Welcome to PARAPLEXED, formerly 'The Paranormal Hotel' and originally 'Helga's Chickens'

Which is, of course, a ridiculous title for a blog. Some history, none of it important (but it is the week between Christmas and New Year): Helga's Chickens was my first Dubai blog. Well, more of a Bur Dubai blog and one that never ventured far beyond Mankhool Road. When all's said and done, chickens don't stray far from the nest, or the yard, more like (unless offered a lift in a quality motor). After a year which saw Helga's slow eclipse by the Moon of China (great stuff this Chivas!) the name changed to The Paranormal Hotel, at once less personal yet more geographically specific. Jings. There was a time (three years ago) when a second blog arose from Helga's ashes, this time called 'Paraplexed'. But it proved too difficult to keep two going in parallel, so Paraplexed was killed off within a year.
And now it's back. It was time for a change. I hope my regular followers will not desert the enterprise. Because whatever else it may be, it is not a sinking ship. It's barely a coracle. Happy New Year, everyone - especially you :)

Origami and the Shape of Things to come

A couple of nights ago, we ended up making paper artefacts from pages torn from a small notepad graciously provided, free of charge, by the Ramada Library bar staff. The word origami was being loosely tossed around, but it's doubtful if any of our offerings really merited the description. We had two sampans, one of which more resembled a soap dish, a suit of clothes (or was it a headless dwarf?), an inflated water bomb and a free-form rose (rolled, not folded, if you please). This was a truly international outburst of creativity, with contributions from Australia, China, Scotland, Wales and Tenerife. Apparently the Library is to close early in the New Year while they replace the opaque windows with a novel see-through variety, and overhaul the air handling system. I'll keep you posted. And not just the Library. The Paranormal Hotel blog will complete December in its present form but start the new year wholly transformed, into. . .