Not Enough Sand

Radio Times

2011-09-24T00:08:00.003+04:00

This week, Jack and Emma's school was one of five in Dubai chosen (through a slightly corrupt voting system which clearly didn't prevent over-excited mothers voting several times) to host the presenters of the local radio station's (Dubai 92) breakfast show. The two British presenters, known in that irritating way that only makes sense to regular listeners and will just seem tragic to anyone else, as 'Catboy and Geordiebird' (CBGB for short - sigh...) presented their show on Wednesday from the school entrance foyer. They're 'irreverent' don't you know.

The kids seemed excited for a short while, and I guess it was something different, but it was all a bit of a let down to be honest. I was expecting large outside broadcast trucks, yards of cables, teams of producers. But we got the two presenters and one aide, who looked like she could have been one of the primary school teachers, each of them armed with a laptop, a couple of microphones, loads of free 'Dubai 92' branded t-shirts, and that was about it. And of course, being Dubai, it was trying to be something bigger and better than it actually was. Imagine the ego and sarcasm of Chris Moyles, filtered through several levels of political correctness, and about as cutting edge as the contents of a christmas cracker.

Meanwhile, and as if to emphasise the point, I recently discovered the excellent 'TuneIn Radio' app for my iphone, which is probably more exciting due to the fact that we don't live in the UK. It can pick up just about any radio station in the world and so, perhaps a little boringly, I've been glued to BBC Radio 2 this week, for no particular reason that to hear some genuine entertainment. Well, compared with Dubai radio at least. It's all relative!

I could happily listen to Radio 2 all day. From Chris Evans, to Jeremy Vine (via Ken Bruce - admittedly the weaker link of the day), then Steve Wright and Simon Mayo. Most of whom I listened to 15-20 or so years ago on Radio 1. So there's an element of nostalgia to it I know, but it also (on occasions when my office mate is out) makes the days at work pass much faster, and more enjoyably.

Just a little piece of home that, when compared with its Dubai equivalent, reminds me of how great the UK can still be...

Well I'll be Rama-damned

2011-08-06T22:49:00.000+04:00

It's that time of year again. When all the world is fasting (or so it seems). Ramadan began on 1 August this year (the Arabic calendar being only 354 days long, means that it moves earlier each year by 11 days) and so all food and drink outlets in Dubai are closed during daylight hours and no alcohol is served anywhere for the entire month.

Or at least that's how it was the first year we were here (2003 - was it really that long ago?). Ramadan was in the comparatively pleasantly temperatured month of November then.

Fast forward 8 years and things have changed a little. Or a lot, depending on your perspective. There is, for example, an ever increasing number of Brits it seems who choose to take advantage of the cheap packages that are being offered in the UK to come and stay in the Atlantis hotel during the month of August, no doubt because of the sweltering temperatures making it otherwise the quiet season, but also with Ramadan falling across August this year, one assumes that without concessions the City would otherwise be like a ghost town as far as tourism is concerned. There are, I'm sure, the obligatory few tourists who arrived having had no appreciation in advance about either the heat or the fasting at this time of year, but I can't help but notice that it really isn't as bad as it used to be.

For one, hotels simply seem to erect shades, or curtains, to cordon off those restaurants that they are keeping open. Even at the Atlantis, it is business as usual it seems.

You can go the gym during Ramadan and all water coolers are still being used freely (but then what chance of finding a fasting Muslim wanting to go and exert himself in the middle of the day knowing he is forbidden from drinking water). And on the way home, feeling good about one's exercise, you can even stop by Subway or McDonald's to collect a take-away. No eating-in of course, but actually in this example the take-away-and-eat-it-at-your-home-slightly-cold option is not a wise one either.

But in the evenings, the bars and restaurants are seemingly unaffected, and the beer and wine flows freely.

So whilst I may be here all alone whilst Michele and the kids enjoy the British summertime, it's not the need to be respectful in public and avoid eating and drinking in front of those that are fasting that actually bothers me. It's just the lack of friends in town at the moment to go out with. Oh well - time to catch up on those box sets. I can recommend "Mad Men" by the way.

Roll on September!

Time Out

2011-04-02T22:54:00.000+04:00

I left Reed Smith last week, and have been fortunate enough to be able to afford to take a month's leave before starting my new job at DLA Piper (or, more specifically, here).

There was a time, a few weeks ago, when I could (and nearly did) punch out a blogpost about all the reasons why I was leaving Reed Smith. But in the space of merely a week, I've realised that this would probably now serve no useful purpose than as some belated catharsis to make me feel better. But after a year of moaning to probably just about everyone I know about how and why my job wasn't really going anywhere, better now I feel to simply move on. Life's too important to worry about what has been and gone. I'm turning a new corner and want to look forward.

But in the interim, 31 glorious days off is proving to be quite eventful. Michele and I have made a 'To Do List'. Not as extensive as the 'To Do List' I read about (and raved about here). But, nonetheless, what started at 15 items has now rapidly grown to around 50. All those crappy admin jobs that those living the 9 to 5 would have to stir up the enthusiasm to spend their evenings doing, if only they had the enthusiasm, are currently filling our days. And we're feeling quite good about it. And cracking through the list too!

But at the same time of course, I'm also getting to spend more time with the family. Which will be the one major thing I will miss when I eventually go back to work, but also the reason why I will do so feeling all refreshed and raring to go. Especially when (if I do say so myself) 3 of them are this cute!:

Back with another one of those Block Rockin' Beats

2011-03-09T17:55:00.000+04:00

OK - quick blog this one, and one that will mean little to anyone who didn't share the same music tastes as me about 10 years ago.

Randomly shuffling through the 8,000+ tracks it holds, on the way to dropping Jack and Emma to school this morning my ipod found "Block Rockin' Beats" by The Chemical Brothers. A track that is best played loud, and in some sort of nightclub.

[Do you know I even had to pause then, at my great age of 35, to consider whether the word "nightclub" is still a word used in common parlance among the youth of today - unlike, say, the word "parlance".]

Now I haven't heard this song (is it actually a "song"? It has more drums (or is it, er, breakbeats?) than lyrics) for a while. But it did take me back to my DJ mixing days (yes, you remember!) when myself and Mr Smith (who, by the way, seems not to blog any more.....) would amuse ourselves, but probably nobody else, collecting vinyl and generally getting very excited about the new tracks by Underworld, Orbital, Daft Punk and other bands that our parents would never have heard of.

[And is "bands" the correct noun there? Weren't they all really just faceless DJs themselves, who preferred computers and sound-boards to instruments, and certainly never sang? Nightclubs / songs / drums / bands - I am mildly panicked now by my inability to talk about music without being all self-conscious of the words I'm using. Is that what middle-aged parenthood means?]

Anyway - I digress. This morning, as "Block Rockin' Beats" ended, Emma turned to Jack and enquired of him whether he "liked that song". He replied with an unambiguous "No".

But Emma, with a look of smug self-satisfaction that clearly was unperturbed by Jack's response, turned to look back out of the car window and announced firmly, but to no-one in particular: "Well, I did".

Oh, I was so proud.

The Oscars: Going for Gold (or What links Leonardo DiCaprio to Irish broadcaster Henry Kelly)

2011-03-01T17:31:00.003+04:00

Being a film ~~bore~~ buff, I look forward to getting up to watch the Oscars each year. Such is my enthusiasm for this, the biggest annual ~~luvvie group hug and mutual backslapping~~ celebration of film, that when the show has finished and I arrive at work (usually a little late) to find people already hard at work or in meetings, I actually feel a bit disappointed for them at having clearly missed at least the big awards, if not the whole thing. Don't they care who got Best Film? Surely everyone likes going to the movies and, in so doing, has a view about what films in the year they liked and what films they didn't. The purpose of watching the Oscars (for that vast majority who have no personal connection to anyone up for an award) is to derive reassuring comfort, however shallow it may be, from the knowledge that the films you most enjoyed watching in the previous 12 months were, to those regarded as being "in the know" (ie. the film industry), similarly recognised for their quality.

The King's Speech was a good film. And it's great that the British sweeped the board on most of the main awards (best film, director, actor and supporting actor, original screenplay, etc). It won 4 awards. But whilst it is difficult to say which was "best" since the two are so completely different films, my personal favourite film of last year was Inception, which won 4 awards also. However, its awards were largely technical - no less important to why the film was, in my opinion, excellent, but since the recipients of those awards are not stars that anyone has really heard of, it will be the King's Speech that is regarded more highly.

Since I haven't seen all 10 films that were nominated, I don't feel entitled to say whether or not it should have won, but nonetheless I would have liked to see Inception get Best Film, as well as Best Director (the latter for which it now seems customary to regard as a travesty that it was not even nominated) and, in particular, Best Score because the soundtrack, which is on constant repeat on my ipod at present, is really good. Try this as a taster - it starts quiet, but turn it up loud and let it grow.

The score to Inception was written by Hans Zimmer, who also wrote the scores for The Pacific, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Gladiator, Crimson Tide, Pearl Harbour, Black Hawk Down, The Last Samurai and parts of Pirates of the Caribbean. All big movies, but bizarrely, perhaps his shining moment was in also being responsible for this (the answer to the question which heads this blog entry). Now doesn't that take you back!

[Postscript 1: I could, alternatively, have titled this blog post "What links King George VI with Ant & Dec?" The answer is Tom Hooper, who won Best Director at this year's Oscars. In addition to being the director of The King's Speech (hence King George VI), it turns out that he started his career directing episodes of Byker Grove.... Oh, don't you just love Wikipedia!]

[Postscript 2: Having resigned from my job last week (see separate blogpost to follow soon), I am actually quite brain-fryingly, mind-numbingly bored this week. And yet I'm hiding it so well, don't you think....?!]

Numbers

2011-02-14T09:08:00.002+04:00

A couple of one-liners that made me smile today:

- Statistically, 6 out of 7 dwarves are not happy.

- There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't.

A Tribute to John Barry

2011-02-01T16:29:00.002+04:00

I cannot say at exactly what age I first became aware that I was a fan of the James Bond films. But I guess it would have been around the age of 9 or 10, which would have been about the same time that I started to learn to play the electric organ. Indeed, it wasn't long before I made a Christmas tape of my playing for my grandparents. It's chosen (by me) theme? The James Bond songs.

My two great loves (music and films) combined into what now sounds embarrassingly amateurish, and is chock-full of mistakes (I was only 11 when I did it), but the one thing I do recall was that despite the many different instrumental sounds that our organ could produce, I always tended to go for either "Strings" or "Brass" in most of what I played. A preference I now recognise as perhaps having been an early attempt to emulate the sound and style of John Barry, who scored 11 of the first 15 James Bond films that I was at that time beginning to become mad about, and whose death was reported yesterday.
In its excellent leading article today, The Times asks what the film Jaws would have been without the signature 'der-dum' theme. Or the shower scene in Psycho without the screeching strings. The point it makes is that "the art of a great music score is to fuse so perfectly with what is on the screen that audiences are sucked into the mood of the movie...without their realising why." A kind of orchestral pathos I guess. Of which John Barry was, in my humble view, a master (he did win 5 Oscars - no actor has ever done that to my knowledge - although criminally none of those were for Bond soundtracks).

My music collection now contains quite a few movie soundtracks (including all the Bond films). But where other composers' film scores do contain beautiful pieces of music (I particularly like James Horner's 'Apollo 13', Thomas Newman's 'Road to Perdition' and James Newton Howard's King Kong), many are often mixed with random snippets ('cues') which are not so much tuneful as they are background noise to the particular segment of film (usually action) that they are written to support. Disappointingly, starting with Goldeneye, most of the recent James Bond soundtracks have been full of these, at the expense of melody.

But John Barry's earlier Bond soundtracks contained music that was of a style and quality all of its own. Lush sweeping pieces of such stand-alone quality that the film directors and editors often saw fit to include them in their entirety within the body of the film, even if they were several minutes long. As such, I regard many of the Bond sountracks just as much classical music as anything by Beethoven or Mozart.

Invariably fitting the style and using the instruments of the locations and time in which the films were based (eg Japan in You Only Live Twice, India in Octopussy, or Las Vegas in Diamonds are Forever) there are numerous personal favourites that I could post here. Aside from most of the film title songs themselves (Diamonds are Forever, Moonraker and On Her Majesty's Secet Service being my favourites), or the entire Octopussy soundtrack, here are merely 3:

Flight Into Space - this is 6m30s of music that completely fits the section of film it defines, namely Bond travelling into space. Don't judge the music by the often criticised over the top plot of the film; this piece is arguably as good, if not better, than the main theme from Star Wars, or Holst's "The Planets", in fitting perfectly the part of the story it represents.

Bond Lured to Pyramids - again from Moonraker, this is merely a section of the film where Bond is walking out of the Brazilian jungle and into an old Mayan pyramid, doubling as the villain's lair; yet despite this rather incidental section of plot, I think this piece is fantastic.

Wine with Stacey - from A View to a Kill, a beautiful instrumental of the Duran Duran title song, which Barry co-wrote and arranged.

Ironically, when I was driving Jack to school yesterday, a random piece from On Her Majesty's Secret Service started playing on my 'shuffling' ipod (this one, if you're interested). Jack has already discovered a liking for the official title songs from the Bond films (we even had to find him a personal CD player so that he could listen to them endlessly on repeat - his favourite is You Only Live Twice, which he first picked up from the sample used in 'Millennium' by Robbie Williams). But when asking me what the song that was playing yesterday was, and hearing me say it was from a James Bond film as well as explaining to him the difference between a song and a score, I could tell that his interest was hooked.

This despite the fact that Jack has yet to really discover or appreciate the brilliance of John Barry's finest composition; but given that he is only 4 days shy of his 6th birthday, We Have All The Time In The World.

Random thoughts and introspection...

2011-01-30T12:41:00.001+04:00

In a period of great boredom (first working day back at work this week, and nothing - seriously, NOTHING - to do), here's a list of random stuff going on in my head. A list of things that probably need sorting out, if only I had the time... you know how it is / I am:

1. After Jack's birthday sleepover this weekend (5 and 6 year olds x 5), why is it that other people's kids seem better behaved than ours?

2. Our garden is finished (finally!). Are we going to spend enough time in it to justify what it has cost us (which will require adjusting our evening tradition of collapsing in front of the TV and instead decamping to the new al fresco majlis - that's me being multi-cultural there!).

3. With less and less to do at work each day, where is my career going and what am I going to do about it?

4. With more and more free time at work each day, would it be worth signing up for a subscription to The Times (the only UK newspaper that is printed locally here), so that I don't have to buy a paper that is at least a day old by the time it has been imported?

5. Where should we go on holiday this year - having spent Christmas in the UAE, I have a little more annual leave available than usual, so it would be nice to go somewhere other than the traditional two-centre summer holiday in Dorset and Crawley. I have an unexplainable sudden desire to go to somewhere like Japan. No idea why.

6. My parents and my Nan arrive this coming Wednesday, which I'm very much looking forward to. But will Nan 'get' Dubai? Am dying to show her around our home, our neighbourhood, our city, but I think it will be like nothing she has seen before or will see again. A little concerned as to whether she will be able to restrain her occasionally age-attributable, no-offence intended, but nevertheless slightly racist remarks!

7. Are we giving Rhys enough time and attention, or is he forever destined to suffer third child syndrome?

8. Willl Southampton make promotion this season, given their apparently impressive yet ultimately unsuccessful bid to cause a big FA Cup upset?

9. Why do mouth ulcers now seem to come more frequently than they used to, and always in two's?

10. Are the Egyptians just cashing in on recent instability in Sudan and Tunisia, or has a hostility to their 30 year President actually been building for more than the mere 5 days that have seen demonstrations taking place? And on the flipside, given that if Mubarak were to merely stick his head out of an open window it seems likely at present that there would be at least one Egyptian among the angry mob crazy enough to shoot him, what possible reason must he still have to want to remain in power?

11. Why have my music tastes recently regressed to the early 1990s (for example, R.E.M.'s "Automatic for the People", Sting's "Ten Summoner's Tales", Phil Collins' (yes, I know!) "Both Sides" - actually a great album -and Crowded House's "Woodface")?

12. Is anyone actually reading this blog apart from immediate family? Who am I really doing it for?

Just stuff that's on my mind...

Band of Brothers

2011-01-13T17:53:00.000+04:00

For Christmas, I was given the box set of The Pacific. This is a WWII miniseries which focuses on the war in (of all places) the Pacific. A war about which I previously knew very little. Some will no doubt proclaim it to be just another US TV show which excessively over-dramatises the emotional impact of the history involved for the sake of good ratings. But I was very keen to not only watch it, but to own it, because I think that these types of TV dramas still do more to keep the history of the time both alive and accessible to those who did not live through it than they do any kind of disservice to the memories of those who died.

This was a sentiment that I first felt when I previously watched Band of Brothers (made by the same production team as made The Pacific). Band of Brothers is the story of Easy Company (part of the US 101st Airborne division), and was entirely developed from the single book of the same name (which I have also read), written and compiled by the late historian Stephen Ambrose from direct interviews with those who were there. Each episode in the series is book-ended with on-camera interviews with those same men; principal among them was their accidental leader, Maj. Richard Winters, who died this week.

The history of Easy Company's war is a virtual history of the war itself. Parachuting into Normandy the day before D-Day, they were tasked with paving the way for the landings themselves. They then fought through Operation Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge, and ended the war in the wine cellar of Berchtesgarden (Hitler's own Alpine home). The portrayal of Major Winters in Band of Brothers is understated and, according to those of his 'brothers' that are still alive and whose tributes have been published online this week, entirely appropriate to his natural character. The fact that Major Winters is included as one of the principal interviewees at the beginning and end of each episode seems to reinforce this.

So why does all this matter? Well, without wishing to be mawkish, I still believe this to be a fascinating period of history not just because of what went on, but also (perhaps more importantly) for what might have happened were it not for the courage, spirit and determination of the people at the time (whether American, British or otherwise). It was, it seems, a time when everyone pulled together out of a sense of pride and duty for their countries; some did massively important things and led major operation after major operation (Winters is a prime example). Others, had smaller, more localised roles (my one remaining grandparent - my Nan who, I am overjoyed to be able to say, is coming out to Dubai to visit us in 3 weeks time at the age of 89 - worked for the WAAFs, stitching together barrage balloons). But regardless of whatever military positions or medals may have separated them at the time, none that you ever meet today display any sense of arrogance over their personal triumphs, achievements and contributions. The war was a great leveller it seems.

Today, when celebrities, footballers and the like are worshipped, idolised and overpaid in a way which only feeds their already over-conceited egos, the comparison with those who genuinely have done something of which they can be proud is striking. I enjoy watching and re-watching Band of Brothers (and will look forward to watching The Pacific) for the same reason: to be able to forget that the world today is selfish and self-obsessed, and instead to wonder if there will be ever again be a time when people can derive collective pride from serving a greater common good together.

At the end of the last episode of Band of Brothers, Major Winters tells the story about a question that his grandson once asked him. I believe that the response he gives applies to all who lived and worked through that time. If you only click on one link from this blog, let it be this one.

Never judge a New Year by its cover

2011-01-10T17:10:00.002+04:00

Oh dear. More than two months since my last blog entry? Oh well, New Year, new renewed vigour, perhaps.

The start of this New Year sees our swiming pool complete, but the garden that surrounds it under a continual state of development (as is appropriate perhaps for a Dubai garden). Guarantees from our British builder of a foreman (slightly bolshy, slightly balding, slightly overweight and no doubt not far from retirement; not sure how he takes his cups of tea though) that it will all be done by the end of January are, in my mind, dwindling in their reliability day by day, but we shall see....

Meanwhile - and prepare yourselves for two rather random and unexciting, but to me slightly quirky facts:
(1) I have already managed to start and finish reading a book this year;, and
(2) (For no other reason than it was there when I was standing in the office kitchen boiling the kettle and I thought I'd try it) I have taken a liking to green tea. Not only because it gives me something to do to break up the otherwise long, devoid-of-work office mornings, without having to go buy/make another cup of coffee (which, by lunchtime, is usually all I can taste after maybe 3 or 4 cups). But also, apparently, because it is Good For You^TM.

The book that I read though was called The To-Do List by Mike Gayle. A throw-away trashy novel admittedly, it relates the story of the author's quest to complete a 1,277 to-do list in a year. I read it in 6 days, which by my recent standards is a minor miracle. I'll admit though that it's been a while since I read something quite as easy; a break at least from the political biographies that line my shelves. I'm not convinced that, come the end, the author felt that he had achieved the life-change that was originally his motivation, but it was entertaining none the less. And rang many a few bells.

Next up: A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks. It's one of 6 books (including "The To-Do List") that I recently bought here in the Borders sale - all for less than £20. Am already at page 30(!) after 2 days. I hope that I maintain this new found enthusiasm for reading.

And one side point (again, of questionable interest to most) that I will at least admit is that I have rediscovered that there is nothing quite like the smell and feel of a new book. I had been almost sold on the appeal (due mainly I'll admit to its inherent gadgety-ness) of the Amazon Kindle. But now, I'm fairly sure that I don't really want one. There are some things in life that you can't improve on. Brand new paper books are one.

A Treat or a Trick?

2010-10-31T21:07:00.002+04:00

I am the kind of person who finds it really difficult to change my mind about something when I have determinedly formed a view about it. And for years, the concept of 'Trick or Treat' every Halloween has been no better example of something I detest. I always feared for the little old ladies getting endless gangs of 'old enough to know better' yobs banging on their doors demanding money.

Yes, you're supposed to think that it's all about 5 year olds dressing up for a bit of fun and remembering their please's and thank-you's in exchange for sweeties, with doting Mummy standing just feet away. But come on... you know that for every sweet faced little excitable young cherub, there was a bloodthirsty oik in the next street causing havoc.

Welcome then to Victory Heights (the 'estate' - even though I hate that description - where we live in Dubai). Which is continuing to hold up its excellent reputation as being something out of The Truman Show / Stepford Wives / stereotypical middle class 1950s suburbia. But long may that continue. Because as I drove home tonight, the streets were awash with little groups of well-behaved, parentally-accompanied children of 5 or 6 years old. Not a BMX-er in sight.

Many of the houses were decorated with Halloween decorations. And everyone knew not to go near the houses without decorations or lights. But there weren't many of those it seems as almost everyone was taking the opportunity to get into the community spirit, with not a hint of aggravation or aggression on anyone's mind.

I was only home from work in time to have the door knocked once, before the non-discussed, but somehow universally agreed curfew of 7.30pm came about. But we were greeted by the most polite children - probably about 7 of them, aged between 5 and 10. They were offered a bowl of sweets.. and each took only one, before backing away nicely offering lots of thank-yous! A shame that this took me so by surprise, but a good surprise nonetheless.

And, having braced for an onslaught, we've now got so many sweets left over! To add to the mountains that Jack and Emma brought back from their first Trick or Treating experience (well... in for a penny, in for a dirham). Even Michele enjoyed it (although came home more empty-handed than the kids).

Perhaps I've been wrong all these years. Perhaps it has something to do with the spirit of our community. Or maybe we were somehow just being visited by the ghosts of communities past...

Anyway, here's a couple of photos of some creatures you wouldn't want to meet on a dark night...

Next week (no doubt): "Penny for the Guy, please Sir?"

35

2010-10-24T09:00:00.000+04:00

Ooh-er. 35, eh? That's like, properly moving along in life. The second half of my 30s begins today - the downward half (which probably means it will go faster than the uphill climb towards 35).

It's predictably cliched to say it, but birthdays are definitely coming along faster and faster these days. And (depressingly) I find myself more and more ambivalent to them. Michele asked me last week what I wanted to "do" for my birthday. Between us, we couldn't come up with much.

But the fact is, I don't really mind. I'll have a big party at 40 I'm sure. But right now actually, the kids' ages makes it difficult to organise anything major, and to be honest I'm just enjoying this time of life (not my age, but more the fact of having young children) in a quiet way.

So whereas, when you are younger, it is the presents you look forward to (and cards are, you know, nice and all), you open the cards first, and fast, so you can get to the presents.

Now I am older, the cards were actually what I was looking forward to most today. Michele has started making her own (which are coming along really well - a hobby she started a few months back, and has really taken to - I never knew she had so much hidden creativity!) so I was really impressed with her card to me, because I could tell that she had put time and effort into making it.

And also because Michele had told me how the kids had sat down (of itself, something to celebrate!) and each made me their own card. In advance, Jack had asked me "Daddy - what are you into? Football maybe? Cars? Because I want to make you a really nice card that is all about you."

So this morning I opened cards from Michele, Jack and Emma that had all been personally made especially. And Rhys gave me lots of smiles too. That's really what makes me happy today.

We're Maid Up! (But you couldn't make it up)

2010-10-17T16:03:00.002+04:00

And so, 7½ years into our Arabian adventure, we have finally succumbed. We have hired a live-in maid.

To those not familiar with Middle Eastern life, this probably sounds alien, decadent, slightly like we're getting a bit above ourselves ("Live-in" you say? What, like "in your house?").

But it really isn't. In fact, for you eyebrow-raising doubters out there, it is probably fair to say that for some time now we have actually put up with more abject disbelief from friends here who have not been able to comprehend why (and more importantly how) we have managed to live so long with young children without help.

And after about a week, we are beginning to wonder too! Those in the UK possibly take a little for granted the availability of a spare pair of hands now and then to "have the kids for the night/weekend/week/month(?)". But for 'we who have nothing' (especially now that we have 3 energetic and demanding little angels), it has at times been a drainin experience. I know that Michele in particular has been feeling somewhat harassed. And so the release has been enthusiastically embraced.

So - welcome Sally to our life. She is 35 and from the Philippines. And she seems to love cleaning. A lot. Up at 6am (despite our having told her not not to be) she dusts, cleans, picks up toys, polishes, hoovers, picks up more toys, washes, irons, picks up toys again, feeds Rhys, tidies, cleans again, etc, etc, etc. She's great. And seemingly more than happy with her room at the back of our house that measures only about 9' by 6' (large by most local standards).

But now begins the process of getting her a visa. All non-UAE nationals working and living in the UAE must have a sponsored residence visa in order to be able to stay here. For most people the sponsor is one's employer (as is the case with me) and dependents are then sponsored by the principal bread-winner. So Sally (like Michele and the kids) has to be sponsored by me - a process which you would think would be easy to follow through. But this is of course the UAE where 'Bureaucracy is Best', and where unemployment is a proudly low statistic due to the policy of being able to easily make even the simplest of processes that much more complicated by involving, on average, 7 more people that it needs to.

For any Western visitor to the UAE, you would ordinarily arrive at the airport, face the usual mumblings that pass for immigration questioning at passport control ("Where you from? Why you come?"), and get a well placed, never to be removed (due to the force with which it is quite literally stamped) 'visit visa' stamp in your passport, enabling you to remain for 30 days (or so it says; actually it's 60 days, but let's not let a thing so trivial as accuracy get in the way of good old fashioned confusion here).

The problem for Sally is that, being from the Philippines, she is not allowed to simply show up and obtain a visit visa. Like all other people from the short list of specific countries from where maids can only be employed (also including India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) she must apply, before coming here, for a 30 day "Tourist Visa".

And here's the punch - once here, and having found a maid's job with a family like ours, you go to convert your tourist visa to a full length residence visa and find..... that you can't. It is, of course, only possible to convert from a visit visa (the one you can't have, being that you come from the Philippines) to a residence visa.

In other words:
- you validly hold Visa Type A;
- you want to convert (and have the sponsor backing to allow you to convert) to Visa Type C; but
- you cann't go straight from A to C. First, you must go and get yourself Visa Type B (the one that you weren't allowed to get at the outset because of where you are from, and the one that you don't ultimately need or want anyway and are only being forced to get so that it can be immediately cancelled and replaced with Visa Type C).

A painful process. But presumably (you, and logic, would think) this cumbersome A to B to C process just requires some more form filling doesn't it?

Well know. Obviously... it requires you to leave the country, and then immediately turn around and re-enter with a (this time pre-approved) visit visa, in order that the authorities can then immediately cancel the visa (presumably with the ink still wet) and convert your visit visa into the residence visa you wanted all along.

And here's the best part of all. Is it simply a case of simply walking three steps over the border, before turning 180 degrees and returning, I hear you ask? Well, no, nothing so mundane.

The official line is, of course, to get on a plane.... and fly to Iran. To the island of Kish to be precise. I swear this is the commonly advertised solution that the Government state is the solution to the problem that the Government created.

All to be funded by your generous, afore-mentioned bread-winner.

On second thoughts, does anyone want to come and have our kids for the weekend?

Moon

2010-10-10T14:32:00.002+04:00

Based upon a review that caught my eye in Empire magazine a few months ago, and because I then saw it in the sales at HMV when in the UK a few ago, I bought and this weekend watched a film called Moon.

Quite low budget by today's standards (around US$ 5m), and even lower in terms of principal characters (one, if you don't include Kevin Spacey's voice), it was really rather good. Here's the basic plot summary, reproduced (without any permission, kind or otherwise) from Amazon.co.uk:

"Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell, an employee of Lunar Industries, the company responsible for mining a fusion energy source called Helium-3, which is vital to Earth's efforts to reverse a serious energy crisis. Sam is all by himself, and as he nears the end of his three-year contract, the solitude is starting to get to him, while his sole interaction on the Moon is with GERTY 3000, a computer voiced by Kevin Spacey. Things start to go seriously sideways when Sam crashes his vehicle while out inspecting one of the giant Helium-3 harvesters. He comes to in the base infirmary, seemingly none the worse for the wear; but an unnerving surprise awaits him when he goes back to check out the accident site..."

No big effects as such, this movie stands or falls on the acting of the lead actor Sam Rockwell (him of Frost/Nixon, The Green Mile and, er, Charlie's Angels). And in one crucial respect, the role demands his acting to be (literally) spot on. Which it is.

At only 97 mins long, it can easily be watched in one sitting (or perhaps two if, like me, the existence of children in your life has made it virtually impossible to watch anything any more longer than about 45 mins without falling asleep).

The sleep thing by the way is no reflection on the quality of the film. I thought it was quite original, and really enjoyed it. Michele, on the other hand, thought it weird and not really her cup of tea (which I attribute to the same originality and, perhaps, its lack of Jennifer Aniston/Julia Roberts/Matthew McConaughey).

An "Old Love"

2010-10-05T11:59:00.004+04:00

I have become increasingly aware recently that I have unintentionally but perhaps unavoidably allowed my once lauded knowledge of (and interest in) music to drop down life's list of priorities. In part this is no doubt due to ever increasing distractions of ~~having kids~~ daily life. But the silver lining to this otherwise really rather dark cloud is that it does occasionally enable me to stumble across albums of yesteryear that, in my humble opinion, still trump the sheer awfulness of 'what kids call music today' [cue eery sensation of deja vu from various conversations I recall having with my Dad around 20 years ago].

And so, for no particular reason other than that it was what my ipod shuffle threw at me yesterday evening on the drive home from work, I present:

Eric Clapton's 1992 MTV Unplugged Album

I remember first hearing this album, randomly, in a colleague's car (someone who was at the time old enough to drive, while I was still taking lessons) on the way home from a WHSmith inter-branch 5-a-side football tournament in Richmond. An oft-quoted memory for many I'm sure.

The thing about this album is that it suits any mood, and any time of day. It is just about the right length, it is not made to sound better as a result of clever production. It's just a very talented guy, in front of an intimate audience, singing some great old songs in a simple but (at the time) fresh style. I collected a number of the MTV Unplugged albums (including, if I recall, Kermit the Frog's - get it here! - worth listening to if only for the cover of "Wild Thing"!). But Eric Clapton's is still my favourite by far. I will listen to it once every few months, and then forget about it for ages, until I rediscover it again. Timeless quality.

Anyway, this shameless plug also enables me to try out some of the new features of this upgraded blog, such as linking in MP3 clips from Amazon. Hopefully this link provides you with a taster. Enjoy.

Blog v.2.0

2010-10-04T23:24:00.000+04:00

Time for a new blog post, and a fresh look to the blog as a whole. Problem is that, as a result of tweaking and playing around with the layout, it is now quite late and I now need sleep.

But, as they say, a rest is as good as a change...

More to follow.

What is the true definition of Pride?

2010-08-19T10:30:00.003+04:00

Is it attributable to something the kids have done? Well, sometimes perhaps. But not today.

Is it something to do with nationalistic euphoria over one's football team? Er, no.

No, today, my pride is my own... at having made it through this year's period of summer solitude (while Michele and the kids are in the UK escaping the heat) without.... (drum roll please).... having overslept on any work day!! Yay - well done me!!! Believe me, this is the first time in around 4 years that this has happened!

It has of course probably been helped this year by the fact that my time as a W.A.N.K.E.R. (Wife Away, No Kids, Eating Rubbish - all of which is true by the way) has been relatively short. Just 3 weeks. But that is not to say that just because I have been able to enjoy uninterrupted sleep every night, and lie-ins at the weekend, it has been as enjoyable as it sounds. I know many friends who live alone, and who relish their independence. But for all the frustrations that children can cause you, I am now (fortunately) firmly of the view that I am a family man.

I miss them all when they are not here. I miss the noise, the chaos, the mess. And that's just Michele(!).

And I can't wait to see them all tomorrow. It honestly doesn't really matter to me where in the world we are for our family summer holidays (UK), or whether we have a 'plan' for what to do on each day. I am just going to enjoy being around the kids (and not in Dubai), having some quality time with them and Michele.

I just need to get through today, and draft my handover notes.

Oh, and pack!

We're - Gonna - Score - One (Four - for - you).... ENGLAND!

2010-06-29T17:03:00.003+04:00

This is an interesting analysis of the national psyche when it comes to supporting, and explaining the rationale for supporting, the England football team.

Many reasons have been offered as to why England crashed out in the second round (I nearly wrote "crashed out early" then, but realised that use of the word "early" would have been a perfect demonstration of what is often said about English supporters - that we consider ourselves as having some pre-destined right to progress to the final stages, if not win the entire thing).

For what it's worth, my own view is that the players rather than the manager are to blame. Capello managed to take a group of players who were not performing, and get them into shape for what was a very successful qualifying campaign - but then it was they, not he, that fell apart when the main event started. Once the game starts, there is surely little that he can do to affect the result beyond substitutions.

I also think that the media frenzy of the English tabloids creates an atmosphere of admittedly admirable national unity that, for whatever reason, seems conspicuously absent from daily life for most of the rest of the time. But this serves then to create an extreme level of pressure on the players to perform. They are ridiculously overpaid, and should not be paid at all to play for the national side, but there is no proof that money engenders an ability to overcome feelings of pressure and nervousness. The point made in the article linked above about the difference between the reaction of a goal-scoring English player compared with any other player (namely a release of built up aggressive tension versus simple jubilation) is well made. I suspect that starting with a bad performance, as England on the whole did against the USA, only serves to pile on even more pressure to perform match on subsequent match. Nobody operates at their peak when under great stress.

The arrival of Rhys on the day that the World Cup began has meant that this time round the tournament has largely passed me by - save for the England matches, I have had little interest in watching any other game. So in a way I am glad that this wasn't the tournament that would replace 1966 as the one that gets spoken about for decades to come. There's always next time.

But between now and then, I hope (but doubt) that players can become more like players again, rather than the overpaid, vain celebrities that their wives and girlfriends are also so frequently labelled.

I hope (but doubt) that next time we will have a manager who is English, rather than Italian (whether Capello stays or goes, the fact remains that when he eventually ceases to be England manager and then immediately picks up the inevitably equally well paid next job somewhere else in Europe - why is that so inevitable by the way? - he will surely take no time at all to cleanse himself of his "Englishness").

I hope (but doubt) that The Sun takes a more tempered approach to stirring national pride.

And finally (since Jack was adamant, the morning after the England defeat, that I was not going to be able to do this since having taken him to the pub to see his first public game last week), I hope that I am allowed to go to a pub again at least once before the next World Cup in 2014!

Football... but not yet the Facts of Life

2010-06-24T23:45:00.003+04:00

Last night, for a treat, I took Jack with me to watch England attempt to salvage their World Cup campaign against Slovenia. We went to a bar called Nezasaussi (I think that's right) at the Al Manzil Hotel in Dubai. A bar that could claim to be both a sports bar, and at the same time a family bar (entirely smoke free which, despite the smoking ban in the UK, is still somewhat of a novelty in Dubai).

And they had a limited entry policy so that it was comfortably busy, without being '4 deep at the bar' busy. Which of itself would not have been a problem anyway, what with the waitress service that is common in all bars here!

Anyway, the occasion was one long question-fest for Jack, whose eyes were as big as saucers for most of the evening as he soaked it all up (the atmosphere, not the beer - even though he did ask for one!). And it didn't take long for my 5 year old to develop the intricate art of football punditry, albeit tinged with an element of grand-standing: "Daddy, when I'm a professional footballer, I'll pass it more and score all the goals."

When you take Jack out by himself for such a male-bonding type event, I always know that he will be on his best behaviour. He was happy to watch the game, with his arm slung round my shoulders at times (like the definitive late night drunkard being propped up by his mates). One of those moments I will remember forever I think. The result of the game was almost an irrelevance.

This weekend: Emma's 3rd birthday party. Life does seem all about the kids these days!

The Watkins Family: Now available in Widescreen!

2010-06-11T23:12:00.005+04:00

So today, 4 became 5 with the birth of our second son, Rhys Daniel Watkins (weight 7lb 8oz for those to whom this matters).

To attempt to describe the miracle of childbirth is to belittle it I'm sure, because it really is an indescribable feeling to see one's children come into the world. And the shameful irony is that the one doing all of the work, namely Michele (although I am quite proud of the all important hand holding, hair stroking duties that I feel I performed admirably), is the one who never gets to witness it 'close up' so to speak.

When the head emerges first the face is eerily peaceful in its expression. It is as the remainder of the body follows, like perfectly packaged flat-pack furniture, that the release from its wombed restraint suddenly causes the little body to come to life, and the all important first infant cry breaks what you have to then not actually realised was quite a peaceful atmosphere (Michele, to her credit, has never once screamed on the birth of any of our children - although I think the gas and air that she was sucking up in great lungfuls may have had something to do with that).

Regardless, even after 3 children (and there will be no more), the moment of realisation that this little person is your sole responsibility to mould, educate, develop and grow is an incredibly powerful one.

But so too is the feeling that I was already experiencing whilst driving home, that was so aptly soundtracked when my ipod found The Verve's song - "Lucky Man".

Indeed I am.

Welcome to the world Rhys. I hope we do you proud.

...or is it History in the Making?

2010-05-10T22:32:00.005+04:00

So my previous blog post proved to be relatively close in terms of Conservative seats won (I was only 6 out, and possibly only 5 if the last remaining seat stays Tory, as is expected).

But I was clearly wrong when I suggested that history was repeating. Having been aged -1 at the time of the last hung parliament, what is currently happening this week in Westminster is, for me, history in the making. And I'm loving it.

Just this evening, we have seen (i) the PM resign, (ii) the possibility of the (to some extent) assumed Tory/Lib Dem coalition being thrown into disarray by (iii) the now possible Labour/Lib Dem coalition being offered. And then (iv) the Tories hang out an Alternative Vote Referendum carrot. If you turn off, you'll miss something. And I'm still recovering from having little sleep on election night.

The great irony is that it is Nick Clegg's Lib Dems, who came third in the election, and who lost seats rather than gained any new ones, who will now ultimately decide when and how this ends. Nick Clegg is the politician who now has all the power in Westminster at the moment, even though that will immediately end once he chooses in which direction he will turn his party. My view is that it should be towards the Conservatives, for fear of business only being possible with some almighty (and therefore unmanageable) coalition of Labour, Lib Dem, Scottish and Welsh Nationalists, Greens and the DUP.

Meanwhile, the age of 24 hour news coverage is coming into its own. Many times I have railed against Sky News, but the effect of actually now having enough newsworthy events to (probably for the first time) fill a rolling news program for several continuous hours has shown them to be woefully not up to the job. Just in the last two days we have had this...

Then half an hour later (and as a direct result) came this....

And then the normally unflappable, albeit a little pompous Adam Boulton (Sky's answer to David Dimbleby), although probably a little tired after goodness knows how many continuous days of work, showed his true colours with this 'debate' with Alastair Campbell.

I'll admit on this occasion, that you wouldn't see these kind of things on the BBC. The Guardian summed it all up well here.

Great stuff.

It's all just a little bit of History Repeating

2010-05-07T00:52:00.005+04:00

5 minutes until polls close. The excitement of an election night is, I think partially due to the fact that it happens relatively infrequently. Probably only 3 or 4 times in my material living memory. 1997 was a good one. Since then, our presence in the UAE has made it logistically more difficult to follow the UK coverage (always BBC by the way!), but this year I am making a special effort despite the time difference.

But I am always sceptical of the ability of so many millions of people to really understand what they are voting for. The parties it seems are today so close together in understanding what needs to be done (fix the economy, end the war in Afghanistan, improve education standards and the NHS, cut crime) but is it really possible for a collection of clearly intellectual men to be so far apart in how best to fix those problems? I think not. Every time you hear one of them say that the others' policies are going to lead to fewer policemen on the street, higher numbers of illegal immigrants, I'm afraid I just don't believe it. Because I know the "other" would immediately dispute such an accusation.

As such, I am increasingly of the view that the election is won or lost purely on the charisma and leadership personality of the party leaders. Tony Blair looked like a statesman. Especially when compared with the drab John Major. Now, 13 years later, David Cameron against Gordon Brown seems like deja vu.

So who is your money on. It's 10pm in the UK, Dimbleby is in charge. I say Cameron edges it by a whisker with 311 seats. But not quite enough to form a government alone. Which will cause Gordon Brown to resign over the weekend once the Daily Mail has sharpened its knives during the course of tomorrow. We shall see...

Burning down the house

2010-04-20T12:37:00.007+04:00

Two separate and seemingly unrelated incidents:

Incident One

Michele, the kids and I returned on Saturday from a very enjoyable 4 day mini-break in Muscat (the capital of Oman). Here are some photos. The nearly 6-hour drive (which was longer than planned due to Emma's unprecedented number of pot(ty)-stops) was managed with the assistance of a portable DVD player, Mary Poppins and, for a bit of musical variety, the soundtrack to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

On arrival at our hotel we found out that Tom Jones was performing that night in the hotel grounds, to 4,000 local... er... Muscatians. Obviously without tickets we were unable to attend, but come 8.30pm with the kids asleep, Michele and I crept out of our hotel room and peered out the window at the end of our corridor to take a peek at the show. It hadn't yet started, so we turned to walk back to our room only to bump into the showman himself on his way from the bar to the stage. Looking every bit of his near 70 years I should add.

As is always the case when you bump into famous people unexpectedly, he played it cool and pretended not to notice us. It's not unusual.

Anyway, I was able to catch some of the concert later by being able to see over the cordoned-off concert area from the hotel pool deck. I was pleasantly surprised. Even under the hot lights of the stage, and in temperatures that were already pushing 40 degrees, he pulled off a 90 minute show with great volume and flair. All the better to me for not having had to pay to see it!

Incident Two

Yesterday evening, around 10.15pm, the distinct smell of burning electrics was emanating from the cupboard under our stairs at home. More specifically, from a metal junction box mounted on the wall, one component of which I found to be rapidly overheating. I rang the local maintenance company who are contracted by Emaar (the master developer of our estate) to undertake all maintenance for Emaar properties. They arrived (a collection of bemused Indian men), claimed to have no knowledge or explanation for the problem, and promptly left suggesting I call Emaar.

10.30pm. I called Emaar. They were uninterested since the property was "out of warranty". I enquired as to whether they might be more interested if the property were on fire - but (not picking up on the veiled sarcasm) they could merely offer me the number of the local fire brigade, in the event that it might come in useful. They then suggested I call an alternate maintenance company.

Which I did. As was quickly becoming predictable, they could not attend due in this case to me not being one of their subscription customers - "'tis not allowed sir." Far be it from me to suggest that sometimes, rules are made to be broken...

10.45pm. I call Emaar again. A different call centre person. So I must explain the entire story again. They suggest I call the telecoms company (du), since it would seem that the junction box relates in some way to the cables providing telephone, cable TV and broadband to the entire house. I call du. They cannot help since, as far as they can see, all of my phone, TV and internet services are operating. I suggest that they may be operating, but that they are not facilitating for me much in the way of useful conversation. The problem though, I venture to suggest, is that these services may not be operating if the house burns to the ground. They seem to indicate that if, at that time, we would be interested in discussing a reconnection of the services, then they would be better able to assist.

11.00pm. I shut down all power to the house. Yet still the junction box has power. Manage to isolate the problem to an overheating reserve power battery. With all power off, and the battery therefore cooling down from something now approaching the temperature of the sun to more acceptable levels, we go to bed. I dream of Hell, and other hot places. Before realising that I am not in fact asleep and really am here in Dubai.

This morning, we begin the process of repeating the previous evening's telethon to determine whether any of the aforementioned companies may have slept on it, and woken up with some common sense. I then immediately realise again of course that we are, as I say, in Dubai, so I may be expecting too much....

Anyway. Notwithstanding Tom Jones' excellent performance a few nights ago, I cannot help but think that the karma of me being a sneaky, non-paying observer of his concert has come back to bite me. If only I'd realised that I was tempting fate as he was singing this.

A little bit of sunshine

2010-02-10T10:39:00.003+04:00

This morning on the way to nursery:

Bill Withers (on the radio): "Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. It's not warm when she's away. Ain't no sunshine when she's go-one. And this house just ain't no home. Anytime she goes away...."

Emma (as if from nowhere): Daddy, why the little girl go away?

Daddy: Um, I don't know Emma.

Emma: Maybe little girl come back.

Daddy: Yes, maybe.

Emma (seemingly satisfied with this state of affairs): Mmm.... but little girl naughty.

Back once again

2010-01-03T17:27:00.004+04:00

Benefit to you, dear reader, of my being continually bored at work: I get to add another post to my blog. That's two in, like, a really short period of time.

The 'con' to my 'pro' though is that I have no capacity from here to add any fancy gimmicks, like links, or photos, or video clips, or some other such filler. Also, I'm not ashamed to admit to experiencing a slight feeling of betrayal at having to be posting this using my company's Windows-based operating system, and not my new Macbook, what with me now being a full paid up "Apple System Supporter" and all (you work out the acronym).

But never mind. Here nonetheless is a blog post. The first of 2010. And an example of my new year's resolution to get back into the mood for this blogging lark.

Nothing of consequence immediately springs to mind to talk about here right now. But no matter. Consider this first post of the year to be the written equivalent of gently pressing down on the seat of an old chair that's been left idle for a while, to reassure oneself that it is sufficiently stable and will hold together under the weight of what is shortly to be placed in it.

What it is my intention shortly to place in it.

Probably.

If I have the time.

And I deliberately haven't defined "shortly".

Once, twice, three times a Daddy!

2009-12-15T15:01:00.005+04:00

Hmm. 8 months have elapsed since I was last here. Almost enough time to have another baby.

Speaking of which.... our third is on the way! Due around 30 June 2010. No we don't yet know the sex, nor do we intend to find out. Even though it would enable us to finally get rid of at least half of the stockpile of boy and girl baby clothes that we have been storing for just such an occasion. Oh well, guess we'll just have to move to a new house instead (coming in early 2010, inshallah).

And to anyone who assumes that my extended absence from this blog has been in any way due to the time and effort required to get to the point of being able to announce this news today... no comment!

Of greater concern though is the fact that if Baby No.3 arrives a day late on 1st July, it will have the same birthday as its sister, its mother and its grandad (my Dad). What are the chances.....? Surely that creates an opportunity for a double page spread in The Sun!

Fish, football and getting fired...

2009-04-05T15:12:00.003+04:00

...taken in reverse order.

No, I have not been fired. Just couldn't think of another word beginning with 'F' (well, apart from that one) to mean being potentially redundant.

Which is what has happened in our office this week. It started like this, but the small print (so small it hasn't been announced as I understand) reads that our Middle Eastern offices also have to lose some lawyers. Possible alternatives include client secondments, periods of extended unpaid leave, pay cuts or part time hours. All of which would have sounded great a few years back - a chance to do that year long travelling adventure that it has been my biggest regret in life never having done when I had the chance, post-University - but circumstances are such that now the threat of redundancy comes at the worst possible time personally, professionally, and financially. [Insert the afore-mentioned 'F' word here]

All of the 14 non-Partner lawyers in our office are potentially under threat. I have reasons for believing (genuinely not deriving from misplaced delusions of grandeur) that I am safer than some. But nothing is for certain. And when I look at how Michele and I were doing so well out here, only to have now reached a point where the possibility of redundancy has come about when what money we had made we have locked into a house that is now worth less than we paid for it, it is depressingly unsettling.

It just feels that there is a certain inevitability to the way bad things come in 3s. Or 4s. Or many. All at the same time. And always at the wrong time.

Rather like the fact that my football team (if that is still an appropriate description given their current position in the Championship) went into administration this week. It has happened before to Wimbledon. And also almost to Leeds. But I genuinely feel that with Southampton, the end is nigh.

Whilst I don't understand how other teams that are consistently in debt seem able to continue operating whilst remaining in debt, my little south coast team seems to carry with it a suicidal desire to fail lately. Beaten at home this weekend by the only team worse than it in the league, and never having mustered a challenge for promotion back to the Premiership since it was relegated from there, it is not going to need to be docked 10 points for going into administration in order to guarantee being relegated even further - it should be able to achieve that all by itself.

On a lighter note, we bought Jack a new fish this weekend to replace dearly departed Bob. Actually, we bought two fish - a sucker fish that cleans the tank for us, which he has called Barney (because he likes to "Clean Up, Clean Up" - Barney fans will understand the reference), and also a second gold- (well, more like pastey white) fish, which Jack has called BJ (Barney's friend).

So far, after two days, both are still alive. A little bit of good news in an otherwise gloomy world....

Cold(and wet)play

2009-03-31T13:02:00.004+04:00

It has been unusually wet in the UAE for the last few days. Which, for a country where rain is practically unheard of for most of the year (average annual rainfall is 6.5cm), is quite an event.

I went to see Coldplay in concert at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night. It was awesome, but for the rain. Security protocol dictated that anything that could be thrown around (such as plastic water bottles and umbrellas) were being confiscated on the way in, which meant that when the rain came we had nothing to either shield ourselves with, or collect it in.

But the lightning storm that accompanied the rain couldn't have been stage managed better as the perfect backdrop to the show. Take a look at this clip, which was the start of the show. Watch the sky behind the stage at around the 1:17, 1:30 and particularly 2:09 points. Quite spectacular.

I wasn't sure about the latest Coldplay album when I bought it last year, but this concert has now won me over. Have had it on constant loop in my car ever since. Some people (Michele being a prime example) often accuse Coldplay of being a depressing band, which is arguably true if you are only really familiar with Trouble (which is probably the only Coldplay song my parents are familiar with!). But they didn't play that song in Abu Dhabi, and in any event I think they are too often criticised due to the speed with which they became extremely popular. And also Chris Martin's occasional "holier than thou" grandstanding on issues like climate change and global poverty.

But they are currently touring the world twice over it seems during the remainder of this year. Some of which concerts may even be inside, away from the rain. So go see - you will enjoy (even without the lightning).

What to make of Jade Goody

2009-03-23T09:40:00.002+04:00

I'm really struggling to decide what my opinion is about Jade Goody, who died yesterday. Predictably the media coverage of her death has been extensive, almost to (if not beyond) the point of excess. But I cannot help but wonder whether, despite the fact that it was a Sunday when news is probably quieter than in mid-week, it warranted 'Top Story' status on both Sky News and the BBC website for most of the day.

Undeniably it is a tragedy for a young mother to die so young and with two young children. But all the coverage seems to be reporting what she "did" to help raise awareness of cervical cancer. To me, there is a difference between actually doing something and simply making people aware by living out the reality in public. Jade Goody did the latter. Is it correct to say that she "did so much good for the cause"? Or was it more that she was extremely unlucky to be inflicted with cancer yet by remaining in the spotlight of the reality television cameras in a manner not seen before she served to effectively shock the general female public into the action of getting checked themselves?

It was obviously Jade's decision to live out her final few days in the public eye, and maybe this is what is being regarded as her contribution to raising public awareness. But here's the reason why, for me, the jury is still out on what to make of all this - because it is unclear what the motives were of those who have been watching? Are those who bought Hello magazine, or the daily tabloids, or watched her wedding on TV as a means of feeding their hunger for the latest updates on her condition, to be considered generous contributors to Jade's chosen form of fund raising (for what good would her desire to maximise the publicity coverage of her condition in order to raise money for her sons' future have been if there were nobody interested in biting the hand that feeds them)?

Or rather are they to be considered the very worst form of reality TV addicts, blinded to their underlying mawkish desire to witness one woman's sad and impending death played out like a 24/7 TV show?

I once read Ben Elton's book "Dead Famous", which was published somewhere around the time that the 2nd or 3rd series of Big Brother was being televised in the UK. The fictional story was set in a Big Brother type house, where one of the housemates was murdered mid series. What followed was played out on TV as the show was allowed to continue, much to the glee of the producers behind the scenes. It was a good book as I recall, but whilst entertaining on one level, it was clearly also designed to raise clear questions on another level about the depths to which reality TV might sink. If the people who were laying flowers outside Jade Goody's house yesterday, many of whom were residents of her village but did not know her other than through seeing her on television, had read that book, I very much doubt that they would have spotted the second level.

A sad day, and A Good Year

2009-03-09T12:06:00.002+04:00

Yesterday, Bob (one of Jack's two goldfish - named Bob and Wendy after Bob the Builder and Wendy, his.. er.... friend I guess) died. Bob (the fish) had been ill for some time.

Jack was pretty upset, and I won't be ashamed to admit that the sight of a little 4 year old boy having to grapple, for the first time, with death was starting to choke me up after a while too:

Jack: But I didn't want Bob to die.

Daddy: I know Jack, but sometimes when fishes [I wasn't yet ready to say the word "people"] get very sick, it just happens. He's happy now because he's [Daddy looks up] in Fishy Heaven. [By "Fishy Heaven", I was intending to allude to a heaven for fishes, and not a particular seafood restaurant that may happen to go by the same name.]

Jack: [Looking upwards] But where is fishy heaven? I can't see him.

Daddy: Well, you can't see it, it's a long way away.

Jack: But there can't be any water in fishy heaven because otherwise it would fall down from the sky? How will Bob swim?

Daddy [having to think quickly on his feet]: Erm, well, there will be water Jack, because... erm... Fishy Heaven is a magical place. And Bob can see you.

Jack: But how can he see me if I can't see him?

And so it went on...

We seemed to have got past it by mid-afternoon, but by bedtime we were upset again. I'm sure the pain will ease over the coming days.

Jack's too.

Incidentally, some recent pictures of the kids can be found here. And for the avoidance of doubt, Jack is wearing his beloved Buzz Lightyear outfit in the last one. In case you were wondering.

Anyway, on an entirely unrelated point, Michele and I watched A Good Year in the evening (very light, slightly rom-com film with Russell Crowe as a British (albeit with questionable accent) investment banker type who gets left a villa in Provence by his uncle, and then becomes converted by French Provencal life). All very light and fluffy. Not the best film in the world perhaps, but very good for a Sunday night.

Still bored, what to do...

2009-02-25T17:06:00.002+04:00

The absence of anything particularly interesting to do at work gives lawyers plenty of opportunity to record time (not chargeable to clients you understand, but we still have to fill our timesheets with something that sounds productive) doing legal "research".

Which doesn't exactly explain how I came across this article, but what the hell... it appealed to my puerile sense of humour today.

Back to doing proper research tomorrow. Maybe.

Creeping boredom

2009-02-09T15:15:00.003+04:00

Life is slow at present. Hence how I find myself blogging in the middle of the working day.

The credit crunch has hit Dubai, contrary to what the local media would have you believe. As a real estate lawyer in Dubai, what little work I have at present (none today) now involves pulling deals apart rather than putting them together. Many of the outlandish projects that had been launched or announced a few months back have been quietly shelved/scrapped. Don't be fooled by Piers Morgan's recent ITV show, which in my view was more a reflection (in its optimism) of how Dubai was 3 or so years ago.

Problem for me is - I'm trapped at present. We have a house which has sunk in value despite not yet having finished being built (now delayed until September) which we would be foolish to sell. We have extortionate rent to pay on our current property. And now is arguably not the time to be looking for work elsewhere, despite a growing concern that the lack of work in our office cannot sustain the number of lawyers currently sitting around twiddling thumbs / blogging forever. What to do...

However, on a happier note (if that is the right word) we had 17 marauding 3 and 4 year olds rampaging through our house last Friday for Jack's 4th birthday party. A 3 hour party that took a further 3 hours to clean up from. Fortunately, the weather being as reliable as it is, we could throw them out in the garden for most of the afternoon. I hope Jack enjoyed it - the photos would seems to suggest he did.

Will try to be happier in my next post.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2009-02-02T17:21:00.003+04:00

...should be taken more as an instruction to all than as a song lyric.

Obviously there is no snow in Dubai today (or, to be honest, ever). And the pictures of the heaviest snowfall in Southern England for 18 years are making me very envious of those at home. But I expect that there are the usual army of snow-haters who are, like the joy-killing grit lorries, out in force decrying the snow as bad for British business.

Oh, get over yourselves! Snow is, let's face it, great fun. You don't need to be a kid to have a great snowball fight. And since it happens so infrequently nowadays, why can't the whole country be declared (on last minute notice) a national holiday? Believe me, it would happen here (as it did when George Bush came to town and the whole road network throughout the city was closed for a day without notice!).

Surely if everyone were to stay at home rather than feel compelled to try to get to work (or, unforgiveably, WANT to get to work), it would save on road accidents, on most businesses having their staff trickle slowly in throughout the morning, and on the incessant rage when those same commuters all have to try to leave to get home at the same time only to find cancelled trains leave them stranded at work miles away from their children who are desperate for Daddy to get home to have that snowball fight....

Were it not for the guilt that one feels about having to show that some effort was made to get to work, everyone would surely feel much happier if all meetings, client appointments and the good of the national economy were all put on hold in the name of one day's impromptu fun?

I'm sure somebody somewhere will today be quoting the precise cost to the national economy of people staying at home on holiday for 1 day (and doing so, strangely, without either offering or being asked to provide an explanation for how or where such figures are corroborated). But what of it? I for one never believe such figures as anything other than a doom-mongering irrelevancy. If the national economy takes a hit, well... it is what it is. The economy can and should be able, like all things in life, to enjoy a little downtime now and then.

Besides, being outside in the fresh air and the snow has to be better for the collective national health (the cold temperature notwithstanding, but put extra thick gloves on) so there is an obvious beneficial trade off.

In short, I miss snow. And will happily blizzard on the parade of anyone who complains about it.

The simplest of tasks

2009-01-21T12:10:00.002+04:00

Call me a stickler for the rules, but this is the kind of analysis I was suprised not to see more of on CNN, BCC, Sky et al in the immediate aftermath of Obama's inauguration. OK so the inauguration speech was suitably and predictably strong in tone, chock full of rhetoric and grandiose statements (lots of pleas to a divine being, looking forward to "new horizons", patriotism galore).

But wasn't it more interesting that the US Supreme Court Chief Justice - the most senior judge in the land - had but one job, which was to feed to Obama the 35 word Presidential oath that presumably both of them had privately rehearsed many times in preparation for the big moment. And he messed it up. Clearly it threw Obama off, and has resulted in the TV networks having to do some hasty editing when replaying the moment - CNN skip over the embarrasing bit, but the moment when America's first African American president took the oath of office is now forever confined to history as an event of great political and cultural significance poorly executed.

The Chief Justice was of course a Bush nominee, and the first ever Chief Justice delivering the oath of office to a President who previously voted against his appointment. One wonders whether this a last final Bushism, delivered by proxy?

The Eve of a New Dawn?

2009-01-19T22:53:00.003+04:00

Exactly one year ago today, I noted this. Clearly the past links to Wokingham (and the presence of a grandmother in Bracknell) have proved a good omen as Barack Obama prepares to take the oath of office to become the 44th President of the United States tomorrow. The newspapers are full of comment, opinion, advice, even continued disbelief at the fact that American has finally elected itself its first black President (even if he is, in truth, just as much white as he is black - but don't let that rain on the parade).

I will watch the inauguration tomorrow. Albeit from the warmth of my house in Dubai rather than the National Mall in Washington. One wonders what length of honeymoon period he will be afforded. The economy, the Middle East (Gaza/Israel, Afghanistan and Iraq) are the hot topics. Inevitably, the seachange that everyone is expecting will not generate immediate results. But somehow, despite the depressing state of the world today, that doesn't seem to matter too much. I can't help but wonder what it must feel like to be one man upon whom the hopes and expectations of, effectively, the entire world rest. You wonder what you would be feeling in such circumstances....

We may be half a world apart, different nationalities, different backgrounds and skin colours, but I was pleased to learn that I have at least one thing in common with the new President - the tragic inability to be without one's blackberry!

The only decent thing to have ever come out of Birmingham...

2008-12-18T10:22:00.003+04:00

...is Cadburys chocolate.

As I type this, I am munching on a novelty Chocolate Santa. You know the sort of thing - about 6 inches tall, moulded to look like Santa and wrapped in silver foil printed with Santa's image.

And it's nice, don't get me wrong. Having started it by biting the head off (making sure first that no small children were around to witness such a vicious decapitation), I am admittedly stopping after typing every words... mmm.... of this blog entry to.... mmm... eat a bit more.

It will all be gone in one sitting.

But it was made by Lindt. Not Cadbury's. And therein lies the fundamental difference. Something to do with the creaminess I think, but Cadbury's has some secret ingredient I am sure which is the reason why no other chocolate in the world tastes as nice.

It's something to do with the creaminess I think, but as far as I know it could be some well-kept secret of an ingredient (like the recipes for Coca-Cola or Willy Wonka's everlasting gobstoppers).

Just don't expect a trip to the Cadbury's factory in Birmingham to be as exciting as a tour of Wonka's. It doesn't have a glass elevator for one. And all the Oompa Loompas are from "Wist Bromitch" as I recall. Hardly magical.

Christmas Music (2)

2008-12-15T22:46:00.003+04:00

Continuing a previous thread, and before my feelings of despair overtake me regarding the growing inevitability of this year's Christmas No. 1, I seek solace in the warm familiarity of my all time favourite Christmas album.

Yes I know I previously said that my all time favourite Christmas song is Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song", but for the complete package I very much recommend to you the 1963 album (and so from an era when Christmas was, well, Christmasy) "Christmas Wonderland" by Bert Kaempfert.

This album, originally my Grandad's, has been the soundtrack to literally every Christmas that I can remember. And although only 2 people have reviewed it on Amazon.co.uk, all 27 people on Amazon.com give it 5 stars. And when I read the reviews there, so many of which could have been written by me ("It isn't Christmas without this music"; "I overflow with nostalgia when I hear this CD"), the feeling of not being completely out on my own on this was very reassuring.

Of course, in younger years it would never have been cool to reveal my love of this music to anyone under the age of, say, my parents. But I absolutely love listening to this album at this time of year. Entirely instrumental, it's not simply the memories of past Christmases that it generates. It just sounds like Christmas should sound.

Bert Kaempfert, a German band leader and renowned trumpet player who died in 1980, may not be familiar to many, but his music has a very distinctive sound. In much the same way that, say, Glenn Miller (who, I'll go out on a limb, and say I also like a lot) did.

You can hear two tracks from the Christmas Wonderland album here and here.

Enjoy. And spread the word. What with downloads now forming part of the UK charts, I hereby start the campaign for a better Christmas No. 1 next year.

Christmas music

2008-12-14T11:40:00.002+04:00

At the risk of revealing that I am no longer in that phase of life where I can tolerate BBC Radio 1, I mention again (and for the second consecutive blog post) Radio 2, for the reason that I heard yesterday the Christmas No. 1 challenge being posed this year by Terry Wogan and Aled Jones. Entitled Little Drummer Boy, it is (unusually for this time of year) of course the traditional Christmas song, and a cover of the Bing Crosby / David Bowie version from a few years back. Which was itself a cover I think, but hey, aren't all traditional Christmas songs.

And not just because it is the adopted Children in Need song (and so "all in the name of Charidee"), I really hope that it makes it to No. 1 for Christmas. It's not actually the best Christmas song I've ever heard (I'd even go so far as saying that it's not actually that good), but the thing is I can't remember the last time a Christmas song was No. 1 at Christmas. But since it's only one week of the year, I have always been in favour of the novelty Christmas record, or the Cliff Richard festive favourite achieving the top spot on account of it being Christmasy and/or fun.

Yesterday of course was the final of the X Factor. Aside from the fact that I never quite understand why the second and third place finalists each year don't end up competing (and winning) in subsequent years, I abhore the fact that each series predictably finishes just in time to release the winner's song (which is never a Christmas song) the week before Christmas. But here we are again looking at, what, the 4th X Factor winner taking the Christmas No. 1 spot in a row? How very boring and un-Christmasy.

Sadly, I think that Terry Wogan and Aled Jones have missed a trick here, as their record was released last week and so will peak too early, probably claiming the No. 1spot today, before dropping off in favour of the new X Factor winner in the all important Christmas chart next Sunday. Shame that.

It is a sign of the times though that the Charts are compiled based upon nothing more than clever marketing/release date scheduling. And, even at this time of year, they are incapable of preventing some would-be sub-standard Mariah Carey from triumphing over something traditional.

When I was younger, part of the build up to Christmas was watching to see whether Cliff, Shakin' Stevens or whoever would top the Charts for Christmas Day. Sadly those days are long gone.

Perhaps I should just console myself with the assumption that music producers today recognise that since nothing could ever even come close to bettering Nat King Cole's 'The Christmas Song' for sheer yuletide perfection, there is no longer any point in even trying. Yes, I'm sure that's it.

Reassuringly comfortable TV

2008-12-12T22:10:00.002+04:00

Listening to Radio 2 (by internet) this afternoon, I heard on the news that today was the final edition of Countdown featuring Carol Vorderman. Not in itself earth shattering news but, I am pretty sure, the end of an era for an entire generation (my Nan included).

I am certainly not a massive Countdown fan (can't afford to be frankly, having opted instead for a full time job during the day, and an overseas one at that), but on those rare occasions when I happen to be in the UK on a weekday afternoon flicking through the channels, if Countdown is on I do tend to flick no further.

Save for perhaps the colour of the set, the main presenter (since Richard Whiteley died) and Carol Vorderman's hairdo, as far as I can tell Countdown has not changed a bit in the 26 years it has been going. Where other game shows have come and gone (even on Channel 4 afternoons - remember 15 to 1?) it has quietly kept doing what it does so effortlessly. Which is to provide mental stimulation to the legions of pensioners who are sitting down with a cup of tea and a biscuit. It is reassuringly comfortable TV - no agenda, no sense that it will ever change more than the afore-mentioned aspects of the show (nor does it need to).

I remember coming home from school on the days when my Nan and (now passed, but still very missed) Grandad would be staying with us. Countdown was always on. And I would watch it with them on those days. And you cannot help but play along at home. I was never any good mind, but that wasn't the point. Whatever else was going on in the world didn't matter for that 45 minutes or so. For 26 years it has always been there, predictable in its format, but at the same time reliable in serving the needs of its audience. Although I only dip in and out very infrequently, every time I do it has the feeling of something slightly old-fashioned, but at the same time safe and dependable. In that way, very much like the grandparents I used to secretly enjoy spending many a post-school afternoon watching it with.

But now that neither Richard Whiteley or Carol Vorderman remain as hosts, I sense that it will no longer be the same show. The same audience will remain, but you can almost hear them already saying, in unison, "it's not as good as it used to be".

The very worst thing it could do is to use the excuse of changing its presenters to adapt itself further, in the belief that now is the time for a complete overhaul. Fresh is the one thing Countdown is not, nor (since 1982) has it ever been. And that's the point. I hope that, for people like my Nan, it is only the faces of the presenters that change, and not the presenting style or indeed anything else about this tea-time favourite. Including even the cod liver oil and stairlift ads in the commercial breaks.

The Global Economy: why is nobody asking the basic questions?

2008-10-23T13:07:00.004+04:00

I studied Economics to A Level and received a 'B' grade - not insignificant.

I don't recall much of it now of course. I remember graphs of demand and supply lines meeting at the optimum price point. I remember micro economics being quite straightforward, but then being floored by the concept of macro economics (once I'd realised that it had nothing to do with calculating the cost savings to be made if you shop at the wholesale discount store Macro).

In particular, I remember only ever having a minimal understanding of the interplay of exchange rates, inflation, interest rates and why, if one went up, it meant the others went down.

I remember strange discussion about people "buying" currency, without ever really understanding if there were currency shops around that I had never noticed before (I was aware of course of the Bureau de Change counter at Thomas Cook, but somehow this seemed to belittle the idea that our teacher was attempting to convey).

To say then that my knowledge of what has happened in the global markets recently is limited is perhaps to understate the issue, but it seems to me that in all the reporting and analysis, a certain section of the reading and viewing public have been ignored. To me, there seem to be certain fundamental questions that are basic in nature, but have gone largely unexplained. For instance:

1. If the UK has borrowing levels of around £21bn at present, how does the PM unilaterally announce that borrowing will increase to around £70bn over the next few years? Where is this money being borrowed from? Who are the lenders? What are the repayment terms? Were any loan terms agreed in contractual form?

If you go to the bank and ask for a loan, the bank will want to know when you will be paying the money back, will want to charge interest, and will want collateral. What does the Government, already heavily in debt, offer to satisfy lenders on this? And, if it is nothing, and they have managed to obtain the loans on the basis of nothing in writing, and with no collateral, what right-minded individual approved this as a good deal?!

2. The US budget deficit is even worse than the UK's? How does this happen? If the US owes so much, how come it has cash to fund defence, healthcare, indeed anything? Again, where is it getting this money from? And does the budget deficit, that has been hanging around for so long, really matter at all given that no-one really seems that keen to tackle it and clear the deficit. If it is merely numbers in a ever lengthening series of news reports which, no matter how big teh deficit gets does not prevent the US government from continuing to spend, then what relevance is the budget deficit? Why even acknowledge it?

3. If the dominant Western countries of the world are all in debt, then doesn't that mean that some countries somewhere have significant budget surpluses? For every billion that the UK owes, some other country presumably had that billion kicking around and available to lend? Why are not hearing who these cash rich countries are (it is surely not just the Arab states), and why are they not being encouraged to solve the global debt problems?

4. Again, if the US government is in debt, where did it suddenly find $700bn for a bailout package? One week it was business as usual, the next the Government has had to put in place a cash rescue package that a few days earlier it had no warning it would need to implement? Where does one suddenly find $700bn?

Reports were stating how the bail out was going to cost each American family around $3,000. Why report this when in reality everyone knows that the Government is not going to come knocking on doors to collect this amount from each American family? There are presumably many families in the US who simply won't have an additional $3,000 to donate to the Government to help pay for a package they had no say over. There is no way the Government will be able to recover this money from taxpayers. And in any event, why should they? Why can't they just announce an increase in borrowing, thereby saving the need for taxpayers to worry, and just add the $700bn to the already colossal but unimportant budget deficit?

And then you have even more basic questions which I'd love to know the answers to:

5. If people are afraid of inflation, why don't all Western goverments collectively decide now that no item anywhere should be allowed to increase in price by more than, say, 2% this year. Just while things stabilise. People will say "you can't stop market forces" but somebody somewhere must be controlling the actual price of, say oil. Investors rely on the big screens at the stock exchange to update them of share prices and oil prices. The papers are full of stockbrokers and bankers staring at big screens of evr changing numbers. Who is actually sitting behind these screens entering the information? Who decides that the FTSE lost 300 points today? If prices of goods in a shop go up, it is because the shop keeper decided that should happen. He went round with his price gun and changed the prices himself. Who is the shopkeeper for the FTSE? Who decides whether oil goes up or down and precisely by how much?

6. And what of confidence? Why can't everyone now collectively agree that they should be confident again. Start buying, stop selling. And everything returns to normal quite quickly. And everyone is happy.

7. And above all else (albeit that it might be all very well for me to sit in my little Dubai bubble saying this), but is the real man on the street actually affected by any of this? Governments bailing out banks - who cares? As long as savings are secure (which they are in the UK up to £35,000 per account, which is probably more than ample preotaction for most people), OK you may have lost a bit on some shares, but by and large I fail to see how most people's average lives aren't continuing exactly as normal. Why all the doom and gloom?

Happy to be enlightened on all of the above.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

2008-10-22T11:49:00.005+04:00

Which is the best TV show ever?

Without a moment's hesitation, I would argue that it is The West Wing (buy all 6720 minutes of it here for the unbelievably low price of £49.99). Outstanding value.

I cannot recommend this show enough. You need not be interested in American politics (but I am, which made it that much more enjoyable), but the scripting, the casting, the pace, the wealth of issues covered, and just the way that every element of the show fits together to make a complete whole surpasses the quality of anything else that has been on TV ever. Fact. Not even worth debating.

The Good and the Bad of Bond

2008-10-04T23:00:00.004+04:00

More exciting this month than even my birthday (on 24th) is the release (on 30th), of Quantum of Solace, the next Bond film.

The trailer looks awesome.

The theme song, however, neither looks nor sounds anything other than awful. Shame that.

Walking Girl

2008-09-25T17:04:00.002+04:00

Emma took her first proper unaided steps yesterday. And once she'd done it once, she kept on doing it.

Or so I'm told. Of course, as with all these things, it happened while I was at work, although fortunately the matinee performance was being repeated in the evening.

It's weird because we've been trying to encourage her to walk for a few weeks ever since she first became impressed with herself at having been able to stand unaided. It would be interesting to know what was going through her mind that made her decide on this occasion she was actually going to give walking a go, rather than allow her knees to buckle such that she collapsed in a heap on her well padded bottom before setting off at great speed on all fours.

But then I guess I'll never understand how her mind works - she may be only 1, but she is of course also female.

Back to School

2008-09-11T10:21:00.002+04:00

A phrase that used to send me into bouts of depression whenever I used to see those big posters of kids in uniform clutching handfulls of coloured pencils hanging from the ceiling of British Home Stores, the whole concept of "Back to School" has proved to be an entirely different experience for Jack.

He started Foundation 1 (effectively nursery still, but nevertheless based at Dubai British School and requiring him to wear a uniform) on Tuesday and he loves it. He went to bed last night saying "But I just can't wait for school Daddy - I want to go now!". I'm sure it won't last.

Earlier in the day I asked him what he had done at school during the day - a random selection of stories, play-doh, outside play and painting it seems, but "tomorrow Daddy, I've got a French lesson". As it turns out, Thursday's is French, Mondays and Tuesdays is PE, and on Sunday he starts Arabic.

That's two foreign languages then. At the age of 3!

However, embracing the idea of having him learn some foreign languages, last night Michele and I taught him how to say "Hello" and "thank you" in French.

And just before bed, when Michele asked him for a big hug and a kiss, his little inquisitive mind asked "Mummy - how do French people kiss?"

We'll leave that lesson for another day I think.

The Earth moved for me

2008-09-11T09:49:00.002+04:00

We had an earthquake in Dubai yesterday! Well, actually, it was an earthquake in southern Iran, which created what might more reasonably be described as a tremor here in Dubai. Nevertheless, it was all quite exciting. I was sat at my desk when I suddenly felt a little giddy. Thinking it was something medical, I stood up, which was when the lights started to swing and the windows started to creak. And you could visibly see the buildings swaying a little.

It had all pretty much finished by the time we had a chance to realise what it was. But having never experienced it before it was a little weird. Clearly it was a new experience to many of the people in the same and surrounding buildings, all of whom were evacuated to ground level but then decided, in their general milling around pending further instructions (which never came) manner, to take shelter underneath the overhanging parts of the buildings in order to escape the heat. A little bit of sun clearly expected to pose more of a threat than the possibility of the building above them collapsing.

It's amazing how stupid normally rational, professional people become in such situations.

It also never ceases to amaze me that when the directive is subsequently issued that everyone in the area should go home and take the rest of the day off, some still consider their work and client demands to be more important and stay. I knew where my priorities lied and was gone like a shot.

Missing the family...

2008-08-15T22:18:00.002+04:00

For no other reason than to make me smile, I am posting a couple of pictures of the kids. Taken recently, I love these pictures, and love (and miss) the people in them....

Can't wait until Wednesday, when my bachelor summer comes to an end and I get my family back.

Of course, it will be fantastic to see Michele too! (Phew - imagine the grief I would have got if I hadn't remembered to put that line in!)

Music

2008-08-10T23:02:00.005+04:00

My two great interests in life (family aside) have always been music and films. But a couple of weeks ago these came together in an unintentional, and therefore all the more pleasing way.

Making the most of Michele and the kids being away such that, for the first time in a long time, I could sit down and start to watch some of the many 3+ hour films that I own, I thought I would start with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I'd seen them all before but never felt that I'd really 'got' the whole overwhelming feeling of just how epic these films are always described as being.

The films themselves are of course, really good, but it was as the credits rolled on the second film - The Two Towers - that I was struck by the beauty of the closing song.

Now, at the Oscars, it was the song that closed the third and final film - Into the West by Annie Lennox - that won awards and adulation, and which has since become known as the more famous song from this trilogy of films. The end of the first film also had a song by Enya - fitting for the general mood and theme of that film I felt.

But the Two Towers ends with "Gollum's Song", sung by Emiliana Torrini - an Icelandic singer of whom I had never previously heard. She sounds like a cross between Norah Jones and Bjork (the part of Bjork that isn't mad). And this song, simultaneously hymn-like and epic in scale, is one that straddles the fine line between sadness and beauty. But I love it. You can hear/see it here.

And then of course, being one who loves to immerse himself in new stuff that I've found that I like, and through the power of free downloading (I recommend www.mininova.org above i-tunes any day), I have now found and downloaded her first two mainstream albums, from 1999 and 2005 respectively, both of which are excellent and yet very different from each other.

The first is perhaps more accessible and contains songs like Easy, which is quickly becoming my new song of the moment. Also check out Wednesday's Child.

But if you think I've just been fooled by the very tight production on this album, then the second album is completely different - and yet very chilled. Someone once suggested I listen to the much awarded album 'O' by Damien Rice, but I couldn't get into it. However, Emiliana Torrini's second album is very similar I now realise, and made me immediately understand the appeal. Stripped down to little more than guitar and that very breathy voice with the slight Icelandic accent, I really do feel like I've accidentally stumbled across something magical.

And there's a new album out next month (which those lovely people at mininova have again enabled me to download already, and for free too!).

I'm hooked. Hope you are too.

Things to do in Dubai when it's hot...

2008-07-20T18:33:00.004+04:00

1. Shop.

2. See number 1.

The family have left me, with Michele and the kids having returned to the UK for 6 weeks to escape the heat (now pushing 45 degrees daily), as is the summer tradition here for many families. A tradition which we vowed, in the pre-Jack days, we would never succumb to. I recall many a time going out for dinner in the summer evenings, Michele and I commenting on the tragic sight that is the single husband, quietly seated at a 'table for 1' with his half bottle of wine and a book. At least I have not got that desperate yet. I prefer to do my lonely drinking at home with a take away pizza!

Still, musn't grumble. Yesterday was my first day as a W.A.N.K.E.R. (Wife Away, No Kids, Eating Rubbish) and I spent the day doing something that I had probably not done since University. I watched a stupid amount of TV. Like, about 18 episodes of the latest series of 24.

And it was great (both the show, and the watching of it). To some (my parents and perhaps even Michele) this would no doubt seem like a pointless waste of a day, and maybe it was. But that was the entire point. I don't intend to spend every weekend I am here by myself being so reckless (believe me - compared to normality, this is recklessness defined!), but when the alternative options of how to fill the day are so otherwise limited, and given that it had been so long since the biggest thing I had to worry about was whether the beer in the fridge was cold enough, I was happy as the proverbial pig in shit.

Of course, I had not set out to watch that much TV in one day, and so once I got several hours in it became a bit of a challenge as to how long I would keep sitting there in my little world of TV heaven. But it being early afternoon (high noon in outside temperature terms) I could find no obvious reason to Turn Off The TV And Go Do Something Less Boring Instead™.

And when, by around 8pm, I had only 4 or 5 episodes left to go, there was a certain inevitability to seeing it out to the end of the series - poor Jack Bauer was getting himself into an unusually high number of very unfortunate scrapes, to say nothing of the fact that he hadn't eaten or had time to go to the loo all day. (Also, note to self: must get myself one of those 'self-charging, never ending' mobile phone batteries that he has). I went to bed at nearly midnight feeling thoroughly fulfilled by the sheer amount of nothingness that I had achieved during the day.

No doubt my reading audience will be split roughly evenly between those who understand (and are maybe even slightly envious - that's right, you with the kids!) regarding what I 'achieved' yesterday, and those who think I have lost a day that I can never reclaim. To the former, I know who you are, and to the latter I say that I'll go to the gym tomorrow to make up for it. Maybe.

What are the odds?

2008-07-07T20:29:00.002+04:00

Of course, part of our holiday in Cyprus (see previous entry) was spent celebrating Michele and Emma's joint birthdays, on 1 July. Which is also the date of my Dad's birthday.

Which got me thinking.... not just about how expensive this day is destined to be for me for years to come, but also about the odds of 3 family members being born on the same day. By my reckoning it is 1/365 to the power 3 - which is 1 in 48,627,125. Which is surely about the same odds as winning the lottery.

Which of course (he says, being quick to point this out before someone else does) I have already done in lots of ways by virtue of being related to the aforementioned 3 persons.... (sigh).

Anyway, I know enough clever mathematicians (correct spelling?) to know that someone will no doubt confirm whether I am right or not before too long.

Ah, Cyprus...

2008-07-07T19:53:00.003+04:00

We have just returned from a glorious week in Cyprus. I have been once before, some 10 years or so ago, but it was one of the few places left on Earth that was new for Michele.

And save for the fact that we were unable, on any day, to sychronise Jack and Emma's well earned mid-day sleeps to enable us to have more than about 5 mins to ourselves during any day, it was a truly wonderful holiday. We stayed at the relatively new Aphrodite Hills resort, in this villa. And it was a great change from Dubai. Hot, but with a cooling breeze. And I just love the Meditterannean feel of walking round the streets in the early evening, with no particular purpose or direction, but maybe stopping at a random taverna for a drink, or watching the street artists, or maybe browsing the souvenir shops. Nothing like it for pure relaxation...

Anywhere, some random photos can be found here.

Incidentally, re the last photo, just for the record we are not really accustomed to storing our children in cupboards. They just seem to end up there...

Sink or swim

2008-06-18T23:18:00.002+04:00

Somewhat mentally exhausted after endless weeks of work deadlines and stress (see many previous posts I'm sure), Michele suggested I simply leave a little earlier this evening so that I could take Jack swimming before bed time. Since I wasn't much concentrating at work anyway, and haven't done anything more approaching exercise since contemplating a trip to the gym (but not actually going) sometime back in February, I didn't take long to agree this suggestion.

First point - despite having had a working life for 10 years or so now, I still feel slightly reckless at leaving earlier than 6pm. It's like being out of school before 3.15pm. I wonder if this feeling will ever pass.

Second point - for my sins, whilst Jack loved the swimming, I succeeded in having him plunge his thumb into my eye ("It was an accident Daddy"), followed by me taking my (remaining) eye off him as we were drying off at precisely the same moment that he decided to practice his 'walking backwards with towel over head' routine. Needless to say it was the splash that made me turn around to find him, unintentionally, back in the pool complete with towel still over head.

Aside from mild shock (both his and mine I think) he was OK. But I think I should have stayed at work after all. I will not leave before 6 tomorrow.

What if...

2008-06-16T12:46:00.003+04:00

Yesterday, I was talking to one of my colleagues (an American) in the office about the prospects for Barack Obama becoming US president. He was very much of the view that, unfortunately, Obama faces the highest likelihood of being assassinated in office because of his skin colour. This was reinforced by the fact that, despite the rhetoric of America being finally "ready" - whatever that means - for a black President, he (my colleague) was still receiving emails from friends back in the USA who were revealing their true colours (pardon the pun) through their transparent attempts to disguise what was clearly thinly veiled racism, purporting to be presented as criticisms of Obama's policies or political leanings.

It's scary that this issue still matters so much to so many in a country where surely the need to do something about the failing economy, the costs of the war in Iraq and the lack of universal healthcare transcend the skin colours of the men competing to take on those tasks.

It reminded me also of an interesting "What if.." question posed in the paper the other day, which was founded on the fact that Obama is actually only half black - his mother being white American from Kansas, and his father a black Kenyan. With this in mind, the question was posed whether, if Obama had been raised in Kenya instead of America, and was now standing for President of that obviously predominantly black African country, would he be being singled out by the media, and be being subjected to racism within the wider population, for being the "white" candidate?

Just a spoonful of sugar...

2008-06-15T16:09:00.002+04:00

Michele has been quite ill over the last few days. But to the extent that there is a silver lining to that, it has been that we have been able to rediscover lazy weekends. The kind where we don't run around doing chores like cleaning and shopping and instead spend the afternoon in front of the TV.

Mindful of being slightly weary of having Jack watching too much TV, it was nevertheless with some personal joy that we all sat down yesterday afternoon to watch Mary Poppins. Not least because Toy Story is now beginning to wear a little thin (see previous post), but because I think also for Michele there was a need for some classic 'duvet TV'.

And Jack loved it. Which, in turn, made me go all warm inside. I have to admit that there was always a part of me that was fearful of what might happen if I grew up and had kids that didn't 'get' the magic of Disney. I said to Michele yesterday, imagine how different children's entertainment would be if it hadn't been for Walt Disney. The man was a genius.

And it is through films like Mary Poppins, now over 40 years old, that such magic best shines through. For 2.5 hours (albeit that we watched it with an interval) there was no world outside of our living room. I know I've seen this film hundreds of times, but everything about it (the songs, the colour, the visual effects) combines to encapsulate everything that a family film should be. Jack has been singing at least 3 or 4 of the songs ever since, including (quite admirably for a 3 year old, and quite remarkably nearly pulling it off) "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"! Well - he gets the beginning and end of it right anyway.

And when the film was about 10 mins from the end, it was almost like being awaken from a dream like state, as the realisation slowly crept in that, shortly after the happy family of 4 (hmmm) skipped off down the road to fly kites, the film would end and we would have to return to the reality of daily life.

Oh to live in the magical world of make believe....

Back!

2008-06-10T23:13:00.008+04:00

OK, the problem has been that after such a long hiatus since my last posting, I wanted to make the next post about something really important. But frankly, nothing has come to mind due to the fact that pretty much since January I have been working. And then working some more. Overworked it is true, but not really underpaid to be fair!

But then of course I realised that it was coming dangerously close to a year since Emma was born and I still did not have a photo of the family as one displayed on the front page. So the need to rectify that has led me to type this explanation. And so begins (hopefully) renewed blogging vigour.

So, in short, a few key things that have been happening since last I was here:

1. The kids are growing fast. Phrase of the moment is "To Amphetamines, and Beyond" (a variation on the phrase uttered by Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story - Jack's film of choice at the moment, having replaced Polar Express given that that DVD has almost burned itself into the pixels of our TV due to extreme overwatching - but demonstrative of Jack's inability to correctly say the word "Infinity".

2. We bought a house in Dubai, then saw the show homes, were a bit disappointed with the size, thought of selling it, which proved too complicated, and so have kept it for the time being. Two things about Dubai property: (i) it is increasing in price at a ridiculous rate - literally (and I really mean this) daily, and (ii) building standards are not necessarily as good as one would hope. We put up a stairgate in our current house to stop the now crawling Emma climbing the stairs, only to have the outward pressure exerted by the frame of the stairgate on the walls cause the plaster to crumble and thereby create an additional 2-3mm in the width of our stairs. We are now thinking that if we buy enough stairgates we might be able to rectify our concerns about the room sizes in the house we have recently bought!

3. My two non-family interests of music and films have been greatly enhanced by the discovery of http://www.mininova.org/ where I now download albums and films without any money changing hands. And so it is that I am listening to the new Coldplay album as I write this, 2 days before its public release. And for free!

4. I have become an avid follower of the American election (see previous posts). Am not convinced of Obama's ability to maintain momentum through to November.

5. We are going on holiday to Cyprus at the end of this month for a week - across Michele's and Emma's (1st) birthday, both of which are on 1 July. Then Michele and the kids will fly back to the UK to escape the summer heat for a few weeks and I will become, as is common in this part of the world at this time of year, a W.A.N.K.E.R. Meaning Wife Away, No Kids, Eating Rubbish. As you will have realised.

More to follow (inshallah, as they say here.... if Allah is willing). I suggest, in reality, you check back in around December. I might have thought of something interesting to write by then, and have found the time to write it!

From Wokingham to Washington

2008-01-19T22:07:00.000+04:00

A while ago I mentioned my parents' imminent departure from Wokingham, and my feelings of some sadness at losing my link with a place that, to outsiders, may seem like just a slightly dull, true blue Tory, market town.

But upon reading that the potential next Leader of the Free World once deemed The Rose pub a not entirely unpleasant way to spend an evening, I feel a certain amount of pride at the fact that little Wokingham can still make itself known on the global stage! It is, after all, the 2007 No.1 place to live in the UK.

Even though Obama should have gone to the Pops (which was, of course, where it was all happening circa 1996!).

Presidential Power

2008-01-13T23:35:00.000+04:00

When we first moved to the UAE, some 5 years ago (has it really been that long?!!), it very quickly became apparent that this was still somewhat of an undiscovered country. Not a lot was known about it outside of the immediate Gulf region. Which explained the quite astounding levels of mediocrity that the country was able to attract in terms of celebrities looking to publicise the fact that they were passing through (80s band Level 42 anyone?).

But certain things have changed. Like him or loathe him, the arrival of the Leader of the Free World in Abu Dhabi today, with a fleeting visit to Dubai tomorrow before his departure to Saudi Arabia, has caused something of a stir.

Stir is perhaps the wrong word. A bit of a flap might be more appropriate.

We are used to seeing and (it being an inherently American trait to be over the top at every possibility) accepting an unprecedented level of security surrounding George Bush, and it doesn't take a genius to work out that a tour of the Middle East might not be the safest trip he has ever made, but I was also previously of the view that these kind of trips are planned months in advance, and that the Secret Service presence, whilst noticeable for its pretentious and arrogant looking "black suit and shades" uniform, is also undeniably a slick operation. Whenever 'Dubya' has a need to pass through a random US (or even UK) city, one might expect police outriders to block off intersections for a few seconds whilst his overly long procession of armoured limos steams through. Followed by normal service on the nation's roads a few moments later.

But not here in the UAE, oh no! At 4.30pm this afternoon (the first working day of the week), the Government announced (and UAE chat rooms and email servers were set alight by) the news that tomorrow would suddenly be an unscheduled National Holiday for all, due to expected traffic congestion throughout the city. What traffic congestion would this be? Well, the fact that the arrival of the President of the US was deemed reason enough to shut entirely every major road in the city for a period of 11 hours. That's effectively the whole working day. Announced to the country 90 working minutes prior to the end of the previous day.

It would be unbelievable if it weren't so very characteristically Dubai (where national holidays of any type are rarely known with certainty more than a few days beforehand).

And so when George leaves the comfort of his Abu Dhabi hotel (the 7 star Emirates Palace no less, which for "security reasons" he has booked the entirety of and which, for one night's stay, has been closed to the general public for 5 days) to take a half day trip to Dubai, one wonders who will be counting the millions of dollars of lost business caused by the entire city being forced to stay at home as he whistles through the empty streets wondering where all the people are.

And where will they all be? At home, staying out of third day of continuous rain we are currently experiencing (don't get me started on that either!)

We've been found out

2008-01-09T21:56:00.000+04:00

Fathers of the world unite. The truth is out.

RIP the "I'll be late home because I'm busy at work" excuse.

An expensive lunch hour

2008-01-09T21:41:00.000+04:00

Finally, after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, Michele and I took a big step towards securing our future today by completing on the purchase of a house in Dubai. It looks like this.

It is, at this moment, merely an expensive mound of sand, which we hope the local Indian slaves.... sorry, workers, will be able to mould into something resembling the pretty artist's impression pictures adorning the estate's website. And soon. Scheduled completion is the third quarter of this year, but realistically we hope to be in by Christmas. And yet we have been here long enough to know that the next New Year is therefore most likely to come and go before we move. But no matter. We bought it as an investment as well, and if Dubai property prices continue to escalate at even half the pace that they have in recent years, we should do rather nicely. "Inshallah", as they say (if Allah is willing).

Still, we are still quite excited by having spent so much for (so far) so little. But tell us the pictures look nice. Please!

Of course, we now have that much extra room to be able to house all those visitors who just haven't yet got round to finding the right moment to tell us that they are coming to visit us. Look out for those discounted summer season rates to be published here soon.

More Curiosity...

2007-11-13T16:42:00.000+04:00

Kids say the funniest things. This time with a particular Middle Eastern flavour:

"Daddy, what is the man in the mosque shouting for?"

Are you (still) doing your bit?

2007-10-15T23:03:00.000+04:00

Some might say that the global 'hot' topic (pardon the pun) of the last couple of years has been climate change, and the fact that politicians have now finally begun to acknowledge what for some time has been quite obviously a growing problem should be cause for some cheer.

Films such as An Inconvenient Truth have clearly helped to spell out the specifics of the wider problem to a mass global audience who need only put in the DVD, watch and learn. The use of Al Gore, the "former next President of the United States", gives the opportunity to learn from someone who is serious politician himself first, albeit increasingly celebrity second.

But it is undeniable that his commitment to his cause, and the coverage that his film has been given (not least through its Oscar win), is a key focus for the recent trend in embracing the need to do something about global warming, and a direct cause of phrases such as "carbon offsetting" entering popular culture and vocabulary.

And so I am left wondering what possible benefit there is to be had in publicly criticising his film for being perhaps too alarmist. I fail to see how the causes that Al Gore sets out to bring to the world's attention are helped by a school teacher petitioning a court to ensure that An Inconvenient Truth should not be shown in schools, at least unless it is accompanied by counter-balancing information that basically serves to cancel out any good that the film may have caused. So what if some of the issues are overstated? Surely the alarmist tone is what is needed to convince the historically ill-informed and apathetic watching masses that something needs to change.

Now, if the message is "global warming is a serious issue....oh, but wait. No, actually, worry not, it's not really a problem for a fair few more years yet" then your average secondary school student will leave the classroom not only confused as to why they had just been made to watch a film that the teachers then took great pains (having been compelled to do so by law) to pull apart in the interests of giving balance to the issues presented, but also largely unconcerned and disinterested about the fundamental issues.

With the likes of George Bush and his generation still refusing to sign up to, or even recognise the benefits of, the Kyoto protocol, it is in today's schoolchildren that attention should best be focused; to begin education on global climate change at an age early enough to avoid the inevitable onset of apathy, cynicism and selfishness that adolescence breeds.

Al Gore's film (without this week's judicial led dilution requirement) may have served to provide the perfect catalyst to kick into action the generation who would have been best able, and least sceptical, of the need to be the first to take the global environmental crisis as seriously as it demands. Without pointing out that it may contain some inaccuracies, no-one would have been any the wiser, and the fundamental point about there being a need to act would have remained intact. However, now it will just be seen as a fictional scare-mongering exercise which an already hesitant global audience will use to justify their continued non-action.

An Inconvenient Truth has been robbed of its purpose unjustifiably by those who, wrongly in my view, thought it more important that its message be 100% correct, than 100% effective.

Mummy's Are Great Too!

2007-10-10T19:39:00.000+04:00

Having read all the mails that Tim has posted I thought it was time I added my own anecdotes of the children.

So yesterday when Jack was going to bed, Tim taught him that the magic word of the day is "Daddy is great".

At lunch time Jack asked for his juice without saying "Please". I am trying to reinforce "Yes Please" and "No thankyou" and other basic common polite phrases so said I could not hear him as I had not heard the magic word, meaning please. Jack looked at me for a while, thought about the question, and piped up "Mummy is great!"

Not quite the word I was looking for, but as Tim said at least he remembered I was Mummy and not Daddy.

Driving music

2007-10-10T13:50:00.000+04:00

Taking Jack to nursery on the way to work this morning, we joined the daily queue of traffic leaving our estate. Stop, start, stop, start etc.

As is common, my mind was elsewhere, contemplating perhaps what I had to do today, and not really noticing the music playing on random selection through my iPod (driving Jack around I have been practising my ability to switch off to whichever CD of nursery rhymes or Winnie the Pooh songs is usually playing, if only to preserve my sanity a little longer; today, however, I had managed to plug in MY iPod without challenge, which is fortunately a child music free zone).

Anyway, my day-dreaming was suddenly broken by a voice from the back:

Jack: "Can you turn the music up, please Daddy?" (Very polite is my son)

Daddy: "Oh, do you like this song then Jack?"

Jack: "Yes, I do."

The song that I then noticed was playing? Andy Williams - "Music to Watch Girls By".

As dated as "One Two, Buckle My Shoe" perhaps, but a song with a far more useful sentiment for a growing boy to learn about I feel.

Too much thinking time?

2007-09-16T21:58:00.000+04:00

I haven't posted for a month, due to a variety of things, but the main one being not having much to say given that the family were not here to fill my otherwise empty days..... (see previous post).

Anyway, normal service has now been resumed and we have just spent a really lovely weekend, just the four of us. Emma is admittedly very small still and barely able to do much more than sleep, cry and feed. But she has learnt to smile. A really beautiful smile. The kind of smile that could break a man. I am already not looking forward to the day I have to meet that man.

And Jack - well, what a change I have seen in him since he's been away. He's growing up fast and has an answer for everything.

This weekend, while Michele stayed with Emma on one side of the glass in the ambient room temparature of Mall of the Emirates, Jack and I spent nearly 2 hours playing in the real snow in Ski Dubai. And it was great. We played on sledges, and had snowball fights and slid down ice slides. He loved it. And so did I.

Later in the day, Jack helped me do some DIY and mow the grass. It was a truly memorable weekend.

But today, on a day when I had not a lot to do at work and was left to roam the internet, my mood quickly dropped at how the news was filled with stories of the endless disappearance of Madeline McCann, and the death of Colin McRae and his 5 year old son. That, combined with the fact that I had had, for no apparent reason (when is there one?), a very vivid and harrowing dream last night, made me realise just how lucky I am.

At the risk of getting all depressing (but then the purpose of this blog was to record events, feelings, moods, anything really...) I had a lot of time today to think about how much we take for granted, and it gave me pause.

Of course, Michele was initially a little suspicious when I came home with some flowers and offered to cook dinner ("Just because") but for the above reasons it has felt like a strangely emotional day (if you will, the "Yin" to my weekend's "Yang"). I could report that nothing of consequence happened to me today. And had I not been pondering the above for perhaps too long, that is probably what I would have said. But the irony is that is when you hear of such monumental events happening so suddenly and unpredictably to other people, that could so easily happen to you (Michele and I have left Jack in a hotel room sleeping while we went to the restaurant), you realise that there is a lot to be thankful for in a non-consequential day.

If nothing else, I came home at the end of today to a loving family who were all (and I refer to that smile again) pleased to see me. You can't buy that kind of happiness.

Missing the family

2007-08-15T00:41:00.000+04:00

About time I uploaded some new pictures of the kids I thought. So here are Jack and Emma, having lots more fun in the UK (with my parents and brother) than they would be having in the 48 degree heat of Dubai that Daddy is having to battle through alone at present....

Come home soon.

Going south

2007-08-14T16:32:00.000+04:00

The football season is merely 3 days old and in the space of just two matches Southampton have managed to position themselves at the bottom of the Championship, and exit themselves from the Carling Cup.

What a relief it is to know that it is the "taking part" that counts.

Quality Journalism

2007-08-09T23:42:00.000+04:00

As is common in most newspapers these days, the Gulf News (the local UAE 'broadsheet' - a reference only to its size and certainly not to its standard of journalism) runs a Daily Gulf News Poll, inviting readers to vote online to the question that the paper presumably considers to be the most topical issue of the day.

Given the number of different issues that impact and affect modern society and the planet generally, one might expect a topical, insightful, thought-provoking issue to be the norm. An issue, say, where the responses are destined to show an interesting diversity of opinion, and which might speak volumes about the public perception of key issues affecting modern life.

And so it was with yesterday's question:

"How are you feeling today?"

Don't be fooled. For some, this was clearly a challenging question to ponder. One that should not be met with a knee-jerk response.

The Gulf News deemed the results so worthy of note that they justified a full article explaining the results on today's front pages. 3 full column inches in fact.

The best part was that while 42% were feeling happy, and 34% were not, and full 24% (that's basically one in four) opted for "I don't know".

I DON'T KNOW??? It's a simple enough question isn't it? How can a quarter of the people in this country, when invited to 'vote' in response to the most commonly asked question in regular conversation ("How are you?"), actively take the time to log on to the Gulf News website in order to choose the "I don't know" option?

And then how can the Gulf News not only justify filling a large portion of its front page with a report on this poll, but also then choose to focus on the "problem" that only 42% consider themselves happy and thereby miss the more alarming fact, without any hint of irony or sarcasm, that 24% of the country (or at least readers of this poor excuse for a newspaper) are clearly comprised of indecisive, mentally challenged morons?

Thank goodness the UAE has the good sense not to entrust more radical issues, such as parliamentary democracy, to the will of the people.

Blasts from the past

2007-07-31T21:01:00.000+04:00

Today on Facebook, attributable I'm sure to the inherent addictiveness that is fed by spending too much time searching the lists of friends of people you have linked up with, I was 'found' by no less than two people I used to know from Junior School. You know, that place I haven't been to for 20 years.

Completely out of the blue, I receive a "friend notification" from Jake Jackson and Sarah Thomas. To be honest, it feels a bit presumptious to declare public "friendship" with people you haven't said a word to in 2 decades, but the Facebook method of re-discovering the nostalgia of a mis-spent youth holds a power that is too great to resist. People who for years have probably always still been just down the road and who I (and, I am sure, they) had no immediate desire to locate before now, have suddenly become more accessible. And you feel almost flattered when they have sought you out. Because you can accept the friendship request and then keep tabs on where they are and what they are doing without the need for conversation. A strange concept, but also quite an intriguing one.

I wonder who will appear next....

Mine's bigger than yours

2007-07-22T18:09:00.000+04:00

On Saturday, it was reported that Dubai had claimed ownership of the world record for the world's tallest building.

The final height of the Burj (Arabic for 'Tower') Dubai is shrouded in mystery. Apparently though, its design is such that if, during construction, plans are announced for an even taller building to be built somewhere else in the world, the height of the Burj Dubai can be "increased from within" so as to ensure that Dubai can maintain its record-holding status a bit longer.

A shining example of man's ambition to reach for the skies? Or just another testosterone fuelled enterprise by those ever shy, reserved, unambitious Arabs? You be the judge.

But as I look out of my office window it is difficult to miss the Burj Dubai.

Because it's starting to block out the daylight.

Home is where the heart is

2007-07-16T12:38:00.000+04:00

We may not have lived in the UK now for over 4 years, but we still refer to it as "home". We always look forward to returning home to see family and friends (even though this has now become the way in which I consistently use up my annual leave).

While friends at home and here in Dubai (specifically those without children) often take their holidays skiing in winter, or to Spain/Maldives/USA in the summer, we find ourselves spending time in the hot tourist destination that is 'the bit between Winnersh and Wokingham'. But to be honest, I really don't mind.

Because for me, Wokingham is where I grew up, where I went to school, where I learnt to drive, where I had my first job, and (perhaps further evidence of its eternal ability to draw you back) where most of my UK friends still reside.

Despite the ever increasing traffic problems, the infuriating way in which the local council is run (and spends money), and the "Leisure Park", it is, and always will be, the one place where I feel truly at home. It holds so many happy memories. I feel a sense of comfort and reassurance whenever I am back there.

And a major part of that is attributable to the family home. It may be just bricks and mortar at the end of the day, but I still remember being really upset when we moved to 48 Walter Road from Selsdon in 1983 (when I was 7) thinking "how will this new place ever feel like home". But 24 years on, there is nowhere else quite like home for me now.

Which is why (even though Mum and Dad will no doubt be wracked with guilt if they read this!) this link brings with it a sense of finality, of inevitability and (I'm not ashamed to say) great sadness.

Of course, my parents have every right to move on (to Dorset). And their new house will be fantastic. And ultimately, it's not about the building, but the people that are in it with you that is important. But I will miss our home in Walter Road greatly.

But be warned, fellow Wokingham-ians: we will now be looking for board and lodgings from friends in the area on future visits.

A 3G baby

2007-07-01T21:07:00.000+04:00

It was somehow always destined to happen this way.

When Michele went for a baby check up last Tuesday and was told that our second baby was imminent (like, within 24 hours) we began immediate final preparations for what then eventually didn't happen for another 5 days. As at Tuesday, it seemed likely that we would escape a birth on 1 July (Michele's birthday, and also my Dad's (this year, 60th) birthday).

But it was not to be. With the calendar pages barely turned, things started happening around 1am this morning, whereupon a distinctly-more-tense-and-frantic-rush-than-I-recall-us-having-with-Jack began to ensue, to ensure that we appeared at the hospital before baby started appearing into the world. The hospital is a good 25 mins away, not counting the detour we had to take to drop Jack off with friends. Arriving at the hospital at around 2.45am, Michele then breathlessly (literally) sped through the last few stages of labour in a mere 45 mins, and gave birth to Emma Elizabeth at 3.34am. A third generation of our family now to share a birthday with Princess Diana - a beautiful (and against our expectations) baby girl weighing in at 7lb 4oz.

Needless to say, we are all dead chuffed. And, through the wonders of technology, you can see all of the pictures we have taken today here.

We took Jack in to meet his new sister (who, for weeks, he has been convinced is in fact a "lobster" - don't ask why, because I have no idea) this afternoon. Rather smitten he was too.

And at bedtime tonight back home, where Daddy and Jack had their usual post-match analysis of the day's events, Jack launched into a heart-warming monologue about how he wanted to share all his toys, books, clothes (including beloved "Pirates" t-shirt), lunches (including chips WITH ketchup), bathtimes, and generally his life, with "Baby Emma".

Having kids. Best thing in the world...

Linking up... and logos

2007-06-05T17:03:00.000+04:00

I have recently been introduced to facebook, a form of online networking that is strangely addictive. Kind of like email, only more complicated and with pictures it seems. Still, since everyone else seems to be signing up, I thought I would too. It's free to join, but difficult to escape once you've been assimilated.

In other news... have you seen the new London 2012 Olympic logo? £400,000 it cost, for a psychedelic group of splodges that (depending on how you look at it) could be either (i) the number 2012 written in an 80s videogame style, (ii) a map of Australia (see top right of logo) surrounded by other randon shapes, or (iii) (the best yet) Lisa Simpson, on the right, performing shall we say, a Bill Clinton type 'act' on an unidentified person on the left.

There are days when I sometimes wonder why it was we were so keen to leave the UK.

And then there are other days....

A bit of a "Laydeez" man

2007-05-30T22:29:00.000+04:00

OK, so somewhat delayed in the presentation (nearly 4 months, but then things move slowly in the Middle East - "Shway, Shway" as they say), I seem to have finally cracked the 'linking in some photos' thing.

So, here are some photos of Jack from his 2nd birthday party. Which was on 5th of February.

Of course, if this link works (and I am placing great faith in my limited IT skills when it comes to setting stuff like this up), and readers are complimentary (reviewing the number of comments I am used to receiving on this site takes many nanoseconds out of my day) then perhaps more will follow.

Meanwhile, as regards these photos of Jack...? I taught him everything he knows!

Nonsense Verse

2007-05-21T18:25:00.000+04:00

A recent 'post-bathtime, pre-bedtime' conversation with Jack:

Daddy (while wiggling big toe of Jack's foot): This little piggy went to...

Jack: ...market.

Daddy: And [moving systematically to the next toe, as is the tradition] this little piggy...

Jack: ...stayed at home.

Daddy: This little piggy had...

Jack: ...rose beef. [Giggles]

Daddy (by now, in a mood of parenting induced euphoric bliss, thinking to himself that there is nothing better in life than having kids): And this little piggy had...

Jack: NONE!!!!!!

Daddy: And THIS little piggy.....

Jack (looking pensive, searching for the most appropriate activity that could be occupying this final swine): ...had soup.

Who knows?!

(P.S. While we're on nursery rhymes generally, why was it decided that the closest analogy to something going 'round and round a garden', is a teddy bear? In our house, the only thing that goes round and round the garden is the ant killer.)

Saints preserve us...

2007-05-16T01:41:00.000+04:00

Straight off the mark, barely 4 minutes after the final whistle blew, here I am being optimistic about the 2007/8 Championship season.

So we lost on penalties to Derby. Let's face it, the Championship is where it's at these days.

The Premiership has not been the same this last couple of years since all the best teams left.

And who really believes that football is all about money these days anyway.....

Words and Pictures

2007-05-14T20:23:00.000+04:00

A man more gifted than I in the ways of IT has kindly informed me of a clever way in which I can upload pictures to this blog. Having not yet found the time to sort that out properly, you'll have to contain your excitement a bit longer. Watch this space....

However, in the meantime, and purely to wet your appetites, I have at least discovered a way to insert pictures direct into my posts. So, herewith a nice picture of our little bundle of joy, in dapper attire, from when he served as ring-bearer at Adrian's (Michele's brother) and Anita's wedding a couple of weeks ago:

He did at least have his shirt tucked in for some of the service.

The end of an era

2007-05-10T17:51:00.000+04:00

What a shame it is that, in response to the news that Tony Blair is resigning, that most of the main news networks (BBC, Sky, etc.) have decided to go out and gauge the opinion of the general public as to what Blair's legacy might be. Narrowmindedly, but predictably, and without any tongues in cheek, most seem to believe that it will be the Iraq war. Really?

The only columnist I have read today who seems to have correctly assessed the likely Blair legacy was this one. I believe that Tony Blair has been, on the whole, a good prime minister. For two main reasons:

1. Because there are aspects of modern life that are far too large and complicated to ever be fixed by any government, whatever their party, despite the best worded pledges: the NHS because it suffers at the hands of private healthcare and because no government will ever have enough money (without raising taxes) to cater for an ever expanding population, raise nurse pay and cure all of the inherent bureaucracy problems that pervade this outdated public service; crime, because parental responsibility is the real root cause of juvenile delinquency. A leader speaks for the nation (and Blair does this well) and cannot (and should not) be held accountable for everything that goes wrong on his watch. Ministers come and go, and a few have made mistakes (including probably the PM - he's only human) but to hold a torch to his every move and statement, waiting (and in many instances trying to provoke) a mistake is counter-productive and detrimental to good government. But unfortunately, this is now common practice in the media. Accountability should be allowed to develop and, in time, evidence itself, not be challenged and antagonistically tested every minute of every day.

2. Because of the Iraq War. Too much is made of this. Tony Blair is not responsible for Iraqi insurgent terrorists killing their own each day. Had the war been wrapped up sooner, there would not be the criticism there still is today. To say that Blair followed Bush into an illegal war is wrong; we are one of the world's leading economic nations with a duty to assist where we can. America is an important ally with the same duty; we were obligated to go into war irrespective of what America did. And, as far as British involvement is concerned, I don't understand on what basis people consider the war to be a mistake. If the mistake is to be measured by casualties, in the 4 years since it started the UK has lost 148 troops. The Falklands War lasted 10 weeks, was considered a success, and yet 260 troops were killed. So perhaps the war is considered a mistake because it has not yet been won? Again, this is the fault of the insurgents, not the coalition. To bring it to a speedier conclusion then should perhaps involve more troops, not less. And Tony Blair is not the maker of military strategy, so should not be deemed responsible for how the war is fought.

It annoys me when the uneducated man on the street is asked his opinion and blindly follows the views of the tabloid press when making statements like "Blair's legacy will be his failings in Iraq." To go into war was a brave decision, to stay and see it through for 4 years was a braver one. Tony Blair has always been front and centre in defending the decisions he has made, and during a very difficult and fast-changing decade. He has on occasion nobly accepted responsibility for mistakes that were not his. When Princess Diana died his sentiment was perfectly attuned to that of the nation, and again on 9/11.

By contrast, Gordon Brown lacks the charisma to be a leader in the same mould; more academic, less dynamic. Politics is about to become boring again under his leadership.

Which will leave room for David Cameron to continue building the same brand and style of fresh faced optimism that brought Blair to power 10 years ago. If the public buy into that again, and elect Cameron as PM at the next election, it will only be a matter of time before the knives come out.

And furthermore...

2007-05-03T00:55:00.000+04:00

...it just struck me that it was this day, 4 years ago, when very same friends came to a church in Redhill to witness Michele and I get married. The irony(?) of the timing of my previous blog entry then, is a little surreal.

Of course it's only just 3 May here - 1.00am in fact. Wonder if there are any card shops open.....

Friends: They'll be there for you...

2007-05-03T00:30:00.000+04:00

One of the sometimes depressing things about living abroad, particularly as we move into our 5th year away from the UK, is the gnawing sense that friends we've known for years are starting to forget us or drift away through sheer lack of frequent contact. I like to delude myself that life at home continues exactly as it did before we left (mainly because I am not present to witness the changes that inevitably occur as we all move on, grow up, start and end relationships, buy houses, get married, have kids, etc). I am often just as much to blame for not making as much of an effort to keep in contact with those who were once great mates as, to be fair, some of them would probably agree they are to. And I recognise that since it was us who made the break from the UK, perhaps the greater responsibility to keep contact flowing is ours.

But then every now and again I am seriously buoyed by experiences such as the one we had in the Lord Raglan a week or so ago (about which I have been meaning to write something here ever since, if only to encourage those who read these ramblings to feel rightly pleased with themselves). I don't think I am overstating it to say that I was genuinely moved to find that, with a simple bit of last minute texting, practically everyone who was in Wokingham that I would like to still call genuine good friends made the effort to come out and see us on a random weekday night. And for me, it was a truly great night to catch up with everyone.

For those who were there it was probably just another evening out, although many said that they too had not seen some of the other attendees in some time. I was really pleased to have been the catalyst for this rather impromptu little reunion and I left with a big smile on my face knowing that, even despite over 4 years away and less than satisfactory contact with most people during that time, my friends of old are still just as good friends now. It seems like we collectively reached a point at some time years back (who knows when) when we had all known each other for so long that we had become somehow destined to reunite every so often, and in a manner where we can fall straight back into the same mutual comfort in each other's company without having to go through embarassing small talk first.

I was dead proud to call my Wokingham friends 'friends for life', and hope to see them all again soon. Love you guys!

Right, enough gushing. Anyone fancy Saints for the Premiership??

Money, money, money

2007-04-18T09:41:00.000+04:00

So after a long slow climb, the £ has, for the first time in 15 years, broken through the $2 exchange rate barrier. Which is great for importing stuff from the States (or going on holiday there).

But if you're looking for an alternative destination, of course the UAE dirham is pegged to the US$, so whatever happens to the dollar happens to the dirham too.

Which means that those of us who get paid in dirhams are increasingly being paid less in £ equivalent.

(He pauses, listening intently for the sound of distant sympathetic sobbing………).

Anyway, you get my point? The UAE is now cheaper to visit than at any time in the last 15 years (if you discount inflation).

So when are you all (both?) coming?!!

In the Navy

2007-04-11T22:07:00.000+04:00

Predictably, following the release of the 15 Navy personnel from Iran last week, a row has erupted over the selling of stories. In every way, the media gains because by publishing the "exclusive" stories it both ignites the row, and then it gets to fan the flames further by reporting on the row which has followed.

Without wanting to belittle what was almost certainly an unpleasant ordeal, is it insensitive to say that while I am really not interested personally in the "stories" being sold, I am equally not surprised to hear that the media is? In a week when, to be honest, there seemed little other news about, papers such as The Sun were probably glad to have something to cover. To be frank though, this was not the same as being captured by Iraqi terrorists and held in a place unknown under constant threat of death. These navy personnel were captured by the Iranian government. Everyone knew who the captors were, and consequently there was surely never any doubt that they would eventually be released. That being the case, it is churlish to make comparisons with the predicament of hostages held in Iraq.

Furthermore, they were held only for 2 weeks, during which time they did... well, apparently not very much. Kept in unpleasant surroundings yes, but where is the story worth covering?

The issue of whether, and how, they ended up in 'unauthorised' waters seems to have now fallen away in favour of discussion on whether they should be entitled to sell their stories for profit. But ultimately, does it really matter? If they weren't speaking to the papers or appearing with Trevor Macdonald, there would surely be books released soon enough (and this may still happen, though I say again that with only 2 weeks in captivity would there be enough material to make a book interesting?).

My own view is that the press coverage this week is simply par for the course, and the closest thing that the narrowminded tabloid media have been able to come in recent years to being able to interview a hostage held in the Middle East during a period of war (Iran, Iraq, what's the difference?) who has come out of the experience alive. But they have failed to make the distinction that the experience of these Navy personnel is far less of a story than would be the case for an Iraqi hostage who had been released after weeks of captivity. If Ken Bigley had been released, would he have been criticised for selling his story to the newspapers? I suspect not.

Maybe the personnel involved get some financial gain out of it (not unreasonable if they were in fact in unauthorised waters and captured as the result of someone else's mistaken orders). Let them have their 5 mins of fame. But I wonder whether those who bought the papers and read the 'stories' actually found much worth reading.

Quietly confident

2007-04-07T21:28:00.000+04:00

Southampton are back up to 6th in the Championship - 6 points from our last two games, plus 8 goals for and none against. 5 games left to play in the season. It's going to be close.

I haven't felt this confident about Southampton doing anything right in a long time.

I definitely now subscribe to the theory that it is more interesting to support a team that is lower down the tables. That way, it really means something when they do something right (like making the FA Cup final in 2003). If you support Man U or Chelsea by comparison, do you feel the same amount of elation whenever they win? Probably not. Instead, you feel like every win is the very least you expected and anything less just won't do.

To Southampton fans, winning something is a prize only rarely within our grasp. To Chelsea, Man U and Arsenal fans it seems to be treated as a right, with failure to achieve not just one, but several big wins (cups, leagues, European campaigns) in one season seen as a major disappointment and cause to start thinking about ousting the manager. Where's the enjoyment in that?

Starting in Dubai

2007-04-01T12:51:00.000+04:00

Apologies, dear reader(s) for the prolonged period of absence, but we've been busy moving and holidaying. We are now fully relocated to Dubai, I have started work again (find me here (no comments on the photo please) or mail me on twatkins@reedsmith.com) and so far all is going well. Not sure about the (albeit temporary) open plan set up - a bit like working in a library - but that is only until August when we move to more a permanent base.

Meantime, we spent a very enjoyable 10 days in Thailand - 4 days in Bangkok (grim and poverty stricken by day, quite an adventure at night) and Khao Lak near Phuket (very peaceful and beautiful beach resort, recovering well post tsunami). Shame about the 36 hour return home where a small delay to our departure from Phuket airport snowballed into the kind of day where you just want to give up and not interact with anyone or anything for fear of what else may go wrong. Needless to say, we don't plan ever to fly Thai Airways again (the only airline left in the world, I am convinced, that does long haul flights with just one TV screen at the front of the cabin to entertain everyone (no, we didn't fly business class).

In other news… Jack's speech is developing well, particularly his ability to mimic everything we say. So, during the course of our holiday we had "oh, bloody hell", a few "sh*ts" and countless other gems (including what I am convinced is a deliberate mispronunciation of the word "bucket" by altering the first letter… you get the idea.

And finally, an indication that we may have been in the Middle East too long. Two sentences that I never thought Michele would ever be comfortable saying, both uttered this week:

1. (In relation to my search for a new car) "But I though you said that you weren't that keen on the Porsche."

2. (A rare example of a woman attuned to the need for men to fill their lives with 'boy toys') "Do you want to buy a large LCD TV?"

I have to say life is pretty great at the moment...

Moving on

2007-02-28T10:37:00.000+04:00

We are packing up our house today, so just time for a quick post before I have to dissassemble the computer (I am also against the clock as we have already asked for our internet connection to be disconnected today, so it could go down at any second!).

It's surprising how much stuff you accumulate in just a few short years. Although most of the furniture we have here in Abu Dhabi belongs to Trowers (who I officially leave tomorrow), all of our possessions (books, DVDs, clothes, etc) will take some shifting.

Fortunately, this being the Middle East, the policy is very much "why do it yourself when you can get some nice Indian men to do it all for you." Consequently, it is a little unnerving (but probably par for the course) that whilst we are moving tomorrow, and the Indian packers are coming this afternoon, right now our house looks largely the same as it always has, with little to indicate the frantic ness (is that a word?) and mild panic that will descend in a few hours.

Oh well, I'm sure it will all go as planned (inshallah, as they say). If nothing gets lost or broken I will be genuinely amazed.

Anyway, from 1 March our contact details will be:

Home: 00971 4 361 9256
Tim Mobile: 00971 50 613 1083
Michele Mobile: 00971 50 419 1452
Jack Mobile: probably something that we'll end up getting him at an age that I would still consider to be way too early in life...

Postal address TBC.

Look forward to hearing from all/both of you readers soon.

The bountiful game?

2007-02-19T18:22:00.000+04:00

I don't presume to know a lot about either football (which many would say is self-evident from team of choice), or the economics of big business, but how can teams like Chelsea still be in existence when in this situation?

Is it not the case that any conventional company with such high (and historical, year on year) losses would have had the liquidators called in by now? If Chelsea has not made a profit in such a long time, and yet Roman Abramovich has poured in £500 million since taking over ownership, does this mean that he hasn't seen any benefit in return? That he hasn't invested enough to plug the hole? That what he is actually doing is simple damage limitation? To what end?

Does Chelsea (and I know it is not the only football club in such a financial position) simply continue to exist solely because of its status, on the argument that whilst it may not attract much attention for "A N Other Co Ltd" to be wound up, Chelsea Ltd is simply too well-known to go to the wall?

If it's making a loss, does that mean that shareholders are not reaping any dividends? How and why is the share price not plummeting?

People increasingly see football clubs not as "clubs" any more, but as big businesses, and yet conventional market forces seem not to affect them in the same way as they do other companies. For some reason, football clubs seem not to attract the negativity that would ordinarily attach to a company reporting such poor financial results. Indeed, somewhat perversely, a story like this finds the Chief Executive of the club in question interpreting such losses as an indication that "the business is moving in the right direction."

How???

Love is...

2007-02-14T13:34:00.000+04:00

Valentines Day always seems to divide people 3 ways:

You have those who really go for it, with lots of cards, flowers, chocolates and more-expensive-than-it-would-be-on-any-other-day-of-the-year dinners for 2.

They you have those who buy the card only, because the rest is too over the top and, well, it's "just to keep the wife/girlfriend happy"...

And then you have those who think the whole thing is a scam to get you to spend money just to declare love on a specific day because the calendar dictates that you must. Increasingly, as the marital years accrue, Michele and I have moved through these 3 stages in chronological order, reaching stage 3 this year and agreeing in advance not even to bother with a card (our little rebellion against Messrs Hallmark and Clinton). Admittedly, this is because the selection here is so awful.

Were we in the UK, the situation may have been different. But it seems that all cards here are imported from the USA, in boxes which must only ever be labelled "overly sentimental" and "schmaltzy". (And while we're on the point, when will Americans realise that the conventional shortening of the word "Mother" is spelt with a U not an O in the middle?!!).

Anyway, with so much else on our plates at the moment (moving house coming along nicely, leaving job next week and baby growing in size - plus, as of today, Jack having tonsillitis) and with no decent cards to be found anywhere, the whole thing will pass us by. What romantics we are.

And anyway, I thought the whole point of Valentines Day was the sending of anonymous cards. I've never completely understood at what point that principle was expanded so as not to catch the entire card-buying public to the extent that you can now seemingly buy Valentines Cards for husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters (concerning), your kids (embarrassing), your pets (worrying) and even (I have seen them) other people's pets from yours (truly disturbing).

Oh well. Soon it will be "Happy Mom's Day"...

What do you mean you've never heard of the Gulf Cup?

2007-01-31T10:31:00.000+04:00

It wasn't quite the same as seeing several thousand beered up, overweight, loud English football hooligans destroying the town squares of Germany, but when the UAE won football's Gulf Cup (a big thing regionally, but probably of no greater significance to English Premiership fans than Rushden & Diamonds winning the Conference) by beating Oman 1-0 last night, a sizeable party was had. On every street of the UAE it seemed.

The problem was that without alcohol, the next best thing that young Emiraties can use as a catalyst for unleashing their testosterone is their cars. Their large and expensive, noisy 4x4 cars. And so it was that from approximately 7.30pm until about 2am, all you could hear in Abu Dhabi was the sound of horns blaring, tyres screeching, engines over-revving and then back-firing in protest at the abuse they were being forced to take, coupled with the growing smell of burnt rubber and oil. Far from taking pride in their prized vehicles, the locals were taking pride in their country at the expense of their vehicles. I have never seen so many people, sometimes 8 or more to a car, bursting through all windows and sunroofs clutching their flags and soft drinks (bless), so determined to use their cars not to transport themselves to the Corniche (which seemed to be the unofficial meeting point for these mad folk) so much as to thrash their cars in order to have them make as much noise as possible. Add to that the sound of fireworks, firecrackers and, I wouldn't wonder, the occasional round of gunfire, and sleeping was going to be a luxury.

After a couple of hours, I would have happily handed out lagers all round in the hopeful expectation that at least after a few beers they would all fall down comatose somewhere and awake in the morning seeking the solace of somewhere peaceful and quiet for the few hours. But it was not to be...

Jack, of course, somehow slept through the lot.

Springing into Spring in the Springs

2007-01-14T18:09:00.000+04:00

Well, after many weekends of treking backwards and forwards between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, we have finally found our new house. A lovely villa, about a year old, on a well-known Dubai estate called the Springs. Has swimming pool, gym and shops all within about 3 mins (count 'em!) walk, and a small garden with a view over a beautiful lake. Perfect. You can get a (sort of) idea about what it is like here (villa type 2 Middle, if you're interested!).

Although I must admit that it was getting to the point where we getting ready to say we'd live anywhere if only it meant we didn't have to spend another weekend going up to Dubai (90 mins each way, driving through... well, nothing much but sand) to house hunt. Needless to say, Jack made plain his disapproval with having spent the best part of another weekend in the car.

But nevermind, the money is paid now and the contract will be signed tomorrow. Can move in as quickly as this weekend but will most likely be sometime in March. Had to sign up there and then for fear of losing the property as things move quickly here in the property world. Shame the same can't be said for anything else (bureacracy, traffic, etc).

Now all we need to do is buy all the furniture...

No news is bad news

2007-01-10T08:53:00.000+04:00

Happy New Year to all readers (both of you!).

After a most enjoyable trip back to the UK, we have now all returned back to Abu Dhabi for the final stretch before our move to Dubai. And have been immediately reminded of the terrible service that we get from our television provider, particularly since they have now removed Sky News from our contracted network without prior notice or reimbursement of the already extortionate fee they charged us. Whilst I was not the biggest fan of Sky News in the first place, it was at least a little piece of home and an opportunity for us to sit and gloat over just how cold it is in England in the winter (plus the occasional stories about public transport failings, tax increases, etc.). Now that that source of enjoyment has been removed and replaced with some channel called "Euronews", at least we will be able to keep abreast of the exciting developments in Luxembourg's local elections.

Anyway, at least we have been able to catch up on the Christmas telly that we taped while we were home. Of particular note (and apparently contrary to the British press) we quite enjoyed the This Life + 10 episode. We also caught the nostalgic trip through 30 years of Saturday morning kids TV which was quite fun.

But not a patch on the inescapable daily lifestyle shows (Cash in the Attic, Escape to the Country, etc) that we have now returned to of course...

Doing his bit for the environment...

2006-12-20T18:04:00.000+04:00

Question: How many cars does it take to transport one British Prime Minister around Abu Dhabi?

Answer: More than you'd think.

Tony Blair was in town yesterday (we were busy so couldn't hook up - think he was OK about it though).

But wasn't there some government/global policy being mooted recently to do with bringing down carbon emissions?!!

It's Christmas!!! (apparently)

2006-12-20T17:56:00.000+04:00

5 "days" until Christmas apparently (notice that the phrase "shopping days" has not really entered common usage in the UAE).

Not feeling at all festive though. Probably due to the fact that today we have had bright blue cloudless sky and sunshine all day. It's not fair (but sympathy will be unforthcoming I know). We get sunshine all through the rest of the year. The recent rain was admittedly getting me more "in the spirit" but that has all dried up (both rain and spirit) in the last few days, so we're back to pretending that it's Christmas when the only thing to confirm it is the many over the top commercial Christmas "displays" that have appeared on shop fronts and in shopping malls.

Admittedly, the Christmas trees in the shopping malls are far and away better than any I've ever seen in the UK, but with so many people breezing past them in shorts and T-shirts, with not a "woolly" in sight, nor the sense of panic and urgency that is usually evident in UK shops by now, something is just missing.

To say nothing of the fact that the Arabic kids must be wondering what all that artificial white stuff is that has been sprayed everywhere (ingeniously made of shredded carrier bags by the way!).

Very much looking forward to a bit of traditional Christmas cold/rain/fog/turkey/more turkey/beer/cheer/more beer and cheer/carols/sausage rolls/mince pies/decent TV/ no taxes..... oh... no, that's here isn't it. Maybe it's not so bad....

News (Part 2)

2006-12-17T10:07:00.000+04:00

Michele is pregnant!! Very exciting. Had a scan on Saturday, and all is well. Baby (gender as yet unknown, and hopefully it will stay that way) is 4cm long and surprisingly wriggly for something so small. Estimated due date is early July (hopefully not 1 July as that would mean 3 generations of the same family with the same birthday!).

I guess most people who didn't already know will have guessed this news anyway, but you know the rules re the 3 month limitation on public disclosure!

Anyway, with that and a change of jobs and a move to Dubai, 2007 is shaping up to be quite a busy and eventful year.

We are now welcoming any and all offers of babysitting during 2007. We can provide sunshine and shopping facilities on a mammoth scale in one of the most upcoming cities on the planet. And plenty of dirty nappies, if that isn't enough to persuade you...

Get booking now!

Christmas Trees (and Winter Weather)

2006-12-13T09:41:00.000+04:00

We put our Christmas tree up this morning. We were going to do it last night, in the full spirit of Christmas, with curtains closed, a bit of Slade and 'Shakey' on the stereo, mince pies, etc, before Jack's bedtime. We even had traditional Christmas weather here yesterday (rain). Again. Unbelievable weather here lately. In Qatar they had 48 years of rainfall in one day last week!.

But for one reason or another the tree stayed in the box.

So we ended up putting the tree up this morning. With the curtains open, no music on, the sun shining outside and Barney on the TV. Not at all festive. Had forgotten also that our tree is... well... a bit naff really. Too small and lacking the wow factor.

Still, at least Jack got to hang some balls on the tree for the first time. Admittedly not in the traditional style of hooking them over the branches in ornate fashion. More lobbing them at the base, grenade style.

It's Christmas time. And there's no need to be afraid...

(I guess we can be thankful that we haven't reached the "Look what I made at playgroup to hang on the tree" stage yet.)

Goodbye-ing, Buying and Dubai-ing

2006-12-10T16:36:00.000+04:00

This week's life changing news: I have resigned from Trowers & Hamlins.

Again.

This time for good.

Again.

After much mulling over with Michele, and way too much thinking (to the point where I was beginning to lose sight of everything) we have decided to cash in our Trowers chips for something better. But not yet a return to the UK. Instead, we're doing the UK equivalent of moving to London - moving to Dubai.

I have accepted a new job with UK law firm Richards Butler (soon to become Reed Smith Richards Butler, following a merger with a big US law firm whereupon it will become one of the top 15 (actually, 15th) law firms in the world; which is a bit cool I think) and will start some point in the Spring. All quite exciting.

It has obviously meant that we have started looking for a place to live. And we are thinking of buying. Property in Dubai has skyrocketed in value recently since they passed a law allowing foreigners to own property. For example, most of the villas we have so far looked at have more than doubled (and in some cases nearly trebled) in value in the last 2 years. Not sure we will benefit from similar inflation, but one can but hope.

And hopefully, given that our friends in the UK should be more familiar with the name Dubai than with Abu Dhabi, we can expect more of them to come and visit. Maybe.

The lengths you have to go to!

Next week's life changing news: wait and see.....;)

Bitbits, bubblef... and Lon

2006-12-07T12:18:00.000+04:00

My parents are out visiting us at the moment, for what may be the final time to Abu Dhabi (but more on that in a forthcoming post). They have been doing lots of babysitting for us, and clearly enjoying the advancements that Jack has made since the summer. Most notably in his speech.

The two main passions in Jack's life at the moment are biscuits ("bitbits") and bubbles ("bubblef"). The former being an occasional (perhaps too frequent) treat, and the latter being a favourite pastime involving... well... lots of washing up liquid. The thing is, he gets very excited when the two words are mentioned in close proximity. Yesterday, for example, we were treated to the full-length version of his oft-repeated reply to the semi-question "Jack - Biscuits and bubbles??".

Which goes something along the lines of: "No, no bitbits, no bubblef, no bubblef, no bitbits, no bubblef. An bitbits 'n' bubblef... No bitbits... No bubblef."

None of which is actually an indication of him declining either. Who knows what goes on in that pretty little head of his....

On a separate note, the word "Grandad" is proving a bit difficult at the moment. Not being helped by Jack's occasional laziness in attempting new words. Take, for example, this recent roundtable discussion that involved us all:

Mummy: "Jack, can you say Hello Mummy?"
His Lordship: "'ello Mummy."
Mummy: "...and Hello Daddy?"
HL: "'ello Daddy."
M: "...and Hello Nanny?"
HL: "'ello Nanny."
M: "...and Hello Grandad?"
HL: "Mmm."
M: "No, Hello Grandad."
HL: "Er...um... 'ello mate."

Bless. Of course, matters have not been helped by my Mum calling up the stairs to my Dad earlier in the week, for some reason or another: "Ron?".

Jack has now picked up on that one single instant, and now "Grandad" is affectionately known as "Lon". As the week goes on, Lon is looking a little weary as he is forced to juggle similar sounding cries from wife and grandson.

Nanny: "Ron?"
HL: "Lon! Lon!!! Hahaha.... LON!!!"

Fun for all the family.

The trouble with Sky News

2006-11-26T11:03:00.000+04:00

I have mentioned previously the lack of good TV available in the UAE, such that Michele and I often find ourselves watching Sky News to such an extent that you get caught in endless news-loops (you know, where the stories and reports start repeating themselves every 20-30 mins or so).

Guaranteed to inadvertently send you into a fit of desperate rage if you don't quickly escape the loop as soon as you realise you are caught in it, this feeling is intensified a thousand-fold when Sky News only want to cover one story. Endlessly. For days on end. Despite there being no material new developments (a kind of televisual Daily Mail if you will).

So a Russian spy died last week. The stuff of a Tom Clancy film no doubt, but you could have watched the whole of that film many times over by now and Sky News is still reporting the story as its "Top Story" under ever more frequent, bright red, "Breaking News" banners:

"Breaking News: Traces of polonium-210 found in just about everywhere the dead spy went recently".

Shock. Gasp. Really?? No kidding? Is that really news, or a statement of the obvious!

Is it dangerous to anyone?

Answer - no, not really.

SO WHY IS IT STILL NEWS THEN???!!!!!!

And notice how, somewhat predictably, when the media gets desperate for a new angle, the Government are suddenly brought into the equation. Seriously, whilst this was quite an interesting and unusual story when it first broke, this is not (and never was) something that requires a House of Commons statement. Like many things, notwithstanding the media's attempts to establish some kind of link, however tenuous, it has nothing to do with the Government.

And what of this "polonium-210"? Have you noticed how it is the new, never-really-heard-of-before-but-now-sounds-a-cool-word-to-use buzz-word that every newsreader on Sky cannot help but repeat at least once every 10 seconds? It is quickly becoming this year's "metatarsal".

Enough with the "top story" news coverage. One Russian, murdered in suspicious circumstances (and, admittedly, using unconventional means) does not warrant blanket coverage for what is now nearly 5 days. Come back to us with an "And finally..." if anything happens that is a material issue warranting public attention. If not, let it go. Surely something else must be happening in the world??

It's raining!!

2006-11-20T16:35:00.000+04:00

Admittedly not a particularly exciting title, but something of an event here in the land of the eternal sunshine. Rained for about 30 mins today. Weird. Hasn't rained since (I believe) February. And twice in one year is almost unheard of. Was still enough to create some localised flooding.

None of the locals know quite what to make of rain. Everyone still drives at the same speed despite the fact that the roads, bedded down with so much ground in rubber and dirt, are like ice rinks when they become wet. So accidents aplenty.

And everyone starts driving with their hazard lights on, which obviously makes it impossible to tell when those in front of you intend to change lanes (not that it is any easier usually - indicators being treated by most as a somewhat unnecessary frill!).

Anyway, a little bit of rain might make the town that much cleaner. Which is no bad thing. It will probably make front page news tomorrow.

Actually makes you feel a bit homesick...

Casino Royale

2006-11-19T18:13:00.000+04:00

Just how good is this movie? Saw it over the weekend and was seriously impressed. Not to say relieved that the Bond franchise has re-railed itself.

Realising of course that the general public are fickle when it comes to all things Bondian (just how many newspapers, magazines and websites are currently running the "Who was the best Bond ever" poll at present, all of which produce the same predictable results of Connery, followed by Brosnan, followed by Moore, followed by Dalton followed by Lazenby - the last two sometimes changing places, but generally on such low scores that no-one either notices or cares) I feel a little reckless in saying that Daniel Craig may just be rivalling Sean for the top spot. But I really thought he was excellent in the role. And (gasp) sooooooo much better than Pierce Brosnan.

To be honest, something seemed to go wrong with the Bond films from the moment that Licence to Kill failed to be the summer blockbuster of 1989 resulting in a 6 year hiatus on Bond movies (the longest gap between any 2 Bond films). By 1995, everyone had seemed to have forgotten what Bond films were all about and so, as a handy reminder, all of the cliches and double entendres were crammed into the first 15 minutes of Goldeneye. I genuinely thought (and said at the time) that Goldeneye was poor. The 3 that followed were much the same. Pierce Brosnan seemed to play the role as an amalgam of the Connery and Moore interpretations, and in so doing didn't make the role his own, but rather made the role just a blander version of both his main predecessors. Daniel Craig has, admittedly, benefitted from a radical overhaul of the structure of how the film is played out (at no time in the past has the main bad guy been killed off by someone other than Bond), the lack of Q (John Cleese is not suited to Bond at all) and a much more polished script.

And the lack of big name stars (excl. Judi Dench) is also a good thing. After all, how many of the bad guys and Bond girls in the 60s and 70s were big name actors renowned for other things before their Bond roles (Halle Berry, Denise Richards, Robert Carlyle, Sean Bean, etc).

And they even trashed an Aston Martin DBS (in impressive record-breaking style).

So overall, this Bond fan was seriously impressed. Roll on Bond 22....

It's all gone potty!

2006-11-15T11:40:00.001+04:00

This morning, Jack reached another little milestone in life's rich tapestry. He managed to, er, 'christen' his potty!

Admittedly, not a subject of great interest to the wider public but nevertheless something that I wanted to record for posterior-ty (ho ho)!

And I also wanted to record our relief that it wasn't our other recently purchased "rich tapestry" - an authentic and quite expensive Iranian silk rug with 900 knots per square inch that took one person 18 months to sew! - that Jack chose to... how can I put it?... de-faece.

Day 3 of the blog and already doing toilet humour gags!

There's somebody at the door...

2006-11-15T11:18:00.000+04:00

Last night, whilst Michele and I were spending yet another interesting evening in front of the TV, desperately seeking something worth watching on BBC Prime (a sort of amalgam of all that is terrible about daytime lifestyle shows on BBC1 from 3 or 4 years ago, assembled into an evening schedule that comprises the same programmes every night) and finding nothing, there was a sudden knock at the door.

A small Thai lady (could've been Philipino, Vietnamese, or even Chinese to be honest - my ability to tell the difference is clearly shameful) was clutching a small box and greeted me with the oft-heard phrase:

"Allo sir, you wan chip DVD?".

In 3 and a half years in Abu Dhabi, the trade of selling pirate DVDs has never come to our front door, but frequently comes knocking at the office. It's quite entertaining, especially when the ladies treat their goods as though they were illegal drugs. Of course the trade is illegal here, but like most things in Abu Dhabi (the best example being local Arabs propping up the local bars in full national dress, supping tankards of beer) a blind eye is turned.

Anyway, needless to say I wasn't tempted by any of her DVDs. Is it just me, or is it not incredibly infuriating to watch a film that isn't picture and sound perfect? I'll admit that £15 or more is perhaps more than some films are worth (Michele bought Legally Blonde once..... no comment needed), but I'd rather not watch a film at all than have to persevere with scratchy dialogue playing that is forever trying to catch up with the distorted green pictures that it is intended to synch with. You wouldn't buy a CD that you couldn't really hear, so why buy a film that you cannot really see?

Good Night, and Good Luck: A Good Evening Spent

2006-11-14T13:28:00.000+04:00

It having been ages since I'd sat down and watched a good movie without interruption (ie without having one's time hi'Jack'ed if you will), I decided that yesterday evening was a good opportunity to watch one of the many DVDs I'd recently bought/received as birthday presents. Feeling somewhat in need of an intellect injection, I selected "Good Night and Good Luck". And was most impressed.

Not what you'd describe as action packed, this reasonably short (90 mins) film was still remarkable for its ability immediately to make you feel part of both the era, and the eerie paranoia, in which this true-story is set (post-war, but communism fearing, early 1950s America). The plot synopsis you can read elsewhere, but I was pleasantly surprised by this film – thinking it might be a little heavy-going (perhaps due to my usual scepticism of modern films being shot in black and white in an attempt to prove themselves "arty"), it was clear that the black and white nature of the film not only enabled archive footage to blend seamlessly with the main film, but also helped emphasise that this was a film about two sides (communist paranoia feeding legitimised "witch-hunt" persecution of anyone with suspected communist sympathies). Ultimately, the realisation of the injustice involved in the latter helped dilute the former.

Acting (particularly David Strathairn, Frank Langella, and even (I thought), Robert Downey Jr), cinematography and screenplay all excellent. Mr Sutton said that he knows that he's enjoyed a film if he is still thinking about it the next day. This is certainly true of me today. Strangely though, for me it isn't actually the storyline of 'broadcaster versus politician' that causes me to reflect, but rather the contextual background in which this all played out; an age when television was a relatively new invention and, perhaps as a result of arguments put forward by the likes of Edward Murrow, able to be steered away in the years that followed from what was otherwise becoming an apparent destiny to be solely an entertainment facility. In an age of 24 hour reality-obsessed 'car crash' telly, many of the ideas expressed in this film as to how, looking forward from the 1950s, television had the potential to inform and educate a mass audience, could benefit from being revisited. This film helps to do that.