Colin Darra is to leave Saudi Arabia in October after 11 years. He's to  work for a software firm teaching "firewall" technology.

During his time in Saudi, he has taken on many guises. He started out with a moustache, then quickly grew a beard to go with his serious teaching image.

Colin- The Lecturer

After many hobbies which included softball, tenpin bowling, sailing, ballroom dancing, laser town "shoot-em-ups" and various computer and non- computer games, he formed a rock band with friends. Here he learned the bass guitar, and changed his appearance yet again!

Colin- The Bass player

As the years went by his hair began to grow lighter, so he finally shaved his hair to a minimum, and removed his facial hair. 

The band fell apart, then Colin started playing squash again, and became a beach bum. In the meantime, he tried his hand at O.U. and is now doing his final year. Well done! 

Colin- Hair getting lighter

Soldier Killed in Saudi Shootout

DUBAI (Reuters)

One soldier was killed and two others were injured Wednesday when a Saudi man opened fire outside a complex housing foreigners in southwestern Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Defense Ministry said.

The guards exchanged fire with the man before arresting him, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The statement said Yasser Ahmed Aboud Al-Kassadi, a university student, had been taken into custody.

A British Foreign Office spokesman told Reuters earlier that a British Aerospace Systems Plc. employee had been slightly injured at the compound, which houses BAE staff and other foreign nationals.

British Aerospace told the British deputy head of mission in Riyadh that everyone was accounted for. There are no serious injuries to their staff. One person has a small graze on the hand from a possible ricochet,  the Foreign Office spokesperson said.

Saudi Arabia is home to a big Western community. U.S. and other Western troops are also based there.

Security measures around foreign missions and complexes housing foreigners have been stepped up since the two bombings of U.S. military complexes in the kingdom in 1995 and 1996, which killed 26 people, mostly Americans. 

Congratulations Mark

Mark Pearson of www.abumax.com fame, has passed the Open University PM Module M865 and is being accepted as an Associate Member of the Association for Project Management.

Concorde grounded until September. 

As pieces of the tyre broke off they were propelled upwards into the under skin of the wing, rupturing a fuel tank and control runs.

BAE SYSTEMS share price is showing a slight fall after recent modest gains. See Yahoo Finance.

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