The 20th Annual Canadian Stampede is coming

Here we are at the start of February, and it's a very exciting day today. Regular readers will know that I am completely biased by all things Canadian and have been a long time supporter of the best party in Muscat that is thrown every year: The Canadian Stampede, which is on Thursday March 7th at the Ras Al Hamra club from 7:30pm.

This year is a major milestone for the Stampede - it is the 20th Annual one, which as it turns out is the single longest running Stampede party of it's kind outside of the main one in Calgary which is held every year (they are having their 101st this July).

Tickets go on sale today, they cost RO 20 each. You can buy tickets at the RAH administration office from this morning - if you are a RAH club member... if not, you need to be friends with someone who is a member of the RAH club.... or you can email me on mrsythe[at]gmail[dot]com and I will help you get your hands on tickets to the best party in town.

If you don't believe me, ask people around town - this gig sells out quickly - because it's very popular.

A change this year: there are rumours of a live band!

See you there!

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.

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.

Tim Hortons to open in MGM by Saturday.

Just a little quick update for those of you that are a fan of Tim Hortons coffee like myself... the MGM branch is ready - it's just awaiting a few small tweaks from Canada regarding their pricing / menus and then they will be open. Possibly as soon as tomorrow, or by Saturday at the latest.

I stopped in today and had a coffee, it was perfect :)

Happy Halloween!

le fin.

Happy Canada Day!

Well, it's July 1st again - which means, of course, that it's Canada day. And this year, 2012, marks Canada's 145th birthday. So happy birthday Canada.

This Wednesday of course sees July 4th, when Canada's smaller neighbour, the USA, celebrates it's own independence day, and so I'm sure we will see a few combined North American parties taking place around the city. Speaking of, The Safari bar at the Hyatt are marking Canada day with special Canada-themed food tonight (poutine!!!!!!!), along with showing the Euro's final at 10:45pm. The Safari are also throwing an Independence Day party for the yanks on Wednesday the 4th as well. In fact the festive spirit runs from the 1st till the 4th.

Back to the main purpose of this blog post, here's some fun facts about Canada (other than it's just awesome):

le fin.

Tim Hortons in Oman... an update

I've blogged about Timmies quite a few times in the last year, most notably my many-months scoop on the news that Tim Hortons was coming to Oman before the Times of Oman published the news ;)

Well the very nice, but slow to start new mall; Muscat Grand Mall, was supposed to be the location for the first Tim Hortons outlet in Oman, after a store in Muscat City Center was bumped for another brand. Well it seems that there was a legal tussle between Apparel Group (the franchise owner of Tim Hortons in the Middle East) which has been resolved - but has delayed the opening of the branch in MGM.

Now there are still plans to open the MGM branch "later this year" but the news today is that the first Time Hortons branch to open in Oman will now be at the Muscat City Center main entrance, where the Birkenstock store is (I understand) - and it should be open by the middle of July, or before.

And you can not blame the owner for wanting to open in MCC first... I was there yesterday at 4pm and even the top parking lot was nearly full, and the mall itself was heaving! In contrast, MGM was busy with a different set of people - in gym shoes, walking laps around the mall, which I think has become one of the top reasons people go to MGM currently.

le fin.

Pictures from the 19th Annual Canadian Stampede

Well over the weekend was the 19th Annual Canadian Stampede, held at the PDO basketball courts in the Ras al Hamra club. The event was a total sell-out, and I know many of you reading this were there. I hope you all had a lot of fun, I know I did, and here's just a few pictures I snapped from the night...

A packed house line-dancing

Moosehead lager specially imported for the party

A rare image of Mr Sythe... which one am I? ;)

Next year will be the 20th Annual party, bigger and better than ever - see you there!

le fin.

This weekend...

There's still a few days to go until we get to the weekend, but there's a lot going on (as seems to be becoming usual) here, so I thought I'd share a few things today instead...

Starting off on Wednesday evening, there is the new band at the Safari bar, Diesel, who will be playing from 9:30 till late. Initial reports are they are pretty good, I'm sure it'll be good to see them.

On Thursday in the day, there is the annual Muscat RFC Fun Day, where you can join Muscat RFC in association with the Association of Early Intervention for children with disabilities on the 8th of March 2012, lots of fun and games for the entire family!!! For more information about it, check out the Facebook event page.

Moving on to Thursday evening, the only thing worth mentioning is the 19th Annual Canadian Stampede party at the Ras Al Hamra club, Qurum. Tickets are totally sold out and you've either got one, or you are going to miss the best party of the year. This year there is Canadian beer, Moosehead, specially imported for the event, along with local Canadian DJ, Marcus Monopoli from Hi FM, thousands and thousands of rials of prizes to be won and perhaps more importantly, an all new Shooter menu for the world famous Golden Garter Saloon. It is the best party of the year - see you there!

Then, on Friday there is the final competitive rugby game of the season against Doha RFC at home at the ABA / MRFC rugby ground in Al Khuwair at 3pm. Come down and support the local team in what is the last game of a very strong season from MRFC.As usual, post match celebrations will be held at the Habana Bar at the Hyatt.

More soon.

le fin.

The 19th Annual Canadian Stampede - March 8, 2012

It's that time of year again guys and girls - the Canadian Stampede is back, bigger and better than ever on March 8th, 2012. The Canadian Stampede Committee are a very experienced and organized group of people, drawing on experience learned from throwing the party every year for the last 18 years.

This year marks the very last year the event will be held in it's usual home: The Ras Al Hamra Recreation Club volleyball courts, because it's ear-marked for demolition in the next year.

The price this year is RO 20, the same as last year. For that, you get:

• Entry to the best party of the year
• 3 free drinks, and cheap drink prices after that
• Access to the world famous Golden Garter Saloon
• Buffet food with Canadian cuisine(!)
• A Canadian DJ
• Line Dancing
• Entry into the prize draw for 2 return tickets to the 100th Annual Calgary Stampede later this year - including hotel.
• Support for a local charity

 

Tickets to this event are always hard to come by if you are not a PDO Ras Al Hamra Rec Club member - so if you have a RAH club membership - get your tickets from their office as normal. If you are not a RAH club member, email me for information on how to obtain tickets to the best party in town. You can email me on mrsythe *at* gmail *dot* com

le fin.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, and some other stuff.

Well first up, it's Canadian Thanksgiving today - so for all of you Canadians out there - Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a great day, and for those of you reading from Canada itself - enjoy the long weekend!

Such a pretty flag

It created quite the stir last week, but all you lushes out there can breathe a sigh of relief will have to keep waiting - Pavo's got it's license renewed still not had it's license renewed. PK has got some juice it seems ;) So the margaritas are back on the menu, phew! I'm not sure I could handle that band sober. Actually I'm being mean, that band is actually pretty good, if not a little (a lot) too loud - its a shame live dancing is still off the menu, nothing better than watching people shit faced on Karaoke night belting out late 80's classics. Sniff, such amusing memories.

Cafe G

I've recently discovered Cafe G, thanks to a very nice new friend of mine for introducing me to Cafe G, you know who you are! Now a lot of people ramble on about the cakes and whatever from Cafe G - I wouldn't have a clue, I just know that their coffee is really good, so if you are in MQ (or the Bank Muscat HQ), try them out for their coffee instead of your usual Starbucks/Costa/Dunkin Donughts coffee. Rather excitingly, they have a Twitter account here and a facebook page here which has all their menu and things. Their Coffee is great :) No I didnt get paid to write about them! But yes I'll take a free coffee if one's being offered!

Yanni

Local free paper, Black & White, with support from Merge 104.8 are hosting a concert here in town on October 26th at the SQU Cultural Center. Just a few observations on this now though. Nowhere on the Black & White Website or Facebook page is there any information about the Yanni concert, and the same story is with Merge 104.8 - albeit there is a mention in their Merge Guide, there is no ticketing information or even information on how to get tickets. Emails sent in to B&W anonymously have gone unanswered so one assumes that they've sold all their tickets, except they have not. And, as the story was originally broken by fellow local blogger Rummy back in August, the concert is actually for a very good cause - the proceeds go to the Al Noor Association for the Blind. I finally found some information by reading through the September issue of B&W (the "current issue" on their website) and cut an advert out of the e-zine..... they do make it hard don't they? Anyway, if you want some tickets, you can email (good luck!) them on yanniconcert@blackandwhiteoman.com or call on 2456 5697 / 9867 5976 for more information on how to get them.

According to Yanni's website, tickets are not available for purchase online, but can be bought in, "leading restaurants and shopping malls" - that solves that then... I guess? Perhaps the good people at Merge can try actually adding some information to their website/facebook rather than just keep giving the tickets away so people interested could actually purchase them. Upon further googling, I understand you can purchase tickets at these locations: Pizza Hut outlets, La Mer, Abala Cafe and The Sultan Center (Qurum).

Many thanks to @lasiaf who pointed out the rather helpful website:  http://www.yannioman.com//index.aspx

Dont forget to put your name down for 2 free tickets to the 80s party hosted by Pat Sharp on the 19th October at the InterCon Jabrin ballroom from 9pm... either email me or leave your comment on this thread for a chance to win 2 tickets to the event.

Muscat Rugby have their 3rd game of the season tonight, against HMS Oceans with a KO at 7:00pm. MRFC have been unbeaten so far this season and will be looking to keep that record intact when they play the Royal Navy this evening, and Doha who will be visiting Muscat this Friday (KO at 3:00pm). Post match celebrations will be held in the new home for MRFC - The Hyatt Habanna Bar.

More soon.

le fin.

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.

The 18th Annual Canadian Stampede WINNER!

Well, thank you to all of you who entered this weeks competition for free tickets :) I like giving stuff away, I'll have to have a think about the next thing. Perhaps those nice people at Craic Attack will finally give me some tickets to give away one of these days...!

Well, I guess I should announce the winner then shouldn't I?

Oh, before I do, I wanted to mention that LuLu's are selling cheap cowboy hats for a couple of rials if anyone is happening to be looking for one.


Congratulations go out to Sandhya!

A message is on it's way to you on how to claim the tickets. Well done!

There are a very small number of tickets remaining, and they are not for sale to the general public. However, if you would like to attend this great party, then please send me an email to mrsythe at gmail.com and I will put you in touch with the right people. Tickets are RO 20 each and are strictly for over 21's only.

As always, thank you for reading!

le fin.

The 18th Annual Canadian Stampede party

It is that time of year again.... it's Stampede time again!

Every year for the last 18 years, a group of Canadians have put on a party to celebrate the Calgary Stampede (officially that is, unofficially it's a party thrown by Canadians to show everyone else how to actually party). This party is big, really big. It will be attended by over 800 people, and there are less than 75 tickets remaining.

Thursday March 10th, from 7pm will see the latest instalment of the Canadian Stampede kick off to yet another stampede party. With special Canadian import DJ Hurricane from Calgary working the crowd, you can be assured that everyone will have a great time.

Personally I'm looking forward to the Golder Garter Saloon shooter bar, which never fails to disappoint.

And because those Canadians are so nice, they've given me 2 tickets to give away to you right here on Muscat Mutterings. If you want to come to the best party in town, leave a comment (with a method of me contacting you) or send me an email you must be aged 21 or over to attend this event. I'll draw the tickets on Tuesday the 8th in the evening.

Bon chance!


le fin.