The Grand Tour

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Helena

As I write the girls are on their way to Lake Como with my uncle and aunt. They flew at 2.30 am from Abu Dhabi and landed in Milan this morning. Olivia said she was tired (possibly the first time she has ever admitted it) whereas Bea was totally overjoyed with the “beautiful houses and colours”.

It was scary seeing them go although the Etihad lady who took care of them couldn’t have been nicer. And half an hour after we saw them walk through security we had a text message saying: ‘Dear Mr and Mrs Wright your lovely girls have boarded the plane and are now in the care of the aircraft staff.’ Amazing. Rupert replied saying thank you and he got one back saying ‘happy to be of service.’ Here is a picture of them at the airport before they left.

But back to Italy….after Lake Como, the girls are going to Venice, then Rimini then Rome where they will stay with my mother. We won’t see them again until we are reunited by another lake in the Savoie. I will really miss them but I think they will have a magnificent time and they are lucky to be away from this heat. As well as seeing things in Italy (like Lake Como) that I haven’t even seen yet.

I think Bea’s artistic streak is already waking up, while her sister sleeps.

Swenglishfrench

Posted on July 7, 2009 by Helena

Yesterday Bea came out with a sentence that combined three languages, and one I have not heard of yet. I asked her to repeat something I had told her because I wanted to make sure she had understood. I had told her that her friend’s driver (yes, people have such things her, we don’t, but lots of others do) was going to come to the house, collect all three of them and take them to their friend’s house.

“What did I say?” I asked

“Han ska bringa nous,” she replied.

The first two words are Swedish, meaning he will, the third word is the English word ‘bring’ with a Swedish flavour and nous is French.

She sounded charming, and I was thrilled to hear that these languages are sinking in. But what happens when she meets someone who doesn’t speak Swenglishfrench?

The new Tiger Woods?

Posted on July 5, 2009 by Helena

Last week we won a competition for free golf lessons for the children. Rupert was working so I took them up to the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. I was slightly nervous as the minimum age was seven, which Rupert had them Leo was. He is only five.

They were put into groups with the other winners and off we all went into the searing heat to watch or play. Olivia lasted about three minutes. I agree it was pretty damn hot. Bea did rather better. But Leo was incredible. I watched him hit some drives that I thought looked pretty impressive, but then I am not a golfer and really couldn’t tell you what is impressive or not. I always think Leonardo is impressive, whatever he is doing.

But then a photographer came up to me who was taking pictures for the paper of the event. “I can’t hit a golf ball that hard,” he told me. A few minutes later one of the buggy drivers approached me. “Everyone is talking about your son,” he said. “He has a great future as a golfer ahead of him.” Next it was one of the pros. “Your son has a real talent,” he told me. I started to feel like I was in a film.

It is too hot now to play golf but when it gets cooler sometime in October Leo will pick up his clubs again and we’ll see if he really can be a great, or even very good, golfer. Meanwhile I am packing his tennis kit to take on holiday to France with us, just in case….

The menace behind the wheel

Posted on July 3, 2009 by Helena

One of the things I and many others parents love about living in Abu Dhabi is the fact that it is so safe. We can let our children wander to the shops without risk of menace or around the malls without worrying about them being abducted. But there is one aspect of life here that is terrifying.

Abu Dhabi is right down there with Eritrea when it comes to road safety. Being half Italian and having spent a lot of time in major cities like Rome, Paris, New York and London I am used to fast-moving heavy traffic. But nothing can prepare you for the driving here. It makes Hyde Park Corner look like a country lane full of Sunday drivers.

Tragedy struck on Monday when just down the road from our house three small sisters were killed while crossing the road with their three nannies. They were aged four, six and seven. The nannies survived, although one of them is now in intensive care. A speeding car hit the group and the three sisters died outright.

The car was a Lexus. I have long thought the Lexus drivers the worst on the roads. If I see one approaching me I just move out of the way. There is no point in doing anything else. A lot of them seem to believe that their cars are invincible and don’t go under 100 miles an hour.
I can’t stop thinking about those little girls and their family. Three young lives just gone, within seconds. It is too appalling to contemplate. My paper, The National, has launched a road safety campaign as a result of their deaths. I hope it makes some difference and they did not die in vain.