Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Hi everybody. Are you enjoying the Bahrain summer? Toasty isn't it? Or, maybe it's a bit more like being inside a steamed up microwave than a toaster. I don't know whether maybe I've acclimatised a bit having lived here for nine years already, but it actually feels not too bad this year, especially with those lovely Shamal winds blowing through the kingdom and cooling things down a tad. Perhaps though, there will be a sting in the tail and we'll have a somewhat hotter than usual September for Ramadan.
The high point of my week this week was when I visited the Ritz Carlton Hotel to film an episode of Music Mania for Channel 55. We had a great day with a fun bunch of kids and helpers. I chatted to Daniel Chamberlain, the sports and recreation manager, about all the activities the kids could participate in including arts and crafts, football, swimming, with qualified instructors and lots of other water activities such as sailing, windsurfing and canoeing under the watchful eyes of William Fox the senior water sports professional.
I talked to two Japanese kids there who told me all about how they loved the camaraderie and friendship they had gained by participating in all these activities with kids of so many nationalities at summer camp. I even learned how to count up to five in Japanese. Also, while the youngsters where playing dodge-ball I got a shout from one of them and spun round to look... then, you guessed it, I didn't dodge in time and, whack! For the rest of the Music Mania episode you may notice I have a red eye.
During the day, the children were served plenty of fresh fruit as well as juices and water and they told me it was going to be a special night as they where having a sleep-over in the Al Khayama Tent. In case you don't know, it's not the sort of tent most of us would ever get to 'camp out' in. It's absolutely huge, much bigger than my house in fact. And, I'm pretty sure their camp food was a bit better than the sausage and beans I used to get when I'd go camping as a boy scout.
I reported recently about our moving house and the upheaval it has caused. Well the low point of the week was when our second electric and water bill arrived; I nearly fell off the chair while reading it. The water bill part came to a simply unbelievable BD186!
Now, I know we've watered the grass a bit more than usual because it was starting to go brown when we moved in. But my goodness, at that price I reckon we could've filled at least 20 swimming pools. I don't think I've ever had a bill for water over a dinar before.
So anyway, what to do next? Off I traipsed to the Ministry to find out what to do. I dolefully wandered in and talked to a lovely guy who gave me a ticket with number 57 on it. I sat down and waited and waited. I looked at the number currently being called (which was 51) and thought that I would soon be seen as there where lots of people working at the counters. The next number 'dinged' and a lady got up to see one of the service staff. As I watched she left and the same attendant stood up and pressed the button for the next person's turn, while all the other staff were still occupied. Then he again finished and 'dinged' the next customer and, I kid you not, he was the one to serve the next new customer and, eventually after around 30 minutes, I too was 'dinged'.
I joked to him that he seemed to be the only one working! He said his 'secret' was that he said hello to new customers and then processed their request straight away without finding out about their whole family history and avoided idle chit chat while serving. Now, in terms of efficiency, that's great but I still love the laidback Bahraini attitude and their friendliness. I mean, how can I criticise anyone for talking too much when I do it all the time? Talking is kinda my job ha!
The outcome of all this waiting was that I have to ring an emergency number to register a complaint. And no, I could not do it while I was there because it's a different department of course. So we'll see what happens.
When I got home I had a look at the actual meter and was not amused to notice the numbers spinning round wildly. Especially since there wasn't even anyone else home or any hoses on in the garden. Anyway, I think I've discovered why it's so green around our compound - due to what is likely to be a burst pipe underground I've been single handedly replenishing the entire Budaiya area water table.
Kinda gives 'going green' a whole new perspective. I felt a bit green as I watched those numbers spin. Well must go, I've got an important call to make.
All my love
Krazy Kevin
