Oman: The Other Ms

The Other Ms slept in after arriving late last night. I checked their rooms as I was one cat short for breakfast, but Koofi had in fact spent the night trapped under the sofa having discovered a toy mouse while I was looking for my keys last night.

Mrs M Tours began with a relaxing day at the Al Bustan. The reception staff visibly stiffened when the crazy clotted cream lady arrived and the other staff seemed to be on a heightened state of alert. Thankfully, the cream was superb - you could almost hear the sighs of relief. Jamie's first ever attempt to construct a cream scone was rather dismal forcing Mrs M to provide emergency instruction in one of life's essential skills. His parents don't take him out very much, poor thing.

While wandering round the grounds at the end of the tour, we couldn’t help notice the similarity to the Chedi. This was, of course, vehemently denied by our guide. It is very smart. The slightly incongruous yellow bulldozers at the back of the gardens are working on a new Six Senses Spa which will open next year. Let’s hope it looks better than the artist’s impression.Back home, the chaps continued preparations for tomorrow’s camping trip while I worked on (Jamie Oliver’s) lamb kebabs which had been relaxing in the fridge for a few hours. After a brief spell on the coals, they were wrapped in warm tortillas with lettuce, a salad of red onions and coriander massaged with lemon juice, dollops of yoghurt and sprinklings of chili, cumin and olive oil. I say.