Not much happnin' here....

Aw maaan, this working on Friday thing is really cramping my style. Should only have a few more weeks of it before another member of my team takes over for a couple of months, hopefully leaving me time to squeeze in a couple of brunches before Ramadan starts. For those of you who might be unfamiliar, Ramadan is the holy month in the Islamic Calendar and is a period of fasting, self reflection and self renewal. Whilst the Government here is tolerant to the fact that not everyone that lives here is Muslim (nearly 90% of the population of the UAE are ex-pats)it is expected that those who choose not to fast during daylight hours are respectful towards those who do. Consequently, eating, drinking and smoking in public places between sunrise and sunset is illegal. You can still have lunch if you are not fasting, but you have to eat either at home, or in a specially designated area of your workplace (I have a cupboard on my floor where I can go to eat a sandwich with 37 other people). Bars and restaurants may open after dark, but normally with reduced hours and no live music. Brunches stop altogether. On the plus side, things get really quiet at work and a lot of companies operate shorter working hours.