Tony's Tales: No news is good news

Well folks, our bad for not posting since mid-September. We were doing well with two posts per month for a while there but seem to have lost the plot in the month of October. The good news is that we have been busy transitioning from arrival / set-up mode and into consolidation mode and our days sort of filled up with stuff. Anyway the following is a random update on all sorts of things that have happened this month (and watch for the internet shortcuts below if you want more details).

Closing out on the previous "Green Foot" blog, Alexander has recovered from his broken foot and is back to full mobility. This past week his class performed a school concert for the parents and it consisted of a series of musical numbers and short acted sketches that were based on their current units of enquiry. Sketches were performed in English, French, German and Arabic. Alexander composed a short sketch on deforestation (with a conflict resolution sub-theme) and he and his classmates acted it out with great gusto.

On the same day Sarah and her class ran a Bake Sale at school to raise funds for a charity in Nepal. Our kitchen at home was a sight to see for the days prior as Sarah decided to make small cakes in the shapes of cars and using bright colours. Apparently a big hit as they sold out at 5 Dirhams each, and all for a good cause.

Sarah has been chosen to play the national anthem of the United Arab Emirates ("Ishy Bilady") on the piano each week for her high school. She has also re-commenced her interest in Drama and has started with the Drama Scene -- no specific play in rehersal as yet but stay tuned for a potentially exciting event in December !

Melissa has now totally mastered Dubai and is back into some of her activities such as assisting at Alexander's school in the library and at Sarah's school in reading books onto audio recordings. She is also back at the gym, and generally enjoying this great city. Her focus now is her upcoming exams for her Behavioural Science degree which start next week.

I spent the best part of two weeks this month in London for work -- a great city but was missing the family. It has been great to be back these past two weeks and getting into the day-to-day groove of Dubai. The weather here is now wonderful and, although the middle of the day is still hot, the mornings and evenings are gorgeous. We have purchased an outdoor table and chairs and have dinner outside each evening. For some reason there are annoyingly "sticky" flies around in the mornings and so breakfast tends to be inside.

We have also been getting out and about a little to see more of what Dubai has to offer. Yesterday it was time for Sarah, Alexander and Dad (with Mum at home studying) to head to Sega Republic which is a large indoor entertainment centre within the Dubai Mall. It has nine rides and seemingly hundreds of games to play. It's theme is "instant adrenaline" and is most apt as all of the rides were full on and had my stomach turning after the first one. The kids went full bore for the afternoon but I had to take a few breaks along the way. A lot of fun and I'm sure we will be back for more.

And of course this time of year is all about sports -- at least for most of those I follow. The Magpies got annoyingly close in the AFL but in the end the two best teams made it to the Grand Final and it was certainly a great game to watch. Formula One now has a new World Champion and I was hoping to get to the inaugural Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix tomorrow (only about 45 minutes drive from here) however work calls me away and so it will have to be next year. The interest now is on the MLB World Series where my beloved Yankees are 1-1 in the best-of-seven series. Unfortunately after Game Three I will be on the road and unable to watch, but I'll be cheering nonetheless -- Go Yanks !

Well that's all from us in sunny Dubai. Cheers.