The Brit we are referring to is The Queen herself, scheduling a visit to the UAE before she joins HM in celebrating 40 years of his rule in Oman. The email below was borrowed from the website of a UK expat here in Oman, the "official" email that went to Brits...(the highlights and underlining is my own)
"HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN’S STATE VISIT TO OMAN, NOVEMBER 2010
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh will visit Oman on 25-28 November 2010, at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of The Sultan’s reign and the strong relationship between Oman and the United Kingdom. The British Embassy would like as many members of the British and Commonwealth community as possible to have the opportunity to participate in the visit.
With this in mind, we have agreed with our Omani hosts that the public will have access to two events:
The Official Welcome: An opportunity to line the route as Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh drive past on their way to be greeted by His Majesty The Sultan at the start of the official programme. This will mean standing by the side of the road for around an hour and a half;
The Horse Show: The Sultan’s horses and some of the best horsemen and women in the country will perform for Their Majesties for just over an hour. All members of the audience will be seated, but will need to be in place for at least an hour before the show begins. The show will take place in the afternoon.
Both events are outside and will involve protracted waiting times, so may not be appropriate for very young children or those with special needs. For security reasons, we are not able to confirm precise timings or locations at this stage.
Since space is limited – 200 tickets for the Official Welcome and 300 for the Horse Show – we will hold a lottery to decide who gets a ticket. In order to give as many people as possible the chance to participate, please only specify attendance at one event or the other, not both.
If you wish to enter the lottery, please send the form below (click here for the form) to the Embassy’s Consular Section by fax: 2460 9011 or by email: muscat.consular@fco.gov.uk, by 14:30 on Monday 25 October.
Those successful in the lottery will be notified by email on Wednesday 27 October and will be given further details about the event they will participate in next month.
Noel Guckian
Dr Noel Guckian OBE
Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman"
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh will visit Oman on 25-28 November 2010, at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of The Sultan’s reign and the strong relationship between Oman and the United Kingdom. The British Embassy would like as many members of the British and Commonwealth community as possible to have the opportunity to participate in the visit.
With this in mind, we have agreed with our Omani hosts that the public will have access to two events:
The Official Welcome: An opportunity to line the route as Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh drive past on their way to be greeted by His Majesty The Sultan at the start of the official programme. This will mean standing by the side of the road for around an hour and a half;
The Horse Show: The Sultan’s horses and some of the best horsemen and women in the country will perform for Their Majesties for just over an hour. All members of the audience will be seated, but will need to be in place for at least an hour before the show begins. The show will take place in the afternoon.
Both events are outside and will involve protracted waiting times, so may not be appropriate for very young children or those with special needs. For security reasons, we are not able to confirm precise timings or locations at this stage.
Since space is limited – 200 tickets for the Official Welcome and 300 for the Horse Show – we will hold a lottery to decide who gets a ticket. In order to give as many people as possible the chance to participate, please only specify attendance at one event or the other, not both.
If you wish to enter the lottery, please send the form below (click here for the form) to the Embassy’s Consular Section by fax: 2460 9011 or by email: muscat.consular@fco.gov.uk, by 14:30 on Monday 25 October.
Those successful in the lottery will be notified by email on Wednesday 27 October and will be given further details about the event they will participate in next month.
Noel Guckian
Dr Noel Guckian OBE
Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman"
Recapping:
1-I have a chance to stand next to a hot, dusty roadway for an hour and a half for a 10 second drive by?
2- I should arrive an hour early in the probably hot Omani sun for a horse show that will last as long as our wait?
3-Don't bring my kids or any special people?
4-You won't tell me the time or location?
Well, sign me up...
A follow up post revealed that the lottery was scrapped due to lack of interest. Shocking!
-S
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