The pink building interior and Al Ain

The good things about my flat in al ain are proximity to: the town centre, the Hilton Hotel (where I run, swim & occasionally drink) and the road to work.

The flat is big enough for my needs. Building work is going on around and under me but fortunately the construction workers do stop at night. They seem to work very long hours & are always busy before 6:00a.m.

The cooker in the kitchen is a monster! If I attach wheels to it I can call it a Hummer, though it's not as ugly as a Hummer.

Trish came out to stay at the end of May. Here she is, pictured near the summit of Jebel Hafeet, about 1500m above sea level and the highest point in the UAE.

Day trip to Dibba

Marilyn Hillyard from Ibn Khaldoon Boys' School - 3rd from right in back row - kindly organised a day trip to Dibba, an outpost of Oman in the north-east of the UAE.

Our convoy set off from Al Ain at a fairly civilised hour, yours truly piloted by the very able Sharon Heywood. We had to show our passports at the UAE/Oman border. The customs official had a brief look in the back of the motor then waved us through.

We had a dhow to ourselves and a flat calm sea as we made our way northwards. We caught a couple of tuna on the way up and these formed part of our plentiful, tasty buffet lunch.

The dhow anchored a few hundred yards off-shore near a reef and we had hours of snorkelling. The first thing I saw was a large barracuda. The only ones I have seen since were in the fish market in Sharjah.

More swimming and snorkelling after lunch, then we set sail into the sunset, catching a few more tuna on the way.

Al Qatarha Oasis, Al Ain

Al Ain contains many oases. In each one the land is divided into registered plots. Every plot is planted with date palm trees, although there are a few others such as pomegranate, orange, fig and mango trees.

The oases are quiet at this time of year, the only noise comes from a variety of birds who clearly enjoy their haven. However, when the dates ripen the oasis becomes a hive of harvesting activity. This one contains a coffee 'house' where people can take refreshment, relax, smoke a hookah or look at a range of artefacts from the pre-industrialised Emirate. After the 3rd Lions v South Africa rugby test match on 4 July, Leonard Murphy and his family, together with some of their friends kindly attended my victory dinner there.