{"id":2002,"date":"2019-04-06T04:47:59","date_gmt":"2019-04-06T04:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.camelvoyages.com\/?p=2002"},"modified":"2020-11-22T15:14:04","modified_gmt":"2020-11-22T15:14:04","slug":"red-letter-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.camelvoyages.com\/?p=2002","title":{"rendered":"Red Letter Day!"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday, 20th<\/sup> March 2019, I was a guest at a reception hosted by The Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia, His Excellency Nabil Kheder and his wife, Mrs Ben Kheder, to mark the occasion of the 63rd<\/sup> Anniversary of the Independence of Tunisia. \u00a0 <\/span>Members of the newly relaunched British Tunisian Society (BTS), of which I am one, had been invited to join this very special evening of celebrations at the Tunisian Embassy in London.\u00a0 <\/span>It was a splendid and colourful gathering \u2013 many people in traditional dress, everyone having a wonderful time, enjoying an atmosphere of spontaneous warmth and friendship. \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Ambassador, His Excellency Nabil Kheder, and myself.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

I was mingling with high fliers \u2013 to name but a few – M\u00e9riem Bourguiba Laouiti, the elegant granddaughter of former President Bourguiba dressed appropriately in red, Moncef Battikh from the Tunisia Tourist Office busily working the jam packed rooms, and author and journalist Andy Kyriakou of Modern Romance Band fame.\u00a0 <\/span>It was Moncef who introduced me to the BTS, which I joined last November.\u00a0 <\/span>He knows from his wife Samia,\u00a0 <\/span>who manages Tunis Air\u2019s London office, that I am a regular visitor to his country where I go to ride my black camel, Zeydoun. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

M\u00e9riem Bourguiba Laouiti Moncef Battikh and myself.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The BTS is a great way of meeting people and making new friends who, like me, are passionate about Tunisia.\u00a0 <\/span>Already I have been to three terrific soir\u00e9es \u2013 a reception at the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, a dinner at The House of Lords, and the above reception at 29 Prince\u2019s Gate.\u00a0 <\/span>At all three, I was able to catch up with Dora Bergaoui,\u00a0 <\/span>\u2013 the first time we met was three or more years ago after landing at Tunis Airport, where she introduced herself, to thank me for visiting and supporting her country. We exchanged cards \u2013 Dora\u2019s with the heading ANZ Bank, mine with the humbler heading Camel Voyages!\u00a0 <\/span>Although I didn\u2019t know it at the time, this impromptu meeting illustrates to perfection just one of the society\u2019s aims:\u00a0 <\/span>\u2018To further friendly relations and understanding between the people of Tunisia and the United Kingdom\u2019.\u00a0 <\/span>For full details, do have a look at the website:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>www.britishtunisiansociety.org<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Moncef Battikh, myself and Andy Kyriakou.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

And my thanks to the brilliant photographer, Jules Annan, for allowing me to use his prints and whose copyright they are. \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday, 20th March 2019, I was a guest at a reception hosted by The Ambassador of the Republic of …<\/p>\n

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