British firms have been inundated with orders for Ramadan countdown calendars as the growing trend takes hold in the UK.
Previously the calendars have only been available online and at luxury stores, such as London's Harrods, but this year a number of leading stores have taken steps to meet consumer demand.
M&S has launched its countdown calendar of hand-decorated date bites for the first time this year.
“Our limited-edition calendar contains 30 hand-decorated date bites in five unique flavours — rose and pistachio; brownie and pecan; caramelised wafer and orange blossom; hazelnut and orange; and honeycomb — all covered in luxurious Belgian chocolate,” the retailer told The National.
“It's perfect for breaking your fast each evening and also makes a wonderful gift for friends and family.
“We’ve also been working with some of the UK’s top Muslim food bloggers to bring families a series of super easy Ramadan recipes.”
High-street department store John Lewis launched two calendars this year, a chocolate one and a good deeds one, and saw stock sell out.
“This year we have two Eid Calendars in our John Lewis range, both of which have proven to be really popular with our customers,” a representative told The National.
“Our Good Deeds Calendar sold out online in just six days, but is available in store. Our chocolate Ramadan calendar is still available to purchase online and in store.”
Supermarket Morrisons has also launched a Ramadan calendar for children filled with chocolates.
The founder of Peacock Supplies, Sarah Gulfraz, has seen the trend for Ramadan countdown calendars growing in the UK for a number of years.
She started selling chocolate calendars and bespoke wooden ones more than five years ago when her children were young.
“We always sell out every year,” she told The National.
“We wanted to do something novel for our children and decided to start selling calendars when they were little and the business has just grown. Last year we sold out of all 700 and this year we've doubled the amount we sell and we're on track to sell out again.
“This is our peak time of year but we begin getting busy from February. We have supplied a number of British stores this year and we are in talks with some in the Middle East. This year we have had lots of inquiries from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. We are often surprised they've heard of us. They say they have seen our calendars online and love them.”
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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.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
South Africa's T20 squad
Duminy (c), Behardien, Dala, De Villiers, Hendricks, Jonker, Klaasen (wkt), Miller, Morris, Paterson, Phangiso, Phehlukwayo, Shamsi, Smuts.
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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
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4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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