ramsay street - listen to moi

What does it mean when you get in a cab in Al Ain and give them directions to your apartment ... dewar Sanaiya, cedar, yameen ... and so on, and the driver, who has very little English, says, "Ah, Ramsay Street?"

Okay, I find it hard to believe too, but I'm told that it happened! I think that I got it third or fourth hand ... and now I'm passing it on.

For anyone who isn't an Aussie or a Brit, that may be a bit cryptic. Ramsay Street is an imaginary street in Australia that's the setting for an Australian soapie called 'Neighbours.' Ramsay Street residents all know each other and each other's business and are forever in and out of each other's houses borrowing cups of sugar, giving advice or offering a shoulder to cry on.

When we arrived here, we jokingly dubbed the apartments 'Ramsay Street' because of the large number of Brits and Aussies here, and it seems that someone's been training the taxi drivers. Hmmmm.

Another Aussie show that's been talked about here at Ramsay Street (Al Ain) recently is 'Kath and Kim.' If you get a chance to see it, then do! It makes one cringe so much that it's funny. Kath and Kim are a middle-aged Aussie woman and her adult daughter living in the suburbs of Melbourne, Aust. They live in an imginary suburb (I think/hope it's imaginary!) called Fountain Gate. We see their every day problems with husbands, weight loss, shopping and so on. They send up life in the burbs (suburbs) in Australia delightfully. Critics refer to them as the 'foxy morons.' The women who play the roles of Kath and Kim are the creators/writers of the show. Kudos to them. They've done it brilliantly. One of the catch cries from the show is 'Listen to moi. Listen to moi.' (moi=me). Totally cringe-worthy.

The pic of course is 'Ramsay Street' Al Ain.