Things I miss about the UK

I miss the weather.

While it's nice to have the sunshine here in Dubai, half the year it's just too hot to go outdoors to enjoy it. Yes really, well I don't miss the rain and the cold, I miss having seasons.

I miss the pubs.

We have pubs here but no draft ale, the prices are sky high and there's not one in walking distance from us.

I miss the food.

Yes we can buy almost anything we want here in Dubai, but we have to go to certain shops to buy certain things, such as bacon, Hellman's mayonnaise and chips.

I miss just walking around.

Whilst we have beaches here and parks and shopping malls, there are very few places to just take a walk and have a sit outside watching the world go by without spending money.

Shopping.

Yes I miss shopping, here we have all the shops in the world you could imagine, but what we don't have are small towns and villages to just stop off in, pick up a pint of milk, go into a charity shop and collect a few new books, visit a tea room and have a simple sandwich or a jam donut with your tea.

Old Buildings.

All I can see here are buildings, new modern designs and whilst they are impressive, nothing beats seeing a variety of buildings, both old and new.

Greenery.

Yes we have a garden, there are trees and plants and parks, but when you're out driving there's just sand, no rolling landscapes, no fields full of colour and hedgerows.

People.

Of course people live in Dubai and huge numbers of tourists visit all year, but it's a city and I miss just randomly bumping into people I know and striking up conversations.

TV.

I miss crap game shows and daily news. We do get some UK TV and of course we get all the sport, including football and 3pm kick offs on a Saturday, but no Match of the Day. We get world news and keep up to date with social media, but there's never anything on the TV other than choosing which movie you want to watch.

Do you live abroad? Are there things you miss?

In South Africa we couldn't get PG Tips.
In Dubai we can't get Heinz Chicken soup.

I'm taking curly wurly's to a friend in South Africa and from South Africa, I'm taking cheese curls and mint crisps over to friends in Germany.

One Daily Positive Week 16

I got out of sync with numbering the days for Project 365, thankfully it was only a week's worth that I needed to alter the day on.

It was a bank/public holiday on Saturday, Eid Al Miraj, as it fell on a weekend not everyone was given the Sunday as an additional day off. Peter was therefore off work on Sunday and it threw me for the rest of the week, especially as Peter worked from home on Wednesday also.

Eid Al Miraj is the night Allah took Mohammed on a journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and then onto heaven.

Peter is away next week in Kuwait, so it'll be anther quite week, with trips to the dog park, pool and coffee shops.

105 Sunday My car was fixed and ready for collection. Peter went on home to watch the grand Prix after a coffee and I walked round the local mall and met a friend for lunch. In the afternoon and evening we chilled out in the garden and had a BBQ with a friend who stopped over on his way back from working in China. 

106 Monday Woke up to thunder and rain, not a lot, but also discovered I'd left the garden sprinkler on ALL night. Walked Bob, popped out for coffee, tidied the laundry room, went for a swim and cooked dinner for the next 2 nights. Had my pre op in the evening for my bone marrow test and completed the paperwork for medical aid approval. Joined friends for dinner by the beach. 

Would you eat your dinner up there? We didn't BTW.

107 Tuesday Took Bob to the dog park and gave him a bath in the garden late afternoon. Bob ripped a claw, took a bit of persuasion for him to allow me to clip it. He also decided to jump up on my car bonnet and climb over to get to the boot, lots of damage to the car and no idea why he did it. Visited the pool and had an early night. Been feeling exceptionally tired recently, like I have the flu.

108 Wednesday Woke at 4am, after going to bed early after a fantastic sleep. Collected Peter from dropping his car at the service centre. I posted a parcel to child 3 and 3a in Australia and met a friend for coffee. Pub quiz and dinner out in the evening.

This is PO Box xxxxx Near container Terminal 3, Opposite Weir Engineering.

Yes, that is part of our postal address

109 Thursday Spent the day as usual cleaning and sweeping the balconies, went for a swim and had another early night.

110 Friday Up early at 5am which is my usual time. Took Bob for a walk and sat in the garden for a couple of hours before we went to Abu Dhabi to the Louvre. Every now and then this thought goes through my mind, often triggered by road signs or Iconic buildings 'What am I doing living in the Middle East?'

111 Saturday Slow cooker on and off out to Dragon Mart to buy a shed and coffee. Nothing else planned for the rest of the day.

On the blog this week:

My Sunday Photo - Keeping cool for Summer in Dubai.

PoCoLo, Best Boot Forward - Why I'm out of control in my life

Triumphant Tales - Boat trip and visit to the Creek, Dubai

Tweens Teens Beyond - When the kidults come for a visit

One Daily Positive Week 2

I'm fighting boredom and if I'm honest loneliness also. If I don't acknowledge it, I get depressed. Dubai isn't like the UK, regardless of nationality, people just don't strike up conversations and friendships here, they don't just pop round with an invite and meeting up for coffee is like pulling teeth. do I keep sending whatsapp's, rearranging when they cancel last minute, it gets embarrassing.

Anyway I've spent most of this week on my own, with Peter working in Saudi. I've got an awful lot of stuff done and believe it or not I've actually been out the house house everyday, with the dog or on my own. Had lunch with a friend, visited the dog park, pub quiz with different friends,and several coffees (on my own).

7 Sunday The start of the working week in Dubai, did the washing and some cleaning and tidying up. Cycled to the local shops for a coffee, have fixed my panniers on my bike which means I don't have to take the car out as much.

8 Monday I got so much done today I almost completed my 'to do' list for the whole of the month, dropped Peter at the airport at 5am and worked non stop all day till 5pm when I had a bath and was in bed by 7pm. It rained during the night.

9 Tuesday Bad news day. But first I'd had a lovely morning, visited the dog park with Bob, lunch with a friend and a visit to the garden centre and I bought stamps.

10 Wednesday Spent the morning in the garden blogging, having breakfast and drinking tea. I ordered a cat gym for Pushkins last night from Souq Amazon and it arrived by 10am. Went out for coffee and wrote some letters, did some sewing in the afternoon and out to the pub quiz in the evening.

11 Thursday My 9am rule went out the window as I didn't wake up till 8.45am. I started cleaning the house, but it took most of the day as I hadn't got myself dressed, ready for the day. Not a good day all round for me. I took myself out for a coffee and wrote some more letters, but my heart just isn't in doing anything right now, did a food shop, had a bath and watched TV in bed. The fence panels were delivered to be erected over the weekend.

12 Friday Peter arrived home in the early hours. We went to Dubai Marina for breakfast and a walk. and just chilled out at home in the afternoon.

13 Saturday We watched with interest as the fence started to go up, it'll be finished by tomorrow, popped out for a coffee and stocked up the booze cupboard in Abu Dhabi. Beef in the slow cooker all day and looking forward to a full roast later on this evening.

On the blog this week:

My Sunday Photo and this year I'm focusing on buildings. The building of the Dubai Eye.

Animal Tales and PoCoLo Moving home in Dubai with Pets

Tweens, Teens, Beyond. Triumphant Tales and new linky Best boot Forward My 9am rule to beat the boredom