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Hi everyone, by the time you read this we will be on our holidays in sunny Oldham.
Ha! I’ve got my Wellington boots and the umbrella packed for the great English weather. I promised last week that I would tell you all about the happenings at Riffa Views Golf Club and the “Think Pink” day, which was organised by the gorgeous Julie Sparkel in aid of breast cancer; a terrible disease that kills millions of women yearly and so affects us all because these women are our mums, wives and even our daughters.
It was the largest ladies golf competition ever played in Bahrain; there was over 100 women participating.
That morning I had a great interview with Julie on my breakfast show, and then I hot-footed it down to the golf course to meet some of the ladies playing.
When I got there I was amazed at the way all the golf carts had been decked out in various designs and regalia, all to do with the colour pink.
In the true spirit of things I donned my pink wig, and went to chat to people. There were some photos taken; and I think one of the best ones was of me and Julie out on a pink pontoon that was floating in the lake; I was messing about, pretending to push Julie into the murky water.
When we got back on terra firma somebody told me about a photo shoot six months ago with a guy on a jet–ski on the same lake.
Well, he fell into the water a few times and two days later had to go to hospital with lumps and spots all over him. He recovered, but his jet-ski was ruined! So, a word of advice; if you lose any golf balls in the lake (which must include about 50 of mine) don’t try to retrieve them!
Anyway, a big thank you to Scott McGraw, Steve Munroe (better known as the Bald Eagle) and, of course, Phyllis Jones for all their help in making it a great day out and as well for raising loads of money for the Bahrain Cancer Society.
Also, this week I popped down to Al Areesh children’s art gallery in Adliya.
Here I met with two aspiring young artists, first was Mohammed Khalid who is 15 years old and has been painting since he was five years old.
He even remembers painting in kindergarten – though admits it was pretty much scribble. Mohammed told me that he loves to paint still life, beauty and nature using oils.
He has been attending Al Areesh for a few months and studies painting and art at the Middle East School. “My teachers’ father is an artist; she’s really good and I enjoy her classes. I also like biology and chemistry.”
Mohammed also told me that he lived in England when just a babe till until he was four and even now can remember seeing Big Ben.
I can’t remember a thing from when I was four, but then it was a long long time ago. I have a hard time even remembering what I did yesterday, but that is just my age I guess. Sigh!
My little daughter Hannah is just three. She has seen and done so much already, and it breaks my heart to think that much of it will be forgotten.
Good thing she’s got a mother who takes pictures of her every achievement. Anyway, I digress… Mohammed also said: “Adel Zulaikh [the owner of the gallery] has taught me things and I feel I have really progressed, especially in the last few years. I would like to be a professional artist one day, or I might like to be an interior designer.”
I also met a very shy but talented young lady called Esra Mohammed, who is 11 and goes to the Indian School.
She doesn’t do art at school, but loves to enter competitions. Esra learned to paint at home and her older sister is also an accomplished artist.
Esra likes drawing and doing sceneries and was inspired by her sisters’ interest. As well as oil painting she also enjoys clay modelling. Her dad is very proud of her, and rightly so, her work is wonderful.
Her favourite subject at school is maths (which I hate! Why is it that so many kids from that school like maths? There must be either a very cute or very cool maths teacher, I think). When she grows up Esra says that she would like to be a doctor and help people.
After chatting to the kids I spent some time talking to Adel who would really love more children to participate in art competitions.
We both hope that kids who read this article will get more involved in artistic pursuits.
Adel talked to me a lot about the kids work and says that he doesn’t need or try to explain any of their work because “the children’s pictures speak for themselves”. I think I agree. He also said the talent here in Bahrain was “out of this world” in comparison with a lot of places he had visited.
He added: “People here focus on art for arts sake, not art for any other reason. We have young people from aged four to 19. Seeing is believing - and people come and see what we have got.”
Adel is very passionate about his gallery and about the art he showcases, but his enthusiasm is tinged with regrets.
He said: “The art gallery has been going for four years now. I had big dreams when I opened the gallery but sometimes now my dreams are a bit of a nightmare as we really don’t get support or sponsorship from companies or government.
“There is, however, interest and we still hope in the future that things will change. This is a new gallery really – there is no such gallery in the world in the private sector to look after children’s art. We’ve been recognised internationally as such … some of the kids’ work is better than that of professional artists – reputed artists have seen the work and cannot believe that this is the work of children.”
Children need a forum to show their talent and recognition for their efforts, so hopefully something will come up for Adel.
Keep happy
Krazy Kevin x
