Christmas Email

Here is a copy of my Christmas email:

Dear all

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2007

It has been a weird year. Challenging, scary, exciting, interesting, varied and exhausting. It started with us waking up in Nelson, New Zealand on New Year's Day, a good place to wake up any day of the year. I'm sure that I was hungover, but I cannot remember to be honest.

We started the year jobless and homeless for the first time in many years. It was good to feel a little freedom. No more music industry, no more London, no house to pay for and maintain. At the same time, we were nervous about the future, and none of us were at our best living out of a suitcase.

Daisy was enjoying getting to know her Kiwi family especially Peter & Anna and her uncles, but she was a little unsettled. Lidiard Road was her home, and there was no going back to the cosy world she knew and loved.

We spent most of January having a well earned break. We had bought a trusty 15 year old Pajero not long after arriving in Nelson, so we hit the road and spent time in Awaroa, Pakawau & Rai Valley before travelling South to Christchurch for Katie & Vaughan's wedding. It was good to catch up with old friends such as John (my friend from Guernsey) and Lesley (Bec's school friend). It is fantastic to see friends and feel so comfortable in their company after several years apart.

Daisy had her first Birthday whilst we were in Christchurch, and we spent some of the day at the zoo with her Grandad Jim. It was quite strange to look back at how much she had developed over the year. Shehas changed our lives so much.

We stopped off at Hanmer Springs on the way back to Nelson. It was my first time in Hanmer and it is a wonderful place. We decided to make use of the 4x4 and travel back to Nelson off-road, as there is a dirt track from Hanmer to the ski fields close to St Arnaud. A truly fantastic journey with some incredible scenery. Daisy probably thoughtwe were mad, driving through creeks and herds of cows, but it was an experience not to forget.

February was always going to be a difficult month. We knew thatJanuary would be holiday, but our life had to move on in February. Job hunting in Dubai was not going well from New Zealand.
The time difference wasn't helping and it was difficult to get anyone to even acknowledge my emails and job application forms. I spent a few weeks dithering as a result. We were also a little distracted as we very nearly bought a house overlooking Tahuna beach. The auction was exciting and nervy, but we lost out at the final hurdle after going slightly over our 'maximum' bid. It was sad to lose the house, butwith hindsight it was the better outcome.

Bec eventually put her foot down and we (she) decided that we'd just go ahead and book flights to Dubai at the end of February. It was the right decision, and it gave us some direction. After another week or so in Nelson, we set off, via two nights seeing Bec's brothers in Auckland.

First impressions of Dubai were good. Very big, very friendly and very different, but with enough to remind us of home and make us feel comfortable. The flat was small but it felt like we were on holiday with the swimming pool & gym.

Getting closer to the action immediately improved the job hunting, and it was not long before I started getting meetings and interviews. The first few weeks went well, with mostly positive feedback and plenty of interest. Things then went up and down a bit. Daisy was sick, the pace of job applications was frustrating and we started to get a few doubts over what we were doing and more importantly what we were putting Daisy through.

March turned into April and we started to get a little stressed. Bec had managed to meet some nice people, but we were treading water and starting to feel like the lifeboat might not arrive.
Daisy was still unsettled and we had to take another monthly rental flat which was more expensive and which had the ugliest decoration known to man. The only thing that kept us going through these dark times was our friends and family. Janet & David, who were practically the only friends we had in Dubai before we arrived, shared their alcohol license limit with us to keep our spirits up (in more ways than one), and we hadsome welcome visitors such as Julia, Steve, Mum & Dad and Ness & Bob.

Then six weeks after arriving in Dubai I got a job. Thank christ for that! It was actually the first Dubai job that I applied for (in November 2006!). They take their time in Dubai, but once they have made a decision they want immediate action. Hence I had to start practically straight away. The relief was immense, and it meant that we were able to look for a villa, buy cars and most importantly, getour stuff shipped over.

Life had taken a positive shift, and we soon had a villa sorted too.The rental prices in Dubai are outrageous, but after a few days we managed to find a lovely villa in Arabian Ranches that was in our price range. We thought that we could only afford a two bed plus study, but through sheer luck we had managed to find a three bed plus study for the same price. Not only that, it overlooked a lake, and was just across the road from the pool and tennis court. Perfect! I didn't sleep well for a few nights worrying that it was too good to be true, and the agent was a fraud, but it checked out and we moved in.

Around the end of April and start of May Daisy started to walk. She had been pushing her Giraffe (with wheels) around for a while, but she started making a few shaky steps on her own, and by the time Bec went to Oz for Juliet and Gianni's wedding, she was walking unaided. I had Daisy on my own for six days while Bec was away. We were pretty chilled and Bec came back to a grubby house, as I'd been avoiding housework like the plague.

The weather in May was starting to get hot. It was strange living in a house with no furniture, but we were pretty pleased with how things had worked out. We bought a new bed for us, plus some bar stools and then some outdoor furniture, which we started to use inside until our stuff arrived. My work was fairly full on from the start, but Bec had a good group of friends hence Daisy had some pals to hang around with. We then discovered that Bec was pregnant, blimey! It was what we wanted but it happened quicker than we expected again.

Our stuff arrived at the start of June, which made us very happy. We could finally get settled after six months of living out of a suitcase. Daisy had probably forgotten that she had any of her toys, hence she had a second chance to be excited about getting them back.

July was a hard month for Daisy. The weather was too hot for her to go out during the day, but she didn't really understand so she just banged on the windows. Blake and Julia visited which helped Bec get through the month.

By August, Bec decided that she and Daisy needed to escape the heat, so they booked a few weeks in England, staying with Laura and Ian in London. Daisy had a fantastic time seeing her old NCT pals, and running around outdoors. I came over for the final weekend, and we visited Chris, Annette and Thomas in their new house in Wimbourne St Giles. It was a lovely weekend. I enjoyed being back in England and seeing friends, but I was not missing England and therefore quite happy to trot back to the Gulf.

In September, Julia was back with us. We found out that we are having boy. Ramadam arrived and suprisingly we really enjoyed it. It was weird at work, as everyone left at 3pm apart from my department that worked through as normal. However, we loved going out for Iftar, as it was perfect timing for eating dinner out with Daisy. We made a quick trip to Abu Dhabi which was nice. It feels greener and more developed than Dubai (less cranes).

At the end of September, Lydia and Neil came to visit on route to Asia and it was great to see them. We made our first trip out into the desert to go to a restaurant at Bab Al Shams. Daisy also started playgroup two mornings a week. It was weird leaving her on her own, but she soon loved it and met lots of new pals.

October saw the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup. England performed brilliantly after a dreadful few years of poor performances, which made the competition enjoyable for me at least. Bec went to Paris to meet the girls, for her last trip away before pregnancy prevented her from travelling, and had the unfortunate experience of seeing the All Blacks lose to France in a bar with lots of drunk Parisians. Oh dear! Mum & Dad came to visit, which broke up the routine, as I had a few days off.

November was a quiet month. The weather had cooled down and was becoming very pleasant. I was probably working too hard, but I was also enjoying a bit of tennis and squash. We had a very short trip to Fujairah with Dajon, Tara and Sanna. It is a few hours drive through Sharjah and across the Al Hajar mountains. It offers a stark contrast to Dubai with the mountain backdrop.

Bec was not really enjoying being pregnant, and both her and Daisy had the odd virus that didn't help. Poor Bec got so dehydrated that she got put on a drip for a few days. However, there was good news from Bec's brother in Singapore, as Flynn Gabriel Mackie made an appearance. Well done to Adrianne and Blake!

Toby arrived at the start of December, and we set off to the Dubai Sevens. It was a great day out, but a little too drunken. Not the best behaviour by me I will admit. It is fair to say that I am not capable of partying hard like a youngster anymore and maybe it is time that I stopped trying. Toby geezer and I played a little tennis and golf for the rest of the week and took things easy.

The last few weeks have been fairly quiet. We are trying to get into the mood for Christmas. The tree is up and we've been to a few Christmas parties and events. We won't be sending any Christmas Cards, as there isn't a proper postal system here, so this email will have to convey our Christmas message to you all.

Looking back at the year, it has definitely been one of the hardest that I've experienced, but it has also been one of the more interesting. It seems like we have packed a lot in.

Daisy is beautiful and funny and charming and quite a little madam when she wants to be. Our lives are so much more enriched seeing her develop and spending time with her. The New Year will see the arrival of her baby brother, which I am sure will make life even more interesting.

Work has been fairly challenging. My company is growing stupidly quickly and we simply don't have the time or the ability to control it properly, but it is good experience for me after several years in my comfort zone in London. The politics of working in a Dubai Holding company are also a little difficult to navigate, but I am confident that things will improve in 2008.

One of the best aspects of Dubai is that we have managed to meet some lovely friends. It is probably due to the expat lifestyle, but people here are genuinely very friendly and open. Daisy has lots of great pals to hang around with. We are also really enjoying living in a different culture, and learning about this part of the world. Dubai does have a lot of expats and western aspects, but it is still very much a muslim country.

I do feel that I am a little out of touch with friends back home. Our website has been hopeless since we've been in Dubai. I am really struggling with some technical issues at the moment, and I've recently moved it to http://blog.becandy.com/ to try and get it working properly. Grom - I need more help!

Anyway, that is our news for 2007. We hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Our Christmas will be a small family affair, but we might go to the beach for a swim before Christmas dinner.

We would love to see any of you in 2008 if you are passing through this part of the world. Let us know what you are up to and please keep in touch.

Lots of love from

Andy, Bec & Daisy x