My Sunday Photo - Week 128 K is for Khalas

Khalas in Arabic means enough, no more, STOP.

I find myself saying it more and more these days.

To the gardener who sweeps the path with the hose, water is expensive.

To the repair man who keeps finding excuses as to why he couldn't come and fix the air con.

To the cat who is moulting everywhere.

To my husband who keeps saying how hot it will be soon.

To the bag packer in the supermarket who puts my eggs and bread in a bag with the raw meat and a bottle of bleach.

Everyone seems to think I'm in a hurry here in Dubai, that'll I complain if they don't pack my bags at the speed of light and throw everything back in my trolley and try to get me back to my car faster than Usain Bolt.

Just stop, I've had enough, there's no queue at the till, I've already asked to pack my own bags, I've already said I don't want the free plastic bags each filled with only one or two items.

I had a mini melt down in Carrefour yesterday. I bought a lemon, before I knew it, it was put in a bag and the label attached, after I'd asked him to stick the label on the lemon. It was a forgotten item after we'd returned to the car with the rest of the shopping. At the till it was put in another bag while I got my purse out to pay.

Khalas, no more, stop with all the waste. I DON'T WANT ALL THESE BAGS and I took the lemon out of the 2nd bag and as I put my purse away, the bag packer just looked at me and put it back in the bag.

self service check outs

WHAT IS IT WITH THESE STORES AND SELF SERVICE?

I'm an adult, a grown up, I've used them enough times to use them unsupervised, so why does a shop assistant have to be involved?

I understand having someone near by to over ride an item in the sale or remove a security tag or give permission for alcohol to be paid for or fetch the DVD for the box you've just scanned but personally if I have any of the above, I go to the till with a cashier on it.

I would suggest the best use of a shop assistant in these situations is to politely but firmly lead the people away who have no idea what they are doing and suggest they stick to the manned tills so the rest of us can make the quick exit that they are designed for.

Sometimes though when the queues are too long they drag you over to the scanners and then proceed to scan the items for you anyway. Get on the till if you're going to do that and I can stay where I am.

In WH Smith in Ross-on-Wye, UK last year. A shop assistant stood by the side of the till and guided 5 customers in front of me on how to use the new self scan. 3 of the customers were intrigued and wanted to know what all this was about, how marvellous it was. I finally asked the store assistant why she didn't get on the till, serve those 3 while they all chatted and leave me to use the self scan, by MYSELF. The other customer had lost the will to live and had left the store. The shop assistant explained this was the new policy and she didn't always just stand there she had other jobs to do also.

There's a self service till at the local Carrefore, scan your items, pop them in a bag then go over to a till to pay. When I asked why? they said the tills hadn't yet been configured for none American cards and coins.

And car parks, why do they employ someone to stand by the exit barrier to take the ticket off you after you've paid for it, pulled up to the machine and opened your window? Not just South Africa, but here in Dubai also.

Sun Cream in Africa

For the last few days we've had nothing but rain, which suits me and it's also given my skin a break from using sun creams, that I find are quite greasy, take an age to dry and often stain clothes. It has been nice to shower, dress and do hair under 15 minutes rather than spending up to 45 minutes (depending on which sun creams I use) waiting for the sun cream to dry.

Every day is tiresome, but it's not only cancer I'm protecting myself against it's the ageing process that is sped up from the sun, so many people here have that leathery skin look from the out door life having not used sun cream.

Even in the rain I still use factor 50 sun cream on my face daily as a moisturiser under my foundation. I use the one from Boots in the No 7 range as it's none greasy, drys well and isn't shiny.

I just need to find a sun cream that I can use daily on the rest of my body, one that dries quickly, is none greasy and doesn't stain my clothes. it's ok when you're on holiday, hanging around waiting 30+ minutes for it to dry, but not every day, when you've places to go and thinks to do.

I've tried the big branded names and the supermarket own brands, but it's too expensive to keep trying new products so I was hoping you'd be able to recommend products I could buy, that offer not only the sun factor protection, the higher the better, it reaches 30c here in the summer and is around 20c in the day time in the winter, are reasonably priced and most importantly don't take ages to dry, aren't greasy or stain clothes.

What can you do with a disabled young adult.

Not living in the UK means we don't have a home to take our disabled daughter to for visits.

When the sun is shining there are plenty of places to go and things to do, but what about when it rains and is cold and wet and windy, like today?

Up until she was 14/15 we could still take her to soft play, we could take her swimming and we could bring her home as she got older. But she's 25 now, a young adult.

We need to take an adult size change bag with us, we have to be within range of public toilets, preferably Mother and baby changing rooms, she needs to sit at table and chair to eat, she can't feed herself a cake and have her own drink without supervision.

We need to be in the dry and warm, she won't wear a hat and gloves.

So where do we go on a day like today?

Supermarkets and indoor shopping centers, that's where.

She loves being around people, she loves pushing the trolley, the noises, occasional music and the flat even surfaces so there are no tripping hazards.

It seems a strange thing to do to visit Sainsburys then Asda then off to Tesco for a day out. But it suits her needs, means we are more relaxed because she's not cold or wet and is happy, but it's our only option really.