Write to the editor

HERE are 20 things that every British person in the Middle East just gets. Yani, you know it makes sense.

* The moment you get off the plane, your glasses steam up.
* And you sweat so much your shirt actually changes colour.
* In the Middle East, your digs are palatial. Seriously, your house is like a five-star resort.
* Which means your bedroom is bigger than your living room and kitchen combined back in the UK.
* And, everyone is always keen to find out what it’s really like in Dubai. I don’t know but it’s great in Bahrain where I actually live.         NOT EVERYONE LIVES IN DUBAI.
* And your swimming pool is the size of a small lake.
* When you go back home, you get really irritated when everyone gives you a hard time about having a maid.
* The idea of walking to get to places is unspeakably hilarious.
* You spend your weekends at British clubs, where your modesty is thrown out the window.
* Friday brunch happens every week, without fail.
* Every time you go into work on a Sunday, a little piece of you dies inside. And you spend your morning thinking of everyone you know back home having a lie in.
* But, hey, you have so many more public holidays than them.
* The notion of ‘punctuality’ confuses you. A meeting at 3pm means getting ready at 3.30pm and then getting stuck in traffic for an hour.
* Everyone at home expects you to speak Arabic. You can ask for a full tank of petrol, and that’s enough.
* Driving in the Middle East has its own unique set of challenges.
l. Such as seeing a minimum of three accidents on your way to anywhere.
* And encountering more road works that you thought possible.
* And everyone putting their hazard lights on the moment there’s a hint of mist in the air.
* The concept of the STOP sign has to be revised.
* People only indicate if they’re flirting.

Georgie Bradley, Saar.

SOPRANO Erika Nottingham Rawles accompanied by pianist Michelle Miles will be performing at St Christopher’s Cathedral tomorrow at 6pm (Thursday 22nd January) as part of the Cathedrals Concerts series.

Their programme includes pieces from St John’s Passion by JS Bach, Carmen by Georges Bizet, a series of songs from the song cycle Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson by Aaron Copland, and songs by Giacomo Puccini and Benjamin Britten.

Erika has performed as a soloist in concerts, recitals and opera galas in the US and in the UK and in venues such as Selby Abbey and The Guildhall, York, where she was invited to sing alongside professional opera singers from English National Opera, Opera North and Scottish Opera in a 25th Anniversary Gala.
 
Michelle has lived in Bahrain since 1998. She is a graduate of the Birmingham Conservatoire with an Honours degree and Diplomas in performance and teaching. She spent several years in the UK as repetitor for The Birmingham Royal Ballet School and on staff at the Junior Conservatoire in Birmingham. She was a regular performer with members of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Together Erika and Michelle have performed for the Palm Association at the British Embassy, were involved in the Great British Week Concert and performed in an event attended by the Bahrain royal family at the Ritz Carlton Bahrain Hotel & Spa last year.

Tickets for Cathedral Concerts are BD5 (accompanied children are free) and can be ordered in advance from the Cathedral Office by calling 17253866 or on the door on the night.

The Very Reverend Christopher M Butt,
St Christopher’s Cathedral.