A Since qualifying as a chemical engineer in 1986, Andy Gibbins, 50, has worked most of his career at major international companies. However, in 2006, after shutting down three petrochemical production sites, the Briton took the plunge and moved into consultancy. He is now the vice president for the Middle East and North Africa region at Euro Petroleum Consultants in Dubai. He lives in Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach Residence with his Kenyan wife Ann and two stepdaughters, Cinta, 17, and Faith, 11.
6am
I wake early, shower, shave, dress and get ready for work. My quick breakfast is usually toast, Marmite and fruit juice. My wife, Ann, is usually busy chasing our daughters Cinta and Faith, who both struggle to get ready for school.
7am
On a school day and if I’m in Dubai I have the pleasure of the school run to Emirates International School in The Meadows. We chat in French on most days as Cinta and Faith only came to Dubai from Kenya in June and French is completely new to them, but they’re learning fast and doing well. We say au revoir and they go and join their friends and I head to my office in JLT [Jumeirah Lakes Towers], where I’ll be first in due to my early start.
8.30am
Everyone is in the office by this time. There are five of us, but I’m the only guy. Working with Joyce, Tamimah, Kara and Svetlana is great fun and we’re all good friends as well as colleagues. The pressure is on right now, as we have a major conference coming up and we need to make sure everything is ready, as well as ensure we get the maximum possible numbers of visitors.
Midday
As well as the conference, I’m working as a consultant on a major project to move a petrochemical plant from Austria to Azerbaijan. This means dismantling it in Vienna, shipping it and rebuilding, just like a big jigsaw. It sounds complicated and, trust me, it really is. Our main contractor is in Milan, so this is the time that my European colleagues start to appear online and things really start to get busy. Also, working on a job like this means I spend half my life travelling – when my friends want to meet up, the first question is usually “where are you today”?
12.30pm
Lunch is normally something in the office. JLT has so many food outlets that deliver, so we have a lot to choose from. As I’m still sticking to my New Year’s healthy eating resolution, today I’m ordering noodles from Wokyo. Very tasty.
2pm
It’s time for a Skype call with my colleague Andrea in Milan. He always says “this won’t take long” and we inevitably end up talking for an hour or so, but on a project with so many interfaces and so many parties involved, good communication is essential.
4pm
I’m travelling to Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to deliver a training course, so it’s time for final preparations and to book my ticket. The prospect of leaving Dubai at 4am on Saturday isn’t the best but it gives me a decent arrival time and some time to see the city. In any case, I travel such a lot, so being able to sleep on the plane isn’t an issue for me.
6pm
This is generally the time when I check on the numbers and current issues related to the conference with Tamimah and Svetlana. Have we reached our targets? What do we need to plan for tomorrow? We are happy when we’ve received a lot of bookings during the day but with a lot of competing events, we really have to be excellent in our marketing efforts. When the conferences are getting closer, they both dream about it: sometimes good and sometimes nightmares. It’s a bit like those dreams people have about sitting their exams and not having done revision.
7pm
Time for dinner. We cook different things, sometimes Kenyan, sometimes European. Ann still loves the Kenyan staples of ugali and sukuma wiki. If I cook, then it’s something more European as a rule, although I like to make curry if I have the time.
8pm
This is when I generally go out to stretch my legs. I usually like to stroll down The Walk at JBR, although it is a bit of a construction site at the moment. One of the pleasures of living in Dubai is being able to walk outside in January without being freezing cold, unlike back home in the UK. After the walk, it’s time for a bit of TV before retiring to bed.
10pm
Normally bedtime is early during the week. I like my eight hours’ sleep and with getting up at six, this is normally the time I nod off. Hopefully it’s not my turn to dream about conferences.
business@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
Company%20Profile
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Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
Coming 2 America
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones
3/5 stars
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 3 (Abraham 11', 17', 74')
Luton Town 1 (Clark 30')
Man of the match Abraham (Chelsea)
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Kill%20
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
