Christmas 2019 from the UK, South Africa and Dubai

The tree went up in November as we were travelling and Christmas didn't really get going until the weekend, with a visit from Carol singers and watching the ultimate Christmas movie Yippe Ki Yay.

I had been hoping my mum was joining us for Christmas again this year and I was planning 3 weeks of shopping, Christmas markets and searching for the ultimate Christmas tree. There's something quite magical about seeing Christmas trees and decorations on the beach in the sun. But she's not coming out now until the New Year.

I spent the first week of December in the UK and went to a panto which at Sarah from mumofthreeworld daughter is in.

The Christmas Tree at our daughters care home.

Street lights in Monmouth

I didn't fancy spending the run up to Christmas on my own, there's no magic to be had in that and as Peter was going to South Africa for 2 weeks I decided to join him and visit my friends there instead of being here on my own.

Christmas in South Africa is very different from here in Dubai, it's more about family and the actual occasion. The malls and shops are decorated and there are lots of Christmas items advertised. I went with a group of friends to the Jacaranda Kinderhuis light festival, who raise funds with their light display, closing off streets for people to walk around in safely and enjoy the lights, crafts, foods and fun fair.

Irene Mall

Brooklyn Mall

 Lynnwood Bridge

 Brooklyn Mall

Jacaranda Kinderhuis

And of course no trip to South Africa is complete without sorting through donations for Christmas boxes for vulnerable children

The weekend before Christmas we visited mall of the Emirates and Dubai Mall to check out the decorations.

I've booked a Christmas Brunch at the JW Marquis Marriott, we have friends joining us. We will open presents in the morning from friends, mum and child 2, 2a and 2b who made the effort to ensure they were given to me to bring home on my visit in October and December. Cards were posted to us early for the same reason. I left and posted all our gifts and cards to family and friends in the UK in October.

Of course chocolate has been bought and we had a braai.

I've never really got used to Christmas in the sun for the past 9 years

After brunch and we will make phone calls to family in the UK in the evening. I've also downloaded Love Actually and Die Hard 2 to watch on Christmas Eve and am planning a visit to the beach today to see what decorations they have on display there.

One Daily Positive - Week 18 - We're going to be grandparents

I have no idea what day it's been any day this week. Arrived home in Dubai to wall to wall sunshine, no rain and temperatures getting higher. There's been a gentle breeze this week which has made life more bearable but it is a relatively warm one. By Thursday my body clock had adjusted and I was awake around 4-5am to be able to walk the dog and to do some gardening. When I get up early like this, I'll often go back to bed for an hour or two in the middle of the day.

Been sitting on the news that we're going to be grandparents in September until child 2 and 2a shared their news online. Blog posts have been scheduled for 15 weeks now and I'm so excited to be able to talk freely now. Have really respected 2a's wishes, just found it frustrating as I was worried I'd slip up.

118 Sunday A round of goodbyes with my mum, a friend and the twins, niece and the Things a pub lunch and a pint and back to mums to finish a small DIY job and then another friends in the evening. Packed and had an early night.

View from a friend's house in Wales.

119 Monday Up early, dressed and out for breakfast and coffee while the washing machine was on, then drove to Birmingham airport for our flight home. Uneventful flight other than a minor scuffle with a few passengers that got them moved and I took advantage of the 3 empty seats.

We rarely fly together.

120 Tuesday A lie in then off to the nail bar, collected the cat and dog from boarding, went for a swim and unpacked the suit cases. We had an early night.

Opposite weather, although both drives us indoors.

121 Wednesday Went swimming then had breakfast before enjoying a coffee at the Souk Madinat then off to the Doctors for an iron infusion, drove home stopping off for a McDonald's, went to bed to finish binge watching Line of Duty, took Bob for a walk then bed at 8pm.

It would appear neither of these think they got fed while we were away.

122 Thursday Up early to walk Bob and take some photo's of the train station and local construction, did a bit of gardening (sweeping sand) then retreated indoors to do some batch cooking. Went out at 9am for a coffee and get the zip repaired on my Coach bag, followed by a swim in the afternoon.

123 Friday Off early to the beach, spent 3 hours there, people watching, swimming and reading. Home and nothing till 6pm when we got ready for dinner with friends.

The view from the 68th floor looking down on Iris Bay.

124 Saturday A trip to the Mall and coffee, then off to the beer and wine shop, followed by a food shop on the way home. We BBQ'd in the evening and off for an early night.

On the blog this week:

Dubai and the UK April Round up Home and Garden.
Why I've ditched the linkys.
Spot the difference. View from Dubai Festival City. Before and After.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Week 7 Project 365 I finally got my visa

The week hasn't started well I'm afraid, no dramas, just health issues. All this uncertainty and hotel living has finally caught up with me and I can't seem to stay awake. I finally got my residency visa this week, just waiting for my Emirates ID, then I can apply for my driving license and open a bank account.

Day 39 #onedailypositive #inmybag #fmsphotoaday #out&about #snaphappybritmums #project365

I spent the morning cooking and wearing pjs, I had no plans to go out other than the photo prompt for today. The cooking inspired ideas for the rest of the week, so I dressed, caught the number 93 bus and visited Carrefore, returning within the hour with a bag full of goodies to make soups, risotto and banana muffins. It's wonderful after living in South Africa just to be able to 'pop to the shops' using public transport.

Day 40 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎energy‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎snowdrops‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ 

Any suggestions as to where I can find snowdrops in the middle of the desert? So I'm cheating and took a photo of the sledge run at the ‪#‎MallOfEmirates‬ it's snow and a drop. Energy wise and my one daily positive I'm on a train to Jebel Ali with my passport TO FINALLY GET MY VISA. My tourist visa expires in 2 days and I really didn't fancy another visa flight to Oman and back.

The train to Jebel Ali was a new route for me and it was weird to pass through Energy station on route.








Day 41 #onedailypositive #ThisInspiresMe #fmsphotoaday #RaiseSomeDough #snaphappybritmums #project365

4 years ago I gave up making financial donations to #charities. I'll still happily sponsor a child with an activity at their school as I believe the message of helping others is a good virtue to install into our children, but I won't be sponsoring the cost of your skydive or mountain trek and I won't be donating to #ComicRelief and other organisations.
What happened to change my mind? I moved to South Africa and volunteering became a way of life for me, in fact my entire life and I was fortunate to meet some of the most inspiring people I've ever come across with my involvement in Santa Shoebox and The Viva Foundation. Alone we cannot stop poverty, but from experience we can do something to make life a little more tolerant and give hope and a sense of identity. This little girl in the picture is 3 and like all her class mates she had never had a birthday party, in fact if you ask the children at the Viva School how old they are, they are unable to tell you. Birthday parties are a luxury, actually running water and electricity are luxuries so you can imagine how far down the list a birthday party or a gift actually is.
I shall be back in South Africa in October to help collect, pack, sort and distribute up to 10,000 christmas gifts in Pretoria and will be making and selling cakes and crafts here in Dubai to raise funds for Viva to support education and provide their children with the opportunity to have a birthday party, a cake and a bit of respect. If you want to donate directly to Viva then please click here, citing Party and Chickenruby as your reference. 

Day 42 #onedailypositive #OnTheWall #fmsphotaday #two #snaphappybritmums #project365

This is driving me up the wall, I have no idea which light switch operates which light and for some reason as I've discovered today, if I want the outside light on at the front of the house, the switch for it is in our bedroom at the back of the house. So today I'm labelling all the switches and drawn a little map. Sad? No, we had 2 switches in South Africa for 2 years that we never knew what they switched on. In every room there appears to be 2 switches that don't operate any lights anywhere and yes, I've checked and replaced bulbs/globes. The daily positive is that today feels like the first day of normal, I'm catching up with blogging and sorting photo's and off to the beach in a bit to cool down after mopping the kitchen floor.

Day 43 #onedailypositive #pointy #fmsphotoaday #white #snaphappybritmums #project365

This photo was taken from our front door step. It is the white moon above the pointy top of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building at 828 meters high. Everywhere you go in Dubai the Burj Khalifa is visible, from the beach, the bus stop and on a very clear day there have been reports you can see it from Saudi Arabia.
Now we are back in the northern hemisphere the moon and the stars are familiar again, it's strange though not to be able to see the southern cross anymore. Today's positive is we are fortunate, through hard work and determination to have the opportunity to live abroad and experience life as expats.

Day 44 ‪#‎temptation‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎dinner‬ ‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬‪#‎project365‬ 

Sitting in the desert having a braai, there's a fillet steak on the coals and for dessert M&Ms, fairy cakes and fizzy pop.

Day 45 #onedailypositive #love #fmsphotoaday #hearts #snaphappybritmums #project365

Having spent 4 years in the Southern Hemisphere and now moving to another hot climate, it has been important to me to mark the seasons in some way rather than relying on the weather. In South Africa Halloween is in Spring, Christmas in the summer and Easter in Autumn. I marked the seasons by celebrating the events and decided the dining room was the best place to do this because as a family with kids and now without them we always sat down together for our main meal of the day. We spent this christmas back in the northern hemisphere but on the beach, no amount of penguins or snowmen on cards can make it feel like a christmas I knew but I do enjoy setting the dining room table to reflect the seasons and at least now at Easter when I put the decorations out, it will be back in spring again.

How do you braai?

Another weekend and another opportunity to invite friends round and to have a Braai.

But how do South Africans Braai? Well some swear by wood, others by coals, all seem to have their favourite way of doing things and keen to share their hints and tips with you. But what about the protocols of holding or attending a braai?

 
Give me strength, there are no set rules. Well none I can find anyway.

In the UK if you invite someone round for a BBQ and they say 'can I bring anything' you usually reply...'No, its all organised' and you end up with left overs for a week. Your guest will usually turn up with a bottle of wine or maybe some flowers.

In South Africa things are different.

We've been invited to Braais where the host has added 'please bring your own meat/drinks'

We've been invited to Braais where the host has added 'please don't bring anything'

We've been invited to Braais and asked 'can we bring anything?' and the host has responded with 'bring meat/drinks/ice/swimsuit'

So how do we issue our Braai invite?

'Would you like to come for a Braai' 'Must I bring anything?' 'Yes, your own meat, we will supply the rest oh and maybe some ice'

I'm not sure if we're doing it right, but to date it seems to have worked ok.

We had a Braai in January with 20+ people. One woman turned up with a cooler box, her own chair, all her own food, including crockery, a bottle of gin, tonic water and a sharp knife to cut a lemon slice, she even brought an individual desert.

 

Groenkloof – where I walk with the giraffes

This was the first nature reserve in Africa, founded in 1895 by Paul Kruger to protect a species of antelope. In 1998 Zebra were introduced to the reserve and Giraffes in 2002.
There’s the usual Braai areas and picnic sites, a camp site, mountain bike hire and horse riding. A wonderful restaurant and bar and a miniature steam train that runs in the summer on a Sunday.

This place is beautiful and with so little public outdoor spaces, other than malls and the golf course we live on, it’s wonderful to be able to go for a walk on marked footpaths, with a variety of terrains and be at one with the wildlife.
Ok I don’t like the snakes and there aren’t any dangerous animals there, other than Ostrich, Wildebeest, Giraffes and Zebras and it is up to you to exercise some common sense and not walk too closely to the animals.

Too much hard work

I dread those words.....'do you fancy a Braai (BBQ)?'

me: er no not really
him: I'll cook
me: yeah I know you'll cook, but I don't want to be your skivvy
him: you sit down I'll do it all

and you know the rest.......

I haven't stopped

I made the salad
I got the trays out
I marinated the meat
I've held numerous plates, items of cutlery
I've fetched drinks, laid the table, found 'things'

Is it the same for you?