"New Year cancelled"...so says Dubai

What a strange turn of events this morning in the land of sand. Not only did the thick fog make it so dark that I assumed my morning alarm had got it all wrong, but then I turn on the radio and - guess what - Dubai has cancelled New Years' Eve.

Queue much spluttering.

Now, I'm all for solidarity with our Palestinian neighbours and read in horror on a daily basis about the atrocities that both sides are inflicting on each other, but this conflict has been going on since the late 19th century and it is going to take more than cancelling the annual celebrations of a bunch of ex-pats (given the Islamic New Year shuffled through the door three days ago) to make a difference.

Is this an effective act of support or an excuse for party-poopering?

The full extent of this ruling is still being figured out by the masses and probably also by the host of venues that have big, expensive parties planned.

For myself, I always view NYE suspiciously out of the corner of my eye. Wherever possible I tend to opt for the least hassle, lowest trauma-potential and preferably cheapest option in a small nod to the credit card bill racked up over the extended party season. So this year I am pretty sure that plans to see New Year in from the comfort of a beanbag at a friend's house will not fall under the heavy hammer of the Dubai government.

Tom Cruise and David Beckham, who are rumoured to be in town for a party at the Atlantis, are welcome to join if they're stuck for somewhere to see in 2009!

Australia...the movie

With just six working days until I head to Australia (the country), I was very excited to see Australia (the movie) last night. Especially given my doubt over whether Hugh Jackman is indeed the sexiest man alive...controversy enough to drive me to the box office.

Having read a few reviews, including that of trusted film buff friend, I was ready for the quirkiness of Bas Lehmann, the epic duration and to be right royally woo-ed by the aforementioned Jackman. But nothing prepared me for the exhausting journey that this film took me on. By turn I was hanging on to the edge of my seat, laughing out loud, crying into my tissues (thanks Deema!), wondering at the atrocities of war and holding my breath in anticipation...

Sometimes I think I see too many movies, because I can hear a title and know I've seen it but be wracking my brains for the storyline. This is a movie to relive, to ponder and to savour. And one to add to the DVD collection as soon as it's out.

Oh, and aside from a couple of scenes that literally made me and Deema swoon (out loud!)...I still say Brad Pitt rules the sexiest man charts!

Go see!

The great Sea Kelp experiment

It never occured to me to go to my hairdresser for dietary advice, but my stylist yesterday said I should take sea kelp to make my somewhat fine and lifeless locks more shiney and full.

So herein begins the great sea kelp experiment.

Apparently it will make my fine and often uninspired locks bounce with life and energy, and appear fuller and thicker. That's my hope more than the reality of the situation, but no one ever said I was realistic. The bottle of tablets doesn't mention anything about hair. Hmm.

My hairdresser is from Asia - Singapore I think - and his grandma used to boil up sea kelp and feed it to the family. He said it would also help me with stress (I didn't mention stress, who said anything about being stressed?) and regulate my thyroid. I have no idea what that means, but all the better for it!

So I await my healthy, shiny bouncing curls with eager anticipation.

Dubai gets into the Christmas spirit

It's 14 degrees outside, and foggy. In fact, it's positively Christmassy!

This is my first Christmas in Dubai, my first outside of the UK, and it's proving to be pretty bizarre so far. I can't help but think how I'd normally be at my parents' home right now, enjoying mum's cooking, porridge for breakfast, bracing winter walks, good old British TV and a glass of red wine by the fire.

It couldn't be more different here!

With so many people away from home, some newly arrived in the Middle East, people make more of an effort to include others around them. In some ways, although there isn't the family element, this is closer to the spirit of Christmas.

For me - although I may be in the minority here - the stress of present buying was reduced to a single weekend in November when my mum came to visit and was taking the family gifts back with her. Apart from a few gifts for people here, I've had more time to focus on spending time with people and making a real effort to seek out and enjoy the festivities. I even baked Christmas cookies for work!

There may be a wobbly lip tomorrow when I miss my family on Christmas Day, but I'm pretty confident that strapping on my skis will prove to be a more than adequate distraction!

Happy Christmas! xx

A friend wrote an article in Media Week that looks back at lessons learned by the UAE in 2008. How he limited it to 9 I have no idea, as it's been a bumpy ride and a steep learning curve for the Middle East as it realises that it's no longer immune to the fluctuations of the global economy.

Over the 12 months that I've been here, I have been in alternate states of awe and frustration at the changing - dare I say maturing? - media environment. Self censorship and opening up of the media from governmental influence is a pet subject of mine, but not one for this post.

No, this is about an article that talked of the spate of arrests and interrogations of senior executives in Dubai's real estate and finance industries over allegations of corrupt business practices earlier this year. The article states 'The arrests prove beyond reasonable doubt that Dubai's PR industry just isn't up to the job when it comes to crisis management', and goes on to say that 'A mature, respected PR agency could've convinced its clients to talk to the media'.

Really? Are you sure?

The media industry is changing, and rapidly - it is becoming more investigative, less controlled, more critical and...as a result...more interesting! This is whipping the rug out from under all sorts of executives' feet, from comms directors to CEOs ,and making them very cautious. Gone are the days when 'no comment' is a good answer to make bad issues to go away, or issuing a really vague statement will do the job.

As PR consultants we spend a lot of time educating our clients on this new world order. But when we provide our best expert advice, based on experience and evidence, and fully laid out with consequences of alternative actions, to what extent can we actually make the client decision accept and approve our recommendation?

At the end of the day the professional recommendation is what we are retained to provide and - when our clients reject that in favour of their own solution - we are also retained to put their decision into action...as well as creating a back up plan for the fall out that inevitably follows.

Has it really been a year?

I'm so ashamed! It's been a year already.
...a year since I landed in Dubai (just over actually)
...a year since I blogged (just over...again)
...a year since I was heading back from the land of sand to a wintery UK for a family Christmas

This year I'll be staying in Dubai. A concept I'm still mulling over, and have been for the last few months with a mixture of excited anticipation [Ski Dubai on Christmas morning...the beach in the afternoon] and nostalgic gloom. However the rain here seems to be doing its utmost to make me feel like I'm back in Yorkshire.

Inspired by the totally fabulous Gossip Girl - yes, one day I will grow out of teen dramas, xoxo - my early NY resolution is to pick up the blog where I left off, especially now I have navigated the Blogger homepage that would only come up in Arabic and reset my password to one I have a chance in a million of remembering.

As Disney used to say...stay tooned