Really?! I think we all have our own cycles in relation to the seasons... September/October are usually my happy period... July/Aug are my tired/grumpy period

I spent many extended school holidays in the Middle East

What was that like?

Interesting but to a great extent we lived in bubbles of expats. So long ago now. My first shawarma was there. I don’t think Dubai had a building over 5 or 6 floors high. I’d hate to go back now.

When I was 7 we lived a year in Qatar. No mains water in our flat in the capital: it was delivered to the roof by tanker. Apparently my Arabic was pretty good. I can hardly remember one or two words now.

Must've been a fascinating experience

It was though you tend to take things in your stride as kids, don’t you? Odd memories. Three fingered kitkats. No street names often, so invitations to friends’ birthdays always came with a hand drawn map. Flying thousands of miles alone at 13.

Formative views of the English abroad, inequality & prejudice.

Well, sounds accurate 😂

Yup. Broadened my mind at a good age at least. We did live in a semi segregated way in areas without much in the way of history, so no big cultural experiences to share unfortunately.

Most of the places were just tents 20 years previously so no grand palaces like southern Spain and North Africa.