On 2nd December 1971, the United Arab Emirates was created in a ceremony in Dubai at a site on Jumeirah Beach Road, not far from where we currently live. The UAE is made up of seven Emirates that we are now able to name – you will probably not recognize some of the names – we didn’t. Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah, although at the 2 December 1971 signing, Ras Al Khaimah was still in negotiations, so it was just the 6 Emirates signing. They joined 2 months later on 10 February 1972. Bahrain and Qatar decided to remain independent states although they had originally intended to join and Oman decided not to join but would consider joining in the future. Queen Elizabeth and the PM at the time, Edward Heath, were amongst the first global leaders to congratulate the new state.

The UAE joined the Arab League on 6 December and became a member of the UN on 9 December. The UAE flag is a vertical red stripe on the left side and horizontal stripes of green, white and black – the colours are said to represent Arab unity. White represents good deeds, green represents fertile ground, black for the battles required for freedom and prosperity and red for the blood of national martyrs and the readiness of the people to defend their land. I’m not so sure about the last two representations, but now you know. With the Arab spring in full flow one cannot underestimate the implications of the passion that surrounds this part of the world.

Just to give you an idea of how far this area has travelled in such an incredibly short time, back in the 1950s there was no piped water in the area, so all water for domestic use was hand drawn from wells and carried home and there was no electricity network so most people used kerosene lamps for light and cooked over fires made from wood that had been collected. Settlements were small mud hut villages. The main industries were agriculture, boat building, fishing, pearling and trading – as it has been for decades. Oil was found in Dubai in 1966 and Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the much loved ruler of Dubai, used the oil revenues to begin improving the quality of life for the people of Dubai with utilities such as water, electricity and roads being developed. Dubai International Airport was opened and the development of the vast Jebel Ali Port was started. Today it is the world’s largest seaport and when completed in 1979 it became the third man made structure to be visible from space (along with the Great Wall of China and the Hoover Dam). A joint company with a British firm was begun, that later became today’s international telco, Etisalat, bringing telecommunications to the region. Today they are retro fitting fibre optic cable to all homes across Dubai – according to the technically minded Father of the Tribe, this is ‘extraordinary’. And yes, we do have it and, yes, it is extremely fast. In 1985 Dubai launched its own airline, Emirates – in November 2011 the airline placed the largest order of aircraft in Boeing’s history, ordering 50 777-300 ERs for a mere US$18 billion. I hope you get the picture – the growth has been at an astonishing pace.

So, on 2 December 2011, Dubai and the rest of the Emirates, celebrate 40 years of unity, The Spirit of the Union. The place goes a little bit nutty for 24 hours and I have to admit it is a infectious. At one minute past midnight cars start blowing their horns and the party begins.

We however, have our own celebration – rather belatedly celebrating my father’s 80th birthday. In true Dubai style, we enjoy a decadent brunch in the bizarre setting of a table overlooking the ski slope of Ski

Dubai where we can watch skiers of every ability swishing down the slope, taking the ski lift up to the top and a few people at the bottom having snowball fights. Outside it is about 28 degrees.

As my parents leave (another tough moment), we realise that Christmas is just over 2 weeks away yet we feel anything but Christmasy. We’re obviously used to rather colder climes at this time of year for a start, but perhaps more so than at any other time, we are very aware that we are living in a Muslim country. Christmas is obviously not celebrated by the local population, although there are Christmas decorations in the hotels and malls, but every religious holiday is ‘celebrated’ here, except of course the Jewish ones. For obvious reasons.

For the first time Father of the Tribe and I feel terribly homesick – we miss the chaos of Christmas at home, the endless drinks, lunches and dinners, the last minute shopping for food and gifts. We miss our friends and family.

We’re just going to have to do things differently here. So, we manage to get tickets for the British Embassy’s carol concert, held in their gardens where we have a picnic and this is where the Tribe have their Father Christmas visit. We leave early as it is getting late and walk back to the car along the Creek as the sun is setting. It is very beautiful and definitely different. For our Christmas lunch we order it from the Intercontinental – we collect it on Christmas Eve. It is in a huge box and smells divine – now all I have to do on Christmas day is work out how long it will take to heat everything up! We have turkey with ALL the trimmings (except we don’t have pork chipolatas wrapped in bacon – they are turkey with turkey bacon!)! Christmas Eve isn’t quite the same without Carols Round the Crib at St Mary’s and we hope the Tribe don’t think about missing it too much. Christmas Day arrives and the Tribe are relieved to discover that Father Christmas has found their new abode. After stockings are opened we walk down to the beach so that presents can be tested out.

We spend over 2 hours on the beach playing and the Tribe attempting to try out their new snorkeling kit – I am making the most of not having to do any preparation for lunch! Back at home, Father of the Tribe and I have our first celebratory drink at 2 o’clock – this is definitely a first!! and we then all enjoy lunch. It is different but good and the day, despite our concerns, is a success.

Post Christmas, we decide to try out camping Dubai style. We set out for the East coast to the Oman end of Dibba Beach. The drive takes us through open desert before climbimg through the rocky Hajar Mountains and finally down to the Gulf of Oman. We cross the border into Oman and find a bay sheltered by the rugged mountains. Before we drive on the soft sand we let out loads of air from our tyres, down to 15 PSI father of the tribe has read off the Internet, and hope that we won’t get stuck. Astonishingly, the 6 ton Nissan ‘truck’ ambles across the sands easily. We find a pitch (there are only a couple of other tents on the whole beach) and set up camp. This is true wild camping. The Tribe collect small rocks to form a circle for the fire pit and then start ‘sledging’ down the sand dunes. Within about 15 minutes we are set and ready to start cooking! The sun disappears and it is magical with just the light from the fire, stars and moon to see by. The sound of the sea is quite soothing.

The next morning, we watch the sun rise above the ocean and the Tribe go beach combing. The shells on this coastline are quite different and our collection for home is increased. Suddenly a number of goats appear at the top of the cliff and

perform the astonishing feat of almost running down the mountainside. They are unbelievably sure footed. A 4×4 appears across the beach and stops at the bottom of the cliff. Out gets the owner of the goats – this is farming 21st century style. However, the roaming of goats in the region has contributed more than anything else to the near extinction of species such as gazelles. The camping experience is a huge success and we will be back out soon.

Back in Dubai, New Years Eve is upon us and we walk to new friend’s for supper with the Tribe. For the first time the Tribe actually see the new year in. We watch from outside the villa the fantastically extravagant Burj Khalifa firework display. The year ends and as we walk back across the sand to our new home, we hope that this next year will be a slightly less chaotic one.