PARAPLEXED

Something has changed at the Paranormal. Friday afternoon was as of old, if slightly quieter, in line with the slightly quieter nature of the rest of Dubai. Speaking of which, there are taxis there for the hailing again, almost like five years ago. So recession isn't all bad. The girls are having to try harder, which can be mildly irritating, if it leads to cling-on behaviour. If the trend is city-wide, the Astonishing must now be positively dangerous. Come to think of it, it always was. But back to the change - in the evening, there's a man on the door taking money. This is outrageous. Forty dirhams for the privilege of buying beer in a room full of 'ladies'. No need to pay of course, but it's the principle.

Last Friday saw a flurry of musical activity in Stufital, which may be repeated this coming Friday. Paraglider and the transitory Mr A overcame all the odds and mobile phones to delight the assembled company with two short sets notable (by the locals) for the total absence of Bob Marley. Then, later, the Mighty Kim went one further by importing an entire fan club for his own most accomplished performance. And all this before the arrival of the official Stufital band. Needless to say, these performances were not witnessed by any banned nationality/gender as sense has yet to prevail in this matter.

Choong's mother is visiting him, from Beijing. His presence in Stufital bar is proof enough that the ban on Chinese doesn't apply to men. But can he bring the old lady (she's 73) in for a quiet drink? Of course your mother is welcome sir! But this raises new questions. The ban can't be simply racist, since Choong is unbanned. And it can't be simply sexist, or there would be no Filipinas allowed. We'd thought it was a simple Boolean AND function: banned if [Chinese AND female]. But Choong's old mama has blown that apart. Maybe the secret algorithm is [Chinese AND female AND NOT old]. Or possibly [Chinese AND female AND fanciable]. Or maybe it's just another example of unthinking reflex reaction. But to what? Such occasional trouble as has occurred in Stufital has never involved the Chinese women. In fact, the most troublesome group is...?