I’m not sure there’s much to tell of my cooking expertise during my life between my two tours of duty in Cyprus. There was less than 5 years between tours.
For one year I was posted to Singapore. Which was a fantastic experience. Learning how people on the other side of the World lived.
In 1972 Singapore was struggling to leap from the old fashioned Chinese culture with all it’s old world customs and charm into the 20th century.
Not to mention the large Indian influence with it's Hindu traditions. A mix of Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. With all the relevant religious festivals and holidays.
Not to mention the large Indian influence with it's Hindu traditions. A mix of Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. With all the relevant religious festivals and holidays.
Even though I had spent a year in the Arab world in Bahrain. I did not learn much of the Arab Muslim culture. Obviously we could not make any contact with an Arab females. Our only real contact with the Bahraini men was through playing football. Even in those days they were fanatical about football.
We were closeted by the British service way of life. It was almost like being back in the UK. Except for the extreme summer heat and hot dust. Worst of all the humidity. There's no escape from high humidity. You can stand there naked and it doesn't feel any better.
Bahrain was then, a non-alcohol country. That was to change when the Saudi’s built a causeway and made it their Non-Muslim playground. For their men that is.
We were closeted by the British service way of life. It was almost like being back in the UK. Except for the extreme summer heat and hot dust. Worst of all the humidity. There's no escape from high humidity. You can stand there naked and it doesn't feel any better.
Bahrain was then, a non-alcohol country. That was to change when the Saudi’s built a causeway and made it their Non-Muslim playground. For their men that is.
In Bahrain we had ample access to alcohol through our military messes and clubs. Which weren’t only on the bases. There were a few British military clubs in Manama town. With there being the British Navy, Army and Royal Air Force we had quite a diverse entertainment spectrum.
There were a few restaurants that served good food. Not all Arabic Indian. When we could save enough money (British military pay was terrible i those days) we could go to a hotel restaurant. “The Speedbird”. Ran by BOAC, remember them the forerunner with BEA that is now British Airways.
One restaurant we could afford was the “Barge” at the side of the causeway between the smaller island of Muharraq, where the RAF base and airfield/airport was and Bahrain, the main island.
The Barge was an old Barge or Dhow resting in a dried out Wadi (river) bed that was propped by large planks of wood like railway sleepers. Occasionally the sleepers would shift, especially after a storm. So for a time, until the barge was put onto an even keel, the Barge would lie there at an angle. Of course, so would your table of food. Life is not as simple these days.
The Barge was an old Barge or Dhow resting in a dried out Wadi (river) bed that was propped by large planks of wood like railway sleepers. Occasionally the sleepers would shift, especially after a storm. So for a time, until the barge was put onto an even keel, the Barge would lie there at an angle. Of course, so would your table of food. Life is not as simple these days.
Another contact we could have had with civilians was the brothels. They were unbelievably medieval, dirty and dingy. They even had a small charcoal fire for the workers to dry themselves before the next customer. So I was told. I was far too young for that sort of thing!
You really could pick up some rare irregular diseases as well as being rolled and your wallet stolen.
I went to Bahrain in the June of 1966 to stay for a year. Two momentous events occurred during that time. England were victorious in winning the football World Cup and a small matter of the first Arab Israeli war. Which is still going on.
I wish the England football team were so successful.
I went to Bahrain in the June of 1966 to stay for a year. Two momentous events occurred during that time. England were victorious in winning the football World Cup and a small matter of the first Arab Israeli war. Which is still going on.
I wish the England football team were so successful.
I digressed. As I said Singapore was a fantastic experience. I’ll go into that in more detail later.
Time to get onto the real objective of the Blog. Cooking. Christmas is coming.
