gailmcphail | ExpatWoman.com
 

gailmcphail

gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 11 June 2012 - 15:34
Hi, Am looking to book a weekend in RAK and wondered if anyone could advise on the realistic journey time from DXB to RAK on a Thursday evening, leaving the airport at around 6pm? It will be during Ramadan so not sure if that will make the roads quieter? What I am reading is telling me it is less than one hour but I wasn't sure if this was optimistic? TIA
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 11 June 2012 - 10:07
No idea how it calculates distance!! When I do three identical laps the difference in distance can be as much as 0.75km. I also have had a 10km run register as 3.5km. I always meant to run 1km on a treadmill to calibrate it or find an outdoor measured km to do same to see if that made any difference, but not got round to it and haven't used it for a while. I would assume heat and humidity would mean more calories are burned.
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 08 June 2012 - 21:36
Max Factor in gold tube is good, you do need eye make up remover to get it off tho.
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 02 June 2012 - 10:52
I'd take the tube
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 30 May 2012 - 23:04
Carcosonne castle
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 22 May 2012 - 21:33
I have seen someone feeding in Starbucks using a nursing cover. I thought it was discreet. Others who have chosen to or not to may have further advice.
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 20 May 2012 - 16:22
I've just gone thro it, only commenting on my experience. I do know that the rules changed in jan., had I applied in dec the 6months of bank statements wouldn't have been as well as not needing the rental contract certified by municipality. I am sure some companies have means of speeding up some applications.
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 20 May 2012 - 13:45
Agree that husband's sponsorship is best.Your husband will need to provide 6months of bank statements with your RP application, so you will need to do a few visa runs. Open a local bank account ASAP when you arrive!
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 19 May 2012 - 10:11
Activation code was delivered to DH email, still nothing to mine so finally managed to get tickets. Payment was not accepted with a local debit card, but went through with a credit card! Phew, bit of an effort, but glad we finally have the tix!
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 18 May 2012 - 18:02
nothing even in junk ;-( and DH checked at virgin and was told they are only available online!
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 18 May 2012 - 16:11
Emily Charlotte Emma
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 18 May 2012 - 15:08
The activation code has not arrived - re-requested it about 10times so can't buy tickets! Frustrating!
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 18 May 2012 - 15:07
Apologies in advance for what may not be a terribly helpful answer! I have not had this done, but enquired at Le Cadre on Salwa Road as I would like to get some canvases done (just not sorted the photos yet!). They can do it and from memory it costs 300qr per square metre - they calculate the cost based on the size you want. Take a memory stick in with the photos and they will check the resolution to make sure it will be ok and it takes a few days to produce the canvas. They also do poster prints and I think they are 250qr per sq mtr. Must get some photos sorted.... the curse of the digital camera!
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 17 May 2012 - 18:47
Thanks for the update! I tried online and saw they were not available so was going to pop up to Villagio, now I don't need to battle the weekend traffic :)
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 May 2012 - 21:40
I have never used a sat nav, here or back home. We got a fold out map (the type you get from a hotel reception) from DH's work when we arrived and that was what I used for the first few months. Not seen it for a while, so if I need to check directions now I just use google maps. I never thought I had a particularly good sense of direction, but I have amazed myself here in my ability to find my way. There are quite a few arterial routes and ring roads, and I find that the road signs are pretty good, so if I am not sure where I am or how to get to where I want to go, I can normally stumble across one of these main roads and figure out where to go from there. Roadworks do tend to affect the layout of roads on a regular basis!
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 15 May 2012 - 21:20
KJM, I am from the UK. The 'McPhail' is a nickname from when I was younger. Don't think it's that common a name back home either.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 May 2012 - 17:41
I was never the best at parking (my excuse was that I didn't drive that much at home altho I've had my licence since 17) so was a bit concerned about navigating the 'tank' into spaces, but I haven't had a problem thus far (touch wood!) I think the spaces on the whole are designed for bigger vehicles since that's what the majority of people drive.
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 15 May 2012 - 17:28
I drove a small car back home and when I first got an SUV it felt like I was driving a tank, but I very quickly got used to it and have managed to navigate narrow back roads with no problems. Compared to cities in the UK, I feel that the roads are big and wide.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 May 2012 - 14:25
I think driving here is not as bad as everyone makes out. You have to keep your wits about you and drive with conviction and confidence but my advice would be to just go for it. If you worry about it and put it off I think it will only make it harder. If you feel you need some 'practice' try going out on friday mornings when the roads are quiet and you can figure out how to get to the places you need to go. When I first started driving here I hated it when people said that getting lost was a good thing, but it is kinda true. Fortunately I only had one occasion where it took me 1.5hrs to do a 20min journey due to getting lost and doing multiple U-turns and going WAAAY out in the wrong direction!! For me the convenience of being able to drive my own car when I want is worth way more than the hassle of relying on taxis. I never looked into hiring a driver so can't comment on availability, price etc.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 May 2012 - 11:55
I have seen ppl scanning art work and making a photo album out of it. Or scanning it and making it into a quilt or a duvet cover which kids can then colour in with fabric pens. Keep some to embarrass them with when they are older!
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 May 2012 - 11:54
I kept a few books that I liked when I was young (maybe 7-9 ish) and I am so glad I did, sometimes I like to flick through them and it would be nice to share them if I have children one day. I would love it if my mum had some books of mine from childhood.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 May 2012 - 11:13
Home centre and Homes R Us sell cushion pads for around 12qr, if they are not the right size, you could cut them open to get the filler out. I have never seen filler type stuff in the fabric souq or Al Rawnaq, but equally, I have never been looking for it. The fabric shops seem to only sell fabric. To get to the fabric souq from Souq Waqif, cross Grand Hamad Street towards the Fanar Building. There is a shop on the corner selling the bedspread things. Keep walking straight with Fanar on your left (it's not a nice street!) and Souq Al Deira (Fabric Souq) s on your right towards the end of the street - it has stained glass effect around the entrance and Al Rawnaq is opposite. It's a nice air-conditioned mall type place. The fabric is more expensive than at Waqif but there will be more choice.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 08 May 2012 - 21:55
I was at Souq Waqif recently and there are some shops, in a row of hardware type shops, kind of behind the animal bit, which have heavy weight fabric etc that seem to be able to make things to order. Not sure if they do sails, but perhaps worth a try? The shops either have rolls of fabric outside or just inside the door, or spilling out into the 'street'.
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 08 May 2012 - 21:45
Alee, I agree. especially given that Msheireb Properties are behind this. I can't help but wonder if they paid their workers more then they wouldn't need to rely on the kindness of strangers for their workers to be able to have shampoo and soap. I am all for charity and helping those that are less fortunate by donating my money and time to help, but to me this is Msheireb publicising the fact that their employees can't afford to buy basic toiletries and that doesn't sit easy with me.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 May 2012 - 22:27
I would get tested for coeliac disease, if you have this and are gluten intolerant it is really important to eliminate it from your diet (but you do need to have gluten in your system to get an accurate diagnosis). Following my coeliac diagnosis I had some food intolerance testing, and I believe what the others have said about them being notoriously inaccurate. I came away with a great long list of things that I should avoid, and although I did eliminate them initially, I know consume all of those things with no adverse effects. However, it is common for coeliacs to be lactose intolerant initially, but they are better able to tolerate it once the intestines heal. Eating gluten free is not easy, but it can be done and I was surprised by the choice of stuff available. Keeping a diary of what you eat and any symptoms is a good idea. Elimination and reintroducing one item at a time will help you realise what you are not tolerating. That being said, the only symptom I had prior to discovering I was coeliac was that I felt very tired.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 May 2012 - 22:12
It's 'drive as inconsiderately as you can day' in Doha every day I think! No-one has any concept of lane discipline whatsoever. I am trying to be more zen when driving to keep blood pressure in check, but it is very frustrating. Think most people got their licence out of a kinder egg.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 May 2012 - 22:09
I have had half head blonde, highlights done by Jihee at Glow in West Bay. I wasn't a massive fan on the salon itself, but Jihee really listened to what I wanted (very fine, subtle highlights) and she got the colour spot on.
gailmcphail
198
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 May 2012 - 21:57
When we shipped (from the UK) all our CDs and DVDs had to be packed in separate boxes and labelled so they could be checked. I don't recall the box looking like it had been opened when it arrived at our villa, but the shipping company told us they would be inspected.
gailmcphail
198
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 May 2012 - 21:57
When we shipped (from the UK) all our CDs and DVDs had to be packed in separate boxes and labelled so they could be checked. I don't recall the box looking like it had been opened when it arrived at our villa, but the shipping company told us they would be inspected.
gailmcphail
198
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 01 May 2012 - 22:23
My Mom and Aunt were invited to undergo regular (earlier than scheduled according to their age) mammograms as their Mom had breast cancer. My Aunt had a mammogram in the January and was diagnosed with breast cancer in the May. They said that because she is young the tumors don't show up so well in a mammogram so it could have been missed. She needed an ultrasound (I think) scan to confirm the presence of a lump. So, what to take from this.... mammograms don't work in certain ages (she was 40)? the lumps can develop between mammograms? She noticed something and acted quickly. My aunt is in remission and has been told by her oncologist not to check her breasts daily (as she was doing, from paranoia I suppose) as she would never notice any changes - monthly is best. Everyone will tell you something different either based on their experience or beliefs etc.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 28 April 2012 - 11:48
I have received letters and small parcels sent from the UK using regular Royal Mail, seems to take 7-10days to arrive.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 25 April 2012 - 09:36
I went through this in Jan. Had been told that it could be done at the embassy here, but they changed the rules sometime last year. You have to send them to the FCO legalisation office in Milton Keynes. It's a fairly simple process that can be organised and paid for (including return courier delivery) online, so all you have to do is arrange sending the documents from here. The website is: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/what-we-do/services-we-deliver/legal-services/Legalisation/ If that doesn't work, then google FCO legalisation and it will come up. Takes 7-10days from sending to getting the docs back.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 April 2012 - 22:58
Crown packed everything for us. We had boxes of wedding presents that had been delivered by John Lewis which I had kept packed thinking they would ship them as they were, but they had to unpack them and repack them, otherwise they wouldn't be covered by insurance. I think it depends on what company you go with and what service you take, one company my DH spoke to you suggested we get our own boxes and packaging and they would simply collect and ship, but we were not comfortable with that. Once you figure out which company and service you are going for, you can decide whether the bubble wrap is required!!
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 April 2012 - 18:28
Next do have a small homeware dept (in the Villagio store). M&S and BHS also have small depts. We used Crown (last Oct) and the time they quoted us for delivery in the UK was far different to the estimate of the office here. One of the reasons we chose Crown was that they have an office in Doha and would handle all the clearances and delivery to our door here. You do need to have RP and some documents before you can accept delivery/ it can clear customs, so factor that in when planning when to ship. For a less than container load (which by the sounds of it, is what you will have) took around 9.5weeks instead of the max 6 weeks quoted (and would have taken longer had I not gone into the office and stamped my feet and almost cried!) We took out insurance and they paid out on the few items that were broken without much hassle. When unpacking I found wooden and plastic items wrapped way better than some dishes and glassware, so when shipping again I would be make sure certain things were wrapped properly.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 22 April 2012 - 17:56
Oh dear! I think I would have cried. Hope you manage to get everything dried out and can salvage what has not already gone in the bin. Loved your positive spin about meeting neighbours!
gailmcphail
198
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 19 April 2012 - 15:27
We didn't have a shipping allowance when we moved, but from the first thought of moving, I was very sure that I wanted to bring my stuff with me and it is being surrounded by a lot of my own things that has helped me feel at home and settle here. We did not ship furniture but managed to fill around 40 boxes with kitchen stuff, clothes, pictures, housey bits, sports equipment etc etc. If you use something at home, chances are you will want to use it here, so if you don't ship it, you are going to have to buy it. We got an unfurnished villa and got new beds but most of the rest of our stuff was bought second hand from qatar living etc. Searching for and buying second hand furniture is a time consuming process, but we managed to get some nice stuff. We have since bought some other new bits of furniture when shops have had sales on. TVs and white goods seems to be reasonably priced in Carrefour etc, we (aka DH) bought a big telly when we arrived and our villa did not have a washing machine, but that wasn't expensive. When we leave we will sell most of the furniture and get back some of what we paid for it and will have had the benefit of having paid less for an unfurnished villa. There are parts of our house that are still a bit bare and echoey, but we are getting there and it feels very much like home. I have yet to find a place that sells decent lamps/light fittings at a reasonable price and really wish I had shipped some from home.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 17 April 2012 - 23:29
Try Jarir for the ps3 thing, they have consoles & games.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 16 April 2012 - 20:41
When I have needed an iron supplement, the doctor has always prescribed something for me as the strength of the tablets is much higher than anything available over the counter. I don't continually take iron supplements, but when I do so without prescription tablets I take two OTC ones per day, one in the morning and one in the evening as well as trying to increase my dietary sources of iron. You should avoid tea, coffee, eggs, dairy and wholegrains for 1-2hours before and after taking iron tablets as these inhibit the absorption. Taking with vitamin c improves absorption.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 16 April 2012 - 20:33
In my old school nokia you can choose your contacts view.... Go to contact/settings and there is an option for contacts view which in mine has name first/ name & number/ name &image. Hopefully there will be a similar menu choice in your phone <em>edited by gailmcphail on 16/04/2012</em>
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 April 2012 - 19:37
According to the website it's opening in 246 days. I looked it up last week and the numbers have gone down since then!!
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 April 2012 - 19:02
Lulu sells silk, they have a more limited range of colours in raw silk and a bit more choice in fine silk (this stuff is very sheer and needs to be well lined). It looks very similar to stuff I have bought in India and I thought the quality looked good. Think it's around 75qr a metre, but can't really remember
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 April 2012 - 10:45
Does property ownership always count in ensuring your children are not treated as foreign students??? Or does it depend on the Uni.... depends on uni. My understanding of this is that to be considered a home rather than international student, if you do not have a UK passport, you have to have been in the UK for purposes other than education for at least 3 years. There is a very long document published by the UKBA which details fee status for students. Most unis will ask for more information if there is any doubt on fee status and it is up to them to make the decision.
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 15 April 2012 - 10:24
I went in Feb to try and join for March and was told then that March and April were full, I subsequently heard that if you go on the first day of the month they often have openings. I have not been back to check yet, but was thinking about doing so for what remains of April even though you have to pay the full month. Going in person is the best bet, it's open morning and then again at 4pm. I have always gone at around 4pm and it's been very busy with one person working at the desk.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 11 April 2012 - 21:54
I think GHDs are the best straightners, but not sure where in Doha stocks them, I would check with some of the salons as they may stock or know who does.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 April 2012 - 14:43
The choice of furniture here is not great and it is expensive for not great quality, so if you are going to be living in an unfurnished place I would ship out as much of what you think you will need.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 08 April 2012 - 00:01
Ps once of the shops on this street is called aziziyah, not to be confused with the area of same name.
gailmcphail
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 08 April 2012 - 00:00
The Dhow has recently been removed from Dhow roundabout, so it's not the same landmark it once was!! If you come down Salwa rd, straight thro ramada signal,.over jaidah flyover, straight thro electricity intersection, dhow r/a is the first r/a you come to- take the first exit and the curtain souk is along this st. When i have gone i have parked down side streets.
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 04 April 2012 - 16:01
You need a form (not sure where you get that from and it's in arabic) and two photos and you go to traffic dept (nr landmark on khalifa st (i think) with uk licence, passport and bank card. It costs 150qr and they don't take cash. I am just back from getting my 6th temporary one!
gailmcphail
198
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Latest post on 04 April 2012 - 15:58
Just happened to spot these on end of aisle in c4, they are called ella's kitchen and it was fruit smoothies ones that were on promotion. The section with the savoury ones is decent size.
gailmcphail
198
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 04 April 2012 - 12:55
C4 sell pouches of organic baby food in fridge section nr yoghurts. I picked some up.for friend once so don't really know details of name or selection. Perhaps 5 or so varieties.
 
 
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