27 Months – Layla

Saturday 12th March 2016

According to my calculations, we have about four more weekends of gloriously mild weather to enjoy outdoor activities. The sonic heat of Dubai will sear us come May, and by then none of us will be wearing long sleeves and thick tracksuit bottoms when playing outside. No fact, we won’t be heading out doors at all by then.

Today Kingsley could easily wear lots of warm clothing since the cooling winds breeze through Downtown on his play date with Layla, the three year old daughter of good friend Camilla. We meet at the Dubai Mall then wander about enjoy the bustle of this thriving town: everyone is out today, it seems. And why not: it’s the weekend, and there is a new precinct I want to show Camilla – one where our kidlets can run barefoot on cobbled laneways safely. No cars are allowed in the Al Manzil district. It’s strictly pedestrian.

A pool, water fountains and children’s play park with fun equipment keeps them occupied for hours. Meanwhile us old friends catch up on our lives; talk spans raising our kids, schooling, saving money, groceries, work, health, mutual friendships. All fulfilling and necessary for sanity. Still nothing beats watching these two plot and scheme their mother’s demise…

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