So I missed ‘Freedom’ because we were keen to leave the concert before everyone else in case of a two-hour traffic jam. Actually I forgot to mention that Alicia Keys played before George, she was truly incredible, I liked her almost more.
Especially when George started doing cover versions of Roxanne and Nina Simone songs. Does he not realise that he will always, to millions of fans, be immortalised by Wake me up before you Go-Go and Careless Whisper?
Last night as we sat at the Emirates Palace outdoor cinema waiting for Madagascar 2 to start and the kids ran around freely we were discussing freedom.
Some might argue that there is limited freedom in a country like this. Personally I feel there is more. There is the freedom to let my children roam without fear of abduction or menacing. There is the freedom to enjoy a vast street party without any risk of violence at all. And the freedom to get into my car without locking it because I think some rapist will have snuck in the back.
Yes, apparently this is the latest thing in England. As you fill up your car with petrol some lunatic gets in the back, then he abducts you and takes you off to be gang-raped. If you survive the attack you are released. One woman called Leigh Matthews has already been killed in this horrific manner after travelling on the M3. What an unimaginably terrible way to die.
In the words of the song, I don’t want your freedom.
Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2008
Tomorrow is the UAE’s birthday. It is 37 years old. That makes me older than the country I am living in. Kind of makes you think. How often does that happen to a person I wonder?