Last day of the Dubai 7s today

A quick nod to Dubai's largest sporting event of the year, the Dubai 7s rugby tournament which is the first tournament of the IRB World Sevens competition, and is widely accepted as the 2nd best 7s tournament after the institutional Hong Kong 7s. Everyone got soaked up there yesterday, but reports coming back confirm that the rain didn't deter people from having a good time, I'm guessing the Heineken might of had something to do with that!

This year they've gone a little social... with the #SevensFan twitter hash tag. Yesterday, and again today, HSBC are looking for the ultimate Sevens Fan and are offering the winner the trip of a lifetime: a tournament of their choice featuring in the Sevens World Series 2013/14. (I'd like to win a trip to the HK 7's - it's been 5 years since my last time there)!

All you need to do is post a picture of yourself on twitter with the hash-tag #SevensFan - and you don't even have to be at the event to get included - what happens is the best pictures received are put up on the big screen at the stadium and the crowd cheer for the best one.

Enjoy the weekend if you still have some left, if not... have a good week!

le fin.

MacKenzie's Tasting Evening

On Sunday the 2nd of December (thats tomorrow) Macks (which is a nickname which appears to start to be sticking) are hosting a tasting session with free mulled wine and mince pies so people can check out what delightful tasty treats they have in stock for Christmas.

Also, Mackenzies will be offering fully catered Christmas hampers - ie they will roast the turkey/ham for you and all you have to do is pick it up :)

More on that tomorrow I'm sure.

le fin.

Reblog: do you know this dog?

Reading local Scottish blogger Heather's Duncan Adventures, I learned that they found a dog in Azaiba today.

Head on over to her blog for details on how to contact them if you know, or are, the owner of the dog.

I hope she is reunited with her owners.

le fin.

Book sale this Thursday

Tomorrow between 9:30 and 12:30 at the CCC building in Qurum (opposite Nandos) is a book sale - 2 paper backs for a rial, or 1 hard back for a rial.

All proceeds go towards Dar Al Atta projects around the country to promote school libraires and a roaming library.

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Just a quickie: Hip Hop night at Zouk tonight

Just a little one for this evening... if you're a fan of Hip Hop, you might want to head up to Zouk for the last minute Hip Hop night.

Girls are free, boys are a fiver.

Enjoy the long weekend.

le fin.

Wanasa Oman

You may have already heard about this new voucher book thats on the market here, Wanasa. It's geared mainly to outward bounds activities with vouchers worth up to RO 1200. The book costs RO 12, and if you are coming here for a holiday, or have friends/family coming for a visit or a few visits, I think this book can help save quite a few bucks, but more importantly, can give quite a few ideas of things to do. The current book runs until September 2013.

Here's a list of all the deals in the book:

Water Activities

Al Sansool - Buy 1 fishing trip, get 1 free, x4
Global Scuba - Buy 1 diving trip worth RO 52, get 1 free, x2
Jassa Beach Sea Tourism - 25% discount on total bill per person, x4
Khasab Travel & Tours Company - 25% discount on total bill per person, x4
Kiteboarding Oman - Buy 1 Kiteboarding course, get 1 free, x4
Oman Dive Centre - Buy 1 bubble maker course, get 1 free, x2
Oman Dive Centre - Buy 1 morning snorkelling trip, get next free, x2
Glassbottom boat - 10% discount on total bill per person, x4
Lubna Dhow - 15% discount on total bill per person, x4

Sports

Bike Planet - Buy 2 hours on Quad bike, get an hour free, x4
Muscat Diving & Adventure Centre - 10% off afternoon Dhow trip per person
Muscat Diving & Adventure Centre - 10% off Canyoning - Snake Canyon or Via Ferrata - Snake Canyon - 1 each
Oman Bowling Centre - Buy 3 hours get 1 hour for free, x2
Oman Bowling Centre - Buy 3 meals get 1 free (of same value), x2

Leisure & Pleasure

Bait Muzna - 10% discount on selected items
City Cinema - Buy 2 tickets & get 1 free (only in Sur or Sohar), x4
Happyland MGM - Get RO 2 free credit when you buy a Happy card and load it with RO 5
Happyland MGM - Get RO 6 free credit when you buy a Happy card and load it with RO 10
Happyland MGM - Get RO 12 free credit when you buy a Happy card and load it with RO 20
Happyland MGM - Get RO 35 free credit when you buy a Happy card and load it with RO 50
Marah Land - Free entry for 4 people
Marah Land - Charge your card with RO 5 and get RO 2,5 free, x3
National Ferries Company - Buy 2 adult tickets and get a free childs ticket, x2
National Ferries Company - Buy 3 adult tickets and get a 20% discount, x2
Oman Salsa Group - 25% discount on any event during 3rd March & 31st December 2013
Oman Salsa Group - 25% discount on one class
Oman Salsa Group - 50% discount after 5 referrals
Oman Salsa Group - RO5 discount on a package card purchased (per person)
Pro Shots - Buy 2 art frames and get 2 for free, x2
Pro Shots - 25% discount on fun session albums, x2
Pro Shots - 25% discount on storyteller set frames, x2
Pro Shots - Buy one large canvas and get one free, x2


If you are interested in buying it, you can call 2469 2469 or visit the ProShots store in Shatti Al Qurum.

le fin.

Opera Galleria opens today [store listing]

Just a quick note to say that the immensely popular cafe chain from Dubai, mOre, opens today at the new Opera Galleria mall, which also "soft" opens today, with the main opening scheduled in early 2013, nearly a year later than originally planned.

For mOre information, you can check out their facebook page or their website.

For the Opera Galleria mall, there are over 50 stores planned, however only 25 are open today, however there is currently no complete list, and the press release copied and pasted by all of the newspapers doesn't seem to list these 25 stores. However, I've built a list, from a few different sources, and think that is more or less up to date, but I'm sure there will be a few new announcements in the coming months, but I still don't know which of these will be open today, except, of course, mOre.

1. mOre café
2. Nawal Art
3. Richoux café
4. Gallery Arjan
5. Mouawad Jewelery
6. Fauchon café
7. Bank Muscat
8. Raymond Weil
9. Patek Philippe
10. Bulgari   
11. Qurum Jewelers
12. Eye Candy
13. Jean D’Arcel
14. Lalique
15. ROH Ticket office
16. Royal Oman Cuisine restaurant
17. The Omani Artisan House
18. Maathir Jewelry
19. Dar Optics
20. Majid Trading
21. Alessandro
22. WH Smith
23. Tamrah
24. Le Palais de Chocolate
25. The Indus Restaurant
26. Henry Jaques
27. Lladro
28. Ajmal
29. Raydan Boutique
30. Al Husn perfumes
31. Bait Muzana Gallery
32. Asmaa al Kharusi Collection
33. Panerai
34. Nawal al Hooti

The mall is open from 10am till 10pm, with food and beverage outlets open from 8am until midnight.

le fin.

Just a quickie: Tonight is Amarula Night

Tonight at the Safari Pub, there is a special Amarula promotion. Basically they are dishing out free shots of Amarula between 11pm and 1am tonight at the Safari, after then, it's RO 2.5 a shot. For those that don't know, Amarula is basically Baileys. Seeing as most people have holidays on Tuesday, that really only leaves 1 working day to battle through should you be hungover.....

Dont forget your drinking hats!

le fin.

The Muscat Singers Winter Concert

The Muscat Singers are at it again with another Winter Concert at the Bosch Centre for the Performing Arts at the TAISM school in Ghala (they like to say they are in Azaiba but that is just delusions of grandeur if you ask me) on Friday December 7th at 4pm.

The event is essentially a lot of Christmas Carols, although there's a bunch of other stuff too, just so you know. They are known to be really good, and for those that are into that sort of thing, its a nice little taste of Christmas time in lands far away.

It's a ticketed event, with tickets costing RO 3 for Adults and RO 2 for Students and Seniors. You can get tickets by SMS'ing or calling 9557 4887

le fin.

Mamma Mia - The Winner

As I blogged over a week ago, on Wednesday November 28th at the InterCon from 6:30pm, the next big gig in town starts, with original cast members from the hit musical Mamma Mia. Tickets to this gig are still on sale, they are RO 20 a pop, or if you buy 10 tickets, you can get them at RO 15 a ticket - so get together with your friends and save yourselves a fiver each! Tickets can be bought between 5 and 7pm at the InterCon on Saturdays, Sundays & Monday, or any day at OUA outlets in MSQ or Sohar.

And now it's time to announce the winner of the pair of tickets to the event!

Congratulations to Loretta Cordeiro - you just won a pair of tickets to the concert this Wednesday! Check your email as instructions have been sent to you on how to claim your ticket.

Thanks everyone for entering, and stay tuned for another chance to win some free stuff soon!

le fin.

Tim Hortons now open in MCC

Earlier this week, the second Timmies branch in Oman opened at Muscat City Centre mall, at the main entrancec where Nine West used to  be. So that's the second outlet here in town. I wonder if another outlet will come any time soon? It'd be nice to get a coffee in the morning on the way to work, but the malls don't usually open till around 10ish..

Toasted Sesame bagel with cream cheese, here I come!

Have a great weekend!

le fin.

Muscat Regatta this weekend

This weekend sees the Muscat Regatta kick off again between the 22nd until the 28th November, including 2 days of inshore racing at Marina Bandar Al Rowdha on 22nd and 23rd, with prize giving in the evening of the 23rd.

Then, the Bank of Beirut Chairman’s cup Race will start on the 24th of November and  the final prize giving taking place in Khasab on the 28th November

More information on Muscat Regatta 2012 can be found on the official website – www.muscatregatta.com along with registration forms, notice of regatta and notice of race.

le fin.

National Day Holidays

Well again I'm late with recording the holiday dates for next week, but then again I've just been a little pre-occupied at my end!

Public Sector gets Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th off
Private Sector gets Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th off

The labour law states: Should an official holiday coincide with a weekly paid rest day, the worker shall be compensated therefore by another day.

So those of you in the Private sector should be getting either Tuesday off, or Saturday, or a day in lieu.

le fin.

Happy national day

Today it's November 18th, and there are flags and lights everywhere in the capital. We all had a day off yesterday but that dayoff was for the new year apparently, and so everyone is waiting with bated breath to see if we'll get some more time off soon. People are saying a day or 2 at the end of the month.

Happy national day people!

le fin.

"Fatma" by Fatma Alsaleh

Fatma Alsaleh has launched a new line of t shirts for her new brand "Fatma". Here's a selection of her Tshirts but there are more if you find her on Instagram and look at her pictures.

 Traditional Omani Necklaces
Top: 12 Rials
Bottom (beaded + close up of details) - 18 Rial

 Oman in our Heart (9 Rials)

Omani Kids (8 Rials)

For orders or inquiries, Fatma can be reached by email: fatma.a.alsaleh@gmail.com or via instagram @fatewm

T-shirts are all available by order, since she doesn't have a store yet, and sizes availble: all child sizes, S, M, L, XL and sometimes XXL.


le fin.

Holidays on Saturday

Apologies for the delay in blogging about this, and now you should probably all know, and I'm really only blogging this for records sake now.... but Saturday is a holiday :)

More soon!

le fin.

Safari roof top grill house

Recently I went for dinner at the Safari roof top grill house at the Hyatt here in town for the first time this "winter" as they have lowered their pricing and I wanted to check it out.

It's pretty much the same as before, but the 3 different prices are now including all taxes: RO 25, 30 or 35 for various different main course options, before it used to be these prices, plus the taxes - so thats a nice saving on the old pricing schedule.

Of course all of these options include a salad bar and soup option to start, the main course, and a selection of amazing deserts. And then there is of course unlimited selected beverages (includes wine and beer as well). In the past I've had many hazy nights on the roof top and have broken a personal best record for the number of bottles of Tiger consumed in an evening a few times there!

The salad bar was really good, but it didn't contain the usual suspects (tomatoes / cucumbers etc), and I personally didn't mind. The salad mix that I made for myself was really good, and to be honest I considered going back for more but knew I'd have to save room for the rest of the meal! The soup option was cream of mushroom on the night that I went, and as I'm not a fan of that I didn't try it so I can't really comment on that!

The Tenderloin

The T Bone

I opted for a Mulwara T bone (from the RO 30 menu) and Mrs Sythe went for the Angus Beef Tenderloin from the RO 35 menu. Both were amazing! The roasted vegetables were really nice too, but I found that the mashed potatoes were not the best, but I am pretty picky about my spuds.... :/

After the main course we had a break before going for desert. Now the desert menu consists of 6 different options and I wanted them all, they all looked so delicious! After much discussion, we finally picked these two: Sticky toffee pudding and the classic lemon tart with raspberry coulis...

They didn't last long at all! And when we were done, and I had decided that licking the plate was not really an option, I decided to make a palm tree with the garnish and my toothpick packaging :)

The lemon thing was so delicious, I want more of it!

All in all we had a great time, and with the mashed potatoes aside, everything was perfect. It's definitely worth considering if you want to celebrate someones birthday or just have a get together with friends, or even a nice quite meal in the week with a few drinks.

To make a reservation you can email muscat.dining@hyatt.com or call 2464 1234.

le fin.

Win 2 tickets to see the Mamma Mia concert

For those of you that don't know, a group of local Swedish people have organized a concert with members of the original cast of the hit musical Mamma Mia based on ABBA songs.

On Wednesday November 28th at the InterCon from 6:30pm, the gates open. Now tickets to this gig have been on sale already for a couple of weeks, and sales are going very strongly, they are RO 20 a pop, or if you buy 10 tickets, you can get them at RO 15 a ticket - so get together with your friends and save yourselves a fiver each! Tickets can be bought between 5 and 7pm at the InterCon on Saturdays, Sundays & Monday, or any day at OUA outlets in MSQ or Sohar.

However, for one lucky reader of ze blog, I have a pair of tickets to give away!

All you need to do to get in the draw for the tickets is to leave a comment here or email me with the subject line: I want Mamma Mia! My email address is: mrsythe[at]gmail[dot]com

If you decide to leave a comment here, please ensure there is a way for me to email you should you win. Leaving multiple comments will still only get your name registered once!

le fin.

Gift of music from Japan

Another free classical concert organized by the Embassy of Japan, this time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Oman. This one is at the ABA performing arts centre in Al Khuwair on Sunday 11th at 7:30pm, doors open at 7.00.

Three musicians from Japan will play not only western music but also pieces arranged from Japanese music.

The concert programme is as follows:


1. J.Strauss II: Frühlingsstimmen


2. J.Strauss II: Mein Herr Marquis <>
3. G.Verdi: Ah,forse è l’anima <>


4. M.P.Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition


5. F.Borne: Carmen Fantasy


6. Japanese Folk Songs Medley: Four seasons in my Hometown



le fin.
                                     

Saturday evening entertainment

The fabulous new deal at the Mumtaz Mahal, Saturday Night Madness, continues this Saturday, along with some extra contributions from the Left bank underneath it.

For RO 15 + the taxes, you can have all you can eat (from a selected menu) curry along with beer, wine or house spirits, it's, as far as I know, the cheapest "all inclusive" alcohol included deal in the country. And the curries are lurvely.

And if Curry is not your particular cup of tea, you can always pop your head in downstairs at the Left Bank, where they appear to be competing directly with Mumtaz with this particular offer:

3 free drinks for the ladies, discounts on selected cocktails and 15% off main course meals. I'm not really too sure why Left Bank are deciding to compete with Mumtaz on a Saturday night, but we as customers end up the winners!

le fin.

Remembrance Sunday

The Remembrance Day Service in Muscat this year will be held on Sunday 11 November at PDO Cemetery.  Anyone wishing to attend should arrive by 10:30.  Remember there is LIMITED seating, no shade and no water.

The Service in Salalah will be held on Monday 12 November late afternoon.  Anyone wishing to attend the service in Salalah should seek further information from the Oasis Club or call the Defence Section at the British Embassy.

You can purchase a Poppy to support the charity at these places:

The Embassy
British School Muscat
ABA
Womens Guild
St Georges Society
MAM Camp (4 Mess)
Medident in MQ

For those that don't know, Remembrance Day is is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.

le fin.

Weekend bits and pieces.

Tonight, of course is the Sean Paul concert over at the InterCon gardens. There are a number of tickets that are available on the door - RO 20 or 40 depending on how close you want to be to the stage.

Also tonight & tomorrow are the last nights of Oktoberfest over at the Hyatt. It's RO 34 including the taxes and the Paulaner flows cold all night long. I highly recommend the Pork Knuckle! Also, if you are feeling up for it, on Friday morning there is a Bavarian Brunch at the Mokha cafe, prices are RO 18 plus taxes.

Tonight there is also the Kailash Kher concert being held in the Qurum Amphitheatre, tickets range from RO 5 to RO 45, here's the facebook event page for more information.

And finally for tonight, the Royal Opera House is hosting the music of Oman: Orient and Occident. More information on the event is available here, and tickets are available from RO 5 to RO 35. The show is also on tomorrow (Thursday) night as well.

Tomorrow between 9 & 11:15am there is a yardsale in Azaiba. I understand the sellers stalls are all taken, so it should be a very well attended sale.

Tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm Oman is taking on Estonia in the Bousher stadium... so make sure you avoid that area around 5pm, especially if Oman win!

Up in Sohar, Oman Sail are running another Try Sailing event - basically turn up on the day and have a crack at sailing for free. There is a facebook event page here and ‘Try Sailing’ Sohar will be held on the public beach opposite the Silver Jubilee Park. Activities will start at 10.30am and finish at 5.30pm each day.

Also, for those of you in Sohar, the Sohar Expat community is issuing a SoharCalling Newsletter. To register and get an update about what is happening in Sohar and other neighboring cities (twice a month or so) just send an e-mail to soharcalling@gmail.com

Have a great weekend!

le fin.

Classy clothing at Lulu's

Just a small one this morning. A facebook fan, Jules, of the MM group posted these 2 pictures this morning that she took while shopping for girls clothing (girls, not women) in Lulu's recently.

According to the Manager it's perfectly acceptable because the o in mother is actually an a. I'm sure the owners of the Angry Birds trademarks are happy about that too. Well I'm glad thats ok then!

Also, totally unrelated.... if you happen to be a fan of Sean Paul, he'll be at the Hi FM studios in the MGM today at 4pm.

le fin.

The St Andrews Ball 2012

Coming up later this month is the annual St Andrews Ball held by the Caledonian Society of Oman. It's outside this year in the InterCon gardens on 22nd November at 7pm. Tickets are RO 55/60 depending on whether your a member of the sweaty jock club (that's the Caledonian Society of Oman).

The band this year is A Whiskey Kiss, who recently performed at Prince Williams 30th birthday amongst other things.

If your keen to go to the party, you can email for tickets or for more information, caledoniansocietyofoman@hotmail.co.uk or call Marjorie on 95632379.

le fin.

Celebrating 100 years of British Landscape Art at Bait al Zubair

Starting next week on the 12th of November at the Bait al Zubair museum in collaboration with the British Council, are showing over 50 "valuable artworks" from some British artists. There will be paintings, prints, photographs and sculptures which represent British landscape art from the last 100 years.

The show will be housed at Bait Al Zubair Museum in Muscat within ground floor halls of both Bait Al Oud and Bait Al Nahdhah.  Tickets can be obtained upon arrival and admission to the exhibition is free! The Museum is open from Saturdays to Thursdays from 9.30am-6.00pm.

If you are interested in art and would like to volunteer to assist with this show send an email to museum@baitalzubairmuseum.com and the Museum team will contact you.

You can get more information on Bait al Zubair musem by following them on Social networks:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bait.alzbair.museum
Twitter: @Bait_AlZubair

Abdul-Kareem Al Maimani

Also, for fans of local artworks, local Omani artist Abdul-Kareem Al Maimani has an exhibition at the art gallery in the ground floor of the Shangri-La hotel Al Bandar, it runs until the end of January 2013.


le fin.

Sean Paul - The winners

Well record numbers of you put your names into the hat for the chance to win 1 of 2 pairs of VIP tickets to see Sean Paul live in Muscat this coming weekend on Wednesday November 7th the InterCon gardens. Yet another gig here in the capital produced by Alive Entertainment and Hi FM. Tickets are RO 20 and RO 40, and on sale in all the usual locations.

There is also a Facebook event page here with all the latest information.

However, for some lucky readers, it won't matter how much the tickets are or where they on sale, because I've got 2 pairs of VIP tickets to give away and now it's time to announce the winnners:

Congratulations to "regien" and "m.o.n.d" you have both won a pair of tickets to the event, an email has been sent to you with instructions on how to claim your tickets :)

For the rest of you, thanks for entering... stay tuned for more ticket giveaways soon!

le fin.