Bali Baby, Yeah!

So how was the holiday? Well I would have to say, pretty darn good and I certainly didn’t miss the good old Omani summer heat.

We flew out from Muscat in the evening with Etihad, first to Abu Dhabi and then on to Jakarta overnight.
There is an awful lot of good things to say about traveling business (Pearl) class with children, the first being a lounge with free G&T’s. For the short hop north it was your common garden variety big seat, plenty of space, personal service with a smile and your down before you noticed you were up.

It was when we reached Abu Dhabi that the comfort really kicked in, a plush lounge, all the food and drink you desire, spa centre and even, a supervised children’s play room! not that Jacob and Oscar stayed in it for very long.
But it was the next bit that I enjoyed the most…….BEDS!!!
Your own little cubby hole including miniature cinema screen, big soft blanket and pillow, fancy wash-bag and as many nightcaps as one may need, it’s oh so nice to be pampered.

On arrival in Jakarta, it seemed that nothing had changed since we lived there thirteen years ago, was it really that long ago?? The were nostalgic reminiscings as we looked out towards the lush green fields and forests. After a short stop over and a connecting flight, we finally arrived in Denpasar, Bali and a twenty minute taxi ride deposited us all at our little garden villa.



Villa Prana is a set of three villas dotted around a beautiful and well established garden with a communal swimming pool. Capable of housing five families, we and our friends now occupied 3/5ths for the next six weeks. Each villa is basic, with either one or two bedrooms, ensuite semi open air bathrooms (very nice), and an outside dining/lounge area and kitchen.



We began our stay will some serious chillin’ , a trip to the beach, splash in the pool eat, drink and be merry.



For my paltry three week stay, I had a pass for three days diving (courtesy of she who must be obeyed), so with the end of my first week looming, Chris and myself took ourselves off to the East coast of the island for a dive on the USS Liberty. Our other dive buddy, Andrew, proved to be a non runner due to a very icky ear infection.

The lovely Marie from Atlantis Diving sorted us out, with a pick up from the villa, kitted out and transported two and a half hours to Tulamben.
We had a short walk along the shoreline, our air cylinders carried on the heads of some local ladies whose business is carrying kit for lazy divers, before kitting up, walking into the sea and descending on the wreck.



The Liberty was hit by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine during WWII, laden with rubber and rail parts the shipped was fortunately dragged to shallow waters where the cargo was salvaged. This is one of the most popular dive sites in Bali and whilst there is an abundance of wildlife to see, there is also an awful lot of divers and as the wreck is relatively shallow, there are also a lot of newly qualified divers. If you want a quiet dive then I would suggest staying at one of the motels that back on to the wreck and then get up early before the crowds arrive on their day trips. All said, it is a really lovely dive and well worth the journey.
Now that the older boys had had their fun, it was time for the wee nippers to get theirs, unfortunately Becky was feeling ill and a little grumpy, so I took the boys off to Waterbom with the others for some serious play time. I think the success of the afternoon may be easily measured at bed time.



Suffice to say that the boys went out like a light and slept in late the next day.

But what about the ladies I hear you say, when do they get to do their things? The minute we landed, I reply (just a slight exaggeration), Becky, Gayle and Olivia have been out on numerous shopping trips, as well as the odd trip to the local Spa, so everyone has been catered for.



But Bali isn’t just about shopping and having fun, there’s culture too. We organized a couple of minivans to take us on a little tour, with the first stop being the Temple at Tanalot, supposedly a must see, I didn’t really get it (Temple on a rock in the sea that you can’t visit, hmmmm), but hey, been there done it, got the T shirt.



Next stop was the Elephant Safari Park, where I was mildly alarmed by the entrance fee (swiftly admonished by Becky, rightly so). The park has been running since 2000 as a sanctuary and has visitors from Tony Blair to Brad Pitt, can’t say I saw any celebs but the management probably forgot to mention that I was coming.

With very little prompting both Jacob and Oscar were eagerly feeding and petting the elephants, we had to keep a beady eye on Oscar as he wanted to get in amongst them.



After a spot of lunch the opportunity to ride the elephants arrived, and whilst some people may not like it ‘morally’, we wanted the boys to experience this as possibly a once in a life time event. At first Jacob made up all the excuses he could imagine not to get on, but we would not be swayed. A little odd really, he did get on, as did Oscar, they enjoyed every minute of it (I think Oscar would have stayed on all day), and the whole time we swayed back and forth (Boom Boom!). This time we really did get the T shirts!



After leaving the park, we traveled through the town of Ubud in search of the reptile and bird park. It was late in the afternoon and everyone was tired, so it was thought a quick run around to see the Komodo dragon would be enough.


How wrong we were, it proved to be just what we needed to reinvigorate ourselves, as you can see Becky became quite attached to a monitor lizard, Jacob a blue tongue skink and Oscar was particularly fond of a tortoise. The bird park was enthusiastically explored by all the boys and everyone left with a smile on their face despite the fact that the komodo dragons had all been asleep.






And the days rolled on with yet more time lazing by the pool, on the beach or having a bit of retail therapy. Ubud appears to be the cultural hub of Bali so it was inevitable that we would return. Our next big trip was to see the monkeys and temples at Desa Pekraman Padangtegal.

We bought bananas from the sellers just outside and warily followed the path into the jungle. The place had a real Indiana Jones feel to it, a great atmosphere and lots and lots of monkeys.



They can get pretty rambunctious if you tease them or look them in the eye, so best not to and just give them what they want.



The temples or shrines were small but spectacular, a real sense of a bygone era , I don’t think that the boys noticed the statues of daemons eating small children otherwise we would have had a few disturbed nights.




We stopped for lunch at a lovely restaurant with delicioso (Oscar is a confirmed Dora Fan) food that backed on to vibrant paddy fields called the Three Monkeys, before heading into Ubud to wander amoungst the arts and crafts shops. The town is well worth a look see, but very, very touristy.



So it was time to say goodbye to Chris, Olivia and family, who were off to explore Lombok and say hello to a couple of Australian families who were taking their place.

Jacob, Becky, Hamish and Gayle returned to Ubud one evening for a little more culture in the form of Ketchak dancing. The boys were entranced by it all and came back bursting to tell me about what they had seen. Jacob had been let loose with the camera which allowed him to get really expressive with his descriptions of
Given that he is only six, sorry six and a half, he took some pretty impressive photos, maybe a future career path in the offing?







As the end of my holiday was rapidly approaching another trip to the beach was in order, neither Becky or I are particularly fond of the sand, somewhat ironic given where we live, but that was no excuse to stay away.



The boys were enjoying themselves (Oscar eating sand etc.) Becky was relaxing, but I was twiddling my thumbs. I had been playing around with the idea of learning to surf, a few people had mentioned it but no one had done anything about it, so I took the plunge and Gayle agreed to join me. After fifteen minutes of tuition on the beach we headed in to the surf to learn how to body board, much to both our surprise it was no long before we managed to stand up and actually surf!!!



As the above evidence proves, I now have the right to wear the official apparel of a surfer. So there! This is definitely something I could get into, although Becky is not so happy about two sea centric hobbies.



Speaking of which, the following day Andrew, finally infection and cold free and myself went off with the Atlantis dive team for a trip to Nusa Penida.

The first dive, down to a very chilly thirty four meters was to see Mula Mula, or sun fish, which are not only enormous but also very ugly. Strangely enough they are also found in Oman, up at the Musandam peninsula.

The second dive has been on my must see list for a very long time, Mantas.





Like with a lot of eagerly awaited events, you can easily be disappointed, as was the case during the first twenty minutes. The next twenty minutes were a great improvement and really enjoyable, but still falling short of the experience I had been hoping for. It was cold and I considered heading back to the surface with the divers who had used up their allotted air, but for some reason I chose to stay and I am really glad I did.
As the last three of our party hung unmoving in the murky water, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, those two Mantas are big!’ followed shortly after with ‘No, they’re not big, THAT’S BIG!!!!!’.

So I finally had my wish and had a very memorable dive, big grins all round.

So our final day together was spent by the pool and the following morning Andrew and I bade a sad farewell to our respective broods before heading off to the airport.

The joys of business class manifested it self as soon as we stepped on board,



And with a glass of champagne and perfectly attentive Etihad cabin crew, the sun set on a perfect holiday.

Ouch!!!!!

Silly sod, that's what you get for tidying up. From now on I vow to live with the mess I make.

The holidays are coming, the holidays are coming!!!

So as I lie back, chillin' beside the pool at our little private villa in Bali I thought I should update you all on the events of the last couple of months.
June went past with very little to talk about, other than a rise in temperatures and humidity and general day to day living. Oscar suffered the indignity of two biting episodes at nursery, the first on the face from a little girl which is still slightly visible a month later. I reckon that she fancies him, so we could class it as an over enthusiastic love bite!
Jacob received a very good school report for the year and as a reward was presented with his very first iPod, oh how times have changed!



But the really big event happened during the closing days of the month with a secondary private affair on the first day of the following month. I refer of course to Oscar's second birthday, in the finest traditions of the British Royal Family we had the public birthday in advance of the private family affair.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the date of the party had to be changed at the last moment which then coincided with a days diving.
The water was warm enough that I discarded the wet suit and went down in a t shirt and shorts for the second dive. As ever there was an abundance of wildlife to be seen including disturbing a large ray at the beginning of the first dive, numerous snake eels, and a very relaxed turtle.




After two very enjoyable dives with Andrew and Chris at Plug Point and Cave Site, I returned home in time for the party but somewhat too late to assist with the preparations. Needless to say, I was in a certain person's bad books for sometime to come (My Bad).
So a load of children, arrived at our house to play, run around and scream, eat bad but oh so good food and generally wear themselves out in the space of two hours. All topped off with an ice cream birthday cake with Oscar's favorite theme, Dinosaurs.


As every parent believes their children to be superheroes, the best thing since sliced bread etc.. I would like to offer irrefutable evidence that this is really the case with Oscar and will back it up with photographic proof.


As can be seen, Oscar is none too happy at having his secret identity revealed in such a public forum, but hey, if you court the attentions of the paparazzi you have too live with their intrusions no matter what time of day it is.
So the school holidays arrived, and Becky and the boys went off to visit the Sultan's Armed Forces Museum with some friends. Much to my surprise the museum is open on Thursday Afternoons and Fridays as well! This is in complete contrast to the likes of the Children's Museum or the Natural History Museum which as government institutions are only open in the working week and up to Thursday lunch time (About as useful as the proverbial parp in a spacesuit).
The Museum has both inside and outside exhibits and according to Becky is very interesting, well laid out and is staffed by super friendly people, needless to say the boys were in seventh heaven running around, taking photographs and touching everything in sight.




A few days later and we celebrated Oscar's official birthday on the first of July, lots of prezzies in the morning before I headed off to work and a second cake in the afternoon.





Having an older brother has certainly speeded up Oscar's development, he is desperate to catch up to Jacob, shows interest in all things that Jacob does including his toys and is chatting away thirteen to the dozen. His vocabulary, surprises us both and seems to expand on a daily basis our current favorites include, “Oi Watch it”, “Mummy, chocolate milk lets go” “Bless you Daddy” (When I sneeze) and “Where's the Bakugan?” (A Japanese toy/game currently in favour with Jacob and therefore Oscar).
On and aside, Becky and her chums in search of the perfect breakfast and in the traditions of Ladies that Lunch popped down to the Shangri-La for a summer fare thee well coffee morning. In her own words, the food was rubbish, the sausages were not cooked properly, the bacon tasted of fish and the atmosphere was that of a staff canteen, certainly not worth the undisclosed amounts (I assume more rather than less) of hard earned cash that that they charged.
Oh, and the other snippet of news is that Becky and I decided upon our fortieth Birthday presents, bought shipped and delivered from America to our hands (All be it One month early) at considerably less cost than purchasing in Oman.
We are now the very happy owners of two state of the art Macbook Air laptops. Big Grins all round.
So it was time to head off on our hols, details of which I will bore you with another day.

Catching Up

So April and May have been and almost gone without a peep from us on the blogging front…ooops.
In may ways it has been a time of lowering blood pressure and the stress of the first quarter of the year and getting on with life in general.
At the beginning of April we had the welcome distraction of a two week visit from my sister and her family. Whilst a lot of relaxing by the pool was on the cards, there was also the obligatory big trip. Temperatures had decidedly risen of late and, whilst desert trips and camping at the beach were considered, it was pretty apparent that even a veteran of the summer heat would be melting.
It was Becky however, that had come up with a cunning plan (considerably better looking than Baldric, I might add), a road trip to Dubai!! Not only would my sister’s family get to see this much talked about part of the Middle East, but also have the opportunity to meet up with a old friend, Julie, who had relocated there about a year ago. There would also be the chance for a little bit of shopping as well as fun for all at Wild Wadi and Ski Dubai, and also the chance to see how the global downturn had effected the place. 
The trip in two cars was around four and a half hours, a great way to see the enormous differences in landscape between Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The children were brilliant on such a long journey, although it must be said that they were plugged in to dvd players and gameboys for most of it.
It is not often realised that even though you have passed through the border post between the two countries, the road still dips in and out of Oman. It was at the final UAE army checkpoint that Oscar charmed the soldiers to such an extent that they wanted to get him out of the car for a play!

After such a prolonged journey it was only fair that our first port of call would be Wild Wadi.



Much fun was had by all and even Oscar had a go shooting the rapids in a big rubber ring, I can’t say that he was impressed by his parent’s judgement skills by the end of the ride. 

As the evening arrived we packed ourselves back into the cars for the short trip to our accommodation. After a little mix up, (regarding who was following who) and a few cross words, the GPS told me that we had reached our destination……. One slight problem, no Star Metro apartment block to be seen!
Tired and ratty is not a good mood to be in whilst navigating Dubai, but eventually, thanks to a very nice convenience store employee, we had a guide to take us to the front door of our rented apartment. It later transpired that the hotels website map was completely wrong!!!
This did not bode well, and it was definitely not the end to our problems. We had booked a three bedroom apartment with www.booking.com only to be shown two adjoining single bed apartments. It should be noted that it singularly impossible to argue with hotel staff when there are clearly only two bedrooms, yet they maintain there are in actual fact three (you are just too stupid to visualise the third).
The solution was for me to go into ballistic mode with a complete overdrive bad cop/good cop routine, with my brother in law Mark taking up the appeasing role.
Eventually the staff were bullied into action, wheeling in two additional beds and turning one living room into the mythical third bedroom.
Julie came up trumps, with delicious take away pizzas and a bottle of blue sapphire gin, cans of tonic and a bag of ice, soothing not only the angry stomachs but also the exhausted brains.
A good night was eventually had by all and the following days were a mixture of shopping, sledging (the snow variety) and a trip to the Über new, extravagant and expensive Atlantis Hotel. Just a quick hop up on the soap box, no matter what the marketing department might say, they are not helping the environment by incarcerating wild dolphins.

“The £950 million Atlantis hotel, which officially opens on Thursday, has been built by Sol Kerzner, a South African hotelier, on the Palm Jumeirah island in Dubai. 
It boasts that its dolphin facility – Dolphin Bay – will be the first rescue and rehabilitation centre for injured or stranded dolphins in Dubai. 
But the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) has claimed that 24 bottlenose dolphins, used to stock the pools, were bought from a dealer in the Solomon Islands. 
The WDCS claim that the dolphins, which had originally come from the waters surrounding the Solomon Islands, will now be used to entertain guests, who will be able to pay to swim with them. A 90-minute "shallow water interaction" experience with the dolphins costs visitors from around £75. 
The row follows an order issued last month by the government of the United Arab Emirates to free a 13ft whale shark from a huge tank in the lobby of the 1,539-room hotel, after an international outcry. 
Environmentalists claimed that the owners of the Atlantis hotel had disregarded international permit laws after capturing the shark in shallow waters off the Gulf coast in August and then used it as a display for hotel guests."

I was surprised by Dubai, not so much by the reduction in cars and people which must be said was a welcome relief, but the way business was carrying on regardless. Unlike Muscat, there didn’t appear to be any major sales, or price reductions, and the shops, restaurants and hotels seemed unbothered by the downturn in business.
In all honesty, the more I go to Dubai, the less I like it, and with Ikea announcing their immanent arrival in Muscat, I find there are fewer reasons to go. Now, if they would only build a Wild Wadi here, we would never need to go to Dubai again!
All said and done, it was good for my sisters family to see Julie as well as experience Dubai and we all had a lovely time just getting away from ‘it’ all.
Back in Muscat and after three and a half years of being resident here, we finally made it to the Grand Mosque, and it was well worth it.





The main prayer hall in particular is stunning with inlaid mosaic, gold and marble, as well as a chandelier that could have come out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Flashbacks to Rodney, Del and granddad from Only Fools and Horses gave you a shiver down the spine.



The remainder of the holiday was taken up with trips to the pool with panic tanning for the adults and copious amounts of splashing around for the children (There was also great fun for all on the diving board – although I’m not allowed to show anyone). A quick trip to the Souk, a session with henna for the ladies and a couple of nights out and in the blink of an eye the two weeks were over.




For those of you who remember The Life of Brian, I would just like to say, “He’s not the Messiah, he’s just a very naughty boy!”
Farewell to the Evans for another year!

So I went back to work and the boys went back to school, but it was not long before Jacob and Oscar were off again.
It was Jacob that started it with a fever and a cough, a trip to the doctor followed and a throat infection identified with a course of steroids prescribed. Oscar’s turn next with an on again off again fever, laryngitis and a course of antibiotics. Back to Jacob again, raging fever and a sinus infection. Then just as Jacob had finished with his medication, he picked up a stomach virus(As a result, we suspect, from a trip to McD’s, as a treat after his medically induced incarceration). The poor mite had a raging fever and couldn’t keep down a glass of water. A good portion of Friday was spent at Muscat Private Hospital. As it was the weekend, I was on duty, which was a good thing given that they decided to take a blood test. Jacob has the same phobia of needles as Becky, but with the right coaching and jokes, he pulled through with only the smallest amount of tears. As a reward he got a Power Rangers communicator and some Battle Brawlers for being such a brave boy. 
Our one noteable night out (excluding a lovely dinner at a friend’s house) was at the Crown Plaza for the Craic Attack comedy night. As with all comedy, it is an acquired taste, Becky enjoyed herself immensely where as I found the second act more to my liking. The two points of interest was firstly the cost of beer (RO15 or £25 for six small bottles of Budwieser, criminal!) and that Becky got to meet and talk at some length with Nabil al Busaidi

“Nabil al Busaidi has become the first Omani to walk to the North Magnetic Pole. He wrote history when he reached the North Pole on April 29 at 7.45am Canadian time.

Nabil planted the Omani flag on top of the world with the following words: “My name is Nabil al Busaidi, I am the son of Riadh and Salma al Busaidi and I am calling from the North Pole. 

“I am the first Omani and the first GCC national to walk to the North Magnetic Pole. I want the sultanate to be proud of my achievement, so today my name is not Nabil, it is Shabab Oman.” The Oman North Pole Expedition team also won the entire Polar Race competing against four other strong teams. It was a close race, especially between Team Oman and its nearest rival. What made the marginal difference was sleep – or lack of sleep. 

The rival team stopped to get a few hours’ sleep, but Nabil and the Oman North Pole Expedition team kept going for 27 hours straight, only taking short breaks for food.

The lack of sleep resulted in Nabil and his two teammates, JP and Claire, hallucinating and literally falling asleep while walking, but they reached their ultimate goal and came in as number one. 

On his journey from Resolute Bay to the North Pole, Nabil walked over 650km, carrying 50kg of equipment with no support from skidoo, dogs or sledges. The weather conditions have been harsh, with temperatures down to -81°C and winds of up to 100km/h. Nabil fought polar bears, frostbite, large rubble fields and thin ice on his way. There were times when he was uncertain if he would make it back alive. But he conquered every challenge and is now writing history as the first Arab to walk to the North Magnetic Pole.”




Darren Short tried to take over the conversation but was suitably ignored!
So with that final note I would like to say congratulations to Nabil and bid you all adieu until next time.

Erase and Rewind

So what has been happening?
Well, for almost all of the last two months (since the company handed me my notice) our lives have been on hold and our emotions in turmoil. Now at the eleventh hour, the company withdraw the notice and I am employed again!!!
At first I had mixed feelings, but after a few days contemplation I feel happy with our lot and ready to tackle my work with gusto.
Back at the house, we have had the builders in, due to a major leak that flooded our housemaid’s room. To be honest it was perfect timing, now knowing that we are staying, it has taken us away from being self absorbed and focused our attention on another persons problems.
So Jenny came to tell me that there was an inch of water on the floor of her room and when I went to investigate it was obvious that there had been a long term problem that she had kept quiet about. Grrrr…. I can only fix a problem if I know about it, so speak up, it’s so frustrating!!!!
So, we called our landlord Ali, who is a very nice chap, and soon after the builders came around to fix the problems! Yes, more than one I’m afraid.
This involved gutting Jacob’s bathroom, fixing a hole in the roof slab, replacing a valve to the water tank and completely renovating Jenny’s room.
Like most builders here, they are cutting corners and playing silly buggers, as a result Becky, Jenny and myself are running a tag team for project management. On several occasions I have had to do an irate rant in order to get them doing their work properly. My favourite episode so far was when Becky rang me to say they had reinstalled the bath back to front. All works were stopped until I got home to drag the foreman over the coals. Imagine, a plug up yer bum at one end or a tap in the back at the other, quite frankly I am surprised they didn’t try and install it as a shower cubicle!
As a result, the promised six day programme has now entered its third week, Becky is frustrated as we have guests arriving soon and the house is in turmoil, Jenny just wants her room back, and I would just be happy if they bothered to turn up.
The weekend turned into one long list of jobs, partly because of the builders but also due to prior inactivity on my part. With the immanent arrival of my sisters family in early April, I had a list of jobs around the house and the fitting out of Jenny’s replacement furniture.
Over the two years that Jenny has been with us, we have come to realise that she is a chronic hoarder, I mean she keeps absolutely everything. Therefore with the remodelling of her room, we were resolved to provide as much storage space as possible and, so I organised some carpenters from a friendly contractor to spend their Friday building Jenny some seriously strong fitted shelving units.
Along with my jobs around the house, the last day of my weekend stretched into the night and concluded with varnishing by torch light.
Unfortunately, I expect next weekend to be just as busy.
Speaking of keeping yourself busy, by chance I read an article in the local free rag (the Week) about Aikido in Muscat and recognised one of the people. Actually, recognising people in the paper is like a local sport in a place as small as Muscat and, it is normally a surprise when you cannot identify at least one person.
A couple of phone calls later and I had committed myself to attend my first lesson.



So for the foreseeable future, I will be spending two evenings a week falling over on a regular basis. Oh, and if you were wondering that is not me in the photo, although I suspect if it were, I would be the person in mid air, but no where near as graceful as shown.

Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell

I’m not feeling well today.
With the change in the weather comes the colds, flu, aches & pains and of course my personal ailment, a sinus infection.
This is a tricky one to spot early as I normally think I have a headache. However, if I don’t it’ll trickle down into my lungs and give me a cough that will last and last and last. The best treatment I have found is unfortunately the least palatable (working on the old adage that medicine must taste bad for it to do you any good), Rhinomer is a sterile salt water solution that shoots up your nose, brings tears to your eyes and makes you gag. Whilst this could never be classed as a pleasant experience, it really does work and with no nasty medication to boot. So within a couple of days I should be as right as rain which beats having a hacking cough for the next month.
Unfortunately, it is that time of year in Muscat, Becky is convinced that Jacob has been coming down with something for the last fortnight and Oscar definitely has a cold. As I said, the trick is catching these things early, because if you let them take hold a trip to the doctors will invariably ensue and they will prescribe the Smarties of the medical world…..anti-biotics.
Oscar is trouble at the moment, but I think the underlying reason is his cold. Two weeks ago we moved him from his cot into a proper bed. You should have seen his face, happy as Larry and proud as punch to be considered a big boy like his brother. Then, a couple of nights ago he decided that it would be ok to repeatedly get out of bed and refuse to sleep!
So last night, after multiple warnings, he was returned to his cot. Well, you can imagine what he thought of that! Tough love, we will see if there is a repeat of these shenanigans tonight.
Jacob, Oscar and myself went out for our usual Friday cycle to the British Embassy and back and, whilst it didn’t seem any hotter, it was noticeably harder with Jacob lagging behind for a large proportion of it. I guess we will have one or two more outings before the bikes are packed away for the summer.

Oscar is in such a hurry to grow up and last week he started school! Becky had carefully checked out the available nurseries, as we didn’t want a repeat of Jacob’s nursery days, paying for a stimulating environment and finding him stuck in a room with a TV, broken toys and disinterested supervision.
Abu Adnams in MQ and Little Gems in Al Azaiber made it on to a short list (Of Two!) with LG offering a place immediately.
So, off he went with lunch box in hand (Becky’s hand really) for his first day of school, was he fazed by such a monumental event? Of course not, he’s a big boy now.

Talking Bluntly

Ok, so it has been a couple of weeks since I last wrote, but I think I could be forgiven due to the previous events on the job front. Even though I expected it, when the notice came it really knocked the wind from my sails.
Hunting for a new job in a depressed market is no fun, we have been though some major highs and lows and back again, with only a dim light at the end of the tunnel. But on the whole I am very positive about our prospects. As I have searched the feedback has been positive, if a little reserved, but definitely positive non the less. So touch wood, cross every available appendage and hopefully we will have some good news soon. Hedging my bets, I have put a couple of lines on the Euro lottery for this weekend.
We have to say a sad farewell to our neighbours, Winnie and Ramone today as Schlumberger (a big US oil company) has made him redundant. This is something I can’t get my head around, the oil is still there, it still needs to come out of the ground and be sold, so is this another example of corporate greed?
So on to brighter topics, last weekend we went and saw James Blunt in Concert at the Intercontinental Hotel gardens. It doesn’t matter if you love or hate his music, it is important to support the few concerts we have in Muscat, I for one enjoyed myself immensely.



As Muscat is a relatively small community, it is very hard to attract big acts to play here and as a result we are lucky to have two a year. However, if we all support them (whether we like them or not) by buying tickets and going for a ‘fun’ night out, then it will become more commercially viable and maybe, just maybe an act that you really want to see will come to town!
Becky and I arrived a little before eight and as with everyone else, we were subjected to an hour of Darren Short from Hi FM ‘working’ the crowd. Most of us did our best to ignore him.
James Blunt finally put us out of our misery and arrived on stage at nine and was surprisingly witty about his melancholic music. So rather than the caustic comments of lemmings jumping off cliffs, we had FUN!!!!

One person who sadly didn’t enjoy himself was our friend Andrew, recently having had an operation (technically known as Giveanecktome I believe), he is on a liquid diet and not the fun sort I’m afraid. However, on the positive side, he is loosing weight (admittedly much needed) and could soon be referred to as Buff (Wife terminology), though not be me I hasten to add. So chin up Andrew as it is all in a good cause.
Harking back to Hi FM and old Derwood, sorry Darren, why oh why did he have to style himself as a carbon copy of Dr Fox?




Surely one is more than enough for the planet, two of then just adds insult to injury! Becky is particually upset with him as he has hijacked the band Bare Naked Ladies as his ‘latest’ find….the cheek of it!!!
I personally gave up listening to the radio soon after arriving here. Fike on the mike was always fun to hear on Radio Sultanate of Oman but I was normally working at that time. My commute to work coincided with the Business Bulletin, which was always an unbelievably painful assault to the ears.
One show I do listen to is Andy Pyzer’s Friday broadcast, ‘The Retro Show’, don’t be put off by the spammy photo or the lame name.



Andy has put a great show together (if 70’s/80’s music is your thing). Unfortunately, no sorry I mean fortunately his normal witty repartee is toned down for public consumption.
If however, you like your dialogue a tad more colourful then I suggest a Monday night at Dukes Bar in the Crown Plaza, Andy’s Pub Quiz could be referred to as a mild introduction to Tourettes Syndrome, not for the easily offended.

Oh, and finally……..Oscar has had a proper haircut at long last, doesn’t he look grown up?