Trip to Aberdeen

With its consecutive growth in the number of passengers that pass through each year, my mum and I landed in Aberdeen International Airport to be greeted by my brother, one of the many who live in the third most populous city in Scotland. 

A beautiful coastline and a bustling city centre are only two of the reasons why Aberdeen is such a wonderful city to visit ... as well as my brother living there of course!

Its striking granite architecture gives reason to the nicknames: Granite City, the Grey City and also the Silver City, as the buildings sparkle due to their high mica mineral contents. The city holds an insightful history and displays a wide selection in arts and culture. Since the 1970’s discovery of North Sea oil, another nickname which Aberdeen has been given is the Oil Capital of Europe or the Energy Capital of Europe. 

Walking and exploring being two of our favourite things to do, my mum and me discovered places in Aberdeen which were marvellous to see whilst my brother was at work. We visited the Central Library with its amazing architecture, as well as Aberdeen Art Gallery, where we were in for a fabulous treat; the House of Annie Lennox exhibition was open for the public to see. I can remember how wonderful it was with the setup of her colourful and creative costumes from videos such as Walking on Broken Glass and Little Bird, Annie’s sentimental memorabilia and awards; all of which paid tribute to the creativity, style and passion which she pours into her work. 

One day during our wonderful summer stay in Aberdeen, my brother took us to Ballater, a beautiful burgh in Aberdeenshire which is located on the River Dee, east of the Cairngorm Mountains. 

Ideal for walking, hiking and mountain biking, Ballater is such a gorgeous spot to visit, especially when the weather turns out to be as glorious as it was for us on that particular day. 

 

On mountain bikes, we took an amazing route through Ballater and being confident in our abilities, we crossed over into the forest. Going deeper into the splendiferous undergrowth of green lushness and smelling the pine scent from the trees as we passed on vehicles consisting of a light frame mounted on two wire-spoke wheels one behind the other; bikes of course, the sound of animals around us and crackling of branches beneath us was simply splendid.

The sunlight was breaking through the branches, and we settled to have our picnic near a lake within the forest. After our tasty picnic, we continued to cycle through the forest.

My brother explained when to use the brakes and which way to turn when going down slopes, and so, having grasped the knack, my mum went after my brother down this steep rocky slope, and cleared it. So I went straight after her, and knowing me, I had to head straight for a massive rock, boulder, whatever it was, and flipped over, falling on stones. But it was as if I went in slow motion, knowing I shouldn’t have headed for the only big rock there was, screaming whilst I did so. My mum turned round when successfully reaching the bottom, but due to the screaming she heard from me, continued into a little stream with her bike. She was tangled with the bike on top of her leg, so it was a matter of urgency to get up and fish her out. The handlebars on my mum’s bike had a clump of grass from the bank of the stream; funny to see but sore nonetheless. 

 




Despite the bruises and cuts, we continued to cycle further and back along the beautiful River Dee.  

Another day we travelled to Stonehaven, yet another beautiful town in Aberdeenshire. My brother took us on a fabulously stunning walk to Dunnottar Castle, 3 kilometres south of Stonehaven. It’s a ruined medieval fortress on the north-east coast of Scotland that towers above the ground on a rocky cliff and spreads across 3.5 acres of land. The Castle was spectacular to see, as well as the stunning views around. 

50 metres below the Castle, we sat on the white sandy beach enjoying our picnic, listening to the clashing waves next to us and admired how breathtaking the Castle looked up on the cliff. 

My brother took us to Tropeiro, a Brazilian restaurant based on a ‘Rodizio’ concept, a Brazilian style steakhouse. Their mouth-watering meats are cooked on an open fire and carved at the tableside, and with the vast choice of meats, it was lovely to enjoy the variety on offer. However, there were baby lamb’s hearts and other strange but exotic meat to choose from. Every time the baby lamb hearts came round, we all mentioned Mary had a little lamb, the poor lamb, haha! It goes without saying, we declined the offer of it. 

One particular night after dining in Tropeiro, we went to the cinema to watch ‘Brave’, a computer-animated fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. Being set in Scotland, it seemed apt to watch the film in Aberdeen, and with a voice cast including Julie Walters, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson, to name a few, it was a great film to see. 

The B&B we stayed in was just wonderful. A massive TV came in handy to watch some of the 2012 Olympics, as well as a full cooked breakfast, freshly cooked ... simply fabulous every morning. 

To summarize our visit to Aberdeen, I’d have to say we had such a splendid stay and explored wonderful places thanks to our brilliant tour guide, my brother.   

Weekend back home

I’m on the train back to Carlisle and have had a wonderful weekend visiting my grandma and grandad back home.

Although only for the weekend, we had such a wonderful time together and it was a great break from university.

I only realised just how much I had actually missed them when saying bye to my grandma at home and bye to my grandad at the train station.

My eyes started to fill up in the car and so I decided to look out of the window. It wouldn’t be too long until I would see them again and so, bearing this in mind, I sat on the train looking out at the beautiful scenery and admired the countryside as we passed it by.

Well, getting back to my weekend with my grandparents ... I felt like I’d gone back to childhood and so many happy memories came flooding back as soon as I stepped inside their house.

Their house has that homely feel where grandma and grandad will always be ... Grandma busying around cleaning and cooking, doing all what a grandma does; whilst grandad’s either outside gardening or in his garage making birdhouses and nesting boxes, which are always made to perfection.

Their house has that smell and warmth which I associate with them, even down to the clocks which chime hourly and play beautiful songs. 

Simply spending time with them and seeing their faces light up when they told me stories from years ago was wonderful. Grandma told me about dinner dances they both went to and about trips she’d been on including an organised coach one to the location of Last of the Summer Wine. She was describing the Church and Cathedral where she visited and how stunning they were. 

Sitting around the dining table for lunch and dinner was like olden times when my mum, brother and I used to stay with them during the summer holidays. We used to wait for the sound of the ice-cream van after dinner, and jump up to bring five ice creams in by my brother and me, every one of them, a 99 Flake ice cream; our favourite! 

Seeing my grandparents was, as you can gather, so enjoyable I didn’t want to leave. I know I’m 21 now but I still miss my family and always will miss being younger when we were all together. Now we’re spread across the world. I miss my mum particularly because we do everything together, and some days I just wish I could go back to childhood and not have to grow up any more. 

As the train approached my stop, Carlisle, I stopped daydreaming, reminiscing and decided to pull myself together once again. Being greeted off the train by my house friends was great and so we walked through the snow, or the storm, with hope in our hearts that we’ll never walk alone!

Your Abu Dhabi

Your Abu Dhabi

Rosina Kermani

Rosina Kermani is 20 years old and has moved to England to study BA Hons Journalism at the University of Cumbria. 
She moved to Abu Dhabi in 1995 with her Mum, Dad and brother, left in 2005, then returned in 2009. She’s carrying out a work placement with the Abu Dhabi Week Magazine and is really enjoying the experience she is gaining. 

• The weather: Unlike the UK where it rains nearly constantly, Abu Dhabi offers beautiful sunshine all year round. Other than the annoyance of the humidity, the sun is absolutely wonderful and cheers you up, and at the same time is healthy for our skin; soaking the sun up for Vitamin D.

• Multi-cultural: Growing up in Abu Dhabi has been an amazing experience. I know that I have grown into the person I am today, thanks to the vast array of opportunities which Abu Dhabi has provided me with. The diversity of religions and nationalities, as well as the chance to mix with individuals of several cultures, has been beneficial in the line of work I am training in.  

•  Family place: As the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi has always seemed family-orientated to my family and me. The numerous activities on offer for all age ranges, and most importantly, the way in which families can spend time together, definitely summarizes the happiness Abu Dhabi has brought to me!

• The relaxed atmosphere: The way in which Abu Dhabi and its people are so very relaxed and laid-back is brilliant, as this has proved less stressful. As a family, we like to chill out too, and Abu Dhabi is perfect for doing just that. My first camel ride, dune bashing in the desert, as well as camping under the stars, have all contributed to me loving Abu Dhabi.

• Concerts: Many singers have performed in Abu Dhabi, and I have enjoyed seeing nearly all of them. The way Abu Dhabi continually grows on an international scale attracts big names, such as Aerosmith, Alicia Keys, George Michael and Coldplay, to name but a few. I can’t wait to see Madonna in June at Yas arena. ... I’m sure she’ll be a ‘Beautiful Stranger’ in Abu Dhabi and like me, come to love it!   

Abu Dhabi Week Magazine

During the hot, beautiful summer of 2012, I carried out a work placement with the Abu Dhabi Week Magazine in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi.

Having organised this work placement through email correspondence with the Editors of the publication, I was excited to embark on this journey, one which turned out to be invaluable.

Living in Abu Dhabi for most of my life, I have had wonderful experiences growing up, all of which I feel have shaped me into the person I am today. My work placement with the AD Week has been one of the several amazing opportunities I’ve had, and due to organisational skills, I was able to carry this out for a month with the magazine; Turret Media’s premier consumer publication, now the best distributed publication in the capital. 

Anyway, during my placement, not only did I carry out many interviews and get several by-lines in the magazines, I also travelled to locations including Yas Island and a beauty salon.

My placement gave me the opportunity to develop upon journalistic skills, and because of this and other things I’ve done, my drive to seek out a story, interview people and to write, have all proved beneficial and have greatly helped me along my learning curve into becoming the successful journalist I aim to be. 

Many of my articles were published, and they can be viewed on my clippings.me website: 

Rosina Kermani's clippings.me website

You can read some of my following posts to see what I got up to during my work placement abroad. Working within a busy, bustling newsroom was simply brilliant, and then going out on the job was, well, fabulous! The travel involved in this work placement included me travelling to Abu Dhabi, and then out many times for reporting, using my Teeline Shorthand to help; interviewees were impressed with my ability to do so. 

Being able to put what I’d learnt into practice when setting up the A-master layout, on the computer programme, In-Design, for the AD Week’s new publication, Traveller, really impressed the Editors. 

My work placement with the Abu Dhabi Week was such a worthwhile experience which I’ll never forget as a journalist.