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The Colours of Life Poetry Festival was hosted last Thursday on the rooftop of Umami restaurant in Adliya by The Second Circle Poetry Group and was celebrated to marvellous applause by a superbly enthusiastic audience.

Considering we held this together on a shoe-string budget allied to a dogged persistence is a remarkable achievement, and, while we gained and lost sponsors along the way we are eternally grateful to Momen Khandakar who was not only one of our star poetry performers, but also played some wonderful alto saxophone and flute pieces in support of various acts and who singularly made his restaurant facilities and venue available to us for the night.

I was delighted by the calibre of the performances and feel certain the event has established itself as being among the most enigmatic creations within Bahrain’s annual cultural calendar.

There was a lot of coaching required to ensure each poet delivered the thoughts and sentiments necessary to reflect the words that were written and meant by them at the time of the poem’s original creation, and consequently there was a semi-theatrical set of commitments and rehearsals that were necessary.

These were further supported by various musical accompaniments and different forms of on-stage props which helped to make the evening an entertainment that was not usually associated with poetry presentations.

To see it reach its apex of excellence on the night was wonderfully gratifying and hugely uplifting for the poets involved.

As no one is successful without the technical assistance of others and we were remarkably aided by Chad Schulz on an amazing array of musical instruments, plus Michelle Schulz, who managed all of the lighting arrangements, and Muna Rabieh who, along with Warren, managed the sound department.

Over the three years of the festival’s existence we have witnessed the contributions of 33 poets who collectively have performed almost 180 poems to standing ovations on each occasion and therefore the formula must be working.

To be told afterwards by various members of the audience that the festival was not only completely different to expectations but also a wonderful treat of the imagination and, surprisingly far more entertaining than anticipated, is simply tremendous to hear.

This year we were also honoured to receive Bahrain’s director of Culture Research, Ali Abdulla Khalifa, as our special guest along with his daughter, Nayla, and resultantly hope this fantastic level of acknowledgement and support shall garner further expansions and awareness in the future.

There are other poetry treats being planned for the year ahead and for those with an interest please contact me on 39207624 or take a look at our website: www.bahrainwriterscircle.org and/or The Second Circle Facebook page.

David Hollywood,  festival director, by email.

The children of Little Gems Pre-School have been having lots of fun with a week of fundraising especially for the BSPCA.

All 242 children enjoyed a MUFTI day which helped to raise an amazing BD272.500 for the society. 

Together with my trusted rescue dog, Rufus, I was invited by Principal Christine Evans to collect a huge amount of donated food for the animals at the shelter.
Rufus enjoyed playing with some of the children who were beautifully behaved and a credit to the school.

Thank you Little Gems Pre-school for your much appreciated generosity.

Michelle Page,
Fundraising co-ordinator,
BSPCA.

The General Director of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science has announced the arrest of a group of terrorists, one of which had a gun and ammunition in his possession. Additional weapons, including a homemade shotgun, and materials for use in terrorist acts, were also seized.
 
All weapons were confiscated and appropriate measures were taken. Legal procedures are being finalised to refer the case to the Public Prosecution.

Anyone with any information is asked to call the police hotline at 80008008. All calls will be treated as anonymous.

First Lt Fatema I. Jawhar,
Police Media Directorate.

It is with great sadness that this week the Dilmun Club had to temporarily say goodbye to one if its most loved employees.

It is the mark of the man that anyone who has ever come into contact with Satish Palayat will likely have a story to tell of a friendly welcome, a kind act or a thoughtful gesture. Indeed, whenever he is mentioned by members new or old, it is clear that there is huge affection for him and that he is held in the highest regards.

It seems that whatever else is going on in our hectic lives you can always be sure of one thing when you enter the Dilly in seek of refuge, Satish will be there with a welcoming smile and his standard question ‘What would you like?’

Unfortunately, Satish has been unwell for some time now and has returned to India to get the treatment he requires. Satish left us with our best wishes both as a club and as individuals and we wish him a speedy recovery and return to his Dilly family.
 
Dilmun Club Executive Committee, Saar.