First drink for a week

If I started with the inventory today it would make very poor reading so I might spread it around within the text so that you can’t see the horror of it all in one place – in fact it could be a bit of a test for you all……

Cigars: At least 7.  This sounds bad but the fault for this can be laid squarely at the door of the UAE government which has not seen fit to ban smoking in bars where alcohol is specifically known to lower will power………..

I decanted from my office in Madinat Zayed yesterday to come to Abu Dhabi for a marathon admin exercise (entirely driven by my selfish desire to get paid…..).  I took a picture of my office – for which I was told off, very nicely, for taking a picture of a government building).  This is the outside of the front (which bears absolutely no resemblance to the shed that we work in at the back !)

and this is the inside of our shed (with some anonymous people in it)

I like it anyway, and that’s all that counts !

The first thing I see when we pull up outside the office reminds me I am back in Abu Dhabi City and not out in the Western Desert any more……

I feel a bit like a French kid somewhere between Le Havre and Le Mans in the middle of June at the moment – I keep having to suppress the urge to reach for my camera every time I see another piece of exotic and expensive metal rumble past.  I’ll try and resist the urge but it might become a feature of blogs when I’m in a big city.

Alcohol: God only knows………some wine and some brandy and coke is pretty much all I can remember. This is also squarely laid at the door of the Government of the UAE for allowing smoking in bars because if they didn’t then obviously I wouldn’t have gone there in the first place…….probably……

I saw this one outside a hotel in Dubai the last time I was here and forgot to post it somehow.

I apologise to those of you  who have little or no interest in expensive toys and will try and limit the amount of space I dedicate to sports cars over time.

Weather: warm and overcast.  Nothing really to get excited about either way I’m afraid.

It is my intention to go racing this afternoon at Yas Marina.  Aussie V8 Supercars (sort of touring cars) supported by GP2.  Eric Clapton is in concert after the racing but I haven’t felt the need to spring AED 270 for a ticket although there seem to be a few swilling about.  Tomorrows blog is obviously going to be dominated by motor racing I’m afraid although I’m sure I can throw in some architecture somewhere.

Money:  I have paid out for various thing in the last 24hrs which have been a drain on my meagre resources, AED 28 for my laundry, AED 40 for a card and 9.5 for a stamp, 12 for a taxi, 32 for an average lunch, 45 for a lovely Chinese dinner and 30000 squillion on wine and brandy (probably more like 200 but I sort of lost count…..).  Anyway, the upshot is that I am still well under budget for the week !

Food:  Nothing of any real interest.

I have discovered that there is an off licence in Abu Dhabi where you don’t need an alcohol licence to stock up with so I must pop out and get a couple of bottles for the party I’m going to next week in Dubai……………I might get some breakfast as well – now there’s a thought !

Ad revenue:  £17.80 - Keep on clicking !