This week Eid ends and schools will be starting back here and in most countries during September. I suppose it is because of all those years spent in school and college, then working in Education for a while, and then seeing 2 children go through the annual ‘Back to School’ rituals, which means that September always equals the start of a New Year for me.
After the summer holidays I always feel ready to make a new start in September. I find an ‘Academic Year Diary’ the most useful spanning through to the promise of next Summer and bridging those months from December to January. Electronic diaries just don’t give the same satisfaction as having a new, clean, blank diary, bursting with the promise of all those appointments and meetings.
Living here in Qatar there is a particular sense of excitement around for this final quarter of 2011. There has been much talk since last December when Qatar won the 2022 World Cup Bid of the major infrastructure projects which will be the result.
Not just the stadiums, but the roads, railways, metros, hotels and accommodation which will need constructing. Then there is the massive increase in personnel who are needed to build, run and manage these initiatives, all to be balanced with the support and development of the local community. Quite a challenge! So after a few months of letting the reality of winning the bid set in, Ramadan and Eid, there is a sense that this final quarter of 2011 (or this first semester of the New Year) will be busier than ever.
So after Eid, I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year!
