Post RWC Blues

It was probably just as well that I posted by thoughts on the Rugby Cup final before the game yesterday as I was certainly in no mood to do so afterwards! A very disappointing outcome but I do not think the English team and supporters can have any complaints as the better side won (although I guess we were entitled to dream about what might have been after their extraordinary performance against the All Black last weekend….). I was also still recovering from my exertions in the Dubai cycle challenge build up ride on Friday morning so yesterday was a very quiet but nevertheless sports filled day as I have access to all the premiership football on the TV so took full advantage in an effort to numb the disappointment of the rugby. V. and I also caught up a couple of episodes of “The Good Place” which she had been very keen that I watch with her. Still not entirely sure that it is appropriate viewing for a 13 year old but it is a very clever series – I am guessing that she may have already seen some of the later episodes as she keeps dropping in teasers about what is going to happen next and I am looking forward to seeing how the plot develops. For someone who claims that not to watch much TV (except for the sport) I seem to be devoting quite a lot of time to it at the moment and this does not look likely to change in the near future particularly a I have a number of episodes of the Great British Bake Off to catch up on as well. Anyway, will try to move on to less TV and sport related topics for next post.

World Cup fever

Big day today as England take on South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final in Japan. As usual I am looking forward to the game with a mixture of excitement and trepidation - the last two finals England have been in having resulted in a win (vs Australia in 2003 a match also made notable for A deciding to take his first steps) and a lose (vs S Africa in 2007 a day when V. also decided to take her first steps) - so both occasions particularly memorable! The match kicks off in just over an hour and I will be joined by some Australian friends so thought I would get my daily post in early just in case the aftermath does not lend itself to a blogpost!

It's that time of year again

So the 1st November signals as ever the start of the blogpost per day challenge and after a full year of neglecting this part of the internet I am determined to meet this years challenge....... plenty of material over the last 12 months so there is no excuse for failing to put pen to paper/ finger to IPad. One of my last posts in November last year was about my preparations for the Dubai cycle challenge and today was the final build up ride - 85km. Very hard work this year as I managed to lose the peloton whilst battling the head winds in the middle of the desert and spent most of the ride on my own so definitely feeling it this evening (although it did not stop the traditional Friday night BBQ). Completed the course in just over three hours six minutes averaging at around 26/27kph so definitely room for improvement- although hosting the office BBQ yesterday at home was probably not ideal preparation!

Thrills and Spills

Today was "Swifty's" first proper run out after V and I had picked her new bike up earlier in the week. It was a beautiful Dubai morning with bright sunshine and still enough scent from the trees around where we live ( I have tried to find our what they are called to no avail - it has white buds and a shape rather like a fuchsia bud but with a strong honeysuckle smell). We did a couple of loops around the Mosque run and the up to the new Spinneys for a Mango juice(V) ans tea with croissant (me) before heading back. Just before we got back home V got her tyre caught in the gulley between the grass and path at the entrance to our courtyard and well and truly christened Swifty with a tumble. Apart from some scratches, bumps and bruises both child and machine seem to be OK but not a great way to start the weekend.

In other news the 7s rugby weekend started in some style with NC and chums and so Dad and I are looking forward to the rest of the entertainment tomorrow.

Quizzical look

As regular readers of this blog will know, one of my (and my Father's) great pleasures - and (usually) deepest disappointments is taking part in the D&A quiz at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. This visit by Dad has proved to be no different with our first effort in his first week here ending up with us ignominiously finishing in last place having scored zero on the picture round and barely failing to trouble the scorers even on our "strongest" round of General Knowlege. 17 marks was very poor end even if we had not wiped out (we mixed up our Yellowstone and Jellystone National Parks when deciding where Yogi Bear lived) we would still have come last so we embarked on this weeks quiz with no little trepidation. In truth I do not think we were much better although perhaps the other teams were worse as we were in third place at the halfway stage ( that was as good as it got). Nevertheless it was a lovely evening and we got to sample the new menu(the chicken tikka masala is highly recommended) and we also got to see the JBH in all its revamped glory.

A day of driving

For various reasons I found myself on the road a lot today. Fortunately everything had more or less dried out after Monday/Tuesday's soaking so there was no more than the usual hair-raising driving techniques on display on the roads. These range from the sudden swerving across several lanes of traffic to avoid missing a nearly forgotten turnoff, overtaking in the outside lane using the small patch of hard-shoulder between the road and the crash barrier and manoeuvring without the use of indicators. This last trait seems to be almost compulsory on Dubai roads (as is beeping the horn at the slightest provocation and undertaking at speed so the combination of no signals and roaring up the inside of unsuspecting drivers is a particularly potent weapon in the armoury of the hard driving speed enthusiasts who seem to populate the roads). Inevitably some of these habits can rub off on hitherto blameless drivers so the general standard of driving never really seems to change no matter how long one lives in Dubai although you do definitely get used to it!

An Unexpected Swim

A further update on the my earlier posts regarding the havoc wreaked by Tuesday morning’s storm. I mentioned that a couple of chairs ended up in the pool. We managed to retrieve one of them on Tuesday morning but the other was down the deep end and not easily reachable without a long pole/broom handle. I was dissuaded from seeking to retrieve it last night when I got in from my bike ride given that it was pitch black so after I finished this morning’s ride E. and I started retrieval operations. I could not find a stick long enough to poke the chair closer to the side of the pool so I could try to reach down and grab it so E. and I took two ends of the garden hose and tried to use it to snag the legs on the chair to drag it up to the shallow end (which was markedly unsuccessful) and then to drag it closer to the ladder in to the pool. Although this was more successful (in that it was now close to the side) it was to deep for me to grab the legs and the steps/ladder did not go down far enough to allow me to get closer. There was nothing for it but for me to descend into the pool (I was wearing my cycling gear which had to be washed anyway so I figured I had nothing to lose (other than my dignity)). By this stage G. and E. and the gardener were interested spectators as I braved the icy waters (actually after an initial shock the water was actually quite pleasant!) and after a bit of groping around to get a good grip I eventually brought the chair to the surface and then squelched back into the house to dry off (unfortunately causing puddles of water around the house much to E’s chagrin). So a cycle ride and a (very short) swim to start the day - fortunately Dad had gone for his morning walk so at least I avoided having to explain the deficiencies in my chair rescue techniques to him!