Jingle Bells

At rather short notice I made an impromptu business back to the UK this week - hence a rather shortage on blog postings. It was a rather interesting experience viewing the UK from an, albeit recent, Dubai expat point of view.

For a start the weather was really rather lovely - bright, sunny and warm - a nice change from the searing heat and humidity of Dubai. The office and hotel were clean, green and well organized. Also it was very nice to catch up with friends and colleagues whom I had not really had a chance to say farewell to on leaving the UK.

After a busy time in the office I stayed an extra day and went back to my home town of Cheltenham. Again I was struck by the regency architecture and the high aesthetic appeal the town has. It is something that despite living there for 20 years I had very much taken for granted.

I found myself in tourist mode and did something I never thought I would....take a photo of the clock in the Regent Arcade:


In the spirit of tourism I was surprised to see Morris dancing taking place in Cheltenham town center. For those of you who have not come across this quint-essential English activity - it basically consists of grown man dancing around with bells attached to their legs and waving with free abandon handkerchiefs in the air.

Wikipedia has a nice description of said Morris dancing. Though I think this video probably sums up Morris dancing as well as any:



Having see this - I was pleased to donate money to charity to any grown man cavorting around with bells and handkerchiefs in front of hundreds of people.

It put into perspective that things I might think of as odd in Dubai or other new countries for me are merely run of the mill for others.