Monday, Monday…

 So for various reasons my start of the week was fairly busy. At 8am I was due to join a on-line presentation in Asia Pacific. Sadly the web platform refused to recognise by dial-in details so with time ticking away I was forced to rely on my (limited) IT skills to dial in using telephone, so the presentation (from which I was trying to read) was extremely difficult to decipher on my mobile phone and I had no idea what the audience would be making of me as I could not see myself (although fortunately I had already made arrangements to ensure Barbie cat had been banished from the room - so no major interruptions from that direction.

Although joining 5 minutes late, I was able to make the presentation although still not quite sure why it had to be quite so challenging given how frequently we use WebEx.

Then into work and a number of quite challenging meetings before heading off to my second presentation of the day. this time it was in an auditorium where were surrounded by TV screens where we were joined by a speaker from Asia Pacific. It was like “Big Brother” - with a looming face every where one looked - on the TV screens surrounding the stage. Nevertheless, good fun and a lovely meal at the JBH  and a chance to catch up with some old acquaintances - off to KSA later in the week so will report on that soon.

Transitory

 Drove V. to MOE today which used to be a regular haunt for us when we lived in Al Safa. The occasion was the leaving bowling party for one of her friends. As I have commented elsewhere on this blog, the expat lifestyle unfortunately lends itself to leaving parties although the longer we have lived outside the UK (17 years and counting…..) the fewer leaving ‘dos” we seem to be invited to - either fewer of our friends are leaving or we have fewer friends!

In this case, V.’s friend had already departed a few years ago, only to unexpectedly re-appear some 12 months later after his parents had a change of heart about heading to the UK. This time, the move seems to be driven by the fact that it is much cheaper to live in recessionary UK rather than booming Dubai. 

It is certainly true that rentals have gone through the roof in Dubai in the last 2 years (as have property prices). Whilst there have been some warning signs - inflation does not really get reported here in any great detail - the signs are that it is climbing (currently around 7 or 8 %). 

Whilst there has been a tide of investment from Eastern Europe and other parts o the Middle East, there does seem to be a note of caution when one discusses finances with residents. The AED (pegged to the USD) is also very strong at the moment - particularly in comparison with the GBP - when I arrived  in May 2009 the GBP was worth just under 6AED. Today it is worth AED4.17. For those payed in GBP that is quite the change in income. Whilst we are seeing nothing like the level of departures prompted by the the Covid Pandemic in early 2020, I suspect this will not be the last of the leaving parties.

This Sporting Life

Due to the myriad bumps and bruises that I have inflicted on myself over the last couple of weeks (as well as a lingering cold) , the title today is focussed on a topic that has cropped up in my  blogs over a number of years namely the extraordinary breadth and depth of sporting activities one can view from one’s sofa (on TV). 

When I was growing up in 1970’s Maidstone, a highlights show of football on Match of the Day (BBC) and/or the Big Match (ITV) was the limit of  any football fans viewing pleasure - the main entertainment would be (in those days) to go to the old London Road ground (“Our Target is the Football League”) to watch Maidstone United play in the Southern Premier League (and in those days you were pretty match guaranteed at least 5 or 6 goals).

 My Father has always been a rugby fan but he was always happy to take me a long to stand in the terraces on a overcast Saturday afternoon to watch the “Stones”  and it stood me in good stead for my subsequent spectating career ( I guess I have always enjoyed actually participating  whether it is Football, Cricket or  - these days cycling - but the next best thing or indeed sometimes the best thing has been watching live sporting action).

From watching Kent play cricket at the Mote or England play test cricket at Lords or the Oval -  or T20 in Sharjah or Dubai, or England play rugby in Ireland, France or Scotland or any mainstream sport played well, I have always enjoyed the frisson of excitement of entering a sports stadium with 1000’s of like minded fans.  

I am currently watching Ireland play South Africa on TV and Ireland are currently winning 16 - 6 - whilst watching it on TV is great fun (and certainly not something I could have done in 1070’s UK), I am sure it would be better to be watching it in person.

Diary Management

 Having spent the last couple of posts speculating as to whether I would have enough blogworthy material to keep myself (and any stray readers) entertained for 30 days, I realised at work today that I had managed to double book myself for two external speaking slots on the same day towards the start of next week. One is on-line (and fortunately is scheduled for the beginning of the day) and the second is in person in the late afternoon. 

Whilst I will not be starting from scratch in terms of material, I will nevertheless have to come up with a vaguely interesting “angle” on two quite complex subjects so my weekend fretting over what to blog about will now vie with the more pressing need to think up something vaguely entertaining about topics which sadly do not really lend themselves to what might normally be considered entertainment. I guess I must have had something in mind when I agreed to speak although in both cases I will be sharing platforms with others who might well be regarded as more expert on the relevant topics so it will be fascinating to see what I can come up with over the weekend…..

This is the first time that I have managed to commit myself to two separate presentations on completely different topics to audiences in different parts of the world on the same day - it is possible that the very early start of the first session (due to the time difference with country in which the conference is actually being held) may have thrown me off the scent as my online diary presents itself in such a way that you do not see all the events for the day on the same page. A flaw that has a definitely caught me out this time as not only will I have to find some time to do my day job but I will also need to prepare for a trip to KSA later in  the week. Next week will therefore be busy although at least this particular  challenge has provided some material for today’s blog (every cloud etc.).

“Keep a diary and one day it’ll keep you” – Mae West

The start of November and the post a day challenge inevitably prompts me to consider whether the required battle to inspire some creativity in my writing is worth the effort. 

One of the advantages of only ever blogging during November (which now seems to have become a habit over the last few years as regular readers may have noticed….), is that in theory the events of the preceding 11 months should provide a fertile source of material for the 30 odd posts that tradition decrees should be written. 

It also - again in theory - allows the events of the previous year to be recorded and put into a proper context. However, in riffling through my memories of 2021, I have to say that whilst plenty has happened on the work and family life front, there is not a massive amount that is likely to be of much interest to the the wider public (if indeed the wider public are every inclined to make their way to this corner of the blogosphere). 

Of course, that has never stopped me blogging before although in previous years I was not keeping a separate diary recording the more mundane events of the day so there was I guess a little bit more scope to record everyday life without the risk of feeling that I was simply repeating myself.

What makes good blog content is quite the conundrum. I originally started this blog (in fact its predecessor  http://www.taitamtales.blogspot.com/) as a means of keeping our family back in the UK updated on developments in Hong Kong following the arrival of V just over 16 years ago. Needless to say, given my infrequent posting the preferred mode of communication of the progress of the Grandchildren became telephone and Skype so Tai Tam Tales and Al Safa Stories (both named for where we lived although our current location has yet to be reflected in the blog name) became more of an opportunity for me to memorialise matters that seemed worthy of record (or in any event, activities/incidents that I was more likely than not to forget).

In consequence it has become very hit and miss. It generally alludes to important events  but equally when I look back, it makes fleeting mention of significant changes (the fact that we had moved to UAE is only recorded some 18 months after the event when I finally got around to updating) whereas some seemingly more ephemeral matters (the Rugby 7s being one) are a regular feature in posts pretty much for the entirely of the 16 years I have been blogging - although I guess this in part might be explained by the fact that it takes place in November so neatly coincides with the one post per day (and never fails to provide decent content).

And when I re-read earlier posts, it does indeed prompt memories. I have no doubt that if Mae West  had kept a blog, it would certainly have been a rich source of publishing rights (and income). Whilst that is most unlikely to be the case with AlSafaStories (to put it mildly….), nevertheless the fact that I keep returning to it every Autumn probably means that I will continue to persevere with it.

And the word today is…

Like many people I have become somewhat obsessed by the New York Times daily Wordle competition. 

For those who are unfamiliar with this phenomenon the challenge is to guess a 5 letter word in a maximum of 6 attempts. Each attempt will show whether you have guessed a letter correctly (yellow) and/or have the letter in the correct place (green). 

I think it started off life in the UK but was bought by the NYT so we do occasionally get some rather dubious words. However, it is very much a group activity and since the Summer we have had a family WhatsApp group where the participants record the number of guesses they have taken (the word changes at Midnight - in your own time zone - daily).

Regular players include V. (who is continually pestering me to reveal the time it takes me to get the answer - her own responses being off the charts in terms of speed. I prefer to take an unhurried and considered approach and can definitely do without the added stress of time pressure!), A. from college in UK, my Father (who has made an exception to his antipathy to using his mobile phone for the sole purpose of using the WhatsApp function), my brother in law B and Mother in Law P (who appeared on Countdown and can therefore be counted as being pretty good at this type of thing).

As you can imagine, it can get quite competitive - particularly where someone manages to get it in 2 (which frankly involves significant amounts of luck) or 3 guesses. However, the real jeopardy comes if you get to guess number 4 or 5 without success and realise that there are potentially 3 or 4 different answers or only a couple of correct letters have been identified. It then becomes quite tricky as it is almost impossible to second guess a likely answer in the same way as you might be able with a crossword answer once you have got to know the style of the setter.

The group chat can also reverberate with complaints about whether the correct word is in fact a word (we had “piney” recently which proved to be a bit controversial). Still it has provided a great way to keep the extended family in daily contact. My only concern is that one day they will run out of 5 letter words (even American ones).

Thrills and spills - some bicycling adventures

So another post a day November dawns and I see that the last time I managed to post anything was last December. I guess if nothing else it forces me to engage with this corner of the internet and come up with some ideas for posts - although since I re-started keeping a diary last year, there are significant calls on my creative thought processes (such as they are) already. But we will see how it goes.

As the title indicates, I am still riding my bike although since my last foray onto Alsafastories, I have acquired a smart new Mountain Bike - currently the bathroom in the spare bedroom/office now houses my road bike and two mountain bikes (as well as the “new” cat’s litter tray and food bowl). So we are not wanting for bicycles (or indeed cats as Minnie still rules the roost in the rest of the house whereas Barbie has the office and the garden).

Whilst mountain biking at the new Mushriff Park MTB track has taken a front seat in my biking endeavours over the last 5/6 months I am still road biking and took part in the Spinneys 2nd Build Up Ride (45km) on Sunday. Sadly I managed to fall off! My first crash since a taxi driver decided to open his door just as I was riding past his (parked) car when I was a student back in Nottingham. The intervening years have not made me any more elegant in involuntary dismounting of bikes and on this occasion I was happily minding my own business in  the middle of a bunch towards the end of the ride when the chap in front of me caught the back wheel of the guy in front of him and went straight down in front of me leaving me no where to go at around 30kmh, so down I went landing on my shoulder/hip with the cyclist behind me crashing on top of me so I ended up pinned to the track with someone on top of me. Very painful indeed. Fortunately I eventually managed to get back up and with the help of one of the other fallers managed to get my front wheel straightened and limped to the finish (although my gears kept on slipping so will need to fix the derailleur I suspect).

I did have the presence of mind to stop the time on my Garmin and re-start when I eventually got going again so  - absent the crash - had managed a 29 kmh average which was pretty respectable given the complete lack of training I had managed since the previous ride in September. The bumps and bruises are gradually abating so hopefully I will be back on my bike by the end of the week although I suspect I will be a little more circumspect when riding in a group on my next road ride!