Why come to Slaka?

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In 1986, when Malcolm Bradbury, author of The History Man, parodied the clunky stupidity of the then Soviet Eastern Bloc in his mock tourist guide, Why come to Slaka? (seek it out and read it!) he little dreamt that twenty-thee years later a wholly serious and progressive state (Qatar!) would rise to the challenge of pointlessest bureaucracy [sic, OK?] by promulgating a circular, to all bars and clubs, from, wait for it... Qatar Tourism and Exhibition Authority and Ministry of the Interior. Which august body requests and requires that everyone entering a liquor-serving establishment shall present official ID (or passport, or residency permit), the which shall be recorded (name and number) by a hitherto unnecessary minion into a hitherto unnecessary log-book. The crazy thing is, even knowing exactly why this happening, I just can't be bothered explaining any more. Clunky stupidity is good enough. 

Comments

  1. Anonymous11 June 2009 at 12:05

    I know it is such a paradox, happened to us at a bar in Doha last night...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Para Glider11 June 2009 at 12:52

    It's always two steps forward three steps back here. Makes you wonder if these 'Authority' people have ever travelled at all?

    ReplyDelete

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