Saturday, January 26, 2013

Kuwait Airways New CEO Could Learn Some Lessons From Japan Airlines CEO






Well Done!

How about it KAC? - It's no secret that Kuwait Airways was sucked dry by many fat lazy employess that couldn't have given a damn for the company or the country. Ask anyone in KAC about the endless number who clocked in at 7 went home and clocked out at 2 or better still how about naming and shaming those who didn't even bother doing that but paid the Bangladeshi cleaners to clock in for them. You know who you are! Now that the forced paid (3 years salary, yes 3) retirement of many high paid Kuwaitis has taken place will it look any better on paper? Will anyone want to buy it? Can it make any money? I believe with the right people running it and employing the right people to work there - it's a possibility.

Friday, January 25, 2013

What's On at Kuwait Little Theatre








































AUDITION ANNOUNCEMENT:
'Steel Magnolias' will have one final audition on Saturday, January 26th, from 5-8pm at the theatre.  You won't want to miss being part of this wonderful show!  More details can be found here:
http://www.theklt.com/2013/01/audition-notice-steel-magnolias-adds-another-date/

UPCOMING SHOWS:
Next month new KLT members Alison Kent and Peter Clark bring you the hilarious comedy 'Daisy Pulls It Off', set in a 1920's all-girls school in England.  Featuring the incomparable Lisa Bidnall-Bowdery and Sharon Williams as main character Daisy and her sidekick Trixie, we see Daisy overcome prejudice and snobbery to save the day with an exciting treasure hunt and shocking family revelations.  Book tickets quickly, as seats are sure to fill up fast!  Curtain goes up February 13-15th, and the box office is open NOW!

In March, veteran KLT members Mike Ricketts and Helen Newton bring you 'An Evening With Andrew Lloyd Webber', a musical review of his works.  Featuring songs from 'Les Miserables', 'Cats', and many, many more, it's sure to be an evening you won't want to miss!  Curtain goes up March 6-8th.

April brings us another show from director Annike Jones, 'Steel Magnolias'.  A heart-warming comedy set in a Louisiana beauty parlor that follows the highs and lows of a close-knit group of women.  You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll crave jambalaya!  Curtain goes up April 3-5th.

In May, Kirsty McDonagh brings the hit show 'Grease' to the KLT stage.  Auditions will be announced soon, so stay tuned!

IMPORTANT NEWS:
We have a temporary change to our booking system.  Instead of booking via our website, please email your booking request to KLT.boxoffice@gmail.com.  Please include your full name, telephone number, email address, number of tickets required and which performance you would like tickets for.  Tickets are 5KD and can be paid for at the door.

Book now for 'Daisy Pulls It Off'!  Show dates are Wednesday-Friday, February 13-15th. 

GET INVOLVED:
We are always looking for new members at the Kuwait Little Theatre.  Whatever your talents, whatever your experience (or lack thereof) in the arts, we are sure to have a place for you if you'd like to help out!  Email secretary@theklt.com for more information.

KEEP IN TOUCH!
As always, you can follow Kuwait Little Theatre on Twitter (@theKLTweet), on Facebook (
www.facebook.com/kuwaitlittletheatre), and on our website (www.theklt.com). 

 

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Kuwait Bike Show 2013

Free Household Appliances with Every Bride

 





 
That's a great idea because if he's got no money for a maid he's going to be needing those. Joking people, only joking ;O)

 
 

Celebrity Fare: Famous Foods Named After Famous People

Victoria sponge cake from TrulyScrumptiousKuwait.com


















The origins of some of our most popular foods are entwined with celebrities of the past.
When we sit down for a tea and biscuit, or a slice of cake, we might be consuming a little bit of celebrity history. Because some of our most common and popular foods are indelibly entwined with famous people of the past.
Early Grey tea and Garibaldi biscuits, and the classic Victoria sponge cake, are among our most favoured foods and drinks named after historical figures.
Rich, famous and talented historical celebrities have also lent their names to seafood dishes, puddings and champagne.
Take a biscuit, made of currants sandwiched between wheat wafers - a British stalwart. The humble Garibaldi is thought to be named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian general who fought for 30 years to free and unite Italy with his red-shirted troops. The biscuits are named after rations his men ate during his campaigns.

More than 150 years after Italy's unification, his great-granddaughter has lobbied for his tomb to be opened, to find out whether he was buried there instead of cremated as he had asked.
Such leaders have often been immortalised in our kitchen cupboards, and on our plates.
Earl Grey tea takes its name from Charles Grey, the second Early Grey, and British prime minister from 1830 until 1834. It has a distinctive bergamot (citrus) flavour to it, which at the time of discovery, was seen as new and exciting. Twinings tea claims to be the home of Earl Grey tea and says: "The story goes that Earl Grey, the Georgian prime minister, was given cases of this tea by a Chinese Mandarin. "He liked it so much he brought it home and asked Twinings to recreate it for him."
Then there's Beef Wellington.
Some say it was named after the first Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, during the Napoleonic wars. Others say it was the English name given to the French dish, beef-en-croute (beef in pastry) at the time. There are even reports it may have been named after Wellington's boots.


Strawberry pavlova
Pavlova is named after a Russian ballerina, despite arguments over who invented it.


Sometimes a story can be repeated so many times it garners assumed truth.
Recently Zachary Nowak, the assistant director of Food Studies at the Umbra Institute in Perugia, Italy, questioned the provenance of margherita pizza.
It is widely thought that margherita pizza was named after Italy's Queen Margherita, who chose the tomato, basil and mozzarella pizza over other flavours on a trip to Naples in 1889.
Mr Nowak has studied a thank you note in a pizzeria supposedly from the palace and says that is not the case. While the naming of a great pizza is under dispute, the naming of a great Champagne is not.
Philippe Clicquot, from a family of merchants and bankers, founded the Champagne house of Clicquot in 1772, and his son Francois later joined the firm. However, after Francois's death, his wife Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin took over running the house in 1805.
Veuve, means widow in French, and at the time when businesses were male-dominated, the widow Clicquot ran the company to great international acclaim, leading to Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin becoming the name of a Champagne house and brand.
Stephane Gerschel, from Veuve Clicquot, says: "The Veuve Clicquot was a woman who two centuries ago revolutionised Champagne, with her extraordinary stamina, her thirst for innovation and her quest for ultimate quality."


Toast the classics:


Beef Wellington
Bake an homage to Anna Pavlova
Create a Carpaccio masterpiece
Puzzle over the origin of Beef Wellington


Now her name has also been given to the World's Best Female Chef award, which honours inspiration, creativity and dedication, won most recently by Elena Arzak.
One British woman may have had more foods named after her than any other.
Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years, and loved to eat. In her time, a range of foods were named after her, including a plum and the eponymous sponge, much loved by home bakers.
Carpaccio was dedicated to the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio in around 1950, the redness of the raw meat close in hue to a red he painted with.
And, of course, the baked white Antipodean dessert, the Pavlova, is named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova.
She visited both Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s, with both nations laying claim to the creation. However in 2010, the Oxford English Dictionary was revised to say the first recorded pavlova recipe appeared in New Zealand in 1927.
Over the pond in the US, a fishy dish also got its moniker from high society.
Oysters Rockefeller were created in New Orleans in Antoine's restaurant in 1899, and named after the richest American at the time, John D Rockefeller, as the sauce was so rich.
They are oysters topped with sauce and green herbs and bread crumbs and baked, but Antoine's exact recipe remains a closely-guarded secret.

With thanks to BBC Food for having great recipes and interesting articles.



Monday, January 14, 2013

Another Stabbing at Avenues - Security Beefed Up















KUWAIT TIMES: A young man was stabbed when a scuffle broke out among a number of youth on Friday evening at the Avenues Commercial Complex.  The fight which came less than a month after the much talked about murder of a 26-year-old Lebanese doctor, again underlined the poor state of law and order. Former MP and lawyer Osama Al-Shaheen said crimes like drugs usage, fighting involving knives and a deteriorating value system was a real challenge which must not be ignored. He said security personnel should concentrate on such crimes instead of tracking youth activists.

Seems Avenues have beefed up security according to BananaQ8's blog. Pic by Al Mubarikia.


















Sunday, January 13, 2013

Now That's Hard Labour...WTG Sheriff Joe


For those not familiar with Joe Arpio, he is the County Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona. He keeps getting re-elected over and over again.

These are some of the reasons why:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio created the "tent city jail" to save Arizona from spending tens of millions of dollars on another expensive prison complex.Inmates sleep in tents!

He has jail meals down to 20 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.

He banned smoking and pornographic magazines in the jails, and took away their weightlifting equipment and cut off all but "G" movies. He says: "They're in jail to pay a debt to society not to build muscles so they can assault innocent people when they leave."


He started chain gangs to use the inmates to do free work on county and city projects and save taxpayer's money. Men work in Pink "Clean and Sober" Shirts. Their underwear is also Pink!


Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for discrimination.

He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails. So he hooked up the cable TV again but only allows the Disney channel and the weather channel.

When asked why the weather channel, he replied: "So these morons will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs."

He cut off coffee because it has zero nutritional value and is therefore a waste of taxpayer money. When the inmates complained, he told them, "This isn't the Ritz/Carlton. If you don't like it, don't come back." 

He also bought the Newt Gingrich lecture series on US history that he pipes into the jails. When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series that actually tells the truth for a change would be welcome and that it might even explain why 95% of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.

With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degrees just set a new record for June 2nd 2009), the Associated Press reported: About 2,000 inmates living in a barbed wire surrounded tent encampment at the Maricopa County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their government-issued pink boxer shorts.


On the Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing pink boxer shorts were overheard chatting in the tents, where temperatures reached 128 degrees."This is hell. It feels like we live in a furnace," said Ernesto Gonzales, an inmate for 2 years with 10 more to go. "It's inhumane."

Joe Arpaio, who makes his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. "Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for parole, only to go out and commit more crimes so they can come back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things many taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves."

The same day he told all the inmates who were complaining of the heat in the tents: "It's between 120 to 130 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents there too, and they have to walk all day in that sun, wearing full battle gear and getting shot at, and THEY have not committed any crimes, so shut your damned mouths!"

Sheriff Joe was just re-elected for the fourteenth time as Sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona.



We Will Rock You - Full Scale Rock Musical at BSK, Salwa



































Tickets are KD 5

BAIA Box Office
Salwa Block 1, Street 1, Villa 32
PO Box 26922, Safat 13130 Kuwait
Telephone: 2562 3604 Extension 151
Mobile: 5096 2809 
Working Hours
Sunday 12.00 - 15.00 
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 09.00 - 13.00




Friday, January 11, 2013

Kuwait Yacht Show


Sunday 27th January 2013:
6pm –Show Preview and invitation-only dinner
The preview is scheduled from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, followed by a Gala Dinner.

Monday 28th January 2013:
4pm -Official opening, by invitation only
Inauguration Ceremony; the Kuwait Yacht Show will be launched by the cutting of the ribbon. An event that will be attended by invited guests and the media.

Tuesday 29th to Thursday 31th January 2013:
4pm to 9.30pm - Open to the public
The Kuwait Yacht Show offers visitors 3 days of ambiance. There is something for everyone; luxury yachts, boats, maritime equipment and much more for every lifestyle and budget, all in a fun-filled environment accompanied by live DJ music. For 3 days a VIP Lounge will be offered for our VIP visitors to meet and discuss business issues, or simply to enjoy complimentary drinks and canapés.
Closing Ceremony; A live show will mark the closing of the Kuwait Yacht Show 2013.

Thursday 31st January 2013:
10am to 3pm - Sea trials
Interested parties will be invited to experience sea-trials of the yachts

IMPOVengers Evening Shows Sold Out! But No Worries They Have Put on an Extra Show Friday 5.30PM






















For all those who didn't get seats in time for 'Battle of the IMPROVengers' next week here is a lifeline. An extra Pre-Dinner show has been added on Friday 18th January at 5.30pm. More details [link].

Boarding, Summer Schools & Language Programmes in UK














Summer Schools

  
A Summer School provides an unforgettable experience with English tuition, multi activities and a lively social programme; English becomes a passport to new friendships and understanding.
  
Summer schools are located in top independent schools with outstanding facilities; supervision by well qualified staff ensures the safety and security of all students.
  

UK Summer Schools

  
Students follow an intensive English language programme to develop the skills they need to communicate effectively and for those considering studying in the UK there is the option of studying a choice of academic courses to develop technical knowledge and vocabulary.
  
The vacation courses allow students to soak up the English way of life and have fun. All courses have small classes, a daily programme of sports and social activities, a full recreational programme that includes a wide variety of activities and sports on campus, as well as weekly excursions to different cities and attractions.

For more info on UK boarding schools, summer schools and language programmes [link].

LWDLIK - Sue and Sarah will be in Kuwait on 17th January at the Holiday Inn, Salmiya from 1PM-7PM they shall be offering free impartial consultations on the most appropriate summer schools, boarding and language schools available for your child. I have had the pleasure of meeting both of these ladies and know they are passionate about finding the perfect place for your child. Next year, hopefully, my poppet will be off to summer school in UK after speaking with these ladies first.


Spanish Folk-Rock Music at Kuwait National Museum






THE EMBASSY OF SPAIN IN KUWAIT

IN COLLABORATION WITH

THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CULTURE, ARTS &
LETTERS (19TH AL QURAIN FESTIVAL, 2013)


INVITES YOU TO A CONCERT OF THE SPANISH
FOLK-ROCK GROUP

TEJEDOR

José Manuel TEJEDOR (pipe and flute); Javier TEJEDOR (accordion); Silvia
QUESADA (voice and tambourine); Juan José DIAZ (percussion) and Rubén
ALVAREZ (guitars)

Free entrance

KUWAIT NATIONAL MUSEUM AUDITORIUM
(Gulf Road, Qiblah, Kuwait City)
FRIDAY, 25 JANUARY, 7:30 PM.






The so called “celtic music”, many times referred to folk music from Ireland,

Scotland and Bretagne, is also familiar  to the regions of Asturias and Galicia
in northern Spain. Some of the most popular celtic music festivals take place in
Ortigueira (Galicia) and Aviles (Asturias). These regions are the cradle of well
known musicians – including some of the best pipe players in the world  and
groups from the celtic music panorama.







Thursday, January 10, 2013

Where am I from? By Ishwaita Merwah


My friend’s father turns 70 this year. He has lived in Kuwait for over 50 of those 70 years. Lately all he says is that he wants to die peacefully in ‘his country’- Kuwait.  Sadly we know that, that will not be a possibility, because to live or die in Kuwait is not so easy- you need the all important Iqama (residence permit) which we all expatriates require, and not many people can legally get it after a certain age. He is deeply saddened and does not want to leave Kuwait to die in a foreign land. Recently he was even told by someone to go back to where he was from, to which he calmly replied that he was from Kuwait.

This got me thinking that I could be in a very similar situation.

People often ask me - where are you from? Kuwait comes my prompt reply. Confused, they ask again- but where are you really from, where is your family from?

So here is the story of my roots and my family. Maybe you can help me answer where I am really from.

My Grandfather came to Kuwait in March 1949, when Kuwait was still under the British rule, Rupee was the currency used, water was distributed every morning on donkeys and there was no electricity. At that time he started and successfully built one of the first few canned food business and introduced many food brands into Kuwait, and in doing so, I believe he made his small contribution in the building & developing of Kuwait. My grandmother followed him to Kuwait in 1954 to help him in his business. My father along with his siblings spent his summer holidays in Kuwait in the 50’s until he permanently moved to Kuwait in 1961 to join the business.  Later that year when Kuwait gained its independence my grandfather, grandmother & father were all there parading and happy in the streets along with everyone else.

So where am I really from? 

My mother came to Kuwait right after getting married to my father in 1970 at the age of 21. Both my brothers and I were all born in Kuwait. All the stories we heard from our grandparents and parents were in and about their life in Kuwait. My brothers and I grew up here, we went to school here, we dressed up in the Kuwaiti flag colors on National day & celebrated with everyone else. I always participated in the February 25th program which used to be telecast on TV. We picnicked & made sand castles on the beach near Kuwait towers, basically we did all the normal and same things like all the other ‘Kuwaiti’ children did. I wept for our beloved Kuwait as it burnt in the Iraqi invasion in 1990. I prayed and carried the yellow ribbon for our POW’s. All my childhood memories and all my sorrows and joys are connected to this land.

So where am I really from? 

In late 1990’s, my nieces and nephews became the 2nd generation of our family to be born in Kuwait. I went to study in California and was back after completion of my studies because I wanted to come “Home” and did not want to live in a foreign land. I even got married here because I did not want to get married anywhere else other than in my home country Lately a lot of acquaintances & friends have been immigrating to other countries to secure their future since they feel they don’t have one in Kuwait as there are no old age facilities here for them. If  I am left with no other option I too may have to do that one day but I left the west and came back years ago, (which many people told me was the biggest mistake I made) but this is my home; this is where I was born, where I live, where my roots are. I live here not because I am more successful here than I would be elsewhere; the fact is that I live here in spite of the fact that I could have more opportunities elsewhere.

So where am I really from?

This is my only home-  so where are people like me ’really’ from and where do people like me go? Who one day like my friend’s dad want to retire & even die in the same country that they lived in all their life?  A lot of my friends make fun of my passion & patriotism towards a country that’s “not mine” but I know a lot of us feel exactly like I do. Most of us don’t even want anything from the government, like a pension, medical or a nationality. Though that would be nice. We would just be really grateful for self or state sponsored permanent residences so that we are ‘allowed’ to live and work peacefully in the only country that we call home.  It would also be gratifying to see some differentiation in terms of residency laws and benefits for people like me whose family has lived here for over 63 years and a person who has recently come here on a labor visa. Currently there is no differentiation. 

All said and done I don’t consider myself an ajnabi (expatriate), In my heart I am as Kuwaiti as anyone with a Kuwaiti passport. Foolish I know, but such are matters of the heart anyways. Four generations of my family have lived in Kuwait. I did not choose to be born here, but I consciously choose to live here because this is the only country and home I know.

So now maybe you can decide for me-Where do you think I am really from?

I think I am really from Kuwait.

Ishwaita  Merwah

P.S- Recently a lot of articles are being written by a few Kuwaiti writers who have not only recognized this situation but also given excellent solutions to this dilemma. I would like to thank you for making the effort and Inshallah one day we might actually have a real solution. Feel free to share this little note with other people who may feel the same way. Who knows someone somewhere could read it and start a change.

My family and Kuwait in the 50's and 60's through my father's eyes.


Monday, January 7, 2013

Opera: AMG Present Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell



































Dido and Aeneas tells the story of beautiful Dido, the Queen of Carthage, whose city is wealthy but defenseless, and the rugged Aeneas, the General of Troy, the impoverished city with a proud military tradition. Under immense pressure to fall in love and marry, they meet with all the eyes of two nations upon them. They face witches and sorcerers, storms on the seas, and storms in their hearts. Singing Purcell’s timeless music, they struggle with love, duty and destiny.
14, 15 & 16 February, 2013

Click pic above for more details.

A Multi-Media Tribute to Roald Dahl: Auditions 15th & 17th January


Saturday, January 5, 2013

Acting Workshop for Kids


Could you use this toilet?


























Public Semi-Transparent Toilet - would you use it? 
It is impossible to see into the toilet, which is free to use, but the person inside can see passers-by. An artist has created this usable public toilet in a glass cube to challenge the curiosity -and bravery- of people passing London's Tate Britain gallery. Visitors have to "defy their own embarrassment" to use the minimalist cubicle, made from one-way mirrored glass.

Thanks Khalid :O)

Friday, January 4, 2013

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Supercar-Driving Millionaires from the Gulf Irritating the Residents in London

Read more...[link]



If the video isn't working check the link above it's worth seeing. 

Okay girls out there - A guy who can holiday in London every summer but has no clue what Big Ben is..Ummmm! 

















Slightly different note and a great story which will perhaps be a lesson for the young silly girls out there. A friend of mine was out of the country on holiday when his son saw his sports car being driven into Souq Sharq. Curious he followed and found it was occupied by a young girl in the passenger seat and the family's mendoub in the driver seat. The mendoub, a big fat Yemeni was posing as owner, a Kuwaiti and an airline pilot  (even had a captain's cap on the dashboard of the car) he was using blue tooth to pick up girls and blinding them with the car and some BS. Needless to say the son gave the mendoub a good rollicking. So ladies things are not always as they seem.