Grand

Oh dear. The first rule of Photography 101: ALWAYS check your camera settings before taking a picture. I left it on a very high ISO setting last night, and forgot to switch it back to normal, hence the lack of colour in my blip today. Not that is it too different. The building is a light grey in colour.

So, first off today; the weather has been most unusual. It's looked like it's wanted to rain all day, but no chance of that where we are. It's hard not to notice the same extreme weather events happening in different parts of the world - floods, then heatwaves, then storms and more flooding. I guess we shouldn't complain about what we have.

The day started really early. A 5am wake up to drop friend Miriam off at the airport. We came straight home and I really should have gone back to sleep, but we went to the service in DECC. That done, we chatted with a few friends and left. When pulling up to have shawarmas for lunch, G realised she'd left her bag in church, so we had to go back again to collect it (I always said she'd make a very good Minister of Labour) before finally getting to the hairdresser for both of us to get haircuts by Rosie.

Finally home just before 4, and the afternoon was going really well when G remembered she needed a plumber to fix a leak in her bathroom. She called our local hardware man who kept chatting. He is leaving Dubai and trying to find someone to take on his apartment, so we ended up walking over to do just that.

In the process, we passed the newly renovated building in my blip. It is No. 10 of the 17 block development we live in. We've been watching the work progress and I am totally impressed with what good design and loads of money can achieve. The 34-year-old buildings were obviously built well enough to warrant a renovation like this. The new block is going to raise the bar on future renos in the area, but I hope they are a long way away as this building was completely emptied of all its tenants and shops to achieve this look.

The apartment we went to view wasn't quite as nice as our friend said, but it did give us the opportunity to walk through Karama bus station, and for me to get some pictures at street level in my locale. None can be used though because of the high ISO. Walking back home, we noticed a group of people outside the building in my blip. One of them was an Emirati, so I asked him if it was his building. He said, "Yes!" I then asked if we could see one of the flats, and he said yes to that too.

Well. We got a grand tour by the Engineer himself. All beautifully and tastefully kitted out. Central a/c has been installed and though I'm not really keen on it, it can be individually controlled in each room which is a huge plus. The kitchens are fitted with Siemens ceramic hobs, ovens and hoods, and they've got two full bathrooms. We saw a unit which resembles the floor layout of our flat, but I am convinced that we have more space. The rent they're asking for is ridiculous though so I wish them the best. The extra is the view of the car park looking out towards the building we're in.

Think those are the highlights of the day! :)