Speak Engrish.....?

Just been reminded of a comedy moment that occurred in Apres last night. I ordered a Gin and Tonic and asked for Tanqueray Gin. I must have been speaking a bit too quickly because the Philipino waiter looked puzzled and then said "Sir, you no takaray, you drink here!" Laugh? We nearly shat.....

The Legend Continues....

Managed to avoid football again last night by going to Jambase last night. Hendricks, Laurent Perrier and dancing like spastic monkeys drowning in jelly. Then hosted a legendary After-Party (the first one in quite a while) which wrapped up at about 7:00am this morning. Still made it in to work for 9:30 though

That's more like it..

Phew, that was quite a full-on weekend!!! Thursday night was a leaving do for a mate of mine which took in The Noodle House at Emirates Towers and then Harry Ghato's Karaoke Bar. I then managed to arrange alternate cover in the office for Friday afternoon so that I could attend brunch at Saffron as part of a group of 70 people celebrating various different things. Saffron is probably my 2nd favourite brunch after The Fairmont and has more of a party vibe, but the food is not as good and the drinks selection does not include Champagne. Brought a select few people back to my place for a post brunch shind-dig to cover the dry period between 4:00 and 6:00, then we headed out to 1up to make use of the 500 Dh voucher that I won there last week and do a bit more singing. Was feeling a wee bit jaded yesterday, so had a quiet lunch at The Rivington grill with my significant other, then spent the rest of the day at home watching movies.

Stand Up.... And F*** Off...

So, "Comedy" night at 1up last night. Went along because a mate of mine was performing, but found most of the acts to be about as funny as having your nads hacked off with a rusty Stanley Knife. Ran in to a few mates though, and managed to have our own fun by drinking a lot and deconstructing the acts one by one. Getting in to work for 7:30 this morning proved to be a bit of a struggle though... And there is a big weekend ahead... Watch this space...

Normal service will shortly be resumed...

Whoops, dropped the ball for a while there. Bit busy with work stuff and Am Dram bits and bobs. Managed to squeeze in a bit of night life around the edges though. A friend from the US was in town last week, so there was an obligatory trip to Trader Vics and Zinc. At the latter venue, I pulled off my usual coup of sweet-talking two random females into joining our group for 5 minutes in to bring the the number of ladies in the party up to 5, thus entitling us to a free VIP table and a bottle of Vodka. Sweet! The following day saw me venturing up to Bur Dubai for a Black Tie fundraising do for the Dubai Diggers Dragon Boat team. Free wine and beer flowed all night, and then someone suggested that we stroll down the road to Rock Bottom, a questionable idea at the best of times, but a definite bad call when sporting a bespoke dinner suit and hand made black patent dress shoes. I spent the rest of the evening sipping Bullfrogs whilst standing in the corner trying not to get stuff spilled on me. Last night was a simple jaunt out to Agency at Madinat. A couple of glasses of 2010 Sabourin Cab Sav and a cheese fondue, rounded off with a few Tanqueray and Tonics. Very civilised....

Where did the weekend go...?

So, Friday evening saw the DDG AGM followed by a manic drinking session done only the way that amateur thesps know how. The venue was 1up Bar and Lounge in Tecom and Karaoke was the order of the day. After slamming the regulars with my renditions of Sweet Child o' Mine, One Week, Iris, I'm Yours and Tribute, and running up an 800 Dh Bar Tab (consisting mostly of Gin and Jagermeister) I was awarded the 500 Dh first prize purely by virtue of being the last man standing. Needless to say, Saturday got off to a bit of a slow start. Even so, I still managed to knock up a pretty awesome Lasagne using fresh pasta that I made that very afternoon. The Amarone Valpollicella that the missus brought back from her last trip to foreign made a beautiful accompaniment to this and we rounded off the the evening with a couple of digestifs and a snooze in front of the telly. Tonight, I am mostly avoiding the football in the highest bar in the world (At.Mosphere at Burj Khalifa) with an 18 yr old Macallan Single Malt and a Monte Cristo No.2....

It's quiet... Too quiet...

Did I mention that it was quiet? My significant other is currently laid up with some form of leg lurgy resulting from a hockey injury that has required two courses of anti-biotics so far, so my evening activities have been somewhat curtailed. Went for a stroll around Bastakiya Courtyards with some of the DDG crowd on Saturday, scouting possible locations for outdoor performances, then rounded off the afternoon in The Sherlock Holmes Pub, somewhat out of kilter with it's setting on the mezzanine floor of the Arabian Courtyard Hotel. Several rounds of drinks and some pub grub followed, but everyone else had work the next day, so events drew to a close early. Rounded off the evening with a few glasses of Lagavulin in front of the telly. On the upside, I have a few friends in town this week, so some debauchery may yet occur, and Friday night is already shaping up to be a big yin.... Watch this space...

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.