Man the past couple of months were hectic, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down. Directly after the race I’m off to Riyadh on the 6th, then goodness knows where else, I hope somewhere where I can enjoy some snow! I’m fed up of the sun every single day and my multi-coloured body can tell you the story – I’m peeling! Now I’ve got the colour, the curly hair… maybe I should work on thicker lips!! 🙂
Thank you all for your support via comments here or emails. Sorry if I have not responded, but waking up at 6am and coming to bed at 1am for two solid months is not fun.
I haven’t even been able to read the papers, that’s probably the greatest loss through the past few weeks, I have no idea what’s happening on the island other than what I hear. But, it’s coming to a successful completion in the next few days. You wouldn’t believe the atmosphere at the track now. Electric!
As my daughter Hanan’s 13th birthday falls on race day (04-04-04) I snuck her yesterday afternoon into the track as my birthday gift to her, and she thoroughly enjoyed the experience! She even met with the Chairman of the BIC, Shaikh Fawaz in the paddock and he gave her a bunch of commemorative coins, 100 fils coins nicely mounted with the BIC’s logo on the back. Brilliant! Thank you Shaikh Fawaz, you made her day 🙂
I took Hanan from the TV Compound, through to the Paddock area, then the pit-lane, over to the very top of Sukhir Tower, down to the Grand Stand and commentary booths, so essentially a full tour. She was jumping for joy!
Happy birthday Hanan!
for those of you who are observant, these pictures were taken with my new Nokia 6600 phone which I had to buy last week as my Ericsson died! I would have preferred to get the 6620, but alas, I can’t be without a mobile!
Comments
in desperate need of a holiday…
heyy my old school uniform lol. although i was in a few grades above, i remember your daughter, sweet girl 🙂
in desperate need of a holiday…
Mahmood,
Snow? I got snow for you. Come on over or should I send you an inch or two? Not a problem at all. It would be MY HONOR to give you some. The slopes are still white and will be for some time.
Hanan I hope you have a great Birthday!
in desperate need of a holiday…
Many happy returns of the day to Hanan, soon to become a teenager. Does she want to be a “chip off the old block” and make a career in the broadcast media one day?
Meggie
in desperate need of a holiday…
Mahmood, it’s Mark Wallace here from Gulfreporter. I am in Riyadh at the moment and will be here until the 8th. I’d love to meet for a coffee if we both have the time after you arrive here. Please email me on wallace at gulfreporter dot com and I’ll send along some contact information.
Hope you’re well. Still enjoying your blog quite a bit.
in desperate need of a holiday…
Can help you with the TC1100. There is a brand new (unwanted gift) going real cheap here in dubai. Want it? And I missed all the action without you online. Hope to get more inside news and photos. Rgds, Kishore (DXB)
Trackback :: "We’re not all nuts hell-bent on world destruction."
TrackBack from sisu
For her thirteenth-birthday gift, Mahmood snuck his daughter Hanan into the track of the Bahrain International Formula One circuit before opening day tomorrow, April 4 "I hope that I will be judged that I made a small difference," writes
in desperate need of a holiday…
I was in Bahrain back in ’82, this brings back some nice memories. I remember the golf course and the royal beach. It’s too bad the rest of the ME doesn’t have a touch of Bahrain. 🙂
A happy birthday to your daughter.
Trackback :: Enjoying the view
TrackBack from sisu
Another rollercoaster ride compliments of you-know-who. This time GHR linked to our post on Bahraini blogger Mahmood of Mahmood’s Den: "We’re not all nuts hell-bent on world destruction."
Re: in desperate need of a holiday…
Kishore, this is a big YES! It looks like I’ll be in Dubai on Sunday morning so please email me your coordinates and the price at mahmood@mahmood.tv!
thanks man!
Re: in desperate need of a holiday…
Oh don’t tempt me… I had a fight with the stooges of the landlord this morning to get them to fix the bedrooms air conditioners as it was getting too hot for my liking this whole last week! Thankfully they came and fixed the last part today, so I can now sleep cool and happy!
Re: in desperate need of a holiday…
Mark I was supposed to come to Riyadh today but I actively looked for excuses NOT to travel!! I hope you understand! But why don’t you swing to Bahrain for a day on your way out? We could at least have a nice dinner!
mahmood@mahmood.tv if you need to contact me, I hope you do!
Re: in desperate need of a holiday…
Oh absolutely! She has her heart set on being a computer graphics artist and she’s good, really really good! So there is a nice chance in following in her uncle’s steps if not her dad’s!
Re: in desperate need of a holiday…
Thank you very much, Hanan and I appreciate your wishes and we hope that some day you will come back to Bahrain, we have better golf courses and various other entertaining activities you might enjoy!
in desperate need of a holiday…
Happy (late) birthday to Hanan! She shares the same bday as my mom (who happens to have been born on 4-4-44)
and congratulations for the F1 races… nothing quite as awesome as THUNDERING ENGINES!
(pril)
Re(1): in desperate need of a holiday…
Oops… I missed you. Sorry for that. He still has the PC with him and is willing to part with it for 2-2.5k. It’s still in it’s original condition. You can mail me on kishsasi@emirates.net.ae
Re(2): in desperate need of a holiday…
Thanks Kishore, I’m actually bidding for a Toshiba Protege M200 on ebay at the moment! The M200 is about 3 times more powerful than the 1100 and much sexier! Hopefully I’ll win it, but when I do I’ll let you know!
in desperate need of a holiday…
i hate you how did you do this?
in desperate need of a holiday…
Mahmood,
I’m just very impressed with those pictures from your phone.
I just picked up an Olympus Camedia D-395 digital camera as a cheap camera I can stick in my pocket and take anywhere. It was the cheapest digital camera in the store, only $129, plus a $35 256K chip that stores 300+ photos. I’ve been snapping around and I’m pretty pleased with the results. You just never know what you’ll stumble into walking around DC.
I was interested to see Hanan (happy birthday!) in blouse and skirt. What exactly do girls and women wear in public in Bahrain? Do western clothes work or do they have to cover up in some places?
Curious,
Steve
Re: in desperate need of a holiday…
And the new phone (the Nokia 6630) is 4 times better than the pictures you see of Hanan! I am absolutely convinced that the mobile phone SHOULD be used as a primary camera. Now with the resolution that I get out of the 6630 and its ability to have a memory card it’s an indespensable tool. And that’s the primary reason that I bought it… however as I have also just got the Canon EOS 20D, and I take it everywhere I go, I hardly ever use the cameraphone!!! Ironic, but hey it’s a good tool.
As for women’s attire in Bahrain, it’s left up to the individual what they want to dress in, although it would be rare now to find a woman dressed in revealing clothes in public, although anything from skirts, jeans, dresses and fully covered “guinness bottles” (abaya and niqab, black head to foot) can also be seen.
Global Soul has a good piece she’s written about women’s attire from the 60s to the present day that is well worth the read.
These pictures with this article by the way were taken in April last year… so Hanan is almost a year older in just a couple of months’ time! How time flies…
Re(1): in desperate need of a holiday…
I’m getting tired of seeing teenaged belly buttons here, myself. Even now, when it’s freezing out and there’s snow and the ground, there are girls trouncing around with their belly buttons hanging out. Who is their mother, Brittany Spears?
Sheesh!
Steve
in desperate need of a holiday…
Nothing wrong with some belly buttons showing as long the belly isn’t hanging out and flapping around like a beer belly.
Re: in desperate need of a holiday…
huh? connections of course (and sneaking in unnoticed!)