we did something outrageous yesterday. we were outside the mall. it is nice for ben to run around there and see the birds and the water and lots of others doing the same. we take him there regularly. there is grass and steps and some fantastic architecture for skateboarding too - not allowed:( . well, the afternoon drifted into evening and although we had pork defrosting on the bench we through caution to the slight breeze and went to a restaurant instead. spur of the moment. just like that. no second thoughts or regrets. recklessly we ordered grilled chicken and hummous. not only was it delicious it was cheap. ben ate his fill. we ate the rest. to prove it i have added some photos. including one of (get ready) ben eating without a bib. we're crazy (and off to oman this week).

a person with a greater fondness of the cliche than I would name this post 'thatcher' as it would sound clever when the text below describes the iron maiden concert i attended this past weekend. i wasn't the only one. jono rob duncan and thousands of others were there. according to the local press iron maiden lived up to their name. pause. *thinking about a band literally being an iron maiden*. i was rescued from trying to work that out by jenny, my wife, when she said don't they mean lived up to their reputation. she, of course, was right. following this i made a funny myself. i suggested that it would have been a sight to see the band 'in flames' live up to their name. it would have been worth their weight in gold. not only was iron maiden on stage but another ensemble known as the prodigy. they played some nice music as well with lots of loud drums and more than enough bass. it was a fantastic day out in dubai with a group of good friends. fat was chewed. tee shirts were bought and we arrived home close to two ay em still psyched that we'd been to a great show. run to the hills is a sweet little song and bears no resemblence to its cousin, over the hills and far away, although a funny song could be called run to the hills and far away. you could listen to it on an ipod while training for a half marathon. if you had an ipod. they finished with hallowed be thy name bringing the ratio of iron maiden songs that i knew previously to the number they played live in dubai to 1:1. had i taken photos i would be posting them after i hit the publish entry button.