Chester suggested I start the Blog with an eye catching picture that encapsulates what the blog is about. Ok Grandpa, how about this one?
This was me walking at Sitra causeway on 24.2.21! It came up on my Facebook memories on 24.2.22 ! Just as I was setting off for my daily walk at..... Sitra Causeway!
Neil at Sitra Causeway- 24.2.22!
It was then that I realised my life since I left Bapco has fallen into a "Groundhog day" routine. Yes, Mr Gregory, I actually watched a movie! Many years ago. In fact it is one of 5 that I own ( on video!) - but I am not sure which box it's in any more after someone reshuffled all my videos back in the UK!
"Groundhog Day is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, with a screenplay by him and Danny Rubin. It stars Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliott. Murray portrays Phil Connors, a cynical television weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive February 2nd repeatedly. "
"Groundhog Day was considered a box-office success on its release, earning over $105 million to become one of the highest-grossing films of 1993. It also received generally positive reviews. Reviewers were consistent in praise for the film's successful melding of highly sentimental and deeply cynical moments, and for the philosophical message beneath the comedy. It received multiple award nominations and won a BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay. For all its success, the film marked the end of Ramis's and Murray's long collaborative partnership, which produced films like Caddyshack (1980) and Ghostbusters (1984). The pair did not speak after filming until shortly before Ramis's death in 2014. The film was a showcase for Murray; previously seen only as a comic actor, his performance led to more serious lead roles in critically acclaimed films.
In the years since its release, the film has grown in esteem and is often considered to be among the greatest films of the 1990s and one of the greatest comedy movies ever. It also had a significant impact on popular culture; the term Groundhog Day became part of the English lexicon, meaning a monotonous, unpleasant, and repetitive situation."
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film) ( accessed 25.2.21)
So as you can see from the last line the movie really sums up how I feel now one year after I left Bapco:
- Living out of a suitcase in a rented apartment with a rented car whilst paying for all my belongings in storage in the Philippines
- Missing my friends 21 st Birthdays, weddings, and the birth of my Inaanak ( Cyrus already had his first monsary and is heading for his second)
- completing my SSRV application again as the first one was lost
- Chasing Bapco Security and MOI again for another Good Behavior Certificate as the first one is out of date
- Still trying to find out who the PRA wants to apostille my SSRV documents as the person they suggested last year no longer exists
- sending stuff to the Philippines for my new life
- Getting told off for spending too much, and moving money from UK to Bahrain so I have food
- trying to loose weight, get my blood sugar down , get fit, going walking daily, fasting intermittently
- Transitioning from the world of work to the world of Retirement in the Philippines, one day, inshallah
Another change is the Sea Passenger Transportation sign ( one of many around Bahrain now- catching up with RTA in Dubai slowly). The difference in Bahrain is that there are no water taxis ( there were but then they stopped with Cov 19 apart from the one from the Avenues to the Four Seasons hotel) .
Another thing that has not changed is the Bahrain Mangroves tour is still closed one year on. I patiently knocked at the ticket kiosk as instructed but got no reply.
The good news is that the Flamingoes and Herons still come here to feed at this time of year.
In researching this blog I found some amazing Flamingo facts:
"When flamingos migrate, they do so mainly at night. They prefer to fly with a cloudless sky and favorable tailwinds. They can travel approximately 600 km (373 miles) in one night at about 50 to 60 kph (31-37 mph). When traveling during the day, the flamingos fly at high altitudes, possibly to avoid predation by eagles."
Source: https://seaworld.org/animals/all- about/flamingos/habitat/#:~:text=%20Migration%20%201%20Populations%20that%20breed%20in,some%20may%20join%20a%20neighboring%20colony.%20More%20 ( accessed 25.2.22)
As well as the birds in the sea the walkway has a booming cat population and I enjoyed photographing the cats watch the fish and birds, trying to work out what the litter bins were for, being fed by the many picnicking families and being petted by cute Bahraini kids.
I wonder what this orange box on a pole is for?!
Cats have Groundhog days too!
Maybe one of the fish will just jump into my mouth?
Beware, some of the cats are now camouflaged to blend in with the rocks!
The boy was trying to get the cat to wear his sunglasses...then went in search of another more co-operative cat while his sister played with the first one
Go away, boy, I do not need sunglasses, I have the perfect spot in the shade!
Annoyingly two things still remain at the Causeway, to tempt the walkers who are trying to loose weight!
I resisted temptation at Crepelle , and its sister Derby Café ( same owners and they are not allowed to go out alone!) . There were lots of families having picnics under the trees, old men jogging and walking, and young boys with big brothers just out of school for the weekend ( it was around 2pm on a Thursday and Al Noor International school is just down the road with their distinctive smart blue ties and waistcoat uniforms) .
Of course the causeway still has its distance marker signs so the grandpas without steps apps on their smart phones can see how far they have walked. The whole walk from end to end is 3.8 km so if you do the walk twice its 8 km. I had arranged to meet a friend at 3 pm so I only did 2 km, to the half way point and back once. ( about 4,000 steps according to the Teenager app!).
The causeway was a road when I arrived in Bahrain on 2010 and then when they built the new 6 lane causeway they closed the old road and turned it into a walkway. My houseboy at that time, Jay, lived opposite the entrance to the walk at Nabi Saleh. On his day off I would collect him at 8 am, we would walk for an hour at the causeway, and then go for breakfast at Hajis before returning to Awali where he would clean my house. So now whenever I walk here I remember the happy times with Jay who died a few years ago.
Back then there was just a path, no grass or trees, no play areas , Derby Café or Crepelle and no toilets.
"What's that Mr G- Tell them the toilet story?"
Many years ago they built two sets of toilets, one at each end of the walk. It was a hot summers day and I had been drinking water as I walked , and so needed to go for a pee when I got to the far end. The new toilets had just opened and so I went in, still with my sunglasses on , and as it was dark, did not notice anything wrong as I stood at the urinal. They say when you loose your sight your other senses , like touch, increase in sensitivity, and so I soon felt a warmth on my trainers as my pee came out the bottom of the urinal ( which had no waste pipe) and soak my trainers. Later they covered the urinals with tape and plastic and yesterday I noticed, as last year, they have been removed as there is no waste disposal , or electricity at the site, some 8 years after it was built, As they say in Arabic, Shway shway. Maybe that's why the Calachuchi/ Frangipani have grown so well!
I did notice one new thing on my walk this year- 6 Bapco bus stops! However, like the ones on the Al Najma, Al Fatah, Coral Bay walk vlog ( see City Walk part one and City walk part two - do not forget to like and subscribe) there were no busses!
My Challenge Aref Cartoon from 2019 by Salman Hamad
This walkway holds many happy memories for me. When I was on Challenge Aref back in 2019 Shane, Raph and I met at 6 am at the Causeway and walked from one end to the other twice on two separate occasions, trying to loose weight ( another Groundhog day moment, me trying to loose weight!) . You can read all about Challenge Aref in our eBook by clicking one the link below:
Neil's battle with weight loss- Groundhog day?
Back then I went from 109 to 102 kg and then back up to 112 kg. In the intervening years ( 2019 to 2021) I continued to gain weight to 122 kg. I did manage to get down to 112 kg in August 2020 for my hip replacement, and now, thanks to motivation from my personal trainer Bazz in Dubai I am back at 112 kg.
Thanks to Bazz and MK it's all going in the right direction in 2021
I now have Challenge Gerda ( 5000 steps, 5 photos and 16 hrs. fasting a day) and Baz has set me a new target of 102 kg. the last time I weighed 102kg was 11.4.19!
It would be great to arrive in the Philippines , finally, weighing less than 100kg
Sunglasses by Gucci, Mask by Corleen Durero, Top by B4L, Bus stop by Bapco!
In the last week I have walked at Awali, Al Najma/ Al Fateh/ Coral bay, to Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Park in Hidd and at Sitra Causeway. In the coming week I will walk again at Awali , in Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Park in Hidd ( after 4 pm!) and on the beach at Askar. Next will be the long winter walk Neil Gilbert sent me from Awali to Riffa Fort and then across to Riffa Palms and back to Awali ( 3 hrs.) and of course we have the park in Riffa where I used to walk with Corleen, Arad bay, along the coast from Muhurraq coast guard station to Seef Mall Muhurraq and then the new park in Muhurraq, and the Pearling Trail ( yet again!) - and after that I am open to suggestions! If anyone wants to join me for a walk please do let me know as well.
To give it the proper name , Sitra Causeway is called Sitra Bridge walkway, and a year on still no one follows the "walkway instruction"!
Before I end I would like to welcome a new blog reader, and Vlog subscriber, my dear friend Abid from Sitra who I lost touch with some time ago. Funnily enough we used to walk together at Sitra causeway many years ago and put the world to rights as we did so. I hope you are able to come and join me for at least one more walk , Abid, before I head off to the Philippines.
I hope you enjoyed my long walk down memory lane at Sitra causeway and I will end with another photo from there back in 2021
The solar panels on the EWA water tower at the entrance to Nabi Saleh
Ingat Palagi and Kita kits Palawan!
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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