Phoning and emailing friends back home to ask about the weather has to be one of the greatest perks of being an expat in Dubai.
Especially if, like me, you are a Brit.
For the British, talking about the weather is akin to a national pastime. We love it. Complete strangers can, and in my experience often do, approach each other to talk about cloud formations, wind and the possibility of the odd ray of sunshine.
So to be able to describe sunshine almost all year round is a real delight. Even when it gets too hot to actually hold a mobile phone to your ear without risking a scorched head.
Making the occasional phone call, just to ‘find out how everybody is doing’, is always that bit more satisfying when done from the beach. Especially if the report comes back that it is wet and miserable back home.
But this week Dubai has had its fair share of torrential downpour.