Midnight at the oasis, send your camel to bed (Maria Muldaur)

Rambling Man (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 10 part 11)

The northern Purdy clan gathers at Christine's
for Irene's 90 not out party!

Life in the Al Ain years was good. Really good! Work (as detailed in the previous post was great) but the lifestyle for me and Jacky was terrific as well.

Jacky and her ex pat wife friends used the malls as gathering places. And then they shopped! Suffice to say we brought a lot of stuff home to NZ afterwards - cushions, bedding, shoes, clothes, art work, CDs, stereos, TVs , and so on - A LOT of stuff!

Along the way we had frequent overseas trips: back to NZ and Waiheke Island; to the UK to see Christine, Irene and the rest of the Purdy clan; and memorably the Christmas 2011 trip to London for the most wonderful and gayest Christmas celebration of all time with Patrick/ Randy and their friends.

Wozza and Jade at the
Sheikh Zayed Mosque

Meanwhile back in the UAE, we moved from The Gardens apartments to Yellow Jimi - another enclave of ex pat Cognition workers (think Melrose Place) - we were neighbours of Graeme and Jansy, Pete and Paula, Brett and Margie and Gavin and Noella on the top floor. They were all awesome kiwi friends.

Our downtimes were spent walking (often to the Al Jimi mall), with weekend road trips to Dubai and the Dubai Mall (OMG - I LOVE the Dubai Mall), Mall of the Emirates (playing at Ski Dubai with Jade), Burjuman Centre. We also did frequent road trips to Abu Dhabi (great music store there - Kings Recording), with the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque a constant highlight. We went on tours of Dubai (with visitors like Brian Smith and Jade), Jacky went for frequent riding sessions at the Al Ain equestrian centre (while I walked for an hour around the complex). Camel rides in the desert and visits to Al Ain zoo were great too.

A lot of dates were consumed!

Life in the sandpit  was a full on experience! 

I loved it - the consistently great weather, the people, the sand dunes, the coffee treats in the malls, the shopping, the cheap petrol!

Shame it had to end but the unreal bubble life does have a use by date. By the end, Jacky had had enough extended holiday (she hadn't worked for three years) and it was time for another change. We'd bought a house in Hawke's Bay and I was confident I'd pick up some kind of teaching job - management or just English teaching would have been fine.

With my usual naive spirit of optimism I returned to NZ  in June 2012 (Jacky had left in January to work through possession of the house - Red Phoenix Farm).

The hope was the rambling years were at an end, some stability and security was the thinking. But wait...one more post is needed before that would happen!

Love and peace - Wozza

Locking in the pocket a smile (The House Of Love)

Rambling Man (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 10 part 10)

Abdulla, Nidal and Abu Keegan on National Day.

When Jacky and I arrived in Al Ain we were very pleasantly surprised on a number of fronts.

Jacky and Al Ain in the distance from Jabal Ali

My old muckers from Doha - Colin Donald, and Graeme McFadyen were in the UAE as lead advisers and Brett Sloan from Taranaki was also in Al Ain. I was amongst friends.

CJ, Brucie, Brett, Graeme, Ali and our Principals

Our accommodation at the Gardens apartment complex was fabulous, close to the Hilton and its gym, close to Bawadi Mall, and only a 25 minute commute to Al Foah on the northern side of Al Ain for me.

Trees and gardens and manicured hedges were everywhere in this beautiful oasis town. We fell in love with it - the place (apart from the traffic and the madness of driving), the lifestyle and when I got to Ali bin Abi Taleb school - the people!

Jan Thomas - a good egg

My blog post before I started work at the school holds up -

This excites me no end. I've missed being in a school; a place I've lived in for the last 26 years. 

Schools are special places with their own individual worlds. Each school world has its own culture, its own characters and customs and ways of doing things. There are leaders and helpers, outsiders who interact with the organisation, rules and regulations, parents and their children - all moving and working in a symbiotic relationship. The movement can be in a variety of directions but when all are working together in a positive way a school is a force to be reckoned with.

Yeah, okay - I admit - I started with a positive attitude but then it all got better and better. I've loved plenty of my jobs but this one was special. Really special!

Mohammed at work 

When I started at the school, there was only me. No translator (so English teachers like Nidal, Magdi and others helped me hugely); I was the Lead Adviser but also the Arabic and English adviser. Two guys in Graeme McFadyen's team came over to lend a hand in maths and science a few hours a week but generally for a few months it was just me.

And it was great. Really great! I had time to settle in and get to know people and the routines.

With Mohammed and his ESOL teacher

The Principal - Mohammed and his deputy, Fadhil, welcomed me with open arms and hearts!

The English teachers (Nidal, Magdi), Mohammed the librarian, the Arabic teachers (Abdulla, Shaban, Salem, Abdul), Hassan the art teacher, and Khalifa would all became special friends. 

Eventually an advisory team was constructed and support came in the form of a (great) translator - Hisham, ESOL advisers came to help Mohamed and Fadhil like David Wallace, and other advisers arrived on a more permanent basis: Dave (Davego) in science, Alvin in maths initially and then the wonderful Jan Thomas, Gavin - IT, and Pete Kehayioff in English.

Music teacher, Ahmed, at taboor

As a team we hummed! Although...going out a limb here - don't think Dave and Alvin liked each other much!

During my blogging at this time I wrote the following post: 

Here's my list (in no particular order) of 25 things to be thankful for in my job as Lead Adviser at Ali bin Abi Taleb School.

1. The laughter I hear in the corridor outside my office every day (from a revolving cast).
2. Air conditioning - couldn't do it without you Mr General.
3. Barbecues organised by the irrepressible Abdulla
   
4. My dream team of advisers. Take a bow Jan, Peter, Davego, David, and Gavin.
5. Sharing an office with our translator, Hisham (a mutual support network of two).
6. The band at taboor (assembly) every morning.
7. Watching the teachers walk arm in arm with students.
8. Shaking hands with students at break time.
9. The Arabic teacher meetings - a riot of laughs.
10. Morning greetings with the staff and handshakes all 'round.
11. It's a boys' school with an all male staff - alhamdolilah (praise to God).
12. It's a Cycle Two school (Grade 6-9) so nowhere near the same pressures as in Cycle Three.
13. Mohammed, the Principal.
14. Holy Qur'an readings by the students which float in the morning breezes.
15. The view of the trees outside my office window.
16. School rituals.
17. The music coming from Ahmed's room (with Nidal's singing from time to time).
18. Abdulla (one of the Arabic teachers) and his daily greetings.
19. The boys' enthusiastic singing of the national anthem at taboor.
20. The friendly warm relationships.
21. Vice-Principal Fadhil's laugh and cheeky smile.
22. The enthusiasm for learning and embracing change.
23. The lack of private agendas that sabotage improvements for students.
24. The sweet black tea.
25. The open gate that symbolizes a lot about the welcoming atmosphere at the school. 

That sums up my feelings - these two years were a wonderful part of my life with an incredible cast of characters! 

Salaam alaykum - Abu Keegan bin Graham Purdy

Here comes the nice (Small Faces)

Rambling Man (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 10 part 9)

Meanwhile back in Stratford...I was back with the sheep!

When Jacky and I returned to Taranaki in July of 2010 we found the family all geographically spread out. While we were in Stratford, Keegan was at Auckland University doing his masters degree, Adam was at Waikato University, Samantha was either in San Francisco or Wellington with Jesse, and Jade was in Palmerston North doing her nursing degree.

This is how we continue to live - geographically spread out. It's just what we do.

I decided on a few things. First, I'd said farewell to the Indian barbers of our neighbourhood hair cutting souq in central Doha. Cheap - 15 QR, and great if you liked a buzz cut with an upper body massage thrown in and some sweet smelling scent chucked on the bristles. Hygiene wasn't big on their agenda. Actually, it wasn't anywhere on their agenda. But they were cheap!

So - I was growing my hair!

Secondly, I wanted to return to university to work on my doctorate, rather than get another teaching position so I sussed out Massey and Waikato for what they could offer me. Massey were pretty snobby and unhelpful but Waikato were much friendlier so I started planning. 

A PhD in English or education? I was excited.

In the meantime Adam graduated with his music/Japanese centred BA, Jacky went back to work at New Plymouth's Base Hospital. and me? Well - I did house renovations and watched Lost In Space boxed sets!!

Then Cognition rang. There was a contract available in the United Arab Emirates - working as a Lead Adviser in a school in Al Ain - an oasis town of some 400, 000 people in the heart of the desert, about 90 minutes from Dubai heading south.

I said, no thanks! I'm enrolling in the doctoral programme at Waikato University.

Weeks went by. I decided to opt for an Education focus...but...

...the thought of new adventures in the Middle East gnawed away at me. I told Jacky (who already knew what was coming). Cognition rang me back - was I interested yet? This time, I said, YES!

We were heading back to the Middle East for a two year contract, to Al Ain. The rambling days were not done with just yet!

Love and peace - Wozza

Where trouble melts like lemon drops, high above the chimney top, that's where you'll find me (Judy Garland)

Rambling Man (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 10 part 8)

Wozza goes to Doha.

Qatar and its main city Doha were huge unknowns. We had no idea what to expect.

The internet can only tell so much and the initial one day induction by Cognition people in Auckland didn't provide me much light and shade either.

It was a big adventure. I was living my Dream Big mantra that I'd shared with my students at Stratford High School.

Jade, Jacky and I arrived in Doha in November of 2009 and were met at the airport by one of my new in-country bosses - Colin Donald. He took us to our new apartment in an older section of Doha - close to the famous Souq Waqif. 

Apartment 704 of Legends Hotel Resort and Spa, Corner of B Ring Road and Najma St., Najma District, was to be our new home for the next 8 months.

Wozza with Deno and our translator (photo
by the world famous Graeme McFadyen)

Initial impressions were on the whole pretty good - Colin seemed to be a good guy, the heat in Doha was okay at 25 degrees, and the apartments were modern and spacious. The cleanliness of our place wasn't up to Jacky standard though so we spent the first few hours cleaning. My working life started with interviewing prospective Principals with Colin (CJ), Graeme McFadyen and Dene Bright (Deno) in a swanky hotel. 

I still have no idea what this was for really as nothing came of the process, but we did the interviews over three days as we were instructed. These first work days were all a bit of a blur really - given the culture shock, the working with translators and finding my place in the scheme of things.

Luckily Deno was a dryly hilarious Aussie bloke who I immediately had rapport with, Colin was laid back and cool and I knew Graeme already.

While I was doing this, Jacky and Jade were learning more about Mall culture, taxis, and how women are regarded in the Middle East.

Wozza with Andie, Reem and Rami

Given they are both blond, very attractive women, and in Jade's case feisty with it, the transition wasn't an easy one.

When we walked down to the souq in the evening there were no other women around, local or otherwise. Jade and Jacky attracted a lot of attention and Jade especially hated that.

Breakfast with the team (Ian next to me)

After a couple of months Jade decided she'd had enough and needed to head back to NZ and get ready for university life in Wellington. This was after we'd been camel riding on a desert safari in a beautiful part of Qatar's border with Saudi Arabia.

Michelle and Gavin have helped look after each of our children during these transitional moments and Jade also had Samantha in Wellington (she'd moved into a flat) so we felt relatively relaxed about things. 

She started at Victoria but quickly realised she wasn't doing a course she liked nor did she like Wellington, unlike Samantha. Instead, she decided to go to Massey at Palmerston North to do nursing.

Colin was the leader of our Leadership Project team - a mixed bag of people from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, with some local translators thrown into the mix. Half the team were preparing for a big project that was in the planning stages, the other half (including me) was delivering professional development to a group of 80 to 90 Qatari Principals who had been fired by the ministry. They were pretty grumpy - they had to attend our sessions to get paid!

We were working in a marriage venue called Regency Halls - two huge halls with a smaller hall attached. We were in the smaller hall!

John Lambert and I were joined by Karin (a.k.a. Barbie) and/or Aussie Di with Refka and Reem as our translators. Hilarity ensued!

Colin, Wozza, Deno, John and Deno's son.

It's impossible to describe the atmosphere and the craziness that happened on a daily basis (two days we worked from the office to prepare sessions, and three days we delivered seminars).

A few memories - watching some Principals being dropped off at the entrance to sign in (to get their pay), then immediately walk through the venue to where their driver picked them up. The female Principals were very much in a minority - about 15 of them and they could not mix with the men. Breakfast  happened after the first session - exotic foods that took me forever to get used to.

At Regency Halls with my bros.

It occured to me as I was writing this post that I had blogged about all this stuff at length back in 2009 - 2010 (a sample can be found here, including some images of my co-workers like Barbie). Re reading my entries was a hoot - just go to Blog Archive (bottom of the right hand column) and dial into 2009!

After the course finished with the Ministry Principals I was seconded onto another team (called National Professional Standards) - again delivering PD to Qatari leaders with Andie and Aussie Ian Smythe with Rami and Reem as translators. 

It was still cool but not as much riotous fun as the John led team. Eventually that contract ended too and by the end of June 2010 we were back in at our house in Stratford, New Zealand.

It had been a blast! Doha was an experience, an adventure and a half, with some amazing people and some challenging times with no professional regrets!

Love and peace - Wozza

When I look to the sky something tells me you're here with me, and you make everything alright (Train)

Rambling Man (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 10 part 7)

The local paper announces my arrival! Drum roll, please!

Three years at Stratford High School as Principal (2007 to 2009) can be summed up thus:

First year  

That first year was exciting and fun and a process of continual challenge and discovery. After commuting from New Plymouth for the first term (staying at father-in-law, Brian's place), we bought a great property just out of Stratford on Pembroke Road with 6 paddocks for the horses and sheep. 

The views of Mount Taranaki and across to Ruapehu etc in the far distance were amazing!

It was an old slightly run down cottage, surrounded by trees and gardens that we would steadily improve over three years. The property was very pretty underneath the surface - we are good at seeing potential in a place and chipping away at things. Great neighbours too - Barry Smith on one side and Eric and Jeanette Darrow in front.

Barry was huge for us in helping up with farming things, and Eric procured an old 1920's Massey-Ferguson tractor for me to use. He fixed it up, as in built it, for $600 and I still have it, ten years later.

I met some wonderful people at SHS, some of whom remain good friends, among them - fellow Principals Graeme McFadyen, Paul Ryan, Mark Bowden, my Board chairs Raewyn Rooney and Pete Theron, some students who have gone on to great things and my wonderful colleagues Diane Lithgow and Susie Terry.

WYSIWYG

As for the family: Keegan had moved to Auckland, Adam was at Waikato University; Samantha started her final year doing NCEA Level 3 at New Plymouth Girls' High School - busing in to Nu Plimf each day, as did Jade who was starting NCEA Level 1. 

Samantha lasted the year at NPGHS. Jade lasted two hours. 

She rang me at school, sobbing, very unhappy, being at an all girls' school was not for her. She wanted to come to my school. I was reluctant. The memory of Keegan's disastrous experience was very fresh. But so was the idea that I now needed to let the kids decide where they wanted to go to school. 

So she did, and it didn't go well.

Some of the staff, and some of the students resented her and, by the third year, made her life difficult. Being Principal in these circumstances was tricky. Suffice to say, there are many things I'd do differently - I should have fought her corner more, but hindsight isn't much help is it.

Second year 

Chalk this one up as the best of the three years!

The theme was all about making positive changes in the school. These involved planning for new buildings, a new paint scheme, new positive behaviour modification structures, new teacher appraisal scheme, new relationships with the Ministry of Education, new targets to improve achievement.

Now knowing a little more about myself and others was helpful in my second year. 

What had I learnt? Being Principal is a lonely job, some people hold deep grudges that affect their behaviour, and I certainly learnt who I could rely on and trust. I lent heavily on my fellow Principals.

Really, only other Principals know what it's like. It is a job with high rewards but there is a price to pay.

Over the first two years, I was doing the first time Principals' programme and had Mark Bowden as a mentor.  It was a rich time for learning. This and SPANZ conferences were great professional development for me. 

Samantha had moved down to Wellington at the start of the year to start studying at Victoria University. We drove her down and set her up in the hostel. 

How devastated I felt leaving her behind       completely blindsided me. Jacky had to drive us back to Taranaki - I was an emotional mess!


When I got back home I went into her empty room and felt that familiar ache in my stomach.

Third year 

Unfortunately, in my third year, my focus shifted for two reasons. 

Some of my Principal buddies started leaving Taranaki for jobs in the Middle East. After Lyall French-Wright left NPBHS, Angela Gattung left Inglewood, and Graeme McFadyen left Spotswood College; I started getting itchy feet. 

With my final bunch of prefects

Then in August the horrible happened. My sister-in-law rang me at school. I knew it was bad news, it remains the only time she's ever rung me at work. Ross couldn't talk to me, he was too upset. Our dad had had a severe stroke and was in North Shore Hospital.

From then onwards, my weekends were spent driving up to Auckland to see him and my focus shifted from school mode to family mode.

Selfie years began

When he passed away in September I knew I had to get away. Away from New Zealand and away from being Principal.

I accepted a contract from Cognition Education to go to Qatar to join an educational consultancy team delivering professional development to Qatari school leaders. 

When accepting the job late in November 2009 they asked me if I could get to Doha in a week!!

I said, erm, no. I couldn't. But I could be there in two!

So we packed up our belongings, put them into storage, said goodbye to Stratford High School at my third prizegiving, rented the house out, and flew to Doha, with Jade, who had finished her Level 3 NCEA and was waiting for University to start in February of the next year.

She wasn't very happy about that but we felt it was the right move at the time. Hindsight...did I mention hindsight? 

Love and peace - Wozza

Way on down south London town (Dire Straits)

Rambling Man (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 10 part 6)

Jacky Purdy: hates the cold, loves the snow!

While we were living in Leigh-on-sea we moved (shock horror) from Victoria Road. Jacky found it hard to stay in the place - too many memories of Adam. Plus Keegan and his girlfriend were going to be staying with us for some months and Jacky thought we needed more room. Plus the rent was going up at Victoria Rd. Plus the drunken patrons at the Broadway's bars were becoming a pain with extended licensing hours.

Sister snow bunnies

So we moved.

We'd arrived with a suitcase each. Now I had to hire a van to ferry our belongings to the new semi detached house in Western Avenue. Still a great location in
Leigh - close to the train station, nice walk along Marine Parade to the shops, closer to the Hadleigh Castle park. But I missed Victoria Road!

Outside Victoria Road looking up to the Broadway

Sam discharges a snowball...

...but gets back some with interest!

Victoria Road, Jade eats a popsicle and takes
a selfie, while it snows!

Keegan and his girlfriend, Jemma, duly arrived. Together with them, we decided to take a big northern tour of England and Scotland. We'd taken Adam and the girls north before and had loved it so...We hired a van for the six of us and booked hotels and headed off on a road trip, from Leigh to Inverness and back! It was an interesting trip. Keegan and Jemma were not in the best space so there were some difficult, sultry moments.

On our holidays

Nonetheless, Jacky and I loved visiting Culloden in the misty dawn, travelling through the locks down to Glasgow, revisiting Edinburgh and seeing Christine and her family in Bury.

Keegan and Jemma returned to New Zealand and we tried to get back to normal, whatever that is!

In September 2006 Margaret Wilson asked me if I wanted to be seconded to a new academy to help with their leadership problems. I was game, even though it was a bit of a mission to get to Walthamstow from Leigh each day.

With Fran and Lew at Chrsitine's.

It was winter and I had to take the C2C to east London, then a Silver Link train to north London's Blackhorse Road station, then a bus to the school. Phew. All up it took close to 2 hours if the Silver Link was running on time (which it hardly ever was).

Life at the school was interesting - I had some tough jobs to do and I had to teach Geography! The students were mostly from Somalia, Pakistan, or the Caribbean. The Somalian students were pretty battle hardened, being recently in the badlands of Mogadishu. Once they figured out who I was there were no real problems and I enjoyed the experience on the whole. 

Up north with Adam

One of my duties was to oversee the lunch queues into the dining hall. After a few titchy moments of being overrun by them, I learnt some names and made some 'friends' of the tougher kids. Then it went fine. Every day I chatted to the troops, let them in by year groups to the dining room and then, at the end, had my own lunch. By that time it was always some variety of cake drowning in warm custard. YUM. Seriously - it tasted great! After a week the dinner ladies caught on and kept me two portions to enjoy!

Unfortunately, we were a long way from Adam and things back in NZ weren't going well for Keegan so we made the decision to return. Jacky was keen for us to go back to Taranaki, so I applied for the Principal job at Hawera High School (which went to my friend Paul Ryan) and then to Stratford High School via the same recruiting organisation. 

I was shortlisted; got leave for a week from Walthamstow and flew back for the interview.

With Christine in Bury, wearing Tom's jersey

The journey turned into an epic both ways - Heathrow to Auckland/ Auckland to Wanganui (the plane tried twice to land in New Plymouth but couldn't)/ Wanganui to New Plymouth by bus!

Next day I did the interview; got the job; got back on the plane - New Plymouth to Auckland/ Auckland to Heathrow/ train back to Leigh-on-sea/ had a shower/ C2C etc back to Walthamstow.

I was a complete zombie for that week at school but we were buzzing! We (Jade, Samantha, Jacky, Finn and me) were going back to Taranaki for a January 25 2007 start as Principal at Stratford High School.

Love and peace - Wozza

Up in the morning and out to school (Chuck Berry)

Rambling Man (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 10 part 5)

Adam (and Jacky) homeward bound via Kuala Lumpur

Across the road from The Grand was a letting agency. They had a three bed flat about to come on the market in Victoria Road - just off the Broadway.

As soon as I walked into the nearly refurbished semi detached I fell in love with the place. It was wonderful and saved my bacon.

Three bedrooms meant Samantha and Jade shared a room, Adam was next to us. We headed off in our newly bought car (from a local dodgy dealer) to buy some furniture and settled in to our new life.

Fanfa, aka 'cheeky face', at KJS, tie askew

Adam had a job at the pet shop but was still missing home and friends. Jade Samantha and I started at King John School.

We bought their uniform and worried for them, particularly Jade. She had been at a very small rural primary school in Cambridge. Now she was in a brand new uniform at a thousand plus pupil English comprehensive! She was also still sick. Somehow, she survived!

The girls first day at King John School was memorable. Very quickly they saw that their proper use of uniform and Nu Zild accents made them stand out like flashing neon!! They had to adjust quickly to avoid more bullying, uniform became skanked up, Essex girl makeup became a thing for Samantha, classes were very different, lunch was had in a dining hall, and....they thrived, making some tight friends along the way.

The O'Neills with Lewis, SWMBO and Adam

It wasn't long before the girls felt like me - it was a school, a home and a life which we could embrace and love.

For Jacky it was still a struggle and it would never feel right. It took a long time before work in London Hospitals as an agency nurse for Pulse would start. We were a long way from Keegan and her family. She wasn't happy. For Adam it was even worse. He couldn't stay, that became very clear. Jacky would take Adam back to NZ, buy him a car, find somewhere for him to live, and start him at Waikato University. That was all hard for her to do on her own. Somehow she did it all!

O'Neills, SWMBO and Adam at Nana Pat's place in Nu Plimf

The day they left was traumatic for the girls and me. We left them at Heathrow's departure lounge and headed home along the M25. I had that horrible empty feeling in my stomach the whole way and Jade cried non stop for hours. When we got home she ran to Adam's bedroom, fell on his bed and continued to cry!

While Jacky got Adam settled we did our best to survive (we had to ring Jacky in NZ to help us cook a roast chicken which turned out spectacularly badly!).

Finn

When Jacky returned to the UK we had, for us, a long period of normalcy from 2005 to 2006 . The girls and I went to a school we loved, Jacky picked up work in St Thomas', St Marys' and a number of other London hospitals, Jade had Charlie - a hamster, we got Finn, a little Irish terrior. I did my NPQH which is a qualification for headship in the UK and eyed up possible jobs in Scotland and England. But we were now a long way from Keegan, Jacky's family AND Adam.

Love and peace - Wozza