Some time ago, while undertaking the twice-weekly bread, milk and tea bags shopping routine, I saw a fellow supermarket patron in an outfit that just didn't look right.
Now, this wasn't one of those unfortunate occasions when one of our visiting international guests interprets "culturally sensitive" to mean "minuscule hot pants and heels", nor was it a hilarious display of ostentatious bling with enough sparkle to light up a motorway.
No, this was a simple white T-shirt. A T-shirt that said "Steve's Stag Do, Magaluf 2002" on the front. Nothing particularly untoward, I realise. But given that this item of clothing was being worn by a rather rotund Filipino gentleman in his 50s, it was a curious sight to behold.
Without wanting to jump to hideous conclusions, I just didn't see this portly chap as a member of Steven's pre-wedding party in a Spanish holiday resort popular with British package holidaymakers. Maybe I was totally wrong. Maybe he'd been there, dancing on the tables and loudly ordering sausage, egg and chips to a bored waiter. But I couldn't imagine it.
Having banked this image as ideal dinner party anecdote material and promptly forgotten it, Steve's Stag Do, Magaluf 2002 sprung to my mind on holiday recently when I saw another guy in a bizarre top.
Again, not wanting to leap to assumptions based on a person's appearance, I couldn't believe this 20-something lad giving tours around a spice farm in the middle of Zanzibar was a breast cancer "SURVIVOR", as his bright pink T-shirt so proudly declared. Doubts were raised further by the fact that the T-shirt had been issued by the American Cancer Society, which I don't believe has any operations in East Africa.
Just a day later, I spotted a rather angry-looking man walking in a manner that suggested his next conversation wasn't going to involve a cuddle. Sadly, this menacing demeanour was let down by a T-shirt that suggested (in Comic Sans, no less) "In case of emergency, feed me chocolate". As much as I wanted to, I didn't dare take a photo.
Since returning to the UAE, I've learnt of the charitable initiatives that send bulk clothing around the world and have concluded that these particular specimens must surely have come from one these (unless someone has some stag do photos they want to show me).
But somebody should probably tell the aggressive-faced guy in the chocolate-endorsing T-shirt that it's not really doing his image any favours.
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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.
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Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Company Profile
Company name: NutriCal
Started: 2019
Founder: Soniya Ashar
Based: Dubai
Industry: Food Technology
Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount
Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia
Total Clients: Over 50
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Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
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FIXTURES
Fixtures for Round 15 (all times UAE)
Friday
Inter Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Saturday
Atalanta v Verona (6pm)
Udinese v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Juventus (11.45pm)
Sunday
Lecce v Genoa (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (6pm)
SPAL v Brescia (6pm)
Torino v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Parma (9pm)
Bologna v AC Milan (11.45pm)
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
4/5
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.
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'Shakuntala Devi'
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Rating: Three out of five stars
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
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- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
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Dust storm
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Dh67
As it stands in Pool A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
COMPANY PROFILE
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
