National days in the Gulf

Children celebrate the National day in Bahrain

As I drove around Bahrain from 11- 14 December distributing Christmas gifts, visiting Christmas events and getting my COV Booster and PCR I smiled at all the red and white plants at the roadside, illuminated trees , Bahrain flags etc.

I cannot recall when I lived in the UK such National pride on St Andrew's day!

Many people have been asking me " What will you miss about Bahrain?" as I prepare to leave for the Philippines . This week I was reminded of something I missed from my earlier blogs- NATIONAL PRIDE. But actually it's more than that , it's GULF UNITY. As Britain parts from Europe with BREXIT, the ties that bind the Gulf Countries grow ever stronger.

The GCC ( Gulf Co-operation Council) consists of Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi and Oman

For those that do not know Bahrain its a tiny Island next to ( and joined by a causeway) big brother Saudi Arabia. Saudi ( KSA) extract Oil from their huge underground reserves ( Saudi Aramco) and send their excess oil through the AB pipeline that connects Arabia and Bahrain. Here in Bahrain we ( Bahrain Petroleum ( BAPCO) refine and sell it. Every weekend thousands of Saudis cross the causeway to have fun in Bahrain ( 85% of Bahrain's Tourism revenue comes from Saudi). In Phillipino terms Bahrain is the Bunso ( little brother ) of Saudi!

Each country joins in celebrating each other's National days and so in Bahrain we had Saudi Flags everywhere for their National Day back in September ( 23) . On December 2 nd we had UAE flags everywhere as the Emirates celebrated 50 years since it was founded . The flags are going up all over Bahrain now for our National days on 16 and 17 December and I asked Corleen to take some pictures around Bahrain which I am sharing with you here.

I am here in Dubai on Bahrain's National days this year but I am celebrating here and Burj Khalifa was illuminated in Bahrain's colours , as it is every year ( and as it is for each GCC National Day) .

I know that back in Bahrain people had their cars decorated with flags and everyone will wore red and white. There were parade of cars down the highways with kids in National Costume waving from the sun roofs . At night time the hundreds of hours by electricians from all the Government departments and companies will pay off when all the trees light up. In many places they made archways of red and white to walk and drive through. It is always a fantastic sight. I have had several videos from Bahrain of the lights and the fireworks. Special thanks to Rachelle and Gilbert Salacup for their videos, and to their boys Sam and Shaun for the Disney sound track! Also our old friend and guest blogger, Carl Max sent a video clip from the fireworks at Water Garden City. There were also fireworks at the Formula one circuit. Corleen went to see the car parades yesterday and Chester has combined all this into one Vlog. Well done team!

You can see the Vlog by clicking the link below:

TBK Vlog: National Day in Bahrain 2021

I hope you enjoy Corleen's excellent photos and our special thanks to all the parents of the children who let us take photos of their beautiful kids.

I hope you enjoyed Corleen's photos as much as I did - thanks Corleen, great job. This lot just arrived! From 16th December ! The Blog team has worked through the night in Bahrain and Dubai to bring you these exclusive pictures! At least with me in Dubai Corleen gets a well deserved day off today!