When you are standing on a lawn in shirt sleeves, not even the proximity of Christmas or the bowl of mulled wine on a nearby table brings to mind frosty winds or snow falling snow on snow.
Abu Dhabi in December is hardly a time for wrapping up against the chill, unless you stretch a point and count keeping his and hers accessories, pullover and pashmina, in the office drawers for when the air conditioning reaches shiver level.
Looking at startling blizzard images from home, Neil Vorano, a member of the Canadian contingent in our team preparing a newspaper launch, described himself as "feeling a little wistful".
In Timmins, Northern Ontario, Neil's mother - already concerned lest he should meet "raiders and marauders" on sorties into the desert - may take that as a cue to dispatch a hamper of Maple Leaf goodies, even if it proves impractical to include a few snowballs.
But the rest of us are broadly happy to absorb the sunshine in what everyone tells us is the most glorious period of the Abu Dhabi year.
And that, last night, led us to a jolly evening of carols in the Residence Garden of the British embassy. This fine spot may lack the majesty of the grounds of the British embassy in Paris, with which I became gratefully familiar during my French sojourn.
But it is an oasis of sorts, a corner of tranquillity amid the gleaming skycrapers and incessant bustle of Abu Dhabi life.
The onset of the Eid festival, which brings the place to a pause if not a standstill, added to the sense of occasion. A sizeable crowd of expats gathered in an orderly semi-circle in front of the steps of the ambassador's home and sang their hearts out, led by a lively, bright-eyed choir of cubs and Brownies (click here for another picture of the proceedings).
As Our Man in Abu Dhabi, Edward Oakden, observed, there was something a little incongruous about singing of deep and crisp and even snow on the ground when it was in reality the balmiest of Arabians evening.
The last time I sang Christmas carols outside was half a century ago and thousands of miles away in County Durham. Then I was wearing several layers of clothing, with a scarf tied around my neck, as I went from door to door raising money for refugees from Soviet suppression of the Hungarian revolution.
Winter in England has its charm, and I am sure Neil is right to feel homesick when he reads that 20 inches of snow have fallen in Canada. But I have feeling I shall miss the Gulf variety when I fly home for Christmas later this week.
* Bill Taylor's photograph capturing Toronto during this week's blizzard is from a set that can be seen in full here.
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