‘You’re getting a man for Christmas?’ – friends keep mishearing my seasonal holiday travel plans (for Oman).
‘Make sure you pack plenty of water,’ mum advised after I told her that the friend of Monique’s informed us that his friend’s guest house didn’t have an address (‘you would need to ask for Sheikh Rashid at a shop on the street’).
‘What for?,’ I asked mum.
‘In case you get lost in the desert.’ Mum had a point.
‘I know it’s about time I created a Facebook account, but in the meantime please can you check out what events are happening in Muscat while we’re there?’ Monique asked. I didn’t want to disappoint her so I posted a request for recommendations on my Facebook wall. I forwarded Monique the only response (from an Irish friend); ‘Go to Jamal’s house, 208 Camel Drive. Ask for Fergal.’
Mum spent Sunday afternoon at a Public Enemy gig, went backstage afterwards and stayed for the second performance (‘So I got two gigs for the price of one’), returning home at 2am. I was impressed. Most friends in Amsterdam have a date with their sofa on Sundays; my youngest colleague is the one who usually joins me for Sunday evening gigs. ‘As much as I love visiting you [and the coffee shops] in Amsterdam, it sounds like you’d better return to London,’ mum empathised.
‘And how were the gigs?’ I asked mum.
‘Very good. I really like the fact they don’t write romantic music that makes girls swoon and then feel disappointed afterwards.’