Lunch with Zahra

I spent the day in Essex today, having lunch at the home of Zahra (Dickson) Freeth and her daughter. Zahra is the daughter of Lt.-Col. H.R.P. and Dame Violet Dickson. As a quick history lesson: Col. Dickson was the British Political Agent to Kuwait from 1929-1936, who then worked for the Kuwait Oil Company after he retired from the British government. Col. Dickson passed away in 1959 but his wife, Dame Violet, also known as Umm Saud, remained in Kuwait in their family home on the Gulf Road until she passed away in 1991 at the age of 92. Most people in Kuwait still remember Umm Saud, as she was a fixture in Kuwait up until the invasion. Zahra spent her childhood years with her parents in Kuwat in the 1930s before going away to boarding school. She is an absolutely lovely lady, and a magnificent source of information on Kuwaiti history. I became friends with the family a few years ago, and it was nice to be able to spend the day with them again. Unfortunately, I found out that her brother Saud, who also spent a few years in Kuwait as a child with their parents, passed away this past May.

It was wonderful to get out of the city and into the English countryside. It was so beautiful and peaceful, and it was great sitting there and talking for hours with someone who knows so much about Kuwaiti history, first hand. She has so many stories, knows so many different sides to Kuwait's history that you never really hear. Although she has written books on Kuwait, she still has so much more knowledge that she hasn't shared. So we decided that in a couple of months, once my coursework settles down, I will go back down to Essex with a tape recorder and record an oral history of her life and experiences and memories of Kuwait.

I also found out that a well known English historian on Kuwait acknowledged me in one of his recent books, which I didn't know about. I had been in touch with him years ago and I vaguely remember assisting him with something via E-mail (I now know what that something is but to disclose it here would be to give out too much info!). Anyway, apparently he thanked me in his book, which I have actually seen and looked through before without noticing it (who reads the acknowledgements when flipping through a book?). So I can't wait to buy a copy for myself now!

And finally, I love traveling by train. Not the tube, but the actual rail. I hadn't been on a train for about a year now, not since last year in Italy, and so it felt nice for a change. I absolutely adore trains - somehow the world seems right when you're staring out at it from the window of a train - you feel like everything in life is OK. I don't know what it is...but it's the right way to travel.

Anyway, going back, as many of you may know the Dickson House still exists in Kuwait and is located across the street from the Souq Sharq Fish Market. It is open for visitors during regular working hours, and I would advise you to go and check it out if you've never been there. It's a beautiful home and so many historical events in Kuwait took place within those walls (like the signing of Kuwait's first oil concession, although the table it was signed on was stolen during the invasion).