Wine Time

We had a religious holiday here in Dubai on Friday, and as is customary on such occasions, this meant that the night prior is a ‘dry night’. This lasts from sundown on that night so sunset 24 hours later. It always provokes a flurry of questions about when exactly you can and can’t drink, and a burst of moaning from the moral brigade on Expatwoman about people who can’t go one night without booze.

Call me old-fashioned, call me an old soak, but it is important to know when this booze black-out falls, especially if you have a night out planned. I’m hardly going to throw myself around the dance floor at Chi stone cold sober (and to be fair, they also recognize this, as they actually close the club, completely, whenever there is a dry night). Nor, from that matter, would I be mad keen to go out for dinner without a bottle of wine sat at my side.

When we headed to the local hostelrie for drinks on Friday night, we were too early for alcohol by half an hour. No problem. We sat at the bar. I nursed a lime and soda. We chatted, all the usual things. But there was no denying it; we all had our eye on the clock. By the time we’d moved to a table for dinner, it was 6.59 pm. We were saved! Vino was ordered, and all was right with the world. We didn’t drink excessively, and were actually out of there by 10 pm. But it just wouldn’t have been the same with alcohol. Sad? I’m not sure. But this week I’m making a concerted effort not to drink on weeknights. Apart from tomorrow when I have a friend visiting from the UK. Whoops….