Howya dooinn,

Joe Abdullagh Baile Buadain Naomh Eanna Abu with some of the craic that happened in the last week.

I started in the Depot in Damamm last Thursday, and this is the biggest of the 5 depots I will be managing.  It has about 55 delivery trucks and they work 7 day deliveries a week. I didn”t realise I”d be managing 5 depots and 277 staff and the role was going to be so big……

Almarai has 7 farms and I was down on one of them last week. It had 12,000 cattle and it was amazing to be driving for about 60 miles into the desert and then come to this oasis or wilderness of grass which is man-made, quite brilliant.

If you were to compare it to somewhere like back home I suppose Leitrim would be the comparison in terms of population but to compare a similarity of what it appears like I suppose the Slieve Russell in Cavan would be the similarity. You know when you are driving up in Cavan and all of a sudden this hotel appears out of nowhere and sticks out just like a diamond in a ……………get my drift.

As some of you may know or not know and I might be revealing too much here but the name on my passport is Seosamh Buckley O” Brien (my grandfather was Joseph Buckley and I was called after him). At home I am only known as Joe but over here you go by whatever is on your passport.

Now Seosamh at home is pronounced Showsive ( but the boys here pronounce their s”s like v”s and their h”s like g”s) and some of the lads over here call you Mr and then your first name, however they pronounce their M”s like L”s.  Instead of calling me MR SHOWSIVE – one man called me Mr. Sausage.

You know the way they say that the difference between men and women is that women need a reason to make love and men only need a place, well now I have both and there”s still no chance of me getting any, fairly similar to going to the Blue or the club.

I”m still looking forward to trying to settle in and  I arrived in Damamm on Paddy”s day and have been in a hotel ever since. I”m going to the compound today – 2 bedrooms and a kitchen, lounge and 2 bathrooms.

The place has all other facilities that you would expect supermarket, restaurant, two swimming pools, gym, squash courts, video shop etc. Its only about 10 minutes drive from the depot which is going to be real handy.

Thank you for your e-mails I really appreciate them when I get them.

Joe