All rise, for Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor has joined Facebook. Political views: Best not say, but I have tea with whoever's in charge. Current location: Abu Dhabi! Likes: corgis, hunting and hats. Yes, just in time for her first official visit to the UAE in more than 30 years, the Queen of England now has her own page on everybody's favourite social networking blackhole.
The only thing is, I'm having trouble finding her. It seems a few others got there before Buckingham Palace finally decided to sign up and a host of fraudulent queens are clogging up my search results.
There's an "HRH The Queen", listed bizarrely as "a company", which lies untended, photo-free and is clearly not something with a crest of royal approval. However, this hasn't stopped 223 people opting to "like" it or others posting their badly spelled appreciation on the wall. "HM Queen Elizabeth" looks more promising, with an official palace profile photo, almost 34,000 "likes" and a recently uploaded snap of a member of the Queen's household cavalry in traditional dress.
"Her Majesty The Queen" draws two results with a combined total of 41 "likes". Now, I know she's only been on Facebook since the beginning of the month, but I'd have thought she would be a bit more popular.
Just before I give up the chase, I'm told that it's not actually the queen herself who is on Facebook, but rather The British Monarchy.
And here it is, with the royal coat of arms as the profile picture, with almost 300,000 "likes" and a wall already heaving with pictures and videos from various military inspections, medal-giving ceremonies and dinners with foreign dignitaries. And in making the Facebook page a thing rather than a person, the queen has cunningly avoided the inevitable "friend requests" or "pokes" she would have received, along with countless invitations for her to join Mafia Wars.
Instead, visitors can simply "like" the page, and leave messages under the posts. These run the gamut from declarations of love for the princes to questions about the contents of the Queen's handbag.
Given that this is all on the official page, it's rather funny. But I can't help but think that when a certain someone finally sits down to update her status after a day of inspecting the sights of the UAE capital, they might not be so amused.
Company%20Profile
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2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
Company%20Profile
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if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
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.
Company%20Profile
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La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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