Could Beckham be the mummy of maternitywear?
So, Victoria Beckham is expecting her fourth child. No real surprise there for those who speculate that the 36-year-old former pop star-turned-fashion designer would like a daughter to add to her brood of boys.
Funnily enough, at exactly the same time David Beckham was posting details on his Facebook page about his wife's condition, I was summarising the key trends and statements of spring/summer 2011.
The self-confessed fashion-mad Footballer's Wife couldn't have timed it better to simultaneously increase clan Beckham and silence fashion critics who still believe she is some dizzy ingénue.
Could she do the unthinkable and champion bold, key fashion statements while pregnant, morphing these clothes effortlessly into unprecedented maternity chic (notoriously difficult even if you are thin as a whippet)?
If anyone can she can, or at least can at this precise moment, with trends from wafting maxis to roomy sports luxe tunics to flat, dare I say "sensible", shoes. The announcement of VB's pregnancy actually should have come as no surprise. Pulling off a baby bump - for this season only - is child's play.
This spring, nothing is tight or constricting. The waist is virtually irrelevant. What counts is floaty layered fabrics and a longer (not slimmer) length with, believe it or not, actually pumped-up volume worn right there up at the front.
VB finds herself in the company of Natalie Portman, Jennifer Connelly and Penelope Cruz who (so far) are revealing (through their clothes) that they are pregnant. Proudly so.
Connelly, 40, who is expecting her third child, recently showed how to wear grey crushed silk - catwalk-fresh Lanvin - on the red carpet at the premiere of her latest movie, The Dilemma, in Chicago. Cruz, 36, who is due to give birth next month, has been wearing a quirky trilby (giving a nod to the androgynous vibe) and winter's essential camel coat, to disguise her ever-increasing girth.
Miranda Kerr, 27 - who has just given birth to Orlando Bloom's son - while pregnant cleverly donned a schoolgirlish blazer, which as we know actually looks cooler unbuttoned with a shirt hanging out, as is currently the height of fashion, rather than tucked in.
Suffice to say, it's more a case of what you can't wear than what you can if you are pregnant. The main items off the menu are, ironically, VB's own fitted dresses along with Prada's horizontal stripes and headscarves - a catwalk trend that in real life might literally look too mumsy.
Far better to experiment with bold, bright colour combinations (such as purple and orange) found in the roomy tunic type collections of Diane Von Furstenberg, now designed by Yvan Mispelaere, or Raf Simon's long tangerine skirts for Jil Sander. These have a frill around the midriff, which would absolutely conceal any baby bulge.
It's also possible to make a statement in the swathed sportswear layer-upon-layer trend that most designers have embraced, along with the high-street label Gap.
In a recent interview, VB revealed that Gap is a "recent discovery" of hers. Good. In that case she should dispatch her assistant there to invest in a pair of sandals from their collaboration with Pierre Hardy - a name, no doubt, she is familiar with. These, along with Jimmy Choo's flatter-than-flat "Luxor" sandals and Nicholas Kirkwood for Pollini heels, which have the sort of bouncy, corrugated, springy soles usually found on flip-flops, tick the comfy and fashionable boxes.
What else? Summer's billowing maxis by Pucci and Etro, kimono jackets you don't have to do up by Chanel and Marc Jacobs, or Burberry's new bespoke trench coat service (Emma Watson's has leather sleeves) with which VB could order more room where needed.
By the time the baby is due, the attention will have moved on to husband David anyhow, with the imminent launch of the men's weekly fashion magazines Gazzetta and Mr Porter, leaving Victoria time to reflect on her growing empire.
Come autumn, could we see a new addition besides baby Beckham IV? A Mummy bag to add to the handbag line? Or kidswear - now that's a thought.
This mummy clearly had something to do with eight-year-old Romeo ranking 26 in GQ's annual Best Dressed list.
I'm sure the former Spice Girl knows equally well what little girls are made of (and therefore like to wear). One hopes she is finally blessed with one of her own to tell her.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Napoleon
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Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the 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)
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
MOTHER%20OF%20STRANGERS
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Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
NEW%20UTILITY%20POLICY%3A%20WHAT%20DOES%20IT%20REGULATE%3F
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Agreements%20on%20energy%20and%20water%20supply%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Applied%20service%20fees%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customer%20data%20and%20information%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Prohibition%20of%20service%20disconnections%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customer%20complaint%20process%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Management%20of%20debts%20and%20customers%20in%20default%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Services%20provided%20to%20people%20of%20determination%20and%20home%20care%20customers%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Biography
Her family: She has four sons, aged 29, 27, 25 and 24 and is a grandmother-of-nine
Favourite book: Flashes of Thought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Favourite drink: Water
Her hobbies: Reading and volunteer work
Favourite music: Classical music
Her motto: I don't wait, I initiate
The%20specs
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.