Roasted Culveys in Kuwait - Aug 2011

Yes, our stint in the Land of Sand is coming to an end! We are off again! Not saying too much as we still have some catching up to do, read on, and all will be revealed......

So we pick up again in March, which is a special month as it’s my Birthday!! As you would expect we managed to get a few people round for a civilised drink... which of course quickly deteriorated into a very late, very blurry party night!! I maybe 43 but I have still got it (as long as we don’t do it too often!) the hangover was a bit of a killer.

March did bring another big event and that was the return to Kuwait of Karim! After leaving the previous September to study in England, Karim came back to Kuwait to see his parents and renew his visa. While he was over he just had to come and surprise the kids. Well it was just wonderful to see how excited they were to see him, it just showed what a great connection they had with him. Both Indi and Kai were all over him and just did not want to let him go, of course it was only a quick visit as he was heading back to cold England to continue his studies.

March also brought parents evening. Now when i was at school I dreaded these nights, but it has to be said our guys just get glowing reports every time. We were particularly pleased to hear that Kai’s personality was really starting to come out, in fact there had been a few occasions where he had to be told to keep it down! Oh how things change. India also continues to impress, she is a bit of a science boffin, and impressed all as a town planner in their play about the great fire of London, she really looked the part with Lyra’s glasses on!

Miss India had her belated birthday party shortly after my party (two days after to be exact, I had only just recovered!). We delayed the party as Indi desperately wanted a pool party and they didn’t start until March as the weather wasn’t warm enough. It was almost a wash out with the years heaviest rains all morning, we had worried parents calling that they wouldn’t be sending their little one’s as they feared lightening strikes (slightly dramatic) but most people braved it! Luckily it brightened up just in time for the party and it was a great afternoon of splashing! As is usual with these affairs, India was spoilt rotten with presents. Big thanks to everyone..

As she was now 7, it was time for Indi to graduate from Rainbows to Brownies! She waltzed into the new group as if she had been going for years, not at all phased by the bigger girls, it was brilliant!

Spring is always ‘Ball Season’ so we donned our best tuxedo’s and ball gown’s at the end of March for the Kuwait Saracens Rugby Ball. It was to be an outdoor affair in the gardens of the British Embassy, which is always nice, except this time they hadn’t banked on the biggest sand storm in years hitting Kuwait! It really was incredible, it went from day to night in seconds, you literally could not see more than a few metres, driving was impossible and the whole city was coated in a thick layer of dust! Needless to say the outdoor ball was cancelled so we made the most of the evening with Kerry round ours!

The next day was the kids school’s Spring Fete, we had all assumed that following the storm surely it would have to be cancelled, but no, they had done an amazing job and got the whole place cleaned up in no time, despite the rest of Kuwait still being completely covered in sand. It was a great afternoon, both Lyra and I did our stint’s on a stall and the kids had a blast on the bouncy castles!

At the end of March, our friends Alex and Annelies invited us around for a fab fondue evening, a much more civilised than we were used too, but excellent fun and a great opportunity to meet a few new people. We loved it.

The parties continued, Ly went off with the girls to Wasabi, they all hid in a private room and had a jolly old time celebrating Nannette’s birthday with some secret ‘holy water’! The kids continued the party theme, hitting the Palms for Chad’s party (Kai’s girlfriend Chloe’s Brother!), despite being incredibly hot, the kids had a ball in the pool and as usual stuffed themselves on lots of nutritious... sweets! Indi felt very special when she was invited to Jessica’s movie party as Jessie was 8, Indi loved being out with the big girls and Jessie was lovely to her making sure she was ok the whole time! Indi certainly learnt some new lingo....‘girlfriend!’

As we head into April, we said hello to our second guests in Kuwait in two years! It was Auntie Irene and Uncle Michael! After a very pleasant journey over we gave them a gentle start with a day at the Scientific centre with Kai’s mate Fletcher and then a slap up meal at our favourite PF Changs! It couldn’t last though and soon enough they got their proper intro into life in Kuwait with a major sand storm (yes another one), what made it worse is that Lyra had taken them down to the vets which was out in the desert and the storm had left them stranded with visibility very low! After waiting around a while, it seemed that it wasn’t going to clear so it was time for some Kuwaiti Kamikaze driving back home!

The next few days were filled with the delights of Kuwait, shopping at the Heritage Souk, a trip up the Kuwait Towers, and preparing for our Kai’s Pool party! Yes, Auntie and Uncle joined the production line of party bag creation as we prepared for our boys party!

Thankfully the weather was considerably better than for Indi’s so no worried parents to deal with! It was a great turnout, in fact I lost count of just how many people were there. Auntie and Uncle had a blast watching the kids go mad, then it was Pizza and cake all round! Yet again it was present heaven for Kai, as his friends filled a few cars with gifts for the big man!

All too soon it was time to say bye bye to Auntie and Uncle, but not before a lovely dinner at our local fish restaurant, then it was off to Dubai for them, and off to Thailand for us!! But before we went, there was just time for a fun afternoon Easter egg hunting at Fletchers place!

Flying out to Thailand was a bit of a disaster, both Indi and Kai were not well, poorly tummies all round, I think i must of taken Kai to the loo at least 20 times!! Poor lad. But it was worth it once we arrived! Our friends Andy and Annie had kindly allowed us to stay at their place in Bangkok for a few days as they were in England. It was so lovely to just crash out, we really needed  it, Ly and I slept for 11 hours straight, the kids did 13 hours! We did our favourite things in Bangkok, going to great restaurants and strolling round Patpong market. Andy and Annies driver then took us out for the day to The Bridge over the river Kwai and then on to Tiger Temple, run by Buddhist monks, they have rescued over 90 tigers from abuse and poisoning, it was a wonderful experience, stroking and watching them play. Being so close to them was a really amazing day to remember.

Following this it was time get on a plane for the short trip to our favourite spot, the Marriott Vacation Club in Phuket. We spent a week just chillin, staying up late, laying in, and relaxing by the pool, it was wonderful! We even celebrated Lyra’s birthday while we were there at the very lovely Tepenyaki restaurant!

Once we returned, it was time for the proper party for Lyra’s birthday, which we held at Michelle’s house and had a joint birthday bash, as usual it was wild, blurry, and long!!

As we have mentioned before , India has been taking part in a drama group and for the past few months they have been practising hard for two productions. The Lion King, and Buzz. 

Both productions were brilliant and Indi loved being part of the madness that is showtime! It is a big commitment from her and involves many nights of rehearsals. There is no doubt that Indi loves it though. Well done Princess you were fabulous in both productions!

Since the beginning of the year we had decided to start to look at other opportunities that would take us away from Kuwait, I was really enjoying my job but we knew the development opportunities were few, plus we felt that Kuwait was not the place where we wanted the kids to grow up. I had a number of leads that came to nothing over the year, but in March I had a call with a recruiter regarding a job with a marketing company TCC Global that worked with many of the worlds big retailers sourcing and supplying products for large scale promotions. The job sounded great, but there was one catch, it was based in London. This was not on our plan at all. But I decided that I would look into it further, and really liked the Company, the people, and the challenge the role was going to bring. Thankfully TCC agreed and in early May, we signed on the dotted line, and were heading back to the UK after nearly ten years of travelling!!

From this point the madness began! Do we stay in the house till the end, or pack up quickly and get our belonging’s on the way ASAP?? Well after much discussion we decided to get packed up, the kids would go back as soon as school finished, Ly would follow in July, and I would stay in Kuwait until August!

So it was frantic selling of furniture, cars, etc, organising the packing etc, and of course the small issue of finding a house to rent back in England!! Not to mention organising all those leaving do’s!!

It’s funny how an announcement that we are leaving spurns people into action! Saada & Ben have been living ‘just down the road’ in Dubai for the last two years and we have always talked bout them coming to visit but never got round to it. Then when we called them to say we were off, they jumped on a plane and came the very next weekend! It was great seeing them and showing them the highlights of Kuwait.

Of course, our social life couldn’t stop, it was Karl’s 40th surprise party, it was a real surprise for him, and  memorable night for sure! By midnight, the numbers had dwindled to a few (12ish) hard core party goers, and the fun really began! Someone had the great idea of throwing Karl in the pool! With Mission accomplished, Karl went on his own mission of throwing everyone else in too! The ladies were not exempt, they all went in, it was hilarious!

Not to be out done by his Sister, Kai and his class did an assembly performance about Friendship. It was superb, Kai was his usual VERY confident self, and spoke very clearly! It was so great to see.

As May turned to June, the packers were organised, the car was sold, and many of our larger furniture items were up for grabs. Lyra headed over to the UK to look at houses. she spent a few days driving hundreds of miles around Surrey, Berkshire, Bucks, and into London itself. Nothing definite was found as we were a bit early but it had given us a good understanding of the areas, the cost (expensive!!), and that’s without Miss India’s key requirement of a pool. It took a second trip to secure a place, but after almost getting a top of budget place in Chalfont St Giles we settled for a more modestly priced and sized pad in Binfield near Wokingham.

India’s hard work and commitment to her drama over the year was rewarded in June when she achieved a distinction for her LAMDA Dramatic Speaking Certificate. She was chuffed, we were very proud, and all got to dress up and see her awarded with her certificate at the BAIA award ceremony at the Holiday Inn.

As we drew closer to the packing up of the house my travels seemed to increase too, purely coincidental I assure you but in June I visited Russia, Saudi, Bahrain, and Dubai! The many goodbyes said to all my colleagues and friends in Alshaya around the region, were really nice.

As the school year drew to a close, it was party central every weekend! But the biggest was always Miss Charlie Kolega’s! We started round at Ty and Kerry’s for a lunchtime swim and snacks, then we left Kai with Fletcher and joined the glamour and dancing with Charlie and what seemed like hundreds of girls! Then it was back to Kerry’s for more drinks before we left Kai there for his very 1st solo sleepover with his best bud Fletcher! 

Another lovely night was at Marcelle and Mazan’s, playing Loaded, a game where you are probed about your life, love’s, and views on all things personal! Great fun, and we didn’t even need to fib about anything!!

The end of term came, and there was an emotional week of goodbyes, especially for India, who had so many close friends, they gave her a great send off, with what has to be the biggest goodbye card I have ever seen, she was really touched by the love  shared from her class mates and of course Mrs Simnett. Kai was also given a nice send off with a great end of term party in his class room and lots of hugs from his teacher Miss Merricks. 

Moving day arrived, and it was a full 5 days of packing and loading of the two containers!! It all squeezed on, and we were left with the huge task of clearing what was left and cleaning the place, I think it nearly finished Padema off for good! Then that was that, we were out, we went to Claire’s while she was on holiday, Izzy went to my friend Lionel’s, and the cats headed to an apartment in Mangaf with Lina, and Fabio ‘it’s incredible!’ Then followed a week of goodbyes, dinners and play dates as Indi and Kai enjoyed their last week in Kuwait!

Then the day arrived, Lyra went home to the UK with Indi and Kai, where they went to Nanny and Grumpy’s for their annual pilgrimage to Weymouth, and Ly did some more running around looking at school’s before heading back to Kuwait.

Meanwhile I moved out of Claire and Phil’s, and into Marcelle and Mazan’s! I was still working but really starting to look forward to our holiday that was just a few week away.

Lyra returned for her last week in Kuwait, which we spent mostly with the very lovely and generous Marcelle and Mazan, including a very memorable night in a fabulous Lebanese restaurant overlooking the Kuwait Towers, great food, wonderful company, and I finally beat Mazan to the bill! The one and only time I must admit!

Then after many a tearful goodbye to so many people, both Ly and I headed to the UK. We had 24hrs in England, then we were off for 2 and half week holiday, cruising the Med! Excited, was not the word!!

So after picking up the kids we headed to Venice! 2 days of wandering the canals, and chilling on gondala’s then it was off to meet the Ruby Princess, our home for the next 2 weeks! She was amazing, 19 decks of fun! 3 swimming pools, movies under the stars, 24hr restaurants, 2 night clubs, a casino, a shopping mall, and a KIDS CLUB (Woohoo!!).

We set off from Venice and had a day at sea to chill out, on day 2 we docked at Athens only to find that the taxi drivers were blockading the port, another day on board then, no worries, the sun was shining! Next it was on to Kusadasi in Turkey (just up the road from where we used to live) so we had lunch with our dear Friend Ebru, before sailing on to Istanbul. From there it was over to the simply beautiful Mykonos, which we all fell in love with, then up the Italian coast stopping at Naples, to visit Pompei and climb mount Vesuvius, then on to Rome, then Livorno to visit The leaning tower of Pisa. We are falling in love with Italy, Rome was like walking round a huge museum, and Pisa was the kids favourite! From Italy we spent a day in Monaco and saw a bit of the high life (very nice too!), then ended our journey in the wonderful city of Barcelona! We had a day and a night in Barcelona, had to find a new hotel as the one we booked had closed down! But despite all of that we all agreed, Barcelona was very cool and we would need to return to see more!

Other than the amazing places we visited (that had been on our list for many years) the cruise itself was just amazing, the kids spent most of the trip in the kids club, the ladies that ran it were great and both Indi and Kai couldn’t get enough, they were there from 10:00 until 10:00 at night! Just coming back to us to eat!! We even had the opportunity to go ashore and leave them onboard a couple of times which was really nice. India and Kai met a lovely girl named Taylah on the first day and they were pretty much inseparable for the whole trip!

We left to return to the UK with head full of wonderful memories, camera’s full of photo’s and a great feeling being together as a family for such quality time. Sadly as soon as we landed in UK, I had to board a bus to head for Gatwick to fly back to Kuwait for my final 3 weeks. So it was lots of hugs and tears, as I watched them head off with Uncle Chris.

I arrived back in Kuwait on day one of Ramadan, what a great way to spend my last 3 weeks!! Thankfully I was staying with Marcelle and Mazan again so I had a lovely home to come back to each day!

My last trip to Dubai was a few days later, my last regional team meeting, and leaving do! The meeting was dull and long, but we had a great dinner in the Longs Bar with all of my Logistics team, it was a cracking send off, we laughed endlessly at the great moments we had enjoyed together over the last few years 

Back to Kuwait, the work was done and it was a case of passing the time until I could head home to the family. As it was Ramadan, heading out was not so easy, but luckily Mazan and I had America’s Got Talent, and the Biggest Loser!! Actually Mazan, I never did find out who won!!

The weekend before I left, The Little Big Man Tony (my Boss) sorted out a Ramadan beating party at his place for all my team and friends, it was a quality night of dodgy wine, and even dodgier karaoke singing!! What a way to go out! Thanks Tony (for everything).

As I strolled through my last few days, I had dinner with Kuwait’s answer to Indiana Jones, my very own Jean Pierre, we had a great night of fine dining (he is French), excellent homemade wine (did I mention he’s French?), and amazing stories of his 25 years in Kuwait (I think I mentioned he was Indiana Jones!!!). During this evening JP reminded me that we had never driven to the Iraqi border! Something we had vowed to do 2 years ago. so that was that, the next morning off we went!! It was a very windy, sand blasting drive to the border, but well worth it, with the best guide in the business! As is usual with any trip I take with JP, we had a bit of car trouble, once we reached the border we realised that the accelerator on his 25 year old (million km) Mazda was stuck on full blast! Well thankfully most of the journey back we could just let the car go as traffic was minimal but once back in the city we only just made it back to the office with smoke streaming from the brakes and clutch!!!

So that was that, the end of an epic era in the Middle East, and the end of a ten year adventure around the world, I was on a plane and heading home to good old England.

I never thought it would happen, but actually, I think we will like it...... for a while!

Huge thanks have to go out to all those people that went out of their way to help us all over the last few months in Kuwait, it really summed up our memories of Kuwait, a great community! From cars, to beds, to company to just being there we are eternally grateful to you all, you know who you are, we love you and miss you all.

Catch up soon,

Dan, Lyra, Indi, and Kai!!

Xxxxx