Amongst all the gleaming steel and glass buildings of West Bay, there still much construction going on. However one building has stood forlorn and abandoned since we arrived.

Work stopped on the 22 floor of the Dubai Tower in 2010. It was intended to be the tallest building in Qatar at 400 metres with 90 floors.

In 2005, Dubai International Properties said that it was ‘a project that will be an iconic landmark of Qatar and the region as a whole. Will it ever be finished? I recall someone saying that there were plans to restart the project but as a much shorter structure.

I am not even sure, that if the project had have been completed, that it’s scale was appropriate to the city. But for now, it is a visible victim of the problems that beset the economy in Dubai and an eyesore on the Doha skyline.

There is an extensive range of fast food available within a five minute drive of our apartment.

This morning I took the short drive with my camera and added a batch of new images of many of the fast food restaurants to Flickr. All were taken around the Ramada junction, named after the Ramada hotel (now the Radisson Blu) but nevertheless the name remains… it is also humorously known as ‘Cholesterol Corner’ although I have never heard anyone refer to it in that way.

I also photographed this goat, who is destined to be slow food, sacrificed as an offering during Eid al-Adha, meaning the “feast of the sacrifice. The meat will be distributed amongst family and friends.

There are plenty more fast food outlets which I will add to when I pass by them.

View the fast food photos on Flickr.

Today was the VIP opening of ‘Relics’, the Damien Hirst exhibition held at Alriwaq in Doha.

There was food. Drinks were served in syringes and spherical bowls.

The exhibition showed Hirst’s iconic pieces.

I was prepared to be unimpressed, but there was something compelling about the exhibition and many, if not all of the pieces, on show.

Her Excellency Sheikha Mayassa was there along with Damien Hirst, Naomi Campbell, me and a whole bunch of others.

Postscript… apparently Donatella Versace was also in attendance as was Jeff Koons. I didn’t see the former and wouldn’t have recognised the latter.

While not confined to locals, Qatar, like many parts of the world, has an obesity problem and with it the consequent health issues.

When I add a few pounds or kilos (which I have done since living in Doha) I notice as my clothes become tighter.

Qatari men wear the thobe and women the abaya. Both garments are loose. A few pounds gained will not be noticed as quickly as a tight pair of trousers, unless they have elastic waistbands.

There are swallows flying around the park next to where I work. I guess they’re all on their way south from northern Europe for the Winter.

When I came to get my car to go home this afternoon, I found these two birds sitting on the wing mirror. I think they spend all year in Qatar, not winter migrants… I’m sure someone will tell me what they are?

Although I tried to get a photo of the birds on the car, they flew up onto a duct high up in the car park before I could get the camera turned on.

When I got to the car I saw that they’d used the perch to liberally spread bird sh*t all over the drivers door and wing mirror… so another trip to the car wash tomorrow.