Rained. All. Day.

In the four years that I have been here in the United Arab Emirates I have never known it to rain for a whole day. In fact, any measurable precipitation at all is limited to half a dozen winter days each year.

But yesterday it belted down. And although I did, as planned, draft some slightly snarky observations about being thirty five and immensely rich, I feel sorry for all those whose plans to celebrate National Day got thoroughly waterlogged and so I'll save my comments for another time.

Today I also find myself a bit distracted by the fact that one of my projects (outside my 'day job' and this new blogging venture) seems to have gained a certain dynamic and suddenly calls for the investment of some brainpower. And so Monday's post is short and sweet.

Sweet, too, was the sound of bagpipes outside my office window a couple of hours ago.



A Scotsman's heart beats faster when the pipers are heard. They were marching, in the British manner, leading a colourful parade which was probably re-scheduled from yesterday to today.



Then came the camels. Never saw that from my window in Cologne!