Amwaj markets to resume

We hear the Amwaj Marina markets are due to start up again in November and we can’t wait as there’s always lots of cool stuff with the added bonus of open-air shopping and a chance to eye the gorgeous boats.

Pre-Christmas bash

The date’s been announced for Tony the Dogfather’s annual pre-Christmas fundraising bash. It’s at the Bapco Club at Awali on November 16 and apparently, as soon as it was posted on the Dogfather’s Facebook page, more than 70 people said they were going with. We’re told last year’s event was a night to remember so we’re looking forward to a great night out in aid of a good cause.

Write on

Bahrain based British author Robin Barratt is planning the island’s biggest ever writing competition aimed at putting the kingdom’s writers on the world literary map.

Entrants will need to create a fictional piece, in English, of around 30,000 words, set in Bahrain.

“Thriller, science-fiction, romance, crime, horror, authors can write about anything as long as there is no religious criticism or political agenda of any kind and the content can be read by anyone. Non-native English speakers need not worry too much about the perfection of their written English, this can be edited later, but the key to the competition is to be creative, to have a captivating story line and plot and to showcase Bahrain by incorporating the culture, architecture, history and people of the island,” says Barratt.

The winner and two runners-up will have their stories professionally published both as a hardcopy paperback and as an ebook for Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s eBookstore etc. More information here.

Coming to Bahrain

Dubai’s Jumeirah Group has signed an agreement that will see Urbano, its Italian restaurant concept that is at Souk Al Bahar in Dubai, open in Seef later this year.

According to the blurb ‘the first outlet of Urbano opened in Souk Al Bahar in 2008 combining three elements – caffè, trattoria and pizzeria – to deliver authentic, tasty and simple Italian cuisine in a modern environment’ so we should be in for a treat.