Ban Full Faced Veils ?

It must be a really slow day for the BBC to bring up the full face veil subject again. I don’t directly agree with those that do were the full faced veils, I mean it’s not a specific requirement in the Koran. But just what are the reasons for wanting to ban them in the first place:

1-"It is a direct challenge to the British way of life".
Fortunately, the "British Way of Life" is based on democracy, freedom and tolerance. Passing legislation on who can wear what where is not only a direct challenge to the "British Way of Life" but a pretty big step towards the “Saudi one”.

2-"A ban can be justified on grounds of security ".
Out of interest, if a ban is to be justified on grounds of security, has anyone actually surveyed the number of crimes (violent or otherwise) that are committed by women wearing veils? If such a survey were to reveal that a greater number of crimes are committed by men wearing suits, should we not start by banning suits?

3-"You feel intimidated, ground for oppression, offensive and demeaning"-Take your pick.
Maybe we should ban skimpy clothes as it "objectifies women"? Maybe we should ban hip hop clothing because the people who wear it make others feel intimidated? Maybe we should also ban punk clothes and head-toe-piercing.

A ban in certain places like banks, courts, hospitals, airports and schools is understandable and is common sense. But an outright ban is stupid, unless people also want to ban beards, hats, hoods, sunglasses, umbrellas and every other possible face obstruction. Or is it that people just fear what they don't understand in Islam and wish to 'normalise' it?

Muslim bashing is fast becoming a national sport here, who knows it might even be included in time for the 2012 Olympics in London.

I personally think this is all about people's hang ups with Islam.

Ironically though more Muslim women are now wearing veils in retaliation to this. Brilliant, huh?

Poor Teachers

I was thinking of becoming a teacher at one stage when job opportunities in the IT market were bleak. I had one look around me and changed my mind immediately.

I had no idea how bad it is here in the UK. I mean I wasn’t the most innocent person in class in my younger days (which wasn’t too long ago) but the teachers in UAE could do what they virtually wanted if you got out of hand. They’ll cane, slap, and discipline you in front of your own parents for all they care. (Actually my dad will probably join in if I were in the wrong lol).

Here are a few snippets with the links of what teachers handle on a daily basis:

“Mrs Poole (teacher) said during the trial the boy, who is now 17 and cannot be named for legal reasons, had held a screwdriver to her neck to force her to perform the sex act.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/6154154.stm

“One teacher from Preston was hit on the head by a brick thrown by a pupil at a neighbouring school, and a teacher from Manchester who was assaulted by a 12-year-old pupil” http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4903948.stm

“Mrs Voss (teacher) was chased in her car down a busy road and her family, including her child, received telephone threats”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4493881.stm

“A female primary school teacher had been attacked 150 times in six months. The boy responsible had kicked, punched, bitten and scratched her. He had also stabbed her with a dinner fork, jumped on her back and thrown a table at her”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4400625.stm

“The survey, taken in January, found that in 10 working days in 300 schools, teachers faced 126 physical assaults - out of a total of 964 incidents” http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2883917.stm

What the hell are the parents of these kids doing at home? How in the world were these kids raised to be like that? I mean I understand cheeky, naughty and the occasional fights but this is criminal.

I learnt respect from my father who installed the fear of God into me at a young age. I knew if I stepped out of line I would regret it. I got the deadly silent (eyes wide open) treatment and the occasional backhand across the face. As I got older, my fear turned to respect and drove me to do well in life. Now as a man, my dad is one of my best friends. I say the responsibility starts with the parents, please let us not forget that!

Birthday pressie

I got a PSP (PlayStation Portable) for my 25th Birthday as a present from sweet sugar (my Wife). She knows that I am just a big geeky kid really!

Thanks honey for a wonderful and memorable weekend.

Now this baby (the PSP ofcourse lol) has a backlit 4.3 inch, 16:9 widescreen TFT colour LCD with 480 x 272 pixel resolution, capable of displaying 16.77 million colours. Not bad for hand-held 6.7 inches long X 2.9 inches wide x .9 inches deep portable game, huh?

Most impressive is the wireless mode on it. It comes with a WiFi (IEEE 802.11b), meaning that I can play games online, connect to the internet and share stuff (updates, patches etc). It also has other features such as a Full-motion video playback, digital audio playback, USB device connectivity, a Memory Stick Duo that allows for game saves, user-created data, online downloaded content, storing separate audio and video files(Neat !!!).

Especially For You

I thought i would dedicate this day or shall I say entry to tell you how much you mean to me!.....

Since the first day I met you, you've meant the world to me, you've always treated me good, & although sometimes you drive me cracy (crazy in love ofcourse)..Your 'still' the same same man I fell in love with; gentle & sweet, loving & caring, understanding & passionate(you still make my heart race.)
At times at work(when I have nothing better to do lol) & I think about you, my heart still skips a beat.
You mean the world to me, & I want to live my life being with you, growing old with you!
I fell in love with the person you are; handsome, loving ...don't ever change.
My heart belongs to you.

"It only takes a moment to say I love you"
"but it will take me a life time to show you"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HABEEBI!

May all your dreams & wishes come true!

-your forever loving wife x

Enough is ENOUGH!!!

Im back ..I thought I’d put an entry in before my husband takes over the blog lol…

I thought I’d talk about my day at work or shall I say moan about! So here's how it goes enjoy!


I am sick to the back stomach of people thinking they are right! I am at work talking to customers who are giving me the wrong information/facts. They get all worked up when I tell them: that can’t be right. Instead they’re advising me what’s right and what’s wrong. Then with due time only, do they realise that…yes they were wrong!
It really fires me up as they carry on like nothing happened, after more or less telling me how to do my job!.
Ok if it was one off I would let it go, but funnily enough the same lady was on a rail-track right from the word go till the end: stating all the wrong details, wrong figures wrong everything… but nooooo she still had to be right! Right at the end I just wanted to cut her off, without ending the call professionally ..but I coward out because my manger had her headset on all day listening to calls, and ofcourse I wanted to do the right thing!

What really gets me is how confidently and assertive they are when there not even sure if its right! IF that was me I would boldly admit and say I dunno, I’m not sure or maybe .There’s no shame in not knowing. It drives me crazy.

My hubby probably thinks I’m having a dig at him too lo , coz …(whispering): ‘he’s always right’


Just thought I’d get this off my chest!

Man I can’t wait for the weekend…Just so I can sleep in and not think about work!




Ahhhhh bliss! Ciao for now

Corporate talk

No too long in the past I survived a scare at the company I’m working for. They were on a mission to cut costs. Yes, sadly there were a few colleagues of mine who were made redundant. The thing I hates the most was the way top management announced it to everyone else “persons x has departed with us to pursue further opportunities”, why not just come out and say it.

It’s like some alien language at times. Here is fragment of the communication I received.

"Top management is currently leading a review of the group’s structure and organization, in order to further improve its organic growth capabilities and operational efficiency"

Of course the best was forward was by letting a few employee’s get on and pursue other things? Anyways, here are a few key words or phrases to watch out for from your top management if ever the case arrives.

'We're consolidating' – We are making you redundant.

'Optimising our resources' – We are sacking people.

'Developing our resources' – We are sacking some people to pay other people more in the hope they won’t leave.

'A re-engagement with our core business values.'- We are losing money and are going to sack people.

'A period of substantial restructure and reassessment' - We are going broke.

'An opportunity for new business partnerships and relationships…' - We are being sold off.

'...with unparalleled career-reappraisal opportunities' - …. and you are all sacked.

British Slang

The first thing that hits you when you arrive here are the accents. Its even harder at university because you have different people coming from different parts of the UK. You have Brummies (Birmingham), Geordies (Newcastle), Liverpoodlians / Scousers (Liverpool), Cockneys (Londoners), Mancunians (Manchester) and many more. They all speak with different accents and most of the time they have their own phrases and wordings. Another thing is the hatred of all people born within more than a 5 mile radius of oneself, but thats another different topic altogether. Here we’re going to list a few general British slang words with their meanings, who knows someone out there might even find it helpful :-

All right? - This is used a lot all the UK to mean, "Hello, how are you"? You would say it to a complete stranger or someone you knew. The normal response would be for them to say "All right"? back to you. It is said as a question. Sometimes it might get expanded to "all right mate"? Mostly used by blue collar workers but also common among younger people.

Arse - This is a word that doesn't seem to exist in American English. It basically means the same as ass, but is much ruder. It is used in phrases like "pain in the arse" (a nuisance) or I "can't be arsed" (I can't be bothered) or you might hear something was "a half arsed attempt" meaning that it was not done properly.

Arse about face - This means you are doing something back to front.

Arse over elbow - This is another way of saying head over heels but is a little more descriptive. Usually happens after 11pm on a Saturday night and too many lagers! Some Americans say ass over teakettle apparently!

Arse over tit - Another version of arse over elbow, but a bit more graphic!

Arsehole - Asshole to you. Not a nice word in either language.

Arseholed - Drunk! Usually in the advanced stages of drunken stupor, someone would be considered "completely arseholed". Never me, of course!

Belt up - It's the British for shut up.

Bender - Don't be offended just yet. Bender doesn't only mean a gay man, it also means a pub crawl or a heavy drinking session.

Bleeding - An alternative to the word bloody. You'll hear people say "bleeding hell" or "not bleeding likely" for example.

Blimey - Another exclamation of surprise. My house mate used to say "Gawd Blimey" or "Gor Blimey" or even "Cor Blimey". It is all a corruption of the oath God Blind Me.

Blinding - If something is a blinding success - it does not mean that any eyes were poked out with sharp sticks - it means it was fantastic.

Bloody - One of the most useful swear words in English. Mostly used as an exclamation of surprise i.e. "bloody hell" or "bloody nora". Something may be "bloody marvellous" or "bloody awful". It is also used to emphasise almost anything, "you're bloody mad", "not bloody likely" and can also be used in the middle of other words to emphasise them. E.g. "Abso-bloody-lutely"! Americans should avoid saying "bloody" as they sound silly.

Blooming - Another alternative to the word bloody. You might hear someone say "not blooming likely" so that they don't have to swear.

Bollocks - This is a great English word with many excellent uses. Technically speaking it means testicles but is typically used to describe something that is no good (that's bollocks) or that someone is talking rubbish (he's talking bollocks). Surprisingly it is also used in a positive manner to describe something that is the best, in which case you would describe it as being "the dog's bollocks".

Bugger - This is another fairly unique word with no real American equivalent. Like bloody it has many uses apart from the obvious dictionary one pertaining to rather unusual sexual habits. The fuller version of this would be "bugger it". It can also be used to tell someone to get lost (bugger off), or to admit defeat (we're buggered) or if you were tired or exhausted you would be buggered. You can also call someone a bugger. When I won £10 on the lottery my mate called me a "lucky bugger".

Cheerio - Not a breakfast cereal. Just a friendly way of saying goodbye. Or in the north "tara" which is pronounced sort of like "churar".

Cheers - This word is obviously used when drinking with friends. However, it also has other colloquial meanings. For example when saying goodbye you could say "cheers", or "cheers then". It also means thank you. Americans could use it in English pubs, but should avoid the other situations as it sounds wrong with an American accent. Sorry!

Cor - You'll often hear a Brit say "cor"! It is another one of those expressions of surprise that we seem to have so many of. It will sometimes be lengthened to "cor blimey" or "cor love a duck", depending on where you are. "Cor blimey" is a variation of "Gawd Blimey" or "Gor Blimey". They are all a corruption of the oath "God Blind Me".

Crikey - Another exclamation of surprise.

Dog's bollocks - You would say that something really fantastic was the dog's bollocks. Comes from the fact that a dog's bollocks are so fantastic that he can't stop licking them! Nice huh? Often shortened to just "The dog's".

Gobsmacked - Amazed. Your gob is your mouth and if you smack your gob, it would be out of amazement
Gutted - If someone is really upset by something they might say that they were gutted. Like when you are told that you have just failed your driving test!

Hard - After your 20 pints of lager, the curry or the doner Kebab, your average 20 year old feels hard. Since his male organ has no chance of working at this stage, hard clearly refers to something else - it means he is ready to fight anything or anybody or to take on any bet. This is the time to make fun of drunken lads by betting them they can't jump off the end of the pier, hang on to the back of a bus etc.

Kip - A short sleep, forty winks, or a snooze. You have a kip in front of the telly on a Sunday afternoon.

Knuckle sandwich - If somebody offers you a knuckle sandwich you'd be best to decline the offer and leave at the next convenient moment. It isn't some British culinary delight - they're about to thump you in the face.

Mug - If someone is a bit of a mug, it means they are gullible. Most used car salesmen rely on a mug to show up so they can sell something!

Naff - If something is naff, it is basically uncool. Anoraks are naff, salad cream is also naff. You could also use it to tell someone to naff off, which is a politer way of telling them to f*** off!

Pants – It's quite trendy to say that something which is totally crap is "pants". For instance you could say the last episode of a TV show was "total pants".

Pussy - This is what the English call their cat, as in "pussy cat", or in the fairytale, Puss in Boots. So if you have a Brit neighbour who asks if you have seen their pussy - try to keep a straight face and think back the last time you saw their cat!

Roger - Same kind of problem that Randy has here, except we there are people called Roger and no Randys. You will see a strange smile on the face of a Brit every time "Roger the Rabbit" is mentioned!! To roger means to have your wicked way with a lady. My Oxford English Dictionary says to copulate. You might say screw.

Shite - This is just another way of saying shit. It is useful for times when you don't want to be overly rude as it doesn't sound quite as bad!

Sod - This word has many uses. My Uncle always used to say "Oh Sod!" or "Sod it!" if something went wrong and he didn't want to swear too badly in front of the children. If someone is a sod or an "old sod" then it means they are a bit of a bastard or an old git. "Sod off" is like saying "piss off" or "get lost" & "sod you" means something like "f*** off". It also means a chunk of lawn of course. You can usually tell the difference!

Sod's law - This is another name for Murphy's law - whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

Stonker - This means something is huge. Looking at the burger you might say "blimey what a stonker". It is also used to refer to an erection! Clearly English modesty is a myth!

Suss - If you heard someone saying they had you sussed they would mean that they had you figured out! If you were going to suss out something it would mean the same thing

Taking the mickey - See taking the piss. Variations include "taking the mick" and "taking the Michael".

Taking the piss - One of the things foreigners find hardest about the Brits is the sense of humour. It is obviously different and is mainly based on irony, sarcasm and an in-built desire to "take the piss". This has nothing to do with urine, but simply means making fun of someone

Tosser - This is another word for wanker and has exactly the same meaning and shares the same hand signal.

Waffle - To waffle means to talk on and on about nothing. It is not something you eat.

Wanker - This is a derogatory term used to describe someone who is a bit of a jerk. It actually means someone who masturbates and also has a hand signal that can be done with one hand at people that cannot see you shouting "wanker" at them. This is particularly useful when driving.

Another Local Expat here

I have recently come across some relevant posts by bloggers who have unfortunately passed through similar experiences as myself where upon reaching the age of 18 you are more or less kicked of the country were you were raised, went to school, grew up in and basically call home:

http://bujassem.blogspot.com/2005/12/reverse-culture-shock.html

http://localexpatriate.blogspot.com/2006/10/welcome.html

The confusion and the coming to terms of that the UAE was never a home but merely a long stay were once your business (whether its school, university or work) is finished you back your bags and leave was hard to comprehend. It was even worse on my return to know that most my friends have also moved on and that the places that I used to visit were demolished. It was like having all of your memories of the place wiped out bit by bit.

It gets even worse, on graduating with a good 2.1 BEng from a redbrick university I returned to UAE to look for employment. The outcome was as many of you would have faced. It was hard but the harder part for me was to accept that I was a second class citizen in a country were I grew up. That if I was offered a job I would have to accept that I could be replaced by a national who would have earned more than me with a lesser qualification, I also have to accept that I won’t have a permanent home for myself and that my family would be second class citizens. This I couldn’t stand and so I have moved to the UK permanently, at least here I can make my own future. No need for wasta to get a low paid shitty job.

Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate UAE or blame the locals; it’s just that the government could have easily incorporated “local expats” somehow. How many young, qualified, professional people have they lost through there grasps and have immigrated to UK, Canada, Australia and USA. Those young people could have injected more economy, they saw UAE as they’re home, and they would’ve stood up to anyone saying bad things about it.

Not me now. I say just let it be. And if I do return I’ll treat it like every Tom, Dick and Harry do. Earn my money and take it elsewhere!!!

HIS ‘n’ HERS

HIS ‘n’ HERS

HMMMMM… Discussions with my husband regarding this. The first post topic that sprang to mind were my experiences on the best tasting chips (Spain, UAE, U.K or Tunis). Then my hubby was saying how about you blog on you leaving working life to become a …and I cut in with couch potato…and he said housewife !!! … (sooo much in common)


About me;

I’ve bin brought up here almost all my life and love it here! Ofcourse I love my country back home Yemen –home is were the heart is (with the rest of the beloved family!).
I’m happily married to a…beast who fancies nuthin but chicken! Needless to say he is a lovely loyal gentleman who can be a bit (I say; a teeny weeny bit) impatient.
Oh and how can I fail to mention he’s a perfectionist -in everythin he says and does, which drives me up the wall AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH… (Mashallah).
Yes Mr. Know it all YOU! :D
Apart from that lol he’s an Angel!













Enough of him lol back to moi...


I love to have a laugh even though my husband doesn’t get half my jokes!..I have a sense of humour as well as a sweet tooth lol! I love music even though it’s been time since I’ve listened to what’s in now!
I love shoppppppppppppppppppping but that’s understandable who wudn’t!
I like art. I can analyse people just by looking at them ...I can read aloooooot into people just by looking at them, I can’t help it! I’m also a thinker of the unthinkable! This drives my husband crazy.


Anyways back to my first Blog





I can’t wait to leave work! I’m sick of waking up early every morning and walking to work in the cold weather, I love sleeping in, and I could do that all day! Who’d argue!?!
I’ll get to watch, TV chill out! (Yesssssss and do the housework!), but just live the rest-full life. Ok yeh I will miss the money, but there’s more to life than that….(I dunno if I’ll agree with that a year down the line though lol).
It’s funny how money seems to run your life, actually its quite sad!
I’m sure ill occupy myself I have the kitchen cupboards lol mmmm.
Well its over and out from me, stay tuned.


Oh yeh before anyone says ..”I do know my English grammer is not upto scratch that’s just the way I am ..and I write as a think. I could start a sentence on one thing and finish it with another ...that’s just me no-one perfect” ..(Oh how can I forget …except for him).



Bored with no TV

Not only is the TV not working properly I’m off work today ..Yes I pulled a sickie …everyone deserves to every now and again! (I’m all booked out of annual hols!)
So not only am I alone, I have to entertain myself with the delightful wushy sounds of watching TV. …funny how u take things for granted, I miss watchin TV with a signal and not a distorted picture of a scrambled jigsaw puzzle. The TV has been like this for what 2months now! I’m being deprived! …Actually it’s not the TV that’s messed up it’s the Ariel antennae –It must of come loose or sumthin, which is God know where? apparently in the attic :S ……don’t ask!

But until the so-called council come to repair its back to the so-called good old days black and white…..wahahhhhhhhh .
Every time I come to watch Hollyoakes & Eastenders (or whenever I flick a channel) you gota stand there waving the Ariel around for half an hour or so and its funny how the signal gets clearer when the Ariel is in mid air lol.
Oh well what can u do but sit tight and enjoy!

Omgggggg you won’t believe wat just happened rite now my husband just had a call from the council and there FINALLLLLLY coming down let’s just hope Inshallah were third time lucky! Ahhhh can’t wait!! …oh btw its Thursday they’ll be down

I’m starving now I’m gona go cook sumthin before my stomach eats me! …When hunger strikes, it strikes!

Oh man I don’t wana go into work tomorrow ...I’m all depressed now I feel like ringing in sick again, but I don’t wana take the piss …but then again I’ve only been off 2days so that’s not that bad is it? People are usually off what 4-5 days! I’ve only had 2days off. It’s just not fairrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

His: Intro

Well let’s see I’ve been in the UK since 1999, which makes it 7 years now. I initially came here to study at University. On graduating I kind of settled down here, got married (to a beauty of a woman) and I am currently working, alas not my dream job but nevertheless a job in my chosen field.

I am originally from Yemen, born in the UK but grew up in Abu Dhabi, UAE (United Arab Emirates). Even though I was born here my parents left for the UAE before I started walking so I was still unfamiliar with the UK when I arrived. You’d think 7 years would make me an expert…WRONG…till now there are still some things that are beyond my comprehension and understandings. Whether its accents, phrases, laws, people etc and my wife? Well she’s just there to have a laugh at my expense.

That’s the HIS intro out of the way now, the missus will have hers now. We will mostly be using this blog as a personal dairy to give our own thoughts and share things that we find interesting.