About

The HX Report started out as something else. In the distant past, it was about Holycross Soccer Club news & Holycross village locality news from back home for HX locals who had departed to foreign shores. But it’s moved on a bit. If it’s about anything now, MB would say it’s about demonstrating that, at the end of the day, whether we live in HX or in the Middle East or wherever, we all have far more in common than we have differences. It’s also about not taking yourself too seriously. We are only passing through. Let’s smile as we go!

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Working for the good of Crosserkind

MB – Working for the good of HX

23 Comments on “About”

  1. Hi mike
    It great to have a good experience for working and living in Qatar. We my husband and I lived and worked in Qatar for 10years. In the last two years I we have been fighting the injustices of not being payed 5 months of my husbands salary while he as working for the QNL. Which I would like to add is up and running and enjoyed by all people who use it.
    The company my husband worked for are no longer in existence. The court case was won by my husband and to date we are being given court dates to attend and no resolution on how we will be settled finically. We are not Arabic speakers and don’t know what procedure to take to access the emirs fund to settle our case. We are now not living in Qatar and I would like some help from the media community to find a solution to settle our retirement fund which is what that money represents to us. I would like to remember Qatar as a country who hold up justice and do the right thing. Herbert Noel Silva worked for mercury mena that went down in 2016.
    My husband is 63 years old. The stress of this case has given him health issues, he is suffering from from five of the major illnesses that we have these days. If anyone out there is able to help us to access our payout from the emirs fund. I would appreciate Qatar for this help for two elderly people who worked and have our best to Qatar for 10 years.

    Jagjit Silva

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    • Hi Jagit. Sorry to hear about your troubles and I wish you both well, particularly your husband with his health issues. I am aware that the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar is a very active and reputable body and is willing to get involved or to give advice on labour issues such as your husbands. Their contact details are on the following link – http://nhrc-qa.org/en/contact-us/ Wishing you both good luck with your salary recovery efforts. MB

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  2. Hi Mike,
    I like your blogsite. Thank you for direct me. Yes i lived in İstanbul 17 years. Now i’m living westernmost of Turkey (my hometown). BR. Ayca

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  3. Now I understand what HX means, it reminds me of cross of St Peter. Dubai, eh? I am supposed to go to Dubai after Rome this year but it’s not calling me as a pilgrim place.

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    • Thanks P. I am now 10 years in the Middle East – 4 in UAE (Dubai & Abu Dhabi), 2 in Saudi Arabia, and 4 in Qatar where I am presently based. I guess there are many types of pilgrimage. I have been to Rome but only for a few days – I can not yet say Vini, Vidi, Vici, so I must return again! There are Christian Churches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar so you will not be lonesome if you arrive in this neck of the woods. But if you do get to UAE I suggest you take the guided tour of Jumeirah Mosque where a female guide will give you a far more modern and tolerant version of Islam than you will perhaps be familiar with. To see the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is also a must – a truly incredible architectural wonder, and one of the largest Mosques in the world. Safe travels. MB

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  4. Hi love the blog, keep it up. I’m involved with an Irish expat information website in the Middle East. If you’d be interested in sharing some of your experiences or photography on our site or social pages please email me @ dillon.nuim@yahoo.co.uk

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  5. Happy one year anniversary! Bring on the photography tips, please! I am a true novice, despite my husband’s investment in some pretty ok camera kit (canon eos something or other!) a few years back. I do find myself looking for photo ops a little bit more since I’ve started blogging, but I still seem to get more engrossed by the writing process. Would love any advice you have. Cheers!

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    • Hi Gypsy
      There is great week of photography workshops in Dubai each March under the organisation called Gulf Photo Plus (google it). Fantastic week with hundreds attending from all over the region and beyond. Some even from Europe. World class photographers giving the tuition, Americans and others. Some with Nat Geo, Time Magazine and others behind them. Inspiring stuff. You would love. It really got me started properly after I had done a basic beginners course in Dubai. Have done 2 weddings since for friends and worked out ok. BUt still consider myself a beginner to some degree. Still learning. Also take a look at online photo courses eg
      PPOS – On line Photography school:
      https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=mm#inbox/13f800eed42b16db
      Also have stuff I could email you. Send me an email address if interested.
      Hectic few days going to UAE & this evening back in KSA. For visa renewal reasons mainly. So still did not look at this Leibster thingy. Tomorrow inshallah! Ok, for the moment tc.
      MB

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    • Hi Gypsy. Humbled! And thank you very very much. I received a mail from the website this week that I am using WordPress for exactly one year – my anniversary! Was previously sending out a weekly email (without pics) prior to that for many years. But still feel like a novice. Like you I can’t make head nor tail of much of the techie side of the blogging. Just doing it for the crack (Irish expression!). And now the Gypsy gives me a thumbs up – what a week! I am just starting my own blog as we chat, munching my porridge & Yemeni honey in Dubai kitchen! (arrived back in Dubai from KSA last night just for weekend) – was just reading your nominations actually when I saw your chat message appear. So will delve a little deeper later into your link this evening when have more time. Also going out to look at new camera later. BTW, I have photography idea for you if you want to improve your skills – you previously said you are very much a beginner. But more later. Gotta go. Bye for now. And muchos gracias again!

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  7. Ahhhhhhh!

    I thought Hx was a reference to “history” (Hx as a commonly used abbreviation in the medical field).

    I think that would be an appropriate description as well …

    Informative and interesting. Really enjoying the read and the images.

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    • HX is very non-medical I’m afraid Gypsy. Unless we can consider that the fine whiskey in the HX pub comes under that category! Thanks again for all the positives!

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    • I too would be going ‘haha’ if I was eating egg salad and looking at my awesome pics at same time! You are most welcome, although I suspect a wind-up!

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  9. Hi Michealdebarra,
    I am Ritu from the blog ‘Beyond Beauty Tips’. I saw that we were connected through my blog. I announced my new domain but I haven’t seen you there yet.
    Please show some love to my new blog ‘Things To Rave About’ (http://toraveabout.com) which is just BBT at a new address.
    Hoping to see you there. Thanks!

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    • Hi Ritu. Best of luck with the new set-up. Suggest using the Uses/Invite new to get your members back. I used this when I set up my old blog on WordPress. People are little bit lazy, and some think they are receiving spam and don’t open the invitation mails. So I resent the invitations approx 4 times I think, and managed to mop up many of the old followers. Anyway, best wishes from MB.

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      • Thanks. I have no idea how to use this feature or where it is 😦
        I decided to comment on all of my reader’s blogs individually because I thought it would be nice have a little virtual contact. I usually read blogs of everyone who follows me at least once a week. I’ve been slacking on this for sometime. So I thought it might be the least I could do.

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      • Go to ‘My Blogs’, then click on ‘My Posts’ then you will see ‘Users’ on the list on left hand side of your page. Click on ‘Users’ (just under ‘Appearance’) and then click on ‘Invite New’. This then offers you facility to send out 10 invitations at a time (via the website rather than your personal email). And allows automatic resends – which I did every 2 weeks maybe 4 times. Its great facility if you have a list of email addresses. Good luck!

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