apartment.

After several phone calls, some of which I understood, others which left me slightly confused, a nice chap from Batelco confirmed that an engineer would arrive at 9.30am on Saturday.

At 9.20am he called to check that I was there and duly arrived 10 minutes later. After a short detour down to the watchman to get a box of some sort unlocked, by 10am my phone was finally working.

Good old Batelco, it only took three months since I started visiting the shop and two since I placed the order, I suppose I should be grateful.

Liz O'Reilly,

Um Al Hassam.

Dear Stan,

I believe what's going on with Adam Jones is completely wrong and is spoiling the name of Islam. They should never remove a child from the mother especially if she is capable of providing him the love and support that only a mother can provide.

It is clear her late husband agreed that she should take care of Adam; if he didn't then he wouldn't have left Adam in her care all these years.

Ali Aamer,

By email

Dear Stan,

Countless women go from looking their best to looking just like the rest. Why does this happen? What can guys do to keep their girlfriends, fiances and wives as pretty as the day they met them?

Here are my suggestions:

1) Women love compliments. If she asks you about a raggedy outfit - be honest. Once you start accepting granny panties and sweatshirts when she is not working out, you will get this 24/7.

2) If she wears something hot, let her know right then and there. Say something like "You look great. Will you look this good for me every day?" then you go ahead and throw in a kiss, a hug, a neck nuzzle, etc. This way, you are warning her but you are not coming off as harsh but she will think about it before she throws a Crispy Creme in her mouth.

3) Suggest that she wears your favourite outfit. Tell her you really like the way she looks and how hot she looks in it.

4) Hair is another issue. So many times women will try to do something new like change their hair without saying a word to you. Be vocal about how you like it. If you love brunette and she goes blonde on you, be honest when she asks you how you like it. We know, it sounds scary but what if she comes back with her hair Hot Pink. What will you do then?

5) Keeping in shape is another obstacle, especially after kids. Fellas, let's be honest here. Sometimes you too let the 'fat kid' win. Encourage your mate to work out by putting down the beer and working out with her.

It works a whole lot better than looking at her with your face set on disgusted. Remember it's not just your average girl ... it happens to the most beautiful women in Hollywood as well.

If you have any advice please share your thoughts.

James Harris,

By email.

Dear Stan,

I read most of the letters written to editors across Bahrain's newspapers where people express their concern over plastic bags. By now even an eight-year-old is well aware of the hazards of using plastic bags, but does that make anyone stop and re-think. I think not.

Kavita Gonsalves in her letter last week has highlighted perfectly how the mindset of the consumer works. 'Why should I pay for the bag, when I'm getting all the plastic bags free?' and the retailer is thinking 'why should I spend my profits on providing reusable bags?' Both are short-sighted. What the customer doesn't realise is that they are sowing the plastic menace in a big way and their children will reap its disasters. The retailer is much too concerned about his profits to see where the world is going with all this plastic usage.

It is a 'no-win' situation from both ends.

I have a company in Bangalore, India, which manufactures beautiful eco-friendly jute bags. Who says eco-friendly has to be boring? There are a million ways to make your packaging look super-attractive, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly!

But, the question is, who is willing to take the plunge? From the retailer's point of view, providing free eco-friendly bags will actually strengthen their image. Has no retailer ever heard of the word 'BAGVERTISING'? A specially-coined term which combines bag with advertising.

Reusable bags will have a longer life cycle than your plastic bag, imagine all the different places your bag will travel! Doesn't this lead to brand retention? Won't your consumer turn into a mobile billboard for your brand? If this doesn't make enough business sense, consider this, wouldn't they have the distinction of being a 'responsible retailer'?

Some of the bags that are sold by supermarkets are seriously overpriced, these jute bags made in China and Bangladesh are of the poorest materials and do no justice to some of the brands.

Obviously there are no takers for takers!

It would really make a huge difference if the leading supermarkets of Bahrain gave away free bags to customers who purchased groceries for say above BD50, or whatever they think is suitable.

They could even tie in a promotion where if the customer brings back the bag and shops, he or she would get discounts or something to that effect.

All it needs is a little commitment and creativity to change the habits of people, and come to think of it, if everyone actually ended up bringing in their own bags, retailers could actually end up saving a lot of money in the long run!

If any retailer is interested in switching over to eco-friendly packaging options, do write in to us, we will be happy to demonstrate how you can contribute to protecting what is left of the environment at prices that don't burn a hole in your budget.

Rashmi Rao, managing partner,

Tattva Concepts, rashmi@tattvaconcepts.com