Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible

You've probably noticed that Miss Taxi hasn't been herself for the past few weeks. You've come here for the usually jolly tongue-in-cheek look at life in Al Ain and instead have been confronted with psychobabble and ranting. I apologise.

I'm going through turmoil in my life right now which hopefully will be resolved soon. I've decided to try and refocus this blog on issues relating to Al Ain. As I'll be leaving soon I want to write about the process of relocating in the hope that it might help others who are going or are planning to go through the same process.

Stormy Night

If only I had been a little less tired last night when that big storm broke over Al Ain, I would've really enjoyed it. Instead, it woke me up and I watched it bleary eyed from my pillow. Can I have a replay?

I love thunder storms, especially ones during the daytime. The sky suddenly darkens, the birds start to sound funny, a wind builds up and you get your first flash of lightening followed by anticipated thunder rumbles.

It's great being caught out in one, having to run for shelter until it passes into the distance.

Shamal

The Shamal's here and this year it's come early! Along with it comes the headaches, sore throats and damp dusting. And a cancelled camping trip I was looking forward t0.

Keefie, you're right. I don't think it's called a Sharqi here so I changed it to Shamal.

Al Ain Times Whine

Divide and rule.

Our local newspaper loves to do this with one half in English and the other half in Arabic. While this week's English section tells us about the latest Harry Potter saga, the Arabic section tells us that Emirati university professors are going to get a 25% pay rise. Why does the editor at our local rag think that I don't want to know this?

Al Ain Times, are you two different newspapers? Don't you think the readers of the English section might be interested in some real news rather than cut and pasted health advice from the internet?

Al Ain Times. It's good for lining the cat litter tray.

Bob Marley visits Al Ain

Exodus: movement of ESL teachers! oh-oh-oh, yea-eah!

The pay rise it never came (tell me why!)
So they saw the light (ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!)
They can't make ends meet on the money they make
So they're calling it a day
They're gonna walk - all right! - and take their Headways with them
They are the generation (tell me why!)
(Who told em where to stick it) told em where to stick it

Exodus, all right! movement of academics!
Oh, yeah! o-oo, yeah! all right!
Exodus: movement of academics!

Yeah-yeah-yeah, well!
Not happy with the management:
Are they satisfied (with the life they're living)? No!
They know where they're going, uh!
They know where were from.
They're leaving town
They're going to smaller classes, less hours, more research, more pay

Essex Pea Soup

Thanks to this wonderful delicacy from Essex, my birthplace, I have cheered up a little and no longer want to throw my phone or myself off Jabel Hafit.

The HnJ serve it and they do a really good job. If you want to make it at home here's the recipe.

On a completely different note...

Sorry but this post is not going to be about Al Ain. There's only so much I can write about the place and today my head is in improvised jazz piano and has been there since the night before last. I have a CD which gets played to death, put away for a few months and then played to death again. This process has been repeated numerous times over the last few years.

The CD is Keith Jarrett's Koln Concert. It's just him and his piano in front of an audience in a German concert hall 32 years ago. The incredible thing about it is it was totally improvised. The other incredible thing is that he never goes too deep with his left hand because, they claim, that end of the piano was out of tune that night. In my opinion it is more than music, it's a sublime spiritual journey where a man's emotions reach you directly through the medium of a piano. He gasps and yells as he plays, he stands up, sits down as he fingers break the rules of physics.

Anyway, there's no film of him playing this one off concert but you can imagine it. Instead though, I've dug this up on you tube, just to give you an idea of what this man can do

here

Sorry, I don't know how to embed youtube in my posts!