Family Holiday to The Bay of Arcachon France 2004

With 4 boys and a disabled daughter finding holidays that suited our budget and the wide range of kids needs we spent a lot of time in France for our holidays, usually in Brittany taking an overnight ferry from Portsmouth on a Friday night so we could sleep on the journey, arriving in San Malo with a short car trip to reach our Gite for a week. As our daughter doesn't travel well, doesn't particularly like the beach and wanting to take the boys away for longer and to enable them to have some quality time with us, we opted not to take her on this trip and travelled further a field to spend 2 weeks in Andernos Les Bains in the Bay of Arcachon.

We rented a 3 bed self catering chalet and loaded the car with the bikes and 4 excited boys 

aged 5, 9, 12 & 15

11 years on we only have fond and happy memories of this holiday and it is one that the boys talk about often, however for me as I look at the photos I remember the arguing in the car, the fighting over who wasn't sharing a room with whom, the hours spent looking for a child who has stropped off and the afternoon spent at the police station when the 15 year repeatedly splashed a small child by running through the water despite us and the child's dad asking him to play elsewhere until eventually the dad hit him as he ran past for the 100th time.

There was plenty of beach time as well as bike rides round the local area and the kids were dispatched every morning to the local bakery to purchase fresh breads for breakfast.

We had picnics in the day and in the evenings hubby and I took it in turns to prepare dinner while the other supervised the kids at the pool.

One evening whilst I was preparing dinner, hubby took the 3 older boys for a walk and left the youngest with me playing outside.

5yo: Mummy I'm duck

Me: You're a duck 'quack quack'

5yo: No mummy I'm really duck

Me: Yes I know 'quack quack'

5yo: Mummy I'm duck, you know I can't say my S's

Me: Removes child's stuck head from A frame of bench

There were many trips exploring the local area and while hubby took the 3 older boys to the Great Dune of Pyla at 3km long, 500m wide and 100m high, the tallest of it's kind in Europe, to run and slide up and down, I spent the afternoon with the youngest at the local zoo.

We found a local fun fair one evening where the boys spent most of their pocket money.

A day trip into Bordeaux

An afternoon and evening in St Emilion and the boys loved the cellar tours.

Hubby and the older boys spent a morning at Bisc'Aventure for fun in the tree tops and zip wires

And we all spent a day at AquaPark Biscarrosse

My favourite photo of the holiday and in fact probably my favourite photo of our youngest was taken on the beach at Biscarrosse, the waves were pretty fierce and the youngest kept walking up to the shore line then running away squealing as the waves approached him.

This turned out to be our last family holiday in France as the following years we went further a field, to Turkey, Tunisia and America. 

Let's see the bigger picture

We've all staged photos, had a quick tidy up and maybe even popped to the shops to buy something to make it just perfect.

We can edit, buy special lenses and take 100's of shots choosing the perfect photo.

But blogs, Instagram, face book and twitter are starting to look like a catalogue of library pictures. 

The close up of the bumble bee is beautiful, the flowers absolutely perfect, but too be honest I'm finding it a little boring and repetitive to look at.

Now fair enough you can say the same about my blog posts, my endless pictures of the dog and cat, but this is just my opinion of the current style of photography. I just really don't like it.

I want people to see the context, the bigger picture. The glorious park that one perfect flower is in, the sky to get an idea of the weather and the landscape to get a feel of your location.

I currently spend more time looking for something to write about your photo, which is the same as all the other photos. 

It uses more characters entering my name and email address than it does writing 'beautiful shot' or 'lovely colours' 

Here are some pictures taken in my garden, they show the detail, what I'm doing and the bigger picture. They may not be the best or the most interesting but I feel it gives the reader a little something extra in which to comment on.

The same with these ones. I mean look at the honesty of the final photo and tell me that's why you do close ups, so no one sees the reality.

Taking care of pets during Summer in Dubai

I spent 3 weeks in Canada, which meant I left hubby with the cat and dog for 3 weeks.

Hubby was working everyday which meant the cat and dog were on their own in the house on their own from 7am till 5pm, Sunday till Thursday.

They bonded, this is a photo hubby sent me in the first week of the pair of them.

The cat hasn't had a good week, it started with a poorly eye, it must have been irritating her as she would come to me for it to be wiped. It cleared up in around 3 days and there seems to be no lasting effect.

It's also the middle of summer and during daylight hours it is far too hot to let them outside without supervision, so our once outdoor pets have now adapted to be indoors all day and they seem to be coping very well.

Pushkins sneaked out the door on Saturday when I put the shopping away, it was 2 hours later before I realised she wasn't in the house. I felt so guilty and I nearly passed out from the heat looking for her.

The Cat suffered with heat exhaustion on friday. We keep her inside during the day but sometimes she sneaks out and has been outside for 2 hours she has been licking her self to keep cool. Cats sweat through their paws. She was too exhausted when I found her to walk and I've brought her back and she let me put her in a bowl of luke warm water to cool her down and I wrapped her in a damp towel. I've never seen a cat pant like this before. She made a full recovery and is still trying to sneak out in the midday sun.

We do of course take Bob out for walks every evening and do early morning trips to the lakes in the desert.

He is getting braver with the water now, up till now he's relied on another dog bringing his ball back to him as you can see from the first video he just won't go out of his depth.

This is Bob the day after in the desert, he seems to have overcome his fear very quickly.

They also like to spend early evenings on the doorstep, getting some fresh air.

Every time I see this stray I wonder how she is managing to live in this heat. There are mice in the garden I assume she eats and I leave water out for her and the birds, but I can't take her in, she's too wild.

How to keep cool at home in Dubai?

Before we moved to Dubai we were informed that EVERYONE leaves Dubai for the summer.

Everyone? Seriously? Dubai doesn't shut down for summer, hubby doesn't have 3 months leave every year. We can't afford to rent someone in the UK for 3 months and maintain our villa that we rent in Dubai also. What about the cat and dog? Kennels would cost £3,600 for 3 months. So the other option is I leave Dubai for 3 months, seems a lot of expat spouses do that. But I'd still need somewhere to live and although staying with family and friends is good, I can't spend 3 months on sofas and living out of a suitcase in spare rooms.

I can understand why so many people leave though. Until I experienced the relentless heat I thought 'it can't be THAT bad' but it is, it's worse.

In the day it's an average of 42c, going as high as 50c early in June and not dropping below 33c at night. It's not cooler in the shade, the only place to get any respite is under the air conditioning. Humidity is high and the 'real feel' is up to 10c higher.

I'm still going out, I spend most days in the house on various projects, I tend to get up before sunset to water the garden, walk the dog, do the washing, cleaning etc and around midday I sleep for a couple of hours, before a second flurry of activity kicks in around 5pm, when I go to the beach, walk the dog, food shop and cook dinner.

I go out for coffee everyday, whether its a 5 minute walk over the road or a short trip on an air conditioned bus to an air conditioned mall.

When I'm indoors at home I do the following as it really makes a huge difference to the temperature inside the house.

Keep the curtains closed in the day time, it keeps the direct sunlight from damaging the wooden furniture and leather sofas and keeps the heat out of the room.

You can see how hot it is outside, this is condensation on the outside of the window

The drafts excludes are used to stop the cold escaping and the heat out, rather than the other way round

Keep containers of water outside, so they cool down during the day to be used to water the plants and wash the dog.

Water from the outside cold tap comes out the ground at 46c

Wear cotton and loose clothing, these are cheap and available to buy from the large supermarkets and the souks and perfect for wearing around the home

Keep doors closed during the day, if you're not using a room, If I'm at home alone I tend to only use the bedroom, dining room and kitchen during the day

Drink plenty of bottled water. I'm never more than a couple of feet from a bottle of water.

Make sure every window is covered. With floor to ceiling windows there's a lot of heat that can get into the house, these light weight panels are actually being sucked back towards the window by the heat from outside, imagine how hot the room would be without them

Hubby has been able to plan quite a few trips abroad with work, there are countries he needs to spend time in with his job, so it makes sense to be away during the hottest months. I spent 3 weeks in Canada in June/July which coincided with Ramadan. It's not just the heat that causes me a problem, but during Ramadan I am limited with my day light hour activities also, It is illegal for me to smoke, drink or eat in public during the day and most restaurants and cafes are closed during this period until Iftar when the fast is broken at sunset. It really limited my ability to cope with such high temperatures when I'm out, without being able to drink water.

Ramadan 2016 is earlier around 5th June till the 6th July, when it's not usually so hot and I will probably spend the month in the UK, although I'm yet to experience August in Dubai, so I'll wait till summer is over before I book any flights.

In the meantime I will just continue to live an indoors life at a slow pace, drink plenty of water, sleep during the hottest parts of the day, keep the cat and dog inside during daylight hours, read and hopefully try and make some headway with writing my book while I have the time.

Week 29 - My Sunday Photo. Eid Mubarak

It's been a long and lonely week with hubby working in the UK. I've been fairly housebound with Ramadan and the fact I can't eat or drink in public during daylight hours. But I've made a point of getting out and about and on Friday I headed off to The Beach in Dubai, near the Marina to join in the Eid Celebrations and to watch the fireworks.

This photo won AED 1000 over on Instagram. You can see a video of the fireworks here.

Eid Al Fatr marks the end of Ramadan with 3 day celebrations and marks the end of month long fasting during Ramadan.

The celebrations are a time for family and of forgiveness and of giving thanks and many Muslims give donations of food to those less fortunate than themselves.

I've only been in Dubai for the last week of Ramadan and what I've learnt from speaking to shop workers and taxi drivers has been interesting.

There has been one thing I've been puzzled by and if anyone could let me know the answer I'd be grateful is when you go to a coffee shop that is licensed to serve take away food and drinks during Ramadan and have signs for 'non muslims and children only' is why they have covers over the food counters, yet the supermarkets have open fronts and anyone can go in and shop and purchase any foods they like during the day, yet they don't cover their food.

BTW Muslims can clean their teeth during Ramadan, just not in day light hours as if they swallowed the toothpaste they would be breaking their fast.

Week 29 - Project 365

This week hasn't started well. It's always the same after time with family and/or friends, whether I visit them, like I did in canada for the last 3 weeks or if they come here.

I hit a low, I'm back to being on my own in the day and find it hard to motivate myself. So on Sunday, after dressing and doing my hair and make up, hubby dropped me at the local mall, with my laptop and some money for a coffee, so at least I'd be out the house and not feel so lonely while he went to work.

Starbucks are only doing takeouts for Ramadan, so while I nipped in the supermarket, hubby purchased a coffee for me (it's against the law to drink in public during daylight hours in Ramadan) he didn't have one as his would've been cold by the time he got to his office and he dropped me back off at home.

I'm was doubly sad today on Monday as hubby went to the UK for a week, returning after Ramadan which ends on the 17th and a) we've had only 7 nights together since the 24th of May and b) I will pretty much be housebound and therefore on my own all week, as I can't cope with this heat and go without water when out and about.

So recognising that being on my own, is a trigger point for my depression, I've wrote myself a time table for the week, which I had every intention of sticking to until:

Monday after dropping hubby at the airport and found Costa was open, although screened off, I drove to Mushrif Park, where they have outdoor pools and shaded areas. However opening hours have been changed from 8am - 11pm to 11am-11pm, this was not on the website, neither were the opening hours of the nearby Mall where I thought I could shop for a few hours before returning for a swim. I arrived home at 11am and went to bed. I spent the evening rearranging bedrooms for my 16yo son's visit in 2 weeks so he can get the internet without running a cable round the house and decided that apart from a walk to the post box, maybe an evening swim in the sea, I'll pretty much just accept I'm stuck at home all week.

I also planned my week around the photo prompts and on Tuesday I had planned to take the bus to the souk and visit the beach for a swim. I ended up at the garden centre early evening, I didn't make it to the beach and a bought and assembled a book case for my photos.

Wednesday I intended to do some sewing but instead went to Dubai Mall and visited Bobbi Brown for a make over demonstration. I left caked in make up and looking 10 years older with yellow skin under my eyes instead of black bags that I went in with. I never made it to the beach.

Thursday was spent cleaning the house and as if it wasn't hot enough I decided to have an oven cooked dinner. I finally managed to get to the beach for sunset, walked Bob and chatted with the neighbours.

Friday was Eid al Fitr, the end of Ramadan. I spent the morning out in the desert with Bob and friends at the lakes and put the plants in the garden, then after a sleep in the afternoon I caught the bus and train to the beach front near Dubai Marina for a fantastic firework display and enjoyed dinner for 1 at The Real Madrid Cafe.

Saturday I was up early, watered the garden and was back from the beach after a swim by 7.30am, by 10am I'd done the food shopping and by midday the ironing was done.


Day 193 #onedailypositive #early #fmsphotoaday #JIsFor #snaphappybritmums #project365 #50DaysofSummer 

Up EARLY to get some gardening done JUST because it's too hot during the day in Dubai.

Day 194 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎calm‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎blackandwhite‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ 

Today's photo of calm was going to be the outdoor pools at Mushrif. I dropped hubby at the airport at 5.30am found a coffee shop that was open and headed off to Mushrif for 8am. But no, due to ‪#‎Ramadan‬ it doesn't open till 11am, so I drove to several malls but they're all opening later during Ramadan, but it doesn't say that on the Internet and each place has different opening hours, there's NO consistency. I am currently anything but Calm right now. Although the mall I'm currently is is empty, quiet and calm, so I guess this picture will have to do.

Day 195 #onedailypositive #chaos #fmsphotoaday#pattern #snaphappybritmums #project365 #50DaysofSummer 

It's #Ramadan and therefore it's illegal to eat/drink/smoke in public during daylight hours in #Dubai. So as the roads get chaotic at the time of breaking fast and at 45c during the day, my pattern is to walk to my local coffee shop to escape from my daily cabin fever.

Day 196 #onedailypositive #OnMyMind #fmsphotoaday#door #snaphappybritmums #project365 #50DaysofSummer 

The ceiling in the house is only as high as the actual door, so why bother with glass panels in the arch? In fact why is there an arch at all? The void above the door contains the air con units. It's on my mind as to whether the door and arch came before the aircon was installed or if it's just for decoration? #NeedToGetOutMore

Day 197 #onedailypositive #StartsWithT #fmsphotoaday #BrightFlowers #snaphappybritmums #project365 #50DaysofSummer

I've never been any good at colouring in or even like it, but to fit the prompts for today (can't find a single tulip anywhere) I've opted for a Bright Flower Tessellation.

Day 198 #onedailypositive #special #fmsphotoaday #fun #snaphappybritmums #project365 #50DaysOfSummer

Today is the first day of Eid and to celebrate I went to The Beach at JBR in Dubai to watch the spectacular fireworks.

Day 199 #onedailypositive #book #fmsphotoaday #bbq #snaphappybritmums #project365 #50DaysofSummer

Having a tidy round this week, I came across this cook book, hubby was given by his colleagues on leaving South Africa. 'There's nice dear' Today I opened it and it is full of their hand written favourite recipes. This is a braai recipe, the word South Africans use for what most of you know as a BBQ.