Breast Cancer Fashion Show

October is international breast cancer awareness month. Last night we went to a breast cancer survivors fashion show at the upmarket BurJuman shopping mall in Bur Dubai. The show starred our friend Jan (above), with guest appearances from sons Jamie (below) and Joe, and husband Craig.

Jan has just finished a long course of chemotherapy and is now starting a course of radiotherapy in Abu Dhabi. She has remained brave and courageous throughout, kept her sense of humour and perspective, and has impressed us all with her determination to get through it.

I pushed my way to the front with the paparazzi and the TV cameras and had a good time taking loads of pictures (the event was a good excuse to treat myself to a new flash gun!).

Last week was half term in Dubai to coincide with the Eid holidays. We made the 5 hour trip (thanks to painfully slow officials at the visa office) to Muscat and the Intercontinental Hotel. Muscat is a pleasant enough place. Greener and cooler than Dubai, it was strange to see fields of crops and tractors in the countryside en-route. There is very little traffic and the sand, which is all pervasive in Dubai, was mostly absent.

However, I don't think we'll go back again on holiday. Oman is a much more conservative place than the Emirates - women do cover up in public - and has little to offer the tourist with a young family other than the swimming pool and beach. We have plenty of these in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and of a better quality than the hotel we stayed in.

I've blogged before about newspapers and how they give you a good idea about the state of democracy and free speech in a country. Omani newspapers are much like the ones in the rest of the region. One particular front page story in the Times of Oman on Tuesday went along the lines of 'His Highness Sultan Qaboos bin Said today received a letter of thanks from Sheikh Blah-Blah thanking him for his kind Eid wishes'. Riveting stuff, but journalists in the middle east are not allowed to criticise basically anyone in authority. The penalties are usually jail terms, but in a welcome move in Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed (the ruler of Dubai) has decreed that journalists should not be sent to jail for 'reasons related to their work'. I hope it also applies to bloggers since there have been cases here of people being jailed for defamation on internet sites.

Ramadan ramblings

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and we're now into the last week before Eid - the three day celebration at the end. Last year, Ramadan was a very hard time for us. We were trying to furnish a home from scratch and we didn't really know our way around. We didn't know that it was alright for the kids to eat and drink. Although there is no eating and drinking in public for adults during daylight, we now know that it is always possible to find somewhere that's open if you know where to look. There is no alcohol before 7pm - the Bailey's cheescake was off limits last week when we went to the golf club for lunch - but this is very moderate by middle east standards and most countries in the region are completely dry during Ramadan.

The weather has definitely cooled down now and the AC doesn't need to be on full tilt all the time. Last months bill for electricity and water was nearly £300, but that will soon drop to more reasonable levels. One sure sign of cooler weather is that the kids are now playing out at school every day. The equivalent of what we used to call a 'wet break' at school is a 'red break' here (i.e. over 40 degrees).

Next week is half term and we're going to Muscat in Oman for a few days holiday. I've only heard positive things about the place, and I'm really looking forward to the break.

I've been enjoying teaching myself how to use Photoshop. Even the lousiest photo can be made into something useful. The pic below is one I've done of a friend's daughter and had blown up into a poster for them. Andy Warhol eat your heart out.