In a sumptuous celebration held at Dar Al-Difaa Al-Jawwi (Air Force House) -- my all-time favourite venue, dears -- Mrs Suzanne Mubarak graced the International Day of the Inner Wheel Clubs with her presence, presenting three of the organisation's leaders with shields of recognition: Amal Lehita, Samar Saudi and Somaya Omar, representing the Cairo, Amman and Alexandria clubs, respectively. The celebration was all the more exciting for the presence of Minister of Insurance and Social Affairs Amina El- Guindi, Secretary-General of the National Council for Women Farkhonda Hassan and the wife of the head of the Lebanese Deputies Council Randa Bery, as well as Chairman of the People's Assembly Fathi Sorour and Mona Swais, head of the Inner Wheel Clubs in Egypt and Jordan. A week ago, my sweets, together with my colleague Reham El-Adawi, I gave in to the fascination of a thrilling Croatian exhibition, "The Challenge of the Cravat". Inaugurated by my friend Ivica Tomic, the Croatian ambassador to Cairo, and that ever so talented champion of the arts, dears, Fine Arts Department Director Ahmed Nawwar, the exhibit is held at the charming Horizon One Gallery, and features the work of 45 Egyptian and Croatian painters on the theme of Croatia in relation to the rest of the world: Branka Donassy, Igor Gustini, Ivan Gregov and Daniela Pedisic, Mohamed Abla, Hisham Nawwar and Ramzi Mustafa are a few of the names that stick to mind. Running through 22 January, as my good friend Magdi Othman, the gallery director, confided, the event will be followed by another exhibition, to be held in Alexandria in February. But it was such a delightful opportunity to get to know Croatian culture at close range, finding out, for example, that the word "cravat" is actually derived from "Croat" -- can you believe that dears? A new movie on the life of the Dark Nightingale of Arab singing -- don't you share my absolute devotion to the late Abdel-Halim Hafez, little ones? -- took the recently opened Four Seasons Nile Plaza Hotel by surprise, what with the Arab world's most popular actor, Ahmed Zaki, performing the legend's role. Nor did the excitement end here: I was thrilled to discover that, performing the role of impresario, the media tycoon Emadeddin Adeeb would be introducing the project's heroes: director Sherif Arafa, Lebanese diva Magda El-Roumi, composer Ammar El-Sheraai, Syrian actor Gamal Souliman and script writer Mahfouz Abdel-Rahman. And what rapture, my darlings, when Adeeb pleaded with Zaki to give the audience a preview of his performance, and the latter obliged, uncannily evoking the Nightingale's gestures, his enchantingly delicate body language, the pure melancholy of his voice. It was a chance to sneak a peak at some of my favourite stars as well: Elham Shahine, Samiha Ayoub, Latifa, Esaad Younis and Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz. photos: Ayman Barayez Espagna en la corazon, honeylambs, wouldn't you agree? And what better place to connect with Spanish Culture than the Cervantes Institute in Doqqi, where, last Sunday, the organisation's director Louis Moratinos announced the institute's programme of activities for 2005. The year, you will be pleased to know, has been dedicated to the organisation's namesake, Miguel de Cervantes, with a focus on the Arabic translation of Don Quixote. On the same day, dears, a rather newer literary work was discussed Luis Landero 's first novel Juegos de la Edad Tardia, a delightful work of fiction awarded two of Spain's most prestigious prizes in 1990, the year of its appearance. photo: Khatchig Wanis Congratulations are also in order on my ponderous friend Sabri Abdel-Aziz 's Certificate of Recognition from the German Archaeological Institute, an honour supplemented by permanent membership. The head of the Ancient Egyptian Department at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Abdel-Aziz received the certificate in the presence of the charismatic secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, together with a coterie of Egyptian and German archaeologists. This week, dears, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi met Italian professor Sergio Noja Noseda, president of the Noseda Foundation for Islamic Studies, in the presence of the Italian Ambassador in Egypt Antonio Badini -- an occasion for presenting the imam with the second volume of Qur'anic Manuscripts, an invaluable new book that reproduces some of the oldest and most beautiful transcriptions of the holy text; Noseda had presented Tantawi with the first volume two years ago. Now the claim that Egyptians are special, dears, has found added support -- the winner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's international competition, "Name the Foal", is Egyptian. The contest, which started in 1991, invites children from all over the world to submit names for the organisation's baby horses, who may grow up to join the prestigious Musical Ride -- one of Canada's best loved creations. Sarah Rifaai of Giza, 12 years old, won the contest with "Basha", a simple yet evocative appellation, and was at the centre of a Canadian Embassy ceremony held in the presence of Canadian Ambassador to Egypt Philip Mackinnon and representatives of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who presented Rifaai with the prize and Canadian souvenirs.
