Meeting ‘the first lady’

Relations between Bahrain and the UK have never been as strong with Royal visits between the two nations taking place in recent weeks and a flourishing Bahrain British Business Forum working in the background. It has been noted that the new couple in the British Embassy in Manama has made a fine impression since their arrival last summer. GulfWeekly feature writer Anasuya Kesavan met Bridget Lindsay, the woman behind Iain, the man in the diplomatic hot seat, to find out how they have settled into their new home.

The British ‘first lady’ in the kingdom, Bridget Lindsay, is a diplomat, an English teacher, a wonderful mother, wife and cook who has taken unpaid leave to support her husband, Iain Lindsay, in his role as the British Ambassador to Bahrain.

Married for 28 years, the couple, met during their first foreign posting with the diplomatic rank of Third Secretaries in the Polish capital of Warsaw and after a whirlwind romance married just over a year later.

The couple, now both aged 52, have a son,Calum, 20, who is a student of English literature and film at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and live with two cats Fergus and Merlin, who partly rule the household at their residence in Manama.

Bridget’s family has Irish roots, her grandparents were farmers in the Emerald Isle. She was born in London and grew up in a family of four children and has a sister and two brothers. Their household was famous for giving shelter to innumerable animals found homeless on the street.

Keeping up the family tradition, the Lindsay home continues to attract stray cats and Fergus was adopted as a kitten in Romania. He was born in the Lindsay house to a three-legged cat that was found in their garden suffering from horrible injuries. Merlin was adopted from the Bahrain Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA).

Bridget joined the British Foreign Service in 1980 and was an international trade advisor before going on leave. She spent her first two-years in the UK after joining and has travelled around the world since.

She said: “The appeal of joining the Foreign Service was the travel. I thought it is something I would do for a few years and enjoy.

“But, two diplomatic jobs in a family when children are young is not a good idea because neither of you would see your child. I took time out and qualified as an English teacher, helping a range of people – from housewives to presidents of companies to a couple of imperial princesses – during our stay in Tokyo.

“In Hong Kong, I taught English at the British Council and I particularly enjoy teaching young children. I don’t really miss my diplomatic career, to be honest as I haven’t completely lost it because of Iain’s position. Also one’s priorities can change and I have become interested in other things over the years.

“Diplomatic jobs are fantastic. You have a structure and you always go to a place where you are part of something and you are instantly working with people who are like-minded.”

This is Bridget’s first time in the role of an ambassador’s wife and it is also her first time in the Middle East. She has neatly fitted into a position which involves spending copious amounts of time hosting diplomatic events, lots of representational work and meeting various types of people.

The biggest difference, she says, from her past roles is the fact that she is recognised almost everywhere she goes in Bahrain. She said: “It is different in the sense I feel I am more on display.

“I also discovered quite early on that we cannot go anywhere in Bahrain without being recognised. It doesn’t upset me … but it’s different. In Hong Kong and Romania it was easy to be anonymous.

“Representing your country is the pinnacle and ultimate aim for most people in diplomatic service. Iain has achieved that, which is wonderful. However, it comes with various challenges, especially when there are VIPs coming over to the house. It can be as simple as how to address them and what to wear.

“The main challenge is to provide the right sort of support for my husband. This is his role and my job is to support him and in any marriage that is a given. He supports me and I support him and that is the way it works.”

The Lindsays have lived in Australia, Hong Kong and Japan and are also familiar with Central Europe having lived in Poland and Romania. However, the first time she visited Bahrain was last February, during the height of the unrest in the kingdom, to familiarise herself with the embassy residence which was to become their new home.

One of the biggest changes was the move from an apartment block in Hong Kong to a beautiful house with a rich history. She said: “The first time we came here was for 24-hours for a quick look for what we are coming to. It was an interesting time to come. It didn’t frighten us at all.

“In all our years of travelling we take things as we find them. I have been very pleasantly surprised by the friendly welcome we have received all around. Everybody we have met has been wonderful.

“We arrived during Ramadan and it was my first Ramadan anywhere. I was surprised by the heat and how quiet the city was.”

Bridget is a keen gardener and often attends the famous Chelsea Flower Show. She also loves getting involved in charity projects and has worked extensively with children’s charities as well as hospitals helping the visually and hearing impaired in Romania.

The biggest event for the family is Christmas when the lady of the house dons her apron and cooks up a traditional meal. She said: “Christmas is a very big thing for us. We have both come from big families. Iain is one of five and I am one of four children and the festive season has always been an important time for us. We have the full Christmas dinner wherever we are in the world, so we have turkey and stuffing followed by Christmas pudding. I have always cooked the dinner and Iain carves the turkey. The tree and the decorations we have been travelling with for several years also go up.”

The First Lady is also a ‘closet’ writer and enjoys penning fiction. Refusing to say anything more about the subject, she said: “I am too scared to publish my work. I have been working on a novel that is related to the places we have travelled for a while. I write for my own pleasure.

“I want to write a children’s story about the Ambassador’s cat or possibly the cat’s Ambassador because I feel Iain is owned more by the cat! No more ... Next question, please.”