sandCat in Dubai

Category: outings

  • seriously hot, really, seriously

    We attended South Africa Day here in Dubai on Friday last week, the 1st of May, which was to celebrate Freedom Day in South Africa, which was on the 27th April. Last year the location of this was the Mina Seyahi Yacht Club which must have been lovely. In fact it was a very popular event last year, we even read about it in the local paper in Johannesburg at the time. The food and drink were also fully sponsored last year I believe which may account for the crowds, a great deal of whom, I have subsequently learned, were not even South African. But I digress.

    [drumming at SA Day]

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  • South Africa day

    This is where we will be on Friday, looks like fun! More info here.


     

  • a minor ghaf

    Once again the week has flown, and the weekend is almost over. I realised on Thursday evening that I had reached the 6 month anniversary of my leaving Johannesburg, in some ways it feels like I have been here a lot longer, like a few years, but in other ways it feels like I just arrived. The thought of a five year stay here was rather daunting to begin with, but it seems that the time will pass quite quickly after all.

    On Tuesday I met the girls for a pizza at Ibn Battuta mall, which is now the closest mall to my new office. Its a large mall, split into differently themed sections, which are all rather over the top but that is the way things are done here. The parking lot was packed when I arrived after work, but inside the mall itself it was like a ghost town. Apparently most of the cars belong to people going to the gym, not very good news for the quiet shops inside, even with the shopping festival on it seems people aren’t buying. In fact when I bought myself a new handbag the week before (yes I needed it) the lady in the store had said it has been the worst shopping festival ever.

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  • three holidays and a wedding

    I do apologise for the rather sporadic posts this month so far, but we have had a very busy fortnight indeed. We started our leave with a 4 night trip to London, leaving Dubai on the 27th November from the new Emirates terminal, terminal 3, at Dubai International. And I must say what a vast improvement over the other, older terminals. We were off to the UK for three very special and important reasons; first, my little brother’s wedding; second, my nephew’s Christening, and last but not least I was going to see my family again after some long months apart.

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  • books, birds and a spot of rain

    One thing that I have really been missing since I left South Africa is bookclub, a monthly meeting of 10 or so like-minded ladies for gossip, wine, snacks, oh and of course swapping the odd book. Stu suggested I look at starting something along similar lines here, and so last week Wednesday we had our inaugural meeting at my place. Sadly only 4 of us were in attendance this time, but we have at least 11 in total that have expressed an interest so the next one should be up to full strength. However I think the 4 of us had fun nonetheless. I was on the tail end of my detox so couldn’t enjoy any wine or anything, I will be sure to make up for it next time round.

    Creek Park
    [Creek Park]

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