One week til I am home!!!

Hi folks - here is my blog before I come home next week - can't wait. I am so ready for a break from here (although I know it sounds like I get breaks all the time). Work is very quiet - I am still trying to move jobs but it seems to be proving difficult for no particular reason at all... I have been at the gym alot - I am doing high intensity training - hard going but seems to be paying off... busy with PAWS as it is kitten season also - I have been fostering Mindy the cat - she was found on camp - her fur was all matted so she had to be shaved and also she had ear mites which I was treating. I was so tempted to keep her but with my holiday coming up wasn't fair to mess her around and move her so I have found a new home for her with a family so I hope she will be happy there. Lovely cat - so quiet and docile.

Had a weekend in Oman too diving with Louise and Tracy. The water was pretty clear - generally its not great in that area until June but we were quite lucky. We saw some Manta Rays - very unusual to see them apparently, lots of Moray Eels and many other fish. The weather was around 120 degrees though - mighty hot - we chilled out on the beach (well for 10 minute bursts!) and also had a night out in Muscat and I met someone from Bulwell in Nottingham! It is a small world! The following weekend I was in Dubai - I met up with an old Saudi friend and his mates on the Wednesday, met up with my sailing teacher to discuss future courses on Thursday, saw a recruitment agency and then met up with Liss and some other friends from Abu Dhabi. We all did brunch on Friday which was good fun. I met someone from Pleasley (Mansfield!) and Liss banged into Frank Lampard and his girlfriend!!! Pics are Liss and Clodagh, the view from my hotel window (that is the ski slope and mall you can see!) and the see through bathroom!

I had a bit of a happy hour the other week - here are Neil and Liam busy making up drinks!! And my friend Wayne bought me these lovely flowers!!! And we did another come dine with me too last weekend which was really nice. It is my turn tomorrow - I was busy prepping last night - a friend's prawn starter recipe, thai green curry and banooffee pie!

Anyway thats about all from me. I fly the morning of the 22nd June. I am home for that day and the 23rd, then in Scarborough 24-27 June and home then 28 June til 1 July. We are having a party for Dad on the 1 July for his 70th birthday. And then 2 July I cruise the Med for 2 weeks then straight back here...

Hope to see some of you in a couple of weeks anyway.

Jill

x

Housewarmings, band night at JJs and PAWS 20th anniversary

Hi folks - its been a few weeks again since I last wrote. Above are some photos from those weeks - top one with the girls at Nicola's houswarming, then me at Lou's b/d and the band night at JJ's and then the PAWS 20th anniversary ball. I did look more glam for the ball but it was a hot night and I was running around alot!

Nicola's housewarming was good - up at Ras Tanura - our camp about an hour from here - she has been here about the same time as me but as there are less secretaries working up there, they have a better chance of a larger house. So she has a lovely 2 bed place and massive yard. And the following weekend we went over to Bahrain - things are picking up slowly there - there are still tanks around and I am not sure when then will be removing them. We went to Monsoon for Lou's b/d - lovely place - where I had my leaving do the 2nd time I was here - we sat outside in the Japanese garden - lovely, and then went to JJ's afterwards. Three bands from Saudi were playing so I knew most of the folk in there! It was good to catch up with some folk I hadn't seen in a while. And then last weekend was the PAWS 20th anniversary ball. I was up at the US Consulate decorating for several hours with my helpers then the ball started at 7.30pm. All went well - the food was amazing and the Chef, Phillip, turned up on Friday with a massive cheese cake for me and some nibbles! The band went down well and we raffled off some great prizes and made some good money for the charity. But massive job so I think I need a rest from events for a few months now! We are going to donate the money to Dr Zamora at the vets in town so he can buy some new machinery.

So, the PAWS thing has been keeping me busy. Work hasn't been busy - I am not very happy to be honest, so looking for something else at the moment - I really want to get more into sailing and the best place really is the UAE. I love the money in Saudi, but am growing a bit frustrated with being unable to jump in a car and go places and the restrictions now. Its ok for so many years for sure and to be able to save, but life is too short and I want to pursue my interest in sailing now...

Been to the gym, been out walking - although its getting warm out there - 102 degrees today! Oh the joys of the summer!

I am off to Oman tomorrow on a diving trip with Lou and Tracy (and a bit of R&R!) and then next weekend I am going to Dubai to meet up with some friends...

And then its only 5 weeks or so til I am back in the UK and going on my cruise! Can't wait for that!!!

Anyway, over and out from me. Hope you are all ok...

Jill

x

Abu Dhabi and Competent Crew Course in Dubai

Hi folks

Long time, no hear - hope you are all doing ok. Well, here is my blog from the past few weeks. Life has been as busy as ever really. I spent the weekend of the 30th March busy - had a happy hour on camp at Mary's - she is renowned for them - makes all her own booze and just asks folk to turn up with food! She usually has 50 or so folk turn up at her house!!! Some of my friends from Jubail came down too and Glynn - I have been seeing him now for about 6 weeks - he works for BAe in Jubail on the ships and once worked on the Oriana - small world! He is from Lowestoft originally...

Went to see my friend Chrissie in Bahrain too and caught up with her - things are just getting back to normal for her now as she moved to work there the day before the protests kicked off! It was good to see her anyway and catch up with her - we had a few drinks and ate at Brazil - you get loads of meat on skewers! Great protein diet!

Was in Abu Dhabi 2 weekends ago - myself and Tracy flew over and we stayed with my friend Liss who lives there. Had a great time - shopping and out and about - went to the Palace also. Then came back to Dubai and I had an overnight there and then off on the competent crew course. The pics are at the top here (that is myself and Glynn too). There were 4 of us on the course - Lev - a 16 year old from Russia, Dave who flew for Emirates and Carol who worked at DOSC (Dubai Offshore Sailing Club). Colin was our tutor - from Manchester - dryest sense of humor too and a great laugh. We sailed every day - the other guys were doing their Skipper course so it was good to learn from them too (thats what I will do next anyway!). We sailed all around the World land (its just been left now - no money to invest to build on it) and the Palms (2 out of the 3 also just been left) - we did a race one night but couldnt finish it as the wind dropped! And also sailed up the Creek and docked at the Burj Al Arab Marina - amazing backdrop of the 2 hotels. Loved it. Really want to do more sailing....

Anyway, things at work are changing - I have lost Basil my really nice boss in a re-shuffle - he is due to come back in 6 months but we will see. I have Jon back now who just doesn't give me anything really to do - so I am not happy really - we are moving 1st June too as our office is becoming open plan - so everything is going to be a mess for the next few months til December!!!

Had Anzac Day last weekend - great day - bands playing and it was all very Aussie of course. Lovely day too - its warming up here! I also had the garage sale on Thursday so up at 6am for that - good turnout and we raised quite a bit for PAWS. The next event is the 20th anniversary in a few months - meeting the Chef tonight to discuss the menu - I am looking forward to it but it taking up alot of my time - fortunately I have lots at work it seems!

The new equipment also arrived for my classes (and the other instructors!!) it was ordered in February 2010! At least it got here eventually! I am having a break from classes tho for a few months and PAWS too - its about time really I think! So a few months off organising stuff and I am then away on my cruise in July with Tracy. Got Oman and Dubai though before then....

Take care guys and hopefully I will see some of you in June/July...

Jill x

Housewarming celebrations

Hi folks - here I am again - thank goodness I have a break this weekend - off to Abu Dhabi for a few days to stay with a friend and then on to Dubai to do my competent crew course which will allow me to sail on yachts!

The past few weeks have been busy - as usual - although work has been quiet. It seems to go mad at the start of the year then quieten down - I have been busy sorting out karaoke nights for PAWS though and also we have our 20th anniversary celebrations coming up in May - which has taken over my life somewhat...

I had a housewarming the other week - we managed to cram around 18 folk in my yard - it is great having an outside area and the weather is perfect at the moment...

The karaoke night at Jzala was great too the other week - in fact it was quite an easy night for me - I just took the money for entry which went to PAWS and gave out a few prizes to the singers - I believe it went on until the early hours!!!

Things in Bahrain have calmed down now - in fact I was over there last weekend visiting my friend Chrissie. There were still quite a lot of army around - especially around the Pearl round-a-bout (which has now been knocked down) but apart from that it was ok. I hear the army have been withdrawn now and things are slowly getting back to normal... Had a great time with Chrissie - she worked here at Aramco and moved to her new job the day before the protests kicked off! Her apartment is on Amwaj island - its lovely up there plus has a Waitrose (I spent a small fortune in there!!) - we went to Brazil for dinner - basically its good if you like meat - they come round with skewers of meat and you have a bit of each!! Lovely, though...

Been at the usual gym, not been teaching so much - getting a bit fed up with it really so having a break from classes for a few months and then starting again in July. Will be teaching on and off at the gym still though...

Got a great year to look forward to - its all holidays for me - Oman and Dubai for weekends in May, home in June and on my cruise with Tracy in July, August is Cyprus, September home again to do my personal training course and November is still up in the air yet!!!

Hope you are all ok,

Jill

xxx

The new pad and Bahrain update....

Hi folks
Haven't written for a while - most of us are glued to the news at the moment with recent events in Bahrain and around here. I think some of us are a little worried about which way this might go - Iran seem to be putting their oar in now which is causing a bit more friction - at this point - I really don't know which way it will go. The army have been sent into Bahrain now and some say this will only make things worse. Anyway, all we can do is wait and hope it gets sorted soon.... so no trips to Bahrain for me for a while, plus they keep closing the causeway....

Its been a bit of a strange few weeks - what with moving house and then I had an awful cold - I have hardly done any exercise nor have I really had time. The house is pretty much now in order - just need some blinds putting up and also some yard furniture which I am fetching tonight. So not taken me long. I have had some issues with the a/c noise - although having a celing fan put in has sorted that out.

PAWS has been keeping me on my toes as ever and I am now in the throws of organising a 20 year anniversary black tie event for May! That will be my last event for a while - I am having a break then for the summer. I was over in Bahrain last weekend for my friend's 40th - Louise - here we are - what a wonderful cake too!!!

So, thats about it really - as I said, things are a bit weird here really with the stuff thats going on so we are just taking each day as it comes. I did do a PAWS garage sale - the day after I moved - full of cold - it was good fun - I was only going for an hour or so and ended up working 8 hours there instead. We made about 400 quid in donations though. Other than that I have been busy moving in and trying to find space for stuff! I was due to go to Bahrain this weekend, but obviously had to knock that on the head as most folk are on lock down so cannot really go out. There are tanks and army vehicles all over too. So just going to the US consulate now.

Anyway, thats all for now. Will keep you posted on events....

Jill xxx

Finally, I got a house!

Hi folks - this blog has been a long time coming - its been really busy at work with my two new bosses - I have had to work for a living! In fact I am still struggling to get this blog done now - I keep getting interuptions!!!

We had a long weekend several weeks ago now - went to Bahrain (just in time before the protests started) really enjoyed it - had our hair done, went out and about and did brunch too. Met some new folk also which was nice - mainly guys from the navy who are based there... the rest of my week has been made up of training at the gym, training other folk at the gym, teaching and other such things - lending out cat carriers - sorting out cats. Tripod is nicely settled in his new home with Ayon - he belonged to a friend of mine on another compound who was unable to take him when he left and has been living out on the streets really since although being fed - he was injured when he was a kitten and only has 3 paws and half a tail !! So sweet though and he loves living with Ayon...

I also attended a raw food demonstration with Robyn which was great - these sushi rolls are actually all vegetarian and the rice is made from turnips I think or something like that - we made loads of stuff. Also we had banana ice cream afterwards and chocolate ice cream all made from raw ingrediants!! Really interesting night...

We also celebrated Tracy's birthday and Chrissy's leaving do at the Blue Strawberry. Chrissy has been here a few years and has now gone over to work in Bahrain - obviously its been an interesting time for her recently! We are not sure what is going to happen over there yet. Protests are still happening and they are peaceful. In fact they were peaceful anyway but the police just opened fire on them for no real reason. The Sunni's are currently in power there but most of the people who live in Bahrain are Shia'a and they are wanting to take over. Its already cost them the F1 and a loss of millions in revenue - not sure how the businesses are going to survive and obviously less folk are visiting there. So, just waiting to see what the King decides to do really. We are going over Thursday - its fairly safe to go over as long as you know where to avoid...

We had our first session of come dine with me - Ayon cooked Indian food which was really nice. My car decided to break down (again) that night so I had to borrow a scooter to get to Ayon's house! I have never riden one in my life - on the way back I did almost manage to squash myself against the garage door! So, looks like I might need a new car soon.. especially now I am moving house - FINALLY!!! I found out last week - I didn't in fact win the house - someone else did with 141 points, but declined and I was in second place so got offered it. Its only a 500 sq foot unit - I did say I would never move to one this size - but as you know I am so desperate to get out the apartment - so at least now I have a yard area, own washer and dryer, dishwasher and my own front door and a much larger lounge. The bedroom is small - will just about get my bed in and the bathroom is off the bedroom - it is still temporary though so I keep my points and can continue to bid on larger houses. The way the lists are going tho it will be a while. The offers are really bad again this year... so moving on 2nd March officially, but starting to shift stuff tonight!

I actually had a night in last weekend on Thursday. I was so tired and burnt out from being so busy. So I just watched iplayer all night - it was great! I then went up to Sara to collect Tripod (and do some washing - wont need to do that soon) and then this week has been busy doing the usual!

Anyway, its not long til my trip to Abu Dhabi and Dubai (in April) and I have booked my flights back too for June to the UK....

Well over and out from me - pleas keep in touch with me as you know what I am doing, but I don't know what you are!!!!

Jill

xx

Where did January go???!!!

Hey folks - another few weeks has gone by already. Classes are continuing to be busy - I have had 18+ folk coming - its been great. I have also started personal training lessons with Leanne - another instructor - she teaches me in return for me teaching her - currently we are seeing how far we can push each other to the limit for an hour! Its quite funny seeing the two of us shouting at each other in the gym! Quite a few of my friends that I have known for ages are leaving - one of them being Heather - (on the right next to me) I have known her since 1995 and she is also the sister to my friend Helen's husband! Small world. Robyn and Sue, also in the photo have worked out in Saudi and with me on and off since 1995 too! So we go back a while!

We had the doggie dawdle also a few weeks ago where we did a walk and raised money for PAWS. I spent the weekend on Sara - went out and met up with a few friends and then just chilled out on the Friday.

This week has been so busy with my two new bosses starting work. They are both really nice (so far) - Basil and Adel - both Saudi guys. And I am actually doing proper work again - its great! No news on the housing - no list out again for 5 weeks but we have had bad rains here and there have been alot of leaking roofs, so I can only assume maintenance have been busy fixing them rather than renovating houses. It doesnt make it any easier though now - over 3 years in temporary accommodation - its still the only major bug bear I have (well apart from now being told we wash our clothes in the shared laundries at our own risk!!). Myself and Raj did a housing survey to the girls and received over 200 + replies, so we are slowly sifting through them! Its taking time...!!

I have been busy with PAWS (as ever) - managed to re-home quite a few cats over the past few weeks - 5 of them were Persians who we saved from being "let out" onto the street and I was at the US consulate also the other day checking out all their cats - they have a fair few to be sterilized - around 15! Been to several parties, had the PAWS do (photos above) - we had a great night - hectic but everyone really had a great time. The costumes were good too! And this week has been a round of getting used to the new bosses, having a proper sports massage which was amazing, teaching, German, gym, cooking curry and doing more PAWS stuff! I also had my hand henna'd!

We have Saturday off this week so myself, Tracy and Lou are off to Bahrain tomorrow morning to get our hair done and then do a bit of shopping, followed by a movie and dinner and on Friday we are going to brunch at the Movenpick and then meeting up with some friends.

I have just about sorted holidays out this year too - I am in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in April for my competent crew course and to visit my friend Liss in AD. Home in June and July for Dad's 70th and the cruise, in Oman (I think) in September, home again September for a week and to finish off my personal training qualification and then hopefully Canada in November - if I can negotiate some extra (unpaid) holidays with work....

Anyway, thats it from me. Hope you are all ok.

Jill

xxxx