Well, this is it (or, here we go again……)

It’s taken a little while for me to get organised/ motivated/ nagged (delete as applicable), but I’ve finally started the new blog/ diary/ family information system (again, delete etc.).

I guess I have quite a lot to tell you – some of which, some of you will know all of it/ some of it/ bits of it/ none of it (tedious, isn’t it, this self-service blogging…..).  This story starts where the last one finished really, back in the UK having arrived home on the 1^st July to rapturous applause, marching bands, tickertape parades and the like. Tired and relatively satisfied (read the end of the last blog for a full update on satisfaction).  In a nutshell, I had completed a five month job out in the Western Desert of Abu Dhabi, successfully I might add, without going back to the UK and that was my first visit since the beginning of February – so it was good to be home.

The plan, at that point, was to find some more work in the Middle East but to have a decent break in good old Blighty, see my family (Skype and a two week visit to the UAE doesn’t really count), catch up with friends etc. etc. etc. 

Well……. most of it went to plan.

I came home and within a couple of weeks I had a phone call from a man offering me a job – we haggled, read contracts, haggled some more, agreed a deal…….but….it was conditional.  Conditional on a contract being signed in Saudi Arabia (it might seem un-related……..frankly, now that I’m here, it is, but that’s for another day altogether…..).  All seemed to be going well……and seemed to be going, and going, and going,……but never quite getting there. 

“What was the problem ?” I hear you all shouting – Ramadan.  I’m sure that you’re all perfectly aware that the Islamic faith strictly adheres to the festival of Ramadan by fasting for a month, during the hours of daylight essentially, although it is a little more complicated than that (it’s one of the five pillars of Islam – and there’ll be prizes for anyone offering up the other four !).  The problem, well two problems really, with Ramadan, is that it goes on for one lunar cycle (28ish days), the second problem, is that fasting isn’t a terribly good way to conduct business because in order to do it without going out of your head, Muslims effectively turn their life upside down. They eat at four in the morning and seven in the evening, whilst partying all night and sleeping most of the day……..not helpful if you need a multi-million dollar contract signing !

Anyway, to cut a three month story short – and be assured that I’ll fill you in on the three months when I can’t find anything else to tell you, I’m back in the Middle East.  The UAE to be specific, well, living in Dubai if you want more specific.  Finally the job offer became unconditional and I flew out to Dubai to begin work on the 2^nd October.  I’m working for an FM (Facilities Management) consultancy with a brief that covers the whole Middle East, although my first contract is in Abu Dhabi and is likely to result in my spending a large period of time holed up in my favourite Western Region hotel for a good portion of the next six months – which is nice…….

I’m staying with my old buddy Julian who’s been very generous and who’s made my life very simple to start with (he’s even cleared out most of the things in my wardrobe so I feel like I’ve got my own room).  He’s dismantled his dining table and replaced it with a pool table and generally turned the whole place into a bit of posh clubhouse (there are lots of golf pictures on the walls and the cupboards are full of booze – although I’ve cause a stir by putting vegetables in the fridge……).

So, in summary, I’ve got a job and I’m away from the family again.  I’ve got friends over here from several different walks of life, as well as different parts of my life.  I’m not sure the stories I can tell you will have the same ring of difference about them (although I’ve already got a number that will make some of your hair curl, but we’ll address the state of some people after the Welsh rugby win last weekend, as well as how I ended up in a strange apartment at four in the morning after a wedding, at some later date) but we can try.  There’s lots coming up here, what with Grand Prix’s, Rugby Sevens, major gold, test cricket and horse racing, so some of that should keep me going in terms of material for some time – never mind my job and world politics !

As it is I’ll leave you with a picture of the view from my bedroom and start to think of the next thing to tell you about !