A little weekend blog for the Canadians.... Congratulations on the 144th birthday of your country. For some entertaining facts about Canada, you can read my Canada Day post from last year.
le fin.
Thursday 30 June 2011
Happy Canada Day
A little weekend blog for the Canadians.... Congratulations on the 144th birthday of your country. For some entertaining facts about Canada, you can read my Canada Day post from last year.
le fin.
Monday 27 June 2011
Oman gets another boat, and HIV discussed in the national press
I've been a lazy blogger this week, but thats basically been because there has been nothing to write about really. Until today.
Originally reported on my blog in August 2009, Oman signed up to buy 3 Khareef class (Corvette I understand)boats ships from UK firm BAE Systems (albeit a company called VT Systems which was then subsequently bought by BAE and a division formed to be called BAE Systems Surface Systems). Anyway, the first one, the Al Shamikh underwent sea trials earlier this year and failed them. The rumours are that the engines don't work, well, not to specification anyway which led to a delay in the delivery of the final 2 ships until, apparently, today (as reported by Muscat Daily) with the third ship, the Al Rasikh. I wonder if the RNO have fined BAE SSS for the delay?
I imagine that the new ships will be pressed into service to help keep those pesky pirates away from Oman's waters, as well as a spot of smuggler hunting too.
And next:
On the front cover of the Times of Oman today, and I also read about it in the Muscat Daily today as well, that Oman is starting to realise that people living with HIV/Aids can not be just made a statistic and forgotten about. The general gist of the articles seems to be that more needs to be done to deal with counselling and treating those with HIV and also helping to spread awareness, especially amongst young people. The ToO article then goes on to say that drug addicts that inject themselves and share their needles are the most likely to become infected.
I was somewhat amazed that the ToO article then went on to suggest that there are only 80-90 new infections in Oman each year since 1999. At least the people at Muscat Daily clocked that this statistic must be totally inaccurate and so didnt print the ridiculous statistic.
How about the case at the school in Salalah in 2009 as reported by Dhofari Gucci where 5 girls were diagnosed with HIV in one go. How about all the poor Omani wives who only find out they're infected when they become pregnant and go to the doctor? Well, at least recognising that more support needs to be there for people infected with HIV is a step in the right direction.
I hope a successful campaign to spread awareness is rolled out.
Thats all for today.
le fin.
Originally reported on my blog in August 2009, Oman signed up to buy 3 Khareef class (Corvette I understand)
I imagine that the new ships will be pressed into service to help keep those pesky pirates away from Oman's waters, as well as a spot of smuggler hunting too.
And next:
On the front cover of the Times of Oman today, and I also read about it in the Muscat Daily today as well, that Oman is starting to realise that people living with HIV/Aids can not be just made a statistic and forgotten about. The general gist of the articles seems to be that more needs to be done to deal with counselling and treating those with HIV and also helping to spread awareness, especially amongst young people. The ToO article then goes on to say that drug addicts that inject themselves and share their needles are the most likely to become infected.
I was somewhat amazed that the ToO article then went on to suggest that there are only 80-90 new infections in Oman each year since 1999. At least the people at Muscat Daily clocked that this statistic must be totally inaccurate and so didnt print the ridiculous statistic.
How about the case at the school in Salalah in 2009 as reported by Dhofari Gucci where 5 girls were diagnosed with HIV in one go. How about all the poor Omani wives who only find out they're infected when they become pregnant and go to the doctor? Well, at least recognising that more support needs to be there for people infected with HIV is a step in the right direction.
I hope a successful campaign to spread awareness is rolled out.
Thats all for today.
le fin.
Saturday 25 June 2011
Leilat al-Meiraj holidays now announced
In typical Omani style, the holidays traditionally given to mark Leilat al-Meiraj (
The holidays will be:
Government (Public) Sector - Wednesday 29th June off
Private Sector - Thursday 30th June off
Employees in the Private sector are reminded to read Article 64 of the Oman Labour Law:
Article 64
An employer may give a worker work on an official holiday if the circumstances of work
require it. In such a case the worker either has the right to receive his salary for the
official holiday with an increase of not less than 25% or to take a similar rest period for
the time he has worked during the holiday.
Should the official holiday fall on the weekly paid rest day, the employer must grant the
worker another day to compensate for it.
Should the official holiday fall during the period of his annual leave, the worker is not
entitled to any compensation for it, either in cash or in extra days of holiday in lieu..
I'll update this when the official announcement comes, as usual.
le fin.
Thursday 23 June 2011
FOTD: Rosie's Elle July Cover
You all know, after my last Rosie Post, that I love her and ever since I received this month's issue of Elle I've wanted to re-create this makeup look. It turned out quite good, if I may say so myself. I don't look anything like her though, which annoys me greatly and this makeup is quite different for me, lots of bronzer and zero blush. Hope you enjoy :)
The Day Time Look
The Night Time Look
Products Used:
Sanctuary Illuminating Moisture Lotion + Witch Skin Primer
Rimmel Wash Off Instant Tan
Lancome Tient Idole Silky Mat Foundation + Witch Tinted Moisturiser in 02
Gosh Touch Up Concealer in 2
Benefit High Beam (A LOT)
NYC Loose Powder in Translucent
Clinique True Bronzed in Sun Kissed
Rimmel Brow Pencil in Dark Brown
Barry M Kohl Liner in White
M.A.C E/S in Jest
Chilli Pepper E/S Palette (Shimmery Gold and Shimmery Dark Brown applied with a dampened flat shader brush)
Maybelline Volume Express Mascara
M.A.C Creme Cup Lipstick
I just added some Gel Liner to the waterline and intensified the eyeshadow by adding a slate grey to the outer half of the lid and underneath the lower lash line.
Rosie's Original Look
Exact Makeup Worn by Her:(All M.A.C)
Strobe Cream
F&B Foundation in C4
Mineralized Skin Finish/Natural in Medium Dark
Bronzing Powder in Matte Bronze
Prep+Prime Vibrancy Eye in Radiance Rose
E/S Cork & Amber Lights
Pro Chromographic Eye Pencil in NC15
Lash False eyelashes
Lingering Brow Pencil
Lip Conditioner
Creme Cup Lipstick
Wednesday 22 June 2011
Le weekend. Where to party tonight.
I have been not doing my weekend round-ups lately, basically because I've been
Night of the DJ's starts at 9pm tonight, with 4 DJ's shufflin all night long:
DJ Cee J
DJ C-Walk
DJ Dovie
DJ Roger Sabb
And, drinks are 50% off between 9 and midnight. Get in!
Enjoy the weekend!
le fin.
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Fancy a Christmas lunch this summer?
Why wait until Christmas time for Turkey and Christmas pudding? This summer, the people at Musandam restaurant in the InterCon are their using a theme of Christmas lunch for their Friday Brunches.
So if the wife and kids are away in cooler climes, you just can''t be bothered to cook on a Friday, or you just simply want to get stocked up onDopamine Tryptophan.... the team at the Musandam Restaurant are here to help.
RO 16 ++ for all the trimmings, well worth a look in.
July 1st is Canada Day, and July 4th is of course Independence day for the Americans, and so the turkey season is upon some of us!
Enjoy the weekend!
le fin.
So if the wife and kids are away in cooler climes, you just can''t be bothered to cook on a Friday, or you just simply want to get stocked up on
RO 16 ++ for all the trimmings, well worth a look in.
July 1st is Canada Day, and July 4th is of course Independence day for the Americans, and so the turkey season is upon some of us!
Enjoy the weekend!
le fin.
Radio Wars: Attack of the Clones
Nearly a month has passed since the invasion of Oman's airwaves, and the Galactic Republic of Hi FM is in turmoil. Former Jedi Master Chris Fisher has organized a separatist movement against the Republic, known as the rebel alliance, Merge. The Republic contemplated creating an army to assist the crushing of the rebel alliance, prompting Senator Darren Shortt, to return to Planet Nawras to court them for free tickets to stuff, again.
The Storm Troopers from Nawras were only too happy to assist the Republic's battle against the Merge rebels, and rolled out an extremely successful campaign that kept the citizens (listeners!) tuned to Hi FM.
The Merge rebels were left as a minority, but had been secretly preparing an army of droids to assist them in their battle with Hi FM. The music being played by both stations is very similar, albeit a fairly high occurrence of tracks from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack.
Meanwhile, the Ewoks were making technological advancements, but being teddy bears, seem to be loved by many hotels across the galaxy of Oman. The Ewoks have launched a campaign of giving away free meals to any hotel that will give them vouchers, and seem to have even started advertising for some companies.
It seems that the more competition, the better things are for us citizens, the listeners. The Hi FM Republic forces have now recruited the services of a bounty hunter, called Bobba Fett, who likes to read the news a few times a day. Finally, a decent news service broadcast regularly giving world news - great!
I wonder what the Merge rebels are going to do to respond to this? It seems that their RO 104.800 daily give away is not cutting it. The rebels have, however, managed to tempt lots of advertisers to do business with them. One wonders what their listener base is like though, it's really just Hi FM with some fancy branding as far as I can see so far when it comes to music being played.
What can the Merge rebels bring to the table to fight the Hi FM Republic? Time will tell.
More soon.
le fin.
Monday 20 June 2011
Beat the heat at the Jebel Shams resort! RO 20 pp-pn
Its a slow blog-news day for me and so I thought I'd share with you all this pretty good deal from the people at Jebel Shams resort:
The Jebel Shams Resort is offering special summertime rates to help you beat the heat.
For only RO20/- per person bed and breakfast you are guaranteed a cool stay at Jebel Shams Resort.
The temperature at the Resort is typically 15 degrees cooler than Muscat during the day, and the evenings are a balmy 16-20 degrees, perfect for night around your own private camp fire. In our restaurant we can offer you an a la carte menu or why not take advantage of our world famous local chef “BBQ Ali” who will BBQ at your own Chalet. We have a selection of BBQ packs for you to choose from including sausages, homemade burgers, kebabs, steaks, fish and Ali’s renowned BBQ chicken.
For the adventurous amongst you we have several trekking routes with local guides available.
We have a selection of accommodation available from our delightful sunset chalets, individual private chalets and authentic Arabic tents. All of the accommodation has its own fire pit, which our staff will gladly light for you.
Mountain bikes are also available to hire.
Every month from May to September we will hold a prize draw and one lucky guest will win a complimentary stay at the Resort.
We look forward to greeting you at one of the coolest locations in the Sultanate.
http://www.jebelshamsresort.com
http://www.facebook.com/jebelshams
For more booking info call +968 99382639
For only RO20/- per person bed and breakfast you are guaranteed a cool stay at Jebel Shams Resort.
The temperature at the Resort is typically 15 degrees cooler than Muscat during the day, and the evenings are a balmy 16-20 degrees, perfect for night around your own private camp fire. In our restaurant we can offer you an a la carte menu or why not take advantage of our world famous local chef “BBQ Ali” who will BBQ at your own Chalet. We have a selection of BBQ packs for you to choose from including sausages, homemade burgers, kebabs, steaks, fish and Ali’s renowned BBQ chicken.
For the adventurous amongst you we have several trekking routes with local guides available.
We have a selection of accommodation available from our delightful sunset chalets, individual private chalets and authentic Arabic tents. All of the accommodation has its own fire pit, which our staff will gladly light for you.
Mountain bikes are also available to hire.
Every month from May to September we will hold a prize draw and one lucky guest will win a complimentary stay at the Resort.
We look forward to greeting you at one of the coolest locations in the Sultanate.
http://www.jebelshamsresort.com
http://www.facebook.com/jebelshams
For more booking info call +968 99382639
More tomorrow!
le fin.
Sunday 19 June 2011
Well done Oman, and how it's "not too bad" to drunk drive & kill people.
Firstly,
Congratulations to Oman for beating China in the London 2012 Olympic football qualifier preliminary round 2 in Shanghai last night. Hussain Al Hadhri slotted a goal in the first 3 minutes and then Oman held out for the full length of the game, shutting out the Chinese 1-0. There's nothing quite like winning against the odds away! China will be playing Oman here in the second leg game on the 23rd June. The game will be played at theSultan Qaboos sports complex in Bousher As Seeb sports stadium, and I do not know anything about ticketing, it'll probably be free. If you do know anything about ticketing, please let us all know!
A nod to the boys up in the UAE as well, who also flicked some dirt in the eye of North Korea and beat them 1-0 as well. And the Saudi's beat Vietnam in a 2-0 victory too. Qatar dominated India in a 3-1 victory. No such luck for Kuwait, Yemen or Bahrain though, who lost their games. You can see all the schedules and results for the 2012 Asian team qualifiers by clicking here.
Next.
In today's edition of Muscat Daily, there was actually some local news! Top marks! The particular story I wanted to write about today is on page 3 at the top and you can read it online here. A man (not identified as to where he's from) was sentenced to 1 year in jail recently it is reported. But here's the reason I'm blogging about it: This man, who had 236mg of alcohol in his blood - the equivalent of about 8 pints of beer lost control of his car, hit another car, and then ran over a pedestrian, killing him.
So, in summary. He was shitfaced, crashed his car and took someones life. And all he got is 1 year in jail? What the hell? That is hardly a strong deterrent nor the right kind of message I'd of thought the authorities want to be sending out. The sentence seems unbelievably light for murder! I think that's outrageous, what do you think?
And finally, as reported on the blog on Monday last week, it has been confirmed that Borders has closed down in MCC. However, the Qurum branch is apparently set to stay open with no plans to close it as confirmed by Manoj Kanjari, the operations manager of Borders Oman.
le fin.
Congratulations to Oman for beating China in the London 2012 Olympic football qualifier preliminary round 2 in Shanghai last night. Hussain Al Hadhri slotted a goal in the first 3 minutes and then Oman held out for the full length of the game, shutting out the Chinese 1-0. There's nothing quite like winning against the odds away! China will be playing Oman here in the second leg game on the 23rd June. The game will be played at the
A nod to the boys up in the UAE as well, who also flicked some dirt in the eye of North Korea and beat them 1-0 as well. And the Saudi's beat Vietnam in a 2-0 victory too. Qatar dominated India in a 3-1 victory. No such luck for Kuwait, Yemen or Bahrain though, who lost their games. You can see all the schedules and results for the 2012 Asian team qualifiers by clicking here.
Next.
In today's edition of Muscat Daily, there was actually some local news! Top marks! The particular story I wanted to write about today is on page 3 at the top and you can read it online here. A man (not identified as to where he's from) was sentenced to 1 year in jail recently it is reported. But here's the reason I'm blogging about it: This man, who had 236mg of alcohol in his blood - the equivalent of about 8 pints of beer lost control of his car, hit another car, and then ran over a pedestrian, killing him.
So, in summary. He was shitfaced, crashed his car and took someones life. And all he got is 1 year in jail? What the hell? That is hardly a strong deterrent nor the right kind of message I'd of thought the authorities want to be sending out. The sentence seems unbelievably light for murder! I think that's outrageous, what do you think?
And finally, as reported on the blog on Monday last week, it has been confirmed that Borders has closed down in MCC. However, the Qurum branch is apparently set to stay open with no plans to close it as confirmed by Manoj Kanjari, the operations manager of Borders Oman.
le fin.
Nando's MCC - Now Open!
Tonight, at 7:00, Nando's in the Muscat City Centre mall opens up, finally! So if you live up in the Seeb area and fancy some Peri Peri tonight, you no longer have to trek all the way into Qurum!
Also, rather pleasingly, I presume this location will stay open when it rains, unlike the other one which has been flooded twice in the last 4 years!
le fin.
Also, rather pleasingly, I presume this location will stay open when it rains, unlike the other one which has been flooded twice in the last 4 years!
le fin.
It's Fathers Day
So, if like me, you forgot that today is Fathers Day, this is a public service posting!
If your a father, congratulations, if you have a father, be sure to wish him well today!
le fin.
Wednesday 15 June 2011
Muscat RC Speedway
Tomorrow, from 3pm, see the start of the new remote control car race track in the parking lot at Qurum City Centre.
People looking to enter into this first Grand Prix can register tomorrow at 3pm, with qualifying rounds starting at 6pm and things eventually cloing at 11pm. On Friday the action again starts at 3pm and runs till 10pm.
There is a facebook group here. If you fancy having a go, its RO 5 to rent a car for an hour and RO 5 to use the track for an hour, or if you plant to go a lot, you can become a member. All the information is on their facebook page.
Thats all for this week.
Enjoy the weekend!
le fin.
People looking to enter into this first Grand Prix can register tomorrow at 3pm, with qualifying rounds starting at 6pm and things eventually cloing at 11pm. On Friday the action again starts at 3pm and runs till 10pm.
There is a facebook group here. If you fancy having a go, its RO 5 to rent a car for an hour and RO 5 to use the track for an hour, or if you plant to go a lot, you can become a member. All the information is on their facebook page.
Thats all for this week.
Enjoy the weekend!
le fin.
Tuesday 14 June 2011
Fancy imported food now available!
Firstly, a nod and a thank you to Mr & Mrs R.s latest blog post (nice to see you blogging again after your hiatus) on Mackenzies Deli, a new (well they've been here for quite some time supplying hotels) fancy imported food business. I have heard a rumour that they will be opening a retail outlet in MQ very close Subway / Ammas steakhouse. I do not know when their deli branch will open, and when I emailed them about it they were tight lipped about it! Their website is still under construction but will be opening soon I understand, and you will be able to place your orders online via their website. Nice.
Anyway, I've done the leg work for you all, and below is their entire product line up. If you would like to order some of their items, you will need to email them at orders@mackenziesdeli.com and ask for their Order Form (an Excel file)
Now, the food...
You can click on the pictures to make them bigger... and readable!
That's all for today, more tomorrow!
Did you vote in the latest poll yet? Please do!
le fin.
Monday 13 June 2011
Local blog: Omani Book Mania
A local blog, Omani Book Mania has started a book club. I understand that they are reading a Harry Potter book first, and plan to have regular discussions over the books that are selected.
So if you are a book worm and have thought about joining a book club... but didn't want or couldn't actually make it physically to regular meetings, then perhaps you could give OBM a try!
Happy reading! And speaking of reading... have you voted in the latest poll on free English weekly papers here in the Sultanate yet? It only takes 5 seconds.
le fin.
So if you are a book worm and have thought about joining a book club... but didn't want or couldn't actually make it physically to regular meetings, then perhaps you could give OBM a try!
Happy reading! And speaking of reading... have you voted in the latest poll on free English weekly papers here in the Sultanate yet? It only takes 5 seconds.
le fin.
Just a quickie: Borders is now closed at MCC
It's been coming for quite some time now... but Borders is finally closed at MCC.
Coincidentally, for Nando's fans, the MCC branch is due to open the 19th June.Below is a snap shared by the fairly active Nando's facebook page. They are also on twitter (and active). And they also have a pretty good website, detailing their menu and other things, found here.
Please also vote in the new poll.... which English language free newspaper do you read?
le fin.
Coincidentally, for Nando's fans, the MCC branch is due to open the 19th June.Below is a snap shared by the fairly active Nando's facebook page. They are also on twitter (and active). And they also have a pretty good website, detailing their menu and other things, found here.
Please also vote in the new poll.... which English language free newspaper do you read?
le fin.
New Poll: What English language free weekly paper do you read?
I'm guessing the most popular will be The Week, or H!
I've probably missed a bunch off, and I apologise for that, hence this blog post- please comment if I've forgotten a free weekly.
More news coming soon!
le fin.
I've probably missed a bunch off, and I apologise for that, hence this blog post- please comment if I've forgotten a free weekly.
More news coming soon!
le fin.
Sunday 12 June 2011
Radio Wars: The empire strikes back
This is part 3, Click here to read parts 1 and 2.
Ok, so we last left off with A new hope in local radio with the rebel alliance now known as Merge 104.8 launching it's attack on the Galactic Empire known as Hi FM. Interestingly, in the background, the Ewoks (90.4 Oman FM) have discovered vocal branding and now have jingles. Still no logo that I've come across yet, but a jingle is ground breaking for the forest people, good stuff, I wonder if we'll ever see a website from them?
Last Tuesday 7th June at 7:00 AM, the Rebel commander, Chris Fisher came on air. My first impression was that he actually came on air at 7:02, and his clock was 2 minutes slow, and apparently continues to be. Perhaps they have a different time zone in Rebel HQ up in Seeb. Chris was, at least to my mind, a little slow starting but seems to have settled into things now. I also find that theDJ's Radio Presenters at Merge seem to be muffled - turn up the gain on the mic guys, or speak louder or something.
To combat the hype of Merges.... emergence (heh) the people at Hi FM have rolled out the very popular Black Eyed Peas competition, and appears to have retained a good many of their listeners in this first week of competition. I note the girls in Darcy's Kitchen the other day were still listening to Hi, as were Glacier Cafe.
And lets now have a real good look at Merge. Their branding is excellent, and their social media campaign seems to be doing well - local blogger Andy in Oman appears to be extremely excited by anything Merge and has blogged a couple of fluff pieces about the new radio station, and, like me and a few other bloggers, has opted to place a Merge banner on his blog. I do also recommend (totally unrelated) his blog on bitching and moaning. Excellent stuff. Merge are even offering people a chance to win RO 104.8 every day - and all you have to do is "like" their facebook fan page. At the time of writing their total "likes" were at 479, I suspect they shall blow past my 820 likers in no time at all. If you happen to be reading this and have "liked" me on the 'book - many thanks :) And if you have not "liked" me yet.... it'd be lovely if you did.... :)
Back to the Rebel alliance. In a rather amusing coup, Merge 104.8 have placed a billboard on the roof of a building close to Hi FM's HQ. When travelling on the Muscat Expressway from Qurum to Khuwair, it looks as if there is a Merge billboard on top of the Hi FM building :)
The music that Merge is playing is pretty much the same as Hi FM in my opinion. OK so I have heard tracks from the soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire a few times and the odd Hindi track here and there, but essentially it's the same music that Hi FM is playing out. The evenings and weekends are good - I especially enjoyed the 80's stuff on Thursday afternoon and the Friday afternoon chill out too.
I am wondering how on earth Merge are getting away with playing uncut versions of songs on air though. I have heard a fair few swear words while listening in, and in the Hed Kandi show there were a lot of references to drugs that I would have thought should have been edited out. Does Merge have some sort of deal with the Ministry of Information, or have the Ministry just not started listening to them yet? I'd imagine some fines will be levied if Merge carry on... or maybe not? At least boundaries are being tested!
Rummy during the lunch break continues to impress me, it's good to see local talent being given a chance. I wonder if her success will pave the way for other local radio presenters? There has been a lot of hype about Merge's launch, and just like when they finally released Duke Nukem Forever the other day, its been a little disappointing. Just a side note for those who don't know their video games, Duke Nukem Forever has been in production for 14 years, and has been hyped a lot, which makes it hard to live up to.
Now I'm not saying Merge is bad, I'm just remarking that because there was just so much hype over the station, I kind of expected something unobtainable - perfection. I do feel that Sayeh needs to sit closer to the mic than Chris, and that they both have this terrible habit of totally ruining songs by talking all over them. But I acknowledge that this is a style of radio presenting and to be honest they're the professionals, not me.
I could go on and start a critical review of the new radio presenters, Chris, Rummy, Sayeh, Sami and Marcus (from Hi)... but I think it's too early to do that just yet. I do have to say that I think Sami has taken to radio presenting like a duck to water, from the part of his show I did hear last weekend, I was impressed, but was driving to a friends house and so didn't carry on listening. I will also say that I don't mind coming out and saying it: I don't like Sayeh on the radio, it has nothing to do with the music she plays (or the computer plays when she's on) and I find her a nice person to talk to face to face.... I just don't like her style - nothing more or nothing less. Personally I prefer Erins show.
The radio poll we have done here on the blog has now come to a close. I intentionally launched this poll before Merge's launch. My reasoning? There was a lot of marketing and buzz around the new station and regular readers of MM will have known about the station before I posted the poll, I also wanted to establish a benchmark to compare to later on. The results are as follows:
Hi FM took 48% of the vote (95 votes)
Merge 104.8 took 26% of the vote (53 votes)
Oman 90.4 took 9% of the vote (19 votes)
Ipods/Cd players too 15% of the vote (30 votes)
In my crude analysis, this tells me:
1. Hi FM are still dominating amongst you, the readers.
2. Merge have quickly established themselves as a strong alternative
3. More people listen to their ipods than listen to Oman FM
I'll re-run this poll again in a few weeks/month or so and see how the results compare.
Back to you lovely readers: So now we've been merging for just under a week now - what are your opinions on Merge?
le fin.
Ok, so we last left off with A new hope in local radio with the rebel alliance now known as Merge 104.8 launching it's attack on the Galactic Empire known as Hi FM. Interestingly, in the background, the Ewoks (90.4 Oman FM) have discovered vocal branding and now have jingles. Still no logo that I've come across yet, but a jingle is ground breaking for the forest people, good stuff, I wonder if we'll ever see a website from them?
Last Tuesday 7th June at 7:00 AM, the Rebel commander, Chris Fisher came on air. My first impression was that he actually came on air at 7:02, and his clock was 2 minutes slow, and apparently continues to be. Perhaps they have a different time zone in Rebel HQ up in Seeb. Chris was, at least to my mind, a little slow starting but seems to have settled into things now. I also find that the
To combat the hype of Merges.... emergence (heh) the people at Hi FM have rolled out the very popular Black Eyed Peas competition, and appears to have retained a good many of their listeners in this first week of competition. I note the girls in Darcy's Kitchen the other day were still listening to Hi, as were Glacier Cafe.
And lets now have a real good look at Merge. Their branding is excellent, and their social media campaign seems to be doing well - local blogger Andy in Oman appears to be extremely excited by anything Merge and has blogged a couple of fluff pieces about the new radio station, and, like me and a few other bloggers, has opted to place a Merge banner on his blog. I do also recommend (totally unrelated) his blog on bitching and moaning. Excellent stuff. Merge are even offering people a chance to win RO 104.8 every day - and all you have to do is "like" their facebook fan page. At the time of writing their total "likes" were at 479, I suspect they shall blow past my 820 likers in no time at all. If you happen to be reading this and have "liked" me on the 'book - many thanks :) And if you have not "liked" me yet.... it'd be lovely if you did.... :)
Back to the Rebel alliance. In a rather amusing coup, Merge 104.8 have placed a billboard on the roof of a building close to Hi FM's HQ. When travelling on the Muscat Expressway from Qurum to Khuwair, it looks as if there is a Merge billboard on top of the Hi FM building :)
The music that Merge is playing is pretty much the same as Hi FM in my opinion. OK so I have heard tracks from the soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire a few times and the odd Hindi track here and there, but essentially it's the same music that Hi FM is playing out. The evenings and weekends are good - I especially enjoyed the 80's stuff on Thursday afternoon and the Friday afternoon chill out too.
I am wondering how on earth Merge are getting away with playing uncut versions of songs on air though. I have heard a fair few swear words while listening in, and in the Hed Kandi show there were a lot of references to drugs that I would have thought should have been edited out. Does Merge have some sort of deal with the Ministry of Information, or have the Ministry just not started listening to them yet? I'd imagine some fines will be levied if Merge carry on... or maybe not? At least boundaries are being tested!
Rummy during the lunch break continues to impress me, it's good to see local talent being given a chance. I wonder if her success will pave the way for other local radio presenters? There has been a lot of hype about Merge's launch, and just like when they finally released Duke Nukem Forever the other day, its been a little disappointing. Just a side note for those who don't know their video games, Duke Nukem Forever has been in production for 14 years, and has been hyped a lot, which makes it hard to live up to.
Now I'm not saying Merge is bad, I'm just remarking that because there was just so much hype over the station, I kind of expected something unobtainable - perfection. I do feel that Sayeh needs to sit closer to the mic than Chris, and that they both have this terrible habit of totally ruining songs by talking all over them. But I acknowledge that this is a style of radio presenting and to be honest they're the professionals, not me.
I could go on and start a critical review of the new radio presenters, Chris, Rummy, Sayeh, Sami and Marcus (from Hi)... but I think it's too early to do that just yet. I do have to say that I think Sami has taken to radio presenting like a duck to water, from the part of his show I did hear last weekend, I was impressed, but was driving to a friends house and so didn't carry on listening. I will also say that I don't mind coming out and saying it: I don't like Sayeh on the radio, it has nothing to do with the music she plays (or the computer plays when she's on) and I find her a nice person to talk to face to face.... I just don't like her style - nothing more or nothing less. Personally I prefer Erins show.
The radio poll we have done here on the blog has now come to a close. I intentionally launched this poll before Merge's launch. My reasoning? There was a lot of marketing and buzz around the new station and regular readers of MM will have known about the station before I posted the poll, I also wanted to establish a benchmark to compare to later on. The results are as follows:
Hi FM took 48% of the vote (95 votes)
Merge 104.8 took 26% of the vote (53 votes)
Oman 90.4 took 9% of the vote (19 votes)
Ipods/Cd players too 15% of the vote (30 votes)
In my crude analysis, this tells me:
1. Hi FM are still dominating amongst you, the readers.
2. Merge have quickly established themselves as a strong alternative
3. More people listen to their ipods than listen to Oman FM
I'll re-run this poll again in a few weeks/month or so and see how the results compare.
Back to you lovely readers: So now we've been merging for just under a week now - what are your opinions on Merge?
le fin.
Saturday 11 June 2011
Summer packages at hotels in Muscat
As something of a semi-regular feature here on Muscat Mutterings, I've prepared a round-up of the local offers for residents of the Sultanate to consider this summer. My personal favourite this year is the offer with The Chedi. A night and breakfast, plus a 10% discount at The Restaurant and 20% discount on treatments at their spa for RO 76.000 is my pick of the bunch this year. Also of note is the Crowne Plaza - RO 55.000 + taxes for 2 including breakfast.
Anyway, on with the round up.
The Park Inn
InterCon
RO 69.000 plus taxes (17%) for a room and breakfast for 2, 25% discount in all restaurants and spa treatments too, and early check in and late check out.
The Chedi
My favourite for this summer - RO 76.000 (+17%) including breakfast with a 10% discount at The Restaurant and 20% discount off the spa treatments.You can upgrade your rooms as well.
The Hyatt
Again no word on special room rates at the Hyatt but there are plenty of brunches/buffets/musical events on in their facilities. Also, for most balls held there, a special room rate of RO 50.000 for 2 for the night is usually offered.
Barr Al Jissah
BAJ have won an award of "Best resort in the world" from Ultratravel magazine. Now, normally when companies here win awards, it can sometimes be of, shall we say, dubious in nature? Usually the company that owns the hotel (or restaurant, or mobile phone provider, etc) is some how connected to the entity giving the award. However, Ultratravel magazine is circulated with the Daily Telegraph in the UK and thus I'm fairly sure based on what people actually think when voting.
To celebrate this award, BAJ are offering 50% off their regular rates right across the board in all rooms in all three hotels.
The Radisson BLU
In a somewhat different spin on things, the Radisson BLU are offering something slightly different... stay 1 night at the Muscat location (for 2 people, with breakfast) and get a free room for 2 at the Dubai Mall location. RO 99++.
The Crowne Plaza
The Crowne are offering rooms for RO 55.000 plus 17% taxes, including breakfast with that offer. It's the cheapest deal of the round up!
Anyway - I hope this helps you all make your summer weekend break decisions!
le fin.
Anyway, on with the round up.
The Park Inn
The Park Inn are offering special club memberships over the summer (even though their pool appears to be closed 22 hours a day!) along with discounts at their restaurants. No word on room rate specials.
Next up is the Al Bustan Palace. RO 135 (+ 17% tax) gets you a room for the night, dinner at the Al Khiran Terrace and breakfast the following day. I did this last year and had a great time - the infinity pool is very nice :)
InterCon
RO 69.000 plus taxes (17%) for a room and breakfast for 2, 25% discount in all restaurants and spa treatments too, and early check in and late check out.
My favourite for this summer - RO 76.000 (+17%) including breakfast with a 10% discount at The Restaurant and 20% discount off the spa treatments.You can upgrade your rooms as well.
Again no word on special room rates at the Hyatt but there are plenty of brunches/buffets/musical events on in their facilities. Also, for most balls held there, a special room rate of RO 50.000 for 2 for the night is usually offered.
Barr Al Jissah
BAJ have won an award of "Best resort in the world" from Ultratravel magazine. Now, normally when companies here win awards, it can sometimes be of, shall we say, dubious in nature? Usually the company that owns the hotel (or restaurant, or mobile phone provider, etc) is some how connected to the entity giving the award. However, Ultratravel magazine is circulated with the Daily Telegraph in the UK and thus I'm fairly sure based on what people actually think when voting.
To celebrate this award, BAJ are offering 50% off their regular rates right across the board in all rooms in all three hotels.
The Radisson BLU
In a somewhat different spin on things, the Radisson BLU are offering something slightly different... stay 1 night at the Muscat location (for 2 people, with breakfast) and get a free room for 2 at the Dubai Mall location. RO 99++.
The Crowne Plaza
The Crowne are offering rooms for RO 55.000 plus 17% taxes, including breakfast with that offer. It's the cheapest deal of the round up!
Anyway - I hope this helps you all make your summer weekend break decisions!
le fin.
Friday 10 June 2011
Put a Ring on It
I lost all my rings... now I'm collecting more :)
Left-Abby Middle-Primark Right-Abby
Nails - Nails Inc for InStyle Fashion Fawn
Fake Tan - St Moriz
Needless to say, I need want to buy more so if you've picked up any cute costume jewelry recently I'd love to hear where you got it from an let me know which one is your favourite?
xxx
An update on the Cyclone.
Just a little update for those wondering about this Cyclone Keila...
There is no cyclone at the moment, but there is a storm about 65 KM West of Mumbai. No need to worry, it probably will not even rain here.
You can check the Joint Typhoon Warning Center for accurate and up to date information specifically for the cyclone. You can also check the Weather Underground website for the weather forecast for Muscat.
So no need to worry about anything storm-related!
le fin.
There is no cyclone at the moment, but there is a storm about 65 KM West of Mumbai. No need to worry, it probably will not even rain here.
You can check the Joint Typhoon Warning Center for accurate and up to date information specifically for the cyclone. You can also check the Weather Underground website for the weather forecast for Muscat.
So no need to worry about anything storm-related!
le fin.
Wednesday 8 June 2011
An Interesting Month...
So yet again I've been a little slack on the blogging front but its been a hectic month. Here's a few 'best bits' of the month and my new hair! When I first got it done I loved it, then I hated it, now I like it. Its a girls prerogative to change her mind right?
Finally Some good Cornish weather! Went to the beach for the first time in years :)
Sweden was boring and stressful but the plane rides were fun! I actually love travelling on my own and with duty free shopping and free vodka one really cannot complain :P
Squid = Surprisingly Yummy & Sangria is now Abby's and my new favourite drink! We went to La Tasca on Friday Night. 2 for 1!
The new hair.... brown with some blonde highlights, not the most original in the world but it works! My friend told me if I ever posted this picture online she would kill me, so we both agreed I'd blur out her face, I think its a good look for her :P My necklace is from New Look, the dress from H&M and the ring is from Primark. P.S click this picture to see the guy behind us looking very bored of our conversation! :P
We went bowling. I lost. :/
I also spent lots of money and have lots of new things so I shall blog about that soon :)
Happy Wednesday!
Onna x
Just a quickie: Bubbly Brunch at the Radisson BLU
Just a quick little blog to draw attention to any bubbly drinkers:
The Radisson Blu are running just 2 more bubbly brunches before the summer break. Having personally attended one of these brunches, I can give it my stamp of approval, and because this particular blog post is aimed at non-Muslims, there is also a lovely pork roast they usually put on too, all part of the price :)
RO 17.500 and it runs from 12:30 until 3:00pm. It's worth going if you've never been before.
Enjoy the weekend!
le fin.
Tuesday 7 June 2011
This and that.
Well what a week it has been.
We've successfully completed one poll, and discovered that none of you reading my blog even appear to know that the Oman Observer newspaper even exists!
The results from the next readers-poll are still out - but it looks like Hi FM are on their way to winning this one - we shall have a re-poll in a month or so's time to see how things are going. I do have to say that I was listening to Oman FM 90.4 the other day and was actually impressed. It appears that the Ewoks (read my Radio Wars blogs) are getting themselves sorted out - lovely jingles!
And of course, the biggest news (at least on my blog) this week: Merge FM have launched and, according to my new electronic friend, Lino, I've successfully taken abribe sponsorship. And much like another one of my very good friends, Suburban, has said: I intend to spend the money on liquor, fast cars and prostitutes. Well, I'll piss it up against the wall, I don't think it'd stretch to even a half-day rental of a Porche (do they even rent them out here?), and to be honest I prefer to have my horizontal refreshment with my outrageously attractive wife. By the way, if you happen to own a Porche, I'd love to have a go driving one!
I've a few blogs coming up: An update to the Cost of Living, an article about a successful (globally) Omani business - Raha, and also a round-up of all the Summer Specials for the hotels in town. I'm also thinking about writing the next instalment the Radio Wars saga soon. Look for them in the coming weeks!
The HSBC blog seems to have finally slowed down, that was fun. I received some exciting news yesterday that "Dave" from HSBC managed to find a more productive job with Galfar, see below for a snap of him at his new job, and even being 83% more productive than he was at HSBC!
I would say I think he has a bright future.
There's not a lot going on this weekend; there is of course, the comedy gig tonight Whos line is it anyway? which starts at 9pm (doors open at 8).
Have a great weekend!
le fin.
We've successfully completed one poll, and discovered that none of you reading my blog even appear to know that the Oman Observer newspaper even exists!
The results from the next readers-poll are still out - but it looks like Hi FM are on their way to winning this one - we shall have a re-poll in a month or so's time to see how things are going. I do have to say that I was listening to Oman FM 90.4 the other day and was actually impressed. It appears that the Ewoks (read my Radio Wars blogs) are getting themselves sorted out - lovely jingles!
And of course, the biggest news (at least on my blog) this week: Merge FM have launched and, according to my new electronic friend, Lino, I've successfully taken a
I've a few blogs coming up: An update to the Cost of Living, an article about a successful (globally) Omani business - Raha, and also a round-up of all the Summer Specials for the hotels in town. I'm also thinking about writing the next instalment the Radio Wars saga soon. Look for them in the coming weeks!
The HSBC blog seems to have finally slowed down, that was fun. I received some exciting news yesterday that "Dave" from HSBC managed to find a more productive job with Galfar, see below for a snap of him at his new job, and even being 83% more productive than he was at HSBC!
I would say I think he has a bright future.
There's not a lot going on this weekend; there is of course, the comedy gig tonight Whos line is it anyway? which starts at 9pm (doors open at 8).
Have a great weekend!
le fin.
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