Well the Christmas holidays passed pretty much just as quickly as they arrived, all that turkey stuffing, battling thru crowds of irate shoppers who must deliberately walk slower when you’re in a rush and frantic gift wrapping is over for yet another year.
Christmas in the heat and sand of the desert is not quite the same as back home in the UK, there is no falling out with the parents for one or the obligatory trips to see family members who you only see at this time of year out of gilt for ignoring them the other 364 days of the year and thank them effortlessly for yet another useless gift. Of course there is also not the snow and the endless chaos that ensues, people driving like maniacs in dangerous conditions doing their best Jenson Button impressions, traffic jams for miles and people stranded at work…. Sounds like a rainy day in the sandpit.
We did manage to make it the best Christmas yet with eight of us around the table resembling a gala dinner for the United Nations. We had a Yank, Ozzie, Scot, some English, a Welsh / Irish half breed oh yea and of course a Geordie. Consuming numerous bottles of red wine and vodka… not mixed together mind (that would be messy)…… as well as having enough food that would literally feed a small nation, we certainly made it festive.
The weekend was a welcome break from the madness of the last few weeks. As usually its been a busy one – Ants mum was here for a week and with it came the usual obligatory tourist trips that you have to take all visitors on, see the aquarium at the mall, head to the gold souks, see another aquarium at the Atlantis, watch the fountains for the 150th time etc etc but we did take a trip out to the desert and the Sharjah desert wildlife park which was surprisingly good… although there where no humping tortoises or tigers like we witnessed at the Al Ain zoo….. clearly there is nothing in the water in Sharjah….
The last few weeks have also included a truck load of events. There was the Christmas party at the British Embassy and in typical British fashion it rained just to add that authentic touch, three white ice frost human statues is always a good look drenched from torrential thunderstorms and covered in mud although we did make the best of it….. and looked amazing.
There was also the human statue Kit Kat promo at Ibn Battuta mall for advertising heavy weight JWT, the whole mall literally came to a stand still with everyone whipping out their camera phones to grab a photo as the statue took his regular break.
Finally there was the works Christmas party…. An event I turned up three hours late to as I was too busy roller skating around a mall dressed as a human sized Christmas bauble or in the words of Ant “a Christmas hemorrhoid”.
The theme of the party was sparkle and the Bareface crew definitely did in all their finery and shape throwing, resembling what can only be described as the early rounds of Britain’s got talent when they show the crap ones first to bump up the ratings…..
Well 2009 is just about over and a New Decade is upon us…. It only seems like two minutes ago when most of the world was in frantic panic about the Millennium big and the impending global meltdown that was to follow, saying good-bye to the 90’s and now the noughties have passed by in what can only be described as the speed of a granny in a mobility cart dosed up on pro plus and red bull!! We are one day down in 2010 and I wonder what the next 10 years are going to bring…a dreaded 30th for one!!
Happy New Year!!!
