Frescobol
On South American beaches, everyone plays Frescobol, and Brazil's best bats are these. Hand-carved from five pieces of off-cut local wood glued together into a rough rectangle, the bats are machine-finished so they taper, sandpapered for perfect smoothness and finally varnished for resistance to the sea, sand and sun.
£110 (Dh660) for two bats and balls from One&Only The Palm, Dubai, or from FBCollection (www.fbcollection.com; 00 44 207 736 2866).
Firebox Bladefish Seajet
Powerful but lightweight, this hand-held underwater scooter will, admittedly, take up rather a lot of space in your case. When you're speeding along in the water and laughing hysterically, however, you're unlikely to regret that you've been unable to pack anything else. Hours of fun guaranteed.
£399 (Dh2,340) from Gift Library (www.gift-library.com; 00 44 203 080 0530).
Sevylor Sirocco KCC 335 kayak
Once you've spent an hour or two messing around in a kayak, you'll wonder what on earth you did before when you went to the beach. Lightweight and inflatable, this is strictly one for staying close to shore, though.
£299.95 (Dh1,802) from Decathlon (www.decathlon.com) at Mirdif City Centre, Dubai.
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
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Thanksgiving meals to try
World Cut Steakhouse, Habtoor Palace Hotel, Dubai. On Thursday evening, head chef Diego Solis will be serving a high-end sounding four-course meal that features chestnut veloute with smoked duck breast, turkey roulade accompanied by winter vegetables and foie gras and pecan pie, cranberry compote and popcorn ice cream.
Jones the Grocer, various locations across the UAE. Jones’s take-home holiday menu delivers on the favourites: whole roast turkeys, an array of accompaniments (duck fat roast potatoes, sausages wrapped in beef bacon, honey-glazed parsnips and carrots) and more, as well as festive food platters, canapes and both apple and pumpkin pies.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, The Address Hotel, Dubai. This New Orleans-style restaurant is keen to take the stress out of entertaining, so until December 25 you can order a full seasonal meal from its Takeaway Turkey Feast menu, which features turkey, homemade gravy and a selection of sides – think green beans with almond flakes, roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole and bread stuffing – to pick up and eat at home.
The Mattar Farm Kitchen, Dubai. From now until Christmas, Hattem Mattar and his team will be producing game- changing smoked turkeys that you can enjoy at home over the festive period.
Nolu’s, The Galleria Mall, Maryah Island Abu Dhabi. With much of the menu focused on a California inspired “farm to table” approach (with Afghani influence), it only seems right that Nolu’s will be serving their take on the Thanksgiving spread, with a brunch at the Downtown location from 12pm to 4pm on Friday.
