The biog
Hometown: Birchgrove, Sydney Australia
Age: 59
Favourite TV series: Outlander Netflix series
Favourite place in the UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque / desert / Louvre Abu Dhabi
Favourite book: Father of our Nation: Collected Quotes of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Thing you will miss most about the UAE: My friends and family, Formula 1, having Friday's off, desert adventures, and Arabic culture and people
Moira Forrest has a keen eye for detail.
And it's just as well, because over the last few months people’s lives have depended on following her advice.
As a clinical resource nurse working for Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, Seha, it was her job to help everyone from healthcare workers to security guards, cleaners, porters, and hotel staff to protect themselves against catching Covid-19.
“One time when I was training the non-healthcare workers, we had 250 security staff. The first three groups came with gloves on. I said, can I ask you something, why have you got gloves on?
It's a nice way to go, feeling that I am contributing and supporting this wonderful country
“They said ‘Ah because we have to wear our gloves’. I asked them, if you have gloves on, do you feel safer? That you can touch everything? ‘Oh yes definitely,’ the said. It was hot too and their hands were sweaty. They had holes in their gloves,” said the Australian.
“And you know what I found out? I asked what you do when you go to the bathroom? Do you take those gloves off? They said no, we keep them on. Then I said what do you when you eat lunch? We keep them on.”
This was hardly their fault, she said. The had been given no training up to this point on how to use them. And they had only been issued one pair of gloves for the whole day.
She made sure that was addressed, by requesting four pairs for each security guard every day.
It was through making changes like those that she helped hundreds of people protect themselves against catching the virus.
“Yesterday I was at Adnec and there was one facility manager there. I trained the staff of five companies.
“He came to me and said 'Hey Moira, we didn’t have one out of 450 people get sick. Everyone washed their hands'”.
Hearing that means a lot to Ms Forrest, who was supposed to have left the country already to retire as she will turn 60 in October.
By the time she heard her contract had been extended, she had sold almost everything in her house in preparation for leaving.
“I started selling everything last September. I am very organised,” she said.
“I was about to sell my bed because I was supposed to be leaving last week.”
Ms Forrest moved to the UAE a decade ago in 2010. The first time she visited, to see a friend, she had to ask her to point out where it was on a map.
But after one six-week visit she was hooked. She returned the following year for more than 10 weeks.
And then decided to see if she could find a job in the UAE.
“I felt comfortable. It was safe,” she said.
“I got this magazine about working in the Middle East. There were two contact numbers. I got this beautiful Irish girl the second time. I said I am going to come and see you. She prepared everything and got me an appointment for an interview.”
She got the job and joined Tawam Hospital in Al Ain as a charge nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit, where she looked after its youngest patients, even accompanying some on trips abroad for additional treatment or tests.
After that she joined Al Ain Hospital, where she works today. She began her role as a teacher and trainer in the field as a clinical resource nurse back in 2015.
During the last few months, she has focused on 15 types of education programmes, of which infection control was just one.
She has now completed that, but before she goes, she has one last task, which could turn out to be the most important of her career. She will conduct training for those administering and running the Phase 3 clinical trial for a Covid-19 vaccine, which is being run in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.
It is already underway, but will continue to ramp up over the coming weeks.
“There is a lot of training to make sure the trial is tight and gives good results. It’s a big job.
“It’s a nice way to go, feeling that I am contributing and supporting this wonderful country.”
Covid-19 outbreak in the UAE
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine 2.4L four-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.4L/100km
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETeyon%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENacon%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%205%2C%20Xbox%20Series%20X%2FS%20and%20PC%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
PAST 10 BRITISH GRAND PRIX WINNERS
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2012 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2011 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2010 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2007 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
Britain's travel restrictions
- A negative test 2 days before flying
- Complete passenger locator form
- Book a post-arrival PCR test
- Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
- 11 countries on red list quarantine
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Smart words at Make Smart Cool
Make Smart Cool is not your usual festival. Dubbed “edutainment” by organisers Najahi Events, Make Smart Cool aims to inspire its youthful target audience through a mix of interactive presentation by social media influencers and a concert finale featuring Example with DJ Wire. Here are some of the speakers sharing their inspiration and experiences on the night.
Prince Ea
With his social media videos accumulating more half a billion views, the American motivational speaker is hot on the college circuit in the US, with talks that focus on the many ways to generate passion and motivation when it comes to learning.
Khalid Al Ameri
The Emirati columnist and presenter is much loved by local youth, with writings and presentations about education, entrepreneurship and family balance. His lectures on career and personal development are sought after by the education and business sector.
Ben Ouattara
Born to an Ivorian father and German mother, the Dubai-based fitness instructor and motivational speaker is all about conquering fears and insecurities. His talk focuses on the need to gain emotional and physical fitness when facing life’s challenges. As well managing his film production company, Ouattara is one of the official ambassadors of Dubai Expo2020.
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'
Rating: 3/5
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Mads Mikkelson, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Jude Law
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
UAE Falcons
Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.
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Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
(Grove Press)
ON%20TRACK
%3Cp%3EThe%20Dubai%20Metaverse%20Assembly%20will%20host%20three%20main%20tracks%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEducate%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Consists%20of%20more%20than%2010%20in-depth%20sessions%20on%20the%20metaverse%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInspire%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Will%20showcase%20use%20cases%20of%20the%20metaverse%20in%20tourism%2C%20logistics%2C%20retail%2C%20education%20and%20health%20care%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EContribute%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Workshops%20for%20metaverse%20foresight%20and%20use-case%20reviews%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
The biog
Hometown: Birchgrove, Sydney Australia
Age: 59
Favourite TV series: Outlander Netflix series
Favourite place in the UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque / desert / Louvre Abu Dhabi
Favourite book: Father of our Nation: Collected Quotes of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Thing you will miss most about the UAE: My friends and family, Formula 1, having Friday's off, desert adventures, and Arabic culture and people
