Ten years is a long time to wait for your favourite sandwich store to open. In that time, my children have grown from babies to pre-teens, I’ve seen friends come and go, we’ve moved house several times, I’ve gone back to work, and, if I look in the mirror, I see that a few more fine lines and sets of crow’s feet have made an appearance on my face. I certainly don’t remember inviting those bad-boys to the party.

Anyway … finally, the day arrived – Pret A Manger opened in Dubai, in a place I can visit without a boarding pass. You see, in 2016, the sandwich chain did a rather cruel thing – they opened a store at the airport’s Terminal 1, making their sandwiches, toasties, treats and organic coffees available only to travellers using that particular terminal (which happens to not be the Emirates terminal). I almost travelled on another budget airline deliberately just to grab a Pret at Terminal 1.

With that store unreachable, I instead made do with begging the pilot husband to bring me back sandwiches every time he passed through Heathrow. This was a good stop-gap arrangement, and my heart soared every time I opened the fridge and saw that my favourite tuna and cucumber baguette had arrived overnight.

Now. Wooohooo! All I have to do is go down the road, to Dubai Mall, where the newly opened Pret is located on the ground floor, with its famous star sign, chrome furniture and freshly prepared offerings – just like in London. Happy days!

See you there for lunch!