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.

No pain, no gain (regrettably)

My view.

A lot has happened in the month since I was last on the beach contemplating circuit training.  I feel much fitter due to regular visits to the gym under the expert guidance of kind Ann Harrington who has even lured me to climb more stairs.   The seemingly sweet-natured Candice and Polly decided to inflict the exercise equivalent of thumb-screws and the rack this time though and there were many more audible groans and gasps from everyone.   The compensations include sharing the pain (and the gain) with a really lovely group of people and the surroundings (this pic was my view when doing sit-ups). I must also thank my 11 year old daughter for abandoning her precious Friday lie-in to come with me.

Brian Wilkie, who is the Chairman of the Board of Govenors for Gulf for Good is leading the trek in Lebanon and is going there this month to visit the charities that benefit (the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and SOS Childrens Villages) and check out some of the route.  Brian is a bit of a legend in Dubai and has contributed an enormous amount to our local community including driving the concept, the fund-raising and the implementation of DUCTAC at Mall of the Emirates.  He agreed to be filmed last time we were on the beach so he could publicise Gulf for Good – but it ended up about how nice it is to live in Dubai! Watch the video to see a bit of us in action (thankfully my exertions are off-camera)!

Another legend was Antoine Choueiri the Lebanese media mogul who died last week and could easily be described as the Rupert Murdoch of the Middle East.  MBC/Choueiri Group has pledged to support this trek most generously and I would like to convey my sincere gratitude for this as well as offering my condolences to Antoine Choueiri’s family and colleagues.  He’s left a huge legacy and the support of these causes is one small but vital part of this.

Thanks to everyone who has slipped a little bit of gold into my hand this week.  The small amounts will soon grow into something more substantial.  I’m going to host an open-house morning sometime in April so anyone who would like to bring their gold can drop it off.  I’ll decide on a date soon – let me know if you are interested in receiving more information.  And it’ll come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, there will be cake!

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.

Why an old, crumpled piece of paper motivates me

It was my birthday this week and my sister emailed some photos and certificates that she knew I wanted as I’ve been researching our family tree.  The most precious of all was a picture of a tattered, brown piece of paper which shows the purchase of a piece of land.  It records that my Grandfather bought a farm near Lwow in Poland which became the family home.  But in 1939 the Ukraine, with backing from the Stalin-led Russians, annexed this bit of Poland and evicted the residents who were immediately deported to Russian labour camps in Siberia.  My Grandfather died there and eventually my Grandmother and 4 of her 5 children including my Father were given refuge in the UK (via refugee camps in East Africa).  Looking into my Father’s past has made me think a lot about what the family went through and how much I take for granted.  Even though I’ve lived as an expat for nearly 15 years, I feel rooted to England – it’s part of my identity, my security, it’s about who I am and where I belong and where I can return at any time.  I’m lucky.  The number of people forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution worldwide is over 42 million (UNHCR’s “Global Trends” report 2009)   Host countries, however welcoming, often lack the resources to cope with the influx of people often in desperate need of support and medical treatment.  The number of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon is estimated at over 422,000, around 10 per cent of the population of Lebanon.  The first post I wrote told of how much this challenge resonated with me.  Being able, through this challenge, to provide tangible support for young refugees and children orphaned often as the result of conflict, motivates me at a very personal level.  Thanks to everyone for your help so far – with your donations, gold and support we can directly help these displaced children and while we are not able to give them back their land or parents, we can make sure they receive decent conditions to help make a good start to their small lives.  Have a great weekend – and please wave if you see some sweaty people in hiking boots on the beach in Dubai on Saturday morning.

The funds raised by this trek will provide dental x-ray equipment for refugee camps through the Palestine Children's Relief Fund and furnish 2 houses for orphaned children and their 'house mothers' through the Lebanese Association of SOS Children’s Villages

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.

I’ve taken the plunge!

Palestine Children's Relief Fund

Gulf For Good sent me an e-mail last week and after reading it once I was hooked.  I got in touch immediately and have booked my place on The Lebanon Mountain Eco-Trail (in the Footsteps of Khalil Gibran) in May 2010.  I admire this Dubai-based non-profit org. which raises funds for children’s charities by organising challenges and adventures, but I’ve never seriously thought about signing up.  This was right for so many reasons.  In January I started working freelance rather than employed so I can be more flexible about taking time off.  The trek is not during school holidays – very important when you are chief taxi-driver and TV watching regulator.

The venue is Lebanon which ticks so many boxes for me.  It’s not too far from my home in Dubai, UAE, so there isn’t a massive cost either financially or environmentally.  I’ve visited many lovely places in the Middle East but this part of the Levant remained on my “to do” list despite good intentions.  I’ve been invited to Lebanon countless times, often by people I barely know – and the invitation is genuine.  It’s usually followed by the exhortation “but you must come for a long time, at least a month.”  I’ve been on the receiving end of the most generous hospitality and impeccable manners and etiquette that seems to form the backbone of Lebanese society.  If you are a friend, you are welcomed by the whole extended family.

Reading the work of Amin Maalouf opened my eyes to a great story telling tradition as well as Lebanon’s complex history.  Byblos is sadly missing from my list of Roman ruins visited (Jerash, Palmyra and Leptis Magna set the pace).  And of course the food.. I attended a session with the eminent food historian Claudia Roden at last year’s Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.  She pointed out that the food we think of Middle Eastern is actually Lebanese.  Because of the tenacity and resourcefulness of economic migrants and refugees (and the deliciousness of the food I would add), we think the typical dishes of the entire Middle East are humous, taboulleh and fatoush.

Anyway, back to the appeal of this trek…it’s an Eco-tour and will benefit the local economy as  local guides are employed and we stay in small motels and home stays.  The mountain communities created this first long-distance hiking trail in Lebanon as they are determined to conserve their unique natural and cultural heritage through environmentally and socially-responsible ecotourism.   The challenge itself will be ..well, challenging.   To quote Gulf For Good, ‘Trekking 117km in 5 days, this will be a hard test of your fitness requiring stamina and perseverance to complete the long-distance treks every day.’   I’m going to have to address my fitness levels drastically as a meander with the dogs round the streets of flat Umm Suqeim of a morning has not prepared me for the distances, inclines or terrain.  Luckily Gulf For Good are fantastic with their support in this respect and a 13km group walk along the beach is scheduled for this Friday morning to get us started.  Altitude sickness or running doesn’t come into it thank goodness.

Finally, and thank you if you’ve read this far for your patience as this is the main reason that I have signed up,  the charities that we will raise funds for are making a huge difference in the lives of young children in Lebanon who have often seen circumstances that no-one should face in their entire lifetime.  Look at the image at the top and read the articles linked to the Charities page about how the UAE has hosted many of the young victims of war and provided medical care.  Please click the links to the right or ‘The Charities’ tab at the top to find out more about the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and the Lebanese Association for SOS Children’s Villages.  It has inspired me to start work immediately on raising the minimum 12,000 AED (about 2,000 GBP) but I am aiming higher.  The funds we raise will make a tangible and lasting difference to these charities and the children whose lives they change – and we get to visit at least one of the organisations when in Lebanon.  Plus my registration fee (already paid to secure my place) goes to Gulf For Good.  This means they can continue their fabulous work which has seen 29 challenges in 9 years raising over US1.5 million for schools, hospitals, orphanages and medical equipment in 17 countries in the Middle East, Asia, South America and Africa.

Well I’m off to get a good night’s sleep as an attack of bronchitis left me doubtful, earlier in the week, about attending the first training session.  I really don’t want to miss it so will get some early nights and OD on Vitamin C.  I’ll be the wheezy one at the back who everyone will avoid!

This has been a long ramble as it’s the first one.  I promise that the next updates will be quick, energetic and focussed…just like me up those mountains!

I’d love to hear from anyone who’s done a similar challenge.  Any tips for fitness training or fund raising?  And I’ll bring back a present from Lebanon for the first person to sponsor me…promise.