Fletching

This morning James and I checked out of the Ibis and walked to London Victoria Station. On our way to the we saw a red carriage and horses approaching Buckingham Palace. We stopped as they approached and entered the grounds of the Palace, but couldn’t see who was inside, although I did see a waving hand! We checked the court circular later and it may have been the Countess of Wessex. 

We took the train to Haywards Heath and took a taxi to the little village of Fletching in Sussex. It’s very pretty and very old; the Church dates back to the 12th century and our hotel (the Griffin Inn) is an old Coaching Inn which has been here since the 16th century. It is an area that we have never visited before and I would like to come back for a longer visit because it’s beautiful. The weather has been getting distinctly colder over the last couple of days and there has been some snowfall around Britain. We only saw a very few flakes of snow here in Sussex but there was a very chilly wind. What a difference from the unseasonably warm weather over the past week! We went for a walk around the village and along a path towards Piltdown; back at our hotel we looked from its gardens over the South Downs, known to locals as the “Sussex Serengeti” because of all the grazing animals that you can see in summer. Today we only saw a few cows, munching grass in the sunshine. 

We had dinner in the cosy bar of the hotel and were pleased that our table was right beside the log-burning stove, which was very cheery. The hosts were very friendly and the bar was busy. We couldn’t help overhearing an interesting conversation from a nearby table from some people who I think were members of the church choir, and we’re talking about music and bell-ringing and of course some juicy church gossip. 

Hyde Park and more Theatre

Today James and I had a brilliant walk right through Hyde Park to The Royal Albert Hall and saw (I think for the first time) the ornate Albert Memorial that was designed after Prince Albert’s death. We noticed lots of young graduates milling about in gowns. They had just had a delayed (due to Covid) graduation ceremony from Imperial College London, and the bell in the college’s tower was pealing in celebration. 

We went back into the V&A and went upstairs to look at furniture designs from the Great Exhibition in 1850 and loads of ceramics. We looked for our parents’ old dinner sets and tea sets in the 20th century section and were disappointed not to find any of them, although there were some that were very similar. 

We met Jennifer and Cat for a delicious dinner before James headed off for a drink with Ally and we three ladies went to see a play called Cock, starring Jonathan Bailey (who also plays the oldest brother in Bridgerton), Taron Egerton, Jade Anouka and Phil Daniels. Taron Egerton currently has Covid and was replaced this evening by understudy Joel Harper-Jackson. It was a pity not to see the talented Egerton but his replacement was excellent and anyway I think that the real star of the show was Jonathan Bailey, who played John. It was billed as a comedy and there were some very funny moments but it was also very thoughtful and intense, with only the four characters and minimal scenery. There was no right or wrong in the decision that John had to make, and all of the characters had their own agendas which made it all the more confusing for him. I enjoyed it very much and will be thinking about it for a long time. 

Geology and Theatre

This morning James and I did some shopping in the morning in the Burlington Arcade and Fortnum and Masons, and fulfilled a long held ambition by visiting a very important map at the Geological Society. A few years ago James and I both read and enjoyed a book that Bob lent us about the geologist William Smith, and the book mentioned that the map which was the culmination of Smith’s life’s work is behind a curtain on the stairs wall of the Geological Society. So I phoned first to confirm that we could visit, and then we turned up and were given a warm welcome by the lovely receptionist, who drew back the big curtain so that we could look at the map. It felt quite moving to see it, and James perused it for a long time. We also popped up to the library upstairs which has every geological book and magazine imaginable. Unlike the pleasant receptionist downstairs, the two people who were in the library watched us suspiciously while we looked around and only spoke to us to tell me off for touching one of the rarer books that was lying on a table. 

For dinner Cat had kindly booked a Spanish restaurant which was very near the Donmar Warehouse. Ally was working late so he met us at the theatre. The play was Henry V and it was tremendous. I have neither read nor watched it before and I was amazed, as I often am by Shakespeare, at just how relevant it feels to our lives now. Its theme of ordinary soldiers questioning what the war was for is very topical regarding Russian soldiers in Ukraine, and I was fascinated with what seemed to me Henry V’s evolution from a young irresponsible man, to earnest King, to brave soldier and finally to triumphant and smiling monster. The star, Kit Harrington of Game of Thrones fame, was a brilliant actor and so were the rest of the cast.  

Happy Birthday Ally

When we celebrated Ally’s birthday this evening at the Ivy Asia opposite St Paul’s Cathedral, we were impressed with the opulent Eastern decor. There were fish painted on the ceiling, statues of herons, brightly painted vases, plants, a cherry tree with blossom (not real but very pretty), even a very striking luminous bright green agate floor. Even the chopstick holders on the table were little metal carp. A DJ played Eastern music on two turntables. Outside the window towered the white walls of St Paul’s, floodlit in the twilight. It was a lovely venue. There were five of us including Ally’s friend Iain, and we had a delightful evening. 

Earlier in the day, with Ally and Cat back at work because it’s Monday, James and I decided to go to Richmond to find a couple of the locations used in a tv series that we enjoyed last year; Ted Lasso. We found Ted’s local pub and the street that his house was in, which were both very attractive. Then we went for a walk along the river. It was yet another beautiful day and we had lunch sitting outside at a café beside the Thames. Interestingly, it seems to be a place with very high river tides, as evidenced by the levels marked on buildings, and a sign outside a pub exhorting people to use its side door when the river is high. We then walked along to nearby Twickenham which was another pretty riverside area, and had some smoothies there before setting off by tube back to the centre of London to meet up with Ally and Cat and Iain for the aforementioned dinner. 

Fabulous Fabergé

It was time to leave Birmingham this morning and Cat and I had planned to travel to London by train in the morning, in order to be in plenty of time to meet James and Ally for lunch. (James travelled to London by train yesterday and spent the evening and overnight with Ally.)

However the best laid plans o’ mice and men gang aft agley, and not only did our train get cancelled, so did the next one. This meant that we would not arrive in London in time for the lunch that Cat had booked. So Cat quickly researched what transport was available and found that there was a direct bus from Birmingham to London, leaving very shortly. VERY shortly - I had to run for it while much fitter Cat strode along, very kindly carrying my case as well as her own overnight bag! And we made it with minutes to spare. The bus ride was nearly three hours but it went by surprisingly quickly and then at London Victoria bus station we jumped into a taxi and arrived at the restaurant only 15 minutes late. 

The restaurant was fabulous, called The Terrace, decorated with lots of plants and ferns. The food was middle-eastern and delicious, and Ally and Cat treated us to lunch as my Mothers' Day present. I feel like a very loved Mum, with Davie and Chanel’s also very generous present on Wednesday, and phone calls and messages from my New Zealand boy Jamie.

We relaxed and chatted over lunch, having completely caught up with our plans thanks to Cat.

Our next visit was to the Fabergé Exhibition at the V&A, which I thought was great. We learned a lot about the history of the firm as well as seeing their beautiful miniature creations, including tiny pieces of furniture, lots of cigarette cases and of course the eggs. The Fabergé Eggs were created as luxury gifts, particularly for the Russian Royal Family to give each other at Easter. Each one is unique and many have “surprises” inside them like for example a wind-up peacock that can walk along while fanning out it’s tail. They are so very intricate and gorgeous, but I couldn’t help thinking that ultimately they were rather pointless! Or are such things of beauty worthwhile in themselves? 

Later we all had a curry together in Ally and Cat’s fabby flat overlooking the Thames. What a fantastic Mothers' Day. 

Beautiful Birmingham

Our second day in Birmingham started with breakfast sitting outside on the steps in Victoria Square. The efficient (but steadfastly unsmiling despite my attempts at jollity) waiter at the Medicine Bakery had no free table but served us coffee and pastries to take away. We went on a canal trip up and down the nearby canal; like Manchester, Birmingham grew hugely during the Industrial Revolution and canals were used to transport goods. 

Then in the afternoon we went on one of the walking tours run by volunteers. It was great, the tour guide was very enthusiastic and knowledgable and talked to us about the history of the city by looking at its changing architecture. It was genuinely fascinating to listen to this expert (he was a retired lecturer in architectural design) explain it to us. The spring blossom is out in Birmingham and looked gorgeous especially in one of the wee squares where there were rows of neatly trimmed cherry trees. After the tour we nipped into the Rep for a coffee and the barista recommended that we should sit in the comfy chairs by the window to look out onto the square, which we did. 

We had a Mexican meal before heading to RuPaul’s Drag Race at the Symphony Hall. Birmingham centre was absolutely jumping on this warm Saturday evening. The show was great; beautiful costumes, great music and dancing, it was so happy and joyful. Cat and I booked this after watching Season Two of RuPaul’s Drag Race during Covid Lockdown, so we knew all of the Queens. Unfortunate the winner, Laurence Chaney, was not there because of illness (it was announced that the has haemorrhoids!) but the others more than made up for his absence. What a wonderful evening. 

Brummies

I set off in plenty of time to catch my 10.27 train to London this morning. However as I lifted my little red wheely case onto a pavement I somehow forgot to lift my foot and tripped, falling full length. Not much harm was done apart from to my pride! A taxi driver and a passing pedestrian ran to my aid and helped me up, and I limped onwards with a skinned knee and numb fingers where they had hit the tarmac. I was still in good time and purchased a coffee and a pain aux raisins which I consumed on the train. 

I met up with Cat at Birmingham New Street and after depositing our luggage at our very central Premier Inn we set out to explore the city. It was another glorious day and we we didn’t even plan our route, just walked through the centre taking in the buildings and fountains. We sat outside a wee Italian restaurant for lunch and chatted, then continued past Victoria Square and down to the canal, where we walked in a curve back to the centre. Cat noticed people standing high up on a balcony at Birmingham Library so we decided to head up there to see the views. What a find! The library is modern and beautiful both inside and outside, it has two outside viewing areas, and the pièce de resistance is a little Shakespeare Library right at the very top of the building, lovingly rebuilt and in parts recreated from the 18th century original. It is absolutely delightful, with every book about Shakespeare imaginable, as well as a First Folio which is of course safely locked away, a reproduction can be viewed. 

One of the outstanding viewing areas is called the “secret garden” with seating areas and lots of plants. We sat and chatted and basked in the sunshine.

Later we went to a vegetarian restaurant called Land which Cat had booked as a surprise for me. It was an excellent surprise! We had the tasting menu which was totally amazing, the tastes and flavours were unique and worked so well together. It was one of the best meals that I have ever had, and so good that I don’t think that a non vegetarian would even notice the absence of meat or fish. Before our fantastic meal we went to the nearby Pineapple Cocktail Bar where the cocktails were fabulous. 

Canals in Manchester

I had a marvellous day in Manchester on Thursday, enhanced by the continuing beautiful weather. There was not a cloud in the sky as Davie took me for a walk along the city’s canals. I hadn’t checked into my hotel yet so Davie very kindly wheeled, and when necessary carried, my little case the whole way. It was so great to see him. We stopped for lunch at a lovely smart little canal-side café and had a good chat as we are our poached eggs on breakfast muffins. Then we continued our walk. I love the industrial history of these canals, which meant that coal and raw materials could be carried right into the centre of the city and that textiles could be transported back out of the city easily. There were lots of little bridges over the canals, some of them very picturesque, and geese lounging about on the towpaths that hissed at us if we got too close. 

We met up with Chanel for an excellent Italian dinner and when discussing our day Davie said,

“I hope that you haven’t had enough of canals” 

“I could never have enough of canals!” I replied, upon which Davie and Chanel presented me with a voucher for an afternoon tea canal trip for four of us for Mothers' Day! I was touched and delighted. It will last for two hours, and we will definitely be back in Manchester soon to enjoy it. 

Train journey

I do love a train journey and I’m on one now; Glasgow to Manchester Piccadilly. Rather alarmingly I got an email last night to tell me that my 9.06 train was cancelled but I was allowed to hop onto the next service, forty minutes later. The train manager was very helpful, letting us know via the announcement system on what platform various connections could be found. At one point she got on the tannoy to reproach someone for smoking between two carriages; she spoke more in sorrow than in anger and said “I didn’t think I would need to tell anyone not to smoke.” I was very suspicious of the lady across from me who had disappeared along the carriage just before the announcement, but she appeared back looking innocent and carrying a cup of coffee from the café. She could just have been very brazen though. 

My change of trains was at Preston and I was very impressed with its freshly painted smartness. I love these old stations in the north of England; their beautiful honey-coloured brickwork and vaulted glass roofs. 

Home Sweet Home

And still the warm weather continues! The north-west of Scotland is no longer the warmest place though, because all of the UK now seems to be basking in this delightful springtime. We have had such a lovely time in Ullapool and today I went for a last swim in the estuary. At first I thought that it was too cold but I marched in and out of the water several times, going deeper each time, until I was completely submerged and had a very pleasant swim. 

We made good time on our drive home, and when we arrived it was still before 5 p.m. and we sat out in the garden having drinks for a while. The cats were delighted to be home and inspected the house and garden thoroughly. Tom is such a happy chap wherever he is, but Flora is a homebody and was so pleased to be in her own house: despite one or two forays into the garden at Ullapool she spent a great deal of time indoors, often under our bed. I hope that she grows to like it better. 

Screen Machine

The Screen Machine is a mobile cinema which travels from village to village all around the Highlands and Islands, showing the latest films. I have fancied giving it a try ever since I heard of it when we first got the cottage, but the stars have never aligned so that we are in Ullapool and available at the time of its visits. When I read in the Ullapool News that it would be visiting this past weekend I was very excited and booked tickets to see Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile for yesterday at 5.30 p.m. 

We duly turned up at the leisure centre car park to see the bright blue Screen Machine lorry parked in the car park, with a short set of metal steps leading up into the interior. And what a revelation when we went inside! It’s like Dr Who’s Tardis in there, seemingly much bigger on the inside than on the outside! The lorry must be designed to expand along its length once it is parked, to become an eighty seat cinema with ten rows of eight seats, with two aisles down each side making it a two-four-two configuration - nice and spacious. The seats are red and comfortable, and the screen is a good size; it really is a proper cinema. 

The film was lovely, and crammed with well-known actors including Ken himself as Hercule Poirot. The plot was a typical Agatha Christie, but what made it extra good was the stunning scenery of Egypt and the Nile. This was not even spoiled for me by finding out that filming was all done in England with much CGI! Great fun. 

Even warmer!

Here we are sitting outside in the garden at Ullapool in weather so warm that we have had to remove our jackets and are wearing jeans and t-shirts - not bad for March! We are having a cup of tea while sitting on the bench, using the little folding table that James bought last year. It feels even warmer than yesterday. We are just past the vernal equinox which was at 15.33 this afternoon, about half an hour ago! What with the excellent weather, this feels quite exciting. 

We had lunch at our old favourite, the Kylescu Hotel, today and it was delicious; the views on the drive there and back were amazing! 

Flora is getting bolder about going outside the cottage although she doesn’t go very far. Last night at about 10 p.m. I went outside to put some washing in the tumble dryer (which is in the garage.) I realised that Flora had followed me, so instead of going straight back inside I sat on the bench in the moonlight - it was a full moon so it was very bright. She wandered about the garden when suddenly a black creature bounded out of the darkness and rushed past her, tail streaking out behind. It was Tom! Flora wasn’t bothered by this, unlike me she had probably heard him coming! They had a great time running about the garden while James and I looked at the stars. 

Warmest place in Britain

Ullapool was, according to the weather forecast, the warmest place in Britain yesterday at a balmy 17 degrees C. It was absolutely delightful, proper spring time. We packed flasks of coffee and a picnic and set off to Achnahaird Beach which was beautiful, circled by mountains. We set up camp on the sand, using the deckchairs for extra comfort, beside a convenient outcrop of rocks where we could put our bags. It was very warm so after reading my book for a short while I decided to go into the sea for a bracing swim. And bracing it certainly was! The water was very cold and also there were some waves; not the highest I have seen there, but high enough to knock me off my feet if they caught me the wrong way. In fact there were a couple of people surfing and another couple body boarding later. Unlike me they were all wearing wetsuits. *

Anyway, in I went twice, with James accompanying me to the water’s edge, and back out I came twice, having only got in as far as my knees. I was about to give up when James reminded me that I had managed to swim on the cold blowy day that was New Year’s Day. Inspired by this, I tried again and this time I got right in, partly because I stumbled just as a wave was approaching. I was pleased that I had managed it but I didn’t linger long. 

When I left the water James proffered my lovely new dry robe which was my birthday present from him. It is the warmest piece of clothing that I have ever owned! It’s rain proof on the outside and the lining is made of absorbent material. I removed my cossie from under the dry robe and sat in the deckchair; in about two minutes I was complete dry and warm. 

* Jennifer has kindly lent me her short-sleeved wetsuit but it is currently too small for me! 

Revisiting the past

Here we are back in Ullapool and very glad to be here. We brought the cats with us and they have settled in quickly; Tom is his usual happy self and Flora seems to have overcome her initial doubts which led her to sit unhappily underneath our bed for the first couple of hours. She has even ventured outside with Tom for a while this evening. 

As predicted in the weather forecast, today’s weather was extremely mixed, ranging from sunshine to heavy rain and even hail. So we had a cosy day in the cottage. James constructed a cabinet for the study and I watched a French film “L’Hotel de la Plage” which I once saw in my youth, probably about 1980. At that time I indiscriminately thought that anything French was wonderful, and I found it to be a fantastic film, funny and witty and very cool. However watching it today I found it to be a rather dated mild sex comedy, and its only real merit for me was a pleasant nostalgia. It was a strange feeling to watch it again after so many years. It was definitely the same film so it is my perception that has changed. Où sont les neiges d’antan? 

Wagon Wheel

After two years off due to Covid, Country 2 Country has been back this weekend, with the artists rotating between Glasgow, Dublin and London as usual. It feels like another welcome step towards to normality. I decided to buy tickets for just one evening because there’s only so much Country music that James can tolerate. Having perused the programme I decided to go for Sunday night, which featured Scotty McCreery, Brett Young and Darius Rucker, none of whom I have seen before. I was actually having difficulty choosing between Darius Rucker and Luke Combs, who was headlining on Friday night, and I decided on Darius Rucker because Luke Combs is considerably younger than him so hopefully we will have many more years in which to see him. I don’t mean that Darius Rucker is very old - he’s only 55 - but it was the only way I could think of to choose. 

And it was a great evening. I thought that Brett Young probably had the best voice out of the three, but they were all good. My favourite songs by Brett were “In Case You Didn’t Know” and “Let’s Just Stay Here Tonight.” Darius had great songs and a great stage personality, having fun with his band. I liked “Southern State of Mind,” “Alright by Me” and Hank Williams Jr.’s a “Family Tradition” which the audience loved and sang the chorus as a call and response; “Why do you drink?” “TO GET DRUNK!” “And why do you roll smokes?” “TO GET HIGH!” etc. His final encore was my old favourite “Wagon Wheel” which was fantastic and always brings back memories of an amazing night out in the Tarbert Hotel, Harris in September 2012. 

James however didn’t quite share my emotions; he is not the greatest fan of country music. He looked at aircraft websites in his phone throughout the evening, described Brett Young as “unsavoury” (he’s not!) and even said that Darius Rucker couldn’t sing. Sacrilege! It was nice of him to come along but I honestly don’t think there’s any point in taking James to any more Country music concerts. 

One man show

Last night we went to see Jack Docherty at Eastwood Theatre. It was good but a bit intense, as one man shows often are. I think he’s very talented and his monologue about a chance that he missed in his life and his efforts to recapture it was very good. But it was short of being brilliant. He had aimed high and didn’t quite get what he was aiming for I think. Nevertheless it was a fun and interesting evening. I was very surprised that James said that it was his first time at the Eastwood Theatre. I have certainly been there a few times, once with Ally W’s book club to see a Margaret Atwood documentary, and a couple of Am Dram performances. It’s very handy for us, only 15 minutes by car. 

We were home nice and early because there was no interval, and had a cup of tea while watching the latest episode of Peaky Blinders. This is the final series, and so far they are keeping up their high standard. Each scene is shot so artistically that it looks like a painting. Still, all things must come to an end and it’s probably about time that Tommy Shelby hangs up his razor-lined flat cap. 

Films and photos

Last night we had an absolute film fest. By which I mean that we watched two full length films in a row. The first one was a French film, Le Jeu. It was a quirky drama about a dinner party where the participants decide to play a bizarre game. It was actually very good and we both enjoyed it. Since we had started watching it quite early, James proposed watching a Marvel Movie, and we watched Spider-Man: Far from Home. It couldn’t have been more different from the French film, which was a witty comedy of manners whereas this was a full on action film. However it was also extremely good, exciting and very funny in places. 
Today was a bit rainy so we decided to resume our much neglected project to put James’ parents’ photos in albums. It must be a year since we last worked on it! Today James started putting the photos in albums, with me as his assistant in identifying family members, dating the photos etc. We worked on it for about six hours and managed to file all the photos from the early 1900s to the 1930s. It was very satisfying. Only eight decades to go! 

Back in time in Jordanhill

After a lovely lunch at the Three Craws with Carolyn and baby Harris - he is such a gorgeous wee boy! - I found myself driving around the streets of Jordanhill early this afternoon. I do this from time to time and invariably find myself parked outside the house in Borden Road that I lived in between the ages of seven and thirteen. I could picture myself and my sister and parents coming and going through the front door and I wondered who lives there now. I noticed that the old wooden storm doors at the front have been replaced with modern glass and pvc doors, but apart from that it looked just the same. I noticed that all of the houses on one side of the road (ours) were built with red sandstone and the opposite side were all blonde sandstone. Perhaps they were designed by different architects, or perhaps the price of one kind of sandstone got cheaper than the other.

Then I drove up Munro Road to retrace (in reverse) the route that I used to walk home from hockey after games afternoons at school. Two strange things happened. Firstly I remembered a particular thought that I had one day walking down the road about forty-five years ago. I could remember thinking about symmetry just as I passed where I was when I was thinking about it, almost as if I had gone back in time. And secondly when I reached the school playing fields - they were gone! The space where they were is now a housing estate. 

The lark did not ascend for us

I booked tickets a while ago to Vaughn Williams’ The Lark Ascending at the City Halls, which I thought would be a nice evening out for James and me. Unfortunately I wrongly wrote on the calendar that the venue would be the Royal Concert Hall. So this evening we went for a pre-theatre dinner to Ask Italian in Renfrew Street before our concert, but as we crossed the road at twenty past seven James commented that the Royal Concert Hall looked very quiet; in fact there were no people going into it or hanging about outside it at all. I checked the tickets and realised my mistake. Oh dear, and by now it was twenty-five past; there was no way we were going to get there in time for the 7.30 p.m. start. We briefly debated heading to the City Halls for a drink and then going in to the concert after the interval, but then decided to cut our losses and go to the cinema instead since we were right beside Cineworld. We got tickets for The Batman, and treated ourselves to a 4XD showing, which meant that we were thrown around in our seats during the many action scenes, rather like our recent dune-bashing experience! The film was very long; nearly three hours, but it did hold my attention and I quite liked the slight change of attitude that Batman learned by the end. However Robert Pattinson was an awfully sullen Batman, and the film was so dark as to be almost dreary - James commented that each film incarnation of Batman seems to be more downbeat and despairing than the last!  

Nearly Spring

We are having a pleasant couple of weeks at home before our next trip to Ullapool. The weather feels cold compared to lovely Dubai but actually it’s probably average for early March. I’ve been doing a lot of swimming at David Lloyd and some days it has been beautifully sunny. I feel that we are in the cusp of Spring. 

Alison and Hugh came to spend a night with us before their holiday to Gran Canaria, and we had a very pleasant catch up over a tagine that was, frankly, disappointing. It was too sweet (it had honey and chopped apricots in it) and was not up to my usual standard. In the morning when they got up to get ready for the airport Flora and Tom were very amazed that they were still here and Flora was shouting loudly at them in the hall! 

The next evening Ruth and Donald came round and we had another convivial catch up; I have seen Ruth a few times over the last couple of years but I haven’t seen Donald since before Covid. Ruth insisted on bringing the dinner because she originally invited us round, but they are having decorating done and it hasn’t been finished on time. So she asked me to provide the oven and she very kindly brought the food! Or maybe she had heard how my latest tagine turned out ha ha! 

I have also been doing useful things like going to the dentist and the jeweller and the post office and the optician. And this evening I went to visit Jenn F; it was the first time that I have seen her since her Mum’s funeral and we had a really good talk.

And the invasion of Ukraine continues, it’s so sad and awful. I wish that the West could go in to help them properly but that would run a real risk that Putin would escalate things yet further. But the Ukrainians really need support. I don’t know what’s going to happen. 

Farewell to Dubai

I felt sad that Tuesday morning was our last breakfast of the holiday, sitting outside on the terrace with bird singing and hopping around us. Ally researched what the most numerous ones were: Laughing Doves (which had rosy pink chests) and White-eared Bul Bul. I went for a swim in the Gulf one more time and then got changed and showered and we set off to airport. It was all very efficient and we were soon on the plane. What a fantastic present from Ally and Cat this has been! I was sad to leave but delighted with the excellent seats on the plane that Cat had reserved for us; two sets of two seats one behind the other so no strangers to have to get past us. The flight went smoothly and we had lovely views crossing the Alps in Austria. When we were going through passport control at Gatwick an official shouted to a young man near us, “No shorts in the airport!” which made him and us laugh. We said our farewells as Ally and Cat headed home and we stayed at the Airport Premier Inn, which is conveniently less than five minutes walk from the terminal. Unlike Dubai it was cold and drizzly back in the UK. Our room was comfy and we were soon fast asleep. 

Midnight at the Oasis

On Monday we were up early to be collected from the hotel by Nabeel in his Toyota Landcruiser for a morning in the desert. We drove for about an hour north and started off with camel-riding. It is possible that I may have ridden on a camel many many years ago in Cyprus (I’m not sure if it was just the boys or me as well) but that in that case there was a ladder and platform to get onto the camel and it walked in a very small circle. The Dubai experience of camel-riding was completely different: the camels were sitting down and you had to swing your leg over to get onto the saddle, and then the camel lumbered to its feet which was very scary! There was much hilarity from Ally and Cat when I couldn’t swing my leg high enough and one of the helpers caught my foot and pulled me on from the other side. And then we went for a proper camel ride into the desert and it was brilliant! I felt like Omar Sharif in Laurence of Arabia! The desert was beautiful, orange but with an almost pink glow. Then we went on to our next destination; Quad-biking. I wimped out of this, not because I was scared (I like quad-biking) but because it was very very hot in the desert and I thought that I would fry on the quad bike. I kind of regretted not going because the others had a fantastic time, but I enjoyed people watching in the large tent where coffee and dates (and a large air-conditioning unit) were provided. Although I was very hot, February is one of the most pleasant months to visit Dubai because the heat is not too unbearable; Nabeel told us that Dubai has two seasons: Hot and Very Hot!
We then got back into the car and Nabeel took us Dune Bashing. This is a form of off-roading done on sand dunes in big 4X4 vehicles, driving fast over and around the dunes at quite alarming angles! It was great fun although I was relieved when we stopped to go sand surfing. Not that I went sand surfing myself, too hot again! As the name suggests you surf down a sand dune on a board like a snow board, with foot straps. All good fun but you then have to walk back up the dune again carrying your board! The intrepid James, Cat and Ally all had a go, and had a great time. The surroundings were so gorgeous, with dunes stretching out into the distance as far as the eye could see. What a morning! Back at the hotel we had a lovely lunch outdoors and then went to the beach and swam in the gulf.
Ally and Cat had arranged one more amazing experience for us later on, and this one was very special indeed. Cat drove us for about an hour to the Bab Al Shams desert resort, which started off as an oasis many years ago, and is now a luxury desert resort. Ally and Cat have been there before and it really is magical, its lights shining in the desert. We had a magnificent dinner where I ate far too much, there was so much choice of amazing middle-eastern dishes. After dinner there was entertainment; singers, a belly dancer, a Whirling Dervish. The audience was made up of lots of locals as well as some tourists and they were singing along to their favourite songs, and also dancing! The culmination of the entertainment was a short dramatisation of the history of the Oasis, complete with horses, sword fighting, a camel train, and even a flock of sheep. It was amazing, I loved it. We went for a stroll through the resort and ended up ordering mint and lemon drinks in a bar that was open to the stars, on this warm desert night. Out came a shisha pipe, of which we all tried a few puffs; of course none of us smoke but it seemed appropriate for the Middle Eastern setting. I felt very happy after such a wonderful day.