By MARK McLAUGHLIN
In DOHA
22 November 2009
Jahannam is the Islamic word for Hell, and judging by my first few days in Doha I could be speeding my way there pretty soon.
Spent the first full night in Qatar in the Doha Sheraton Hotel "Irish Bar", which is licensed to sell alcohol - a proscribed substance nearly everywhere in the Arabian penninsula except in specially licensed clubs or bars.
Women are also forbidden from displaying their shoulders or knees (as well as the other obvious taboo body parts) outside these licensed areas, so they make the most of it in the hotel bars by wearing as little as possible.
There is, however, a high cost for breaking these prohibitions, even in licensed premises. Apart from the risk of losing your soul to Shaitan (that's Satan to you and me), it costs 38 Qatari Riyals (over six quid) for a pint of Guiness. The penalty for non-maritial relations is a year in prison.
Friday night also introduced me to a taxi ride on Doha roads. The driving is wild and I'm reliably informed that by the time my visit is over I will see, or be involved in a (hopefully non-fatal) road accident. Crossing points are also very rare on the main roads, meaning you may have to walk half a mile to find a place to cross or risk you life during a break in three lanes of constantly weaving traffic.
In contrast to Britain's sparing use of the horn (which is normally used to indicate imminent danger and occassionally to express frustration at the kind of driving that is customary in Doha), the horn in Doha appears to be a form of driver communication, like the twittering of birds. During particularly frustating episodes of gridlock, where any movement is impossible and frustrated horns therefore futile, they nevertheless become a cacophony akin to a herd of trumpeting elephants.
Hopefully I'll make it home alive.
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
DOHA: Castles Made of Sand
By MARK McLAUGHLIN
in DOHA
20 November 2009
My first impression of Doha was to note just how massive it is. Coming from Edinburgh I'm accustomed to a whole city contained within the space of few square miles. Doha is a sprawling mass that eminates outward from a horseshoe shaped harbour, flanked at its northern edge by a futuristic cityscape that puts Blade Runner to shame.
At the northern tip of the harbour stands the toblerone shaped Doha Sheraton Hotel, and to the south is the newish Museum of Islamic Art, a lego shaped building full of artifacts from 1000 years of Islamic history (might do a full review later).
From there the city expands outwards in concentric circles, marked out by circular motorways called simply Ring Road A through to E.
Outside of the Blade Runner metropolis at the shore, the rest of Doha architecture consists of simple, flat roofed buildings the colour of sand, as though they were whipped up in a sandstorm by an industrialist djinn. Conical spikes stick out every half mile or so signifying the ubiquitous mosques, which five times a day cry out in unison for the call to prayer. Most expats grow tired of this regular interuption to their day (especially the sunrise call at 4.30am) but to the ininitiated they have a haunting quality.
in DOHA
20 November 2009
My first impression of Doha was to note just how massive it is. Coming from Edinburgh I'm accustomed to a whole city contained within the space of few square miles. Doha is a sprawling mass that eminates outward from a horseshoe shaped harbour, flanked at its northern edge by a futuristic cityscape that puts Blade Runner to shame.
At the northern tip of the harbour stands the toblerone shaped Doha Sheraton Hotel, and to the south is the newish Museum of Islamic Art, a lego shaped building full of artifacts from 1000 years of Islamic history (might do a full review later).
From there the city expands outwards in concentric circles, marked out by circular motorways called simply Ring Road A through to E.
Outside of the Blade Runner metropolis at the shore, the rest of Doha architecture consists of simple, flat roofed buildings the colour of sand, as though they were whipped up in a sandstorm by an industrialist djinn. Conical spikes stick out every half mile or so signifying the ubiquitous mosques, which five times a day cry out in unison for the call to prayer. Most expats grow tired of this regular interuption to their day (especially the sunrise call at 4.30am) but to the ininitiated they have a haunting quality.
DOHA: Santa Clause in Saudi Arabia
By MARK McLAUGHLIN
at Amsterdam Schipol Airport-Dammam-Doha
19 November 2009
Set off for Doha in the early hours of this morning, with a five hour stopover at Amsterdam Schipol Airport. Having never been to Amsterdam, but heard many a story from my reprobate friends, I was disappointed to find the airport devoid of strippers. I did, however, find the "slag room", which much to my annoyance turned out to be Dutch for "whipped cream".
The airport has a casino, which I stayed well clear of preferring to keep my cash, and at the time of flying also an art exhibition featuring paintings by the Brueghel family of artists, who are apparently quite well known if you're Dutch and into art.
I set off again for a quick stopover in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, to pick up the final passengers set for Doha. An Arab family boarded the plane. The father was sporting a jet-black beard and a gleaming white dishdasha, and the elder son was similarly attired with a wispy bumfluff moustache which I found quite amusing. The women, presumably his wives and/or daughters, followed dressed in black burqas and they were followed in turn by throng of happy looking children, dressed in simple jeans and t-shirts and as yet unencumbered by the strict Saudi dress code of their elders.
The culture shock was complete when the Dutch air-hostesses, a spirted bunch who had teased me for most of the flight for trying to pay for the complimentary alcohol (who knew!), arrived with complimentary toys for the children.
"Santa Clause is here," said one of the air-hostesses, apparently unaware of her cultural faux pas.
I don't think Saint Nick would be too welcome round these parts!
at Amsterdam Schipol Airport-Dammam-Doha
19 November 2009
Set off for Doha in the early hours of this morning, with a five hour stopover at Amsterdam Schipol Airport. Having never been to Amsterdam, but heard many a story from my reprobate friends, I was disappointed to find the airport devoid of strippers. I did, however, find the "slag room", which much to my annoyance turned out to be Dutch for "whipped cream".
The airport has a casino, which I stayed well clear of preferring to keep my cash, and at the time of flying also an art exhibition featuring paintings by the Brueghel family of artists, who are apparently quite well known if you're Dutch and into art.
I set off again for a quick stopover in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, to pick up the final passengers set for Doha. An Arab family boarded the plane. The father was sporting a jet-black beard and a gleaming white dishdasha, and the elder son was similarly attired with a wispy bumfluff moustache which I found quite amusing. The women, presumably his wives and/or daughters, followed dressed in black burqas and they were followed in turn by throng of happy looking children, dressed in simple jeans and t-shirts and as yet unencumbered by the strict Saudi dress code of their elders.
The culture shock was complete when the Dutch air-hostesses, a spirted bunch who had teased me for most of the flight for trying to pay for the complimentary alcohol (who knew!), arrived with complimentary toys for the children.
"Santa Clause is here," said one of the air-hostesses, apparently unaware of her cultural faux pas.
I don't think Saint Nick would be too welcome round these parts!
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
HOLIDAY
I'm off to Doha for the next two and a half weeks and will not be blogging...unless I can sneak in a cheeky update or two.
FEATURE: The Most Stylish Woman in Edinburgh?
By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
17 November 2009
This article is proof that could make a Grazia style writer one day. After the week I've had putting corsages on Christmas trees and writing about handbags I really need some beer, steak and football.
SHE'S living proof that it can pay to get dressed to the nines for an afternoon stroll.
When Megan Cunningham pulled on her leather-look leggings, strappy shoes and exclusive Alexander McQueen scarf for an afternoon's shopping on Princes Street, she turned some very influential heads.
The 20-year-old hairdressers' receptionist from Morningside has just been voted one of Britain's most stylish women, following a chance encounter with women's magazine Grazia.
The glossy sent a team of "style hunters" to 11 UK cities in August, and Edinburgh hunters were won over by Megan's bold but understated style.
Megan, who works at Cheynes hairdressers in Bruntsfield, said: "It was completely random. They just came up to me and started asking questions about my look, and taking some photographs.
"I thought it was just market research but I was surprised when they called me two months later and said I'd made it through to the regional finals of a competition and had to get people to vote for me.
"I didn't expect to win. People always say that while I look really glamorous I wear too much black, but I think it looks good on me."
The former James Gillespie's girl was inspired by her mum Donna, 46, a Standard Life receptionist, particularly in the shoulder-padded Warehouse top she was sporting on the day.
She said: "I love shoulder pads. I used to laugh at pictures of my mum in the 1980s but they're totally back in fashion.
"The rest of my outfit was quite simple.
I like to call the bag I'm carrying 'vintage Warehouse' because I bought it so long ago but I still use it all the time.
"I did get some really negative comments on the website about the leggings. A lot of people said they looked trashy and cheapened the outfit, but everyone's got different tastes, I suppose.
"While most of her outfit is high street fashion, the genuine Alexander McQueen scarf would normally set you back more than £350.
Megan added: "My cousin brought it back from the States. It was only £120."
The 11 winners of the first Grazia Style Hunter Awards are featured in today's Grazia.
Grazia's Editor-in-chief Jane Bruton said: "We were overwhelmed by the number of super-stylish women we discovered and Megan is an outstanding and well-deserved winner."
Edinburgh Evening News
17 November 2009
This article is proof that could make a Grazia style writer one day. After the week I've had putting corsages on Christmas trees and writing about handbags I really need some beer, steak and football.
SHE'S living proof that it can pay to get dressed to the nines for an afternoon stroll.
When Megan Cunningham pulled on her leather-look leggings, strappy shoes and exclusive Alexander McQueen scarf for an afternoon's shopping on Princes Street, she turned some very influential heads.
The 20-year-old hairdressers' receptionist from Morningside has just been voted one of Britain's most stylish women, following a chance encounter with women's magazine Grazia.
The glossy sent a team of "style hunters" to 11 UK cities in August, and Edinburgh hunters were won over by Megan's bold but understated style.
Megan, who works at Cheynes hairdressers in Bruntsfield, said: "It was completely random. They just came up to me and started asking questions about my look, and taking some photographs.
"I thought it was just market research but I was surprised when they called me two months later and said I'd made it through to the regional finals of a competition and had to get people to vote for me.
"I didn't expect to win. People always say that while I look really glamorous I wear too much black, but I think it looks good on me."
The former James Gillespie's girl was inspired by her mum Donna, 46, a Standard Life receptionist, particularly in the shoulder-padded Warehouse top she was sporting on the day.
She said: "I love shoulder pads. I used to laugh at pictures of my mum in the 1980s but they're totally back in fashion.
"The rest of my outfit was quite simple.
I like to call the bag I'm carrying 'vintage Warehouse' because I bought it so long ago but I still use it all the time.
"I did get some really negative comments on the website about the leggings. A lot of people said they looked trashy and cheapened the outfit, but everyone's got different tastes, I suppose.
"While most of her outfit is high street fashion, the genuine Alexander McQueen scarf would normally set you back more than £350.
Megan added: "My cousin brought it back from the States. It was only £120."
The 11 winners of the first Grazia Style Hunter Awards are featured in today's Grazia.
Grazia's Editor-in-chief Jane Bruton said: "We were overwhelmed by the number of super-stylish women we discovered and Megan is an outstanding and well-deserved winner."
Monday, 16 November 2009
NEWS: The House Price Rollercoaster
By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
16 November 2009
Treat everything here with a pinch of salt. These house price surveys are ten a penny, and usually barely worth banking a penny on
HOUSE prices in Edinburgh have fallen by nearly 12 per cent in the last three months, it was revealed today.
The Capital's poor performance came as a surprise and goes against the trend of a modest house price recovery in the rest of Scotland, which has seen the average cost of home rise by 0.7 per cent in the last quarter.
The average home in Scotland now costs £153,605, compared with £152,561 three months ago, according to figures contained in the latest Scottish House Price Monitor by Lloyds TSB.
The report said: "Scottish house prices have stopped falling and have begun to increase. However, price movements in the latest quarter are particularly volatile."
Nowhere has this volatility been more apparent than in Edinburgh.
Despite the 12 per cent drop, Edinburgh house prices remain the most expensive in Scotland, with the average price of a home in the city costing £197,018.
Leslie Deans, senior partner in Leslie Deans & Co estate agents, acknowledged the number of houses being sold in Edinburgh had fallen steeply in the economic downturn, but said the picture on the ground looked slightly different from the figures contained in the report.
He said: "The ESPC's [Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre] latest report indicated that Edinburgh house prices have actually stabilised following the recent difficulties so the Lloyds TSB report is running slightly contrary to that.
" Edinburgh was starting from a higher point than the majority of the country and I'm seeing Edinburgh house prices hardening again.
"I'm seeing greater demand. There are more buyers about and more transactions happening. The length of time taken to sell a house is also shortening."
Mr Deans said he had also seen evidence of Edinburgh buyers rushing through transactions before a change in stamp duty rules on December 31.
He added: "Stamp duty is currently only payable on properties of £175,000, but as of next month they will be payable on properties over £125,000, so I've seen evidence of buyers getting their skates on to close the deal before this rule takes effect.
"All of these factors means that from our point of view the activity level has been quite high.
"However, I wouldn't say things are going well for us just yet.
"Edinburgh property transactions by volume dropped considerably in the downturn and have to bounce back to anywhere near the pre-downturn levels.
"While things have improved over the last six months there's still a bit to go yet."
There were marked differences in price changes across the country, with rises in some areas and falls in others.
Aberdeen saw the biggest rise, with prices going up 13.4 per cent in the last quarter, and the north of Scotland as a whole experiencing a positive trend.
In Glasgow, however, prices fell by 9.8 per cent.
The north, excluding Aberdeen, has seen a 6.9 per cent rise, and the south-east, excluding Edinburgh, saw house prices go up by 2.7 per cent.
The 0.7 per cent increase in the latest quarter follows a fall of 1.4 per cent in the previous quarter and a drop of 4.3 per cent in the quarter before that.
Edinburgh Evening News
16 November 2009
Treat everything here with a pinch of salt. These house price surveys are ten a penny, and usually barely worth banking a penny on
HOUSE prices in Edinburgh have fallen by nearly 12 per cent in the last three months, it was revealed today.
The Capital's poor performance came as a surprise and goes against the trend of a modest house price recovery in the rest of Scotland, which has seen the average cost of home rise by 0.7 per cent in the last quarter.
The average home in Scotland now costs £153,605, compared with £152,561 three months ago, according to figures contained in the latest Scottish House Price Monitor by Lloyds TSB.
The report said: "Scottish house prices have stopped falling and have begun to increase. However, price movements in the latest quarter are particularly volatile."
Nowhere has this volatility been more apparent than in Edinburgh.
Despite the 12 per cent drop, Edinburgh house prices remain the most expensive in Scotland, with the average price of a home in the city costing £197,018.
Leslie Deans, senior partner in Leslie Deans & Co estate agents, acknowledged the number of houses being sold in Edinburgh had fallen steeply in the economic downturn, but said the picture on the ground looked slightly different from the figures contained in the report.
He said: "The ESPC's [Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre] latest report indicated that Edinburgh house prices have actually stabilised following the recent difficulties so the Lloyds TSB report is running slightly contrary to that.
" Edinburgh was starting from a higher point than the majority of the country and I'm seeing Edinburgh house prices hardening again.
"I'm seeing greater demand. There are more buyers about and more transactions happening. The length of time taken to sell a house is also shortening."
Mr Deans said he had also seen evidence of Edinburgh buyers rushing through transactions before a change in stamp duty rules on December 31.
He added: "Stamp duty is currently only payable on properties of £175,000, but as of next month they will be payable on properties over £125,000, so I've seen evidence of buyers getting their skates on to close the deal before this rule takes effect.
"All of these factors means that from our point of view the activity level has been quite high.
"However, I wouldn't say things are going well for us just yet.
"Edinburgh property transactions by volume dropped considerably in the downturn and have to bounce back to anywhere near the pre-downturn levels.
"While things have improved over the last six months there's still a bit to go yet."
There were marked differences in price changes across the country, with rises in some areas and falls in others.
Aberdeen saw the biggest rise, with prices going up 13.4 per cent in the last quarter, and the north of Scotland as a whole experiencing a positive trend.
In Glasgow, however, prices fell by 9.8 per cent.
The north, excluding Aberdeen, has seen a 6.9 per cent rise, and the south-east, excluding Edinburgh, saw house prices go up by 2.7 per cent.
The 0.7 per cent increase in the latest quarter follows a fall of 1.4 per cent in the previous quarter and a drop of 4.3 per cent in the quarter before that.
FEATURE: The One To Watch for 2010?
By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
14 November 2009
IT WASN'T exactly the most auspicious of starts to what Alex Gardner is hoping will be a glittering pop career. Within weeks of leaving his native Edinburgh for the bright lights of London last year, he'd been mugged, was living off beans and was desperately searching for a job.
But then his luck changed thanks to a curious invitation. "I was invited to the house where Alice In Wonderland was written," recalls 18-year-old singer Alex, a former Edinburgh Academy pupil who is being tipped as the music industry's one to watch in 2010.
The invitation came via a band Alex had auditioned for, but he had little idea what he was letting himself in for.
"I was bit apprehensive about being invited to this strange house in the country, but I did my research and found it belonged to pop producer Brian Higgins."
The Kent mansion is the former home of Alice Liddell Hargrieves, the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but its present owner is no stranger to spreading a bit of magic himself.
Higgins' production house Xenomania has produced tracks for Sugababes, Girls Aloud, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Dannii and Kylie Minogue, Cher, Saint Etienne and now Alex, who is preparing for launch as Higgins' next pop wunderkind.
The passage from Edinburgh to Wonderland has been very short indeed for Alex, whose parents Richard, a solicitor with Drummond Miller, and commercial promoter Janet Gardner still live in Davidson's Mains.
"I left Edinburgh Academy at 16," says Alex.
"I saved up enough money for five months' rent in London and went for it. I had no idea what I was going to do but I was looking for something creative.
My parents were a bit sceptical to say the least."
And his parents' fears were quickly realised. Returning to his Paddington flat with two friends in his first week, they were mugged by six armed men. "They surrounded us and told us they were armed with knives so we gave them everything," says Alex.
"They took all my jewellery and a small amount of cash. One of the other guys was marched to a cash machine and told to enter his pin and they cleared him out."
It was a brutal introduction to the big city, but Alex soon settled in and began looking for work. He spotted an advert for a band and went for an audition. I really didn't fit in. They were twice my age with guitars and all I had was my voice, but we did a couple of songs and then I asked them to record one of my own.
"A few months later I got invited up to the mansion to meet Brian. He told me he had listened to my tape and realised I wasn't right for the band . . . which was a bit of a blow. But then he said I'd do better as a solo act. I was over the moon."
For the last year Alex has been going back to the mansion to write songs with Higgins.
"Although we're writing together, Brian always insists the songs are drawn from my own experiences, so most of them are about girls," says Alex.
Alex has now signed a worldwide record deal with Universal/A&M Records and has just completed a short tour with Paolo Nutini. And last night he played a homecoming show at Cabaret Voltaire in front of all of the friends and family he's been missing.
"The only song I've written that's not about a girl is about Edinburgh," he says. "It's called Where Were You? and it's a message to all my friends not to forget me."
For more info, visit www. myspace.com/alexgardermusic
Edinburgh Evening News
14 November 2009
IT WASN'T exactly the most auspicious of starts to what Alex Gardner is hoping will be a glittering pop career. Within weeks of leaving his native Edinburgh for the bright lights of London last year, he'd been mugged, was living off beans and was desperately searching for a job.
But then his luck changed thanks to a curious invitation. "I was invited to the house where Alice In Wonderland was written," recalls 18-year-old singer Alex, a former Edinburgh Academy pupil who is being tipped as the music industry's one to watch in 2010.
The invitation came via a band Alex had auditioned for, but he had little idea what he was letting himself in for.
"I was bit apprehensive about being invited to this strange house in the country, but I did my research and found it belonged to pop producer Brian Higgins."
The Kent mansion is the former home of Alice Liddell Hargrieves, the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but its present owner is no stranger to spreading a bit of magic himself.
Higgins' production house Xenomania has produced tracks for Sugababes, Girls Aloud, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Dannii and Kylie Minogue, Cher, Saint Etienne and now Alex, who is preparing for launch as Higgins' next pop wunderkind.
The passage from Edinburgh to Wonderland has been very short indeed for Alex, whose parents Richard, a solicitor with Drummond Miller, and commercial promoter Janet Gardner still live in Davidson's Mains.
"I left Edinburgh Academy at 16," says Alex.
"I saved up enough money for five months' rent in London and went for it. I had no idea what I was going to do but I was looking for something creative.
My parents were a bit sceptical to say the least."
And his parents' fears were quickly realised. Returning to his Paddington flat with two friends in his first week, they were mugged by six armed men. "They surrounded us and told us they were armed with knives so we gave them everything," says Alex.
"They took all my jewellery and a small amount of cash. One of the other guys was marched to a cash machine and told to enter his pin and they cleared him out."
It was a brutal introduction to the big city, but Alex soon settled in and began looking for work. He spotted an advert for a band and went for an audition. I really didn't fit in. They were twice my age with guitars and all I had was my voice, but we did a couple of songs and then I asked them to record one of my own.
"A few months later I got invited up to the mansion to meet Brian. He told me he had listened to my tape and realised I wasn't right for the band . . . which was a bit of a blow. But then he said I'd do better as a solo act. I was over the moon."
For the last year Alex has been going back to the mansion to write songs with Higgins.
"Although we're writing together, Brian always insists the songs are drawn from my own experiences, so most of them are about girls," says Alex.
Alex has now signed a worldwide record deal with Universal/A&M Records and has just completed a short tour with Paolo Nutini. And last night he played a homecoming show at Cabaret Voltaire in front of all of the friends and family he's been missing.
"The only song I've written that's not about a girl is about Edinburgh," he says. "It's called Where Were You? and it's a message to all my friends not to forget me."
For more info, visit www. myspace.com/alexgardermusic
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