11 March 2015
| Last updated on 16 March 2015
The Adventures of a Girl Wearing Pearls
“What does that say about that strip of desert straddled by the Persian Gulf?” asks Jan Constable, who at the age of 73, has begun to tell her tale of moving to the then, Trucial Oman States.
“It must say that [Dubai] possess’ unseen magical qualities that weave a spell and scatters a little stardust too, because almost without exception we all seem to succumb to its charm and fall madly in love.”
And we couldn’t agree more. It is on her blog, Tiptoeing into the Bloody Abroad, that she chronicles her experiences of 1970s Dubai, and her adventures of the girl who wears pearls.
Now in her seventies, she has seen and experienced a lot of the world; living in Abu Dhabi, Greek Cyprus, Aden, Jordan, Turkey, Turkey Cyprus and currently lives in Southern Spain, Jan and her husband also travelled extensively to Africa, the Far East and America. Effectively, Jan is a lady who has lived the epitome of an expatriate life.
Jan left the bustle of London life on the eight of May, 1970 – a day that “irrevocably changed” her life: “I had unwittingly found myself on an adventure (it proved to be an adventure once I had adjusted to my new way of life!).” As her blog’s subtitle describes, she lived her adventure as a ‘girl wearing pearls’. “Pearls were and are always deemed to be lady like and genteel, and when I was young it was the norm to receive your first string of pearls on your 21st birthday, mine are still treasured.”
“I always wore pearls, especially pearl earrings. I am sure that if one was to venture down to the Gold Souk in Deira today, there would still be shop windows festooned with remarkable displays of Gulf pearls.”
Jan’s husband, Mike, was employed by the oil company Shell, and with the inevitable arrival of oil, a.k.a ‘Black Gold’, their move to Dubai is unsurprising.
In her blog, she often describes the move as ‘catapulting’, which EW explained is a feeling many expatriate ladies may identify with. “They might have been catapulted”, Jan responds, “But it would be a real feather bedded experience compared to mine.”
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“In my day, Dubai was about the strangest place on God’s earth one could have found one’s self in, without the existence of the Creek providing a little life, it would have been so dreary. It took all one’s inner resources to come to terms with the situation and try to make a life for oneself – hence, tip toeing into the bloody abroad! It was deemed to be a hardship posting by international companies, which I think says it all.
“Then, we girls had to tip toe around making sure we acted with decorum whilst out and about, we managed admirably because we knew how to conduct ourselves.
“Which brings me to today’s generation arriving in Dubai; if it was me, I would think I had been catapulted into paradise and hopefully would have enough wit to realise that I was a very lucky girl indeed to be afforded such an opportunity and grab everything on offer with open arms. Changes are always disruptive, but I can’t imagine many people who wouldn’t relish the chance of being posted in Dubai.”
Her humble writing and tales of those early days sheds a charming light on, what we now would call, the ‘Old Dubai’ – which may be deemed unfortunately far from what we know Dubai to be as today. For instance, her first home was the Almulla Building, Creek Side, Deira, which then was “a sought after address with wonderful views”. Now the old apartment block sits just down the road from the InterContinental Hotel, which is now the Radison Blue and more or less opposite the Sheraton Hotel.
“Dubai to me is still that sandy place where we landed all those years ago, where we made a life for ourselves and in doing so had a good time. The focus point of Dubai in those days was the Creek, without which Dubai would have no soul.
“Now there is another Dubai, which has risen from the desert, a remarkable achievement in such a short space of time – these two Dubais, although so different, seem happy in each other’s company.
“Consequently, although it bears no resemblance to ‘Old Dubai’, as it is unimaginable modern by comparison, [but] somehow it’s what one would have expected with such visionaries at the helm.
“I’m glad I have lived in ‘Old Dubai’, and would be more than happy to live in ‘New Dubai’, as one can’t halt progress.
“I would make one comment though – the expats living [in Dubai] now will really have no idea where they are, cosseted away in their Ivory Towers. They could be in Hong Kong or Manhattan – do they ever venture over to the Creek and wander through the Gold Souk? I expect not! And that is sad.”
Nonetheless, before Jan grew extremely fond of the sand pit, the initial transition proved difficult at times. From the moment she realised they would be moving across the world, up until her own parent’s first trip to Dubai.
She writes, “it was with total fear and trepidation that we advanced towards the dreaded day, so many plans, so much to do, not least, stocking up on essentials, in those days Dubai was not the shopping Mecca that it is today.”
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So much so that, she rushed around Bond Street, London, attempting to stock up on a year’s supply of cosmetics and clothes.
“My first priority was to be well turned out at all times, disregarding the sweltering temperatures, consequently, I embarked on a dizzy round of shopping and fittings for cocktail dresses, evening dresses and tea dresses, also all the other essentials, tennis, golf and swimming gear.”
It seems her organising in such a manner proved extremely useful for the two of them as they were soon invited to dinner dates and evenings out. And of course, after a few months of living here, she was able to secure a job that she “took to like a duck to water” – it was good for [her] day to have some structure.” Jan is most certainly a woman to be admired, and we’re sure she is a lady that is able to give some honest, valuable and truthful advice about life as an expat.
After ten wondrous years however, their Dubai adventure ended – with only brief visits to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi occurring in the 90s.
“I know it’s not easy to be wrenched from a life that you know, being told out of the blue that you are being transported into the deep blue yonder – don’t despair, [but] embrace the opportunity, and you will eventually realise that you were the lucky one being given a chance to explore the world.
“Everyone is homesick initially, we wouldn’t be human if we weren’t but it will pass and you [will] just wait [and you will] see your very own Pandora’s Box magically open, and I’m sure you will be enchanted.”
Both Jan and Mike have of course returned and visited Dubai since the 90s, as they visited the Burj Al Arab for tea six years ago.
“Obviously the biggest change is Downtown Dubai, rising from what was desert not so long ago – a remarkable achievement. My favourite is the Burj Al Arab – majestically rising out of the water – such an elegant structure. [And] the Burj Khalifa, it says to the world ‘we can do anything better than you!’ This structure must resemble a phoenix rising out of the dust!!
“I must add that the one thing that has remained constant through all these years is my love for Dubai.
“I salute you my friend.”
This won’t be the last we’ll hear from Jan, as her blog is gaining tremendous hits monthly. You can read her wonderful memories for yourself at her blog, Tiptoeing into the Bloody Abroad.
