A lifer expat mummy in Kuwait blogging on things to do in Kuwait for kids and adults, places to visit, fun and cultural events, general info, shopping bargains and interesting stuff. Email: LWDLIK@gmail.com
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LWDLIK - If you don't know it already be warned it's addictive ;O)
Just got back from Slider Station opposite Seif Palace. Initial reaction was very cool setting, great ambience, good music and yummy smells.
I had kids with me and they wanted to sit at the bar with the conveyer belt delivery system, cute and kept them amused for a while. Ordered drinks, fries and mini burgers. Drinks arrived, fries arrived 10 minutes later and then we waited and waited and waited for the burgers. It took a whopping 25-30 minutes to get our food and I reckon the restaurant was only 25% full. Fries were not pleasant they were mushy and soggy. Had to ask three times regarding our burgers, finally they arrived and they were good but we were so hungry by then my/our judgement could have been swayed.
The little darlings finally arriving..
Another waiter asked how everything was and I told him what had happened, he shrugged and asked if we wanted more fries? Duh?
Would I go back..yes but not for the fries.
We had Texan burger, mushroom and Swiss, plain cheese burger and west coast all tasted really good but that was after being kept waiting and the slow agonising torture of watching and smelling other people's orders being served.
Monday, 5 March 2012 at 19:00 until Sunday, 1 April 2012 at 21:00 at AL M Gallery, Salhiya Complex, Gate 4, Mezzanine 2.
Shurooq Amin is the artist who doesn’t need any introduction as in the past few years she became the absolute leader of Kuwaiti art vanguard . In her previous show “Society Girls” she unveiled explorative scenes from one half of a hidden society's world and it was an unexpected revelation that had a strong resonance on the public. In her exhibition “It’s a Man’s World” she interrogates many issues and explores the part of society that had been previously untouchable and non-debatable for its moral and social integrity, focusing on the Man, his habits, his lifestyle and his dreams. It is concurrently an unveiling of man's hypocrisy as well as a celebration of man and life.
Muneera Al Rumaihy, The exhibition @ Bayt Lothan We are pleased to invite you to attend the opening reception of The Exhibition @ Bayt Lothan which will take place on 5th March at 7:30 pm. This exhibition will be held from March 5 – 7, 2012. Opening hours: 09:00-13:00, 17:00-21:00
They are always upgrading this site and it is very frustrating! Today can't access thro explorer on my trusted laptop only thro safari on the iPad. Urrrgh!
Equait is a youth-driven organization founded and run by Faisal Al Fuhaid and Leanah Al-Awadhi. The main goal of Equait is to promote both human and civil rights and equality within the Kuwaiti society through social media, fundraising and events. Equait also provides community service and volunteering opportunities for Kuwaiti youth. We aim to make Kuwait a better place for our upcoming generations, and to give back to our society by shaping and moulding our youth into responsible citizens (Q-Heroes). Behind this growing organization is a fantastic team of ten young, socially-responsible and dedicated members who keep it running smoothly.
KUWAIT TIMES: Director of the Immigration Authority, Lt. General Kamel Al-Awadhi, informed border administrators that the decision of the Interior Minister to ban citizens of Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan from entering Kuwait is not applicable to wives of GCC citizens. He emphasized that all sea, land and air border exits are required to allow wives of the above six countries married to GCC citizens to enter Kuwait, as per decisions passed by GCC interior ministers. Al-Awadhi said several complaints were received from wives of GCC citizens that they were not allowed to enter Kuwait with their husbands. Accordingly, the Immigration Director wrote to the Borders Director in this respect security sources revealed. —Al-Anbaa
LWDLIK - That's news to me as is the ban on those six nationalities.
KUWAIT TIMES: A senior Ministry of Interior official recently made a direct order to deport an Indian woman accused of mistreating members of a Kuwaiti family she worked for as a housemaid. The decision was made despite the fact that the family never pressed charges against the maid.
They reached a solution with the agency they hired her from, according to security sources with knowledge of the case. “Managing Director of the Migration General Department, Maj Gen Kamel Al-Awadhi, ordered an Indian domestic worker to be deported and blacklisted for involvement in practices against her employers that include practicing black magic”, said a source while speaking on the condition of anonymity.
In addition to witchcraft, the housemaid’s female employer reportedly witnessed her urinating into a cooking pot while preparing dinner for her family via a surveillance cameras secretly installed in the kitchen. Instead of taking the evidence to the police station and filing a case, the Kuwaiti woman headed to the office where she hired the domestic worker from. She demanded a refund of the money she paid for hiring the maid. The office reportedly agreed after seeing the evidence on the video. Maj Gen Al-Awadhi made an immediate order to deport the housemaid as soon as he learned of the incident from an insider, the source explained. He placed her name on the blacklist, to ban her from returning to Kuwait. His decision comes as part of new measures aimed to control the domestic labor market by tackling illegal practices committed by employers against housemaids and vice versa, the sources explained. —Al-Qabas
Where is the worst place to have a wardrobe malfunction? Probably on stage presenting an Oscar, and unfortunately for Jennifer Lopez, it almost happened. It was barely there -- let's call it the nip slip that wasn't -- but Lopez almost had an embarrassing moment while presenting an Oscar on stage with Cameron Diaz. Her low-cut dress was stunning, but perhaps she should have made sure she was taped in there a little better. While we weren't convinced anything was out of place, Twitterers seemed to think otherwise.
LWDLIK - This must be top of the Google list for men.
The clampdown will affect anyone living in Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, International City and Discovery Gardens. They could face penalties of Dh500; say Trakhees, the organizational arm of Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation.
“We will end our awareness campaign by end-February and start issuing fines to those not obeying the law from March,” a company spokesman said.
Trakhees began warning people in November that they should not fix satellite dishes on the facades or balconies of their buildings; not to use balconies as places of storage for any purpose other than seasonal furniture pieces; not to hang sheets, clothes or curtains or rugs or mops or laundry on balconies or railings of homes and not to have barbecues in their balconies.
The women filed suit in federal court in the District in January 2007, saying they had been subjected to "slaverylike conditions through physical and psychological abuse" by Maj. Waleed Al Saleh, an attache at the Embassy of Kuwait in D.C., and his wife, Maysaa Al Omar. The parties agreed to a settlement this month. Attorneys involved in the case would not disclose the terms of the agreement, but said both sides were satisfied. "It sends a message to other persons that may be involved in such actions," said Steven Watt, a senior staff lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the women. "It won't be condoned." The women -- Kumari Sabbithi, Joaquina Quadros and Tina Fernandes -- cared for the couple's four children at their McLean home and did household tasks, but were only paid a fraction of their agreed wages, according to the lawsuit. Al Saleh and Al Omar took their passports and forced them "to perform backbreaking work virtually every waking hour of the day," from 6:30 or 7:30 a.m. to between 10:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. The women often didn't have time to eat or go to the bathroom during the day, the lawsuit said, and they were forbidden from leaving except for occasional church services. The lawsuit says Al Omar slapped Sabbithi and struck her with spoons, wooden boxes and frozen chicken packages. Al Omar once became enraged over a meal's preparation, pulled Sabbithi's hair and threatened to "cut off" her tongue, according to the suit. Al Saleh then berated Sabbithi and shoved her to the floor; she hit her head on a table and lost consciousness. Domestic servants abused by diplomats often have little recourse; the officials typically assert diplomatic immunity and leave the country. Watt said naming the government in the lawsuit "brought the state of Kuwait to the table." and helped the parties reach a settlement. "The government of Kuwait wanted this issue to go away," he said. "This is one way of doing it." Neil Koslowe, an attorney for Kuwait, Al Saleh and Al Omar, said his clients admitted no wrongdoing but declined to comment on why the parties settled. "The state of Kuwait is committed to complying with all State Department guidelines on diplomatic interactions with domestic workers," he said. ebabay@washingtonexaminer.com
LWDLIK - The lawsuit makes interesting reading. Honestly people if you take a maid to the States and think you can pay her only KD 40 per month then you are asking for trouble and that's without any of the other allegations.
I previously posted a bystander's video but this is the official Zain version and I love it. Fills me with pride, warm fuzzy feelings, puts a big smile on my face and starts the happy tears.
The first world leader to speak out and urge sanctions on Iraq. Thank you for sharing Don Veto she was an awesome, formidable leader and makes me very, very proud to be British.
Hope we can step up and do the same for Syria very soon.
From my life with KAC. A proud moment bringing her to Kuwait, on the VIP B 727 aircraft, to receive the Mubarak medal from the late Amir HRH Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah.
Myself and many other fellow Brits heard the above youtube speech on the BBC Radio whilst being in Kuwait during the occupation of Kuwait in 1990. It was quite terrifying to hear her talk sometimes as she was so very outspoken to Saddam Hussein. I remember we were still in hiding when the Brits were being rounded up and taken by the Iraqis to hotels and military installations and were worried that her speech regarding him "hiding behind the skirts of women and children" would make things a whole lot worse. But she knew her adversary well and eventually he allowed the women and children to leave. It was heartbreaking collecting women from Jabriya who were leaving their husbands hiding in air-conditioning ducts and having to be fed and cared for by Kuwaitis, whose own lives were in peril if they were caught 'harbouring' them.
It was my turn to leave, I was nothing but a burden, I would have stayed if I thought I could help in any way but the daily nightmare of what they would do to my husband was just unbearable.
We got the call from the warden to assemble at the The Sultan Centre, Salmiya at 6AM (if I remember correctly) and we had to pass by to collect another 3 Brits in Jabriya. It was heart wrenching stuff. We encountered the first Iraqi road check on the 4th Ring just as we left Jabriya. And immediately there was a problem, the Iraqi soldiers at the check point had no idea what was going on and had come across a Kuwaiti with 4 British women in the car. But quick as a flash my husband starts shmoozing them with news that the wonderful, great, benevolent leader Saddam Hussein has allowed these ladies to leave and that my husband was just doing his duty to take them to the pick-up place in Salmiya. Amazingly it worked. But Kuwaitis had been hung or shot for a lot less. We were very lucky.
The pick-up area was full of women, children and quite a few babies. We waited for the buses to arrive. Finally we set off and I left my beloved husband in Kuwait. He would not leave. He said if all the Kuwaitis left who would come and save it.
We travelled for 17 hours by bus until we finally got to Baghdad. It was a gruelling trip. We were still not sure what was going to happen to us. Eventually after two days we were flown to Amman on Iraqi Airways and then saw a big shiny British Airways jumbo waiting for us. Not until we had left Amman airspace did we exhale. But it was not over.
Tears stream down my face whenever I remember those times but I want my daughter to know what a great, brave daddy she has.
Between the Officers Club on the Gulf Road in Bneid Al Gar to Kuwait Towers. Best place to park would be next to Safir International where there's a vacant plot. Remember the Gulf Road will be closed 12.30PM - 6PM, so you'll have to come from Istiqual Street and turn off into Bneid Al Gar at The Kuwait Continental Hotel.
Pause Interactive Media in partnership with H&J Media Company, proudly presents the first 3D video mapping for building projection in Kuwait, to be held during the Liberation & Independence Day Anniversaries.
This event is sponsored by Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
The idea of the event is to convert the façade of the Regency Hotel into a large 3D screen (audio-visual) by using video mapping projection technology, where we will talk about the history of Kuwait & will conclude the event with fireworks & the national anthem.
When: February 25th & 26th Where: Regency Palace Hotel
There will be two shows daily from: 07:00 to 08:00 PM 09:00 to 10:00 PM
Experts blame host of factors for rising divorce in Qatar
DOHA: One of the major reasons for early divorce in the country is lack of understanding between the newly-wed couples and husbands’ impotency, a local Arabic daily reported yesterday citing studies and experts.
The rate of early divorce here is high due to a mix of social factors that range from things like negative impacts of piling up bank loans, ego clashes between the newly-wed, lack of maturity in general and of that of wives in particular. About 36 percent of early divorce cases take place due to wives disobeying their husbands, while in 20 percent cases wives are accused of misbehaving. Next come the cases (17 percent) where wives are accused of neglecting house chores, whereas in nine percent of cases husbands get jealous due to various reasons and divorce their wives. Jealousies might arise when a wife ventures out of home on her own volition or someone happens to ogle at her. The rest of the cases refer to financial issues, poor relations of wives with husbands’, lack of communication between the newly-wed and disputes over children’s upbringing, Al Raya said citing studies. One out of three wives is subjected to physical and mental violence due to impotence of the husband and financial problems. Frequent traveling abroad of husbands is blamed by some women and becomes a cause of early divorce in some cases. Divorce cases before tying the knot are rising in the country due to social traditions that prevent the bride and the groom from intermingling or sitting together and discussing personal issues. Family intervention in selecting brides for their sons is also a key factor that causes early divorce due to lack of intellectual compatibility. The number of divorce cases is rising in courts and are settled according to Qatar’s family law, says lawyer Abdul Rahman Al Jufeiry. Sheikh Ahmed Abu Eleinin said the ‘engaged parties’ have the right to meet as per Shariah (Islamic law) guidelines in the presence of one of the fiancée’s relatives. But often their failure to meet according to Sharia guidelines is the main cause of early divorce although women are educated and go out to work, he said. Early marriage is still practiced in the community leading to negative impacts due to lack of intellectual, physical and mental maturity. Overseas travels encourage an ‘engaged’ youth to intermingle with people from other cultures and he sometimes breaks up his engagement when he returns home ,said Abdul Karim Ahmed Al Amir, a social researcher. http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai pardons a would-be child suicide bomber on August 30, 2011.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Four suspected insurgents were trying to smuggle 41 children abroad, officials say
Police suspect the 41 children were going for suicide-bomber training
They have been returned to their families, the Interior Ministry says
It's not the first time police have caught children trying to be suicide bombers
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghan police have intercepted 41 children whom insurgents were planning to use as suicide bombers, an Interior Ministry spokesman said Tuesday. Four suspected insurgents were about to smuggle the children across the mountains into Pakistan from eastern Kunar province on Friday, said Sediq Seddiqi, the spokesman. "We strongly believe that the children were being taken to Pakistan to be trained, brainwashed and sent back as Afghan enemies," Seddiqi said. The children are aged between 6 and 11, he said. Police handed the children back to their families after they were rescued in the Watapur district of Kunar province, he said. "The insurgents cheat poor and ordinary Afghans and take away their children," Seddiqi said. Afghan and foreign forces have arrested many would-be suicide bomber children in the past. Earlier this month Afghan forces rearrested two children in Kandahar province on suspicion of planning to be suicide bombers. The two were from a group of would-be suicide bombers who were pardoned by President Hamid Karzai last summer, according to a press statement from the Kandahar governor's office. They had gone to Quetta, Pakistan, to get more training before being sent back to Afghanistan for suicide attacks, the statement said.
LWDLIK - What kind of world do we live in? What sort of twisted, evil mind would do such a thing to children?
Citizens and residents of Kuwait The Gulf Road, from the intersection with second ring until the intersection with the Gulf Road at the British Embassy will be closed on Saturday, 25/02/2012 from 12.30PM until 6: 00PM.
With thanks to the www.IndiansinKuwait.com for advertising the campaign and a big, big thank you to the kind hearted doctors who have given up holiday time to attend to those in need. God bless you.
Found this extraordinary pic on a commenter's flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/lloyd_911/ and he states that this was taken in Kuwait. Probably a perfectly good explanation for the cheetah being in the car like; need to match him up to new wallpaper or a trip to the vets. LOL.
Thanks L. Amazing!
Update - It was also witnessed by another person in Kuwait. Seems car was sat at traffic lights and car was either a mustang or camaro. Thanks Nm and L for the info :OD
This explains why I had a few enquiries about the endangered white tigers for sale on bayt.com. Perfect car alarm!
Difficulties with our telephone lines 21 February 2012
Please be informed that we are currently experiencing difficulties with our telephone lines. Should you have difficulty getting through the main number (+965) 2259 4320 during normal office hours (Sunday through Thursday 7:30-2:30), our new temporary switchboard number is 99693651; should you come into contact with British nationals in or transiting Kuwait requiring emergency consular assistance outside of our normal office hours, please have them contact us at the following emergency consular inquiry number: 99693693.
~ No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. ~
I have a lot of favs but I really like taking lunch for the firemen, the princess project and cleaning the whole house for his wife :O) Reading the blog put a big smile on my face.
Now some of these recipes on the above blog won't be for everyone but some of you out there might find flaming baked Alaska cupcakes, chocolate amaretto crepe cake and red wine lollipops sheer brilliance!
For the baking tea totallers amongst you check this baby out;
The Brits really have some of the finest, most awesome singers..Congratulations Adele. This song reminds me of some 'where' I know and love.
"Rolling In The Deep"
There's a fire starting in my heart Reaching a fever pitch, it's bringing me out the dark Finally I can see you crystal clear Go 'head and sell me out and I'll lay your stuff bare See how I leave with every piece of you Don't underestimate the things that I will do
There's a fire starting in my heart Reaching a fever pitch And it's bringing me out the dark
The scars of your love remind me of us They keep me thinking that we almost had it all The scars of your love, they leave me breathless I can't help feeling We could have it all (You're gonna wish you never had met me) Rolling in the deep (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep) You had my heart inside your hand (You're gonna wish you never had met me) And you played it, to the beat (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
Baby, I have no story to be told But I've heard one on you And I'm gonna make your head burn Think of me in the depths of your despair Make a home down there As mine sure won't be shared
(You're gonna wish you never had met me) The scars of your love remind me of us (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep) They keep me thinking that we almost had it all (You're gonna wish you never had met me) The scars of your love, they leave me breathless (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep) I can't help feeling We could have had it all (You're gonna wish you never had met me) Rolling in the deep (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep) You had my heart inside your hand (You're gonna wish you never had met me) And you played it, to the beat (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep) Could have had it all Rolling in the deep You had my heart inside your hand But you played it, with a beating
Throw your soul through every open door Count your blessings to find what you look for Turn my sorrow into treasured gold You'll pay me back in kind and reap just what you've sown
(You're gonna wish you never had met me) We could have had it all (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep) We could have had it all (You're gonna wish you never had met me) It all, it all, it all (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
We could have had it all (You're gonna wish you never had met me) Rolling in the deep (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep) You had my heart inside your hand (You're gonna wish you never had met me) And you played it to the beat (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
We could have had it all (You're gonna wish you never had met me) Rolling in the deep (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep) You had my heart inside of your hand (You're gonna wish you never had met me)
But you played it You played it You played it You played it to the beat.
