I’d forgotten what green is. I live on reclaimed desert – there’s no greenery… no leaves… no vegetation… just sand and dust and huge expense – So on arriving at The Jumeirah Golf Estates (the most verdant place in all of Dubai!) I had to ROLL in the grass. I even took off my shoes just to remember what it’s like to feel
nature between my toes: I wanted to rub my face in it… But declined, as I’m sure there’s something somewhere in golf etiquette about not doing that.
Entrance is free to the DP World Championship… which means you can easily wander in off the road and instantaneously find yourself stood with a cider in each hand watching Rory McIlroy and Danny Willett teeing-off, or discover yourself propped at the bar next to Andy Sullivan’s very drunken mother… Who is an awful lot of fun!
I didn’t mind that we were the only people not in pastel polo shirts and chinos: I AM golf’s newest fan and will be back next year.
People like sport in Dubai… but there’s so much of it, and it’s so accessible that nobody can be bothered to go see it all – so venues rarely get busy… Which is perfection if you’re a terminal misanthrope like myself!
Living in Sport’s City also means that we can even walk to most of the events (not that anyone walks anywhere in the UAE) – so after our day of Thursday-golfing, we spent our Friday cricketing! England V Pakistan was played at the stadium right next to our building.
Nobody has ever been so thrilled by anything as Pakistan are by their national sport: shrieking, dancing, clapping every time someone runs, or anytime someone doesn’t… they almost converted me to support the green team with their absolute joy and excitement.
England won (though you’d never have guessed it – by the absolute ebullience of the rival team). AND we got to witness the fastest century in England’s One-day History … which seemed even more impressive after our 6 pints.
Well done Jos Buttler! Well done England. Well done us for enduring 7 hours of drinking in the sunshine and not putting ourselves into comas! 🙂
Sounds like you’re making the most of staying in a place like Dubai 🙂
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Haha I can sympathise with the whole ‘missing grass’ thing. I lived in the south of Spain for a couple of months (not as bad as Dubai, I imagine) and every time I saw a park which actually had grass as opposed to concrete, it was SO exciting.
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