Dubai City of the Future

Courtesy of Airmiles we managed to get 4 days in Dubai in February. If Hong Kong makes New York look 50 years out of date, then Dubai does the same for Hong Kong. The sail shaped Burj al Arab Hotel (top right of the four illustrations) sets the scene. Now no hotel can be can be built without some extravagant design feature. The downtown skyline (bottom right) shows the effect.

The Palm development (top left) on reclaimed land can be seen from space - another similar evelopment is in the form of a map of the world. The old Dubai Creek shows a little bit of old Arabia

The rate of development is breathtaking albeit disconcerting if you are looking for a few quiet days golf in the sun. The two faces of Dubai are shown in the next two shots taken from the same position on Jumeirah Beach. One way shows a palm fringed beach on the Arabian Gulf. The other - five miles of skyline development - forty hotel and apartment blocks going up at the same time - one of which will be the latest 'worlds highest building.'

Even golf picks up the variations in a fascinating city

- a high tech 'bedouin tent' doubles as a club house;

..the construction skyline backdrops the fairways.

and Jacky looking out over the first could be
looking at an oasis.

...

Playing in the desert - dune bashing

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A few miles out into the desert there was a bit of a dune bashing, sand boarding and
dune buggying playground.
















Some get it wrong as illistrated below. Others put it right by standing on the up hill side of the 4wd to give it traction.















Others just watch.......

Playing in the desert Sand Boarding

SAND BOARDING There is an indoor snow ski centre in Dubai!!! But why bother when you can sand ski - or at least sand board!

Here Jacky is launched down the dune then progresses nicely but these things don't turn very well and there's only one way to stop.....





















Below Garth makes reasonable progress ...........then falls ...................the distance between him and the board in the third shot shows the distance he rolled after crashing out!!!


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Jacky roars into the picture - above right - then past the camera with broad smile on dune buggie. Garth is taken stationary on a bit of a beast!! This was a sign off for a 'toys in the desert' evening.

Oyster shots!!

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Jacky is partial to oysters !! and on the last night
took on a new and novel preparation each oyster served in a different alcoholic shot!!

Nothing particularly Dubai about this - would look just as good anywhere!

It - or rather they - topped off a great long weekend!!

The gang!!

The gang, left to right Caroline, Jo, Garth, Jacky and Ali

This blog records some of the more colourful events of 2005. In a 'cast of thousands'!! five of the six leading lights are shown here celebrating Jo's birthday at Caroline's flat in Mornington Crescent (Camden London).

The sixth leading light is Lucy.

Quite a lot of 2005 was spent getting

used to the idea of having a grandchild.

As this shot shows it was not hard work.

Ali, Lucy and Jo. Jo is more

interested in the football, as usual!!

Below, Lucy with Ali and Charlie 'doing lunch' at the Royal Southern Yacht Club

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Caroline gets in the Lucy act, firstly, intrigued by her laying on the floor ......... the second waiting for the local steam train to arrive at Alton station.

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Jacky and Lucy doing a spot
of painting in the office



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Garth and Lucy study a video

of the local Watercress Line

"choo choo trains".

Ski ing in sun but -25 degrees C

Skiing over Christmas and was notable for cloudless skies and resulting - 25 degrees C (at night) 'Fellow in yellow' makes first appearance - in front of the Italian side of the Matterhorn.

The 'SAS' pair is G and J with zero skin showing in temperatures way below zero despite the sun.

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The lift operators get creative........... Charlie and Lucy get to grips with 'the slopes'.

Mixed feelings in Amalfi

Pompeii, Vesuvius, Amalfi, Sorrento and Capri would seem to be a pretty good combination
for a week away but mixed weather and too many people spoiled the plot. The first shot shows Pompeii (when you've seen one ruin you've seen the lot!!!) with Vesuvius behind.



What could have been a pretty
decent view from a restaurant over
Amalfi spoiled by rain.








Sorrento from above - on a good day.













And the classic view of Amalfi on the
seemingly almost vertical hillside

Iceland and two continents

In July Iceland turned out to be even more spectacular than we had expected with 'lava scapes'
'icescapes' and a wild variety of colours and shapes.

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The two 'lava scapes' below show the join between the North American and EusroAsian tectonic plates. The first shows a string of volcanic fissures along the line of join.

The second shot shows G and J standing astride the join at a point where it is only 18" wide!____________________________________________________________________
There was water water everywhere in almost every form and temperature imagineable. It shot out of the ground as a geyser (at Geysir the origin of the word) ............

..............poured over cliffs as with Gullfoss (rainbow falls) the key objective of the trip........

...........and seeped out of river banks with a

myriad tiny falls

or kept your hands warm with

steam vents by the road side.

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Salisbury Managed Offices

The Salisbury managed offices continued to prosper. The external shot shows the Portway
Centre with full curtain glazing after 100% conversion to offices.







The internal shots show the modern open 'head office' environment which tenants enjoy.
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From Elizabethan pile to Oasthouse

From seven acres and a house dating back to the 16th century we moved to a light airy converted oasthouse - in open farm land - so we didn't lose the sense of space.