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Yes, I made it – and what a stressful experience. Having queued up behind extended Pakistani families with all their worldly good tied up in large bundles, was told that my internet ticket wasn’t valid although the computer was registering that I was indeed on the flight back to Dublin via B&hrain. Had to find […]

Two days ago we had this ferocious sandstorm – it was a bit like being in the middle of a hail storm except that the wind was warm and you were being skinned alive by small sand particles rather than stinging hail stones. You couldn’t stand up in it, although I see a little figure […]

Speaking of that wading bird (as I was a few entries ago), here he or she is. Nope, no idea(what it is), but looked very dramatic flying off with big black wings.

Coming home on Friday for a week and so will have to go down the souq!Last time I was there, a well-built Japanese lad was attemting to get up on this poor donkey. He tried from the left side, he tried from the right; some passers-by attempted to give him a leg-up with predictable and […]

Lurking in and around every large and usually stinking metal bin in this town, you will find a cat or three – completely wild and tolerated because they do valuable work in controlling the population of rats.A recent campaign had the cats taken off the streets for neutering and then returned to their usual part […]

Was attempting to get an image of a black heron-type bird and got this instead. Nice pic, what?

Justin Gatlin has been denied the world 100 metres record he had claimed last Friday at the IAAF Super Tour meeting in D*ha. According to the International Association of Athletics Federations, Gatlin ran 9.766 seconds, not 9.76 secs as first thought. Under IAAF rules, that time should have been rounded up to 9.77 secs – […]

“Gatlin, the cynosure of all eyes” somewhat improbably shouts the top page headline in the local English newspaper, The Peninsula. Not quite – five minutes before the soon to be fastest man of earth settles into his blocks for the 100m final at the World Super Tour meet in D*ha, the stands empty. And I […]

THE HEAT IS ONFrom what I hear, the weather isn’t too good back home. A hint of spring followed by a return to winter.As I sit here, there is a film of sweat on my arms and on my face. I’m wearing a loose t-shirt, light shorts and flip-flops and that’s too much. Outside the […]

Thank you to everyone who ran the Wicklow25/50k and helped raise over Eu300 for these young athletes in Yngelan(not sure of the spelling there, but a small village four hours south of Addis Ababa) , Ethiopia. Watch out for some of them in Beijing!Coach Mick Bourke, who you can see standing back left, is heading […]