The Remainder of Eden

It was such a shame that I had chosen the morning of the most beautiful day to snooze until 11. The sun was absolutely gorgeous. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the air, though not warm, still meant that you didn't have to bundle up in millions of layers and bind a scarf round your neck endless times.

This day happened also to be the day I'd reserved for completing all the weeks homework. It couldn't have been more ill-planned. Nevertheless, it was still perfect to combine some of my favourite things with some of my less favourite. 

I took my freshly prepared picnic and homework on my bike out to the common. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

I'm a solitary person by nature anyway. It seems sad that sitting in the park on a bench on your own, pleases me. But it does and that's what I did.

I absolutely love days like this; when everyone comes out. People unite. Families walk together. One of the happiest sights I saw today was a father cycling on a purpose made 2 man bike with his wheelchair bound son at the front. A day out, doesn't get much better than that!

Picnic: chicken mayo sandwich, apple doughnut and mini trifle

Lovers in the corner :D

Catching up on some reading whilst I enjoy the sun!

Pinecone

 

Set up camp for watching the sun set!

Those winter nights ...

I live in the most amazing city and the most amazing part of it too! I absolutely love it! 

When I began looking for Unis in year 13 I had absolutely no clue where to start. Location, at this point had nothing to do with it. I was living in Dubai and I knew that my family wouldn't be coming back to the UK with me. So I could have gone anywhere with a 7 hour flight or a 3,000 mile distance. It seemed that the University I went to wasn't important either. 

I reckon I'm more of a creative person rather than an academic one. I can get by in exams and coursework but it always seems that no matter how much I do, I never quite make it. I had never been so stressed in my LIFE when I took my A-levels and I still didn't manage to get the grades I thought I was working towards. In a way, working like that, constantly, put me off academic learning for the rest of my life. I wanted to know new things but studying for fun with a £9,000 investment each year didn't seem value for money. 

Still, I poured through a whole manner of degrees from international development (something I would actually have really liked to do) to creative writing - a subject that would have made my dream degree. 

But it's virtually unheard of to do something 'fun' at a Russell Group University. Don't get me wrong; I absolutely love studying English and Spanish and the intellectual factor makes me feel a less than a little girl and more like an adult. But conjugating verbs and writing dissertations that have an indoctrinated style is a far cry from the freelance capacity of a creative writing student. 

When I finally found a degree and selected some unis, one of which - Southampton - was somewhere I'd often visited, I began to half-resent the idea of going back to the UK. 

I enjoyed the sun, but from an English-born-and-bred point of view, it's hard to imagine how frustrating the constant sun can become. There is little respite or inspiration for change. But the more I thought about Southampton, the more I fell in love. The campus was so green and breezing around the lanes just seemed so homely. Something really had clicked. 

I absolutely love the scenery and those gorgeous winter nights. 

And the multi-coloured rhinos :D

Ten minute trip down 'special lane'

Uni, if anything, has been a massive learning curve. In my independence, I've found all about the weird intricacies of my mind; how happy eating tinned sweetcorn makes me, how closing any drawer in my room after having opened it requires more effort than it's worth and how I am in absolutely LOVE with literary symbolism.

I'm very stubborn, though it might not seem so. I listen to others and accept their opinions but interpretation allows me to always be 'right'. The thing is, I couldn't care less if I was right or wrong, I just want to have a say. I want to say something that makes someone stop and think; actually, you do have a point. In an argument, I don't think there is ever just one winning statement. Maybe I'm biased because I can't debate for toffee but I believe that each person can win in the same debate with multiple good points and so whilst I may agree with what you're saying, I can counter your statement in more ways than one.

I was walking home from Uni today in black leggings, some brogues, my one and only scarf draped round my neck with a vest top, red coat and woolen cardigan in-between. It's an old cardigan, one of my favourites. It has a hole, only small, and, despite the fact that I can sew, the great tear in the fabric never worried me quite enough to have me fetch my needle and thread. In fact, it's a good job I never did, because I probably wouldn't be sat here writing this post.

My hands, in the winter, seldom leave my pockets. I love the image; girl walking through a street of fallen leaves, ankles boots, hair pulled back and her hands burrowed in a coat.

So there mine were, in my pockets when two of the fingers fell through the hole. I looked down and saw them poking through. A pair cold reeds quilted by wool. I walked, for a moment, thinking of nothing else but a scene from The Polar Express; when the young boy takes his hand, puts it through his dressing gown pocket and finds it empty. His two fingers come poking out the end.

I don't know why I had the need but I began to question: what does this mean? I was reliving a scene from a cartoon film. But why?

(Yes, these are the kind of things that go through my mind!)

I concluded, after much thought and multiple possibilities, that someone was trying to tell me something. The boy in the film loses the bauble that he was given by Father Christmas. If the boy believed in him he would hear a ringing when the the ball was shaken. If he didn't he would hear silence.

What had someone given me that I wasn't meant to lose? Was someone going to give me something that I was supposed to keep hold of? Was there someone I needed to believe in? Something?

Or was I just meant to sew up that hole?

This all occurred in one 10 minute walk from the bus to my front door. But it's the symbolism. I don't know why I had to attach some meaning to the laziness of not sewing up a hole. What if I'd have looked at my fingers from another angle, what would I have seen? What if I hadn't have looked at my fingers at all? Or was that just it; was I meant to see?

Things like these will endlessly entertain me. I could think of a thousand scenarios. A million interpretations. Symbolism will just never fail to please me. But, in a sense, I'm so glad that it does. I think I've always been a little eccentric. The oddball. The kid obsessed with watching the butcher fill sausages - I'm literally obsessed! But I don't think that's weird - well, maybe the sausage part - it's definitely not a bad thing; it just makes my life a lot more fun!

Time to move on ...

In a few days I'll be leaving Dubai. A country that has been such a lovely place to spend the last 2 years. It is, because of the memories I have here and the experiences it has given me, one of my favourite places to be. That isn't to say that there aren't parts to life out here that drive me absolutely insane or things that I desperately long for. Back in the UK everyday we used to walk our Cocker Spaniel across the common near our house for an hour and a half, twice a day. I hated it at the time. During the summer, a farmer used to keep his cattle in there. They were huge, horned and would sporadically run after dogs or tearaway puppies (as was ours) or charge, in stampede formation, for a drink at the community trough as though they were on a pub crawl. Every step you took had to be carefully calculated to make sure that you made it round the field before the cows blocked off the exit gate. That's not to mention the joy of walking through the dry, knee high grass in sandals on a blazing hot day and coming home with cow pat splattered up your leg and staining your feet.
In the winter, the field was always a test of character. The common was a series of hills, on top of which you could see all the way to town. Walking at the peak with the infamous British rain blowing through a raucous wind, dog walking became an activity of little enjoyment. It wasn't uncommon to not be able to feel our faces when we arrived home, dripping but thankful that it would be someone else's turn to take the dog later on in the day.
Now, having omitted the colour green from my eyesight since finding my home in the desert, I would give anything to go back to those temperamental bulls in that luscious field. That's something I can't wait to get back to.

If there's anything I'm guilty of, it's thinking too far forward and forgetting to live for the now. As I'm sure I've probably mentioned before I have always thought about having a job and family without thinking about how I would get there. So whilst I am excited to move back to England for a few years, there are so many thing I'll miss about not being in Dubai. I thought I'd write a few below.

Here are some of the many things I'll miss about Dubai!

• My favourite places.

One of my favourite places in Dubai is down by the creek. I absolutely love the feel down there and the different way of life. It's not really a place that gets a lot of credit from tourists so it's a secret retreat for a different perspective of Dubai. We've spent many nights, entertaining guests there, pointing out the lines of fridge freezers, tyres and bags of rice lining the dock that would, in another city, have already been stolen and sold on. It's always an excellent venue to take photos. There's so much activity and lights but one of the bet things to do there is to visit the spice souk. We always cross over and see with our noses, smelling each bright bag of cardamom, chili or dried herbs. 

Another one of my favourite places is Le Royal Meridien hotel. This was the first place we stayed in when we moved out to Dubai and it's the experience that epitomises Dubai for me. The reception hall was so grand and the pools so clean, that it was a world away from any other hotel I had ever stayed in. We only stayed a week though we were desperate to spend more time there. Thankfully, however, we are members of the pools there and occasionally pop down for the day to bask in the sun, swim in a chilled pool and walk the beautiful beach. Its a true day of luxury! 

• My favourite restaurants. 

One of the things I've come to learn is that one cannot simply live in Dubai and not be a fan of food. Every street you turn is lined with every eating establishment from, near on, every main worldly cuisine. Lebanese to Chinese, Indian to Middle Eastern, steaks to fish and cakes to dates. Everything! Absolutely everything! And I suppose that explains why most of the things that I do in my spare time involve booking a table, slipping into a loose skirt and loading my bag with restaurant vouchers. 

Ask me what my favourite restaurant is and, without a second's thought, I'll tell you that it's Kalidescope on The Palm. For me, that's a no-brainer. I think it's main selling point is the variety. It is expensive but with 2 vouchers, for the 5 of us it's well worth the money. A food-loving family, Kalidescope is right up our street. The buffet is HUGE with multiple stations including; sushi, salad, seafood, Indian, Indian vegetarian, Chinese, Italian and British as well as the dessert stand with hot Middle Eastern puddings and cold continental dishes, miniature potted treats (like pannacotta and cheesecake) and a GIANT chocolate fountain with steps leading to the milk chocolate waterfall, a selection of fruits an sweets rounding the base. And then, if you're still hungry, you can help yourself to ice-creams. 

• My favourite time of year.

I love being in Dubai during Eid; the end of the Ramadan fast. The city is so alive and it's such an important time of year for the whole country with events and celebrations that Muslims and non-Muslims alike can enjoy. 

• My favourite time of day.

During the summer, I love waking up early before the sun gets too warm and going out around the city. Even in the early hours the roads are still quite busy but you could walk the back streets and not see a person for at least an hour. In the winter the middle of the day is the best time. Having the ability to tan in the coolest time of year is quite a novelty.