Yet again Peter Hellyer has hit the nail on the head with his comments on the new street renaming initiative in Abu Dhabi (Where the streets have new names, but lack numbers, March 4).
Like Mr Hellyer, I celebrate the fact that we now have a formal system in place and that the Emirate’s history has been centre-stage in the renaming process. However, I have to say that I’m also missing the street numbering system.
Having lived here a while and being a driver, I like to think that I know the city’s streets well. It’s only when the numbering was taken away that I realised how much I relied on it to check where I was.
I also can’t help but lament that some of the new names will erase some of the city’s history, which they were instead designed to celebrate. Areas like Tourist Club, Defence and Passport Roads were so named to reflect local landmarks from an age when the city was entering its new era of fast-paced growth under Sheikh Zayed’s vision and the discovery of oil.
Many of these landmarks may have gone. Call me sentimental but it would be a shame to lose the nostalgic connection, and the subsequent reminder of how much Abu Dhabi has accomplished in such a short time, too.
Sarah Bartlett, Abu Dhabi
I agree with the views expressed by Peter Hellyer. I like the names such as Saada (happiness) Street (19th Street), which was named by Sheikh Zayed. The new street names are too long for me to remember. I will go with the old names and the numbers of the streets.
Jin, Abu Dhabi
Oscar presenter stole the show
The Academy Awards ceremony held on March 2 was a delightful extravaganza. In a world that has been overcome with predicaments, it was heartening to see a plethora of talent dress up elegantly for the Oscars and hear them talk as real people.
Oscars were handed out for various categories, but the real hero of the evening was the presenter, Ellen DeGeneres. She hosted the ceremony with refreshing informality and vigour. She was great fun, a true stand-up comedian. She even ordered pizzas for the top stars and then collected money from them to pay the pizza boy. It was bizarre that Sandra Bullock had no money on her, while some of the other top stars, such as Brad Pitt, could only contribute about $20 each (Dh73). Thank you, Ellen DeGeneres, for energising the Oscars with your unique spirit of fun.
Rajendra K Aneja, Dubai
Back in the 1980s, I had the honour of escorting the first Australian Oscar from Sydney to Canberra. It was won in 1944 by Ken G Hall for the documentary Kokoda Front Line.
Ken had bequeathed it to the Australian National Film and Sound Archive but I charmed him into giving it to us before he died in 1994. It caused quite a sensation going through airport security with other passengers clamouring to see a real Oscar.
Incidentally, throughout the Second World War the US, being short of essential alloys, made all the statues out of a different composite.
When the war ended the Academy of Motion Picture Arts replaced all these different statues, except Ken’s, with new ones made with the original metal. So today our first Aussie Oscar remains unique. And congratulation to Cate Blanchett and Catherine Martin.
AE Vass, Abu Dhabi
Afridi’s heroics helped Pakistan
Boom Boom Afridi did a veritable Miandad in the Asia Cup crunch match on Sunday (Pakistani celebrations after India victory result in death of boy, March 3). It was a double take of the legendary Miandad sixer in Sharjah.
Indeed, it was one of the most memorable and exciting encounters between India and Pakistan.
Well done, team Pakistan. I wish them all the best for the remaining matches.
Mohammad Hamza, Dubai
Pressure needs to reduce on Sharjah
I am disturbed to learn that the air quality in Sharjah is as toxic as that of Beijing and Mexico City (Air pollution in Sharjah ‘as toxic as in Beijing’, March 3).
I have been living in Sharjah for six years and I know how bad it is getting each year. Traffic is increasing as the population increases. There is hardly any breathing space in the emirate. That is largely because people are moving towards Sharjah as house rents move upwards in Dubai. Sharjah is the only place where the middle class can find affordable housing and from where they can commute easily to Dubai. As a result, there is huge pressure on its infrastructure.
Pollution is just one outcome of that rising pressure. If pollution is to be reduced, it is necessary to allow middle class people to live equally comfortably elsewhere. Sharing the burden of population by other emirates will see the pollution level fall to a great extent.
Sukumar S, Sharjah
