The British press seem to be continuing to bash Gulf states at every opportunity. Here’s a piece from The Sunday Observator’s bumptious columnist Gerhan Hankins, covering his visit to the nearby state of Bahdobian.
I look at myself in the mirror, sullen face staring back at me, wide, empty London smile fixed to my face, hiding the torment within.
What’s causing this? A meeting I have just had with my editor.
‘Gerhan’, he told me. ‘I want you to go to Bahdobian and write about how rubbish it is.’
‘I thought we loved it,’ I asked. ‘The last five features this paper ran said it was the best thing since sliced bread?’
‘Good point,’ said my editor. ‘The pendulum swings both ways, though. We decided it’s rubbish now.’
‘Fair enough, but why do I need to go? I already know everything there is to know about the place from my friend Germaine Greer – she spent four hours on the bus there only the other day.’
‘I know’, grunted my editor. ‘But we’ve got five days’ free at one of their best hotels, provided we give them a mention in the article you’ll write. File your piece before you leave, if you like – take the week as holiday.’
I’m still in shock. How can I, with my example-setting lifestyle, manage to survive five days in somewhere so awful as Bahdobian?
