Having swapped rural life in the cold and bleak north-east coast of Scotland for the sun-bleached shores of the UAE, some might think former farmer Sandy Stirling would be experiencing both a climate and culture shock. However, the big man from the stormy fields of Arbikie Farm, just outside Arbroath, Angus, is thriving. He works across the emirates as business development manager for commercial fit-out company The Interiors Group, though he still retains a little piece of his farming home with the car he drives: a Land Rover LR3 V8.
My Car: First-hand accounts of life behind the wheel
Whether they're off-roaders or family transports, vehicles in the Emirates inspire plenty of passion in their owners.
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Stirling bought the LR3 for reliability and safety, rather than passion, as his heart lies with something sportier (his favourite car is an Aston Martin). "We have offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, so I need a reliable 4x4 with good visibility for the commute. I'd much rather have something smaller, but I feel it's too dangerous here," he says. "I guess my choice in some ways reflects my 12 years farming. I grew up with Land Rovers and Range Rovers, but also surrounded by sports cars my dad wouldn't let me drive, including a Lotus and a 5.3L Daimler Vanden Plas V12, which went like a bomb."
As it transpires, Stirling's father had good reason to keep his son away from his favourite toys, as Stirling wrote off two cars on his first journey after being handed his licence. "I passed my test and borrowed my eldest brother's car to drive out of the farm on my first solo run," he recalls. "I pulled out from a junction located near a bad corner in the road where we used to bring the cows in from the fields for milking. A car came around the corner at the worst time and I jammed on the brakes but it skidded across the wet road and careered into the oncoming car, smashing a huge 'V' in the front of it and leaving both vehicles beyond repair. Fortunately, the other driver was on the farm hoping to sell something to my dad and he didn't call the police. In the end it was an accident - no one was hurt and my father sorted everything out financially as part of the deal. Really, I believe he bailed me out as he found it so funny."
The gregarious 39-year old sports enthusiast isn't overly impressed by the proliferation of supercars on the UAE roads, having grown up driving Dh2 million vehicles on his father's farm. "I used to operate combine harvesters, which really are incredible machines - just imagine having such valuable vehicles sitting unused the entire year, to be brought out only once during the harvest. It's comparable to owning two Ferraris and only using them for six weeks of the year," he laughs. "The only problem was that I would sometimes work from 7am until 3am the next day in order to get the crops cut - staying awake was a real test of character," he adds.
You would think the UAE, with its excellent off-road driving, would be the perfect terrain for a man from farming stock - who used to milk 250 cows at 3am to cover his staff's holidays and who grew 30,000 tonnes of crops each year - to put an LR3 through its paces. However, when asked whether he takes it off-road, he replies with his quick wit: "Why would I take her off road? I'm Sandy enough."
Stirling proceeds to explain the roughest treatment his LR3 receives is when he throws his sweaty rugby gear in the back. "I love playing rugby and it's the most brutal sport I have played. I even have one international cap for rugby - turning out for Turks and Caicos, which is in the Bahamas, when we played against the US rugby team in Fort Lauderdale.
"My brother was living over there and, basically, I left Glasgow at 10 degrees Celsius to visit him and, the next day, I was playing at 33 degrees and 80 per cent humidity as they were short of players," he proudly announces.
It's likely this burly, ex-farming salesman could talk his way into just about any team.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312
MATHC INFO
England 19 (Try: Tuilagi; Cons: Farrell; Pens: Ford (4)
New Zealand 7 (Try: Savea; Con: Mo'unga)
RESULTS
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m
Winner: Lady Parma, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m
Winner: Tabernas, Connor Beasley, Ahmed bin Harmash.
2.45pm: Handicap Dh95,000 1,200m
Winner: Night Castle, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh120,000 1,400m
Winner: Mystique Moon, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Mutawakked, Szczepan Mazur, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner: Tafaakhor, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner: Cranesbill, Fabrice Veron, Erwan Charpy.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The 24-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).
Standby player: Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC).
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
