Blast from the Past: VHS Tapes
http://smragan.com/2015/02/08/drains-to-creek-2014/ By danderma | May 5, 2013
I’m still unboxing my moving boxes and in my process of doing so, I realised that I might very well have the entire collection of my childhood VHS tapes intact, not missing a single tape. Not quiet so surprising given that I was fiercely protective of my VHS tapes, even writing “owned by” on some of them to distinguish between mine and other family member’s therefore painting a red line and not allowing anyone to touch them. Read more »
I’ve been unpacking some moving boxes, something that’s about a year over-due but it’s better late than never I suppose. One of the boxes I opened was labeled “books” and what was inside? My old Baby-sitters club books! Read more »
We were dining yesterday in the Souk district of the Avenues when we were joined by Areej Al-Kharafi, the creative mind behind Fortune Cookie Boutique. In case you haven’t been to Fortune Cookie Boutique before, it’s a wacky store in Olympia mall with unique and colourful modernised Kuwaiti interior and branding selling everything from Fred’s items to perfumes and home accessories to hip and stylish clothes. Areej then granted us a sneak peek and took us inside Fortune Cookie 2, which is her newest branch located in the Souk district of the Avenues mall as well. Read more »
The other day I was driving my husband’s car for the day since my own car was in the garage getting fixed. I stopped to refuel it with gas and since in Kuwait women don’t get out of the car to fill their car tanks up and my iPhone’s battery was dead I had nothing better to do to kill time but gaze at the dashboard of the car. The car I was driving was Read more »
One of my favourite played MSX games in the 80’s was Athletic Land. It was kind of special to me, partly because no one else liked to play it and when I did I had it all to myself without other children nagging for their turn to play. Read more »
Long before we met Mortal Combat and Street Fighter, there was a game on MSX, perhaps one of the earliest fighting/martial arts games, by the name of Kung Fu. I almost forgotten all about it then one day it just passed through my memory and I began searching my list of roms for it. The name wasn’t Kung Fu, it was Yie Ar Kung-Fu which is why it took me a while to locate it. Read more »
The Goonies game on MSX was one of my favorite and most special games back in the 80’s. One reason being was that I actually did complete the game back then and it might just be the very first game I’ve ever completed! The Goonies was based on a very popular 80’s movie by the same name everyone I know from my peers used to rave about it. When Read more »
Almost everyone who owned an MSX Sakhr in the 80’s know and loved “The Castle” game (post). One day back in the 80’s we stumbled into a small shop in Hawalli, maybe it was Al-Alamiya maybe not I’m not sure, possibly a computer shop in Bin Khaldoun street. There displayed on its window was another Castle game! The second Castle game was Read more »
Once upon a time scores of years ago, when I was in student in Kuwait University, I was reading the University’s newspaper “Afaq” when I decided to send in a response or an article. On the next issue, with utter surprise, I saw my article printed and then a request from the editor of Afaq to come to the newspaper urgently.
Surprised, I go to meet with the editor and he tells Read more »
In my childhood our Friday night ritual was always to have dinner, turn on KTV2 to watch the WWF wrestling, then go to bed. I’ve been a big fan of wrestling back then until the day I discovered that all these wrestling matches were arranged and the entire thing was just one big show. Before that happened, in 1996, I opened the newspaper one morning to find the ad above. Read more »
I was going through an old box of mine trying to de-clutter when I found this tiny menu from Pizza Italia! I sat back in my chair, opened the menu, the Pizza Italia TV jingle playing in my head -and is still is!-, and I remembered fondly the good old days when Pizza Italia was Read more »
If I have to pick one video game that sums up my childhood, it would be “The Castle” on MSX Sakhr computers. I love everything about this game: the soundtrack, the memories, the little dude who can Read more »
When I received an invitation to an afternoon tea at “Haya House” I thought I was in for another store opening with a few pretty items and a caterer providing tea treats. I didn’t expect that I’d stumble into a little shopping/design haven in the middle of Read more »
The weather these days is gorgeous! Crisp, cool, light breeze, and sunny. It’s the perfect time in the year to do outdoors activities in Kuwait and one of them is having a picnic, I actually have a picnic basket at home that I fill with Read more »
The earliest memory I have of chocolate was in some family party in the early 80’s. In the party they were distributing small bags of Macintosh, otherwise officially known as “Quality Street” and I remember myself with one of those bags. I even have a picture of Read more »
On the night of 16 July 1992 I was on the phone talking to my cousin, cradling the phone speaker with my ear and shoulder while both hands were busy playing Sonic the Hedgehog on my Sega Genesis. I remember that clearly because when Read more »
What better way to spend the first day of the new year with than in an outdoorsy picnic with your friends? We were invited by Razza blog to attend a “Kuwaiti Thoub Party” in Ahmadi City and come 2 PM I was there with my camera and Read more »
The year was 2003. I had just gotten my new car then and I looked for the perfect thing to hang from its rear view mirror. Then I was in Swaroviski, I remember clearly it was the Salhiya branch, when I saw the crystal snowflake Xmas ornament. I knew right then and there that this was the perfect thing I was looking for.
I hung it on my rear view mirror, the sun rays caught in the crystal edges whenever I drove and it would light up with a million colorful lights, like something out of a cartoon dream. People used to stop me and ask me where I got it from. It was a big thing back then and it stayed on for a while, perhaps a few years even. It was simply beautiful.
I loved my crystal and now, 9 years later, I still do. Even though most of the edges broke off when I hit a speed bump and the crystal would crash into the windscreen. Even though sometimes the glitter of the light would blind my eyes, I would never take it down.
Do you remember the Swarovski crystal habba? Do you still hang yours in your car?
Old traditional Kuwaiti boxes like the one above come in a variety of sizes and designs. I realized recently that I have a few of this box too many. I wonder what am supposed to hide inside them though. Then it got me wondering: what did Kuwaitis use them for in the olden days? Cooking? The one with the latch doesn’t look like a cooking type of box.
Any ideas?
A very long time ago, back in the early and mid 80’s, we enjoyed drinking soft drinks for two reasons: the taste of course and for the bottle caps. You see, most of the time there were Read more »
One of the quirkiest most creative gifts I’ve received this Ramadan was the one I had received from my friend and fellow blogger Al-Noury! A wrapped up tray with teeny pots and Read more »
My friend Shaikha had a surprise for me two days before Ramadan. She sent me a white bag filled with 3 things that made Read more »
Last week I received a very cute invitation + Ramadan nuqsa from the newly opened Fursa store (post). The event was yesterday and it was my first time visiting Fursa. Read more »
Insha2 Allah this time next week, it will be Ramadan, and we would all be thirsty and many many of us will be dreaming of drinking an icy cold glass of Vimto. I am not a Vimto addict like my fellow Kuwaitis, I drink it bel sena 7sena, but my husband is a big Vimto fan and every year he brings home two bottles to drink during Ramadan and we make one pitcher and it wouldn’t taste good and we would let it gather dust on the kitchen counter.
Yes, I confess, I don’t know how to make a good glass -or pitcher- of Vimto. Are you a Vimto fan? Do you love Vimto in Ramadan only or all year round? and would you please teach me how to make Vimto? Much obliged!
Continuing here from Part I of the Dathra Book Launch 80’s Party (post), for drinks we had soft drinks, Se77a bottled water (may 9e77a), sunkist -which was very popular-. Read more »
