Small Towns and Tall Towers - All in a Day in the Desert.

Some days in Riyadh are good, others are not.  

On a bad day I open my email first thing in the morning to find that there is still no reply to the chatty note I sent a friend last week. Or the internet is down and the skype call I was planning no longer possible.

Dancing in the Aisles and Finding Slovakia in a Saudi Souk - an Outing to Al Qassim

I believe I could count on one hand the number of times I've eaten well on a bus - but my trip to Al Qassim certainly counts as an example.

Men Wielding Shears and other Tales from an Arabian Garden

I was woken this morning by footsteps on our roof.

Chorizo, Cribs and the Circle of Life - London Bound!

In two days I’m leaving for London.

It's an exciting time. In a couple of months there’s going to be a baby arriving, and my daughter and I have a lot to do together. There’s a quilt to be finished and little woolen singlets that are still on the needles. A wooden crib has been lovingly handcrafted and lies waiting. There's so much joy in the process of readiness and anticipation.

Rings of Every Kind; or, Navigating Long-Distance Emotion

It’s a very long way from Ponui to Riyadh.

Ponui is a small island, found just off the coast of Auckland. There, contacting overseas family often involves trekking up a hill to get the right kind of coverage. It is quite literally a long distance call. And then, when the family you’re calling lives in Riyadh, there’s the additional challenge of timing a call so that both parties are awake.