Gold became good

‘I don’t believe it” (said in the best Victor Meldrew tones).  I’ve just returned from the Gold & Diamond Park, Dubai and I feel like a magician or someone in Aladdin, “new lamps for old”.  As followers of this blog will know, I’ve been asking friends, family and acquaintances to look in the back of their drawers, jewellery boxes and the pot on the mantelpiece (or equivalent – this IS sweltering Dubai after all) and donate any little bits of unwanted gold to support this challenge.  I had an open house last week as a last opportunity for people to give their bits of gold to me and, today, put it all in a plastic bag to take to the buyer.

My stash in a small plastic bag.

I had a copy of my passport with me (a legal requirement to stop thieves selling their booty I presume) and after wandering around a bit, I eventually found Kanz Jewels.  The friendly men at Kanz spread the gold out and started examining each tiny piece – I was going to be here for a while.  I worked out that there were three piles and they kept conferring with each other in a language I didn’t understand.  One pile was definitely the better gold and I was silently rooting for it to get bigger.  Eventually, they weighed two of the piles – it really didn’t look very much at all.  One pile was given back to me as silver and non-gold items, one lot was 10 carat and the other 18 carat.

Examining the gold.

I was absolutely astonished when they offered..well I’m not sure I should say here on this blog how much, but here it is (equivalent to half my original target):

Cash for children in need.

To the men in Kanz (sorry I’ve forgotten your names in my excitement) thank you.  To everyone who has given their little pieces of gold, thank you. To any Gulf for Good challengers, I recommend this as a way that people can support a good cause by donating something that would have little value on its own but can be converted into an amount that will really make a difference.  And as a reminder of those causes:

I’m off to do some more training, with a massive spring in my step and joy in my heart.  Thank you.

I found a fortune

The fortune

I was having a clear out of my study this week and found a bag of assorted bank notes and coins that we’ve collected from over 15 years of travelling.  I usually come back from a trip brimming with enthusiasm and shove the left over money into a drawer thinking I must go back to that country one day.  I have never been to Lebanon but my husband has travelled there and amongst this bag of booty were 2 beautiful bank notes from Lebanon.  I got very excited about this as they added up to 101000 livres – enough for spending money for a week plus some left over for a small holiday home in the Bekaa valley?  A quick visit to a currency convertor site soon punctured my day dream and revealed its worth as 247 aed ( about 44 GBP or 67 USD).  I’ll  need a bit more than this so will visit the bank this week.

I’ve banked with Emirates NBD for over 8 years and they have always given excellent service.  Recently, I have more reasons to thank them as they are supporting this challenge and have given a generous donation for the PCRF and SOS Children’s Villages which I am sincerely grateful for.I know from past experience how much Emirates NBD do to support initiatives in our local community, often in a very discreet way, that makes a big difference.  Thank you Emirates NBD.

I’m in real awe of P from Gulf for Good this week as she came to a bash at my house to support my challenge.  As it was a private do I can’t say too much, but it was very lively, very late, and gave a big boost to my fund-raising.  Country Hill International donated the most enormous and delicious piece of beef (Stockyard grain-fed Aberdeen Angus) I have ever tasted, Greenhouse gave magnificent cheese and Lindt added luxurious sweet treats.  The team from MMI and Le Clos ensured the evening was brilliantly entertaining.   P sent me a text early the next morning as I was putting on my rubber gloves to wash up about 200 glasses (no joke) to say that she’d just completed the Marriot stair climb twice – such is her dedication.  I was struggling to walk up my own stairs having been on my feet all night.  With less than 3 weeks to go I need to follow P’s example and be really dedicated to one last push of fitness training.  Less of the ‘hands that do dishes’ and more of the ‘feet that do treadmills’. And for those of you have been following this blog, my toe is a lot better thank you!

The wonderful cheeses

The washing up

The delicious beef

P.S. Remember this is the last week to give me your gold – drop in for a cup of tea on Wednesday.  The work these charities do is really worthwhile so I appreciate anything you can give, however small.  Contact me for details.

A black toe and a tale of woe

Starting our beach hike at Marina Walk

While charging around barefoot, early on Friday morning, I closed a door on my little toe.  The expletive that followed woke up my husband who was trying to have a lie-in; I cursed myself for being so stupid, while hobbling round in pain for the rest of the day.  I thought it might prevent me from doing the next Gulf for Good training session.

The day before, with great trepidation, I went to the gym for the first time in over 15 years.  Lovely Ann Harrington at Emirates Golf Club offered to devise a training programme to prepare me for going up and down the steep inclines on my trek in Lebanon.  It was a really good session and I left full of confidence as I wasn’t quite as pathetically unfit as I thought I was (above average fitness said Ann).  Therefore I was quite looking forward to the stair climb that G4G had organised and if I tell you that I always played goal keeper in netball and hockey at school to get out of overly exerting myself, you’ll understand what an unusual state of affairs this was.

At the top of 55 floors - that's a grimace not a smile!

Saturday dawned and thankfully, although my toe was a lovely shade of deep blue, I managed to get my boot on without hitting the roof.  Quite a large group met at the Marriot Dubai Harbour Hotel and after dodging the Sufouh traffic we walked to the beach, along to the Sheraton and back again.  Then we went into the Marriot to climb the stairs (drum roll) to the 55th floor!  Everyone was encouraged to go at their own pace and I kept up with the front group until the 20th floor but gasping for oxygen, boiling hot, with lungs on fire I slowed down a lot to plod up to the top.  I found it really hard and felt sick and dizzy from going round and round.  My toe was probably the only thing that didn’t hurt!  The nice thing about this training is that everyone offers encouragment to each other and I did feel a sense of achievement getting to the top.   It would’ve been great if we’d been able to follow Jo’s suggestion that we slide back down the bannisters. P says we will do a stair climb again as it is really good preparation.  I hope she forgets.

Here’s another thing that started as a tale of woe.  The Hotshots team decided to do a parachute jump for charity last year and started fundraising.  Their main sponsor went bust, one of the team got DVT, the airport was closed for safety reasons (yikes!), the original charity closed and then Charlotte from Hotshots broke her foot.  At this point she decided that kind donors would understand if they didn’t actually jump but donate the funds to a worthy cause anyway – and they chose to support this challenge.   I visited the studio to pick up a fantastic contribution and glean a few photography tips for my trek from the experts.  Massive thanks Hotshots for choosing to help vulnerable children in Lebanon; a happy ending.

There are several ways you can help support this trek (see Give your support and Gold for Good pages on this site).   Have you ever done a stair climb and have you any tips (as I’m sure P won’t forget)?  Please write your comments in the box below.

Cheers – I’ll drink to that

Immerse yourself in the greatest collection of finest wines and luxury spirits to be found anywhere in duty-free shopping.

Another very lovely company has agreed to support this challenge (an Eco-trek through the mountainous region of Lebanon to benefit local children’s charities).  Have you been to Le Clos?  It’s where you can go to get the finest wines and luxury spirits when you are in Dubai International Airport Terminal 3. If you fancy buying some of their special vintages and spirits, you can view them online, order on the way out and pick them up on your way home.  Sounds good to me.  What sounds even better is their contribution to improve the lives of refugee and orphaned children.   Thank you Le Clos for your generous support of this cause (the name incidently, refers to the sort of enclosed or private vineyard that you get in France, particularly Burgundy – very apt).

Me and Debi with the very charming Serge Hochar in Cru, Dubai

Of course, Le Clos stocks some of the best wines from Lebanon including the legendary Chateau Musar 1972.  I was lucky enough to try this vintage at a wine tasting at Cru, Souk al Bahar in Dubai last year and met the equally legendary Serge Hochar of the Musar dynasty.  Cheers!

If your company is interested in becoming a sponsor please visit the SPONSORS page and get in touch (via the form on the contact me page).   Your logo could be featured here among many other benefits (not least being making a real difference to the lives of children in Lebanon.

Personal donations and any broken or unwanted gold (see Gold for Good) items also gratefully received.  P.S. I’m managing to do a 2 hour walk every day, except for this morning; my dogs refused, point blank, to go out in the rain! I’m starting to wonder if they are really Border Terriers or Chihuahuas in disguise.

شكرا لك merci, thank you

Appreciation in the main languages that are spoken in Lebanon (every Lebanese person I have ever met speaks all three).  Another generous sponsor has donated to this challenge which will benefit refugee and orphaned children.  You may not be familiar with Emirates Leisure Retail but you will have heard of their brands particularly if you live in the United Arab Emirates.   They operate international brands such as Costa and  the Noodle House and have plenty of home grown brands too, including Left Bank, Apres, Hey Pesto and Good to Go to name a few.  I’ve also received a voucher for dinner for two at Left Bank (the one at the Madinat is my personal favourite) which I’ll be using to help raise more funds.

Huge thanks to Emirates Leisure Retail for making a great contribution to the amount raised for this charity eco-trek in Lebanon, which will directly improve the lives of some very needy children there.  It’s great to hear some positive news about companies in Dubai isn’t it?

Emirates Leisure Retail - a subsidiary of the Emirates Group. Bringing our customers unique concepts, impeccable products, exemplary service and friendly people.

If your company is interested in becoming a sponsor please visit the SPONSORS page and get in touch (via the form on the contact me page).   Your logo could be featured here among many other benefits (not least being making a real difference to the lives of children in Lebanon.

Personal donations and any broken or unwanted gold (see Gold for Good) items also gratefully received.  P.S. I did another 2 hour walk this morning in my new boots!

Kit, fitness, funds and hounds

Dog tired

This week has been a lot about boots.  It’s a long, exhausting and tedious saga which would bore the pants off you (especially if your pants are elasticated and beige…more of that anon).  After weeks of trouble (and contributing to global warming in the amount of short car journeys to shopping malls) I’m now the owner of a brand new pair of comfortable, well-designed, walking boots. These replace a pair of uncomfortable boots which had a manufacturing defect.  I won’t name names but the clue is ‘like the rapper’.  This retailer’s systems in Dubai seem specially designed to make life incredibly difficult for the customer.  I’ve done a tour of most of their shops and had conversations of a degree of absurdity that only shoppers in the Middle East can truly appreciate.   The systems aside, the staff at head office and in-store are delightful and I finally walked out this morning with a big smile on my face ready to start breaking them in (the boots not the staff). I’ve been trying to get the rest of my kit list this week while the Dubai Shopping Festival is on and I have now learned all there is to know about breathable hiking clothing.  It comes in many, many shades of one colour – beige.  I now possess trousers that wouldn’t look out of place on a Saga holiday.

The aching caused by doing squats last Friday only abated on Wednesday.  My girls didn’t have a twinge and did not disguise their complete derision.  Marjan who has done three challenges with Gulf for Good gave me some really good advice about preparing for my trip.  My dogs are getting very fit with their two hour walk everyday (the picture is of them in recovery) but I need to do something more serious.  A visit to the gym is the only solution.  I can’t quite believe that I wrote that last sentence.

I’m spurred on by the brilliant encouragement and generosity of my friends, family and sponsors.  And yes, I have sponsors in plural now.

BASF - the world's leading chemical company.

First off the post was BASF UAE.  They take corporate responsibility very seriously and the contribution to these children’s charities is a small but very welcome part of this.  I’m really grateful for their help in fundraising for refugee and orphaned children in Lebanon.  Visit the sponsor page to find out more about them and more about sponsoring this trek.  News about some other great supporters coming soon.

Donations are also trickling in, for instance a friend’s car screeched to a halt when I was on my dog walk this morning and a 200 dirham note was waved out of the window.  With this sort of help and people contributing ‘Gold for Good’ I could actually exceed my target which is fantastic news for the charities.  Please contact me if you can help in any way.  A mention for my husband who has had a daily, blow-by-blow account of my boot saga for the last 3 weeks and finally begged for mercy.  Thanks everyone.

Give me GOLD!

I know it’s hard to ask for cash in a credit crunch.  I tried to think of a way to raise funds that is easy to support and think I’ve come up with something that fits the bill.  I hope you can help me.

Do you have a little bit of unwanted or broken gold jewellery, sitting in a jewellery box, shoved in a drawer or in a little pot on a shelf?  What use is one earring, a chain or bracelet that is snapped, or a ring with a missing stone? Most mass produced jewellery is more expensive to repair than to buy new.

Your broken or unwanted gold jewellery can be used to help vulnerable and homeless children.  As part of my fund raising for this Gulf for Good challenge, I am collecting unwanted gold.   Each piece on its own is pretty worthless but the little bits and pieces of gold added together can be sold to raise funds towards my target  (at least 12,000 AED).  It’s a great excuse to clear out your drawers  and benefit  children who are orphans or in refugee camps in Lebanon.  Please help – contact me today to arrange drop off or collection.

Hooray for my first sponsor!

Atom - an integrated full-service agency, with headquarters in Dubai, providing inspiration in brand-development, advertising, below-the-line and web/digital marketing.

Yes! I’ve got my first sponsor for my trek through the mountains of Lebanon.  Ok, ok, it is my husband’s company but they are only committing their hard-earned cash (advertising agency in a recession) because they believe in the charities that benefit.  They are genuinely committed to CSR and as well as treating their staff and suppliers with respect (and paying them on time … this can be rare you know) they subscribe to other charities on a regular basis.  This includes sponsoring a child via ActionAid and purchasing and preserving rainforest through the World Land Trust Action Fund plus they are looking at ways to make the company carbon neutral.  Thank you Atom; I am really grateful for the contribution to my fund-raising.

If your company would like to sponsor me I can say very nice things about you on this blog, the sponsor page and to all my friends.  I am happy to chat about any other ideas.  Plus the funds make a tangible difference to children’s lives in Lebanon through some exceptional charities.  Get in touch through the Contact Me page.