Three weeks ago I was fearful at the prospect of a night flight to London, flying solo with a toddler in tow. What I had not anticipated is that the drama would start before the engines on the runway.
When I woke my daughter at midnight, ready to shush her gently into her car seat for a quick spin to the airport, she rewarded my care by throwing up on clean set of pyjamas number one. Taxi waiting downstairs, I decided to change her and panic later. She screamed her way to Etihad Airways' Terminal 3, throwing up again in the back of the car as we drew up. I struggled with her car seat straps as she sprayed milky vomit all over the upholstery.
We checked in wearing pyjamas number three, the last set of clean clothes that I had packed - for either of us. Wandering through to departures, a happy baby safely strapped into her pram, I felt almost gleeful, refusing to contemplate aiming a spewing bundle at the tiny sink in an airplane toilet.
Once on board, my fellow business-class passengers were surprisingly sympathetic to the sight of an overtired, writhing baby. Some offered help, none tutted, but, nevertheless, I sought refuge in the galley, alternately applying milk (a risky move) and a gentle see-sawing motion for 25 minutes while other passengers enjoyed their welcome drinks.
Miraculously, she fell asleep before take-off and I needed to ask an air hostess to help secure the seatbelts. By 3am, padded with extra cushions and blankets and seat almost fully reclined, almost comfortable, in fact, I, too, dozed.
Such tranquility lasted for about four hours before baby tried to flip over and I just failed to get her comfortable again in time. Now sufficently refreshed to take in her new surroundings, she grinned at me. And so, off down the aisle she trundled, particularly fascinated by the snores of sleeping passengers. She pointed at one man, bobbing up and down, grunting, disappointed when her efforts provoked no reaction. Thank goodness for the supplied ear plugs and eye-mask. The air crew were surprisingly patient as we made endless sorties into the galley, always in someone's way.
Next, the entertainment handset with its glowing buttons proved a distraction, as did the bag of toys I had brought. Not fun in themselves but endlessly unpacked, repacked and thrown about. Interest waned and she slept again until a loud announcement asked passengers to return seats to upright for landing. It was premature and we circled Heathrow for another half an hour.
My toddler doesn't like to sit still for a second - and a battle of wills (and tears) commenced. The passenger pack saved the day again, and baby chewed the complimentary toothbrush for the next 20 minutes while her mother chewed her tongue, willing the plane to land, dammit, land.
cdight@thenational.ae
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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Copa del Rey
Barcelona v Real Madrid
Semi-final, first leg
Wednesday (midnight UAE)
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
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It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.
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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.
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs: Audi e-tron
Price, base: From Dh325,000 (estimate)
Engine: Twin electric motors and 95kWh battery pack
Transmission: Single-speed auto
Power: 408hp
Torque: 664Nm
Range: 400 kilometres
Indian construction workers stranded in Ajman with unpaid dues
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey
Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Company%20Profile
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THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now