In December 2008, a couple of months after I first arrived in the UAE, George Michael performed in Abu Dhabi. These were the pre-du Arena days, a time when A-list performances were still something of a novelty. I begrudgingly, almost tearfully, missed the show – I had a work event and was still trying to impress my new employers. And so I didn't get to see him perform live. Now, of course, I never will.
I'm a fan, as you may have guessed. My first real introduction to music was listening to the Wham! cassettes that I "borrowed" from my older brother. I also stole his copy of Wham! The Video, which featured the mullet-ed duo performing five of their classics: the Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do), Club Tropicana (has there ever been a cooler place?), Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (choose life, y'all), Careless Whisper and, of course, Last Christmas.
I grew up in Cyprus, remember, and we had few famous exports. Halloumi cheese, Peter Andre and George Michael. That's about it. It is true that Michael was raised in London and never expressed any great affinity for the island where his father was born. He often claimed in interviews that: "the only Greek thing about me is my hairy chest".
But Cypriots the world over claimed him nonetheless. They still do. There is currently an online petition to have a street named after him on the island. I’m going to sign it.
I may never have seen him perform live but, last Monday, I saw what is probably the next best thing. Fastlove, the West End George Michael tribute show, made a one-night stop at the Dubai Opera. It was a slightly jarring, nostalgia-infused evening, as a bunch of 35- to 50-year-olds found themselves dressed to the nines, dancing along to cheesy tunes from their childhoods, in a venue designed for more high-brow affairs.
There's no more powerful a tool than music to transport you to a different place and time.
It was an evening that highlighted two important points for me. Firstly, the strange workings of the human brain (how is it possible that I remember every word to every Michael song ever written, some of which I haven’t heard for the best part of a decade, but can barely remember what I had for breakfast this morning?). And secondly, the undeniably unifying influence of music.
As soon as I sat down, I apologised to the smartly dressed woman seated next to me. "I apologise in advance for the terrible singing; I don't think I'll be able to stop myself," I said. "Me neither," she replied with a wide smile.
And so we sat, side by side, two strangers belting out the same tunes, ooh-ing and aah-ing in harmony every time one of our favourites came on, intermittently exclaiming how excited we were to be there and, ultimately, standing up and dancing along. There's no more powerful a tool than music to transport you to a different place and time. And so there we were, two grown women, united in our willingness to behave like teenagers. Freedom '19. Thank you, George.
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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HOW TO WATCH
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump and Other Pieces 1986-2016
Martin Amis,
Jonathan Cape
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
The%20specs%20
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
STAGE%201%20RESULTS
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Company%C2%A0profile
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
