Thirty seconds in to the car journey Astrid's brow is sweaty and her face is red. It is as red as a tomato and the car is like an oven slowly baking her. She starts to struggle in her car seat, trying to worm her way out of her straps, kicking her legs wildly. The air conditioning and fan are on their highest settings, but the cool air does not make it to the back of the car. Most of it is blocked by the front seats, while the few wisps of air that do make it quickly lose their cool. It is like throwing an ice cube into the desert and expecting it to bring the temperature down.
We make it back to the apartment block and park the car. The gauntlet from the car park to the door is all that remains. Astrid has very pale skin, which has an almost bluish tinge making it appear translucent at times. It is very delicate and not well suited to summer in the UAE. Even a few seconds on the blazing streets of Abu Dhabi and I feel, perhaps a tad melodramatically, that she will be scorched to a crisp. I put her hat on and head for the door of our building.
With the city's stifling heat comes an urge to flee for cooler climes. Initially, air conditioning provides some comfort and relief, but pretty quickly the processed air of these temperature-controlled zones takes on its own kind of oppressiveness. After spending the entire day inside, Astrid is bounding with pent-up energy. After spending almost a week inside with only a few trips outside, her eyes start to appear sunken and hollow.
I hear on the radio about six volunteers who are spending 18 months locked in a series of tunnels with no windows. The project aims to mimic a trip to Mars and investigate the effects of such isolation on the human mind and body. I start to think how the two or three months spent inside during the summer in Abu Dhabi must seem like such a long time for children. The effects of these cloistered experiences, while probably negligible, nevertheless remain largely undocumented.
So the case for a family exodus builds up, slowly and steadily mimicking the rising temperature that is its cause. It is looking more and more likely that Astrid and Lucy will return to the UK for about two months. They will miss the worst of the summer here and experience the best of the summer in the UK. I will miss them a lot, but it really is the only way to beat the heat.
Babies and toddlers do cute things. Most people have been conditioned in some way to acknowledge and respond to this cute behaviour. It seems hard-wired in us, an urge that endears our children to us and helps to develop the bond between us. In this steady stream of cuteness, there are exceptional moments; sudden gushes of cute behaviour that stand out and are therefore worthy of note. I experienced such a moment recently. Music was playing and Astrid was moving around to it. She was dancing. She was moving her body to the music, swaying and lurching, sometimes in time, sometimes out of time. The song changed to a more upbeat tune. Suddenly Astrid started to move her feet like a tap dancer. She quickly moved them up and down, laughing all the time, working herself into a frenzy. It was a spontaneous response to the music, all the more remarkable because it was unprompted. She does it all the time now, but it's still cute.
* Robert Carroll
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
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MATCH INFO
Red Star Belgrade v Tottenham Hotspur, midnight (Thursday), UAE
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Friday’s fixture
6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta
6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman
9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas
9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah
.
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Fixture
Friday, March 29, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, The Sevens, Dubai
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 5
Keita 1', Mane 23', 66', Salah 45' 1, 83'
Huddersfield 0
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Scoreline:
Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Kill%20
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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