Easter Travels

 In celebration of my series of Trials finally coming to an end, and notwithstanding that November has finished and I now no longer am aiming to post a blog per day, some bonus posts updating on our adventures this year.

We were back in the UK for Christmas and New Year but the main focus was on Dad’s 90th birthday in April which we celebrated  with the family in Kent with some glorious weather which also brought the best out of the beautiful Magnolia in Dad’s back garden.

We had a lovely lunch and piano recital by a concert pianist for his birthday and of course Dad also demonstrated his piano playing skills:

After all the Parties we headed off to Amsterdam by Eurostar for the Vermeer exhibition and were also able to take in some of the other galleries (including the Van Dyck museum and MOMA) as well ask managing a enjoyable (if somewhat damp) bike ride around the canals and major tourist sites.

Last Post

 My love of a play on words finds a suitable outlet today as this is the last day of the month and, while I have not managed a post for every day, I have managed something on most days. I must admit that the one post that I fully intended to prepare but have not done so until now is one foreshadowed right at the beginning of the month regarding my Father passing away in July.

It was certainly no great surprise as he had not been in the best of health. However, we had held a lovely 90th birthday party for him in April where he was in good spirits and we had gone out for a meal at a local restaurant with my Sister and her family and my cousin K and his wife A as well as dad’s friend J. Thereafter, he had a couple of falls and as a consequence agreed (after much debate) to go into a local nursing home. I went back to see him in June for a couple of weeks and stayed on as his health continued to deteriorate so I was lucky enough to be with him and I guess to mentally prepare myself. 

We had spoken via zoom/teams on most days during the pandemic lockdown and had continued after this had finished, incorporating a regular quiz or crossword in our chats - usually fixed for around 6 or 6:30pm UAE so I could catch up with him after work. He generally saw J on Wednesday’s and one day at Weekends when he would be otherwise engaged but for the most part we spoke pretty much every other day and on either Saturday or Sundays I would speak to him from the back garden with a G&T shortly before firing up the BBQ.

One of Dad’s great strengths was his enthusiasm whether it was for travel, sport (rugby and chess in particular), music (the sound of his jazz or classical pieces played on his baby Grand piano regularly wafted up through the house while I was lying in bed of an evening all through my childhood and whenever we stayed with him), travel and of course technology - he was an early adopter of the latest Hifi and music systems, computers and communication technology and so zoom/teams/skype held no fears for him (although like the rest of us he did get a bit grumpy when the tech did not work as planned). As a result we were able to keep in close contact over the last few years and I guess this has been the most difficult bit to come to terms with as I still find myself  - when reading some bit of news or watching a rugby/cricket/football match  - that dad would have enjoyed a chat about this.

His final illness and his funeral came at a particularly busy/stressful period at work so July was a bit of a blur. The funeral itself was lovely with a huge turn out or friends (mainly from the Bowls Club where he was a stalwart member and honorary secretary) and family that reminded us all of how much he had touched and influenced so many people. 

My Sister and I delivered the Eulogy - must admit that it was probably  the easiest  piece of public speaking I had to prepare as there was so much material from his life (and the fact that he had published 4 volumes of memoirs meant fact checking was not an issue) but also one of the most challenging to deliver (a fact that I had not really considered until around half way though when it suddenly struck me - just as I was saying that I always ran past him for his feedback what I was going to say when I had a really important presentation/speech to give - that I had lost a friendly and very insightful sounding board for life’s big issues…).

He was a lovely chap and I hope that I will have the same drive and enthusiasm as he had when seizing the opportunities  life presented and to live it to the full (his retirement in particular was an objective lesson in travelling the world and fulfilling ambitions). 

Much of this I suspect was driven by the challenges  he faced in growing up in the 1930/1940s in war-torn Britain without a Father and he has set the family terrific example of how to make the most that life has to offer. I hope I can emulate him.

Nice cup of tea

 I have always enjoyed a decent cup of tea and have inherited from the Irish side of my family (particularly my Mother)  a recognition of the importance of ensuring that the right ingredients, added in the right order,  in the right combination and at the right temperature is of critical importance.

I am quite happy to make a single cup with a bag although I recognise for purists a nice pot and loose tea-leaves adds to the theatre of the preparation (and is likely to lead to more consistent  and perhaps better outcomes).

Accordingly, all I need is freshly boiled water, and a decent brand of tea (currently enjoying Two Birds) at the right strength (English or Irish breakfast in a bag is fine). It must be allowed to brew for the correct period of time - Em bought me a set of sand timers for 3, 4 and 5 minutes and I find 5 minutes gets the colour to the right shade of brown.

Half or full fat fresh dairy milk is a must. I find that some hotels simply cannot produce decent milk for tea - it does not seem to matter how long you leave the bag to brew, as soon as you add the milk it developes an acrid taste. The worst offenders are in continental Europe although I have been struggling to make myself a decent cup during my current hearing and I can only ascribe it to the UHT milk they provide. At least it is not heated milk (I always order tea here in Dubai specifying “cold milk on the side’’).

There is nothing better than a nice cup of tea.

Same Direction of Travel

 Although I decided to give myself more time to get to my hearing this morning, in the event, I managed to leave the house even later than yesterday. 

The traffic was just as bad and so I was getting increasing nervous as I crawled along the highway into the centre of town along with pretty much everyone else in Dubai. I used a different route guide which had the advance of actually announcing the directions I needed to take (the Waze app I usually use (and which I used yesterday) is for some reason silent on occasions as was the case yesterday).

Although the route was the same I managed to avoid yesterday’s error of taking the overpass so managed to get to the Hotel in just about enough time to get to the hearing room just as everyone was taking their seats. Still a bit close for comfort.

Direction of Travel

 I have another Trial which is being held at a Hotel in the Business Bay Area of Dubai. This is a relatively new area located between the Al Khail and Sheik Zayad roads and is notoriously difficult to get access to during the rush hour so I deliberately gave myself around and hour and 20 minutes to get to there notwithstanding the predicted 30 minute travel time.

I usually use Waze on my IPhone to get me to new destinations - not sure how we used to get anywhere before the ubiquitous travel apps that now proliferate. However, despite increasing sophistication, the route finding apps are still not really up to the task of dealing with multiple roads and severe traffic as was demonstrated this morning when I got stuck in the (expected) heavy rush hour traffic but once I was through that, I followed the direction of travel indicated on my phone but it transpired that I should have been on a route running parallel with the road I was on because I suddenly found myself on an overpass (the road I wanted was running underneath me) and I sailed past my intended destination at around the level of the 4th floor.

One of the main drawbacks of driving around Dubai is that if you do happen to take a wrong turn, the straight, long roads and the grid system (and reluctance to allow too may U turns) means that you can easily travel for 5 or 10 Kms before getting a chance to get back on the right track. 

So it proved today as I had a 14km drive along a relatively quiet dual carriageway heading towards Abu Dhabi before being able to do a U turn and head back to where I wanted to be. I also managed to hit a whole series of traffic jams so that my 50 minute “buffer” for arriving on time was being rapidly being whittled away so that by the time I arrived at the hotel, I had just over 10 minutes to take my place in the hearing room. I might just give myself 2 hours tomorrow.

What a Goal!

Regularly readers will know that I enjoy my sport and watch the Premiership football whenever I can.  Over the many years I have been fortunate to see some excellent goals including when actually at the match in person. This includes what proved to be goal of the season at Selhurst Park by Dalian Atkinson for Aston Villa against Wimbledon in October 1992 which consisted of a mazy run from what felt like the half way line and a great lobbed finish which left the entire crowd momentarily stunned into silence as well Demba Ba’s aerial acrobatics against Manchester United in the cup replay Alex and I went to at Stamford Bridge in April 2013. However this evening I saw (on TV) an absolute peach of a goal by Man Utd's  Garnacho against Everton - a bicycle kick with his back to goal that rivalled Wayne Rooney's a few years ago - it was absolutely stunning and reminded me why I enjoy watching football so much!

Photographic evidence

 I mentioned a sweet smelling bud on the trees around the community that blossom at his time of year and that we have a couple of examples in our back garden. Given my problem in identifying what they were,  I decided to include photographs in case anyone new what they were:

They are very pretty (and smell great) although this is only for around 3 or 4 weeks. The rest of the year they provide  some greenery and shade for the various birds and cats that frequent our garden.

Size matters?

 I come from a reasonably tall family - my Father was 6 foot 2 inches and my Mother (and her Mother) were around 5 foot 6 inches. Her brothers were also over 6 foot and my Father’s brother was also around 6 foot. So my 6 foot 4 inches is very much in keeping with the rest of the immediate family and A (around 6 foot 2 inches) and V. (5 foot 10 inches) have taken after me in terms of height (E. is just under  5 foot 6 inches but looks a lot smaller when the four of us get together!).

The reason for the topic is that V. came home yesterday talking about the school 6th Form opening evening where she was hosting one of the subject stalls (basically answering questions from prospective 6th formers and their parents about the A level course) and mentioned that one of the families she met were truly huge - it being quite unusually for her to be looking up to people at her school to talk to them She said that the son was probably a couple of inches taller than me but the Father was closer to 7 feet!

V. has always been fairly proud about her height and at one stage was contemplating hitting the 6 foot mark which sadly did not quite come to pass. I have always been happier to be tall rather than short although as I was tall from an early age I did not particularly  relish standing out in my awkward early teen years but certainly felt grateful for the advantages it provided as I got older and into my professional life.

I do however, recall, when travelling I think in Holland or Germany during my 20s meeting an extraordinarily tall chap who I basically only came up to the shoulder to. He was not a basketball player - just an ordinary businessman - but after a protracted conversation during which I was continually having to stare upwards to make eye contact,  I suddenly realised that this was the kind of challenge that some of my shorter friends and colleagues  might have in talking to me (and I guess re-emphasised just how grateful I should be to be tall….).

Sweet smell of success

 I have written about this topic before, but I also feel that I need to come back to it as it is one of the highlights of living in our community out here in the desert - the sweet scented blossoms which festoon some of the trees lining the roads and footpaths at this time of year. 

I still have not found out the name of the species despite extensive research but it is a lovely way to start the day when I go for a ride and the mixture of honeysuckle and jasmine wafts down from the trees as I cycle around the neighbourhood. 

Sadly in only really lasts around a month (sometimes shorter if we have a heavy rainfall which knocks the blossoms off). It is however not only sweet smelling but also very pretty while it lasts and we are lucky enough to have some in our back garden which also makes for a pleasant experience during my BBQs.

Sunday, Sunday

 On perusing some of my old blog posts (always a source of inspiration) I came across a post from shortly after our arrival in Dubai where I discuss how strange it felt working on a Sunday. When we first arrived, and in fact up to the beginning of last year, the formal weekend fell on Friday and Saturday. From 1st January 2022, the weekend moved to Saturday and Sunday in the UAE (although remained Friday/Saturday in other parts of the GCC including Qatar and KSA) - although in Sharjah the Government mandated a 4 day week with Friday to Sunday as the weekend (alright for some!).

Whilst it took some getting used to, I did enjoy a Friday/Saturday weekend as it meant that Sunday, while a working day, was relatively peaceful as the other offices in the network were still enjoying their weekend break so it was quite a gentle introduction to the working week allowing a focus on work rather than the wall to wall meetings that greets us first thing on a Monday now that we are on the same schedule as the rest of the World. Colleagues working on Qatar or KSA matters get the worst of both worlds as clients will insist on Sunday meetings but fortunately I have managed to avoid this fate so far.

The change in weekend has also meant that the traditional Friday afternoon “Brunch” has moved to Saturday (or indeed Friday evening) although this does not seem to have affected its popularity!

Ring a ring a roses……

 Hopefully I do not have the plague but I was talking to a colleague this morning who was coughing and spluttering  and by 5pm I was sneezing and sniffing, surrounded by tissues. I recall from my Seoul trip last year that I returned with he Mother and Father of colds (although not Covid) which lasted the best part of 2 months. 

Hopefully this is one of the shorter duration varieties as I have another Trial starting on Sunday which is going to severely curtail the amount of training I am going to be able to do before the 65km Build Up Ride scheduled for the end of next week so was hoping to get a few rides in before the weekend.

After last year’s experience, my hand sanitiser was my closest friend during my Korea trip and I also had the flu jab in early October. We shall see whether this will affect the severity of the symptoms although it seems from a straw poll of other colleagues that a number of people having been suffering following the changes in the season and the recent cooler weather and rain.

Planning for Christmas

 One of the challenges in being based in Dubai but having family in the UK is trying to coordinate everything for  the Christmas holidays. There are various moving parts including the end of the school term (V), the end of the University term (A), my remaining holiday entitlement (and how many days I need to ensure that I get to fit in with everyone’s holiday plans). 

This Christmas has been made more complicated by a desire to both spend time in UK with the family for Christmas Day/Boxing Day etc., spend a couple of nights in London and have some time in Paris. After much debate we have found away of accommodating everyone which involves flying into Paris from DXB and then getting the Eurostar to London before travelling down to Kent for Christmas before returning to DXB in Tim for New Year. It will not be cheap. I am however looking forward to seeing Paris again after around 20 years.

Clearing the air

 Whilst torrential rain in Dubai normally signals flooded roads, leaks through roofs that are unused to any kind of precipitation and the closure of schools and Government offices, one of the big advantages is that for days after a downpour you can see for miles as the dust and sand is removed from the air.

A case in point is the entrance to our community which is around 20km outside the main part of the city of Dubai. When exiting, the main view from the highway is across the desert towards the city but usually one can only see the new developments that are springing up in Falcon City. However, for the last few days, the Burj Khalifa has been shimmering in all its glory in the heat haze and, at night, the light show is clearly visible from the top of our villa.

The rain also meant that my cycle ride around Mushrif Park this morning was wreathed in an ethereal mist as the early morning sun dried out the soaked desert landscape - very atmospheric!

In the desert

 Having departed from a very wet Seoul, I arrived at absolutely soaking Dubai! We landed in the middle of a thunderstorm at around 5am with lightening flashes all around us and torrential rain.  The roads were like lakes as the car took me home - I was due to play golf later in the day at a course very near to home and it looked most unlikely that this would be going ahead. However, after a bit of sleep I woke up to clear blue skies and the news that we would be playing and what a lovely afternoon it was -  soft breezes, warm temperatures and despite the rain, virtually no puddles - unlike pretty much anywhere else in Dubai, it obviously had very good drainage!

Back to the desert

 A quick post while I wait to catch my flight home from Incheon. Unlike the first couple of days which were fine and clear, today has been both cold and wet - everyone wanted to take a taxi, so we ended up spending a lot of time underground on the Seoul metropolitan underground train system. At least we remained reasonably dry.

We also found time to take in what looked like a full size reproduction of the Trevi fountain!

Sadly the wet weather also highlighted a problem that I probably would not have noticed in Dubai - a hole in my work shoes. Looks like I will be investing in a new pair very soon.

Korean food and BBQ

 One of my favourite things about a trip to Seoul is that they take their food very seriously and this is particularly the case with regards to their meat. Last night we had a fabulous meal of grilled pork that was cooked on a small BBQ set into the table top. 

It was not a particularly swish restaurant - there was a very raucous table next to us where the diners were clearly having the time of their lives serenading each other with ever more elaborate toasts - however the meat was excellent - three different types of pig ranging from the sweet and succulent to the rich and aromatic.

At lunchtime today we had time to grab a quick meal in a cafe in the basement of one of the Malls:

Essentially this was a Korean style all you can eat buffet where the food was set out in steaming tureens (lined up beneath the counter in the picture). The chefs were just relaxing at the end of the lunch shift while we were there. There was rice, a beef dish, noodles, a fried fish dish, various condiments and kimchi with water and some kind of seaweed as accompaniments. Excellent value at the equivalent of US$9. 

This evening we then went to a more up market beef restaurant - again cooked on a BBQ in the middle of the table and again absolutely delicious. I am definitely going on a diet when I am back home!

View from a room

 My hotel in Seoul is very quirky and fairly rustic which is very unusual for this part of the World as most of the building work was done post war. It certainly has a lot more character than most hotels.  I am however debating whether the characterfullness compensates for a lack of a restaurant and gym and some of the other facilities that one usually finds in business hotels. The jury is still out but certainly the view out of my bedroom window is rather different from the usual fayre of car parks and dust bins!

 

On my travels

 Have just arrived in Seoul. I usually try to arrive in the early Autumn - temperature is very pleasant and the trees are a golden brown. However, due to other commitments, my trip was a little later than planned.

I noticed when I was packing last night that the temperature was -2 degrees and - despite the sunshine=ne when I touched down - I could definitely see my breath so I am hoping that my (rather thin) sweater is going to be up to the tanks over the next few days!

I want to ride my Mountain Bike

 As foreshadowed in an earlier post, I am a great fan of the MTB trails around Mushrif National Park which is around a 20 minute drive from where we live. 

I have previously mentioned that Dubai must be one of the easiest places in the World to enjoy bike riding whether it be a road bike - there are over 150km of tracks in the desert around Al Qudra alone (also around 20 minutes from our villa) - or Mountain biking. V. has been Mountain Biking in the Hatta mountains which are around an hour from here and whilst I have  heard good things about the trails around that area, I have not managed to get up there myself. I have however made full use of the Mushrif trails which is a mixture of green/blue/red (much like the skiing system with green being the easiest).

As also previously mentioned, the only disadvantage is that every now and then you will be sharing the peace and tranquility with the roar of an A380 as it comes into land at DXB due to sit proximity with the flight path

Nevertheless, this does not seem to discourage the wild life and there are plenty of warning signs for snakes, spiders and scorpions (none of which I have seen fortunately) as well as plenty of birds.

There are also plenty of squirrels although I really struggle yesterday to get a photo of them (they are quite elusive although you can here them chirruping away as they bounce around in the trees but blend in very well with the foliage).

He is in there somewhere (I think).

It even has some hills and valleys which are pretty rare for this part of Dubai.

Let’s party

 One of the great things about living in Dubai (and indeed when we were in Hong Kong) is that it is a melting pot for many different cultures. Tonight was a great example as we were invited by our next door neighbours to their “Cologne Carnival” party.

Sadly we had not been informed that this required fancy dress but nevertheless we had a lovely time mixing with the various Minions, barmaids, and disco queens around the swimming pool. The range of nationalities present was a real microcosm of Dubai - ME, India, Sri Lankan, European including UK and Irish and the temperature was absolutely perfect. 

It is also Diwali, so our community is lit up like Blackpool illuminations - with Halloween only recently finished - there is a definite party feeling when I am driving home from work.

Flora and Fauna

 I hope to be heading out tomorrow to Mirdiff National Park which has a mountain bike track which essentially comprises a number of trails around the park and the woodland. Despite the fact that we are in middle of the desert, this is a really terrific facility as it is a combination of wooded areas, hills and country paths. 

Although it is located around 20km outside of central Dubai, I suspect that it remains relatively undeveloped as it is directly under the flight path leading into DXB so my rides are usually accompanied by the roar of the A380s as they swoop low overhead before they come into land.

Apart from the aircraft noise, it is a tranquil spot and as a result there are a number of animals that can be spotted including squirrels (I must admit when I first saw them I was quite surprised as one does not really associate them with the desert environment although they are smaller than their UK cousins) and plenty of bird life. There are also numerous warning signs for snakes but fortunately I have not yet encountered any of these residents and the graphic warnings have not encouraged me to change this state of affairs!

Seat with some space

 Just returned from my sojourn in Qatar which involved a flight with one of the myriad “budget” airlines that have sprung up around the World and here in the Middle East (although to be honest there was not much sign of a budget in the cost of the ticket today…). 

We almost invariably fly Emirates when travelling to Europe and UK and with that comes a steep price (particularly since Covid) but also a good service, frequent flights and crucially when you are over 6ft, decent seat pitches. 

Having spent the Summer with my knees around my ears while trying to cram myself into a Ryanair seat it was interesting to compare the Ryanair budget price offering with Fly Dubai (my carrier today). There really was no comparison. My flight was expensive (but quite last minute as I wanted to get an earlier flight) but I did not have to pay more to have a bag in the hold and I was not charged to put my carry on bag in the overhead locker. I was also able to sit down without my knees pressed hard against the back of the seat in front of me so altogether a more pleasant experience. 

This then leads me to wonder whether Tony O’Leary (or whoever runs Ryanair these days) is indeed a genius as he seems to have managed to persuade travellers (including me) to pay substantially  more than budget prices (based on my experience for the last two Summers) for what is a really unpleasant experience particularly when compared to its equivalent out here.

Room with a view (Part 2)

 Finally managed to get away from my hotel this evening when I caught up with colleagues for a quick drink. We met up at the Raffles Hotel at a bar with a spectacular view of the Lusail area and the wider Doha conurbation. It really reminded me of Felix - a restaurant in the Peninsular Hotel in Hong Kong which we used to take visitors too  - it had terrific views back over Victoria Harbour and towards HK Island - with the neon lit skyline of Causeway Bay, Wanchai and Central much in evidence.

Whilst the view tonight was not quite as spectacular (although all the major landmarks were visible and  there was also quite a lot of water and a new Island being built), it was a pleasant change from being holed up in the hotel with only room service to look forward to!

The lights are on…..

 But having spent quite  a bit of time in admiring the huge tower blocks that dominate the sky-line in the area where I am staying, it strikes me that there must be a huge amount of living and office space to fill. The West Bay Area is only one of a number of areas for business although I guess it must be one of the biggest but although Qatar has very much been on the global stage may over the last few years - not least because of last year’s football World Cup, nevertheless it is not as big a business hub as say Dubai or the first growing Riyadh.

I first visited Doha in around 1993 and it was a very different place with a couple of major hotels (including the Sheraton which still remains).When I came for the England - v - Wales game last November, I was struck by how quiet it seemed to be notwithstanding all the football fans. Despite some of the traffic around the hotel when I walk to the Pullman in the morning, it feels very quiet indeed which rather begs the question, who is occupying all this living and working space? 

It might be that Qatar is planning on growing its business community. However, as a regional hub I suspect that it will struggle to compete with Dubai and will also face very stiff competition from Riyadh now that the KSA Government require any businesses that wish to work on Saudi to have their regional headquarters in the Kingdom.

Still I have enjoyed my visit and one of the advantages of the relative sedateness of its business sector is that one can stay in 5 star hotels for a very reasonable price (QR500 for a 5X hotel like the InterContintal or Grand Hyatt including breakfast which is c. GBP120 at current rates.

Where the streets have no name

 The venue for the Trial I am involved with this week is around a 6 - 8 minute walk from my Hotel, so in an effort to do some exercise this week, I have decided to walk  rather get a taxi. 

In the the Middle East that is sometime easier said than done - even in November it can still be pretty warm and Qatar is no exception. On the first morning, I managed to navigate a route that allowed me to keep more or less in the shadows (there are some very tall buildings around the route which I was able to use as shade) but had kept my jacket on so that I was somewhat hot and sweaty when I arrived.

However, notwithstanding the temperature, the biggest challenge was that Doha  - particularly in the business areas where my hotel is located, is not really designed for people to walk around. So there was a marked absence of pavements (and many of those that were available had been blocked off - mainly it seemed to stop people parking on them). I therefore found my self traversing car parks and access roads for the various Government buildings, apartment blocks and hotels I passed on my way. 

This led to a number of dead-ends - I was able to see my destination (another skyscraper) but the most direct route (keeping to the shade) led me down cul-de-sacs, through construction sites or into underground car parks and led to some entertaining conversations with security guards who were somewhat bemused to encounter a be-suited, gently perspiring out of towner with a briefcase wandering around their subterranean lairs!

After trial and error I have now found the optimal route - around 6 minutes and limited number of car park visits but it is quite an interesting reflection on the degree to which  the town planners here are expecting most people to travel by car.

(Hotel) room with a view

 I am in a very nice room for my stay in Doha - on the 37th floor which seems to be on a corner and has various views in different directions over the West Bay area through picture windows in the bedroom and the bathroom. Whilst there are blinds (although only partially obscuring the view) and curtains (which do not meet in the middle) the vista is a little disconcerting when brushing my teeth and I can only think that given the height, the interior designers assumed that the room occupants would not be overlooked by anyone else!

It also took a while to get used to the lift system.It turned out that there are two banks of lifts which are next to each other but occupying separate areas - one set servicing different floors from the other although other than some very small lettering on the lifts themselves, you have to be very observant to figure out whether you are in the correct lift bank - I spent 10 minutes waiting for a lift when I first arrived before noticing that despite pressing their call button, and the fact there appeared to be 5 sets of lifts, none of them were actually stopping at my floor!

First world problems I hear you say, and I must admit the novelty of being so high in the sky has not yet worn off.

What’s in a word?

 Like many people I am part of a Wordle WhatsApp group where we keep everyone on the address list (which includes both kids, Em and her Mother, and my Brother in Law) up to speed on our daily score. 

For what must be a tiny proportion of the World’s population who have not come across Wordle, it is a word game that basically gives you 6 attempts to guess the daily word where correct letters are flagged as either being in the correct place (green) or at least in the word but in the wrong place (Taupe/Brown). 

It is great fun and a good way to stay in touch with your nearest and dearest. It was also a great favourite of my Father who was an avid part of the WhatsApp group. He sadly passed away in the Summer and this will be the subject of a longer post in due course. But it was very much in keeping with his general approach to life that not only was he enthusiastically tackling the challenge up until only a couple of days before he died but also (perhaps not so enthusiastically) he was prepared to embrace the WhatsApp technology on his Ipad/IPhone. This was by no means a given even though notwithstanding his advanced years he was an avid Teams/Skype/Zoom user despite the vagaries of the technology. However, as appears to be the case with a number of people of his vintage he was always quite suspicious of his mobile phone - the smaller keys did not help but I think he carried a deep suspicion of the likely costa of using it (even for a posting messages) which I assume was ingrained form when mobile phones were initially introduced,

In any event, he also took great delighted in keeping up with everyone’s scores and  - along with all the other ways he was part of our lives - he will be sadly missed from the daily round up of Wordle scores from around the globe.

Not a great start

 So managed to miss yesterday’s post as I arrived back home too late (after a welcome drinks for some new colleagues) to ensure it was posted yesterday so have now decided to see if I can manage to post once every other day. 

Spent most of today preparing for my trip to Qatar. This was mainly a combination of clearing the decks at work of various admin and BD related issues relating to my forthcoming trip to Seoul so I can concentrate on the tasks at hand as well as packing enough clothes to last me around a week. 

Usually I can fit everything into a carry-on bag but I need to make sure I have enough formal clothes as well as some “leisure wear” in the unlikely event I get some down time (nothing worse than trying to relax in a suit while everyone around you is breathing easily in a polo shirt and chinos/shorts). 

As a result I am taking a hold bag so of course I have to make sure I get full value for having to hang around the carousel and as a result I have probably wildly over-packed (I made a similar mistake for a recent Trial in Abu Dhabi where I probably  took enough clothes to last me a month - I think this was in turn a reaction to the ridiculous luggage restrictions we endured on the various Ryanair flights we took around Europe in the Summer - may be more on that in a later post…..).

I have also packed some gym kit in the (probably forlorn) hope that I will get myself onto an exercise bike at some point while I am in Doha. I am back in training for the Dubai 92 KM road race next February. 

Build Up Ride (45km) was successfully completed last weekend and I have been out in the morning 3 times this week but I am definitely going to struggle to get back on my bike given my travels before the next BUR at the end of the month so am aiming to get tot he Hotel Gym a couple of times if the opportunity arises.

Anyway, next post should be from Qatar.

Once more with feeling

 It’s 1 November, so welcome to another month of posting a blog per day - or at least making an effort to do so. I always make the same excuse when I re-start my blogging activity at this time of year that I am too busy (or too lacking in inspiration). Work-wise, this year is no exception. I am just about to travel elsewhere in the GCC to start a Trial for a week, I will then be back for a a couple of days, and then off to Korea before returning in time for another Trial and hopefully a bit of a break. Still it should provide me with plenty of material so wish me luck.