Matt Watts took his work from the office to the water and is a guide for Duck Tours in London.
I've been working as a guide in London for Duck Tours since 2003. Like most of the guides, I'm an also actor. We hone our acting skills and we have great fun on the Duck.
The Duck is an amphibious vehicle. We have six vehicles, and they're all historic. They were used in World War II, including during the D-Day landings in 1942. They've been fitted out to health and safety regulations with new parts. Of course, you do get some clients who are a bit nervous. They think: "This vehicle was used in the Second World War. Should I really be getting on it?"
You have to be bright, charming and positive to do this job. We tell funny, off-beat stories about London, like what happened when a flock of starlings landed on the big hand of Big Ben, for example.
We start at the London Eye, and you see all the sights: Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square, Pall Mall, St James's Park, Buckingham Palace. Then we go to M16, and spend 30 minutes messing around on the River Thames. It's a show, a piece of entertainment, and an alternative view of London.
I went into Duck Tours for what I thought was going to be an interview. And they said "What are you doing at 2:30 today?" and I got in the Duck and that was that.
I moved from Coventry to London in 1995. I didn't particularly like working in an office. I got to my 30th birthday, and I wasn't enjoying what I was doing. I was involved in creating workshops for theatres, but I've always loved the anarchic nature of stand-up comedy and improvisation. I ended up in Canada studying improvisation for a summer in 2000. It was a wonderful experience and it set me off on a different path.
Occasionally, if our regular route is closed off we have to take an alternative tour. And it's really great to turn things around and see people who were grumbling about not seeing Buckingham Palace have a good time. I like people glaring at me. I see it as a challenge and I say: "I'm just going to entertain you."
Very rarely, we'll lose power on the river and have to be rescued by the fire brigade. Once when that happened, the most delightful lady who was celebrating her 90th birthday said that being rescued by the young firemen was the best thing that ever happened to her.
I feel I've been given a second chance in life. I was very straitlaced before I started doing this. And people still think I look like an accountant. But I feel I've been let off the leash. If I can give people a good time I feel good.
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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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
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
more from Janine di Giovanni
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
