Now that's an attention-grabbing headline: Former British PM
attacks celebrity beauty/former pop-star. It is one of two incredible stories I
want to share. They both relate to the Middle East.
Three weeks ago I was in Abu Dhabi for the International
Water Summit (IWS). A few people from Isle also attended. Nada Abubakr, from
Isle Australia, will lead Isle's new Middle East business. She is from Abu Dhabi
and speaks Arabic which, quite apart from her many other skills, gives her an
important advantage.
Three years ago one of the first people I spoke to in the
Middle East about Isle was a terrific bloke from Sharjah called Dr AlaEldin
Idris. We shared common interests and had an equally warped view of the world.
He was keen to work with Isle, but Sharjah Energy and Water Authority (his
employers) were too small to be our 'anchor' client. Over the years we kept in
contact via email and meet up when our paths cross at conferences. I knew he was
going to be at IWS and we had agreed to catch up. I was looking forward to
it.
Imagine my frustration when I visited the Isle stand to find
that I had just missed him. I immediately scanned the exhibitors hall, jogging
down the nearby corridors to try and find him. Eventually I returned to the
Isle stand and Nada, who had a local phone that worked (mine didn't) suggested
she rang him. I gave her his card and she laughed, commenting that her cousins
husband was also called AlaEldin Idris. Funny how coincidences
happen.
She rang the number and spoke with AlaEldin and a few minutes
later he returned to the stand. That was the moment when we realised that he
didn't just share the same name as her cousins husband.....he actually
was her cousins husband! Sometimes the world is a very small
place.
That is story No 1. Story No 2 relates to the former British
Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Contrary to what you might have thought from the
title, it does not involve him attacking the lovely Myleene Klass. That was just
a ruse to get you to read this far (sorry).
Nada bumped into Tony when she recently attended a meeting at
the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency. He was walking out of their offices as she was
walking in. Apparently they exchanged words (I like to think that they discussed
fiscal policy and the challenges of international peace keeping). This fact
alone means that Nada's exchange with Tony trumps my earlier exchange with
Myleene (see earlier Note, copied below). In the world of celebrity Top Trumps,
Tony beats Myleene.
I need a new celebrity scalp.
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