Nay to Neigh

Brilliant, brilliant photo.

I LOVE all things equine. Whilst I’ve never been a massive fan of actually riding horses, I’ve had some of the best days out in Dubai around them: bothering polo ponies, mingling with horse whisperers (no, really!) and watching a bit of horse racing at Meydan. So it would be a natural assumption to think that I’d be going to the Dubai World Cup this weekend – that’s the world’s richest horse race, to you!

 

But you’d be wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I like to pull on a posh frock, climb onto sky high heels and drink wine in the sunshine as much as the next person. Just not all day. And not in the company of marauding Brits. Oh, so many drunken Brits. With zero interest in actually watching  any of the racing (hello Rugby 7’s for the same phenomena).

An antipodean friend of mine laughed as discussed this in the elevator today. “We always say that the World Cup is full of drunk offensive Brits,” she laughed. “It’s funny to hear a Brit say that you don’t want to be part of it.”

As another good friend of mine said: “It’s the equivalent of drinking wine in a field in a very smart outfit. I couldn’t get anywhere near the actual racing and didn’t see a horse the whole time I was there.”

Hmmm. Thanks but no thanks.

A Perfect Dubai weekend...

Apologies for the sporadic updates. Numerous client events plus an internal launch have really conspired against me this week. So, the weekend….started brilliantly and continued that way! First stop straight from work on Thursday: Meydan. You may remember that I visited it a few weeks ago whilst the builders were in..this time was swish corporate hospitality all the way. Fabulous is probably the best word to describe the whole experience…from start to finish. From the moment you arrive and are greeted, and escorted to the gorgeous terrace, to the moment you leave, it’s all about quality. The terrace (naturally) looks out onto the stunning course, so we ensconced ourselves onto a comfy white leather sofa, availed ourselves of the free flowing Taittinger and sumptuous food, and settled down for a catch-up, interspersed with gossip. A balmy evening, a warm breeze, a band, you really couldn’t get much better than that. A real: ‘this is why I live in Dubai moment.

Despite a sore head on Friday morning I dragged my sorry self to the pool and caught up with J. He’s given up pretending that he doesn’t love celebrity magazines and actually wrestles them off me now. Then it was spa, followed by a evening in Souk Al Bahar. Much fun.

Saturday was all about house hunting. I’m not due a move just yet but there’s been a recent plethora of new properties in the downtown area and my inherent nosiness meant I’ve been dying to see them for some time. Also a good friend of mine is looking so it was a good opportunity to scout round them. If you’re interested: The Lofts are gorgeous. Similar to other Emaar properties in terms of finish, but the one main difference? The view. Right across to Jumeirah, the sea, the Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah beach Hotel, and even the marina. Divine…..

Sun-downers and dinner and goodbye to the weekend. Perfect. FYI: it’s warming up nicely during the daytime. Beach club next weekend, for sure.

Horsing Around

I went to have a behind the scenes tour of Meydan last week. In case you didn’t know, Meydan is the new horse-racing track here in Dubai. Horse racing is HUGE here, and it’s a particular favourite of Sheikh Mo’s. He can regularly be seen running shoulders with our dear old Queen at Ascot each year.


Hence calling it a track is a bit of an understatement, think Chester Races multiplied by about 15 in size. It’s mammoth. You can see it from miles away (and interestingly, from my balcony!) As ever, it’s one of those places where one minute you’re driving through sand as far as the eye can see, and the next minute you’re greeted with a beautiful vision. The fact that the actual race track is, by its very nature, made of grass, means that the contrast between brown and green is incredible when you first walk in….

It isn’t properly functioning at the moment, just opening at the weekend for racing. I was having a nosy round as we were considering using it for a launch event – suffice to say that the price for a corporate hospitality suite for one evening was just a little out of our price range (75,000 quid if you’re interested…). Thanks to the lovely Liberty I’m heading there this Thursday for a bit of a schmooze….previously mentioned slinky blue dress may get an airing. Well, there will be royalty in attendance….full report to follow!