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A grand day out

2nd January 2009 by Helena 2 Comments  

""Can you believe it? We got home to Abu Dhabi after a long and rather hellish journey and headed straight off to a tennis tournament. Not just any tennis tournament. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in ONE AFTERNOON This is the tennis equivalent of buying a Chanel and a Fendi bag in one lunch-break. Or driving to work in a Ferrari and home from work in a Porsche.

We were three rows from the court. I could see the ginger hairs on Andy Murray’s legs. And Federer’s rose gold Rolex and elegant hands. And the outline of the underpants that seem to cause Rafa such discomfort. It was incredible. And the tennis wasn’t bad either. Although I am sad to say the Mozart of tennis, Federer, lost to the young Scot. Tomorrow is the final between the Scot and Rafa, which should be good. Whatever else it is free (The National is a sponsor), there is no problem parking, no chance of rain and it is three minutes from home. What’s not to like?

I say home, of course I mean home in Abu Dhabi. The children told me today home is Sainte Cecile. They are right of course. Although I am happy to report that they, us, are not unhappy to be back at this home where the sun is shining and the tennis is grand.

Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2009


Filed Under: Abu Dhabi, Sport, blog --> Tagged With: grand

2 thoughts on A grand day out

  • mimi says:
    2nd January 2009 at 11:49 pm

    Ah good, was wondering whether you’d go back at all! I suppose everywhere has it’s plus points, and of course it’s downside. Enjoy the tennis andthe sun, it’s freezing cold here in Dublin. Happy New Year, mimi

  • Catherine says:
    5th January 2009 at 11:39 am

    Hi Helena, wanted to show my hubby your farmhouse rental but when I clicked on the picture link (top right) it did not work. please could you advise if this is still available for this purpose.
    Thanks, Cat.

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Helena Frith Powell was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Italian father, but grew up mainly in England. She is the author of eleven books, translated into several languages including Chinese and Russian. She wrote the French Mistress column The Sunday Times about life in France for several years. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Tatler Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.

Helena has been the editor of four magazines, including M Magazine, a supplement for the Abu Dhabi-based National Newspaper and FIVE, a high-end fashion glossy, also published in Abu Dhabi. Helena was also editor-in-chief of 360 Life, a quarterly glossy magazine published with the Sports 360 Newspaper in Dubai, part of the Chalhoub Group.

Helena contributes regularly to UK-based newspapers and magazines and holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. She is working on a thriller set in Sweden as well as a novel about the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield called Sense of an Echo.

In 2022 her short story The Japanese Gardener came second in the Fish Publishing Short Story Prize. One of her stories was also shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize. When she’s not writing, she works as a headhunter for the media and entertainment industry for the Sucherman Group. 

Helena, who was educated at Durham University, lives in the Languedoc region of France with her husband Rupert and their three children.

Bibliography

More France Please, we’re British; Gibson Square 2004

Two Lipsticks and a Lover 2005; Gibson Square (hardback)

All You Need to be Impossibly French; (US version of above) Penguin 2006

Two Lipsticks and a Lover; Arrow Books (paperback) 2007

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (hardback) 2006

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (paperback) 2007

So Chic! (French version of Two Lipsticks) Leduc Editions 2008 (also translated into Chinese, Russian and Thai)

More, More France; Gibson Square 2009

To Hell in High Heels; Arrow Books 2009 (also translated into Polish)

The Viva Mayr Diet; Harper Collins 2009

Love in a Warm Climate; Gibson Square 2011

The Ex-Factor; Gibson Square 2013

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles; Gibson Square 2016

The Arnolfini Marriage; Amazon Kindle December 2016

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles (paperback); Gibson Square spring 2018

The Longest Night; Gibson Square spring 2019

 

 

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