Saturday, 15 February 2014
Saturday, 27 July 2013
The Waiting Game
Just past midway of my first Ramadan and despite all the initial trepidation it really hasn't been too bad. Apart from altered opening times for facilities such as shops and gyms (typically 13:00 - 24:00), restricted access to alcohol (which is probably no bad thing) and the half-hour crazy driving antics of the devout trying to get back for sunset prayers around 18:30, the whole thing has been not too arduous. Imagine it as an extended version of the UK Christmas/New Year holiday, that lasts for a month, and it will give you some idea of what's happening.
For me there have actually been more benefits than costs being here during Ramadan. Firstly, my working hours, on direct orders from the Qatari government, have been reduced to 08:30 till 13:30. So for four weeks it will be like working part-time; which will take some getting used to when it's all over. Secondly, we were invited to a Sidra sponsored Ramadan meal called Gabga which took place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel and was very brilliant; mountains of Arabic food, live music and a fantastic 'Whirling Dervish' dance troupe. And finally the crazy Doha traffic is nowhere near as manic, obviously helped by thousands of people flying off to avoid the extreme heat, but any reduction in the general levels of lunacy is to be welcomed.
All of which will seem a distant dream when we get back from Australia at the end of August. But at least it will have been cushioned by being out of the country for three weeks. The one thing that will endure is the C40+ heat which still has a few months to go and will be welcomed after, the comparatively, mild C15 of Perth. Even went shopping today for a sensible coat in case we get caught in a down pour or, heaven forbid, we go for an evening stroll. Not sure it will get much use when we come back but it won't take up too much room in one of the walk-in wardrobes!
So after our usual daily Siesta we are off to the gym to continue the beautification process. Which of the four gyms we have access to shall we use today? Doesn't really matter as they are all very good and usually empty. Might even go for a swim in the Olympic sized pool and break-in my new, smaller sized, swimming trunks. I was shamed into buying them after confessing that my old ones were at least fifteen years old!
Onward and upward.
For me there have actually been more benefits than costs being here during Ramadan. Firstly, my working hours, on direct orders from the Qatari government, have been reduced to 08:30 till 13:30. So for four weeks it will be like working part-time; which will take some getting used to when it's all over. Secondly, we were invited to a Sidra sponsored Ramadan meal called Gabga which took place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel and was very brilliant; mountains of Arabic food, live music and a fantastic 'Whirling Dervish' dance troupe. And finally the crazy Doha traffic is nowhere near as manic, obviously helped by thousands of people flying off to avoid the extreme heat, but any reduction in the general levels of lunacy is to be welcomed.
All of which will seem a distant dream when we get back from Australia at the end of August. But at least it will have been cushioned by being out of the country for three weeks. The one thing that will endure is the C40+ heat which still has a few months to go and will be welcomed after, the comparatively, mild C15 of Perth. Even went shopping today for a sensible coat in case we get caught in a down pour or, heaven forbid, we go for an evening stroll. Not sure it will get much use when we come back but it won't take up too much room in one of the walk-in wardrobes!
So after our usual daily Siesta we are off to the gym to continue the beautification process. Which of the four gyms we have access to shall we use today? Doesn't really matter as they are all very good and usually empty. Might even go for a swim in the Olympic sized pool and break-in my new, smaller sized, swimming trunks. I was shamed into buying them after confessing that my old ones were at least fifteen years old!
Onward and upward.
Saturday, 6 July 2013
Week Twenty Already
Is it me or is time really whizzing past? I can't believe that it's two weeks since I last wrote on here. Add to that my growing goldfish memory and it doesn't give me a lot to work with.
Last weekend went something like:
Friday
Went with Cath to the fabric souq (market) and it was bonkers. Cars double parked everywhere, too many people, lots of circling around to try and find somewhere to park. Suddenly, like the Parting of the Sea a car reversed out of space right in front of me, and quick as a flash I was in. As we went to pull out twenty minutes later Cath said "You were lucky to find this spot right outside the shop but isn't this a Disabled Parking bay?" I reply "Ba**s, yes it is but there is no ticket on the windscreen and the parking all around here is SO crazy that we should be OK". Er, wrong get a text to tell me I'm now QR500 (£100) lighter. O Flip I cry!
Then went and got plastered at a friends very nice apartment in the posh bit of town called The Pearl. His place is directly above the Ferrari showrooms which is handy. Being there elevates an already bizarre place to nearly off the scale - exotic fast cars, Rolex shops, Versace, skyscrapers - bonkers!
Saturday
Cath went for a farewell 'high tea' at the top of Qatar's tallest building, Aspire Tower, with some of the teachers from her school who are not coming back after the holidays. I would really have liked to have gone as well but I was already booked in to watch the Lions match at another mates place across the road from us. The match was a bit disappointing especially as we lost and I ended up watching it on my own like 'Billy No Mates' as they were double booked and had to leave me to my own devices. I'm sure other stuff happened that weekend but I've slept since then and can't remember anything else.
This weekend:
Thursday 4 July
Went for a business lunch that started at 2.00pm and ended went I staggered home at 9.30pm. Thankfully most of the booze was bought during Happy Hour (which actually lasts several hours).
Friday 5 July
To try and off-set the heavy drinking the night before I went with Cath to the gym and did an hour on the exercise bike. I was surprised how well I did considering the state I was in the evening before. Slept most of the afternoon prior to going out to a leaving do for my boss. Had set out with the intention of keeping off the sauce but that lasted thirty seconds; Strawberry Daiquiris were offered and it seemed rude not to sample them. So along with all sorts of cocktails we had loads of Thai take-away and, as the song goes "Whoops I Did It Again!".
Saturday 6 July
Felt delicate again - sure it was something I ate! Had to go back to bed at lunch time as I felt really grog. Had been invited for a curry across the road again and watch the Lions tour decider. Was offered anything and everything booze wise but decided to just drink milk this time. Thankfully we won the match in great style and the curry duly arrived after it was all over; my system was nearly back to normal and the food was much appreciated.
Then got a call from another colleague to ask if Cath and I wanted to go to a beach in the North of Qatar to see some turtles hatch. What's not to like? So at 4.30pm we were on our way to a deserted beach about an hours drive away. It was fairly busy when we got there and not quite the way it's portrayed on the TV. As it turned out it wasn't our night and we didn't see any baby turtles emerging. But at least we tried.
Enough of this guff I'm off to work tomorrow for a rest!!!!!!
Last weekend went something like:
Friday
Went with Cath to the fabric souq (market) and it was bonkers. Cars double parked everywhere, too many people, lots of circling around to try and find somewhere to park. Suddenly, like the Parting of the Sea a car reversed out of space right in front of me, and quick as a flash I was in. As we went to pull out twenty minutes later Cath said "You were lucky to find this spot right outside the shop but isn't this a Disabled Parking bay?" I reply "Ba**s, yes it is but there is no ticket on the windscreen and the parking all around here is SO crazy that we should be OK". Er, wrong get a text to tell me I'm now QR500 (£100) lighter. O Flip I cry!
Then went and got plastered at a friends very nice apartment in the posh bit of town called The Pearl. His place is directly above the Ferrari showrooms which is handy. Being there elevates an already bizarre place to nearly off the scale - exotic fast cars, Rolex shops, Versace, skyscrapers - bonkers!
Saturday
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| 100mts. tall and revolving |
This weekend:
Thursday 4 July
Went for a business lunch that started at 2.00pm and ended went I staggered home at 9.30pm. Thankfully most of the booze was bought during Happy Hour (which actually lasts several hours).
Friday 5 July
To try and off-set the heavy drinking the night before I went with Cath to the gym and did an hour on the exercise bike. I was surprised how well I did considering the state I was in the evening before. Slept most of the afternoon prior to going out to a leaving do for my boss. Had set out with the intention of keeping off the sauce but that lasted thirty seconds; Strawberry Daiquiris were offered and it seemed rude not to sample them. So along with all sorts of cocktails we had loads of Thai take-away and, as the song goes "Whoops I Did It Again!".
Saturday 6 July
Felt delicate again - sure it was something I ate! Had to go back to bed at lunch time as I felt really grog. Had been invited for a curry across the road again and watch the Lions tour decider. Was offered anything and everything booze wise but decided to just drink milk this time. Thankfully we won the match in great style and the curry duly arrived after it was all over; my system was nearly back to normal and the food was much appreciated.
Then got a call from another colleague to ask if Cath and I wanted to go to a beach in the North of Qatar to see some turtles hatch. What's not to like? So at 4.30pm we were on our way to a deserted beach about an hours drive away. It was fairly busy when we got there and not quite the way it's portrayed on the TV. As it turned out it wasn't our night and we didn't see any baby turtles emerging. But at least we tried.
Enough of this guff I'm off to work tomorrow for a rest!!!!!!
Sunday, 23 June 2013
Pheeeeeek........
Wednesday 19th June
Just for a change decided to do something different and check out the Lusail shooting range which is about 20km north of Doha. As is the want in Qatar it is a very big complex with several rifle and pistol ranges, and ten clay pigeon shooting stands. Clay shooting is quite popular in Qatar as they won a bronze medal in the last Olympics due in no part to having such a great place on their doorstep. Not much in the way of any safety checks or licences just pay QR100 (£20) for a box of cartridges and off you go. Enjoyed it so much I had to have two goes and then a beer on the way home at the golf club.
Thursday 20th June
Final golf lesson of the six, postponed from the previous week due to very high winds. Had a short practise on the driving range and then Andy, the coach, laid on a putting competition. A very good end to the sessions but don't think I'll take up golf. Will drop in to use the driving range and the 19th hole occasionally but that's as far as I think it will go.
Friday 21st June
The main event - Pub Golf Charity event around the five star hotels of Doha. Was I mad to organise such a thing? Quite a few people thought so as they paid the QR50 'green fees' but didn't want to join in in case it got messy. Which funnily enough it did. There were twenty of us who braved it into the bloody hot Doha evening and via minibus visited the expensive watering holes around West Bay. I was very uncertain how the slightly conservative door staff might react but as it was probably one of the first Pub Golf events many of them would have seen I think they thought we were Americans coming back from a day on the course.
First bar was a bit crowded, as Happy Hour was about to end, but lots of punters were very keen to chat to us and as the wine (a par four drink) flowed it all went well. The minibus was a God send as, unlike in the UK, the 'bars' are quite a distance apart and with the temperature at probably 30C+ there could have been a few who fell by the wayside. At the second bar we had a few cocktails and it was back on the bus into the main hotel area. The bus driver said he knew were the hotel, The W, was but gave us all a fright/thrill by ploughing through traffic the wrong way up a one-way street. Bit mad but, if you'll pardon the pun, par for the course in Doha! We finally ended up at a rough approximation of a British pub called 'Champions' which is in walking distance of were most people lived. Was a bit miffed that there was a QR60 entrance fee as there was a band playing but, as it turned out, they ROCKED! They were a seven piece Filipino covers band and they were excellent. By now Jaeger Bombs seemed to be the order of the night and the rest as they say was a terrible hangover after hitting the sack after 2am. Raised about £200 which is going to a women's charity in Rwanda that one of the evening competitors had been working for. A good night, as far as I can tell, and I think everyone got back roughly in one piece. If I haven't heard anything from the Qatari authorities within forty-eight hours I'll assume the best!
Saturday 22nd June
Maybe, in hindsight, not the wisest of decisions to have booked onto a trip with the Qatar Natural History Group the day after a massive bender. Woke up at about eight o'clock strangely without much of a headache but with, for the first time in my life, a bad case of the delirium tremors (the DT's if you will) - not a nice feeling at all and certainly not a good advert for excessive drinking. But off we went, Cath, our neighbour Tom and myself, to the slightly bonkers Sheikh Faisal Museum. I was expecting a few rooms with some nice bits and pieces, but what you actually got was a vast complex crammed with all sorts of stuff - fossils, ancient manuscripts, weapons, furniture, cars, motorbikes, boats, an aeroplane, more guns, ceramics, Bedouin heritage, did I mention guns, paintings, coins, and, just for good measure, some cannons. Absolutely crazy; very little explanation about where/what/who, and where it did exist it was obviously wrong. The funniest I saw, and maybe it was done by a bored curator, was a drawing of two fierce Arab warriors fighting with swords entitled 'The Arrival of the Prime Minister of Algeria' - priceless. The strangest thing was a bamboo bike from the Far East, and the most impressive a whole T-Rex fossilised head. Totally mad, but utterly fascinating. I really must go there again when I'm not feeling quite so, shall we say, delicate.
Just for a change decided to do something different and check out the Lusail shooting range which is about 20km north of Doha. As is the want in Qatar it is a very big complex with several rifle and pistol ranges, and ten clay pigeon shooting stands. Clay shooting is quite popular in Qatar as they won a bronze medal in the last Olympics due in no part to having such a great place on their doorstep. Not much in the way of any safety checks or licences just pay QR100 (£20) for a box of cartridges and off you go. Enjoyed it so much I had to have two goes and then a beer on the way home at the golf club.
Thursday 20th June
Final golf lesson of the six, postponed from the previous week due to very high winds. Had a short practise on the driving range and then Andy, the coach, laid on a putting competition. A very good end to the sessions but don't think I'll take up golf. Will drop in to use the driving range and the 19th hole occasionally but that's as far as I think it will go.
Friday 21st June
The main event - Pub Golf Charity event around the five star hotels of Doha. Was I mad to organise such a thing? Quite a few people thought so as they paid the QR50 'green fees' but didn't want to join in in case it got messy. Which funnily enough it did. There were twenty of us who braved it into the bloody hot Doha evening and via minibus visited the expensive watering holes around West Bay. I was very uncertain how the slightly conservative door staff might react but as it was probably one of the first Pub Golf events many of them would have seen I think they thought we were Americans coming back from a day on the course.
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| Some of the 'golfer' prior to the off! |
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| At 'Trader Vic' with a mad work colleague Colleen Still relatively sober at this point. It went down hill rapidly after this! |
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| Bar #3 Wahm at the W Hotel |
Saturday 22nd June
Maybe, in hindsight, not the wisest of decisions to have booked onto a trip with the Qatar Natural History Group the day after a massive bender. Woke up at about eight o'clock strangely without much of a headache but with, for the first time in my life, a bad case of the delirium tremors (the DT's if you will) - not a nice feeling at all and certainly not a good advert for excessive drinking. But off we went, Cath, our neighbour Tom and myself, to the slightly bonkers Sheikh Faisal Museum. I was expecting a few rooms with some nice bits and pieces, but what you actually got was a vast complex crammed with all sorts of stuff - fossils, ancient manuscripts, weapons, furniture, cars, motorbikes, boats, an aeroplane, more guns, ceramics, Bedouin heritage, did I mention guns, paintings, coins, and, just for good measure, some cannons. Absolutely crazy; very little explanation about where/what/who, and where it did exist it was obviously wrong. The funniest I saw, and maybe it was done by a bored curator, was a drawing of two fierce Arab warriors fighting with swords entitled 'The Arrival of the Prime Minister of Algeria' - priceless. The strangest thing was a bamboo bike from the Far East, and the most impressive a whole T-Rex fossilised head. Totally mad, but utterly fascinating. I really must go there again when I'm not feeling quite so, shall we say, delicate.
Friday, 14 June 2013
Never again......
....until the next time. Feeling a bit delicate after a 'cheese and wine' evening at a work colleagues place. Decided not to go to a 'all you can eat and drink' Birthday brunch earlier in the day as I've been on the waggon for both food and booze. So after drinking the best part of two bottles of white wine and eating my way through the runniest/smelliest cheesy offering from around the world I now feel a little delicate.
But what a laugh! First ever go on a Wii - can recommend Zumba Dance Off and Ten-pin Bowling. I will try to get a copy of the various videos I saw being taken for you delectation; I know you can't wait!
Feeling much better now after two cups of tea and some muesli. With Bowie blaring on the stereo and my fuzzy brain slowly coming back from wherever it went last night - life really is sweet.
Just need to go and collect the car and all be right as rain, tickety boo and fan-daby-dozzy.
But what a laugh! First ever go on a Wii - can recommend Zumba Dance Off and Ten-pin Bowling. I will try to get a copy of the various videos I saw being taken for you delectation; I know you can't wait!
Feeling much better now after two cups of tea and some muesli. With Bowie blaring on the stereo and my fuzzy brain slowly coming back from wherever it went last night - life really is sweet.
Just need to go and collect the car and all be right as rain, tickety boo and fan-daby-dozzy.
Sunday, 2 June 2013
Moment of Madness
....not what you think. On Friday morning I drove from Doha to Dukhan, an oil/gas town about 60km west, to try to locate a rendezvous point for the following day. On the way there, for a distance of several kilometres, I was the only car in either direction on a four lane motorway; repeat the ONLY car. I had a slight out-of-body experience thinking that I had either by accident turned onto a major section of motorway that wasn't officially opened yet or some sort of zombie Apocalypse was about to befall me. Neither of which was true. It was just very large road, that led to nowhere in particular, on a Friday (think Sunday) morning. Not something you are very likely to experience in crowded old blighty.
Friday afternoon I went on a tour of the State Mosque. It was organised by the main centre for Islamic Studies in Doha called the Fanar. We had an excellent guided tour delivered by a British convert, which was both enlightening and entertaining. Unfortunately I had another engagement and had to book a taxi to take me back to the city centre, and missed out on the buffet featuring camel that had been laid on for us.
We then had a very good night being entertained by some of Cath's work colleagues, Christine & Mark, at their villa in West Bay. Rosie, a Kiwi teacher from Cath's school, and her husband, Fred, were also there and they were, as our son would say, "Good value!" as well. Excellent!
Saturday morning saw me heading back toward Dukhan to meet-up with Khalid Al-Suwaidi, a Qatari beekeeper I had contacted via the Qatar Natural History Group. He took me to his cousins farm near Shahaniya and gave me a very knowledgeable account of beekeeping in this part of the world. As you can imagine it is not the easiest place to rear bees what with the arid conditions and lack of flower bearing plants. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when Khakid took me on a tour of the small enclosed farm and showed by possibly twenty hives in three different locations. All the hives contained very placid bees but not great numbers - in the UK a good hive might have twenty thousand bees at a minimum I suspect Khalids hives held much less than half of that. But the bees he did have seemed very productive, bringing in nectar and pollen from the stands of Sidra and Eucalyptus trees.
Khalid was hoping to develop a business selling Qatar honey, as the market for honey imported from other Arab countries was very large. He did concede that it would be an uphill struggle as the climate was no ideally suited to large scale production. He did however managed to produce enough to sell to friends and neighbours from his home.
Saturday evening saw me watching the last night of the Doha Players production of Hot Mikado a 1940's rendition of the Gilbert & Sullivan favourite. It was directed by a colleague of mine, Christopher Churchouse, and was excellent. I'd heard differing, and wide ranging, reports from others who'd been previously but, given that it was an amateur production, I thought it was very good.
That's all for now I'm off to bed for a rest......
Friday afternoon I went on a tour of the State Mosque. It was organised by the main centre for Islamic Studies in Doha called the Fanar. We had an excellent guided tour delivered by a British convert, which was both enlightening and entertaining. Unfortunately I had another engagement and had to book a taxi to take me back to the city centre, and missed out on the buffet featuring camel that had been laid on for us.
We then had a very good night being entertained by some of Cath's work colleagues, Christine & Mark, at their villa in West Bay. Rosie, a Kiwi teacher from Cath's school, and her husband, Fred, were also there and they were, as our son would say, "Good value!" as well. Excellent!
Saturday morning saw me heading back toward Dukhan to meet-up with Khalid Al-Suwaidi, a Qatari beekeeper I had contacted via the Qatar Natural History Group. He took me to his cousins farm near Shahaniya and gave me a very knowledgeable account of beekeeping in this part of the world. As you can imagine it is not the easiest place to rear bees what with the arid conditions and lack of flower bearing plants. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when Khakid took me on a tour of the small enclosed farm and showed by possibly twenty hives in three different locations. All the hives contained very placid bees but not great numbers - in the UK a good hive might have twenty thousand bees at a minimum I suspect Khalids hives held much less than half of that. But the bees he did have seemed very productive, bringing in nectar and pollen from the stands of Sidra and Eucalyptus trees.
Khalid was hoping to develop a business selling Qatar honey, as the market for honey imported from other Arab countries was very large. He did concede that it would be an uphill struggle as the climate was no ideally suited to large scale production. He did however managed to produce enough to sell to friends and neighbours from his home.
Saturday evening saw me watching the last night of the Doha Players production of Hot Mikado a 1940's rendition of the Gilbert & Sullivan favourite. It was directed by a colleague of mine, Christopher Churchouse, and was excellent. I'd heard differing, and wide ranging, reports from others who'd been previously but, given that it was an amateur production, I thought it was very good.
That's all for now I'm off to bed for a rest......
Saturday, 25 May 2013
Up and down (literally)
Not the best weekend I've had here. But then again.....
Thursday night got the entry form for the Red Bull Flugtag. We intend to submit a team from the simulation department of Sidra based on the Bloody Red Baron complete with triplane. Quite by chance we have a model aeroplane making in our building who is very keen to help; so who knows it might even get airborne. I'll keep you posted.
Booked a fishing trip for Saturday afternoon that was in doubt due to high winds. As it turned out it wasn't too choppy but still not the almost flat calm we'd had on the previous two trips. There were several first timer amongst us and three of them did suffer with sea sickness. The fact that we caught almost nothing, again in contrast to the previous trips, didn't really salvage the day. But as we had an early start, and were back by 11:00, we at least had the rest of the day to recover.
In the afternoon I collected the 'new' car - 2005 Mitsubushi Nativa. Bit rough around the edges but for the money a pretty good car. Hopefully it will last for a few years as the second car, and back and forth to work will be easier now.
Just waiting to use for the first time in anger in the commute to work. Should be able to hold its own, and not be barged about by all the Land Cruisers.
Wish me luck!
Thursday night got the entry form for the Red Bull Flugtag. We intend to submit a team from the simulation department of Sidra based on the Bloody Red Baron complete with triplane. Quite by chance we have a model aeroplane making in our building who is very keen to help; so who knows it might even get airborne. I'll keep you posted.
Booked a fishing trip for Saturday afternoon that was in doubt due to high winds. As it turned out it wasn't too choppy but still not the almost flat calm we'd had on the previous two trips. There were several first timer amongst us and three of them did suffer with sea sickness. The fact that we caught almost nothing, again in contrast to the previous trips, didn't really salvage the day. But as we had an early start, and were back by 11:00, we at least had the rest of the day to recover.
In the afternoon I collected the 'new' car - 2005 Mitsubushi Nativa. Bit rough around the edges but for the money a pretty good car. Hopefully it will last for a few years as the second car, and back and forth to work will be easier now.
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| Nicknamed 'Bluey' by the previous owners! |
Wish me luck!
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