Friday March 22nd

The car was not ready this morning as we had hoped so we decided to go back home and make sure that the cats were OK and then go back to Kissonerga this afternoon providing the car was ready.  We worry about the cats when we leave them but when we arrived back home they were both there in the conservatory waiting to be fed.  We realised that Minnie Mou had lost her collar which meant that she had been unable to get into the kitchen so she was rather miffed with us - so miffed that she gave us a right old run round when we tried to put on new collar on her. 

John was due to play badminton today and as usual I went to do our shopping.  I had tried to get money out of the Co-op cashpoint in Peyia to no avail and the one in Polis was also empty as were the bars and cafes in the square - it was such a beautiful warm morning as well - it is a shame.  I headed off to Paps to stock up on as much as I could although we are limited to space in the fridge and freezer - still tinned foods are a good standby - plus I needed to make sure I had food for the cats.  Paps were still taking a card for payment but I had enough cash and we aren't exactly sure what the balance is on our accounts at the moment - fairly low as we have tried to remove as much as we have been allowed.  The waiting game as to what the future holds is beginning to drag on and take its toll.  Everytime we seem to be given a deadline for a decision it comes and goes without resolution.  We are unable to pay the deposits on the holiday accommodation for John's family and to be honest at the moment we wonder what they will find if and when they come in August.  It is all very worrying.

John did not stay too long at badminton as we had a call to say that the car would be ready for us to collect after lunch.  We left a warm but hazy Polis and as we climbed the hill the weather began to deteriorate so that we encountered rolling mists and very very strong winds - soon to be followed by heavy rain, thunder, lightening and a power cut.

As we made our way to pick up the car and came down from the hills the weather began to improve but if you tried to look back at where we had just come from it was as black as your hat - the weather was certainly reflecting the mood of the island.  Grey and unsettled.

There must be money in running a garage if the car outside is anything to go by - either that or someone couldn't pay their bill and left the car instead!  We had not been lucky with the fuel gauge as apparently there are three options depending on the model of CRV and ours was the most expensive option - hence a part had had to come via Akis taxi and hence the delay in getting it fixed.  

We set off back home along Banana Bay where the palm trees were getting a right old buffeting and the seas were very choppy indeed.  John swung by Peyia to make sure the car was topped right up as they had lost a little fuel when they had to take the tank out.  We are being advised to keep the cars topped up as much as possible and most of the garages are taking cash only.

We had electricity off and on when we got home and we had to run round and batten down the hatches making sure that the outside furniture would not get blown away or do any damage.  We were in for a rough night.

Thursday 21st March...

There are two posts to read today because yesterday's disappeared into the ether!

The strange bird with the strange call is one of a pair it would seem and they manage to keep just far enough out of camera shot for us to get a clear picture so that we can identify exactly what they are.  Dad seems to think they might be something called a Shrike but further investigation on the internet does not show a Shrike as being as large as these birds which are just slightly smaller than a magpie and which when flying have a similar shape with a very long tail.  No doubt someone will identify what it is and let us know.

We were off down to Emba today via the banks to try and get some cash out if we could and via Kissonerga to drop the car off for repair.  We are hopeful that the longtime over revving issue might be sorted by having some butterfly valve cleaned and after an off roading trip with Dad when a clunk resulted in us having no fuel gauge we needed to have that fixed as well.  We were also calling in to see Eileen who has had an on-going issue with a tap in her kitchen.  I also had to take our trusty laptop in for repair as I kept getting a Microsoft warning telling me that the hard disk was failing - this would account for the fact that it was running like a dog then!

Would you believe it but the minute John started to sort out the tap issue the water was switched off so it was impossible to tell whether or not there was still a drip.  There was clearly a problem with the seals, filters and probably a new tap was in order but John was going to try the seals first and promised to go off to Nikkonikos to see if they have the requisite parts.

After a brief spot of lunch with Mum and Dad, Mum and I set off for pickleball.  Mum hadn't expected to return to play until next week but being short in numbers as Vicki was poorly decided to give it a go and actually did very well.  John swung by to come and watch us at the new venue and to give us a lift back to Mums.  We were staying the night as we were hopeful that the car would be ready to pick up in the morning - then we could give back the white CRV kindly lent to us by Mum and Dad.

We had not been able to catch up with Melanie, Simon and Jasmine the last time they were (briefly) up in Droushia.  Our plans to meet for coffee had been scuppered by the announcement of the bank levy.  So when John saw Melanie today she invited us round for coffee and a catch up.

Jasmine is growing fast and has recently celebrated her half birthday.  To begin with she looked very much like Simon and then more like Melanie and now she looks like a little girl in her own right.

John is quite happy to entertain her now that she no longer has a floppy head - he doesn't do floppy heads!  Whatever it is that he is doing to capture her attention has also attracted Hector!

Melanie had made the most scrumptious carrot cake and I have to admit to having to have two pieces just to make sure that the second was as lovely as the first.  I shall have to get the recipe from her.

Simon and Mel have a budgie which I think is called Gemma - they inherited it from a friend who left Gemma with them when she left the Island.  Gemma is quite clearly a Daddy's girl and spent her time out of the cage either on Simon's shoulder or his head.  Poor Simon got a head of baby sick when he was bouncing Jasmine around and then got a head of budgie poo!

We left them too it hoping that we will be able to meet up in Droushia soon and under less stressful circumstances.  I then went round to visit Mum's other neighbour Rosie and have arranged that, all things being equal she will give me hair a cut next Thursday if I go down to pickleball.  So much will rest on whether we can get money and whether we can still get petrol.

An evening in with Mum and Dad with a meal, a game of noms and an episode or two of Dinner Ladies restored a feeling of some normality.

Wednesday 20th March...

It was a big day for 'Pullover Boy' as his back seems to have healed sufficiently for him to dispense with his designer knitwear.

He does still scratch but so far not enough to do too much damage and we were concerned because today he started doing that panting that he does and we thought he might be boiling alive.

We shall have to keep an eye on his back because if we are not careful he could well end up with sunburn before the fur grows back.

He seemed relieved and has been a good boy so far.  John is also relieved as his supply of ankle socks was becoming very depleted! we just thank our lucky stars that it was Chivers that had the problem and not greasy pig Minnie - can you imagine trying to put a jumper on her?  It is bad enough doing the spots on her chin you would think we were skinning her alive the amount of noise she makes - if she would only just realise that we were trying to help her and not hurt her.

We have a strange bird flying around in the field next door - it makes the sound something like a cross between a magpie and a kookaburra and managed to fly just out of camera range - even with the big lens on I have struggled to pick it out.  I think it looks like a bird of prey and the picture doesn't quite show the bright yellow ruff around its neck - John seems to think it is some sort of cockatiel but this picture would not bare out that theory.  There seems to be two of them at times so perhaps it is some sort of migratory visitor nesting here for the spring.

John, Running John and Trevor went off today as hunter gatherers to see if there was much 'free' wood washed up on the beaches having seen quite a bit when we went beach cleaning on Sunday.

I stayed at home to try and give the kitchen its first coat of paint. Covering over the nicotine coloured layer of mould prevention treatment is proving to be tricky plus I struggled to reach the ceiling in places where I had to stand on the steps and not the work surface so it all looked a bit messy.  John seems to think that several coats will do it so we are just going to have to persevere.

I kept an eye on the time as I had arranged to go down to Running Susan's to take a look at her laptop to see why she isn't able to play the episodes of Stella I have given her.  She and John have settled down on several occasions - full of anticipation only to be disappointed.  I have a feeling that they are only missing a programme to enable them to play the files.

It was glorious down at John and Susan's - their garden is looking lovely even though they are situated on quite an exposed plot.  Susan was out taking advantage of the lovely spring sunshine.  She had very kindly photocopied the rice recipe which she had made the other evening when we went for a meal and another one which she said was always a sure fired winner so I will be giving both a go at some point.

I loaded up VLC and got Stella working complete with subtitles which will please John as he is a little hard of hearing.  I had noticed a strange toolbar when I accessed the internet but thought nothing more of it as I know they have some strange system with accessing the internet via satellite as they do not have a land line.  I really should have asked Susan about it there and then because later on in the day I had a frantic call from her to say the toolbar seemed to be taking over her laptop and they could no longer access their system properly.  This necessitated a second trip later in the day but fortunately I was able to sort it and get things back to normal including leaving it so that Stella would work.

The hunter gatherer boys returned from a successful wood foraging trip with plans to return again as soon as possible and in several cars to maximize the effort.  If we are to be living in the middle ages if the bailout does not materialise then at least we wont be cold or we can use it as a bartering tool.

We had to say goodbye to Sean and Sharon today.  They are returning to the UK after a pretty exciting week for them - I don't suppose they expected to find themselves caught up in such chaos.

When we went round Sean was stripping the tree of oranges for me - freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast then!  He looks like he had been out in the sun a bit too long today and will go home glowing either that or the colour is reflecting off of his not so conservative shorts!

Later on he pitched up with my Waitrose home delivery - the contents of their fridge for which we are always very grateful.  Strawberries and cream for pudding tonight then - thanks xx

We are hoping that they will be out again shortly - of course a lot will depend upon whether or not this government can get its act together and whether the bailout comes through.  We are all living in a bit of limbo at the moment.

Someone who is really going to miss Sean and Sharon is Fluffer who makes herself very much at home with them when they are here.  She was in the garden today having found a bed for herself in the chimney of Sean's barbeque.  No doubt she will wander back round to us for her breakfast once she realises that they have gone back home.

Tuesday March 19th...

We held our breath today awaiting a vote by the Cyprus Government regarding the levy and the bailout.  Rumours abounded that the levy might be raised but then only imposed on accounts holding more than €100,000 or that there would be no levy on accounts up to €20,000 and then the original figures would apply at the end of the day not a single member of the parliament voted for the haircut.  This leaves the island in complete disarray with bankruptcy looming if a satisfactory way out cannot be reached and soon.  The banks remain closed although the cashpoints are still giving money.  John says that he walked straight up to the cashpoint at the Alpha Bank and that there were only a few people waiting at the Bank of Cyprus machine - the ATM for the Co-Op was also available.  Panic does not seem to have set in - at least not up here at the moment.

There is nothing for it but to continue as normal and we had earmarked today and tomorrow for DIY as I can no longer stand the kitchen ceiling looking like we have smoked 100 woodbines a day since we came here.  The protective paint we bought from Maria has given a rather nasty brown/orange finish to the paintwork and the sooner that goes the better.  However, as the protection is against a re-occurrence of mould (which is an occupational hazard in Cyprus) we had decided to give the ceiling another coat just as belt and braces.  It has a strong smell and in a confined space needs a day when the doors and windows can be opened.

Pullover Boy has found the big hole that John recently dug in the garden when he was trying to ascertain whether or not there were foundations under the boundary wall.  We have decided that we are going to get a nice big plant to go in there so in the meantime the hole has remained untouched.  Now that Chivers has found it we are going to have to cover it over because he likes soil and he particularly likes fresh soil and he particularly likes fresh soil because it provides him with a nice new toilet!

We decided to be nice neighbours and tackle Gregoris's front and side garden whilst we had Al's petrol strimmer to hand.  The weeds have gone completely out of hand and the fragrant rose geranium is ready for a haircut and then a trip down to Caroline at the Herb Garden so she can dry it for her Happy Tea.  The estate looks so much better when the gardens are tidy but with the empty houses we are fighting a losing battle.  I would have thought that with the current economic situation here nothing is likely to happen to them for some time if ever.

We went round to Arodes this afternoon as the lovely Mark had managed to secure us a villa for Janice, Mick and the family.  We wanted to have a quick look round and take some photographs so that they could see what we were booking for them.  The villa needs a little titivating (Mark is on the case) and the furniture needs to be set out as if someone is living there but other than that it is absolutely ideal and we can't thank him enough for sorting this out for us - this is one less thing to worry about.

Jane and Trevor still have chickens although only four of the original birds remain.  They are not prolific layers but you have to think that having started out their lives as poor old battery hens at least they are ending their days in a much better environment.

We went out for a meal this evening with our neighbours Sharon and Sean.  Unbelievably this is their last night in Droushia as they go back home tomorrow - where on earth has their week gone?  We decided to go to Yianni's in Kathikas for three reasons.  First of all we like the taverna, the food and Yianni, secondly Sharon is a vegetarian and Yianni has a reasonable selection of vegetarian dishes, one of which, green eggs, is a particular favourite of mine and in the past Sharon and I have shared a plate and thirdly I wanted to book the next ladies lunch there. We had a lovely meal and I have to thank Sharon and Sean for treating us - we certainly weren't expecting that - it is our turn next time.

We had hoped that the Cyprus bailout might have taken a step closer to resolution but the proposed levy was chucked out by parliament which means that we are in the shit basically.

Monday March 18th - Green Monday...

Today in Cyprus it was Green Monday or 'Clean' Monday.  The common term for this day 'Clean Monday' refers to the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods and normally would see  Cypriots out in force having a picnic, partying and flying kites. Today however, is more like Black Monday as the fall-out from the deposit haircut announcement at the weekend rumbles on.  It is a Bank Holiday today normally but it is reported that the banks will remain closed tomorrow and Wednesday to avoid a run on them whilst the government tries to sort out what it is going to do.  On the one hand the economy is in the shit, on the other it seems rather unfair that the ordinary man or woman in the street is having their hard earned savings plundered in such a way.  We await a parliamentary vote tomorrow to ratify the haircut - one which looks unlikely to get approved and if it is not then the alternative could mean the island will go bankrupt - where that would leave us I have no idea.

I walked down to Sheila and Klaus's this morning.  They have been poorly again and last week Art was cancelled.  It was nice to leave behind the doom and gloom of the news and get on with my picture.  It is now more than half done which means that I am shortly going to have to find my next subject!  Sheila seems to have just about got over her bad chest but poor Klaus has put his back out from too much coughing.  We whiled away a companionable morning and topped it off with one of Klaus's wonderful lunches before I walked back home enjoying some very pleasant sunshine.

When I got home John had gone off to Badminton - the times have changed now and the club session is 12.00 - 2.00 so it means that I don't go down and do my shopping and hang around waiting for him to finish which is better for me as I can get on with something until he returns and we still get some of the afternoon together.

Chivers (Pullover Boy) was out fishing - he had caught a skink and let it go and the poor thing had run down into one of the holes where the pool steps are normally fitted.  The steps are out of the water at the moment it being too cold to swim - they only go green if they are left in there over the winter.

Chivers was determined to get the lizard who must have been terrified to see his big old boxing glove of a paw bearing down through the gap and so probably died of fright or exhaustion - I moved Chivs away but couldn't see it so maybe it had been lucky enough to find a way out and made its escape.

I busied myself in the kitchen waiting for John to return home.  We were having Crafty Jane and Mark around for a meal as we had not seen them for a while and wanted to hear about their ski-ing holiday.

John came home via Latchi as I had asked him to go and take some photographs of the 'celebrations' if there were any.  I had received a text message from Orexi Elena to say that there was music and dancing so it seemed like people were determined to enjoy their bank holiday whatever the circumstances.

We got the house tidy and cosy in readiness for our visitors.  We thought it might well be the last time we light the wood burner this winter as the days are getting considerably warmer although if we get clear skies in the evening the temperatures can still plummet to single figures.  Trevor the table has been put away in the shed and replaced with our Kenya Card table courtesy of Frank.  This gives us much more room to spread out.

It was good to see Jane and Mark - they certainly seemed to have had a good holiday even though Jane is wearing the bruises to prove it.  It is always a pleasure cooking for Mark because he enjoys his food - my tarragon and orange chicken seemed to go down well and Jane kindly brought fresh strawberries and some clotted cream - clotted cream - blimey that is like gold dust around here!

We are hopeful that Mark may well have some news regarding a holiday villa for John's sister Janice and family.  If we don't manage to find somewhere for them soon it is going to be very cosy at Villa 10B!

Sunday - ACT Beach Clean...

Apologies as my email/skype/blog laptop has died and so I have had to pinch another laptop for the blog and I keep forgetting to post the posts

The weather forecast for today had been quite poor and it was the fourth ACT clean up scheduled to take place along the Akamas coastline.  Elaine and Paul were coming and because they are posh and have a Volvo which can't off road they were slumming it with John and I in our ropey old CRV.  We were being followed to the venue by Running John and Susan because if you are going to get lost it is better to get lost as a group methinks.  Trevor and Vicki and Crafty Jane were making their own way from Pano Arodes.

The day didn't start out anything like as wet as predicted so I checked with our illustrious leader Keith that we were still on and it was Plan A which was confirmed so Elaine and Paul got to ours in time for a cuppa before Running John and Susan arrived.

We had decided to take the route which we knew best and which may not have been the quickest or shortest but which ensured that we did not get lost - it took us through some stunning countryside with flocks of sheep (strange looking as they are) but took us almost an hour to reach our destination with some pretty dodgy pot holes to negotiate.

When we arrived the other members of the ACT team were already hard at it.  Crafty Jane said they had been their ages!  It was surprising bright and sunny but the wind was keen.  Elaine is sporting a very nifty thermal Scandinavian hat to keep her ears warm!

The piles of rubbish soon began to accummulate - all the usual subjects but this time they were joined by packet upon packet of unopened and waterlogged cigarettes - a dodgy consignment that had been lobbed over the side I would reckon!  Plastic is the bane of our lives but even that seems to age harden and disintegrate after a while, polystyrene doesn't and long lengths of black plastic piping neither.

Still within a few hours the stretch of beach was unrecognisable as the shit tip it had been on arrival.  Those with plenty of room on board - or who like Trevor had packed a chain saw - took advantage of the wide range of wood that had been washed up - some rather wetter than others but all of which will be burnable in the end.

We are joined on the beach clean by a number of dogs.  In general dogs are not allowed on Cyprus beaches - in fact I think there are only about four which are designated as being available for dogs.  This is probably because of the few irresponsible dog owners who spoil it for those who take great care with their pets.

The beach clean gives the dogs, like Murphy, an opportunity to run free and relatively out of danger - although there can be all sorts of issues on a beach - broken glass, syringes etc to name a few.

Murphy seemed to really enjoy himself running in and out of the sea and fetching pebble after pebble.  He must have really appreciated the opportunity to be out without his muzzle - a necessary evil if you are going to try and stop him getting into contact with poison over here unfortunately.

As we were going down to Emba for tea we did not hang around too long and made our way back to Droushia with Runnign John and Susan following us all the way.  For once we did not get lost - hurrah!!!

Having said goodbye to all and tidied ourselves up and fed the cats we made our way to Mum and Dad's where we enjoyed a lovely meal, played a game of Noms and generally discussed the implications of the impending depositor levy.  Mum seems to be recovering well from her carpal tunnel operation and Dad is making progress with his sciatica although going walking yesterday had aggravated it a little.  They are both excited that my sister Kaye and brother in law Richard are coming over for a week in the summer.

On the subject of my sister - the photograph is of lovely brooch she bought me for my birthday from her favourite internet jewelry supplier called PIA.  It is lovely and I am looking forward to an occasion when I can wear it.

On our return from Emba we called in quickly to see Sean and Sharon as Sean had a red wine he anted John to try.  We cannot believe that they are more than half way through their week and before we know it they will be gone again.

Saturday March 16th - The Storm...

After a rather boozy evening (not for me as I was driving) which led John to sing "Sunshine, you are my Sunshine" in his sleep and caused me to retire to the sofa on the lounge for some peace and quiet I woke early to stormy skies.

Little did we know quite what a storm was brewing.

Our friends Simon and Mel and baby Jasmine were due to come up today and we had hoped to catch them for a coffee but Simon text early to say that they had been forced to change their plans in view of the bail out announcement.

Not having anticipated anything of that nature and certainly not on a Saturday we had not looked at the news but rushed to get our laptop fired up to read what was unfolding and were gobsmacked to learn that the depositor haircut that everyone had thought was unthinkable was going to go ahead and that each and every depositor in a Cyprus bank was to be affected.

To say it was a grey day was an understatement - our moods were as black as the clouds outside.  Although we do not currently hold a huge amount of money in a Cyprus bank what is there is our hard earned money and we had plans for it other than to help out the incompetents that had got the island into this mess.  The only thing that can be said is that at this stage is that it looks like everyone is going to be treated in the same painful way.

Apparently bank accounts are frozen at the moment so that people cannot transfer out their cash nor that there can be a run on the banks.

This has been cleverly done on a weekend when the following Monday is a bank holiday (Green Monday) so that it can be delivered as a fait accompli with the levy being removed from the accounts before the banks reopen for business again.  As you can imagine people are in uproar and we are going to be in for a rocky ride.  Once the island has to start selling off some of its privatised industries we are envisaging some civil unrest.  Thank god we live in the hills.

John was off to football this afternoon with Trevor and Running John.  It was the last game of the season for Ayia Marina and next season they will be playing up a division so there was quite some excitement surrounding the game.

As John waited for Trevor and Running John to arrive he sat reading the tablet watching the news unfold.  The storm clouds had begun to lift and it looked like the boys would be able to enjoy the game without getting soaked to the skin.  Even Trevor was sensible enough to wear shoes and long trousers instead of his usual shorts and flip-flops - perhaps his blood is thinning after two months over here!

The boys set off for the football and Vicki stayed behind with me and waited for me to finish my ironing (yes Mum you have read that correctly I was ironing) before we decided to go for a little walk around the village as Vicki needed to get some milk and Panicos was bound to be open.

We took the long route going out of the estate and up the new road.  As we were about to turn up the new road Galadia and George stopped to have a chat.  They are up from Nicosia for the weekend although not staying for Green Monday.  It was nice to seem them both - it seems a long time since they were all up here.

On the way round the village and just past the new Cheese factory we were greeted by four little puppies that seemed to be living under a container.  There was bedding for them so I guess someone knew about them and was looking after them - they were not entirely scared of us but would only come so far and then retreat.  We thought we should kidnap one of them as a present for Running John and Susan as they are now considering whether or not to have a dog having really really enjoyed looking after Rocky and Arni for Helen and Al.

On our return to the villa I worked on my mosaic project and gave Vicki some mosaic tiles and a piece of glass so that she could have a go.  She decided upon a plaque of three beach huts.  I have decided to mosaic the lazy Susan mum gave me.  It came with some ceramic dishes that fitted on the top for nibbles but one or two were a little chipped so I removed them and made a design up for the base which I will grout when I have finished.

We had been invited for a beer and a curry around at Running John and Susan's after the football.  It was obviously a curry weekend!!  We had a lovely lovely evening and Susan had cooked some lovely food.  I over indulged on the rice dish which was just so delicious and apparently Susan told me that Vicki couldn't sleep because she had eaten too much!

Friday March 15th - the lull before the storm...

As I am writing this post retrospectively I can quite rightly say that Friday was the calm before the storm that erupted all over Cyprus and filtered out across Europe and the rest of the World with the bail out announcement that was to come tomorrow morning.  As I write this we are holding our breaths as to what the Cypriot parliament will decide and hopefully by the time you read this some calm will be restored.

Today was, even by Cypriot standards, remarkably warm for this time of year and we were contemplating clearing out the wood burner and just relying on the gas fire from now on.  Looking back on the blog I know that we continued to light fires until the end of March so this is a really positive thing and we have burned nowhere near as much wood this winter as we did the last.  

Bright sunny and warm mornings make you feel so much more like doing things and so we have decided that next week we will start some of the spring DIY tasks that we have been putting off.  Chivers did not join in with that conversation - preferring to settle on our bed in a spot where the sun was shining through and John wrapped him up in a pair of bed shorts calling him our 'caped crusader'.  Chivers was not phased by this at all and remained in that position snoozing for the whole of the morning.

We were off down into Polis this morning to check out the C&A apartments for a second time, for John to play badders, for me to do the shopping and return Helen and Al's keys but before we set off I took a turn round the garden as everyday something else seems to have sprung into life.  Although a lot of people consider the wild garlic to be a horrible and smelly weed you cannot deny that the flowering head is pretty and  I only have a little in the front garden which I am able to keep under control.  The little bits of orange flowering succulent that I pinched from Helen and Al's seems to have taken and is in the trough in front of the mirror under the pergola.  Apparently it doesn't flower for long so I will make the most of it.

We had a visitor in the garden this morning - Buster.  This is the cat that Irene is hoping will settle up here along with the other cats she feeds on a regular basis.  We think he must have belonged to someone previously as he is relatively approachable and having been done doesn't seem to pose a threat to either Chivers or Minnie.  He is a bit of a gentle giant as he is a huge and solid cat - I know because I had him sitting on my lap at one point!

During the day he stayed around the garden but was quite desperate to come indoors and would stare through the glass looking longingly at us.  Unfortunately we were later to find out that once there was no-one at home he set off and managed to find his way back to Irene's - we have told her to try him back here again because with Sharon and Sean here on holiday there will be more than one house with someone around who will make a fuss of him and speak to him.  She can but try - unless anyone reading this would like to give a home to him in which case please let me know.

We went off down to Polis and managed to have another look around the C&A apartments and the studio which is available for the time when John's mum and step father want to visit.  Because of the bathroom requirements this really is their best option as the whole place has been designed with a wheelchair user in mind.  It is functional because it has to be and so there are no frills - having said that the family which run it could not be nicer.

We have reported back to John's Mum and they have decided to go for it and so they are off to book their flights over the weekend.  We have provisionally made a booking and once the flights are confirmed will be able to go and pay the deposit.  They are excited and so are we.

Whilst John was playing badminton I did the bit of shopping I wanted - looking back I probably should have done a mega shop as I had forgotten that it was a bank holiday on Monday and as it has transpired Tuesday and Wednesday are going to be treated as bank holidays as well while the island sorts itself out.  I called into Helen and Al's to return their key and to catch up with them and hear about their holiday.  They have both come back feeling poorly with dreaded sore throats and coughs.

The beautiful day gave way to a cool evening with a rolling mist coming across the fields.  We were out tonight having been invited to Trevor and Vicki's for our first Trevor Curry.  I was a duffer as I had removed the SD card from the camera to send the photographs of C&A to John's mum and forgot to put it back so was unable to take any shots Chez Hazzell where we enjoyed a very pleasant evening together with their neighbours Phil and Barbara.  There was some loud but good natured banter surrounding the Senior Service there being a representative from the Navy, Army and RAF around the table - as John said - don't make me print it out!  But if you are in any doubt Wikipedia says ...

...The Royal Navy (RN) is the principal naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Tracing its origins to the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service. 

Thursday March 14th...

We had a full day organised for today which meant an early start.  Lending a helping hand at Akourdalia, deciphering the map from Savvas (he could learn a thing or two from Keith Watkins I can tell you) so we could get the tracking done, DIY shopping at SuperHome Centre then pickleball for me and John helping Mum and Dad to clear Frank's loft.

It was a truly beautiful morning - the rolling mists last night were not heralding anything untoward thank goodness so we were up and at 'em the Mighty Chatham before the crack of sparrows and on the road in good time to fit everything in - map reading permitting!

The sunshine was showing off Elaine's garden to its best and she has a wonderful display of freesias just at the front door - I am reminded that these are John's mum's favourites and their smell a favourite of mine too.  

I think that Elaine's garden is more sheltered than ours in Droushia and she has some stunning plants that I would love to grow but would probably be wasting my money but it did make me want to fit in a quick visit to the London Supermarket as we were on our way down the Mesoghi Avenue.

Elaine is very excited that her goldfish have risen from their winter slumbers.  She said that they are named after friends of hers which made me wonder about the one called Tom Jones it also made me wonder how Dill and Dom are getting on in their new Dorset home with the Allans.

The Lodge (the name of Elaine and Paul's house) has a magnificent setting with views to die for.  Straight out the back beyond the swimming pool are mountains and in the far distance today you could see the snow settled on the mountains that are in Turkey.  The Lodge and its gardens are filled with all sorts of interesting bits and pieces from Elaine and Paul's travels and I just love the Buddha overseeing the swimming pool.

You will never believe it but we managed to find the garage from that scrappy old map - more by luck than judgment I would say although John would argue he had it covered all the time!  I have never ever been to a garage that was so clean and tidy and organised or met a mechanic that was so clean and tidy and organised as he worked quietly and methodically to realign our grossly out of line wheels - John  reckons they had probably been like that for months and it was no wonder the last lot of tyres didn't last long.

We managed to get away and get to SuperHome Centre and exchange the shower hose that I had bought last week and got the wrong one, we also managed to get some paint so we can freshen up the kitchen and then begin the lounge.  We also managed a quick look round the London Supermarket and found some handsome plants that fired our imagination so John and I are going to do some planning in the garden!

We swung by Emba to have lunch with Mum and Dad.  Mum has had the heavy strapping removed from her hand which has relieved the swelling and made things much easier for her.  She is hopeful that the stitches will go soon and then before we know it she will be back thrashing all and sundry on the pickleball court.

On that subject we had a good old workout today.  Tom has returned after cracking his ribs - he is still a bit careful but glad to be back.  Trevor came with Vicki to make the number up and we had some hard, fast and competitive games.  We are making good inroads into paying Tom back for the equipment that we had to purchase when we moved from the Imperial Beach hotel.  Tom is pleased that at last we seem to have a steady group of six for each of the weekly sessions.  Time will tell whether or not we can play right through the summer as we have no idea how hot it will get in the room or whether the ceiling fans will make the ball deviate too much but we will give it a go!

On my way back home I realised that, as I was borrowing Mum and Dad's CRV, I had no house keys so until John returned I was going to have to twiddle my thumbs.  As I got to Kathikas Mum text to say that John was on his way home so I knew I wouldn't have too long to wait.

There is a new kid on the block and he is a handsome fella.  Welcome Buster, a neutered Tom who had befriended Irene.  Unable to house any more cats at hers she has looked after him and then asked if he could be brought up round here so that he might be fed along with the other ferals that are around.  Having met him we think he must have belonged to someone at some point as he is quite friendly and I have been able to sit and give him a stroke.

Buster has already encountered Minnie Mou and Chivers.  Minnie Mou did her normal 'stiff ignoring' but Chivers was unconcerned even when Buster tried to get into the garden.  In fact at one point it sounded like Chivers was trying to call Buster to play.

Buster found his way to our front door and sat on the door mat calling us.  He did not seem desperate to come indoors but wanted to be close.  I noticed that he had dirt around his eyes so was just sitting down to clean them when our friends and neighbours Sharon and Sean arrived with their tale of woe about getting over here.

Apparently Sean had everything straight in his mind and they set off in good time only for him to realise he was heading for Luton and they were flying from Stanstead.  The head gasket went on his car and they had to pay through the nose for a taxi to get them to the airport where they arrived as the gate was shutting, had to pay another £100 for their already paid for and checked in cases from which the airport removed all sorts of stuff, but thankfully not my essence of cinnamon!  

It could only happen to them!