The life and times of an expat in the Middle East

We are all packed up...

2008-02-12T11:56:00.004+03:00

Latest Update.At last all of our belongings have started their merry way from Kuwait to France, the packers took two and a half days to complete all their work and then stuffing into the shipping container.Can't believe that it has taken so long for the last few days of our life in Kuwait to come to its finale, we're jumping on a jet plane in just 7 days time and our dogs are of course coming

Just a quick update...

2008-02-10T10:01:00.002+03:00

All the exercise equipment has now GONE.All the furniture in the apartment has now GONE (into our shipping container), yep we're out of here, moving to France.The countdown clock on the top left shows just how long we have until our new life begins...yay!

Exercise Equipment for sale...REDUCED FOR QUICK SALE

2008-01-12T18:58:00.002+03:00

Proteus Stepper,variable tension KD 30.000 KD 20.000Fitman Rowing MachineVariable tension, sliding seat and foot straps KD 40.000 KD 25.000Recumbant CycleWith electronic read-out, KD 75.000 KD 35.000Cross Country SkierKD 20.000 KD 7.000Click on the image for a larger view.Contact us through the "Comments" or "Contact Us Form" below...

Steam powered...?

2008-01-06T10:05:00.002+03:00

HeheThought I was driving a steam powered car last night.The good old Durango seems to have blown a radiator whilst I was returning home last night, looked quite funny sat at the traffic lights close to home with clouds of steam pouring out of the engine compartment.Fortunately we didn't have far to go, managed to get the car home safely, now we wait for the recovery and estimate for repair.Ah

Car, furniture and exercise equipment for sale

2008-01-04T13:00:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Just to remind everyone, I've got a few items up for sale.Ford ExplorerFurnitureExercise EquipmentAll can be viewed here...

Limited Edition Ford Explorer for sale - SOLD

2007-12-07T12:44:00.000+03:00

Overheard in...

2007-12-04T11:35:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Here's one that goes to show how frustrating it can be as an expat when shopping...Overheard in a local 'three letter-named' (no names/no lawsuits) hardware store. A presumably European lady was perusing some Air-Filtration units and was having some difficulties, she approached one of the sales guysCustomer: "I need more

Educate yourself whilst feeding the poor

2007-11-11T10:20:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Here's something that you can try, improve your vocabulary whilst at the same time helping to feed the poor and starving around the world.In conjuction with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), the FreeRice.com website is donating grains of rice to the WFP for every answer you get right.Click on the banner to the

Lifespan of a Traffic Light post

2007-11-05T17:55:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.If you have ever wondered just how long is the life of a Traffic Light post in Kuwait, well I think that I now have the answer...Back in July, the 22nd to be precise, I reported on a light that had somehow been taken out, well it's been taken out again although this time from a different direction.So the answer to the

This guy beats the Kuwaiti RC airplane guys hands down...

2007-10-04T20:08:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Out where we walk our dogs, someone has cleared an area of the scrub/desert making an impromptu landing strip for radio controlled model planes.They're there at the crack of dawn and also at sunset (although at the moment as soon as the sun sets, there's a mad dash away).Anyway whilst some of these guys are pretty good, I

Is the world coming to an end...?

2007-10-01T07:49:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.First it was an earthquake in Kuwait...Now there's a volcano off Yemen...What's coming next I wonder?

New Kuwaiti power saving system - UPDATED

2007-09-30T11:07:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Contacted the landlord when this all happened (or at least tried to he is out of the country), got his wife by way of an old contact for the property.She came, spoke to me, called the MoE and insisted that an engineer come out immediately and that she would wait at the house until they did come.Whilst I had some doubt

Hey, where are you...

2007-09-28T11:50:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.That's what seems to be the most frequent question I get through the blog at the moment.Well, where I've been is certainly a lot more interesting than where I currently am, yes we're back in sunny Kuwait, for now at least.Have been on a bit of a road-trip, one that firstly entailed a couple of flights, one with good old (

Did the earth move for you...?

2007-08-18T09:52:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Well it didn't for me, I was sound asleep right through it.Saturday morning at 0146 hrs (local time) we had a magnitude 4.3 earthquake down by the Saudi border which I understand is quite rare for Kuwait.As you can see from the image to the left, which is a display of the historical quakes in this region, the vast

What's the driving really like...?

2007-07-25T09:53:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Being an expat in Kuwait, I often get enquiries from people looking to move here for work and invariably the main concern they have is of the standard of driving.There's so much on the web about how bad the driving is here. Well yes it can be a little aggresive and yes there are some real hum-dingers of accidents, my

Cyprus Holiday

2007-07-22T12:00:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.I promised a link to my photo album for our recent trip to Cyprus...Here it is...And here's a couple to get you started...Cyprus whilst only being a fairly small island certainly has a lot to offer, beaches, towns and mountains (skiing in winter even). The driving is SO civilised compared to here in Kuwait and was a

Stop at the red light

2007-07-22T11:43:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.In Kuwait you often see signs reminding drivers that it's really in their best interests to actually STOP at the red lights, we do have a problem with people running lights here.OK, this isn't such a good quality picture, took it with my phone and as you can see the sun is in my eyes.But this guy took the instruction a

One Month Gone By

2007-07-13T11:57:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Yes, I have to admit that I have really been letting down the blogging side, to leave it for more than a whole month before making another post is simply not the 'game'.So what's been happening that's kept me away for so long.Well, firstly there's work, seriously boring at the moment I have to admit. Then there's also

GPRS v ADSL

2007-06-09T18:30:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Whilst we've been offline at home, with the lack of land-line we've had to resort to using the GPRS connection through my mobile phone.It was a life-saver really, my wife was getting severe withdrawal symptoms from not being able to get easy access to the web when wanted. But when you're so used to a DSL connection having

Ministry of Communications get their act together at last.

2007-06-09T14:25:00.000+03:00

YEAH....It's been over two weeks now and at LONG LAST the Ministry of Communications have at long last got off their butts, sent an engineer round to the house this morning to check out my land-line.No problem at the house, seems that the actual fault was in the junction box for my area.So, the question is raised, why were the management of the exchange telling me that it was cut off because of "

And we're back............sort of.

2007-06-08T09:58:00.000+03:00

Hi guys.It's been a little while, my apologies for not being able to post recently, things are a little hectic at the moment. Plus I've been going through a little patch where nothing seems to interest me enough to blog it.Anyway, the troubles at work in the IT department are slowly coming round. We've sorted out the data crash and the hardware failure. OK the users are all moaning because

It will be quiet for a little while...

2007-06-01T18:52:00.002+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Sorry guys.But I'm going to be a bit quiet on the posting side for a couple of days I guess.The DSL line problem is still not resolved, the Ministry of Communications is saying that there are errors in the records (whatever that means) and that we need to speak to the 'supervisor', who of course never answers his

Krispy Kreme - Conspiratorial Advertising

2007-05-30T09:46:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Not fair - definitely NOT FAIR...For the last three days during my commute to and from work I've passed or followed the Krispy Kreme Doughnut truck making its rounds.Or is it "making its rounds"...?Personally I think that this is some kind of perverse personal advertising campaign by Krispy Kreme to get me, and only me to

Carrefour - Trolley Rules - Just stupid...

2007-05-29T10:54:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.We've all been waiting months and months for the latest in shopping megaliths to open in Kuwait and yes at long last it did this week in The Avenues.That's right the CARREFOUR mob.Well it also didn't take long before the stupidity began.Apparently you CAN'T take your trolley loaded with purchases through the mall back to

UPDATE: Delirium Tremens --- How to get them...!

2007-05-29T10:50:00.000+03:00

OK it's now the 29th and I suppose we have some progress. My ISP has confirmed that there is nothing wrong with their equipment and that it appears to be a problem with the MoC line.So we spoke 'again' to the appropriate department and have been told that yes there is a fault registered against the line, but that the problem actually seems to be due to "Incorrect Information" registered against

Peppes Pizza - With extra toppings...OUCH

2007-05-28T11:56:00.000+03:00

UPDATE: Thought that I ought to let everyone know, I did receive a call from the "management", they were of course extremely apologetic and made the appropriate "noises".Just waiting now to see if dental work is needed, other than that am actually looking forward to going back to try again as I'd like to finish the humongous half 'n' half pizza I ordered...Just got back from Peppes Pizza at the

GAP Launch party at the Avenues

2007-05-28T11:14:00.000+03:00

I got my invitation...did you...?Although they're not certain which day the launch party is as it mentions..."Sunday, May 28 @ 7pm"Presume that it is tonight, whether I go or not is a big question, can't really profess to being a "branded" person, even when they've offered me a 25% discount on anything purchased.We'll see...

Definition: Censorship...

2007-05-27T12:20:00.000+03:00

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines censorship as...Pronunciation: \ˈsen(t)-sər-ˌship\Function: nounDate: circa 15911 a: the institution, system, or practice of censoring b: the actions or practices of censors; especially : censorial control exercised repressivelyHowever the "Life and Times..." definition of censorship is the availability in the domestic market of the "BLACK MARKER

Call to limit working hours in Kuwait's summer.

2007-05-27T10:25:00.000+03:00

Before you all get excited I should mention that this call from local MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei is only for Ministry employees.He is calling for the working day to finish at 1pm during July and August, two of the hottest months of the year on the grounds that this will help reduce the electrical and water load placed the country's systems.Add to that the month of Ramadan and then you have the

What's your Ecological Footprint...?

2007-05-26T12:02:00.001+03:00

I've just been reading an interesting article/argument on the matter of whether we should give up flying due to the ecological impact of it and I have to admit that I don't really agree with all the "greenies" who say that it's killing the planet.Take a look at the article here...One of the comments made in the responses to the article was to look at the Wikipedia article that list the countries

Can't see it taking off in Kuwait....Unless.!!

2007-05-26T10:12:00.000+03:00

There's a lot of talk about how the locals are unwilling to get into the private sector, preferring rather to stay with government positions due to their long-term stability, perks and short working hours.Well, it's reported in today's Arab Times of a group of 19 Kuwait students who are trying to get an entrepreneurial spirit going. They've started a car-wash service, although they're already

Word of the day: BLUE

2007-05-21T07:03:00.000+03:00

BLUE is the colourSunshine is the gameThere'll be BLUE skies overThe sand pits of SalwaAs you may realise the SANDSTORM has gone and this morning we can see blue skies again.Surprising how much you can miss it, especially when it's normal for about 90% of the year..

It would have been quicker to keep on going...

2007-05-20T13:25:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.On Thursday's flight KU852 to Mumbai (Bombay) there was a particular medical problem that required the flight crew to contact home for instructions.It seems that the "pilot" was suffering from "high blood pressure" and some 2 hours into a 4 hour flight they decided that it would be better for all (including the 120

How to help the Puppies...

2007-05-19T13:10:00.000+03:00

You may recall that I blogged, way back in March, about the Pink Ribbon Site in which you could help fund the Breast Cancer Site.I've just today been advised of a similar situation.Animal Rescue Site are also looking for help, this time it's to assist in the provision of food for animals in various sanctuaries.All you need to do is to click here and you'll be taken to a screen with this image/

What's orange, gritty and not good for you?

2007-05-19T12:02:00.000+03:00

THIS...It took THREE DAYS for this "wee beastie" to pass over us and it's not quite completely gone yet.There are reports in the Kuwait press of 70 road accidents on Thursday attributed to the dust storm (IMHO they are more appropriately attributed to idiot drivers).Along with the RTAs there was the delays to flights due to arrive at Kuwait International Airport, flights were able to depart (with

Who's running Kuwaiti business...?

2007-05-17T09:36:00.000+03:00

In the Kuwait Times is a report with a headline of...Majority of companies in Kuwait run by menIt goes on to state..."Today most companies in Kuwait are run by men, except for a limited number of companies that are headed by women managers, says a Kuwaiti professor."I'm glad that's cleared up, for a moment I was worried about who (or rather what) was running the rest :-).

Crappy weather this morning...

2007-05-17T09:18:00.000+03:00

Here's today's weather forecast...It will be DUSTYIt will be CHOKINGIt will be HOTIt WILL be dangerous on the roads...

Laos + Japan + Whaling = RETRIBUTION...!

2007-05-16T14:04:00.000+03:00

Laos, that well known maritime nation (not), has agreed to join the International Whaling Commission (IWC) at the behest of Japan.This raises the question of what on earth Laos has in connection with whaling, other than of course having just received one million dollars from Japan for alleged development aid to help clear unexploded bombs.Erm... Could it not be more a case of Japan buying allies

Skull and Crossbones ahoy skipper...!

2007-05-16T12:52:00.000+03:00

Pirates Ahoy Matey...!All hands on deck...!!Man your battle-stations...!!!United Arab Shipping Corporation vessel the IBN YOUNUS has been attacked by PIRATES off the coast of Somalia.They struck at the ship with Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and Machine Guns.The Qatar registered vessel though, managed to evade the pirates during an hour long chase on its journey from Durban in South Africa to

Guinness World Record - Kuwaiti in a Sauna

2007-05-16T12:18:00.000+03:00

What is it with Guinness nowadays, it seems like you can get 'anything' into the listings...There's a report in today's Arab Times that a Japanese guy has beaten the existing record of "How many different nationalities you can get in a Sauna" and yes there was a Kuwaiti included. Apparently they managed to get 300 people from 50 nations into this sauna, no mention on how big it was, nor how hot

Banana Republic - Avenues Mall

2007-05-15T20:12:00.000+03:00

Can't admit to being a "fashion aficionado" but I've just received a message advising that Banana Republic will be opening at the Avenues Mall soon.Don't know just yet when they're going to be opening but I'm sure it will be reported in the coming days...

Here's another reason...

2007-05-15T13:17:00.000+03:00

Remember my posting about the American that wondered why we are all out here?Well here's another good reason...OUR GASOLINE DOESN'T COST USD 3.073/GALLONBack in March I posted a fuel cost comparison that quoted US rates per litre of USD 2.75...now in just two months it has risen by 33c per gallon that's a 12% increase.I suppose that we'll be getting the blame for this increase, yet we've not

You heard it here first...

2007-05-15T12:03:00.000+03:00

In today's press it is reported that yesterday Tunis Air announced the start of their operations to Kuwait...Yep, that's right you heard it here first...The return route is going to be via Bahrain after the Kuwait stop, so a bit of a drag for us starting from here (don't you just hate a short hop before a longer leg)..

Is my posting too negative...?

2007-05-14T10:04:00.000+03:00

Yesterday I received a comment email from an American reader advising me that she would not be bookmarking my blog, she said..."Well...I for one will not be booking this blog! I find your ramblings a bit negative...why are you there if you dislike so much about Kuwait? Just wondering!"This made me wonder "am I being too negative?"Well if you look at the directory of posts since I began this

It's getting warmer...

2007-05-11T09:04:00.000+03:00

My wife and I take our dogs out for a walk at least a couple of times a day and already it is beginning to warm up.These photos taken of the gauge in the car show two different temperatures, one in the afternoon at 4.30 and the second one in the morning at 6.50As you can see there's not much difference between them, it's still pretty warm early in the morning and it's only MAY.<<<<< Afternoon

Ministry declares who will be blamed for power outages

2007-05-10T11:59:00.000+03:00

There's an article in the Kuwait Times in connection with the possibility of power and water outages in the coming summer months.In it, they appear (quite clearly in my opinion) to be getting ready to lay the blame for any shortages on one single entity.Yes, they reckon that BETEC, the company that was selected to supply Gas Turbines to Kuwait in time for this summer's peak periods, are to be

Gender segregation in private universities

2007-05-10T09:36:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.There's talk going around Islamist circles in Kuwait asking for segregation of the genders in private universities, this would be an extension of the current situation in government education institutions that already separate the boys and girls.I'm wondering how this could be taken even further if it was brought into

Planet Hollywood comes to Kuwait

2007-05-08T10:21:00.000+03:00

Copyright, Copyright?.........................We don't need no shtinking copyright...!!!Intellectual Property is supposedly becoming an important item in the Kuwaiti government's eye at present, they're often going round raiding shops selling 'fake' or 'copied' items (especially DVDs), in fact there's an item in today's Arab Times showing this.But, there is little happening (or seeming to happen)

Gulf Air loses Oman as partner

2007-05-07T11:46:00.000+03:00

It was inevitable, Gulf Air have finally managed to lose their last remaining partner, Oman.According to the Gulf Daily News (aka GDN or Gosh Darned News) report, Oman has formally requested that it pull out of the 'consortium' and GF approved this at an extraordinary general meeting.Now when GF manage to screw things up, there will be no-one other than themselves to blame...OK they've been

'Tis the season to be............lumpy!

2007-05-07T11:29:00.000+03:00

Yeah I said it, 'Tis the season to be "lumpy", not jolly, most definitely not jolly.You know when it's mosquito season in Kuwait, the itches and lumps start appearing. Then there's the wonderful sound of a damned mosquito buzzing round your head (you only hear them when they're about to land IN YOUR EAR...!)So I thought that rather than going round each evening, fogging each room with a blast of

Siren testing...

2007-05-07T10:12:00.000+03:00

It's been a long time since we heard the "emergency" sirens being tested in Kuwait, apparently they've been absent due to them previously being capable of being interfered with electronically.It certainly brings back memories of the start of the current Iraq situation, when our 'friends' to the north started slinging Scuds and other various bits of munition at us.Well according to the press these

Drop-Down menu for labels.

2007-05-07T10:04:00.000+03:00

It's been a feature of Blogger for some time that you can have your Archives in the form of a drop-down menu on your page, but this is not an option for Labels.I have now been able to adapt my template (with the assistance of the "Hackosphere") so that my Labels are now also in the form of a drop-down.Personally I think that it cleans up the page and no longer takes up so much side-bar real

Fire at Palm Island, Dubai

2007-05-07T09:29:00.000+03:00

It is reported that a fire broke out yesterday on the main "trunk" part of Palm Island, Dubai.Two multi-storey car-park buildings went up in smoke, causing a few casualties, mainly from smoke inhalation (yes smoking can really harm you).According to Nakheel who are the main developer on the project, the buildings in question are under construction by another developer, who they quickly claimed

Kuwait Airways to Malaga (only Summer season though...)

2007-05-02T15:05:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.According to the Kuwait Airways web-site they are going to be starting flights to Spain later this year, with direct flights to MALAGA.However the schedule is only from 1 July through to 2 September, wow really going overboard there Kuwait Airways.Currently there is no easy way to get to Spain from Kuwait, you always have

Jazeera Airways - New destinations coming soon...

2007-05-02T13:58:00.000+03:00

Announced in the print version of today's Arab Times, Jazeera Airways (don't blame me if the link doesn't work (see previous posting)) are going to be offering flights to...Damman, KSARiyadh, KSAJeddah, KSAThey are also in talks with Turkey for Istanbul and that they will be considering "European" destinations in the future (I know I've heard rumours about London)..

Jazeera Airways - Web-site requires username...!

2007-05-02T13:15:00.000+03:00

UPDATE @ 1430 Hrs (LT) : Ooh, they're getting good, this outage only lasted an hour, the're back online again...I was just about to post an article about Jazeera Airways (and probably still will do, but later) and tried logging onto their website only to receive the following error...HTTP Error 401.1 - Unauthorized: Access is denied due to invalid credentials.Internet Information Services (IIS)

Labour Day...

2007-05-01T14:23:00.000+03:00

I ought to be off today...BUT I'M STILL HERE...!!!

Zimbabwe hopes for Kuwaiti tourists...

2007-05-01T13:41:00.000+03:00

You may recall that last month the Kuwait World Travel Expo was held at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds.We were visited by many varied country tourism organisations, one of which was ZIMBABWE. Yes that place, the one run by our friend "Good Old BOB"Well it seems that the Zimbabwean Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mr. Francis Nhema has returned to Harare expecting to begin receiving

Malfunctioning Airbag...

2007-04-30T17:07:00.000+03:00

Here in Kuwait, often you see what is known to expats as Kuwaity or Crunchy Airbags.What we mean is young children sitting on the laps of either the front seat passenger or in extreme cases the driver's...!Driving home this afternoon I followed a car driven by an elder woman who obviously had no control over the child in the car, so she had the kid on her lap. Most of the time it's because the '

Extra dick...!!!

2007-04-30T12:08:00.000+03:00

As I think I mentioned in previous posts, there is always fun to be had with translation from Arabic to English, or an English ad being placed by an Arabic speaker who does not have access to a 'spell-checker' (ok, yes my Arabic is also crap).However when it comes to products sold in Kuwait which are probably sourced from the "grey market", i.e. not really intended for sale in our region, the

Bad Hijab, Haircuts, Eyebrow Plucking and Alcohol...

2007-04-30T10:44:00.000+03:00

What do they all have in common...?They're all being BANNED...!!!First it was the ladies in Tehran being picked on by the Iranian fashion police for showing too much hair or not covering up enough, although looking at some of the 'elder' ones, I can understand the need to cover up Then the Tehran guys were picked on, YOU CAN'T HAVE A "WESTERN HAIRCUT"...!!!Nor can the poor shaggy Iranian men have

Comments made to the BBC by "concerned" Earthquake victims...

2007-04-29T10:25:00.000+03:00

I think the government should ban earthquakes, they sound really dangerous.Perhaps a new tax would prevent another one.Sean Lovell, DunstableIn our neighbouring field on the downs one of the sheep bolted and ran into a fence breaking it's neck.Thomas, Bilsingtoni woke up and my bed was like woooooooooooo like one of those simulators at disney land! it was way fun! but then the time turned out to

Virgin Kuwait - Closed by Ministry of Interior !!!

2007-04-29T10:01:00.000+03:00

UPDATE: Wow have just checked out google for "virgin kuwait closed" and my blog currently comes up at NUMBER ONE in the search results...yeah...!!!UPDATE: Here's the link to the article in the Kuwait Times...Thanks to Mark for this.Apparently the Virgin store at the Marina Mall was closed by the authorities last night, it seems that they have been deemed as selling inappropriate materials.Looking

Musandam peninsula, Oman

2007-04-28T15:24:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.As previously mentioned we recently got back from a quick 'birthday' trip down to the Hilton Hotel at Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE.Well the hotel was really about as much as one would have expected from the reviews that I had read up on. Firstly it's in RAK and there's not really much there. Secondly, it seems to be marketed

EARTHQUAKE...!!!

2007-04-28T13:35:00.000+03:00

A rare 4.7 earthquake has struck the south eastern part of England.For once I'm not joking, this is the real thing.Looks like no loss of life, just some structural damage (mostly minor) and the suspension of services such as electricity and telephone..

1,000,000 free kilometres...!!!

2007-04-28T11:47:00.000+03:00

There's been an ad running in the local Kuwait press recently for the opportunity to enter a draw to win a vehicle lease with up to one million kilometres of free use/servicing/insurance.How many people (or cars for that matter) would stand up to being driven 1,000,000 kilometres (that's almost two return trips to the moon!)...?Then you read the small print and find out that this prize is up to a

Just what will KFC, Texas Chicken, Naif Chicken and all the others do now...?

2007-04-28T09:35:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.It was reported in today's Arab Times that there is now an importation ban placed on ALL birds and poultry to Kuwait by the Minister of Commerce, as a result of the ongoing concern over BIRD FLU. This includes all poultry products including frozen goods.This will cause serious concern over supply shortages to the likes of

Where's my dinner...?

2007-04-26T19:09:00.001+03:00

This is Charlie, our German Shepherd / Saluki cross whilst we were out this afternoon.He saw a lizard whilst we were out walking and decided to investigate further.This is totally out of character for Charlie, he even started trying to dig the lizard out of its burrow...Everyday he's been walking past this lizard's home (quite often it's out sunning itself) and normally takes absolutely no notice

SMS Text Messages Cause Panic...

2007-04-26T11:27:00.000+03:00

Here's a good one...There's an article in today's Arab Times about some SMS (text messages) that have been received in Kuwait informing the receiver that calls received from numbers starting with "0022" would "transmit radiation directly to the brain causing death" (note that there is NO country with code 22, there is 221,222...229 all of which are countries in the african continent) .And

Q8 Nomads - Beach Rugby Day

2007-04-26T11:04:00.000+03:00

Ok, it's a little short notice, but I only found out about it yesterday.The Q8 Nomads Rugby Football Club are holding their Beach Touch Rugby Tournament down at the Kuwait Hilton Resort this FRIDAY 27th April 2007.(Click the image for full size...)I'm sure that the organisers would be happy for anyone to come along to this event, the price seems OK and it does include the BBQ..

So much money... Not enough of it with me...!

2007-04-25T19:13:00.000+03:00

Forbes recently announced the 2007 Billionaires Listing...It's certainly quite surprising how many are classified as being in the Middle East. Kuwait has four, Saudi Arabia has 13 and the UAE also has four. And that's just in the top 1000 billionaires.One thing that does surprise me is that Qatar doesn't have any...and yet according to the Qatar Visitor blog they're supposed to be the richest

Was an upgrade offered...? I Bet Not...!

2007-04-25T09:38:00.000+03:00

There's been quite a lot mentioned in the various news outlets and blogs around the world about the unfortunate passing away of an elderly economy class passenger on a British Airways flight from Delhi to London. In which the deceased (and wailing/grieving family members) was immediately upgraded from "coach" to "first" class.This led to huge discussions from both sides, firstly from the point of

Kuwait's 19th Annual Raft Race 2007

2007-04-24T15:32:00.000+03:00

Kuwait's 19th Annual Raft Race 2007Venue: Aqua Park, KuwaitDate: Friday 4th May 2007For more details you can visit any of the following links...WhenEvent...AquaPark...RaftRaceQ8...There's supposed to be further information such as "Rules" and "Entry Forms" at the AquaPark link, unfortunately they still have the ones applicable to the 2004 race...!!!.

Tunis Air coming to Kuwait

2007-04-24T12:28:00.000+03:00

It has been announced by the Arab Air Carriers Organisation that TUNIS AIR will be beginning direct flights to both Kuwait and Bahrain starting 4 June this year.This is great news for all those people that want to have a direct flight, Kuwait Airways currently don't have an offering to Tunis. There are routes available to us through the following airlines... Emirates... Middle East Airlines...

UPDATE: Showtime Arabia - New web-site !!!

2007-04-24T09:59:00.000+03:00

Update: 23 April.Well it seems that Showtime are getting their act together, there has been some major improvements on their site in that it now seems to work.With ONE MAJOR item missing, there is still NO WHERE for you to enter your online account in order to use their ordering facilities. However, there are pages existing that are not linked to from the front page, nor from the site map that

Jazeera Airways - Great VFM...

2007-04-23T15:46:00.000+03:00

This last weekend my wife and I took a trip down to the United Arab Emirates, it was my birthday and we've now got into the habit of being OUT of Kuwait for these. Put it quite simply you cannot really "enjoy" yourself unless you "get out of Dodge".So, back in February Jazeera Airways ran an advert offering a special deal, well at KD 4 (current normal price is KD 10) per person each way to Dubai

I'm back...

2007-04-23T09:57:00.000+03:00

Sorry for the break in posting, but we decided to charge down to Ras Al Khaimah, UAE for a long weekend break at the Hilton.I'll post some more about the trip later, but just wanted to let you all know that I had not vanished off the face of the earth...:-).

500 Dead - Worst ever Hungarian motorway toll...

2007-04-18T13:37:00.000+03:00

UPDATE: 19 April...Yes I know I could have fore-warned you that this was a "funny", but then it wouldn't have been funny...Anyway, it seems that the dangers to humankind by these "lapines (also know as leporids)" continues. In Austria it is reported that a septuagenarian OAP has been subjected to a crazed hare attack in their property. The situation appears to have escalated to such an extent

Cleanest Cities of the World.

2007-04-18T11:44:00.000+03:00

As a follow-up to my earlier post Most Liveable Cities 2007, there is now a new report out on the Cleanest Cities They are as follows... 1. Calgary, CA 2. Honolulu, US 3. Helsinki, FI

Weapons, Perfumery, Make-Up: A strange mix of business types

2007-04-18T10:41:00.000+03:00

Here's an interesting advertisement in one of the free Kuwait Ad magazines...Apparantly they believe that the kind of shoppers perusing the various 'macho' goods on display at the Weapons Market in Kuwait, might also be attracted to such businesses as Perfumes and Make-Up.Aw...Isn't that sweet...Can't you just imagine it, "I'll take that 9mm semi-automatic pistol, 100 rounds, some targets and

Marina Mall - Cancer - Cockroaches ... ???

2007-04-16T14:11:00.000+03:00

Certainly not a series of words/phrases that you would expect to see together, but these notices on garbage bins (thanks to "m" for finding it) certainly makes you think.Correct me if I'm wrong, but first and foremost I believe that the Marina Mall, Kuwait is supposed to be a "Smoke Free" building/mall. There are signs at all entrances quite clearly showing this by way of the international symbol

Amazon.com pushing "Erotic Toys" for Easter.

2007-04-15T10:42:00.000+03:00

Just read an article at "The Register" (an online UK IT/Technology site) about Amazon.com sending out email advertising shots to various UK punters with "special" offers for the Easter period.This article (whilst maybe NSFW) has some even better links from the comments page, one really funny one is that Amazon.com apparently consider that items such as this Male Pleasure Sleeve are categorised as

I like walking on the sea...!

2007-04-15T09:45:00.000+03:00

One of the really funny things about living in a foreign country that has newspapers printed in your own language, are some of the mistakes made when placing ads in newspapers, of particular interest are ones for accommodation, they do seem to find it difficult.This ad was recently printed and found by another well known blogger in Kuwait (click the image to go to his site).OK I know that they're

Yes, I know I've been quiet.

2007-04-12T10:01:00.000+03:00

Ok, I'm back, have had a couple of rough days, too many headaches...!So let's start off with something a bit light hearted...Received an email from one of my buddies "M" with a link to a flash game called "Dangerous Dave and Brutal Bob" that involves a cyclist, a baseball bat and some moles.Won't say anything more about it other than you should try it out, my record is 1240.8 metres which I

They can track your number plate...!

2007-04-10T15:12:00.000+03:00

Saw an ad for this today, seems like there's a company in the UK that will install RFID tags into number plates, this will allow "governments" to monitor the exact time/date that a tag went past a "reader".selectamark-e-plateNot certain if this is (or has) been taken up by Kuwait, but on their web-site they are certainly targeting other GCC countries.OK I can imagine something like this working

Most Livable Cities 2007 : Kuwait 133

2007-04-10T11:23:00.000+03:00

Firstly thanks to my Canadian friend for finding this, it makes interesting reading.---Most Livable Cities 2007Here we are in one of the richest countries in the world and yet we can only reach 133 in the Mercer HR study, I suppose at least we managed to improve on the 2006 standing by ONE PLACE...!Not surprising in this list is that both Dubai and Abu Dhabi are placed higher than Kuwait, but

The 'new' Indian TGV speed record

2007-04-09T11:40:00.000+03:00

There's an advert in today's Kuwait Arab Times for a well known Indian Travel agent called Cox and Kings and in it they give 10 good reasons why you should travel with them...The second item on the list is just terrifying, they offer to take you on a "Supersonic TGV train ride", Now the last time I checked, supersonic speed at ground level means travelling at 1225 km/h, just a tad faster that the

How Long...??? WE HAVE THE ANSWER...!!!

2007-04-09T09:58:00.000+03:00

IT TOOK SEVEN DAYS. So this just confirms my theory about having one car for each dayUpdate: We're into Day 6 _7_ now...=There is an old joke that can be applied to virtually any nationality in which the question "How many **** does it take to change a light bulb?".Well now there's a new version that I've come up with applicable to Kuwait...How Many Days Does It Take To Change A Tyre...?A: So far

Visit to the Animal Friends League at Wafra

2007-04-08T12:11:00.000+03:00

This last weekend, my wife and I took a trip down to the Animal Friends League premises at Wafra to look over their facilities and generally take an interest in what they are achieving down there.My wife has been an active volunteer from time to time with the AFL, helping around the facility and especially with keeping the animals active and entertained. One of the ways that they try to make life

Alcohol allowed in Kuwait...???

2007-04-08T09:04:00.000+03:00

I've decided to update this article with the current price of alcohol in Kuwait. According to the news item in today's Arab Times four bottles are now going for KD 200 (USD 700), that's USD 175 each. Now we're not talking about your really expensive single malt scotch here, this is for your run of the mill Johnnie Walker Red Label or Smirnoff vodka.Really it's too expensive here on the black

The "New" Republican Guard Hotel in Tehran.

2007-04-07T10:30:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Advertisement...Dear GuestWe would like to welcome you to the newly opened Republican Guard Hotel here in sunny down town Tehran.Below are a few of the many varied benefits that await your stay with us...Guaranteed no room sharing...Actually means your own Solitary Confinement Cell.No unpleasant views...Actually you'll be

Royal Navy personnel released by Iran

2007-04-05T10:13:00.000+03:00

Updated 5 AprilThe Navy/Marines arrive back in the UK in first class onboard a British Airways flight from Tehran, see BBC news article HERE...Update 4 AprilSee HERE....

Personal Security in Kuwait

2007-04-03T09:46:00.001+03:00

Our new store Les Froggitts is now open for business, feel free to visit us.Update: 4 April.It seems that personal security conflicts, criminal and mischevious acts happening throughout the world are beginning to become a real problem. In the UK, which is listed as having the highest density per capita of "closed circuit tv cameras (CCTV)", especially in the town centres and places of interest,

Ponturu - The new 'Sudoku' craze...

2007-04-02T10:59:00.000+03:00

One of the little 'distractions' that She Who Must Be Obeyed enjoys on a daily basis is the Japanese craze of Sudoku, that's the number game in which you have to place the numbers 1 through 9 into 9 squares on a grid of 9 blocks (if that doesn't make sense click HERE for an example).Well I think that I've just found something 'new', that should help keep those 'grey cells' from getting too bored,

Salute to William Congreve - The Mourning Bride

2007-04-01T17:57:00.000+03:00

Back in 1697 William Congreve put together some words that spawned those immortal words "Hell Hath No Fury Like...". whilst not his exact words they've come to be so apt in modern times...As you'll answer it, take heedThis Slave commit no Violence uponHimself. I've been deceiv'd. The Publick SafetyRequires he should be more confin'd; and none,No not the Princes self, permitted toConfer with him.

Politically or Sexually (in)correct...???

2007-04-01T09:46:00.000+03:00

Wow, this could really get me into trouble.One of my friends sent me an email this morning with some ideas about what life would really be like for us "If Women Controlled The World".I won't put up all of the images on this page, just one, to get your interest.If you'd like to see the rest, simply click HERE to go to my online album..

Review: Avenue Restaurant - Kempinski, Kuwait

2007-03-31T17:39:00.000+03:00

Erm, what can I say about the Avenue restaurant at the Kempinski Resort.Well firstly when travelling south from Kuwait city along route 40 there are no signs telling you where to turn off (or at least I didn't see any). Unless you know that the Kempinski is at Julai’a you stand a very good chance of not finding it. Fortunately we were out on a weekend/holiday afternoon drive, so had already

Kuwait Boat Show 2007

2007-03-29T10:25:00.000+03:00

Kuwait is hosting its first "International Boat Show" this coming April from the 21st to the 25th. It will be hosted at the Al Kout Marina in Fahaheel, not sure just yet exactly where this is but I think that it's the new mall area that's recently opened down there.Already there are 22-plus exhibitors pre-booked to show their wares, I believe (looking at the layout), that the majority of craft on

Pink Ribbon Site - You can help.

2007-03-28T20:56:00.000+03:00

Every year there is a worldwide event, Breast Cancer Awareness Week.Normally held in October with lots being arranged around the world to raise both awareness and funds. These funds go into research along with improving the availability of facilities to provide the necessary mammograms.Remember that whilst this is a predominantly female problem, IT MOST CERTAINLY CAN AFFECT MALES AS WELL. It is

Static Image (or is it...?)

2007-03-28T12:12:00.000+03:00

This is weird. It's one of those curious images that our brains simply can't quite handle, we really can't get our "heads round it" (excuse the terrible pun).Have a look at this, the longer that you stare at it, the more it moves around the periphery....