The Noll Family

ON Friday morning we picked up M from a sleepover at her new friends house.  Then off we went out across the backside of Dubai to Fujerah.  The United Arab Emirates, are as the name suggests made up of seven different Emirate ’states’. Each has their own rules and regulations, Duabi is the most Western is its outlook of all of them and Abu Dhabi is the capital.  We passed through three Emirates to get to where we wanted to go in the fourth.

We wanted to buy rugs at the Friday Market in Masafi.  It takes about 90 mins to get there, through the desert, passing camels, goats and wandering donkeys.  It is amazing how orange the sand is outside Dubai, then you come across the Hatta Mountains.  They suddenly jut up like peaks on a meringue.  They are dark grey and nothing seems to survive on them.  As you drive along, there are Oasis scattered along the side, they are lush and some are only the size of football pitches, others are smaller but most seem a bit bigger.  They are growing lots of veg an dfruits there. 

We got to the Market and were overwhelmed by the number of carpet sellers, fruit and veg sellers and the huge Nurseries with lush green plants.  It is still ramamdam so we did not want to buy fruit as it was really hot and we would not be able to eat it until sunset - but we did go mad for the carpets.  We ended up spending about 40 mins looking through an enormous selection of beautiful rugs, sizes to suit all and ended buying five rugs for around £600.  They may still be laughing at how much money we gave them for the carpets, but we still feel we had a bargain.  They make the villa look more like a home and they also stop the boom that you get in an empty house.

On Saturday the curtain man arrived to put up our new curtains.  We have one window that is so massive it has taken 48 metres of fabric to make the curtains.  The others were for the breakfast room, bedrooms and dining room.  In all we had some lovely silk curtains, again for the fraction of the price I would have paid at home.  All fitted with poles, tracks and pullies.  They workers are all fasting, and it makes it awkward when we want to eat some lunch or do some cooking and the smells travel throughout the house.

In the afternoon we had a teaparty with another IBM family who have moved from Vienna.  It was lovely to have lots of children enjoying the pool and although our German was not so great and some of them had a struggle with English they all had a great time.  Cakes, scones and quiches were consumed with lots of mint tea and finger sandwiches.  I did try hard to present a proper ‘English tea’.

So that was our first trip outside the Dubai Emirate….. a good time had and bargains to be had too.

So we are actually here in Dubai.

Firstly it is really hot, I mean, steam room hot, sweat trickling down your back and legs and in between your toes.

We have had our first real dilema, T on Day 1 needed to go to hospital. She had dreadful stomach cramps, possible appendicitus.  After a day with the surgeon, he decided it was a spasm of the colon, very painful, so lots of medicine and she was better.

Now that our furniture is here, I have my driving licece and visa, we can start to settle in.

I will do my best to write a little most days.  A lot has happened already but from now on things will be different.

Apparently the title is a phase used in the British Army when people are about to embark on some kind of mission. Well we too are about to embark on a mission to a new land. Off to DUBAI, UAE.

We live in Lambourn Berkshire, UK which is very green and pleasant, with over 2000 race horses for company along the valley - it is simply beautiful. So to move to a town would give us ‘Culture Shock’, so we brace ourselves for what lies ahead - hence the six P’s.

There a hundreds of licences, visas and other documents to be found and filed for. Trips to the Embassy in London and desperate rummaging through files for long forgotten but important qualification certificates. Then there are the children - schools to find and hope and pray to get a place in. Dubai has a shortfall in education places. There are very rare and the waiting lists long. New schools are being built but it is still a hit and miss process finding somewhere to send your darling offspring!

Luckily the girls have places in two good schools, only they are in opposite directions! Hey Ho!

Christian has bought a car, I say car; more like a tank, as the driving in Dubai can be ‘exciting’. We will be safe but the other guy might not look so pretty. It will be the first time ever that I have had a NEW car. I am thrilled at the prospect. A Nissan Armada - not sold in the UK as the price of fuel would prohibit anyone from driving it - however at 14p a litre we will manage in UAE.

Back to preparation - a few essential cooking items, photos and lots of clothes purchased in the summer sales here to help us look ‘cool’ in the heat of the Middle East.

We will be leaving the house here complete as Pete will be living here with my nephew - I know two lads and three dogs, six sheep, two ducks and a pony is not to be recommended - but he offered!! This means lots of furniture needs to be purchased for the ‘villa’. Christian will have this job whilst in Dubai over the next few weeks in preparation for our arrival at the end of August.

So I am off to do some P&PPPPP !!