Oasis Living Magazine

So, far the past few months I've been contributing regularly to a fairly new publication based in Al Ain in the UAE and entitled 'Oasis Living'. The magazine is fantastic and covers all aspects of life in Al Ain and in the other Emirates. This month I co-wrote the feature article, giving advice on what to do with 48 hours in Dubai and also have some advisory pieces about staying healthy in the heat and combating junk food. What's even more fabulous about Oasis Living is that it is absolutely free!!! Unfortunately, right now it's only distributed in Al Ain, to malls, cafes, schools, universities so you'll have to make the journey there if you want your own copy.
If you just fancying seeing what it's all about then you can read the virtual issue here
http://www.myoasisliving.com/digital_version/jul_2011/index.html

Cosmopolitan Middle East party!

On Tuesday, myself and a girlfriend were luck

y enough to bag

ourselves some invites to attend the very first Cosmop

olitan Middle East Ladies Night Launch Party!

Taking place at the fabulous Media One hotel in Dubai, the invite promised canopies, a pink carpet and

free cosmo's! All a promise of a good evening.

Upon arrival there was an array of pink and white miniature sparkling cupcakes and cookies and we were each presented with a lovely goodie bag full of beautiful treats. The cosmo cocktails were delicious and served in generous glasses complete with Cosmopolitan stirrers. Friendly waiters rushed around all evening

with trays loaded with delicious ca-napes and sweet treats. The d.j played uplifting house music and it was a really nice gathering, especially set against the fantastic backdrop of the M-Dek pool bar.

Definitely a good start for the Cosmopolitan team , a great first issue followed by a fabulous night for 400 of their readers.

Thanks Cosmo, glad to have you in the Middle East!

Grrrrrr!

I love living in Dubai. Really I do. But one of THE MOST annoying things about living here has got to be the magazines!

Let me explain. At home, I would religiously buy my monthly copy of Cosmo and more than likely Marie-Claire, Company, Grazia and a few other titles. However, since I moved here this has become a less frequent activity.

Firstly, this is because non-local magazines are ridiculously overpriced. Okay, I understand that they need to be imported so of course the cost will go up. But the cover price of Cosmo in the UK is $3.50(pounds). Here it can sell for anything up to Dhs72 depending where you buy it from – that works out around $12(pounds)!!!

But occasionally, when I feel like a girly night in I do splurge out and treat myself to Cosmo. That’s what happened yesterday and I arrived home ready for a night in, a bubble bath, some chocolate and a good old read.

Cue reason number two that magazines in this country are highly irksome. “5 Best Positions Ever” screams the second biggest headline on the cover. Interesting thinks me….lets have a look. But alas, pages 62 to 70 are missing. Yep, they have been torn out completely. Damn.

Okay- a female empowerment article next, Sexy Has No Size Limit, showing women of various shapes and sizes feeling sexy about themselves. I could do with a confidence boost thinks me so flip to page 87. And there is the article, well the first page of it. With a woman reclining on a couch with a hint of cleavage which has been very roughly coloured over with in thick, black, marker pen. The rest of the article….torn out! Aghhhhhh!

And don’t even get me started on Cosmo’s naked centerfold!

So there we have it, probably the thing that annoy’s me most about Dubai – the magazines!