What I remember most about 2003:
* The conflict in Iraq and the personal effect upon our lives.
* The very high security that we have to live with every day.
* First move from Olaya Compound to a small but safer apartment.
* The bombings in Riyadh shortly after, which made us realise why we had been moved within a week.
* Second move 2 months later to a more comfortable and spacious villa.
* Superb 'jollies' to Aqaba and Amman.
* 10 flights throughout the year and 5 different airline companies. (fewer than in 2002)
* All of our friends who have left throughout the year; too many to mention.
* Tragedy in Phil's family.
* A wonderful summer in Cyprus; in fact all of the time spent here is special.
* Beginning my Blog page and keeping it 'current'.
* Finding my friend Miss L again after a few silent years.
* Phil getting his Masters degree; marvellous achievement.
* Natalie beginning her degree course.
* My special son who has achieved great things this year (Masters degree and beginning his PHD) and yet has given me constant encouragement and support with this page.
* Finally 2003 has been a year where I haven't seen Edward and this has been very hard.

I asked Miss L what consideration she had given to resolutions for the year 2004. She replied that she wasn't going to be all that specific but then in true fashion proceeded to list resolution after resolution.
I have given the matter serious thought and my list seems endless too; so much needs improving or resolving. It is obvious to me that the best way that I can deal with this is by resolving to improve my attitude. This will encompass all of the areas from getting more fit to not getting so stressed out by the trivia of every-day life and the most important I feel, is to start liking myself a little more and not be so quick to beat myself with the proverbial stick.
Lunch today, Yangos and Peters, Latchi harbour.

It is a lovely warm day here in the Mediterranean.
Yesterday we went to the golf club for lunch and today we are having Sunday lunch in the Kamares Club Restaurant. I am convinced that if we eat any more we will have to attire ourselves in Sumo wrestlers thongs and seriously consider career changes.
The days are dwindling rapidly and only 4 left before we have to fly back to Jordan and Saudi; boo hoo!





I told you it was a lovely day.

How much food can one person consume in just 3 days? We are seriously bloated and just the thought of one more chocolate...! Christmas lunch at The Annabelle's was exquisite and after smiling at one of the chefs I was allowed to take one of the chocolate log cabins home; this was one of a whole village constructed to decorate the buffet table.
The morning champagne party went very well indeed and my salmon roulade was superb (much to my surprise and Edward's, who gave suggestions, some not so helpful, over the telephone.)
Yesterday's get-together at Jill and Mervs was, as usual, a marvellous occasion. They are superb hosts and Jill (Singapore Jill) is an excellent cook.
Oh, I forgot to mention, Santa gave me a beautiful Louis Vuitton handbag and a pair of Tiffany earrings.



Be prepared for a terrific new design for my page in the 'New Year', my present from Edward.

On Christmas day we have eight people coming for champagne and nibbles. I will empty packets of de-shelled nuts into bowls for guests to help themselves.
I have a lasting childhood memory of attempting to crack almond and hazelnut shells around a blazing coal fire on Christmas Eve. The thing that does evade my memory is anyone who had an allergy to nuts!
Nowadays there aren't many packets of food that don't contain warnings of 'nut' traces. I am not attempting to diminish the serious consequences of fatal nut allergies. What I am concerned about is the way that we are treated, like lemmings with a death-wish.
It isn't just food but every aspect of our lives that 'matron' is ready to scold us should we disregard the warnings. Stipulations and signs that shout out DANGER seem to be everywhere!
When will the warnings get out of hand?
"It is inadvisable to use your straw as a snorkel should your head slip accidentally, into your Jumbo Coke!"

The villa this morning:

Is the sun shining you are wondering? Well wonder no longer here is a weather report from Cyprus. Snow is covering the Troodus Mountains and a very chilly wind is blowing straight off the Urals; fabulous, real weather for the first time in ages! We have the heating on full blast and snuggle under blankets at night, me spending the night wrestling the covers from Phil who takes great delight in pulling them over his side in a vice-like grip.
Sunday lunch at the Kamares restaurant was lovely and felt very seasonal, the place is full of poinsettia in terracotta pots. Gino sang and played for us whilst we ate a 5 course meal, a wonderful way to spend three hours!

It is so good to be home but we haven't stopped yet!
The journey was long and very tiring; would someone please explain why all flights out of the Middle East are in the middle of the night? Shopping has been terrific and I have quite a few items hanging in my wardrobe plus a beautiful brown suede jacket.
The night of the dinner and the carol concert was really wild with lots of expat friends; in fact we were severely admonished for our behaviour which was amusing really as it came immediately before we belted out We Wish you a Merry Christmas! (Bah humbug) I never realised how irritating SSSSSHHHHH could be!
The new wall by the barbecue area, was a very interesting colour when we arrived, canary yellow instead of off-white, and so it has taken a lot of phone calls and threats to get them to come back and do it correctly.

Yesterday morning Dolores came to visit, no doubt attracted by the colour of the wall.

Well we stomped round the dance floor hollering "Who let the dog out ugh! ugh!", ate a lovely Christmas lunch, burst 40 balloons and then....Santa arrived! He Ho Ho Ho'd and then, because of his long journey, retired to his armchair by the cardboard fireplace.
Five year old Sarah obviously had something on her mind as she was waiting to talk to Santa.
"How long have I got with Santa?"
"As long as you like."
Well she took me at my word and heads together with Santa she got everything off her chest. When she had eventually finished I asked what she had been talking to Santa about , she said,
"Nothing, everyone knows when you talk to Santa it's private."
I really must try it.

The third and final concert was excellent; still glowing with pride.
Last night's gala dinner was also superb and the dress looked terrific.
Phil travelled down to Riyadh this afternoon and will be back on Monday.
AND ONLY THREE DAYS TO OUR VACATION!
On Tuesday we travel up to Amman in Jordan for an over-night stop at the Sheraton. As soon as we get there we garage the 4x4 and take a taxi to the Irish Pub and then on to Planet Hollywood. GREAT! On Wednesday we take a Royal Jordanian flight to Larnica/ Cyprus and should be home by late morning. It is a fifty minute flight and by the time we have had a glass of champagne and a canape we are touching down on the runway. We have to get the BM out of bond and do all of the insurance and customs stuff first and then its home to our villa, fingers crossed that everything is alright.
Finally, what do you think about my Christmas decorations? I smile everytime I see them; thank you wonderful son Ed!

Why is it when you need a good nights sleep your mind flows as freely as a freshly oiled cog? When the stress levels at work go up a notch I often find myself pacing around in the middle of the night. Last night was one of those nights in question.
Out on the deck at 2AM the sky was clear and fine above. The stars were shining cold and bright, and a half moon bathed the whole garden in a soft, uncertain light. Outlined against the silver- spangled sky were the elongated fronds of a palm tree.
And then I noticed the high compound wall and the security camera. Somehow the magic of the night disappeared and I felt as deflated as a burst tyre!

The dress rehearsal was today and the costumes are lovely; may I take this opportunity to apologise to all of the frantic Mum's who have visited my site in the hope of finding out how to make a shepherds costume! Truth to tell, the whole male population of Saudi look like shepherds most of the time.
It was difficult to hide the smiles when the Reception teacher announced that she was having problems with the child who was the sheep. Apparently Sophie was not too pleased with being a sheep and so arrived with a panda costume. Well, why not? I'm not going to get stressed out by it, let's go with the flow. So we have a donkey, a cow and a panda. Cool!

Although celebrating the Yuletide season is not allowed within this country and anything to do with Christmas is taken away by customs officials, on the compound people become very inventive and creative. The trees are made from wire cages which look just that during the day but at night they come alive with lights. I counted 14 huge tree constructions on our small compound last night. It does help all of the families that are staying here for Christmas get into the spirit of the occasion. It is at these times that three and a half thousand miles can become unbearable.





The last photograph is the arty one but proves that they are hollow.

Are you, like me, tired of hearing, "well you are entitled to have an opinion!"? Indeed we do have that entitlement and I have a certain amount of respect for other people's opinions when they differ from my own. What I am heartily sick of is when it is used to put people down in an oh, so subtle way, that leaves you wondering whether or not you have just been insulted and often to negate rude behaviour.
"Are those new shoes?"
"Well yes, do you like them?"
"They're not really to my taste, in my opinion they're a bit too common for me!"
Yes, I know you shouldn't ask for someone else's opinion if you are not prepared to accept what they say. However, in my opinion, people like this have no social grace or interpersonal skills and are likely to get the toe of my common shoe up their fat (in my opinion) backside!
There, I feel a lot better now!

So what have I been up to? Well the children are very busy making decorations, gluing and glittering everything that doesn't move (me attempting to make it as educational as possible), the concert is on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this coming week, last night we went to dinner at a friends house, I was taught to play Perudo at 2AM this morning (OUCH! and whats wrong with calling 11 sixes?) and this morning (with very aching heads), we went to the Christmas Fair and had a turkey buffet in Alfresco's.
Here is a plethora of tetra Santa's:

Once round the compound perimeter is a mile and if you walk it in 15 minutes you are actually exercising! Now some people manage to do 5 circuits each day but I'm still on 2. Last week my hips were grinding (do be serious!) and I felt as though I was dragging round breeze blocks.
The good news is I can do it now without pain, plenty of huffin' and puffin' but NO PAIN!

The following photograph is one I have been trying to take for a long time, one of the famous Tabuk traffic islands. Unfortunately it is at the end of a particularly fast stretch of road and so by the time I have normally got the Lightning in the view- finder in the next second we are past it. I know that you can't see in the photograph but this little fighter plane shines like a new coin and the reason, a team of our guys spent weeks polishing it and getting it back to its present pristine condition. Way to go Brits!