A Spot of Culture...

So tonight we were having a cultural evening here in Droushia when we were braving a performance of a classic Greek play at the local amphitheatre!  How much excitement can a girl take I ask myself??? And this is only the beginning as tomorrow we are joining the other 2,000 people that will converge on Droushia to attend the music festival and the headline act that is .... Antepas or Aunty Pasty as John called him!!!

Prior to all this we were catching up on bits and pieces down in Paphos and throwing in lunch and a game with Mum and Dad.  I was in search of the framing shop that Sheila uses for her works of art - it is on the Polis Road and when we found it I was tickled by the sign in the doorway - only in Cyprus!!!  The shop was wide open and so we wandered in and sat down waiting for someone to return - only trouble was we weren't entirely sure when the 10 minutes had started!!  After only a few seconds the proprietor came in - a man I recognised as Fytos who used to be the chef at Rigas's taverna on the Tomb of the Kings Road and who knows Dad and Mum very well.  He is a really nice guy and although he was shutting up shop for two weeks' holiday told me to ring when I am going to be in Paphos and he will come and open up the shop for me.  His prices are very reasonable so if my art continues I am guessing I shall use him quite a bit. 

We managed to get everything done including John taking a look at Eileen's dripping tap which he declared to be 'as slack as a yak!' so hopefully there will be nothing more needed to be done on that score.  It was good to see Mum and Dad and spend a bit of time with them.  We shall see them again for a meal when we go down to Paphos to collect Hazel from the airport.

On our return to Droushia we had to pop down to the Wheelie Smeatons to return the billy big strimmer that we had borrowed and very grateful we were too because it made it so much easier to tidy up our surroundings.  Little Arni is not so little anymore - in fact we think he has trippled in size and looks more and more like an Old English in negative!!  He is a real character and apart from his current inability not to widdle in the kitchen is turning into a lovely pet and fortunately he and their existing dog Rocky seem to get on fine and have sorted out the pecking order between themselves.

Having got ready for our cultural extravaganza we had a bit of a panic just before leaving when something the size of a small jumbo jet got stuck in the conservatory.  It managed to avoid John for a good ten minutes but we were keen to remove it so it wouldn't die or whip the cats up into a frenzy as they tried to catch it.  It was, what is technically termed, a big bugger - you only have to look at the size of it against Johns hand - we didn't hang around for too much of a close inspection having caught it we just got it in the net and got it outside!

On walking down to the Amphitheatre via Mel and Simon's we were joined by Orexi Elena and her indomitable youngest Lola.  I am thrilled that due to a cancellation next Saturday we will be able to take Hazel to eat at Orexi because as a vegetarian I am sure she will be able to sample so really fantastic dishes.  We are tagging onto Mel and Simon's table so thanks for squeezing us in.  Lola kept me company on the amphitheatre wall until boredom got the better of her but as she kept me plied with cheese and onion crisps I am not complaining.

I am guessing that we witnessed the Cypriot equivalent of a Shakespeare play because even if my Greek was fluent the language was ancient so I would have struggled nevertheless.  I am reliably informed that the play was about the Phoenicians - and there seemed to be four gods, a strapping young man in a bin liner and a fat lady.  The fat lady didn't sing but there was an awful lot of weeping and wailing before a very god-like man appeared at the end!  Still we can tick that box now and it is good to see the theatre being used.



Our group retired to the quiet and comfort of Christos's taverna to discuss the evening's events and to enjoy a little nightcap before retiring to bed.  We shall be seeing the Wheelies tomorrow night when they join us and Sheila and Klaus for the festival.  It is all go here I can tell you!!

Bizarrely we got accosted on the way home by a Cypriot Lady who was keen to let us know that God loved us and if we ever wanted a Tupperware party she was our man - or woman!