Pack of Cards
By
Madame Sosostris
I can't wait, my sweets, to tell you all about the best event I attended this week -- the American University in Cairo's (AUC) annual media iftar. I always enjoy this gathering of luminous personalities from the world I know best, but I must admit my dears, that this year's "break-fast" had its very own special taste and charm, mainly because my dear friend and our very own editor-in- chief, Hosny Guindy, was atop the list of media personalities who received special honours at the iftar. That's right, Guindy was one of 5 AUC alumni who were feted for their "distinguished achievements and excellence and creativity".
Guindy is a veteran of the news business, having headed the foreign desk at Al-Ahram for many years before becoming the Weekly's founding editor. His lovely wife Moushira and charming daughter Yasmeen (who is also an AUC graduate) were on hand to celebrate with Guindy, whose co-honorees were actress and Weekly back page columnist Lubna Abdel-Aziz, AUC mass communications professor Sonia Dabbous, Editor-in-Chief of Satellite magazine and veteran journalist Louis Greiss, as well as the talented Nile TV presenter Nihal Saad.
The body giving out the awards was the university's Mass Communications Association, which is headed by Mohamed Selim. The group's faculty adviser is Ralph Berenger. But truly, the evening's success must be attributed to the always lovely Nagwa Shoeib, director of the AUC public relations office, and Nihal Tamraz, the university's associate director for media relations.
My colleague Reham El-Adawi and I had a great time socialising with such esteemed personalities as Thomas Bartlet, the university's new interim president, and fellow Al-Ahram colleagues Silvia El-Naqadi, Osama Gheith, Samir Shehata.
Congratulations to all!
If I were to attend all the iftars I am invited to, luvvies, I'd surely be a blimp by the time this holy month is through. A meal I wouldn't have missed for the world, though, was the one hosted by Santam Jit Singh, India's ambassador to Egypt. Top officials, media personalities, members of the diplomatic corps and prominent figures from the Indian community were all there. The guests broke their fast with Indian delicacies, enjoying the light Indian music that played after iftar. Amongst those I mingled with were Mustafa El-Fiqi, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee at the People's Assembly, Cherif El- Choubashi, first under-secretary for Foreign Relations at the Ministry of Culture, Mohamed Shaker, chairman of the Egyptian Council of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd, former Information Minister, Mohamed Salmawy, editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram Hebdo, and Mursi Saad El-Din, Al-Ahram Weekly's very own cultural columnist and author.
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