I see trees of green...

If my recent posts have all had an aerial slant, it's only because after a few years at first floor level, my relocation to a seventh floor apartment has afforded me the chance to look down (only literally of course) on the old city.


I see trees of green... And I think to myself...


OK, roll over Satchmo. But about these trees: Trees in Doha fall into three categories: naturally established

This is the House where Chuck stayed...

This is the plaque
They stuck on the house where Chuck stayed.

This is the daughter, pale and cold
Who's named on the plaque
They stuck on the house where Chuck stayed

This is the doctor, stern and old
Who treated the daughter, pale and cold
Who's named on the plaque
They stuck on the house where Chuck stayed

This is the water, pure as gold
as used by the doctor stern and old
Who treated the

Friday Prayers in Muntazah

Taken from my window this morning, Friday prayer time at the local Muntazah mosque attracts numbers far in excess of the capacity of the old building. My best estimate would be around five hundred worshipers, braving the sun on their backs and the hot tarmac under their prayer mats. I think I'm right in saying that praying in the street is discouraged in Dubai, except in certain designated areas,

Cock-a-Doodle-Do(ha)

At first I thought I was dreaming. Not unreasonably, as it was still short of 5 a.m. and I was lying in bed at the time. But there was no denying it. I was awake. I had in fact just been wakened, by that most traditional of alarm clocks, a crowing rooster who was still giving it big licks somewhere outside my window. In the countryside this would be unremarkable but in the middle of Doha Muntazah

Bluetoothing in the Paranormal - What's the point?

Using Bluetooth, I'd been uploading a few pictures from mobile to laptop and had neglected to switch the service off, when done. Now, no Dubai trip is complete without a visit to the Paranormal, so Friday lunchtime finds me bar-stooled against the central pillar with a switched-on Bluetooth mobile in my pocket. Halfway through my first beer and third 'Whey you flom?' conversation, the mobile

The Transformation is Complete

It's official. The transformation is complete. Muntazah Park, Doha's erstwhile popular ladies' and children's park, is now a desert. The park, which has been 'closed for maintenance' for about five years is no longer behind wraps. The black plastic sheeting has been removed from the perimeter fence, most likely by the wind, to reveal the full extent of the maintenance programme, which apparently