There is something redemptive about notebooks.
I don't mean jot pads or journals. I mean those amply illustrated records of existence that I have kept religiously for some five years now, using not only the widest range of writing and drawing implements imaginable but plentiful amounts of double-sided tape as well.
These books contain all kinds of things besides writing and illustrations: photos, bills, stickers, real and reproduced artworks, clippings, postcards, letters, printouts of web pages and miniature copies of newspaper and magazine articles, little paper pockets housing secret messages... anything that might serve as a reminder of a particular state of being, especially one induced by a journey, so long as the memento is sufficiently two-dimensional to rest comfortably between the covers of a book.
Post-modern illustrated manuscripts recalling the great Perso-Mongol tradition in which the visual, calligraphic and literary arts combine, my notebooks contain a symbolic portrait of the world around me - one that suggests, falsely, that I am able to hold on to what happens to me and somehow keep it alive. But since I seldom actually look at one once I am done with it, it seems they are less about posterity than a deeper need.
Too many times, by now, people have observed me, totally absorbed in one of those time-proof creations - with scissors, tape and countless bits and bobs finding their way in and out of the book - and they have remarked with varying degrees of conviction that I have a problem.
"It's just not normal," my best friend once broke out, "the amount of time you spend on those things."
I had to tell him that I was hurt by the fact that he of all people should not understand. Now, I know I have many problems - it would surprise me, too, if I was to discover that I am totally normal - but notebooks are certainly not one of those problems. And as far as normality goes, they have been more of a help than an obstacle. In some ways, indeed, the amount of time I spend on notebooks has functioned like therapy or sport - endorphins of the mind.
I started keeping them following the death of my father. I had entered into an existential black hole in which everything seemed so pointlessly fleeting, so scary and absurd that I could only get a grip by restricting my consciousness to an A5 sheet of paper. But as I got over my grief and life started making sense again, I could not let go of the practise. Yes, OK, I am addicted to notebooks...
Sometimes I wonder if it will be they who will vouch for me before God on the day of judgement, displaying ample proof that, whatever else I ended up doing, I really did mean well.
Results
5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions Dh90,000 2,200m
Winner: Mudaarab, Jim Crowley (jockey), Erwan Charpy (trainer).
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh70,000 1,400m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Hassan Al Hammadi.
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Salima Al Reef, Jesus Rosales, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Bainoona, Ricardo Iacopini, Eric Lemartinel.
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige Dh125,000 1,600m
Winner: Assyad, Victoria Larsen, Eric Lemartinel.
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1 Dh5,000,000 1,600m
Winner: Mashhur Al Khalediah, Jean-Bernard Eyquem, Phillip Collington.
RESULTS
Bantamweight title:
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) bt Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
(KO round 2)
Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
(TKO round 1)
Middleweight:
Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
(TKO round 1)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) bt Joachim Tollefsen (DEN)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 68kg:
Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
(TKO round 3)
Lightweight:
Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 58kg:
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
(Submission round 2)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
(Split decision)
Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
(TKO round 1)
Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
(Submission round 1)
Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
(Unanimous decision)
Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
(TKO)
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
All the Money in the World
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Charlie Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer
Four stars
The years Ramadan fell in May
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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TALE OF THE TAPE
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