Monday February 4th...

An absolutely glorious start to the week saw a strange phenomenon out to sea with a thin line of cloud sitting on top of the mountains in Turkey and a clear division between the mountains and the horizon.  It is the first time that I have seen this demarcation so clearly.  You can often think you can see the mountains but can never be quite sure where the sea and the land meet.  It must have been like a millpond on the coast as there was no evidence of any waves.

Dad returned to us this morning having had a weekend back down in Emba - he visited his friend Frank on Friday and then walked around Yiallos on Saturday.  He arrived with a limp and said that he had been woken with bad pain in his hip.  Not his standard arthritic pain either and we thought he had probably got a trapped nerve or something.  This is not good.  My medicine cabinet is a bit like the Marie Celeste but I did find some Nurofen and gave he a couple of those.  We will need to keep an eye on how it manifests itself - he looked pretty much in agony.

It was a truly spring-like day today and I am thrilled that some of the 50c Gazania plants I put in last year have not only survived the winter but are blooming again.  This striped one was a particular favourite with large flowers and bright colouring.  There are also a number of little seedlings that have also survived so hopefully I will have an even better display this year than last.

Only last week I took photographs of the Troodos mountains with a fair amount of snow on them but today there is but a mere smattering and if the temperatures remain like this for a couple of days it will probably be gone completely.  

Last year when Vicki came out in February and stayed with us whilst Trev was working in Nicosia we contemplated going up to the Troodos but didn't because there was too much snow!

I didn't go to Art today as I thought it would be nice to spend the whole day with Dad.  I am glad that I made that decision particularly as he wasn't feeling too good.  He could at least settle down in the warmth of the conservatory and hopefully this would help ease the pain a little - that and the Nurofen!!

Whilst we were waiting for Dad to arrive Stelios who had been overseeing the works in the field next door pitched up with a man and woman who were looking at the plots.  We had seen these two before - in fact John had tried to put them off by doing some manic chain-sawing - a feat he could not repeat this morning because his chainsaw is awaiting a new part.  We keep hoping and praying that the economic climate will put people off building in the field but we are never that lucky.  They made a bee-line for the plot directly in front of our house - typical!  John was out in the garden staring at them purposefully but Stelios kept on striding right up to our boundary.  "These are your neighbours" he declared and my heart sank - "These are your neighbours" he declared "because they own the whole development and have come to see the work I have had done".  Apparently the owners were having a look round before returning to wherever it is they live - the wife sounded decidedly English and was called Louise but the husband was clearly a Cypriot but with very little trace of an accent from anywhere when he spoke English so maybe Australia or South Africa who knows?  Anyway both he and Stelios wanted to thank John for the phone call he had made the other week when he saw a digger pinching some topsoil and undermining the new road that Stelios had just had completed.  Apparently there will be some beer coming John's way - gold plated we trust as the man told us that he was a millionaire!  Had John been quick enough he said he should have asked for the plot in front of ours rather than some poxy old beers!

So this is a picture of John and Dad surveying the plots and you can see from the way Dad is standing that his hip is giving him gyp - anyway the plots are quite strange as they are not a regular size and shape and do not face down to the sea but at an angle towards the road - if they ever do build on them then some of them are going to have some very interesting garden shapes - particularly if they do angle the properties to look down to the sea. 

As part of Trev and Vix unpacking they had come across the old scratching post/bed that belonged to their two cats Milo and Merlin.  Trev and Vix had made the agonising decision not to bring the two cats but have homed them with Vix sister Tracey.  Bearing in mind all the dangers that face pets over here it probably was the right decision - both John and I have said never again particularly after Chivers most recent bout of illness.  Anyway the point is that John had repaired and modified the scratching post/bed this morning in the hopes that the cats would adopt it and would refrain from scratching the new furniture and my poor curtains.  Chivers was the first to give it a go - not seen him scratching on it yet but we are hopeful.

Minnie eventually made her way onto their new toy but resolutely kept her back turned as I tried to take her photograph - little minx!

John went off to badminton and Dad and I went down to Polis to get some shopping in - probably not the best idea for Dad but he did say that walking didn't aggravate his hip any more than sitting down did.

News from Polis is that unfortunately the GB shop has been closed.  This has come as no real surprise as there was no new stock since before Christmas but is a bit of a shame because (a) there were a few things in there that I couldn't get elsewhere in Polis, (b) Chivers loved the cheapo Winston Tuna and Crab cat food, (c) there is now even less competition in Polis - Paps and E&S if E&S manage to survive whilst the major works are being carried out making it impossible to park near it (plus it is a drab shop anyway) and (d) this has put Sara and Trish out of work.

In Paps there were more staff than customers this afternoon which again is a bit worrying particularly if you listen to the gloom and doom merchants talking about Cyprus's future or lack of it if they cannot agree on a workable bailout.  Still there is little that we can do about it so we just go about our daily lives and have our fingers crossed that sense will prevail.

A glorious day turned into a glorious evening with skies that seem to hold the promise of another lovely day tomorrow.

John saw both Running John and Susan this afternoon so we know that they arrived back from the UK safe and sound.

After a bouncing shower and a nice hot meal we settled down to catch up on the TV series Mr Selfridge which we all enjoyed and which Mum will have to watch when she returns from her travels.  

We dosed Dad up with the hopes that he would have a decent night's sleep and feel better tomorrow - fingers crossed.