I don't want a lot for Christmas

I was very impressed by the recent school production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Most of the student actors and actresses speak English as their second language. For them to learn such long, lyrical lines and deliver them so well was wonderful to see and hear. It was both ambitious and entertaining and I really enjoyed my trip to the theatre.

Our very own Dukhan Triathlon took place in glorious conditions after the strong winds of late had abated. Each competitor received a medal at the finish line. Many volunteers helped to make this a really successful event and the athletes enjoyed the course which included an open water sea swim. Dirtbag impressively completed the whole thing solo (Under 14's category, four days before she became 14), while Mini-Me did the bike leg in a winning Under 11's team.

Another opportunity presented itself where I was obliged to dress up yet again. It is indeed a wonderful life! This time, I was Connie Claus, Santa's jealous daughter. The occasion was a Murder Mystery game called Ho, Ho, Homicide. Father wanted me to marry Kris Krangle, but I had secretly wed Blinky, an elf I had fallen in love with. It was great fun sweating it out in a friend's sauna inducing Christmas jumper with my neon blue wig in place. My dodgy accent fluctuated between what I thought was French, Swedish, Norwegian, Turkish and Arabic. Despite being a jealous and cold character, I was not the murderess.

Lysander:    Ay me! for aught that I could ever read, 

                   Could ever hear by tale or history,

                   The course of true love never did run smooth;

I have been venturing out on the road bike to see how much faster I can go; tracking my speed and distance on the Garmin I bought for Romeo last Christmas with his money! (It's the thought that counts after all). The straps on my sports bra are thicker in all dimensions than the tyres on this bike, so it is with some trepidation I embark on my rides. On my most recent expedition I reach speeds of 35 km or so, cycling approximately 10 km out of the compound. I'm trying hard not to think the thought remembering the broken sail. Too late, it takes root somewhere.
I hope I don't get a puncture. 

Ping! Oh beep, beep, beeeeeep!!! The back tyre bursts on a tiny, sharp desert stone. Thank gravity it wasn't a bra strap! That would have really been something to worry about. I decide to enjoy the 5 km walk back in the cooler weather, singing and doing some more thinking.

Why doesn't Bradley Cooper invite me out for dinner? Why doesn't Jay Kay ask me round to dance with him? Why doesn't Simon Armitage phone me up and beseech me to collaborate with him on his next brilliant poem? Why don't any of these flatbed trucks trundling past offer me a lift? The police even pass me twice! I must look like a woman in control of her own destiny and not to be messed with, wearing Romeo's Maersk Oil desert challenge 2014 top. I'm approximately 1 km away from the compound when a small car with an OFFICIAL sign displayed on its back windscreen stops.
This charming man puts his window down and says in a dodgy American or Australian accent,
''Do you need a ride?''
I politely thank him for his offer, yet refuse this stranger's kindness. We both agree that I really should learn how to mend a puncture. Walking on, I reflect upon how difficult it would have been to refuse such an offer if it was from a friend of mine. Eventually, I get back to the house completing my duathlon. There is no medal for me at the front door finish line, just the satisfaction of survival.

My top 5 Christmas films waiting to be watched again this week are:

1. It's a Wonderful Life
2. Scrooged
3. Love Actually
4. Home Alone
5. The Snowman

'' So here it is Merry Christmas 

  Everybody's having fun, 

 Look to the future now 

It's only just begun.''

Thank you for your friendship, your encouragement and taking the time to read me. 

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy 2016.

With Love from,

Susie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey (1994)

Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade (1973)

Blowin' in the Wind

November was a busy month with lots of fun stuff going on. We enjoyed having some friends from Scotland to stay with us for a couple of days whilst over here on business. It was great to see them thriving; being happy and successful in both work and their marriage. I breathed in this positivity deeply.

Lo and behold I did get to wear my dreadlocked, faux fur cap wig when I went along to an alternative version of the T.V game show, Family Fortunes. It was brilliantly hosted and there was a lot of laughter ricocheting around the makeshift studio.
Our survey says thanks a lot for that!

Humbly, I attended a Filipina birthday party on the public beach. I was the only Yorkshire pudding in a group of forty or so young men and women. Despite looking like Gulliver in Lilliput they welcomed me with wide open arms, kindly shared their food and invited me to join in the party games. It was a lovely, heart-warming experience.

On the 27th November, Romeo and I entered the 20th Annual Regatta, sailing the only catamaran in our category. It was the perfect day for sailing with really good winds to whizz us along. Our mainsail had the number 44 on it; I took this as a good sign having become that age five days earlier. We set sail with the whole fleet; 10 Lasers and another two-man crew in a Laser Stratos. The Regatta consisted of five, fairly fast races. I loved it, especially when we began surfing the waves at times. There was an extraordinary phenomenon which took us all by surprise and delight when hundreds of black cormorants flew across the horizon, then frenetically around us, swooping and diving into the sea to catch fish. When they continued on their migration I could clearly see them in the distance like a dancing Arabic script across the sky. I interpreted it as saying, Let there be peace in the Middle East, repeatedly over and over again, birds upon birds, writing the words. Will they be heard?

Another bizarre moment to report occurred when we were in the overall lead and enjoying the speed. I was admiring the sails and thought to myself, wouldn't it be terrible if they broke. At precisely that moment, the jib snapped off! Am I psychic or what?

We had to return to shore and replace the sail which caused Romeo a lot of unnecessary stress. To get the broken sail down he had to hook a ring from the top of the mast using a long metal pole attached to a medium sized sweeping brush. I was laughing my head off! Not very supportive I know, but this comedy sketch went on for a good ten minutes before the new jib was up and flapping.
We completed the course, won all the races against ourselves and received two mini fridges as prizes.

Not allowing tiredness to beat us we went straight from sailing to preparing the house for my annual DISCO! I couldn't borrow the giant, silver glitter ball I had last year as our lovely neighbours have gone home. Determined to create an authentic venue I did buy two multi-coloured flashing orbs and Romeo installed all the fairy lights in Qatar around the inside and outside of the house.

DJ Susie had carefully selected the music for the evening, starting off with a couple of Cd's early on, before her eclectic dance playlist blasted out at around 9 pm. Totally unprepared for the demands of my gorgeous Latina friends requesting Ricky Martin and Shakira, I had to give in and give them what they wanted to save a riot from breaking forth. With YouTube to the rescue, they were soon rhythmically banging and shaking their behinds beautifully. The lucky men at my disco were certainly in paradise for at least one night of their lives. I was enjoying watching everyone having fun, whilst dancing, despite missing some absent friends. Just as I wondered where one particular friend was she appeared right in front of me! What is going on here? I have to think very carefully from now on.

So I think about my marriage and the vows I promised. I google them and read them carefully to myself aloud. Sailing together is something Romeo and I both enjoy and it reminds me of our wedding song. Although Christy is a Hoyle relative, he unfortunately wasn't at our wedding. The Bogtrotters performed it while we sang the lyrics in the big marquee, damaging my father-in-law's garden for the foreseeable future. The deluxe portable toilets were admired by all.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYZXbU_d_7c

At last, the cooler weather has arrived; it's almost autumnal here now. Despite the current climate change, I awake one morning feeling much hotter than normal. Oh no! Is this IT mum? No! I don't want to go crazy. HELP ME!! Is it too late to have a sex change?

FRANKIE 
   SAYS
RELAX SUSIE

It's only the central air conditioning unit that has broken down again.

xx