Carols on the Compound

(31/12/23)

YAY! It's the weekend! And we had nothing planned until going for Carols on the Compound in the evening!

I looked up Googlemaps to try to gauge what time we should leave. The roads looked pretty clear, so we headed out around 6:30. Amazingly, we parked just before 7 (there was a space!) and walked onto the church compound to find empty seats in the front row! Fantastic!

Our SA peeps were all there with their instruments. I love this bit of ministry that the Anglican church does. As they host various Protestant denominations and language groups, at Christmas time, they invite the congregations to present a song. It gives you a glimpse into what is happening in the Christian community. We loved hearing familiar carols sung in a different language and seeing the care taken when choosing costumes. My blip gives an idea of the evening.

It cut through dinner time, so the first thing we did when it finished (at 11:30 PM) was get a McDonald's meal! We were not heading home. Oh no. G had read about the meteor shower and where to watch it. We didn't trek out to Fossil Rock but went to Al Qudra Lakes instead.

What a surprise. The Dubai Astronomy Society had advertised to be there. Seeing all the cars heading out at the same time, one could only assume that they were there for the same reason as us. What shocked me was the loud music I could hear in the distance. How in the world is that allowed in an area where they are preserving wildlife?

We got home around 2:30 AM, having experienced temperatures of 17 degrees C when out in the desert, and yes, we could see the stars. :))