Monday 17 January 2011

Monday 17th January - 2nd Week in the UAE & It’s Raining!!


Busy first week out here in Ajman sorting out food and bits for the flat which now feels more homely than it did a week or so ago and my kitchen is pretty where I’d like it to be right now with enough food in to have a variety of meals including roast beef yesterday with yorkshire puddings!! I think once I’ve mastered my oven / cooker I’ll be doing a roast for a few of the guys who also live in the block. I think my favorite new toy is my blender as I’m making home made smoothies/milkshakes tonights is mango, banana and ginger and interesting mix but not unpleasant.

Yesterday marked my first and probably not last trip to ‘The Hole In The Wall’ an off license of sorts that has the most amazing selection of wine, spirits and beer especially when you consider this is supposed to be a country where it is difficult and expensive to drink alcohol. Wine was around the same price as in the UK (but no 3 for 2’s) and I went for New World stuff mainly and a 4L wine box that cost about a tenner for that 2nd bottle experience, spirits seem about equal to UK prices and they have some seriously expensive bottles of brandy etc..... Surely that’s not just for the ex-pats? The 24 small bottles of Strongbow where about a pound each so cider will be a real treat from now on.

It has been raining today so kinda like Manchester only warmer but they still talk funny! Today also marked me collecting my first load of washing from the launderette I had 2 pairs of trouser, 6 shirts, 2 t-shirts, loads of pants and socks washed, ironed and put on hangers for £9 although I suspect I may have lost a sock but hey can’t complain at that price and for the moment I’ll be holding off on getting a washing machine.

Tomorrow will be a big day as it’s medical day which means an early start at 7:30am for chest x-rays, hand inspection (no idea why) and the bit I’m not looking forward to a blood test - I’m rubbish with needles. All this is part of the medical insurance process and after that things move on to work visa application which in turn means bank account, mobile phone contracts, internet connections etc etc

So far so good and as always more photos here

Saturday 15 January 2011

Friday 14th January - One Week In The UAE


Has it really been a week since I was dropped off at Manchester Airport and jumped on board at A380? So far I’ve parted with 16 passport photos to help gain a work permit, medical insurance etc etc...... They love paperwork in this part of the world and I can only imagine what the process to get my CAA Pilots Licence converted into a UAE one??

So impressions after a week here is that I suspect the next few months could be a lot of fun. The team at Coast and Channel 4 seem up for it and want to be successful whilst having a great time, already talking of cooking nights which I guess will involve someone doing tea whilst someone else brings a game or dvd and another person deals with beverages as they are called in this part of the world.

Ajman is about £15, 25 minute cab ride from Dubai (25km away) on a good day so for me it’s not really something I can or want to do each day but at the weekend and when a few of use head out in the week then yes why not especially when there is so much going on in the city for example this weekend it the world parachute championships and soon it’s a big golf tournament. We also have a Metro system that goes from a few miles up the road in Sharjah and less than a pound into town so clearly worth investigating especially as it runs to the airport so ideal to collect people coming in. If you love shopping then this place is amazing and to be fair not that expensive in the regular shops, you can get most things you can get in the UK although brands you know cost more (certainly for food) so I’m trying where possible to buy local stuff, fresh veg doesn’t appear expensive and near the flat we’ve a couple of decent supermarkets some of which seem to sell everything under the sun and an amazing selection of herbs and spices.

Cabs are the transport of choice and the service wash is the way forward - Think Dot Cotton in a Burka! Will keep the updates coming and add pictures as and when I have something of interest to post on the photos page.

More photos here

Monday 10 January 2011

Monday 10th January - On Air at 5pm Today


Sat in with a guy called Geoff yesterday (he’s staying) so now have notes about the studio systems and I hoping the station producer will sit in with me for a while this afternoon. I also met the guy I’m replacing who wasn’t the happiest man in the world but an important lesson learnt for the future you never know when you’re done you last show.

Geoff also does other things over here like hosting corporate and sporting events with people like Freddie Flintoff so he’s a good contact to make and hopefully I’ll be able to convince him of the reasons why he should give me some work.

Fair to say the stations sound is going to change once the new transmitter is up and running along with a few other things so these first few weeks are a chance for me to get back on air and find my feet before being 100% when the new look Coast 103.2 gets underway.

More photos here

Sunday 9th January - First Day at Work


It was nice to get into Dubai itself yesterday and enjoy a burger and a couple of drinks..... Well Pepsi’s, proper drinks are only served at Western Hotels. Despite the lack of drink it was good fun and not to expensive as the boss paid and he also supplied me with a sim card for my phone so I don’t have to worry now about running up a big bill on my UK phone although it feels a bit wrong to have an iPhone on Pay as you Go which is now topped up with £10 worth of credit.

Whilst out in Dubai I did a little shop in Hyper Panda (dubbed Kung-Fu Panda by me) and brought loo rolls, kitchen roll (Mum will be pleased) and a few other bits. I’m told we have the UAE version of Waitrose (Spinneys) in Ajman so will discover that soon for a full food shop but have fruit, fruit juice, coffee, milk and cold drinks so have enough for now. I have a list of things I need from Ikea to make the flat a little more homely and Western so that’s the plan for later. I’ve also discovered that I have no need for a washing machine or ironing board as most of the guys get a service wash done quite cheaply and they iron it all and return it to you so now point to work too hard.

Once back in Ajman I decided to head out for a beer at one of the beach side hotels although I didn’t see the beach as it was too dark. The Kempinski Beach Hotel was my venue of choice a 10 minute and £2 bus ride away so placed myself in the sports bar and enjoyed a couple of Strongbow’s at £4.50 a pint before heading out to a nice bar in the hotel to use the wi-fi at £6 an hour...... Ouch!! Plus the beer was a little more expensive at £9 a pint but it was nice to be back online feeling normal and all the IT things I set up in the UK work so hopefully when I’m online at home again UK TV won’t be an issue via the MacBook.

First day in the office today as the working week is Sunday - Thursday 5pm-8pm with a weekend shift on a Saturday afternoon which should work well. Coast 103.2 is based around the corner from the flat along with a 4 other stations and some TV stations so I’m kind of hoping it will have a bit of a buzz about it.

I have to take my passport into the office for processing the work visa and I believe the whole process takes up to a month then broadband connections etc can be got although I hope to be able to borrow Paul’s downstairs before then. I had to part with 16 passport photos for various forms so pleased I printed a few at home. I’ve also learnt that the stations that are actually based in Dubai proper leave you to sort your own work visa and find your own accommodation which is not only expense but also a big commitment as you have to sign a tenancy agreement for 12 months so I feel I’m better off here and with work building new accommodation across the road hopefully a little more modern flat will come along before too long.

After work it was time to shop for food and bits for the flat so I walked to a place called Spinneys which is owned by Waitrose and got the essentials for the flat including proper bacon.....!! They have a non muslim section so I took advantage. I also have plenty of things in the freezer so will be able to cook for myself once everything settles down. After the food shop I when with Darren (one of the other new jocks) to Ajman City Centre which is an out of town Mall complete with huge Carrefour which would have been great for food shopping in the future. Before the shop some tea and I had chicken tikka on nan bread which was lovely for £6 including a drink so not that expensive to eat out (although that isn’t the plan always) tonights 2nd shop involved getting stuff for the flat like additional towels, pillows and bedding along with a shower curtain so now my feet stay dry. I also brought some basic kitchen stuff so now have pans to cook in although I did manage to drop the frying pan lid on the tiles so that shattered rather nicely, still on the hunt for some plates and think an Ikea trip might solve that and then I’ll have all the basics in place and it’s just a case of making the flat my own with stuff...... Plus a trip to ‘The Hole In The Wall’ for beers and wine.

More photos here

Saturday 8th January - Arrival


After a good flight in the A380 (note to self don’t sit on the back row as it’s near the toilets and a space where people gather to chat) I went to the visa collection point picked up my paperwork and after that had my iris scanned which I’m told is one of the first steps to getting a proper work permit. After passport control with more photos I collected my luggage and found my driver who took me from the airport along the 8 land highway to Ajman about 25km from Dubai itself where the station is based. We arrived just before 3am and I installed myself in my flat which is quite large with a kitchen, hallway with dinning table, lounge with a sofa and chairs, satellite TV although the selection of channels for me is rubbish BBC World being the best I’ve found so far and a balcony, my bedroom has plenty of storage and an en-suite bathroom plus I have another showroom come toilet.

I think it’s fair to say I wouldn’t have picked a flat like this myself but it’s clean and tidy with plenty of space and storage and reminds me of a package holiday hotel room. I think it’s been updated a little recently although a trip to Ikea will be required as having only one plastic (I kid you not) plate and cup isn’t ideal plus I need some pans, a shower curtain and few other bits to make it more homely and also a supermarket shop is required as a man cannot live on dried noodles, apples, bread and butter alone!

I guess the office is less than 5 minutes walk from here so a car isn’t required but what I do need a broadband connection as soon as possible as I being out of the loop isn’t a lot fun, I also need to get a pay as you go sim for my phone as I suspect it costs a fortune to send texts to the UK on an O2 roaming deal.

Off to Dubai itself shortly to have a look around with some of the other guys from the station and that will no doubt give me a better idea of what the country is all about.

More photos here

United Arab Emirates Radio Adventure January 2011


Before I start a little bit of background on how I ended up out here in the UAE.

I’d worked across the UK at various radio stations and fair to say over the last 12 months the industry has changed for what it was to what is. Many of the radio stations I’ve worked for over the years no longer exist gone and I suspect will never return gone are Fox FM, B97 Chiltern FM, 106 Century FM and 96 Trent FM all but one of the stations having been replaced with network offerings from both Heart and Capital and this means that they only have 2 local shows per day and as a result in the region of 150-200 presenters have lost jobs and are now looking for alternative work.

Back in August I was told my current contract wasn’t renewed so despite having been successful in both the shows I’d presented at Key 103 over 4 years I found myself in the trickiest job market I can remember. So a demo was made and sent out to over 30 stations and safe to say feedback was limited and what I did get was a number of programmers saying I don’t understand why you’d want to come here after working in Manchester.......?? Simple answer I enjoy working in radio.

Whilst looking for work in the UK I spotted an interesting advert which gave little away other than an opportunity might be available in a place where the sunshines, so I thought why not send a demo and following on from that a number of emails where exchanged, a couple of phone calls made and then a job was offered in the United Arab Emirates at a station called Coast 103.2 so on Friday 7th January I left Manchester on the Airbus A380 and 7 hours later I arrived in the UAE.

More photos here