A less expensive wedding can mean a richer life
I refer to Ayesha Al Khoori's blog post, Dawn of the Dh8m wedding: how egos trump love in UAE's modern marriages (April 1).
This article rings very true. When my husband and I married, we decided against a lavish wedding and opted for a simple ceremony on the beach.
We can now afford a home and new cars, as we didn't pay millions of dirhams for a wedding.
The sooner society realises this, the better.
Umm Sara, Dubai
I agree that wedding spending is getting out of control.
For the price of some weddings, the couple could have bought a small business that would make them money, not drain their bank accounts.
Alona B, Dubai
Climber inspires young and old
The editorial Where's your summit? (April 3) summarised eloquently the significance of the Japanese skier and mountaineer Yuichiro Miura's attempt to climb the world's highest peak at the age of 80, after heart surgery.
This is the question we all have to ask ourselves, whether young or old.
Mr Miura's determination and courage is truly inspiring, particularly in today's increasingly ageing society.
Kimi Akai, Dubai
Mothers can offer more to children
I am writing about Rana Askoul's opinion article, Even the best nanny shouldn't take the place of a mother (April 3).
When I moved to the UAE a few months ago, I was surprised at the number of children who were raised by nannies.
I rarely saw the children's mothers interacting with the children. It was the nannies who pushed the strollers and tricycles, swam in the pool with the children and fed them at restaurants. I also saw children who were very disrespectful towards these women.
But I think the issue is the use of the word "nanny". These women seem to be more like maids.
When I had my children, I wanted them to be raised by someone with a college degree who could help with homework, and teach the values of my family, my culture and my faith.
I wanted them to learn manners and proper speech and behaviour. I wanted someone who could cook healthy meals as well as traditional meals for them.
Ultimately, I found that I was the only person qualified for the position, so I gave up my career aspirations and became a fulltime mother. I haven't regretted it for a moment and feel I do "have it all".
I have the love, respect and closeness of my children. Money can't buy that.
Patricia Geiger, Abu Dhabi
Humour should not be a taboo
I refer to Faisal Al Yafai's column, Comedy or farce? Arrest of satirist in Egypt may be both (April 2), about the court appearance of Egyptian star Bassem Youssef.
In my opinion, people need to rethink taboos that forbid simple criticism and jokes.
We need to learn to look into ourselves. Once we are confident within ourselves, no joke or criticism will shake us up.
We need to learn to listen, smile, understand and get on with our lives. With these actions, we can speak louder than words. Ayad Abbas, Abu Dhabi
Slow drivers have more time to react
To blame road accidents on the drivers who drive slowly (The road to contrition blog post, March 24), is like throwing an object at someone and saying: "It's your fault for not moving."
Driving slowly is definitely irritating at times, but when you drive slowly, there is so much more time for your brain to process the information to make a decision, and you have so much more time to physically react.
When you drive faster, it shortens your reaction time, regardless of how experienced you are.
Also, the faster you drive, the more severe any impact would be. In a situation where one person chooses to speed and the other chooses to crawl, why would the slower driver be at fault?
Some drivers will always be idiots regardless of how old they are. It is their mindset that matters.
However, I do think that there should be a rule to prevent a person operating a powerful vehicle if he or she has less than a year's experience of driving - regardless of the driver's actual age.
J Saldhana, Dubai
