6 Nations rugby starts tonight

Its that time already again, the Six Nations rugby tournament is underway this evening. 11:45pm tonight, England will be playing Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The games this year are annoyingly not on OSN, but on Al Jazeera sports, which you must pay for separately and you can't use your OSN set top box to receive the channels.

If you want to watch the matches, they are all being screened live in the Rugby Club, with the first game tonight at 23:45.

le fin.

Rugby Legends Dinner - 16th February

On February 16th (A Wednesday) there is the second annual Rugby Legends dinner that will be held at the Grand Hyatt hotel.

For RO 35.000 you get:

A 4 course meal
Complimentary drinks at the table and welcome drinks upon arrival
Speeches from two Rugby Legends: Fergus Slattery and John Bentley.

10 seats to a table, don't delay, tickets are very limited!

le fin.

Tonights Fundraiser, and a rugby game

The list of prizes for tonights fund raiser are getting substantial! It will be a great evening tonight and the prizes, so far, are the following:



SPECIAL STAR PRIZES –    
1 - Return Business Class Ticket to London with Oman Air
2 - Two Spots on Oman Sail’s Extreme Sport Racing Yacht on 22nd to 24th February 2011. 

RAFFLE 1 - 20 OMR a Ticket

1.       Courtesy of Grand Hyatt:
          Two guests for one complimentary night in an Executive Suite inclusive of breakfast.
          and two guests for complimentary dinner inclusive of a bottle of house wine at Marjan.

2.       A Boat Trip for 6 people on the STS Boat with complimentary Beer and Food 

3.       Munster Jersey signed by Paul O'Connell, British and Irish Lion's Captain 2009 and Irish International

4.       Microwave Oven

5.       I-pod Docking Station

6.       A Mobile 3G wireless internet modem

7.       1 months lodgings for your dog at Raya Kennels

RAFFLE 2 - 10 OMR a Ticket

1.        Sony 32inch Bravia TV

2.       Courtesy of Radisson Blu Hotel: Thursday Bubbly Brunch for 2 people

3.       Courtesy of Radisson Blu Hotel: Dinner for 2 in Al Tajin Steakhouse

4.       Courtesy of Radisson Blu Hotel:  BBQ on the Terrace for 2 people (every Sunday)

5.       Manicure and Pedicure Treatment at Ayana Spa

6.       DJ Chris Fisher will DJ your House Party

7.       Courtesy of Busy Bee’s Kids Activity Centre -  1 months free membership

8.       12 bags of 'Totally Roasted (in Oman ) 200gm Fresh (as in last 48 hrs) roasted beans


More prizes are coming in all the time, and if you would like to purchase a raffle ticket but can't attend this evening - please get in touch with Pete Rigby on 9921 1203.

There is also a home game this Friday. The local Muscat boys are playing against the Al Ain "Fijians" on Friday at 3pm.... your support is as always very welcome.

Have a nice weekend everyone.

le fin.

Weekend activities.

What a busy week it's been, catching up after the Eid al Adha holidays. Many thought we would be granted more day's off, but lets face it - it was nice to get even 1 day off in this amazing weather.

Tomorrow evening see's the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth here in Oman - for a 4 day (3 night) state visit to the Sultanate after a 2 day (1 night) state visit to the UAE. There are rumours floating around town that last weekend Prince William visited HM Qaboos in a private meeting - it's just a rumour though, nothing solid on that! You can see more on the planned itinerary on the official website of The British Monarchy here.

So, on with the blog. Here's a selection of things going on this weekend that you might be interested in:
1/ Harry Potter. Another instalment of this money printing press franchise has been released this week. It's on at the Shatti cinema at least 3 times a day - not sure if they are doing the 3D screening though. Please comment if you know if they are or not.... :)

2/ The Commitments. Irish Soul band... sort of - entertaining both musically and comedically - tickets are still available - RO 15 - doors open at 8pm tonight at the Copacabana in the Hyatt.
3/ The Muscat boy's are playing the Royal Navy's HMS Cumberland at the Muscat Rugby ground on Thursday at 6:30pm. It'll be a fun game and as usual there will be a bbq afterwards.
4/ On Friday, between 4-8pm there is the second chill-out session at the rugby club. Pay 10 rials, get 10 drinks (bottled beers or glasses of wine). There's a bbq on offer as well. It'll be a nice warm-up for the next item...

5/ Bollywood Friday's at Zouk. Starting this Friday at 8pm, a bit of fun - Bollywood nights at Zouk. I have high expectations of a group dancing around the club in synchronized perfection. Perhaps I've been watching too much Glee again.

Now don't forget to enter for the free tickets give-away to Bryan Adams next month - I'll randomly pick a name out of a hat on Friday afternoon, and depending on how my Friday goes, I'll either announce the winner on Friday evening or Saturday morning! Please remember to leave a way for me to contact you if you choose to leave a comment.
And lastly, a very warm welcome to the blogosphere to a new blogger: Ms Adventures of the hilarious new "local" blog - Misadventures in HR (not to be confused with "hoomin resource"). She's one seriously funny writer, who lives in "Sand Land" but I'm going to say she lives with us here in Oman, and if she doesn't, I will still say she does! Go and read her stuff. It had me in tears!

Enjoy another fantastic Omani winter weekend. Next week, something about buses. Stay tuned.

le fin.

Lots of local news!

Well it's Wednesday already - where did the week go?!

There's lots of little bits and pieces I wanted to blog, so I'm going to lump them all into this post because I think it'll be easier. Please do feel free to email me or tweet me bits of news if you would like me to share with everyone.

Crime in Muscat.

Rising crime in Muscat. You've all read the papers, the letters to the Editor in The Week, and so on. It seems that crime, specifically robberies, are on the rise here in Muscat. And the ROP appear to be struggling a little with this significant up-swing in break-ins. One person who contacted me informed me he had to wait 3 days to get a police report in order to file an insurance claim - surely these things should be issued on the spot by the attending officer? Just this morning, the ROP were called to the Etihad offices in Ruwi for a break-in. Apparently some bright spark thought he could nick himself an A380 or something!

So be sure you are vigilant. Ensure your doors and windows are locked, ensure your sliding doors are secured in a way that they can't be easily forced open from the outside, and ensure you do not leave anything of value in display inside your cars.

Eid.

Eid holidays have now been called: a nice cool 3 day haul for the Government, and 4 days for the Private sector. It will be a nice long weekend for sure! I read with interest the letter to the editor published in this weeks The Week about expatriate government employees being discriminated against due to their race. I fully agree with the author of the letter, but we all know nothing will change on that front.

Tom Millward.


Tomorrow, the 11th November, sees Tom Millward start his ride for charity around Oman. 3000 KM's starting at Qurum City Centre, at 11:11am. Tom is raising money to assist the Association of Early Intervention for Children with Disability in Oman. During his cycle he is also hoping to raise awareness of Oman as a destination for Cycling to the wider community. The cycle ride will take between 2 and 3 months to complete and will cover all sorts of terrain and areas including the difficult and unpredictable interior.

If you require further information or would like to donate towards this charity, please contact omanbycycle@hotmail.com or GSM 9761 3342.

Fancy coins.

There are two commemorative coins being minted to mark the 40th anniversary of Oman as we know it today. One is gold, and the other is silver, and will contain the Oman coat of arms and a special 40th anniversary logo - so keep your eyes out for them.

Bryan Adams.

It's long been rumoured, and has finally been officially announced: Bryan's coming to town on December the 18th. Tickets are RO 25 and are on sale now in all the usual outlets. Stay tuned for a free ticket give-away right here on Muscat Mutterings soon.


War of the Djz Final - Thursday night

In new nightclub Nuts & Bolts, on Thursday night there is the final of the 2010 War of the Djz competition.


It should be a laugh, so check it out, the finalists are really good at their craft and it will be a great night of musical entertainment!

Zouk.
Tonight, the ever-trendy Zouk bar are having their very own VJ (Video Jockey) play some fun videos with crowd interaction, and of course their signature House music pumping all night long. Remember - you pay RO 20 at the door and then you get RO 20 worth of food and drinks inside.

Muscat Rugby & Aussie Rules


This Friday afternoon, from 1:30pm sees an afternoon of fun on the Rugby ground. At 1:30 the Muscat Magpies play the Dubai Dingo's, then at 3pm the Muscat Rugby Club's U12 group have a demonstration game, and at 3:30pm we have Muscat RFC Men's Vs the Dubai Exiles. There will be a music system in the stands for spectators, as well as a bbq and drinks (non alcoholic ON the rugby pitch), then down in the clubhouse there are special offers on food and drinks available (including alcohol of course). It will be a fantastic day for everyone, please do come on down and show your support for our local expatriate community.

Royal Opera

There have been reports that the Royal Opera people have been over-selling events to ensure packed nights, with the slight problem that some people who paid for their tickets do not get to have a seat. Reportedly nearly 30 people were left standing at the Monday night performance. So if you're planning on going to the Opera - make sure you get there early to get a seat!

UAE & Canada

It seems that the on-going spat between the UAE and Canada has gone to the next level: The UAE have now announced that as of January 2nd 2011, all Canadian passport holders visiting the UAE will have to apply for a visa before-hand, and pay the Visa fee (presumably RO 20 a time). One does wonder what the end result of all this diplomatic arguing will be, but it's routed in the fact that the UAE want more than 6 landing slots at Canadian airports each week for it's two airlines (Etihad and Emirates currently have to share the 6 slots). Having personally been on many Etihad flights to Toronto, I can assure you those flights are always jammed full, and more flights would be a good thing. But Air Canada don't want the competition. It would seem that the sound business solution would be to sell more landing slots to the UAE - why is a private company (Air Canada) dictating the Government of Canada's policies on this?

That's all for this week - have a fabulous weekend everyone.

le fin.

Something fun for the weekend.

Tonight, as you will know from my previous blog, is the rugby team's fund raiser event: Comedy night. It costs RO 10, you get a complimentary drink, and it will help support local comedians and local rugby player (also arguably comedians). The last time this was done, it was a great night. You can buy tickets on the door, and call 9577 4018 for more info.

I was having lunch in a local restaurant in Al Khuwair recently, and snapped this amusing picture:
Points if you can tell me which restaurant the picture was taken in!

Now, long time Omani blog followers may remember Other Oman, and her post about Ken Block. Well, Ken's made another video. Man that guy can drive, he might even survive here on the mean streets of Muscat (assuming he can master the 1 wheel at a time over speed bumps thing).



le fin.

Rugby Team Fundraiser: Comedy Night

Those of you that remember the last comedy night held at the Rugby Club will remember how much fun it was. They're doing it again, this time to raise funds for away trips. And this time, for your RO 10, you also get a free complimentary drink!

The bar's prices are significantly cheaper than the prices found at the Craic Attack events, and they support home-grown local Omani talent (as well as a few imported residents). Call 9577 4018 for more information and to buy tickets, it will be a fun night, and you'll help support two local groups with your patronage.

Also, there will be a raffle with more prizes to be won, including dinner for two at the Raddisson, Oman Mobile internet dongles and many more things - tickets for the raffle are RO 1 each!

le fin.

Halloween Party!

For anyone interested, there will be a pick-up game of touch rugby held on Shatti beach this Thursday at 4pm. Then at 8pm, the doors will open for the halloween party at the club. The drinks are cheaper here than any of the hotel bars in town, and there is a fantastic outdoor area with overhead fans to keep you cool. At RO 4 for non-members, and food and drink specials available, it should be a fun evening! You can buy tickets on the door.

le fin

Weekend round up.

Ahh, Wednesday you shady lady, you're here again.

There's quite a lot going on this weekend, and here's my pick:

Wednesday night:

You might want to go and check out the circus at Qurum park. I've not heard any reviews on this, so if you've been, please do share your experiences with the rest of us.

Thursday night:

It's the 80's bash at t'intercon gardens. I've got my outfit sorted, keep your eyes peeled for my delightfully tacky gold chain, and sunglasses! For those of you that have been living in Muscat for a few years, you might remember the time before Hi FM started bringing acts to Muscat.... there was nothing here. We should support these gigs so that we get more...

Gates open at 7pm, and tickets cost RO 20.000 a pop. Call 9555 5699 for ticketing information.

Friday:

Muscat are taking on last seasons league champions, Bahrain in the only sport that matters at 4pm. Yes I'm talking about rugby again, and yes I'm asking you all to please come down and support the guys as they face up to last seasons champions. Real David and Goliath stuff - it should be good.
The kids section of the rugby club will be having a demonstration at 3pm on the field, ahead of the 4pm kick off of against Bahrain. If you would like to come, but don't know how to get to the field, click here for a map showing you where the field is, its right next to the ABA school in Al Khuwair.

le fin.

Something for the weekend?

Ahh, Wednesday has arrived once again!

I guess the biggest entertainment news of the weekend is that tomorrow is the opening day of the Grand Circus down at Marah Land (Qurum Park). Thanks to the Omani Brit over on English Girl in Oman for posting the flyer (it's nice to see you blogging again!)


Tickets start at RO 2, and go up to RO 5 for a VIP pass - no clue what that gets you though - probably better seating I'm guessing. The show is rumoured to be 2 hours long, starting at 7pm. It's running for a month so it will hopefully be something many of us can go along and see.

Now, on a more serious note, I read yesterday with some concern over on another local blogger Mimi of Shy Rebellious Arab Girl about the plight of blind Dhofari women. According to her findings, it appears to be the general trend that blind Dhofari women are kept out of sight in their family houses and remain uneducated for their entire lives. I hope that this is not true, but if it is, something must be done for these poor women. Certainly more attention needs to be paid to those who are differently abled here in the Sultanate.

And finally, a shout out to the Muscat Rugby 1st XV who are flying to Kuwait this weekend for the season opener - good luck! Their first home game is next weekend against Bahrain (the winners of the last season) which should prove to be a stiff challenge for the local lads.

le fin.

Blood donation at MRFC this Thursday.

It's the fashionable thing to do, these days. It seems every day I look in the paper, there's another blood drive going on! That's really good to see - normally over the summer months, during the mass-exodus, the blood bank levels get very low, and so the need for donors is increased.
Donating blood is a tiring thing, and so it's best done on a day when you can relax (and not have to work!).

The Rugby Club is situated very close to the ABA school in Al Khuwair, and the blood drive is between 10 AM and 1 PM tomorrow. Here is a map to the Club House:

View Larger Map

le fin.

♪ ♫ Everybody was kung fu fighting..... ♫ ♪

....Those cats were fast as lightning - In fact it was a little bit frightning - But they fought with expert timing ....
Ramadan is nearly here, and with that are the last-minute parties. The rugby club is throwing the event advertised above, and it promises to be a great night out, so turn up and support the club!

It's this Thursday from 8pm, non-members are RO 7 - any questions, call T on 9944 6746.

le fin.

Weekend manouvers.

Well another 4-day week is drawing to a close, and the weekend is nearly upon us once again. Phew.

All the usual spots are open, with the exception of the Park Inn roof top bar, which will remain closed now until after Ramadan. It's too hot anyway!

You may want to go and check out the new Zouk club at the Crowne Plaza if you have not already been. It's a great spot, but there has been some confusion over the concept of a cover charge on the door. So, here is the breakdown:

All 7 days a week: 7pm-10pm no cover charge or entry fee.
Weekdays: 10pm onwards – RO10/per couple which is fully redeemable against your bill
Weekends:10pm onwards – RO20/per couple which is fully redeemable against your bill

That means that you pay RO 20 to get inside the club, and then you have a RO 20 credit inside the club which is redeemable against food or drink available in there. I understand that there will be a smart card launched very soon which will make things easier - you are given a card with RO 20 balance on it, and just use that to pay for food & drinks until it's empty, then you can carry on as normal. The club welcomes groups and the after-work corporate crowd tonight from 7pm - not a bad way to start the weekend, if you can get your boss to pony up with the cash!

Alternatively, tomorrow night the St Georges Society are holding a quiz night at the Rugby Club. There is a set price menu of RO 5 which will get you a suitably English themed dinner and desert. Draught beers are RO 2.3 & glasses of wine for RO 1.8.

Thursday & Friday you may want to sneak in a fry-up at the Blue Marlin marina restaurant (10% discount to all WGO card holders), or if you're feeling like something more, on Friday you could check out the InterCon's Scottish Corner breakfast/brunch. I'm told the Scottish corner is becoming quite popular. This week will be the last one until after the schools start again.


Friday afternoon brings the fabulous Sundowner deal at the Left Bank. Pay RO 20 per person and then help yourself to unlimited Tapas and Cocktails (and selected beers) for 3 hours between 4 & 7pm. Last week was carnage!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

le fin.

Music Quiz at MRFC tonight

For those of you that didn't go running off to Dubai, you might want to check out the Music Quiz at the Rugby Club in Al Khuwair. Team registrations start at 7:30, and the quiz starts at 8:00pm. These quizzes have always proved to be great and tonight will be no different!

Go check it out if you're looking for something to do tonight, you won't regret it!

le fin.

It's just too hot!

Hi everyone.

No blogs from me recently because I've been too busy and when I do get some time I just have had other things that I needed to get done. Usual story I guess!

So Muscat has been pretty busy lately. And lets start with the heat! 42'C according to the temperature in my car last night. Night! Hello Summer :(

Burger King opened, I drove by it on Wednesday night around 1am and couldn't believe how busy it was there. I'm thinking that choosing to open the first location (albeit a return to Oman) in a petrol station off of a highway might not have been the best plan safety-wise (I am staggered by the demand for flame-grilled grease), but good for them, they're doing well, and being close to PDO & Qurum / Ruwi / Muttrah traffic, they'll hopefully do well from that location. I'd love to know how much business the McDonalds nearby has been getting since BK opened. I did note with quite some amusement that 2 people with Porche's thought they'd be extra cool by parking right outside the place and blocking the already choked through passage. I'd normally have reserved that level of stupidity for a Lexus driver, but it seems that these 4-door Porche drivers are earning their own level of ridiculousness. And lets not even start on the entire concept of a 4 door Porche...

The comedy night held at Muscat rugby club went off surprisingly well - a big thank you to every one of you that came down and supported the team - it really was a big success. In other club news, 3 MRFC players played in the very last ever Arabian Gulf RFU team against Korea on Friday night, and won the game 21-19. And Muscat played the French Navy last night in 42'C heat, and also won that game convincingly too :)

Muscat Daily. My local paper of choice, but what on earth is going on with it lately? Case in point: Today headlining the business section is the news that Nawras have launched corporate fixed-line services in Muscat, and linked 78 buildings in Ruwi up to their fibre network. Great news, except the key bit of information missing... the price of the services. Ho hum.

Next.

This 18th and 19th (thats Tuesday and Wednesday this week) at the Safari bar, Celtic music group, Skerryvore will be performing. You could call this an encore performance because they played here in February (25th) as well to a good crowd. So break out your kilt, whip off your undies and go and check them out. I suspect Tuesday may be a rather laid back affair and Wednesday will be the busy night. Tuesday will be free entrance, and Wednesday will cost you RO 6 on the door, with 2 free drinks. Skerryvore will be playing 2 45 minute sets on both nights, kicking things off around 9pm.

And because I happen to like comedy show's, I'll take after Undercover Dragon's lead and plug the next upcoming Craic Attack: Amer Zahr on June 2nd at the Crowne Plaza. Tickets to this show will be the usual RO 15. Every single one of the Craic Attack series has been hilarious, so get your tickets to continue supporting these great events. And be sure to get there early to get a decent seat - but I wouldn't sit too close to the front unless you want to heckle ;) And if RO 15 is too much for you to afford - try your luck in the prize draw on Muscat Confidential - 2 pairs of free tickets are up for grabs! Go get em!

I've been collecting more amusing photo's from around town, so if you see something funny, please email it to me at my address on the top right corner of this blog.

And a final question to anyone reading this - does anyone know what happened with that Shell law suit? It kind of just went really quiet, I'd love to know how that is turning out.

More coming soon!

le fin.

Muscat Rugby Club presents: Comedy Night

On Thursday May 13th, there will be a comedy night featuring up to a dozen comedians held at the Muscat rugby club near the ABA school in al Khuwair.



There will be special offers on food and drinks, as well as a raffle for some prizes too.

It's a 21+ event & no smoking inside is strictly enforced.

Muscat plays in the Premier Gulf league against a host of teams from the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. To travel to these games costs a lot of money (especially the non-UAE games), so please do come down and support the club so that they may continue to represent the only Omani rugby team to compete in the GCC. In the 2009 Dubai Rugby 7's tournament, Muscat won the GCC championship, a feat they hope to re-create this year.

le fin.

Local news round up

Firstly, Muscato seems to be missing. This guy was a prolific blogger, regularly blogging 2 or 3 times a day. One hopes he's taking a holiday and will be back soon, and not anything worse.

Secondly, tonight the Muscat Rugby Club 1st XV will be playing the Royal Navy ship HMS Enterprise at the ABA ground at 18:30. This is one of the last games of the season and should be an entertaining game. On Thursday night there is a Music quiz being held at the club - it should be pretty good, so if you're looking for something to do and fancy a cheaper night out than any of the hotel bars, check out the Rugby Club. The quiz starts at 8pm.

Thirdly, there are still some tickets left for the upcoming (April 7th) comedy night with Maz Jobrani - but only some. Just like the previous times, make sure you get there early to get a decent seat.


Fourthly, the Autumn Trade Fair at the Oman International Exhibition Centre is currently on-going, finishing on April 2nd. According to the OITE website, the ATF is Oman's largest family shopping event of the year. Try going to Lulu's on a Friday afternoon! Anyway, there's more information here if you're interested in going to it.

And finally. New local blogger English Girl in Oman posted an excellent post on expat life here last night. You should all go and read it, and post comments of your experiences here (in Oman) too. I couldn't agree more with her comments and wish I had the ability to sum things up the way she has just done so in her latest post. I'm glad I've finally figured out how to make the coffee pushers stop... I never realised that just shaking the cup makes them stop! Thanks EGIO!

le fin.

Oman 0 - Kuwait 0, and a few other things

First up.

Last nights non-match. No score in the entire game from either team, but that's all Kuwait needed to do in order to get into the AFC. Oman didn't make it, and are subsequently out of the AFC to be held in Qatar. Commiserations, and better luck next time boyo's.

Tonight is the Stampede, it's going to be fun =)

There's a lot of stuff coming up in the next few weeks.

Next Wednesday night (10th March) Dubai band Skitzofonik will be playing at the Muscat Rugby Club at 8pm. This band really is good, and comprises of the three from Acoustofonik, who have previously played at the club to a packed capacity crowd. This time they're back, and they're bringing 2 more people with them. Tickets are RO 5 for members and RO 8 for non-members.



Then, for those that like to relax on Fridays, there is another one of those all-day beach parties being held at the yacht club. The last one ran-on till early morning, but this one will stop at 10pm, which being on a Friday is probably a good idea. Should be a good place to chill out, so if you're at a loose end on Friday the 19th, why not check it out?

The beach party might be just the cure for those that will be attending the Irish ball the night before. Yes, it's nearly that time of year again - pretend your Irish and dye your drinks green!

St Patricks day is on March 17, and there is a ball being held here in Muscat - more details on that to come.
All in all, a pretty big month on the social calendar.

Bad luck again to the Oman football team.

le fin.

Bits n bobs

A few little things to post today:

1. Oman V Kuwait AFC game on March 3rd (Wednesday night).

For those that were up in arms over having to spend RO 1.000 to watch Oman play and support their nation, they got lucky. Omantel (22,000) and Bank Sohar (500) have purchased 22,500 of the total 25,000 tickets available for the game. If you are wearing an Oman FC shirt (or presumably sufficient local stuff) you will be admitted to the game for free. Pretty good move from Omantel, and a nice little spot for Bank Sohar, for comparatively little cash too. Bank Muscat et all may have missed a trick with that one.

Rather amusingly, those supporting Kuwait will have to pay, as will those who do not have any Oman gear on. I predict that no one will pay and everyone will just go for free. Time will tell. I wonder how tight security will be, as the SQ sports complex has not had a particularly good track record in that area. Any odds on how many minutes it'll be till we see a firework?!

2. Muscat RFC v French Navy on March 1st (Monday night) at 6:30pm

Local boys Muscat take on the Frogs in a friendly on Monday night. It should be a good game - the French will be looking for revenge from their last game a few months ago.

3. Muscat Daily.

Recently, the Dragon wrote a piece about the new local daily here, Muscat Daily. The Dragon made a few remarks that did ring true with me, and also irritated me a little because I was preparing another critique of the paper in a follow up to my initial review of the paper. I read the comments section to that particular article with a big smile - you have got to love the haters!

I think the paper is ok on the whole. I had noticed that recently there has been a tendency to spout the usual sun-shine drivel that everything is great and there's nothing ever wrong here, but I figure that's more an effort to get some advertising, which is currently woefully low (just 3 ads in today's main paper, 2 of which were Government - MoT and Haya Water). I also do have to agree with the Dragon's comment about questioning whether the journalists there ever google any of the stories they publish. The story on the HPV vaccine now available at Muscat Private Hospital a few weeks ago was a case in point: some simple checking would have identified just how badly people were being ripped off. But the best bit is what wasn't printed or even suggested. HPV can only be contracted by sexually active women.... yeah I don't have to say any more now, do I? And to give the story front page coverage on what was essentially a glorified advertisement, that was a bit of a head-scratcher too. I wonder how much money Muscat Daily charged for that one?

A side-note that I was going to include in my follow-up on the paper: I noted that Apex Publishing recently bought a new press to handle printing of the Daily in-house (previously they were being printed on the same machines as the Oman Observer). I wonder if there's any more than meets the eye on that front?

4. Canadian Stampede, March 4th (Thursday) at 7:30pm

Very few tickets left. It's going to be a great party, I cant wait to have another bash at line-dancing. I suggest anyone anywhere near me wears steel-toe capped shoes.....

5. Oman Air now flying direct to Colombo.

Excellent news for the Sri Lankans, and anyone interested in visiting the country. Oman Air now flies direct to Colombo on Wednesdays and Fridays, and back on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Albeit the times are a bit awkward for a decent weekend trip: fly Wednesday morning at 0:15, landing at 05:40, and then leaving Colombo at 07:15 Friday morning, arriving back in Muscat at 11:55. The price including taxes is around RO 220.

6. Small news puff piece: Oman now has a suspension bridge! Due to be officially opened down in Sur sometime soon, the new bridge links the mainland Sur and the village of Aijah. It has been named Khor al Bath, which I thought was a rather peculiar name to give a bridge which is designed to keep you out of the water... but there we are :)

7. And finally, spotted by Muscati and subsequently tweeted earlier today. Another new interpretation on how to spell the name Al Athaiba:


heh.

And that's all for today. I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend. Good luck to USA and Canada tonight, in the Olympic Mens Ice Hockey final (Live on Eurosport at 00:45).

le fin.

Christmas and NYE

Well, the season is upon us. Yet, somehow, it never really feels like Christmas when it's so warm and sunny out, does it?

Having said that, I was quite impressed when talking to a friend of mine recently. His little daughter had asked Santa for a rocket and an air plane. And, rather incredibly, Amazon has water rockets and remote controlled planes. I suspect that there will be one very happy girl come Friday morning! So perhaps it does feel a bit like Christmas. I'm sure some mulled wine and mince pies will help. I wonder if brandy butter is available here? More importantly, I wonder what this water rocket is going to be like?!

Something that always helps to get into the seasonal swing of things are parties! The rugby club have two events this year, one on the 23rd, the other on the 31st. The Christmas party, on the 23rd, is free for members, and only RO 5 for non-members.

On the 31st, for NYE, the prices are RO 20 for members, and RO 30 for non-members, and that includes an open bar for the entire night, along with food as well. Not bad when comparing to the hotels tickets, which are in the region of RO 60-65 a ticket. The Skratch band will be playing at the club for NYE as well.
Seasons greetings everyone.

le fin