Where I discover that London is nearer to Tel Aviv than to Paris

A new car was born into the family, forcing a redistribution where I got the oldest Subaru as it behooves. The strongest and clearest radio station on it is the BBC from faraway London. How could it be?

I had thought that the British Empire had been long dismantled. Wrong. The Brits are still our next door neighbours, holding on firmly in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, occupying some 500 sq.km. BBC transmitters are on British soil and there is nothing but open sea between them and Tel Aviv. So I enjoy excellent reception, dubious programmes.

Gas and oil has been discovered by Noble Energy Corp. in the Eastern Mediterranean and the rights are shared by the sovereign countries bordering it, so the Brits must be partners in this venture. The Turks are militarily menacing Noble Energy towers so Israel and Cyprus are preparing for their defense. There are rumors that Israel has been allowed to station warplanes and ships in Cyprus, which is member of the EU and NATO. And we have the Brits literally in the middle of it all, and the UK + USA is NATO.

I'm reading a book on Ibn Saud and the creation of Saudia. It is wonderful how the Brits were involved in it from the beginning, providing finance and leadership (for example, Philby, Lawrence). Two hundred years after, the Brits are still the same Brits and fully engaged in the evolution of the Middle East. They are still all over the world.

To this born Anglophile, these are wonderful news. Do London theater companies show in Akrotiri? How do I buy tickets?