Winter wonderland

Winter met the desert on Friday when after Christmas shopping we went to the Madinat Jumeirah shopping and leisure complex and sat outside on cushions in the amphitheatre for the Christmas show- there was an ice rink, roast chestnuts, hot chocolate and mulled wine (though Liz reckoned it was non alcoholic after the fourth mug) a series of pretty good stage acts and of course Santa, who even got up and started break dancing at one point. It was pretty warm, still Ok in tee shirt shorts and sandals and a nice atmosphere.

Amelia Xmas show

Year 6 Xmas show was on Wednesday, in the evening- which also coincided with a free dinner offer at the One and Only Royal Mirage for my works do- Liz even had a sitter until we realised the dates clashed! Amelia sang on the front row of the stage, her class did Doh a deer etc etc followed by Merry Christmas War is over. Its a feature here that all the Christmas celebrations avoid anything mentioning Jesus to avoid any complications, so there is a lot of emphasis on Santa etc instead. Happy festive season!

Christmas Show Year 2

Christmas show for Madeleine's year today and they were all on the big stage. Madeleine's class did Rockin' around the Xmas tree with a bit of jiving thrown in for good measure. I'm not sure if I've ever seen so many video cameras in action, no real restrictions on filming here.

Chrimbo Dinner 1

Last Friday saw us have a very pleasant afternoon chez Beazley and Helen had put together a fantastic turkey spread with all the trimmings. Nick and Helen have three boys and a girl so all our trio were sorted for playing and we were able to consume large amounts of Xmas fare, including alcohol as we had taxied there! Nick has bought a boat like Quint's off Jaws, but Nissan hasn't made the towbar for his new car yet so we can offer a helping hook with our new Ford whilst Nissan sort their act out. Seems a fair exchange for a few fishing trips out in the gulf, I'm going to borrow back my Penn multiplier for Chris at Christmas. We might need to get some lifejackets for the kids and some new bikinis for Liz so she can be deck candy.....

Down in the tube station at midnight

Well not quite but thought I'd better throw in a pic from my tour of one of the big stations we are designing. It's on a massive scale, difficult to give it justice in a photo. In this station, the red and green lines pass side by side with a central platform and facility for trains to cross over.

Karama Drama

Tuesday saw Liz meet up with Helen B for a trip out to Karama market which is supposed to be the key place to pick up a few bargains on the fake designer front. A few nods, winks and general face twitching saw the girls following a trader who then pushed a shelf to reveal a secret door with an wooden stair leading almost vertically upwards to a hidden room full of goodies. This was followed by the police coming in the shop below and having a big row with the trader whilst Liz, HB and the assistant lay doggo in the contraband room. It just wouldn't happen in Heswall. Even the journey home had incident when a car drove into Helen's and the two of them finished up in the police station. Good job they didn't search the car! Anyway, despite HB not having a valid driving licence they managed to get away without being locked up and phoned a friend to collect the kids from school. All in all pretty valid reason to open a bottle of wine on the return!
None of this i have any footage of so i attached a pic of Madeleine at the Art Cafe- her first tooth has fallen out and the fairy brought 5 dirhams.

Wild Wadi Weekend

Saturday was the second of a three day weekend for me (four for the kids) so we went to the Wild Wadi Waterpark next to the Burj al Arab. It's a bit like Alton Towers but wetter. There are two bodyboarding rides, with a kind of static wave you can dive in and out of, an enormous slide called the Jumeirah Screamer, loads of flumes that you ride UP on a rubber ring or family raft before cascading down, a wave pool, a watery climbing frame with about 7 water chutes and the usual cafes and hotdog bars. Its all outdoors and the kids loved it. I'll stick a photo on when I find where I saved them... "Why haven't we been here before?" asked Jack, its not a weekly or short visit job though when it costs about £100 to get us all in plus food and drink, but it was worth it spending the whole day, well from 10.30 to 4.30 anyway.

Sundowners part two

As the sun went down and the kitesurfers packed up, we loaded aboard Eddie and headed for home, calling in to pick up one of the Lancers left from last night's revelries. We had some picture framing to collect from Mall of the Emirates so decided to have our tea there, at the Art Cafe, which does a mean burger, salad or fish and chips (though it's not cod, it's hammour, but still tasty with a bit of tartar sauce)

Sundowners beach

First day of a long weekend has been a nice one. Last night we went to Bruce and Lisa's for a barbeque, its Dubai Sevens this weekend which is one of the social calendar events of the year, and Bruce had ex-colleagues travelling in from UK and Moscow to all go and watch. (Liz and I had an offer of two tickets but no babysitter). In the afternoon we went to Jumeirah beach, where everyone seems to head and park their cars on the sand and either paddle around or kitesurf. Madeleine met her friend Najeeba from school with her brother and sister and mum, so we spent some time talking and letting the kids play in the sand .

Trading in for a new model

The Lancer that is, after I picked up the Hello John got a new motah? Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer- this is is it parked next to a diminutive Mazda 323 at Lulu, (possibly the best supermarket in the world and soon to be a blog subject). Driving this is like flying a plane, 8 seats mean the kids can be separated and there's a chance they can't squabble in the 5 minute drive to school. Exciting to drive a 5.4 litre monster, it really takes off- good job the fuel's cheap. Could be in for a beach visit this weekend, its a UAE National Holiday on Sunday so I've got a three day break.

Sunday night snowboard

Sunday night is a snowboard night for Jack in Ski Dubai, an 8 week after school course- he seems to be getting the hang of it dudes. If I can get there in time, I meet up with Liz and the girls picking up Jack and we can get a bite to eat in the Mall of the Emirates. This is wor lass at Japengo, an oriental food bar at the end of the food hall. Looks like an angel with two halos

Exotic Bird

Well, its not very often you get a green parakeet on the patio set in your back garden, even here I guess. The blackbirds here all look like Mynah birds too so probably are. Makes a change from the odd sparrow and a few lizards.

Magnificent Seven

The day finally came around! We had an early start, opening prezzies and cards on our bed. I managed to get an early dart from work and was home an hour before the 2pm kick off, swept the patio and cleaned the garden furniture up. We had a few parents with a bit of difficulty finding the villa, so I hung some balloons on a traffic cone near the entrance off the main road, which seemed to do the trick.

After plenty of games of musical statues and pin the tail on the camel, everyone scoffed jellies and nibbles with lashings of cake and one too many flumps (as Maddy felt a bit sick later). Bruce and Lisa stayed late for a barbeque and a few beers, sat outside with a few beers and one or two midges, they seem to be on the increase as the weather cools down a bit, though its still 31 degrees. Altogether a smooth operation by Liz, helped by Amelia running the games like a great big Sis.

Thanks to everyone who sent cards and pressies- some arrived the next day, Chris and Julia's and Big Nan's arrived today so she has had a prolonged birthday to enjoy!

Are you Bodie or Bond?

Jack getting his pose right for a picure on his MSN I think.

New car and lamborghini

Well it was time to get a new car and off-hire the Lancers, so we went to the dealers on Sheikh Zayed Road and picked up this lillte number. Shahhh! This is Jack next to his dream car at the Motor Show last night, trying to look cool. We did find a car over the weekend, but its a black Ford Expedition gas guzzle monster just right for school runs and shopping trips. We sorted Jack out with his diabetes clinics at the American Hospital, the doctor is a French guy I think, and was very good, we're hpoing to get Jacks HbA1c test down as its a bit high again at 9.5. He gave us some good advice about insulin dosage so heres hoping.

Arrivaderci Stowellionis

Well, it all flew by but they fitted a lot in, a trip to the Mosque, lunch with Barbara from Pensby, buffet lunch at the Burj al Arab hotel, bartering in the Soukhs in the old town, dinner at the One and Only Royal Mirage Hotel, picnic in Safa Park, and helping the kids with their homework of course.

Wednesday was the last day of Helen and Mary's visit, and after work I headed down to their hotel where the clan were already assembled for a few last hours together by the pool before packing up. Its only 4 weeks 'til we see them again though as we have booked flights to stay in the UK for Christmas. It'll fly by as it's Madeleine's birthday next weekend, Liz will be busy organising the party at the Aston- where are those barbeque tools packed away....?

Jumeirah Beach

One advantage of having your Auntie and Gran staying at the Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Hotel is having your own private beach (as long as you pay the non-members fee) so Liz and the kids made the most of it. The girls and Jack all had a swim in the sea which was a first, they would only go in the pool at Rhodes this summer. I think part of the problem is Jack continually mentioning sharks so the key is shutting him up early! The water is really warm so I think it was a surprise to them after freezing their feet just paddling in the past.

Up the Creek

Friday is our day off so we picked up Gran and Hely and headed for the centre of town with the aim of having aboat ride up and down the creek and a wander about a few markets or Soukhs. We had a walk along the side of the Creek and picked upo the water bus across to the Bur Dubai side, at the Old Soukh station. The problem with it being Friday was it was totally crowded with people off work and with most places closed, they all just seemed to be wandering around and aimlessly filling every square foot available. We hired an Abra to ourselves at what is an extortionate rate locally but not too dera in the scheme of things, and had an hours cruise up and down the creek. The Abra skippers stop all the Indian guys getting on the boat if they see a group of Western "Tourists" so they can do a deal- which is a bit more difficult if all the Indian guys are paying just 1 Dirham to cross, about 14p.

Bellys

The evening continued with Liz and Mary trying on a Burkha which is the black gown and face covering so you could just see their eyes, and getting their photo taken with an Arab guy in his white dish-dash, like they were his new wives. A big desert barbeque meal was followed by the belly dancer; I think Amelia was very impressed with the way she could throw her hips round and even ripple her belly whilst balancing a walking cane on one hip. Amelia was a bit apprehensive about the belly dancer coming right up close to her though!

Pass the Sheesha

Camel riding was followed by shopping for trinkets around the Bedouin Bazaar area, then on to various other tents- bread making, oils and scents and enough time to chill out with a few puffs on the old Sheesha. Its just fruit flavoured tobacco but i think Liz was expecting the Whacky Baccy

Liz gets the hump

After a razz around the dunes in a Land Cruiser, which had them all screaming (except Jack who asked to go faster) they went for a camel ride which looked good fun. The way the camel stood up, back legs first, took Liz by surprise much to Mary and Helen's amusement!

The Outlaws are in town

Chilling with a beer now after 10 days visit by Mary and Helen from UK. They stayed at the Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Hotel as they booked before we had the villa, so it was nice for Liz to go down there and lounge by their pool and use the facilities! I was at work in the week and the kids were at school, so we met up evenings and we had meals together. On the Thursday the kids finish school early so they all went out on a desert safari- first pic on hte sand here!

Just deserts

The run out to Hatta went very well. After the usual complaining from the kids about an early start we hit the road in our Lancer mean machine, loaded with the essentials of a 3 litre bottle of water, the passports, Jacks PSP and two Nintendo DS Lites. Its about 100km from Dubai across to the Oman border with the UAE, and the features of note from the guidebook are "The Big Red Dune", carpet and pot buying opportunities, mountains and the Hatta Fort Hotel, built at the site of a pass through the mountains to Oman where the British once set up a fort, presumably in the days of Lawrence of Arabia.

Once out in the sticks any signs of lifebecame "road towns", a linear row of scruffy looking shantys selling things at roadside, mostly wheels and oil. We reached the big dunes, where the main dual carriageway road has sleeping policemen across which I wasn't expecting, all the traffic went from 120 kmh to a crawl and a queue which took me by surprise. Tents and compounds next to the road are filled with quad bikes for hire to let you go "dune bashing" and chelsea tractors were to be seen ploughing up and over the sand. I think the aim with the biggest dune is to tank your way straight to the top and with enough momentum to get there, as we saw one vehicle stuck about 50 feet from the summit and the occupant walking the last stretch.

Close to Hatta we pulled over at a carpets and pots market roadside and haggled three indian guys down on a carpet for the lounge. We got a 2m x 3m persian style rug at about 1/3 of the starting price, but I still think we'll see it cheaper next time we go to Carrefour. The main guy had a massive black beard and a crookedy eye and did all his offering with a big old Casio desktop calculator, and absolute classic patter "How much you pay? How much you pay?" and chasing after us when I kept saying it was far too much and we'd have to leave and come back another time. I don't think there was any way he was going to let us leave without a carpet and a pot, we could have been his only sale that day, as the road to Hatta was lined with more markets all with what looked like exactly the same gear.

After a bureaucratic 60 minutes getting visas to enter Oman at the border checkpoint, we drove back through "no mans land" to the Dubai checkpoint, renewed our UAE visas including my residency Visa- hurrah! First step towards a full residency permit, next is a medical I think.

We turned into Hatta Fort Hotel, had a nice lunch overlooking the pool then went to the Rock Pool where the kids all swam for a couple of hours. The waterfall was off for maintenance which was a pity, especially as it came back on as we were leaving- Madeleine and Amelia were gutted.

We got back after dark and all the other children in the compound were playing out, wearing their Halloween costumes from the night before, so ours joined in. Met the neighbours from No 2 and No 4- Arturo is a Mexican guy working for a Mexican cement company here, Stephen is Chinese from Nanking and works for a big communications firm Hua Hui? Sounded like Wowee anyway. So the weekend ahead, we are going to sort out registering with a GP clinic and linking Jack with a Hozzy, probably the American Hospital as from its website it has a big specialist diabetes centre.

Mad Hatta Run

I was back in work Saturday and Sunday is a normal working day so it has felt like along week, and after about 12 weeks of non-stop organising pressure at home and work I have felt pretty fatigued as some of the pressure has started to ease off. My employment permit is through, which means I can get a residency visa and can then own my own car and get a liquor licence (to buy my own). There are off licences to be found but they are all hidden away at the back of other shops, almost prohibition like. A licence will give me a credit card type permit which then sets an allowance for how much money i can spend on booze in the month, plus allows me to have drink at home legally.
Our visitor visas in the passports are about due to run out so we have to leave the country and return on 01 November to get them renewed. This isn't as bad as it sounds, as it means a 2 hour drive each way to a town called Hatta and just over the border into Oman and back. The scenery is supposed to be amazing so I'm looking forward to it. Hallowe'en tomorrow and the kids have all got new outfits for Trick or Treat- a tour round the other villas in the compound seems likely, so we'll see the neighbours at all 17 villas perhaps.

Liz's party in the Hard Rock

Aston shots

One of the lounge and diner with Jack watching the box

It's Curtains for Liz's Birthday

Well, not quite, just a headline covering two of the weeks events. The curtain man came round and has put curtains up for all the windows, which makes everywhere less like a doctor's waiting room, what with the tiled floors n'all. I think the little Indian guy had been awake all night for the past 3 days making them, but they look great. most of this week has been straightening up the Aston, but its not far off now. During the week we met Bruce and Lisa at TGI Fridays next to Ski Dubai. It was a good table, next to a window onto the piste, so you could eat your burger then glance round to see a snowboarder whizz past.
The garden's starting to show a bit of life at the villa after copious amounts of sprinkler- but we've got a swarm of bees now in the Bougainvilla so there's only me that dares to go out 'til pest control have been. I've told Jack he'd better keep uot of the way when they come...
Billy K from home called in to the villa this week taking a break in a business trip and brought some wine from the airport, so we're not completely dry for a few days at least.
Liz's birthday went well yesterday, prezzies had come to me at the work address, and she had lots of phone calls. Jack and I went out to get her a cake, driving across the sand at the back of the villa I said to Jack we needed to get a trials bike and he asked me why. "For fun" I said and he asked me "Who are you, and what have you done with my Dad?" which made me laugh.
Liz's friends here had already been round for coffees and cake and brought some cards and gifts. We called at Nick and Helen's for a chat and some champagne on the way out with the kids to Hard Rock Cafe, it was a bit like a huge What's Cooking with guitars and rock videos.

Settling in to the Aston (Villa)

Back on line after a traipse around the phone providers- we now have the villa wired up courtesy of Etisalat- after a visit to the Etisalat building in town, various form filling in a big round office a bit like a cross between the Social Security and Argos, with electronic numbering of your turn to sit with a guy in a dish-dash who helped you through the maze of bureaucracy, which included putting a "Desk Closed" light on whilst I left the building to find a cash point to pay the deposit for not having a full residents permit. "How long to connect?" I asked, but 2-3 days clearly wasn't explained to the two Indian phone guys who turned up at the villa at 0745 the next morning to put the phone line in and got Liz out of bed- well pleased she was (n't).
Things are taking shape, the kids have been off this week but its been a setting up home week. All the gear is out of boxes, we've got phone, internet, Showtime TV, water cooler/dispenser, even a new bed got delivered today. We've sussed out the intercom and camera to let visitors in to the compound remotely, and I've tidied round the garden after a visit to the garden centre- just like Gordale Nurseries back home really.
I spent some time with the kids at the pool today on the compound- its still 35 Celsius here so pretty baking, but the water was nice and cool. There was about 6 or 7 dragonflies patrolling the pool which took some getting used to for the girls, who weren't convinced they were harmless, mainly because Jack had told them they could sting. That's all for now, just had the pleasure of seeing Liverpool win the Derby but can't understand Rafa subbing Stevie G. Now for the Rugby World Cup! Swing Low.....
I'll put some pics of the villa on next few blogs.

Last days in Marina

Here's a picture of Liz, just to prove she hasn't got the plane home yet (Lynda). The last few days at the serviced apartment in the marina have been busy but in a way routine- as I have been at work every day and the kids were at school up until Wednesday, which was their last day before Eid- the holiday marking the end of Ramadan and the end of fasting. School is off for ten days, but I only get Friday- Sunday as public holiday, two days of which are weekend anyway- just bad luck this year due to the timing of the phases of the moon for Ramadan. At lunchtime in work we can cross the road into the Radisson Hotel where there is a Thai restaurant (called "Yum-Live Fast, Eat Fast"!) still open during Ramadan, screened off from the public gaze. The guys from the office have a discount card so a group of us have been going each day, working a way through the menu of noodle dishes.

Liz is driving now so it has been much easier for the school run, though having two cars on rent has meant to stay within my allowance I have hired two Mitsubishi Lancers, which look a bit "Pov" next to all the mothers in their 4x4s so Liz and Jack have been berating me constantly about embarrassing them. Its only until I get a residents permit when I can buy two cars, buyin is much cheaper than rental by the month so we can "upgrade" then. It is going to be about another month though. Jack is set on me getting a Ford Mustang but we'll have to see, we haven't really started looking at cars properly yet.

Knowing we are moving to the villa by Friday/Saturday has seen us focus on delivery of appliances to be able to cook/wash/store, and they are all in, though the gas man has installed two propane bottles in the back yard for the cooker which we have yet to pay him 750AED for (about 100GBP). I think the kids are going to settle in alright at the compound, Jack has already been playing football with the boy next door and "Jelly" the gate security guy, who also seems to be the mister fixer for providing gardeners, maids, gas etc etc. I have been getting back from work too late to see much of this, so Liz has been making a start unpacking, particularly in the kitchen. Our stuff looks really small in the villa, but even so the relative lack of storage means that much of our gear is not unpacked as there is nothing to put it into, so a few furniture purchases seem likely soon.

We've eaten out most nights this week, twice at "Johnny Rockets" which is an American style diner in the Marina that the kids like- they do burgers and chips and a mean Hersheys milk shake, playing Rock'n'Roll music continuously and with a Harley Davidson on a stand in the centre of the restaurant.

Friday (yesterday) we spent almost all day trekking around the Emirates Mall and have ordered a suite and a 46" LCD TV for the lounge, so all couch potato tendencies should be well satisfied. We might even be able to get a satellite package in place for the final of the rugby World Cup (if it isn't all over for England this weekend v France) and the derby match. You can't get Sky here but the equivalent, Showtime, has Coronation Street and all the Premiership matches live (or full replay), so that should do us.

I expect that the next two days of my holiday will be sorting out the villa, so a gap in the blog entries likely- especially until we get a phone line and internet sorted!

Appliances good food and rugby

Friday is Sunday in Dubai, and we had a busy day- apart from ploughing through homework with the kids,we measured up and ordered for our appliances for the villa and then Friday afternoon and evening we went to Mark and Sarah's flat for a celebration party for their new arrival, Holly Elisabeth. Loads of their friends were there, great food. Saturday saw us having lunch at the Meridien Jumeirah with Kevin and Lorna and the girls, Saturday evening we went across to Lisa and Bruce's villa for a barbeque and watched the rugby. Met their friends, Per and Angelika from Sweden and Latvia. They didn't laugh at any amusing stories, just looked po faced and changed the subject, which Liz thought was very funny :-) They were very nice for all that and Angelika is all up on buying residential property off plan here- she is an agent for homes around Sport City. England beat Australia in the rugby- hurrah! Bruce had it predicted, even down to the last Ozzie kick being pulled left as he was too far out and would try to kick too hard. Lovely food and a massive cheesecake made by Lisa, which she is going to show Liz how to make :-)
Liz prepared a great meal at our apartment on Sunday for Dad, Lis, Mark and Sarah, who came over with baby Holly. So loads of eating, socialising and sport but no unpacking at the villa yet- I think it will only start properly when we move in -by Friday.
Monday- I was at work but Liz had to go to the villa to see in the appliances arrivals. Very funny trying to communicate with the Indian delivery guys, as each appliance is delivered separately direct from each factory, and our villa doesn't really have a fixed address- nowhere does in Dubai- so they need directions over the mobile. It was like having someone do a telephone wind up on you, I wish I'd been able to hear their conversations with Liz. Jack and the girls thought it was very funny. Big Nans birthday today 96 years young- Happy Birthday Nan x. We had tea at Johnny Rockets diner in the marina and rang Nan.

Parma week

A busy week has just passed hence a single blog entry. On Sunday night I flew to Milan for a meeting with the consortium in Parma. I took a bus from Dubai to Abu Dhabi airport, met a colleague at the airport lounge and flew overnight. I was not due to get back until midnight on Wednesday so I was a bit worried about everything happening to plan whilst I was away- our container was due to be delivered to the villa on Wednesday, which meant that the cheques needed to be paid to the landlords agent on Monday or Tuesday to guarantee getting access to the villa for the removals people to unload and unpack our stuff. Liz would have to attend so I asked Dad to go with her, just to be around just in case.

The Italian Job went well, aside of the business meeting we had a couple of pleasant evenings Monday and Tuesday eating Parma ham and Parmesan cheese washed down with local Lambrusco. On Wednesday the container operation itself went like clockwork in my absence- all our boxes are in and the removals guys assembled the beds, tables etc. The only glitch was with the hire car which clearly had two slow punctures when we were given it and caused some distress when Liz and Dad were effectively stranded at the villa, despite a lot of phone calls to the leasing company (via Italy too) with friends collecting the kids, taxis for Dad and Liz and a replacement car not coming until 8.40pm after an initial promise someone would be out at 11am. I am not sure if the AA and RAC operate out here but they could probably have made it out from the UK quicker. We have had the one car swapped for two smaller hire cars now, but Liz is getting used to blowing her top at the Indian delivery guys from the lease company. They seem to grin at her when she loses it which doesn't help Liz calm down, but she seems to get the results in the end. Flipping your tantrum lid or bursting into tears appears to be the only way to get responsive service outside of a hotel.

Still, at least we're in- we have a week to get things straight before we're out of the apartment in the marina- no appliances yet, ordered for Monday.

Thursday night we met Kevin and Lorna from Scotland at the Marina and sat out until 11.30 while all the kids played in the fountains- Madeleine got drenched right through. Jack seems to get on well with their daughter Heather but isn't admitting to liking her under pressure as she is 12 which is apparently too young if you are in year 9 and age 13. Today we chose and paid for the appliances then went to Sarah and Mark's for a celebration party for their new baby, Holly. There were lots of their friends coming and going, lovely food from the Lime Tree cafe and baby Holly was passed around aplenty. I took my clubs round for Dad to play golf with Mark on Monday- it would be nice to play myself but there's too much to do at the moment- maybe in November when we're settled and the weather is cooler, its still 36 degrees in the day at the moment. Hoping to get some unpacking done tomorrow, but we're invited out to lunch and a rugby/barbecue evening already, so progress may be limited!

New Apartment Al Majara

Friday's the first day of the weekend here and its like a Sunday, so not a bad day for beating the traffic to shift all our gear the 30km down Sheik Zayed Road to a different apartment. Fortune smiled on us and we got upgraded to a 3 bedroom so Jack has his own room- the two bedrooms are all full and I gave the agent a lot of pressure over ensuring there would be a room available for us. The apartment's great and the internet is free which saves a fortune compared to the last place which was screwing us for 13GBP a day. We dumped the bags and got the kids into their cozzies, to go and relax by the pool and cool off ourselves- packing and moving is always a bit stressful! Looking forward to about a week here, wish the firm had placed us here when I originally asked. Nothing is ever that simple, think it needed Liz to nearly snap to get them to help. The kitchen is a lot better in this one, so we might even have a bit more cooking in-house....eating out is reasonably priced but it isn't sustainable every night! We had dinner (after homework) aside the marina then found ourselves lying outside on cushioned settees looking at the night sky through the skyscrapers. The temperatures are getting much more pleasant now so people are starting to emerge more in the evenings.

An evening at the Burrows'

(Pic- our villa- the end one- ready to move in 01 October) I worked in the head office at Bur Dubai, had a meeting about the next bid and it was agreed that I will go to Parma next week to meet with the consortium. Left work and Liz was already down at Bruce and Lisa's villa with the kids, waiting for me to join them for dinner. Picked up a bottle of wine from the apartment (a rare commodity during Ramadan) and drove down to Umm Suqiem. Their villa is gorgeous, detached with a pool and the size of a small palace! Bruce had a collection of rugs from his travels, including one from Turkmenistan that i recognised from the pattern (similar to mine). There were Hoopoes feeding on their lawn (Chris). We had a lovely dinner prepared by Lisa, sat outside and talked in the warm evening to the sound of calls for prayer from the mosque, whilst the kids played in the pool then watched DVDs. We couldn't stay too late as we are moving apartments tomorrow.....

Villa Thrilla and Marina

Liz took the Property section of the Gulf News out today and went villa hunting with Lorna, the first mum she met at the school, who kindly offered to drive her round while I was at work. This has borne fruit as she found the perfect villa for us in Barsha, ten minutes from the school, the marina, ski dubai, mall of the emirates and the beach. We're pushing the paperwork through to get a deposit placed by the company, so fingers crossed it will be our before the furniture (which arrived at port today) clears customs in about a week.

I had a busy day at work preparing for a big tender and arranging a meeting for all the team preparing the outline design that needs to be submitted. I might be flying to Parma Italy on Mon for a meeting with the Contractor.

After I finished we drove out to Barsha to have a look at the villa which looks great and has a big shared pool and gym. Plenty of room for guests to stay too...Fingers crossed it all goes through smoothly.

We went to the marina for tea and had Iftar at the Marina Walk then met again with Lorna and her girls Katie and Heather who played well with our lot. It was a gorgeous setting between the yachts, a computerised display fountain (that the kids all played in until drenched) and amid illuminated palm trees and glittering skyscrapers. Things are definitely looking up. The kids have all picked their activities options at school- Jack is doing snowboarding, tennis and football, Amelia tap dancing and art, Madeleine tennis and art (pottery I think).

I've booked flights to come back to UK for Christmas- hopefully by then Liz and the girls will be happy enough here to make it a temporary stay and return to Dubai!!

Work kicks in

Well, being allowed to slope off to look at Villas has probably just ended today as a large tender landed with me as the Bid Manager, not just that but its with a contractor making a late start so we only have two and a half weeks left of a 6 week bidding period for a major project needing outline design proposals. I cancelled any viewing appointments and rang Liz to let her know we were having a "rest". The best villa we had found to date, and had been waiting and pinning our hopes on, has fallen through as the Landlord has purportedly gone into a dispute with hte previous tenants, meaning no let for at least three months. At least thats the story, I suspect they were holding out for a better rent offer, it was a nice villa.

On the plus side, we have had the OK to move from our current apart-hotel in Deira, north of the Creek, to a two bed serviced apartment in Dubai Marina, nearer to the school and it has a lovely pool area and a massive Costa on the ground floor, so the kids and Liz may never be heard of again. Moving on Friday, which should be fun, could be three trips - one for people and two for cases.

We stayed at the hotel restaurant for evening meal- Iftar, after everyone had been fasting for the 13th day of Ramadan. The staff are really friendly as the kids are the only ones in the hotel that we've seen since the first couple of days. The food can't be eaten until the signal for Iftar is given, then there is a buffet banquet of Arab and Lebanese cuisine. Even Jack is finding things he likes so its a change from complete junk. There are soups, a huge cold table with houmus, tabbouleh, stuffed chillis, salads, spicy bean mixes, olives etc, followed by a choice of about 6 main courses including a whole roast lamb. Desserts are fruits or small arab pastries, after which we are almost too full to finish with tea and coffee. For us all it comes to 255 dirhams or about 35GBP including the tip.

We discovered the pool had reopened after maintenance three days ago which was annoying as it had been good to let the kids blow off some steam after school. Still, we've got it tomorrow....

Still villa hunting

A typical start today, alarm 0630 followed by me turning on all the lights and MTV on all the tellies to get everyone awake before putting on the kettle and taking a shower before Jack dives in first. Not that I'm a complete sadist- school starts at 0830 but that means getting the kids into a taxi for 0745. Amelia is usually just out of bed by 0715. We are in Ramadan currently so school hours are 0830-1330, I can't imagine what its going to be like after Eid (the end of fast celebration), when the hours revert to normal which is an 0745 start and a 1430 finish. We need to be living nearer to the school asap. This is partly in hand, we got a call from an agent today who has a serviced apartment for us next to the Dubai Marina, for about the same rate as we currently pay (well the firm does). Once we are shifted I can trade in the current hire car (Mitsubishi Outlander at 3000AED/month) for two Mitsubishi Lancers at about the same overall rate, which will make Liz mobile and ease a bit of the current stress. I will have a commute in the morning but its only about 30km and mostly motorway style driving in the opposite direction to all the heavy traffic.

At work I discovered that Haitham, one of my old workmates is running the highways business for Atkins in Qatar, out of Dohar, so we will be working together soon, which is great.

After I got back from work we managed to get out to view a couple of villas in our target area- both 5 bedrooms and both around our max budget. Surprisingly both were nice, spacious and clean looking and in a good area. The first had not much land around it though and no pool - shared or otherwise. The agent for the second one let us down on turning up, but rang whilst we were eating at Spinneys supermarket mall to give us directions, the villa was just open go on in and have a look around. Not so much crime around here clearly. It looks great I thought, huge with a big garden, its own pool (admittedly not big) off road parking for two cars with automatic gates etc. Only problem seemed to be that all the kids didn't like it which I can't explain, they preferred the other which had none of the above. We put an offer in for both and are waiting to hear from the landlords- it seems to be a sellers market for this type of gaff though so we'll have to wait and see. I need to have some money left after the rent, to spend and save.

Thats it for now, I've pasted in a pic of Holly for good measure, tho its more relevant to my last blog- Im just getting the hang of a pic per blog and waiting for the upload to take place.

Weekend

After a late start on Friday we headed for Bur Dubai with Liz driving to get used to the traffic and driving on the right hand side of the road in a left hand drive car. We tried to pick up Jack's mobile where we had left it in an Indian supermarket, to get it unlocked so he can use it with Etisalat. It wasn't ready so we had a drive round Jumeirah, Um Suqiem and Dubai Marina.

At around 5pm we headed for Madinat Jumeirah, a shopping mall and centre built on an arabian style with loads of restaurants and bars, hotels, villas and its own waterways system for ferrying people from one part to another. It is all built to look like a scene from arabian nights. We met up with Bruce and Lisa from the school to eat and I had my first alcohol for three weeks, courtesy of Liz driving :-) those three bottles of corona tasted good. We took a boat around the waterways after dark which was fantastic with all the lights through the palm trees.

Saturday we spent unsuccessfully villa hunting, but we also looked at a couple of serviced apartment complexes nearer to the school so hopefully Liz can have her own car and drive the kids to school- the taxi trips have been taking an hour each way from where we are in Deira meaning Liz has been spending around 40GBP a day for the privilege of sitting in a taxi. One behind the Mall of the Emirates and Ski Dubai looks great and will save us a lot of grief, we are now waiting for a vacancy over the next couple of days so we can move across town. Saturday evening we met up with Mark and Sarah, Dad and Liz at Mark and Sarah's apartment on Sheik Zayed Road. We had a relaxing afternoon looking at baby Holly, swimming in the pool and eating takeaway pizza during the Liverpool-Birmingham match live.

New Baby

Must add we went round to see Mark and Sarah with new baby Holly Elisabeth. She was very cute and tiny, expected when you weigh around 5lbs. our kids passed her round from one to the next all evening! Liz was able to have a glass of wine, she was gasping after about 10 alcohol free days. I was driving so still havent had a beer since we got here, 17 days altogether now.
I'll see if I can add pics into the blog now I've started.

Opening fortnight

Well this is my first go at blogging, to record our adventure out of UK to live, learn and work in Dubai, United Emirates.



We flew out of Manchester on Sunday 02 September 2007 after a tearful departure from the Glegg Arms with many of our friends and family seeing us off. Lynda and Billy Kearney had kindly offered to drive us to the airport, needing two cars to fit all the cases in. We had a job loading the trolleys with all the cases at terminal two, but eventually checked in and whiled away the hours to take off.



After a 7 hour flight and loads of in flight movies on Emirates, we landed at Dubai in what seemed to be pretty baking heat, 36 degrees at around 8.30am local time. The hotel had sent a driver with a people carrier to shift us to the apartments, Al Sondos by Le Meridien at Port Saeed, just north of Dubai Creek near the Al Maktoum Bridge. The driver had bottles of chilled water and face towels for us which was nice. None of us had slept much so we all crashedout for the whole of Monday 03 Sep, surfacing in the evening for a meal in the hotel restaurant.



The apartment is a serviced suite with a large lounge/diner, small kitchenette, two bedrooms with en-suites, a small washroom with toilet.



To summarise our first fortnight or so:



Settling in

All the children and Liz have been homesick to varying degrees and at different times so there have been a few bouts of tears and wanting to go home, usually at bedtime for the kids, but more when we have any phone calls from friends and family in the UK. Madeleine misses her teacher Mrs Benson. Jack has not been too bad since the first few days, making new friends at the school has got him over that a bit. He is already MSNing some of the girls I've noticed. Amelia had a big cry today which was linked to getting a stack of homework making her wish she had never come. The children and Liz all seem to have made friends by means of starting at the school, which has helped. Liz has been for coffee with some Scottish mums and made friends with Lisa from South Africa who has girls in Amelia and Madeleine's classes. Liz also got a call from Helen Beasley after her sister had put her in contact with Liz. So ups and downs really as its still early days.



Finding somewhere to live

This has been proving more problematic than I thought. Our budget is 250,000AED rent per year, and there are some reasonable villas to be had for this but the school the children are in is Wellington International and we need to be reasonably close- the areas nearby have generally the highest prices in Dubai for villas, most with 4-5 bedrooms are nearer or over 300,000 AED per year. We have put an offer in for one in Umm Suqiem, not far from the Burj Al Arab and the schoiolwhich has been accepted verbally but there is some sort of dispute between the tenants and the landlord which has stopped the keys handback and also the paperwork to confirm the deal. We can't move in until our furniture arrives and clears customs, which isn't going to be until around 03 October anyway. It would just be nice to know we had this one in the bag formally so we could stop looking. We are going to view some more in Barsha on Saturday and Sunday, also I want to have a look at 3 bed shoreline apartments on the Palm Jumeirah, which for around 210,00AED means the girls would need to share a room but the apartments look gorgeous from outside and they are right onto the beach with a pool and gym, beach club.



School

The new school is fantastic, fabulous building and facilities, enthusiastic younger teachers, the chance to mix and learn with other children of all nationalities and especially for Amelia who will have all the help she needs with her maths. We had a meeting with the Achievement Centre teachers and they very very understanding and knowledgeable, it was an immense relief. We came out knowing we had made a good choice. The worst element has been the round trip from our hotel to the school which is around 60km and has been costing Liz 40GBP a day to run in a taxi. The traffic is so heavy and chaotic around the hotel and Makthoum Bridge that Liz hasn't yet got the confidence to drive on her own, which is understandable. I am trying to get us moved to an apartment nearer to the school until we are sorted with a more permanent residence.



Work

The job has started Ok but has been disrupted by the fact I can only get to look at villas during the work week. I am putting together prices for the project as a first task. I have had help getting set up at the bank, driving licence, hire car, mobile phone, laptop and everything with the company as my sponsor. I sponsored Liz to get her UAE driving Licence. There is a lot of red tape to go with all this activity, continual copying of passports, photographs, eyetest certificates etc etc. My application has been put in for a residents permit, it takes several weeks but after that I can buy a car instead of renting.



Play

We have managed to get to Ski Dubai, Jack and I skied whilst the girls watched through the windows drinking hot chocolate. It was good fun doing the learner class together (first time I've skied) and good value at around 20GBP each including skis and suits. We have been to eat twice in the Jumeirah Beach Hotel with Liz's friend from South Africa, Lisa and her rugby loving husband Bruce. Liz took the kids to the pool area there after school one day and there was a guy taking photos of them underwater. Ours were all amused by his showing the shots to them and saying "Very Nice" Borat style, without realising why they thought he was funny.

Liz has had coffee in the Madinat Jumeirah, Mall of the Emirates and we met Helen Beasley and her husband Nick for a barbecue at their villa in Umm Suqiem, which was very kind.