A couple of weeks ago I received the contract with the Museum of Islamic Art and yesterday got the visa confirmation which will allow me to work in Qatar. So it’s taken around 7 months since I was offered the job and another two months before I depart for Doha.

I resigned from my web manager post with Hampshire County Council having worked there, in various museum and web posts, for over 25 years. Clicking the send button for the resignation email was a satisfying but slightly scary moment.

Next steps will be to rent out the house in the UK, pack up what we need, store some and get rid of the rest, and sort out some legal and tax stuff.