Hearing Voices

You remember the Al Ain thespians I told you about a while back? Well readers from Al Ain and further afield, nows your chance to experience some of their acting first hand.

I got this press release through on the Taximail:


Women raise their voice for women in Voices

Set to stage their first production for 2007, in the name of charity Al Ain Theatre Society (AATS) presents Voices, a series of short plays written and performed by women.
Director, Ann Sandin said all proceeds from the production will go directly to Women for Women International, an organization helping women in war torn countries rebuild their lives.


“Voices is a neat suite of ten diverse yet thematically-linked works, all giving voice to different phases in women’s lives,” Ms Sandin said.


If it sounds like a night of heavy theatre and yawns, it’s not! Voices has plenty of humor and absurdity on stage as characters work through situations the audience is sure to find familiar is come way, she said.

Ms Sandin said: “Most of the scripts are by Western playwrights, including the award winning Wendy Wasserstein, but we have tried to stretch ourselves a bit and have incorporated some contemporary Arab drama as well.

A recently translated selection by Palestinian playwright Samia Qazmouz Bakri, makes an intriguing addition to the evening.”


Dale Taylor, AATS Secretary said she hopes for a large turnout to support the production and the Women for Women International charity as AATS hopes to designate a sizable donation for women in Iraq and Lebanon.


Women for Women International: http://www.womenforwomen.org


Voices will be performed at the Multaqa, UAE University Social Club, Al-Ain

7.30pm, on 23rd and 24th February 2007.

Tickets 35AED available from House of Arts or on the door.

END

The Jay-Sun has set

Anyone who is familiar with Al Ain's wild n crazy nightlife will know Jaysun B of the Horse and Jockey pub. He's been running the show on and off for the last five years, having left for the bright lights of Dubai once or twice, he's returned to the more lively Al Ain scene...

Sadly, for Al Ain, he's off for good. Yes, he's left the country and he's not planning on coming back. Who will replace him, we do not know. Will the Horse and Jockey become just another pick up joint? Will there be no more Quiz Nite, no more Karaoke, no more Scalelectrix Nites? As the exodus continues who's coming in to fill the vacuum?

Tolerance

Excuse the lack of blogging recently, it's been a tough couple of weeks since my return to Al Ain. When things are bad I blog about soya protein..

Everyone seems damn miserable here in AA at the moment. Call it the post festive blues, call it what you want but I don't know a single happy soul in this city right now. Maybe I mixing with the wrong crowd or maybe everyone has a good reason to be so glum.

I have come to the conclusion that happiness here is directly connected with tolerance. Tolerance is usually seen as a positive thing but taken too far, it can lead to masochism. People are usually so proud of how much they can tolerate that they stop being able to see when people are taking the p***. My happiness began to decrease with my tolerance. For example: when seeing the condition of the labourers here, when a colleague and friend was sacked for no reason without appeal, when people die in car accidents yet THOSE WHO SURVIVE* continue to drive recklessly/wrecklessly and without seatbelts, when animals are abused for fun; just a few examples. When I could no longer turn a blind eye to these things, no longer be tolerant, I became unhappy.

Is it good to turn a blind eye for the sake of personal happiness?


* for the benefit of Anonymous at 9.22 pm so there is no misunderstanding.

Veat

I'm a big fan of Quorn, a soya product that you can use in cooking instead of meat. In the UK its widely available but here in Al Ain you'll be hard pushed to find it. Then the other day I was browsing the freezers in 'Al Ain City Centre' and I came across 'Veat'.

It's like Quorn but more exotic. Tonight we're having 'Pandan Chicken' as seen in the photo.

You can also get chunks of it to skewer and put on the BBQ.

AND it's low in fat too!

Happy New Year and 2B2B

Sorry for the lack of posts, I'm afraid I've been 2B2B and having been out of Al Ain for a while it's a little difficult to write about the place.

Gossip from readers has been thin on the ground too and I've been relying on your e mails to keep me in the loop. However, I did get one from a Canadian guy wanting to know how to hook into the Swingers Scene. Sorry, but The Taxi does not approve of 'The Lifestyle', I'm a Taxiwallah of high morals.

Anyway, Happy New Year. I've finally taken the Christmas header off the top of the blog. It's well past 12th night which means I'll probably be cursed with bad luck for the rest of the year now.

If you go look in my January 2006 archives, you will see that I was all keen to lose weight and save money. Well, it's that time again and a year later I'm just as fat and just as skint. So I'm having another try.