Masdar Institute - a green university is born

These pictures show the amazing building which is soon, hopefully, going to be the home of the Masdar Institute. An incredible piece of architecture (Norman Foster) and a world first in terms of sustainability and renewable energy. All being well (Insha'Allah) it will be ready when the second year of students arrive in the Autumn. What an achievement.

Al Ain Careers Fair

I hope you're suitably impressed by these pictures of our spectacular booth - round here they do the best exhibtion stands I've ever seen and ours, of course, has to be the very best, thanks to Nidal with a little help from me. At 9.30 pm the night before we still had a long way to go but you can see that it all got completed in time. We even got a vist from the Sheikh who spoke to our HR Director Mr. Mubarak and he was also interviewed by the TV on the stand. Hopefully we managed to recruit some people as well but from a marketing perspective it was a triumph!

100 posts and still going!

So can you believe that I've now made 100 postings to this blog? Bless you if anyone has actually read all 100. I enjoy writing about what's happening out here and even if no-one reads it I find it very therapeutic. However, it's about time there were some more pictures so here are some lovely ones of our trip to the desert, a happy foursome enjoying a glass of fizzy water (well!) on the Shuja Yacht and a view of the Arab Bank Building taking centre stage, viewed from the water which is not something I've seen before. It looks like an impressive address from most angles, but particularly from this one.

Ensuring a work/life balance

Despite the hectic schedule in the working environment we do try very hard to make sure we always have some personal life to remember about our time here.
We had planned a trip to Qasr Al Sarab to take Mum and Jo to the desert so John and I went on our own and it was as lovely as ever though it's getting pretty hot now for desert trips. I do think that the rooms there are the very best I've ever stayed in - they all have fantastic views over the desert landscape and the Wadi (a dry valley where the migrating Oryx are supposed to come and drink at the watering hole though both times we've been there I guess it wasn't a migratory time of year for Oryx!) But the rooms themselves, in terms of lovely comfy beds and amazing bathrooms with walk in showers and baths the size of swimming pools just have to be experienced. The first night we ate in the buffet restaurant, which was disappointing compared with some of the buffets in Abu Dhabi but we had lunch in the little restaurant by the pool and dinner at the rooftop Suhail which are both fabulous. Due to the heat we mainly lazed in and around the huge pool which certainly beats working. If I wasn't such a workaholic with a burning desire to contribute financially and intellectually I could spend lots of days lazing by pools but it just wouldn't feel right! We went back via Liwa and Madinat Zayed and John drove to I got to see a lot more of the country though there were hardly any camels on this particular route.
Last weekend we had plenty of jobs to do in Abu Dhabi so we found ourselves at the Mall and rushing around stocking up and generally ticking off a large number of items on the 'to do' list. However, we managed to enjoy lunch on Saturday at the Japanese restaurant at the Royal Meridien with some great sushi and we tried the Italian at the Millennium on Saturday night which was great once we'd persuaded them that we'd come for Italian a la carte and not the barbecue buffet! We were finally able to use one of 'buy one main course, get one free' from the Entertainer guide that Isobel bought us for Christmas. It's a tremendous idea this book, stuffed full of these vouchers and should save loads of money. However, I manage to find it a huge responsibility and never remember to take the vouchers with me or go to restaurants which aren't included so we've now got to May and haven't saved nearly enough money yet!
This weekend we had a short break in Abu Dhabi and went to the Fairmont on Friday afternoon through till Saturday afternoon. We've eaten here before but never stayed over as they have a Marco Pierre White Steakhouse and a Frankie's Italian. John is a regular visitor to the buffet restaurant Elements and waxes lyrical so I was keen to try it. We had a lovely break - the hotel is a wonder of modern architecture and sculpture with amazing water features. The room overlooked the creek with floor to ceiling windows and a 'wet room' with huge bathtub and shower in the middle of the room as well as separate loo and washing area. After dinner on Friday at Frankie's where the food is suberb, we enjoyed Saturday morning by the pool - huge and beautifully chilled and the staff were constantly bringing cold towels, fruit juice and fruit kebabs. It was like the nicest kind of holiday hotel though really strange to look out and see GHQ and the Armed Forces Officers Club - both places I have to visit for work. Out of the other window you could see the Petroleum Institute, where John works. It feels odd to be in a holiday location with holiday weather next door to your working environment - I can't imagine ever taking a weekend break in Hale or Solihull! After this I was able to sample the Elements buffet myself and John was absolutely right about it - great sushi, prawns and crab's legs followed by curry and an array of desert. He reckons it's even better in the week when it's less crowded but I thought it was great. We headed home after this and tried to catch up on the rest of our weekend jobs but it made a great break in our own city. Essential to try these places out so we can recommend them to work visitors or for corporate events. The Fairmont is rightly popular with expats, visitors and with Emiratis as well. So we do manage to keep sampling the best of what the city has to offer, crammed in between the endless tussle with an alien working culture.
We also discovered that on this unusual general election our time zone was best placed to watch the excitement as the results came in. By getting up at 6.30am (3.30am in the UK) and with it being Friday which is a day off for us we watched the BBC all the way through. It was also a great treat to get proper BBC talking about what was happening in the UK. BBC World tries very hard to cater for a global population by not giving precedence to UK news but I wonder just how much of its audience is expats like us who hunger for news from home. However, they broadcast election special in full which was great. We'd managed to arrange for a proxy vote and my Aunty Brenda nobly fronted up in central Manchester to cast our votes (and had to queue for half an hour which is not something I've ever had to do - how amazing in the UK). I really needn't have worried as our labour man had a majority of nearly 11,000 so I suppose a couple more or less wouldn't have worried him too much. Disppointing overall for the labour party and the lib dems but encouraging to know that despite everything, the economy, Iraq and expenses scandal the Tories still couldn't command a decisive majority. We watch with interest from our expat distance which, in my case anyway, leaves me just as interested in UK politics as ever.

More stories from the parallel universe

Another interesting couple of weeks here in the alternative reality - once again on the face of things it all seems to get more familiar and pretty enjoyable. I am running around all the time with not enough hours in the day, people want things and quickly and we all try to accommodate them and generally get there but somehow you're never sure if what you are doing is the righ thing!
Yesterday I heard that I'd passed my probabation and had to sign the form today - all fine with fours or fives in every area but no discussion or chance to ask questions. Whilst I don't disagree, you wonder if only a four for 'knowledge of job' means that the boss genuinely thinks that after 25 years you don't fully understand the 'four P's' of marketing or whether (quite understandably) you can't argue with a booth builder in Arabic about the problems with an exhibition stand, or how to persuade HR to sign off on the staff newsletter (in which case I'd struggle to give myself a 1). As for a four for 'Results focused' I'm totally lost. I know that this is my main raison d'etre but I'm still trying to work out what the goals are so maybe that's a conversation we should try to have at some stage.
The last couple of days have involved a trip to Al Ain for a careers event - all very exciting with a new stand builder and for once the knowledge that sorting out the gift packs, 12kg of branded chocolates and floral arrangements would be key to success! It looks great though at 9.30 at night sitting patiently whilst Nidal argued with the booth builder in Arabic about what needed doing made me wonder what value I was adding and whether I could ever manage without her is a worry. Al Ain reminded me of Milton Keynes with endless roundabouts and shopping malls though it is the heart of historic Abu Dhabi. The fort was so small I missed it on several drive bys and the famous mountain is mainly famous because everywhere close by is flat! As I watched these groups of very glamourous Emirati girls wandering around with their gold plated blackberries and Gucci handbags I was stuggling to understand their motivation for working but I guess I'll get there.
I've had two fun experiences with going to meetings at military sites and on both occasions they did let me in but not without a body search and removal of blackberry, mobile and cameras. For both meetings, when I finally got in the meetings were conducted in Arabic so I did wonder why I was there but I had Nidal for one and Fatima for the other so I guess I was just a 'presence' though not much else.
I am trying to learn some Arabic and have picked up the pleasantries from Nidal 'kifack hebibby' 'janny' etc but when I try to sue them I'm told I'm using a Lebanese version so not very impressive! There are lot of words in English so I try to work out what's going on. At today's meeting it was clear that they were talking about the best ways to talk to 16 - 18 year old boys about careers - something I do know about even here, but when I discussed this with Fatima she assured me that it was gender, not language that stopped us from contributing to the conversation.
Last night we went to the dinner for the 'Women in Science' conference which was organized by Amahl. John's amazing female Emirati Professor. The guest speaker was Sheikha Aluman, another inspirational Emirati woman, who is Minister for Foreign Trade. She spoke passionately about the role of women in this society and there is no question that talented women are in abundance. Hopefully the culture will be able to change fast enough to make the most of this talent.
I was also lucky enough to be involved with the Emirates Skills competition, which we have been sponsoring and is organized by the Institutes of Applied Technology, whic our Chairman is also Chairman of. Especially as I was involved with the London bid to host the 2011 World Skills Competition with Investors in People. Another great example of last minute. The day before I heard that I had to be there at 10am and to write some words for the boss to say. It turned out to be 5pm and when I got there they needed a pull up stand as well. But Nidal had heard this an hour before and turned up at 4.55pm complete with a pull up that had been dried with a hair dryer and produced in less than 2 hours - only in the UAE. We did manage one overnight for the Now People pitch but that was a once off! When I arrived I discovered that we were signing an Memorandum of Understanding for an AED 1 million sponsorship deal in front of assorted press! However it all seemed to go fine - the boss read my words (translated in Arabic) verbatim and the pull up didn't stick to anyone's clothes! John was able to come along which I think was good for both os us as he met my Chairman and chatted to the Khalifa University boss and a few others. The best thing was the look on the winners faces as they won their medals.
It warms your heart to be involved in all of this but there's just always this worry that somehow you're not doing something that might be even more important! However, as I always say to John, it's got to be a lifetime of interesting stories!

It's a mad world and somehow I'm living in it!

On the surface of things my life has been recreated much as it was in Manchester. Everyday I get up at 6.30am, put on a business suit, drink a cup of tea and drive to the office listening to radio 2. On arrival I buzz in using my security pass, boot up my computer and check my outlook for new email and the day's activities. I meet with colleagues and subsidiary companies (who are much like clients) and rush around the city in the car attending meetings and then flying back to the office to write things up and organize activity. At the end of the day I drive home, cook supper, J prepares his signature G&T and we eat and watch TV.
But somehow I can't help feeling we're living in a parallel universe which has a semblance of normal life but where, in actual fact, anything could happen and usually does! Take the security pass as an example, on the face of it, it lets me into the office, just like the work one. But in reality it's linked to a database which is monitoring my every move, checking that I do turn up on time and don't head for home too early. I'm surprised I haven't crashed the system since I spend my entire day running between the four villas which make up head office, the design studio and our subsidiaries, who are scattered across the city. I wonder if anyone ever looks at the information but just knowing they could is a little scary!
The concept of planning no longer exists in this new world, one day I think I'm organizing collateral, gifts and presentations for a university employer day in mid May, only to find that HR have booked a further 3 events, the first of which starts in a week's time and I am suddenly expected to produce 1500 corporate, branded gift packs of varying complexity, pop up stands, full build exhibition stands, brochures, business cards, order 15kg of branded chocolates and colour themed flower arrangements and book hotels for the team! Whilst this would give any sane person heart failure, it is actually perfectly possible to achieve this because the suppliers are used to this kind of last minute request and pull out all the stops. There is also the mystery of the signing hierarchy, which suddenly changed last week and the threshold for signing by the COO or CEO was reduced from AED 100,000 to AED 30,000 - just after I'd given the supplier the go ahead for two orders worth AED 37,000 and AED 99,000 (thought I'd bucked the system there didn't I!) I had a worrying time when the purchase requests came back unsigned but with the necessary grovelling I did get the right signature before I found myself on the next flight home.
Then there's the decision making process which is completely and utterly beyond my comprehension (except that I do know now that any decision taken which is likely to have a direct bearing on my work will most definitely be taken without my involvement so that's one valuable lesson learnt!) At one of the subsidiary board meetings it was decided in the company of our senior management that the ad agency contract should be cancelled with immediate effect and that each piece of work should be put out to three agencies for quotations and design proposals. A great idea perhaps but completely unworkable from any practical perspective. I have pointed out that I currently have no fewer than 14 work in progress projects with the agency (who are a design outfit rather than a full service provider) and if every single one was quoted and delivered separately it would cost significantly more than the current arrangement and take six times as long but whether anyone listens seems unlikely. What do I know? I'm just the man running the machine and why would anyone consult him?
Last week I also found myself being given as a 'gift' to the Institute of Applied Technology by our Chairman, who is also their Chairman. They need help with their marketing and don't have the budget for an external consultant so I've been offered to them instead. Now this one I really don't mind as they actually appear to be looking for a strategic communications plan (there's that word again which I guess doesn't translate into Arabic!) and I have been able to dust off all the lovely methodology and processes that Derek and I created at work. They are also providing technological education to a new generation of Emiratis and want to build their brand and raise their profile so it's very much my kind of project. Whilst I'm really excited about working with them I would love to be given a little more time to work on it.
However, I do have a lovely new member of the team - Fatima is an Emirati lady who has managed to achieve a degree and two children at the tender age of 22 and is a real asset to the team. She works really hard and speaks great English as well as native Arabic and understands so much better than me how things work around here. So with Nidal who totally gets the whole how things work situation and knows so much more than me about corporate identity and exhibition design it's amazing quite how much we get done in this crazy alternative reality.
As long as try to see it this way I might manage to survive and possibly even achieve something (though that might be going a bit far!) However, I do wonder if my skill set isn't completely alien to this working culture. I wouldn't mind the way things seem not to happen for ages if they didn't keep popping back up again, just when you thought they'd gone away and need doing and delivering by someone in marketing by TOMORROW! Somehow the concept of Insha'Allah doesn't apply to us and I don't know why but maybe I'll find out one day and if I do I'll be sure to let you know!

Volcanic ash puts paid to long awaited visit

I guess if you're reading this you'll know that a volcano erupted in Iceland putting paid to travel plans for millions. That included Mum and her friend Jo finally coming to stay with us in Abu Dhabi. We were all looking forward to this so much and we'd got two guest bedrooms and bathrooms completed kitted out and a whole range of activites line up. It was hard not to shed a few tears and for the various preparations in the apartment not to lear at me every time I walked past. Still it was pretty unprecedented and we can't be the people most put out. One of my friends has her son back from boarding school for the Easter holidays and he needs to get back to the UK for his GCSE exams and can't get back. Our business development team is trapped in Paris (it's and ill wind!) and the Babcock team couldn't get back to Abu Dhabi for their meeting so all in all we have to accept that God and nature will always be in charge!
We had booked the Shuja Yacht brunch cruise for Saturday for Mum and Jo so our neighbours, Pat and Judy, nobly took their places and we did all have a lovely time. We cruised for a couple of hours off the Corniche whilst drinking Californian bubbly and eating a seafood buffet and sublime deserts.
J and I tried to go to the beach on Friday to find most of it shut off in preparation for the Womad festival - we had a quick swim on the main beach but it was so crowded we didn't stay long. The weather has been very changeable over the last few days - a bit like April in the UK, just add 15 or 20 degrees, but we've had rain, cloud, strong wind and a drop or rise from 23 to 36 degrees and varying humidity.
April may be 'the cruellest month' anywhere in the world but they won't be 'breeding lilacs out of the dead land' around here I don't think!
Now I just have to work out what to do about the Qasr Al Sarab hotel booking for next weekend. But is anyone can get here and fancies a trip we have two perfect guest rooms and bathrooms just crying out for occupants.