HEALTHY DUBAI

Another day in the life of a BIM addict. Online research into the area around Hartley Wintney. We passed through the village on my recent church visits. Most of this research was done in the early hours of the morning. I'm still adapting to time-zone crossing on my way back to the Dubai.

 

Some of these churches were attached to country estates, others were in a village. Manor houses existed from medieval times, maybe Saxon. These were often replaced by Georgian Palazzos or Victorian Mansions with extensive parklands to match, as both the aristocracy and the new merchant class displayed their growing wealth. Hartley Grange and Elvetham Park. Architects Samuel Teulon and ??? Hotels and luxury apartments now of course, wedding venues.

Such are the stories that reach out to me as I continue to develop my map of Hampshire Churches using the power of Revit. Layers of intelligent objects.

 

 

On Wednesday a visit to see my oncologist. Passing the bird sanctuary at the end of the Creek with the Burj Khalifa in the background. I created a timeline with Excel to explore scenarios of monthly and quarterly injections as the clock runs down towards Xmas. Another family gathering then in Basingstoke. The question of whether I can extend my visa to align with the UK tax year.

It will all work out. One step at a time but it sometimes feels overwhelming. Winding up 22 years of my life. 45 if you count Zimbabwe. Back to the homeland. What's left of it. The churches and country estates remind me of what once was. A proud inheritance, warts and all.

 

Thankyou Dubai, thankyou GAJ, thankyou Sukoon, thankyou American Hospital. 21 years and counting of safe, modern, stimulating life in the Emirates. This is multiculturalism working well. Secure borders, regular visa renewal, no right to stay for the unemployed, but everyone is polite and respectful, genuinely interested to talk to people from different backgrounds.

Of course it is not perfect. Sometimes it feels like living in a theme park. Wage differentials are extreme. Health and Safety on building sites has improved a lot since I first arrived, but still a work in progress. Forget about marching in the streets or even reading criticism of the government in local newspapers.

 

Still, millions of people have come here and transformed their lives and the lives of extended family back home. As Thomas Sowell says "there are no solutions, only trade-offs." Dubai has made successful trade-offs and shown other Middle Eastern countries how to engage successfully with both East and West.

I will be moving my primary base to England next April and there are many things I prefer about the country of my birth. But Dubai has been kind to me and gained my respect.

Just setting up a colonoscopy almost a year on from the surgery to remove a tumour last December. Routine check, no queues. I will miss this hospital.