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.