A different patch of desert

So I guess it was inevitable in the end.  After nearly a full twelve months of travelling between Dubai and Doha each week for work, I'm taking the plunge and am moving to Qatar permanently.  It's not necessarily my number one choice of action but it does kind of make sense given that I am working over there full time now.  It obviously suits my employer too and will be good for my career.  Or so they keep telling me.  Anyway my new contract starts in December but I won't actually have moved there properly until the new year, so I have a few more months to make the most of living in Dubai.  Doha doesn't offer quite the same lifestyle or the same scale of choice when it comes to things to do outside of work, but more about that to come once I've moved there.

The idea of upping sticks and moving again is somewhat daunting but I'm hoping it'll be reasonably straightforward.  I do have some mates in Doha now but leaving my friends in Dubai behind will be tough.  That said, Doha is only an hours flight away and I think I'll be coming back to Dubai pretty regularly for some time yet... 

View from my apartment over Jumeirah.  I will miss this...

Meanwhile back in the present, things have been pretty busy.  The trip back to the UK in August was great and I managed to pack a lot into the two weeks I was there, including some work, two weddings, a few nights out, a Noel Gallagher gig and a day at the Paralympics.  That was a particular highlight - having seen a lot of Olympics coverage on TV, it was great to actually be in the stadium and be able to experience it first hand.  The place was packed and the reception the athletes got, especially the Brits, was incredible.  We saw some track events, long jump and high jump, and one Brit gold medal ceremony, during which the crowd lifted the roof off the place.

The Olympic Stadium in Stratford, London

Back in Dubai things have picked up again after the long summer of unbearable temperatures followed by Ramadan.  We've got back out on the brunch circuit which has been a lot of fun, plus have been giving a few sports a bit of a try too.  The first was paddle boarding out in the sea next to the Burj Al Arab.  Now being an amateur at pretty much most sports, I was surprised to find that after a while I could actually keep my balance and get a fair bit of speed up on this thing.  I'm not saying I'm a pro or anything but I'd definitely give it another go.

Lying on the board was good too

Recent sport number two is golf.  Over the summer a lot of my keen mates have been taking lessons and honing their skills, ahead of the 'race to Gary's 30th', in honour of his birthday.  Not being particularly interested, I didn't really get involved - I've always dismissed golf as something I'll get into when I'm older, ie 60.  Anyway Gary's birthday rolled round and over the course of 9 holes at Meydan, I was rather predictably pretty awful, having only played once before.  In fact I was so bad (despite a massive handicap) that my team, which included the birthday boy himself, came last.  Sorry Gary.  However, achievement of the day and something I was very proud of, was to be winning the longest drive competition on the 9th hole, if only for ten minutes, with a shot that landed two feet onto the fairway and was beaten by every group that followed us.  It's all about the small victories though...

My first and probably only golfing achievement - that stood for 10 minutes

The latest event and the one from which I still have a mild headache was last night's Sandance, back after the summer break.  Another good event despite the ridiculous drinks prices and marathon walk to the toilet each time.  The next one in November features the Stereophonics which will be awesome, although I'm away in the US then so will miss it.  Yep, another wedding-based trip abroad, but two weeks away including three nights in New York is something I'm very much looking forward to!