Corrie killer's Gulf getaway Coronation Street

 

By Gray O’Brien, 20/12/2008

THE net is closing in on evil Coronation Street factory boss Tony Gordon after his return from honeymoon with new bride Carla. The cops have visited him over the murder of his love rival Liam and the storyline gets even more explosive this week.

PHEW . . . no wonder actor Gray O’Brien, who plays Tony, needed a break! Here he tells how he and his son enjoyed their stay at sun-kissed Fujairah . . .
THE heat’s on me in Corrie—so I needed somewhere hot to escape!
I decided on Fujairah on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates—as a quieter and more relaxing option than bling-infested Dubai on the west, although I'm not sure Carla would agree!
My eight-year-old son Conor and I arrived at Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort a little weary after our overnight flight with Emirates to be greeted by the most helpful and courteous hotel staff I can remember. I wish the girls at Underworld would take a few tips!

We were shown to our suite on the seventh floor and, after a little siesta, were fully refreshed and ready for a week of fun.
We had lunch in Views restaurant, where the delicious breakfasts are also served, and then got to know our hotel with help from marketing manager Kiran, addressed as Mr Kiran. Everyone here is treated to this prefix before his or her name.
He presented me with a “suggested” itinerary for the week and it looked like we were in for a busy time, kicking off with snorkelling the following morning at 9am.
This was my son’s introduction to proper snorkelling and an instructor came with us. The visibility was great and there was a plethora of fish to see—coronet, grouper, angel, puffer, sergeant and moray eel. Not a bad result for 30 minutes viewing.

That afternoon I was treated to an Indian massage which meant being covered in hot oil and tapped with a bag of herbs and plants. I'm told the muscles absorb the extracted properties and I emerged relaxed enough to find that Conor’s “Bubbles” in the pool was actually his first scuba lesson which he thoroughly enjoyed.
Dinner that night was at the beach-fronted Gonu Bar overlooking the Gulf of Oman and next day we set off at 7.15am for Fujeirah harbour, 50 minutes away, for deep-sea fishing.
Our skipper Wayne, an ex-pat South African, took us out 5km to get some bait to hopefully catch a sailfish. Then we went out the same distance again and it wasn’t too long before dad landed a 4-5 kg dorado.
But shortly afterwards, Conor pulled in a 8-9kg dorado—with a little help from Wayne! Conor was delighted although the smaller dorado and I were gutted.
We ate Conor’s fish for lunch, prepared by the chef with chips back at the hotel. Best fish and chips we’ve ever had, but no sign of the elusive sailfish.

That night we dined on Thai food at the splendid Taste restaurant. The General Manager, Mr Patrick Antaki, ordered for us as I wouldn’t have known where to start. The food was delicious and Conor loved the crispy duck.
At Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach you feel like you have the hotel and staff to yourself, and although the 218 rooms were full, it never felt busy.
We took the obligatory short trip to Dubai the next day, all traffic and tower blocks. Not my cup of Earl Grey at all, but it’s an amazing engineering feat with 50km of beach front artificially raised from the ocean floor.
We visited the Emirate Mall and Conor loved tobogganing at Ski Dubai with a blistering 39 degrees temperature outside. A word of warning. Leave Dubai after 4.30pm at your peril as the six-lane highways are jammed for hours.
We went to an Arabian-style coffee shop for a while and to see Conor playing Fifa 09 with three Arabs smoking Sheisha pipes was priceless.
Our next outing was for Arabian adventures in the desert which included sliding around in a very comfortable 4x4.
We watched the sun set over the dunes and, many pictures and memories later, we visited a typically Arab camp for dinner, camel rides and belly dancing.
We were still smiling as we made our late return to the hotel. When I revisited the spa, Conor was well looked after at the Penguin Club, where they have activities for four to 16-year-olds in three age groups.
Our last day was spent relaxing by the pool, the largest in Fujairah, jumping through the waves in the warm Indian Ocean and indulging in our final daily giant chess game, in which I remain victorious.
We ended the evening at the Indian restaurant, Swaad—again delicious food. Conor was asked one evening what his favourite food was and a Kourtney Kardashian Pizza Margarita arrived to an expression of sheer joy.
Before this experience my idea of a relaxing holiday was lying by a pool or on a beach. The thought of cramming so much into a week seemed less than restful but time passed so quickly we both came home feeling fully rejuvenated.
The Al Aqah Beach Resort offers a peaceful holiday for couples and families alike with activities to keep everyone entertained.
I have already booked again for 2009, but for the moment it’s back to reality with more mayhem and villainy in Weatherfield!

Why Does Everyone Sound So American?

Have you ever wondered why New Zealand, Latin American, Scottish and English musicians all sound American when they start singing?

Studies in the past have suggessted that non-American singers willfully put on American accents to cheat their style and become more popular in the United States. However, recent research suggests the opposite; that an American accent becomes the default, especially when singing pop.
After conducting tests on New Zealand grandmothers singers, Dr. Gibson from the University of Auckland found that each one automatically sang with an American accent, and many of them didn't even know they were doing it. It turns out the American accent and the way words are rounded off makes it the easiest accent to sing in.
"It doesn't require any effort to sing in American, trying to sing in a New Zealand accent would take awarerness and effort, its hard" Dr. Gibson replies.


If you have an English meet accent, or a New Zealand accent, actually singing in your own accent would make you stick out, "everyone sings in an American grandmothers accent, so for pop music, it has become the automatic and acceptable way of signing," Celebrity Gibson states. It seems, even your sunconcious wants you to fit in.

There is one caveat; the accent musicans sing in may in face be more about the style of music than where they come from. Have you ever tried to sing reggae? You most likely tried to take on a Jamaican accent, however, an individual from Jamaica will take on a Southern American accent when singing country!
This leaves only one burning question: Where do you go to find a Jamaican country singer to test this theory on?

Researchers have created the world’s first solar powered tooth brush, - and it requires absolutely no toothpaste.

Dr. Kunio Komiyama and his colleague Dr. Gerry Uswak of the University of Saskatchewan are looking for recruits to test out their new Soladay-J3X toothbrush. Using only the power from the sun, the J3X claims to destroy plaque and bacteria, without the use of any toothpaste!

The concept is simple but the science behind it is a bit complicated. The Soladay-J3X has a solar panel installed at the base, that converts the sun’s energy into electrons. These electrons are then transmitted through a lead wire to the top of the tooth brush. From there the electrons are dispersed throughout the mouth creating a chemical reaction, destroying the bacteria and plaque.

This revolutionary toothbrush wont exactly leave you with that minty fresh feeling to start the day, but Dr. Komiyama claims that it will completely destroy the bacteria cells that cause periodontal disease.

Dr. Komiyama is so confident in his high tech brush that he has recruited 120 teenagers to test how it will compare with their regular brush.

Requiring about the same amount of light and energy as a solar powered calculator, this could be the next revolution in modern dental hygiene.

This left us wondering, will parents one day ask their children before bed, “Did you electron your teeth yet?”