8 weeks in

We've now been here for 8 weeks. Long enough to get an idea of what life's going to be like, but not long enough to really know the place yet.

The weather is cooling off, but very slowly. It still never gets any lower than about 26 degrees even in the dead of night. People keep saying 'hang in there. It'll be lovely in a few weeks time'. Other than Lucy, none of us has more than the slightest hint of a tan since we haven't been able to get out much.

Dubai is a modern city but many of the attitudes remind me of how things were in my childhood. There is little concern for the environment here, hardly any recycling and the amount of water used in a desert country is scandalous. Very few people use child seats or seatbelts. Although this was the norm when I was a child, I now find it shocking that any parent could treat their children's safety so casually. Nobody here can pretend they haven't seen the effects of car crashes and the newspapers are full of stories and graphic images. Just this week there was a huge crash in the next street to our villa (a pretty quiet area). Two 4x4s and a big pickup all smashed up and probably write-offs. I've gone on enough about driving here, but it is a big issue - just check out the local paper in the links.

Lucy went to a classmate's birthday party at Ski Dubai (the world's largest indoor ski centre) at the weekend. When we arrived they also invited Ben to stay for the party. They both had a great time playing in the snow, then there was a magician and food. I think we've got quite a bit to live up to when it's Lucy's birthday in a months time.

Had my last offshore trip for a while yesterday. A sombre mood on the rig as an Indian man had been killed the night before doing some routine maintenance work. Details were sketchy, but he'd been struck on the head by a large lump of metal and killed instantly. Nowhere is the need for safety felt more acutely - this is a dangerous place to work. Needless to say, my meetings were cancelled and I was fortunate to get back on the chopper as some people were held back for the investigation and police interviews.