I grew up on the Balearic island of Ibiza and was so happy there. I never felt the need to move as a child or teenager as I felt that the whole world was coming to me. Having so much exposure to the international personalities who visited or made the island their home taught me to view life in a very open and sensory way.
My mother's home was a real Ibiza house where I learnt to live in an empty space just full of light and music and a few good pieces to decorate it; it truly was fantastic, simplistic architecture. When I was young I also lived for a little while on the neighbouring island of Formentera, above a little wooden bar built on the rocks by the beach - just 15 square metres in size. The energy of that wild location was constantly around the building and life seemed so free - Today, I travel a lot but I still haven't found anything quite like that.
Today I have made my home in Paris with my partner Maud Bury. She is an interior architect so between us it's not easy to decide who has the best ideas for our home. We were extremely lucky as it not easy to find a house in the city with big open spaces and a garden; it's the sort of house that is both airy and open, yet with enough little places to give us our own space if we need it. I also have a little house in a very secret little place on Ibiza that I visit whenever I can.
We have made some very big changes. All of the rooms were remodelled - the walls, floors, roof and the garden. It has taken three years and it is still not finished - one more floor to go but, to be honest, I don't think a good house is ever really done. The plans were extremely detailed and, unfortunately, I am my most exacting client.
I don't like the idea of "decoration". I'm more like a collector of beautiful pieces of differing styles. Some are the pieces I design myself, other were presents or just nice pieces from other designers that I admire. I choose what I like and then see how things work together. Of course there are two of us with different ideas but we are good at finding a balance, I think.
We use our garden like one more room in the house. In summer the door to it is always open and we let the plants grow into the house, so the exterior gets all mixed up with the interior - we often get birds flying in too. I like to take objects that have been designed for indoors to the outside space to see how the weather interacts with them and how well they resist sun and rain.
I'm not a collector in the sense of collecting a particular type of object but I like collecting pieces that are the best of their type. I do have a lot of different chairs at home but they are mainly my designs and I like to see what friends think about them and how they use them.
My treasures are my drawings, my work and my life. I love to have the first prototypes of my designs that come out of the mould; all of that is very important to me.
I love the kitchen in our Paris home, which is in the centre of the living room; it all happens there whether it is a playground, a discussion centre or a meeting point. We work, cook and dance around the kitchen - it really is the place to be.
The Chiringuito bar on Formentera where I used to be woken by the sun passing through the slats of wood that made up the walls of the room, and by the sound of waves and the fishermen sailing by.
Your home should be a true reflection of who you are and if there is something about it you do not like you should be able to change it easily until you feel good again. For me, being at home means a quiet space in the midst of a crazy city that really allows me time to think.
My dream would be a mix of places so I would have my feet in the sea of Ibiza, my soul in Paris and my head in New York.
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
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.
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Read more from Kareem Shaheen
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 Cockroach
(Vintage)
Ian McEwan
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo and dual electric motors
Power: 300hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,500-3,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.0L/100km
Price: from Dh199,900
On sale: now
Schedule
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Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
