Old Bastakia
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Old Bastakia
He was young, brash and new to Dubai. He owned a paraglider - a Dubai first!
The Young Man found a new friend who owned an old Landrover. Soon the Young Man was soaring high above Dubai's desert dunes towed by his friend's Landrover. Word spread. Manager of Costains newly built Club heard about parascending. He was organising the Club's grand opening. Costain's Club was next to Jumeirah Beach - ideal for parascending. The Young Man could parascend along Jumeirah Beach then descend into the new Club Pool precisely at 3pm next Friday. The Manager thought it was good idea. So did the Young Man.
Next Friday morning the Young Man and his friend made a test run. They were prepared. Each had a Walkie Talkie Radio. The Landrover started at the Beach Palace end of Jumeirah Beach. It was soon speeding along an empty Jumeirah Beach with the Young Man soaring high above. Descent into the Club pool was controlled and accurate. The Manager was happy. The Young Man and his friend were confident.
The Young Man was new to Dubai. He did not know the wind direction changed to onshore after 1pm or that Dubai's population made for Jumeirah Beach around 3pm each Friday. No one told him.
They set up early on Friday afternoon. Just before 3pm the Landrover took off down Jumeirah Beach. The Young Man again soared into the air. But this time the onshore wind blew him inland. The Young Man was now suspended a couple of hundred meters over Jumeirah's Villas. Not a problem. He could deal with that. That is normally he could except this time one of Dubai's many expatriate workers arrived at Jumeirah Beach as he usually did at 3pm on a Friday afternoon.
He rode his motorcycle onto the beach as usual. He did not not expect to meet a Landrover towing a paraglider. But he did. He collided with the towrope. Both motorcycle and Landrover came to an instant halt. The Young Man kept moving - much slower and downwards! He called on his radio for the Landrover to get going. His friend tried but motorcycle and rider were firmly entangled in the towrope. The Landrover couldn't move. The Young Man received the bad news. He accepted the inevitable and prepared himself.
Later from his hospital bed the Young Man said..."I could see the Villas coming at me. I cleared the first Villa in two giant bouncing strides across the roof just like Superman. The next Villa was not so easy. I demolished part of the roof, removed a water tank and collected two TV Aerials. It didn't hurt. I was like a knife going through butter. But I saw the third Villa was going to be a real problem." And it was!
By now the Young Man had lost height and speed. Wrapped in two TV aerials, he flew directly into the side wall of the next Villa. He briefly stuck to the wall then dropped several metres to the ground. He landed next to the Villa's Resident. She was relaxing in her garden chair, reading her library book.
That's when the Young Man got lucky.
The Resident's husband was a Doctor at the nearby Iranian Hospital. She telephoned him. The ambulance arrived in minutes. The Young Man was in the Iranian Hospital receiving treatment soon after. The list of broken bones was long. They took a year to mend and a year and a half before he returned to work.
The Young Man gave up parascending. He took up screen printing Tee Shirts instead - another Dubai first.
There was no prosecution! Surprisingly the Police did not get involved. Imagine explaining the circumstances to a Dubai Court in 1974!
Costain Club has disappeared from Jumeirah Beach - probably demolished to make way for someone's beach house!
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