Weekly wanderings 4

This week has been a week of two halves, with my very good friend from home, Lottie landing in the desert to see in last weekend with a bang, followed by Rich getting crippling pain in his back and leg and spending several days in hospital, complete with two operations on his spine - what a trooper!

Still, we managed to pack quite a lot in before he got ill.

Friday

Lottie's plane descended on Doha in the early hours of the morning. She had missed her connecting flight in Amsterdam due to bad weather and flight delays and she was shattered, but in true Lottie style, she was still up for a long old boozy brunch with a couple of my mates from work in Spice Market at the W Hotel.

It was great to listen to my friend Hayley singing with her band as we supped on our sparkling wine, and to catch up properly as we got our teeth in to some really tasty Asian food.

Show us your gnashers, boys!

Saturday

We had a chilled morning chatting on the balcony with homemade Nutella Croissants - a longtime favourite of mine (you can find a really easy recipe courtesy of The Londoner here).

The rest of the day was packed with all of my favourite sights and sounds of Doha as Rich and I took Lottie on a whistle-stop tour.

The very photogenic Museum of Islamic Art

The MIA park for a picnic lunch, where there was a Brazilian cultural event going on

And Katara cultural village as the sun went down.

We finished our day with cocktails, sushi and panoramic views over the city from my favourite bar on the roof of La Cigale Hotel

Very clever idea, Sky View, you just can't put these cocktails down!

Sunday

While I was at work, Lottie chilled by the pool. At 5pm, I picked her up and we headed out to Souq Waqif for our final farewell.

We enjoyed some traditional hot and cold mezze at Terrace restaurant

While listening to the most brilliant band, made up of a cellist, harpsichordist, Oud player and a man playing the bongos and an electric drum kit. Eclectic.

We popped into the opulent Gold Souq for a peruse...and quickly left again when we looked at the price tags.

And then departed for the taxi rank and the airport.

It was a short but sweet time with one of my best friends in the world, and I loved sharing my little Doha life with her for a few days. Lottie, you are welcome back here any time you like!

Monday

Rich had had a painful back for a couple of weeks by this point, but by Monday he could barely move. I phoned him from work and insisted that he book a taxi and get himself to a hospital. And I was so glad that he did. By the time I arrived, he was next in line for an MRI scan. When he emerged, we looked on with baited breath as the doctor analysed his results...

And it wasn't pretty. A herniated disc, which the doctor thought looked as though it had become sequestrated (look it up) - it was no wonder that he was in agony! They booked him in for an epidural injection under general anaesthetic first thing the next morning.

Tuesday

I had to work, but as soon as my day was over, I rushed to the hospital to see my brave man (sorry Rich, I'm trying very hard not to make this as cringeworthy as the 'Mummy's Little Traveller' story!). He was in a lot of pain still and unfortunately it didn't look as though the injection had done a lot.

That evening was all about trying to manage the pain. Luckily, the nurses at Al Ahli hospital were amazing.

Wednesday

We were supposed to be flying to the UK for Bruce's funeral, but as Rich was still in hospital and couldn't walk, we were forced to cancel our flights and call up our family to break the sad news. We were heartened a little by Grandma saying that Bruce wouldn't have wanted us to be there; it is far more important that Rich gets himself better. I already had the time off from work to attend the funeral, so instead I spent the day by Rich's side, blogging and chatting - and asking the 'right' questions of the doctors and nurses when they came in to see him!

Thursday

Rich's second operation day. This was a pretty major surgery to remove a part of his lower spine that was protruding into his back, but I was surprised that Rich was pretty chipper about the whole thing. When I asked why, he explained that it was because Andy Murray and John Terry have had the same procedure, so this obviously puts him in the 'elite athlete' category. Of course!!!

After the operation, he was groggy but in good spirits. Our friends Dave and Mayur came to visit in the evening, and as we left the hospital together, we joked about the hospital's cheesy slogan. Dave snapped this picture of the lobby as you walk in...

And I prayed that after this week, that would be the last time we would be seeing that banner in a long, long time.

Thanks again to all of you that have sent such lovely messages to Rich this week. He's really appreciated all of your support. I'll keep you updated on how he's getting on, but for now I'm just relieved he's able to crack a few 'jokes' again.

I'm proud of my man this week.

Now, back to the hospital.

Doha Goals

Have you ever had a goal that has inspired you to change your entire life and the way you live it?

The young Generation Amazing Ambassadors that I work with had a life affirming, goal achieving moment like this last Tuesday, when after several weeks of intensive practice sessions, they stood up on stage at Doha Goals - the world's premier platform for world leaders to create initiatives for global progress through sport - and talked about the great work they have been doing in football for development.

A proud moment for me, and a definite tick against one of my lifetime goals too.

You can read more about Generation Amazing at Doha Goals here.

As I left Aspire Park at the end of the Doha Goals conference, I remembered that it was my year anniversary as an expat in Qatar and it got me thinking about my own, personal Doha Goals.

Here is a quick summary of the things I hope to achieve while I am out here.

Learn more about this interesting part of the world

I don't think I ever would have come to the Middle East if it wasn't for my husband to be being offered the job offer of a lifetime, and I definitely wouldn't have stayed if I didn't get my own amazing career opportunity six months later. Now that I am here, I am absorbing everything I can about all things Middle East, and making the most of expanding my horizons in a way I had never even contemplated before moving here.

Explore more of the world outside of Qatar

I get itchy feet on a regular basis. And luckily for me, the Middle East is the perfect location from which to travel. Its central location in the world, where east meets west means that thousands of the world's most sought after travel destinations are only a few hours' flight away. We have already explored Sri Lanka and the UAE, and gone a little further afield to the USA. On the wishlist next is Oman, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and South East Asia...

Gain some more independence 

Out here, away from the support of close friends and family, the familiarity of well-known and loved surroundings, and the comfort of home, you won't survive if you're the needy type. Resourcefulness, initiative and self-reliance are all characteristics that help you to thrive in an expat environment, and are things I struggled with to start with! Over the next few months, I'm going to be working on my autonomy and self-sufficiency - after all, it's me and me only that is the master of my destiny, and who decides where I go on this journey.

Push the boundaries

When you are living somewhere that displaces you out of your comfort zone, you might as well go the whole hog and take a giant leap into the unknown. That means trying new things I've never done before, pushing myself in my career and home life and allowing myself to make mistakes (and learn from them!).

Look to the future

While we're out here, it's so important that we don't spend everything we earn, so that wherever we eventually end up in the world, we have a little bit of cash stowed away for a house, a car and a family. It's also important that Rich and I are supportive of each other and all the hardships we go through out here (you will find a great example of this in this week's 'Weekly Wanderings' post on Friday!) so that we grow together, learn together and look to forward to a bright future with one another.

Make some brilliant new friends

This is our opportunity to get to know some amazing people, from all walks of life and parts of the world. Expats are generally go-getters; some real ambitious, inspiring and interesting people. And we're so lucky that we're able to get to know some of them. 

There are people from 18 nationalities in my department at work, and it makes for a really interesting dynamic. I hope to learn more about places I've never been to and experiences I've never had through some of these dynamic individuals.

(Can you spot me?!)

So this is my plan for my Doha Goals.

I'll revisit them again this time next year at my second expat anniversary and let's see if I've met them all.

Talabat

When I first arrived in Qatar, I was astounded at the the takeaway options available to us. Not only are some of my favourite takeaway places from back in the UK located out here (such as Wagamama and Dominos), but there are also some very well-known global eat-in restaurants that offer a delivery option which you don't get back home, such as McDonalds, Burger King and Nandos. You can even get beautiful deserts of every description delivered right to your door!

It really is unsurprising that there are more obese people out here per capita than anywhere else in the world.

However, on those frequent days when we didn't feel like pumping our veins full of grease and sugar, we found Qatar to be quite lacking in the takeaway department. It seemed that the only way to have a healthy meal was to head to an expensive five star hotel, or to cook ourselves (I know I know, cue your lazy expat comments once again!).

Luckily for us, we discovered Talabat. This online food delivery site has been around for a while in the Middle East, operating in Bahrain, the UAE and Oman, but it has only recently come to Qatar. And we love it.

The premise is simple. Sign up at talabat.com, log onto your account and decide what kind of food you fancy eating.

Rich and I were delighted to find that as well as the standard Burger King and Nandos, there was a whole host of cuisine options, from Thai to Qatari, and even a whole section for healthy food options! Hoorah!

We opted for a nice, healthy(ish) Thai that we hadn't tried before (we wouldn't have even known this place existed without Talabat)...

and despite an extremely long delivery time (the restaurant in question's fault, not Talabat's), when it finally turned up, we loved it!

A perfect night in with a film and my man.

Oh, and while I was munching away, I was over the moon to discover that Talabat even have a fantastic CSR policy! 

Go check Talabat out if you're feeling hungry at home in Qatar - you can catch them on their website here, and on Twitter here (they also have a very cool app you can download on your smartphone).

Eat classy Qatar!

Talabat paid for our meal this time, but all views are of course, as always, all my own.

6 things that Bruce taught us about life

It's been an unusual week for a variety of reasons, punctuated by the heart breaking news that Rich's grandpa, Harold Byles (affectionately known as Bruce) had passed away.

Wanting nothing more than to be with our loved ones at this very sad time, it took a lot of strength to pull ourselves together and keep plodding on with our week. But that was what we did. It was after all, what Bruce would have wanted.

As a result, I haven't felt much like blogging this week. I didn't know Bruce nearly as well or for nearly as long as I would have liked, but he made a big impression and has left a big hole.

In a little ode to Bruce and his life, here are 6 things that Rich and I have learned from this brilliant man.

1. Be strong in adversity

Throughout Bruce's last weeks and months, despite his ill health, he didn't want us to worry too much, and when we called him and grandma Yvonne on Facetime, he was far more interested in talking about us and what we were up to. It helped that Yvonne is such a strong woman and he knew that whatever happened, she was behind him all the way.

Which leads me nicely to...

2. Love the one you're with

On October 16th 2014, Bruce and Yvonne Byles celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

Their love story is testimony to the fact that true love lasts, supports, cherishes and protects. And they are great example to the rest of us that are about to tie the knot of how to have a long lasting, happy marriage, filled with good memories.

3. See the best in everything

Rich always talks of the fateful caravan incident of '95, when on their way to a family holiday in France, their caravan came loose from their car and careered off into a field. After several days camped out next to a mechanics, it could have turned into an absolute disaster of a holiday, but Bruce made the situation as fun as possible and kept everyone's spirits high (they particularly enjoyed his dogged attempts to speak French in a very strong, British accent!).

4. Family is everything

Bruce was always very family-orientated. He adored his grandchildren, and was delighted to have met his great grandchild, Amelie before he passed away.

I know that he got a lot of his happiness through seeing his family flourish, and I am sure that Lisa, James and Rich made him proud every day!

5. Party to the end

The first time I met Bruce was at Rich's sister, Lisa's wedding to Chris. My first impression of him was that he was a happy go lucky, fun and friendly guy with bundles of energy. As the evening came to a close, he was one of the last ones standing on the dance floor, rocking out to The Stone Roses with his walking stick above his head. This is the way that Rich and I will always remember him...

6.  Live a life of love

I know that Bruce read and enjoyed my blogs. I hope that somehow from wherever he is now, he is reading this one and having a good chuckle to himself.