Amanda Ebersohn, above right, leads a Boogie Babies activity for Mumcierge in Dubai. And below, a whole group plays along.
Amanda Ebersohn, above right, leads a Boogie Babies activity for Mumcierge in Dubai. And below, a whole group plays along.

Mumcierge: mum's little helper



Curiously, it all started thanks to a shared passion for Monster Munch crisps. When colleagues Bubs Kapoor and Elaine Stannard were both pregnant and suffering food cravings, they would meet up for some covert pickled onion-flavoured crisp-eating and discuss the difficulties of being a new mother in a country far from home and family. Just over a year later, Mumcierge was born.

www.mumcierge.ae was launched at the end of last month and membership is already surpassing Stannard and Kapoor's expectations. Billed as an online concierge club for busy parents, it aims to offer a one-stop shop for Dubai's yummy mummies and daddies to organise activities for their children, attend coffee mornings and seek advice from other parents and specialists.

A former sports lawyer, Kapoor, who is originally from the UK, has lived in Dubai for four years in total, along with her husband and 14-month-old son. She is expecting her second child in July this year. Stannard came to the UAE from the UK to work as a jockey and ended up in business development. She has two boys aged four and one. Both women have experienced first-hand the challenges of being a working mum and a stay-at-home mum.

Expats in Dubai, especially new mothers, have a huge thirst for information, Kapoor says. "When we were on maternity leave, we went to a couple of coffee mornings and found there was a theme at all [of them]: women are just there to find out information and impart knowledge. Trying to find out where to go for this, or where is the best place to go for that. We said to each other, there is something missing here in Dubai, let's join up the dots for mums."

Visit the website and you will see a calendar for the month indicating all the activities available to Mumcierge members, from activity classes for the children to coffee mornings and fitness sessions for mums. There is a recipe exchange, a classifieds section, a chat forum, and an "ask the specialist" page where questions can be submitted to a developmental psychologist, a midwife, a dentist, a chiropractor and a stem cell expert.

The sheer breadth offered may seem ambitious for a start-up, especially given the competition from other Dubai-focused parenting websites. But for busy mothers the "one-stop shop" approach allowing them to book activities, chat to other mums in the forum and fire a question to a child psychologist all from one online spot could be exactly what they want.

Mumcierge offers three levels of membership: "paying-as-you-go" for coffee mornings and activities; a monthly membership that includes the coffee mornings, a weekly children's activity and members' website access; and the annual, or "Gold" membership.

"The benefit of paying for an annual membership is that you will get that full concierge service, including booking your family holiday and a UAE/GCC break a year, and helping you with restaurant bookings," Stannard says.

Stannard has lived in Dubai since 1994 and worked as a personal assistant for many years. She will be drawing on the skills she learnt in business to run the concierge service and believes now is exactly the right time to be offering these services to harried executives and their families. "When I first came out here, the PA did everything right down to sending out laundry. Now, since the credit crunch, they really are just concentrating on corporate business. A lot of that other stuff, even restaurant bookings, has fallen by the wayside because you have one PA to two or three executives. This is kind of an outsourcing for that."

All members can try out the innovative "taster sessions" for children's activities. These sessions are designed to appeal to parents who want to avoid making expensive mistakes signing their children up for activities they don't like.

Last week, the interactive music class for babies and toddlers, Boogie Babies, offered a class exclusive to Mumcierge members at Blossom Nursery in Jumeirah. "A friend of mine recommended it," says Jodie Robertson, who was there with her two-year-old daughter, Ellie. The taster session idea appeals to Robertson, an Australian who has lived in Dubai for three years. "Otherwise," she says, "you've got to sign up for a term to get a trial of it and I'm not going to pay for a term when I'm not sure - especially when they cost a bit."

Deb Meade has her hands full looking after her three-year-old son, Liam, and her daughter, Ella, aged 10 months. She joined Mumcierge for the month as it offered her a range of activities to choose from. "My son is on a two-and-a-half-week school holiday, so I was looking for things for him to do in April. We went on the stables trip because he loves horses, then we did the cookery class, and we are booked in for the swimming too."

Being able to access information and book activities at any hour and quickly over the internet makes online parenting sites ideal for busy mothers. Whether they are logging on at night once the children are in bed, or during their lunch hour at work, more and more mothers are relying on the internet to help them.

Last year, Microsoft Advertising conducted a survey of 800 UK mothers and pregnant women with internet access to see how they were using it. The results, published in Marketing Week magazine, showed that 61 per cent bought their groceries and an astonishing 82 per cent bought their clothes online. It also revealed that mothers are using the internet to find the best deals and save money: 48 per cent use price-comparison websites and 41 per cent read expert reviews.

Stannard and Kapoor aren't planning on offering Monster Munch at their coffee mornings, though they both speak about their crisp-eating days with great affection. "After all, they're baked, not fried, and they're made of corn," says Kapoor justifying her previous habit. "And there are only five hands in each pack." "Yes," agrees Stannard, smiling, "five hands with five fingers." Every busy mother could benefit from an extra pair of hands and this is what Mumcierge is aiming to give them.

Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

MO
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RACECARD%20
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if you go

The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow. 
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes). 

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
  • Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
  • Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
  • Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
 
 
Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
About Okadoc

Date started: Okadoc, 2018

Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Healthcare

Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth

Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February

Investors: Undisclosed

SERIES INFO

Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series

All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Test series

1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March

Play starts at 9.30am

T20 series

1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March

TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube

The biog

Name: Younis Al Balooshi

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn

Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design

Concrete and Gold
Foo Fighters
RCA records

Blonde
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAndrew%20Dominik%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAna%20de%20Armas%2C%20Adrien%20Brody%2C%20Bobby%20Cannavale%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Price, base / as tested Dh57,000

Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine

Transmission Six-speed gearbox

Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm

Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km

Panipat

Director Ashutosh Gowariker

Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /stars

The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
The Details

Kabir Singh

Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series

Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa

Rating: 2.5/5