Saturday, November 6

We found a copy of Time Out today on a bench, and took it to add to our little collection. Together they tell some interesting stories.

Time Out comes in two flavours: Time Out DXB, and Time Out Dubai. You pick up the former at the airport as you arrive or leave. It contains a large supplement that lists all the airport shops and services, inflating their descriptions into breathless little articles.

”There’s nothing better than a sweet, cold drink to pick you up, and the Belgian chocolate frostino at Costa Coffee is just what you need.” And so on.

”If you’re from the UK you’ll know this high street classic. Many an al desko lunch has been fuelled by a chicken and avo sandwich from Pret. And it also makes a perfect takeaway sandwich at the airport too. This sandwich is jammed full of the good stuff – roasted chicken, a whole avocado (sliced, of course), mixed salad and basil leaves for a grown-up take. It’s all slathered in the signature yogurt dressing that makes us want more.” And so on.

This freebie borrows a lot of its non-airport content from its paid cousin, Time Out Dubai, as I discovered when I looked though my copies of both.

According to this, and its rival What’s On, life in Dubai consists of eating and “having fun”. And eating and “having fun” come together around the Friday brunches on offer all over the city. What’s On even has a separate pocket guide for brunch lovers although that does not stop the subject featuring heavily in the magazine itself.

We find all this out a day too late, or just in time, depending on your feelings about three hour brunches.