Well, as some of you are no doubt aware, Debs came over last week for a visit. It was great to see her, even though she did manage to arrive with a nutter in tow. Some stray woman she picked up who we then offered a lift into Abu Dhabi, before we realised that (despite living here for 30 years) she didn't know where she lived! Well, after realising that after 6 weeks, I knew Abu Dhabi better than she did, we managed to negotiate a route to her home. I don't know how Debs manages to find these people, but she has a knack for it!

We managed a few trips, one to Dubai, and one to Al Ain. Both were altered plans, as we arrived in Dubai, and within 10 minutes of arrival, I got a message telling me to start work at 6:30am the next morning. Of course! 7 weeks of doing nothing and the first day I had gone away for the night, this happened! We had just booked into a hotel next to the Palm Jumeirah, and discovered that without realising it, I had booked a suite! It was stunning! More rooms than there are in our apartment, and 3 balconies. So we decided to stay, and I would leave at 4:30am, leaving Debs to check out. Dave very kindly offered to drive to Dubai and pick Deb up around midday for me. So that was what we did. As a result, we didn't get much done in Dubai, but we managed to meet up with our neighbours from Newcastle who were over on holiday. It was weird seeing so many familiar faces from so close to home after 7 weeks of feeling like I'd moved to some kind of alternate universe.

It was all over too quickly (as is so often the case!!!) and Debs went. It was great to see her, but this week has been a bit of a "homesick" one as a result. Worth it though. Above is the compulsory picture of the Burj Al Arab hotel!