Happy New Year

And a belated Merry Christmas to all our friends and family (who may have gathered by now that we stayed in Dubai for a relaxing Christmas again this year).

Sheikh Mohammed has put a last minute spanner in the works of all the planned New Year's events in the Emirate. As a token of support to the people in Gaza he has ordered that all celebrations be cancelled. I have some sympathy with the gesture, although I may not have been so happy if we'd forked out 3,000 Dhs each to see the fireworks at the Burj al Arab and Jumeirah Beach hotel. The Beckhams, Tom Cruise and Hugh Grant (all reportedly in town) will have to put up with a very expensive meal with no music or dancing.

Anyway, we've had a good Christmas and Santa was extremely generous to all.

Where did November go?

I feel like I've just sat down, caught my breath, and realised that the year is nearly over.

The kids have now finished school and will only be there for 4 days in December. Hardly worth bothering. We had planned to go on holiday this week but the two screws holding Janet's ankle together have put paid to that. It's a frustrating time for her and things should get much easier after she's had them removed on the 21st December.

Although we have had quite a bit of rain over the past week, this is probably the best time of year in the Emirates. The unbearably hot and hazy days of summer have been replaced by blue skies, gentle breezes and pleasant temperatures. The AC is off and shouldn't be needed much for the next few months.

Ben played in his second rugby tournament last week. His team, Dubai Hurricanes U-7s, were much improved but were knocked out at the pool stage. At least they won one game and got a medal for turning up. The main thing though is the amount of fun they all had and it was great to see the first signs of teamwork blossoming.

The main social highlight of the month was Lucy's 8th birthday party. She invited her friends round to our villa for a pool party and it all went off very successfully.

The other main news in the Dubai for the month includes the sex on the beach case fizzling out with them being quietly deported, the arrival of the QE2 to it's new home as a hotel on the Palm Jumeirah, the grand opening of Atlantis with the world's largest firework display - only to be trumped by an even bigger one at Emirates Palace on UAE National Day.

Oh, and the credit crunch well and truly arrived. House prices sliding, people being 'retrenched', projects put 'on hold', Dubai revealed to be $80bn in debt. Pretty much the same as everywhere else then.