Drive

(20/1/21)
Wednesday, 20th January's blip is here.

What a difference a good night's rest makes! I closed my window because I didn't want to be disturbed by a cat again. G said in the morning that she had it on her balcony at 2 am! Fortunately, she knew what it was and shooed it away faster than I was able to.

We got on with things in the morning and then decided a drive out would be helpful. I chose the Last Exit in Khawaneej. It is far out enough but not too far. We had to be home for dinner and then Tuesday night Life Group, so a couple of hours was good.

We got here in time for 4 o'clock tea (I'm holding two cups of spice "Karak" tea). Shopping Festival is on in full swing and there are events on which I've read about but not got to because of Coronavirus. We've been avoiding crowds so haven't experienced the free entertainment around town. I've made a collage to show some of the things on offer.

We had a bit of an incident whilst walking around. G had her DSLR (these pictures were taken with it). A security guard approached her to say that she had to get written permission if she wanted to continue using it. I don't take well to rules that don't make sense so had a little say. G put her camera down and we continued to walk around, snapping pictures on our phones when another security guard decided to assert his authority and tell her she couldn't use her camera! At this point, I thought it best to return to the car leaving her to deal with the guy, except I changed my mind and decided to speak to someone in the "office".

It turns out, there isn't really an office. You have to fill out a form at a Security booth. Here, we had a long conversation with yet another security guard. I don't think they are going to change their rule and certainly can't explain why it exists in the first place. I'm still annoyed about the whole thing and really don't want to promote this place anymore, as unique as it is.

Thankfully, Life Group was really good and helpful. We shared what our 2020 was like and what we hope for in 2021. Our friends Peter and Rachel were there and after we finished, we Zoomed with them for the first time in months. Nearly three hours later, we said good night and hope to have a BBQ with them soon.