June 11th...

How often in Cyprus does a workman say he will come at 8.00am and you sit around and wait until at least 10.00am before they pitch up? and sometimes that could even be 10.00am the next day, next week or next month!!  Well our neighbour had workmen due to arrive today at 8.00am and we thought 'really 8.00am???' and we should just have known that it would be our luck and they blinking well did arrive around 8.00am!!!

Our neighbours Gregoris and Theodora have decided to have some work done to their holiday home and have started by tackling the bird problem with new fascias and soffits and guttering which has half-moon bits of aluminium cut to stop the birds getting in and nesting in the roof tiles.  John took it upon himself to become the unappointed project manager and site foreman!

We were fascinated by the machine that was in the back of the van.  It was like a gutter making sausage machine!!!  Haris had a role of aluminium which he fed into the machine and it spat out pre-formed guttering at whatever length was required.  This is presumably the seamless guttering that we have seen advertised around the island.

The cats were non too impressed at having three blokes in the garden that they consider to be their own private playing ground and even worse Chivers pitched up minus his collar.  I can't believe it because he spent most of the night sleeping in the space between my legs and I know damn well that then he was wearing the collar then so where the hell has he been in the interim??

I left John i/c and got myself ready for my busy day.  I was picking up food for Elena and delivering to Coralia then going to Emba for lunch with Mum, playing pickleball, having my hair cut, calling into see Elaine to drop off a duvet and then back home - in the meantime I had had a phonecall from Crafty Jane asking if I could pick up some material for her from George's when I got to Limassol with Frank on Friday and I needed to call in and pick up some money.  It's all go when you are retired I can tell you!!!

My lovely friend Elena was going to visit some specialist in Limassol today so I called in and saw her lovely mum and picked up the food that she needed delivered to Coralia.  From there I went along to Arodes and saw the equally lovely Crafty Jane and got the instructions regarding the material she wanted me to pick up on Friday when I go to Limassol - good news for Jane that the eye hospital where Frank has his check-up is in the same street as George's!

I delivered the food to Coralia and stopped off to take some photographs - this is the location where we used to always take our Boxing Day walk and there was nothing (and I mean nothing) there and now it is all different, however the coastline remains unchanged and is rugged and beautiful.

I arrived in time to have lunch with Mum before we went off to pickleball and with only four of us a hard work-out for an hour and a half.  Our game indoors is so different to when we used to play outside and has become so much more a game of skill and finesse and I love it - I can see that my game has improved immeasurably and it may have taken 50 years but I have finally found a sport that I can truly enjoy.

Mum's neighbour Rosie has given my hair a good trim today - no pictures because she cuts it dry and I like to go home and wash and blow dry it and I haven't done it yet!!!  I can't believe that I have travelled all the way to Cyprus to find a brilliant hairdresser who comes from the West Country and used to cut hair in Sherborne of all places!!!

I was calling in on Elaine and Paul on my way home.  We haven't seen her and Paul for a while and Mum was clearing out in preparation for moving and found a king sized quilt of United States proportions and was giving it away and Elaine wanted it.

I stopped on my way to Akourdaleia at the point where you can see the coast on both sides and took a photograph.  The land is beginning to look a bit parched but is still beautiful in its own way.

Bless Elaine - she got out a packet of choccie biscuits and we sat out on the terrace with a cup of tea and caught up on the goss!!  and bless her even more for the plants she has given me for the garden. 

Apparently she doesn't like red flowers so I have benefited from a lovely red begonia and also from some crocosmia corms which I will need to find a special place for.  I am never too proud to accept something which someone is giving away and my garden will be all the better for it!

On my way back from Akourdaleia I hit the rush-hour as the local goats were herded over the fields.  This goatherd must have had at least six dogs - four adults and two rather scatty pups who were all over the place!

I came home via Arodes because I wanted to come into the top end of the village to drop off Elena's food containers and bumped into Trev and Mark who were liberating some wood from a development on the edge of the village.  If we are cold in the winter we will know where to go!

I found a very tired John just about to open a tinnie on the patio having worked his socks off today sorting out the front gate and building me some shelving.  

We have both agreed we wont need much rocking tonight!