A sad day...

Does anyone remember the picture that advertised the 1991 film Silence of the Lambs where the girl had a moth covering her mouth?  Well I did my own version today when I had a moth land on my glasses and it was in no hurry to find itself a new home!!  I gently persuaded it to move away but only after it had left a right old smear across the lens.

The cats are finding it difficult now that the heat has ramped up - they are constantly looking for somewhere cold to sleep and today Charlie decided to investigate the nice cold tile which is under the wood burning stove.

Currently we keep a basket in there for John to store the fire lighters and matches but Charlie decided that this was in his way so he dragged the basket out and decided to check out the space for size and comfort and wild-life - he had a right old sniff around so I thought there might have been a lizard or mouse already in there but couldn't find anything - thank goodness after our recent encounter with a snake I never know quite what we might find.

After a thorough examination and several circuits of the inside Charlie decided this was the place to spend the remainder of the afternoon and surveyed the lounge with a distinct air of superiority on his face!

It is good to have all the cats around and to know that they are safe and sound.  We are pleased to report that Millie is slowly making progress in the right direction.  Although she still has quite a major issue with her paw she is much brighter and eating and cleaning herself which is good news.  We have breathed a huge sigh of relief and will be even happier tomorrow when John and Susan return and we can hand her care back to them.

It was a sad day in the village today as the funeral was held for Nicos Shiafkalis who drowned last week.  We haven't been able to find out exactly what is supposed to have happened to him save that he went out fishing last weekend and didn't return.  This was so sad as he was a lovely man who, last year, attempted to start an Anglo-Cypriot theatre group in the village.

Diana and I would dutifully turn up to the meetings to support him and as the numbers dwindled his insistence that we should tackle his beloved Lysistrata became stronger and stronger.  With four of us sat round the table, none of whom actually wanted to act, we would ask him how many the play required and he would answer "about 20" convinced that somehow this was not insurmountable!

He will be sadly missed and our thoughts are with his sister Chrysoulla who is unwell herself.  We were due to go to Pissouri this afternoon with Rob and Di to meet up with Bill and Wendy but we rearranged our day to ensure that we paid our respects at his service in the village this afternoon although we chose not to do the bit at the graveside remembering what it had been like at Elena's.

We went to Pissouri much later than we had intended but it wasn't a problem as we joined Wendy and Bill and their friends at O Vrakas Taverna in the square before heading to the Amphitheatre to watch a Fleetwood Mac tribute group called Fleetwood Bac.  It was a lovely evening and the band were really good and I think everyone enjoyed themselves - we certainly did - particularly John who dutifully purchased some raffle tickets for a cat charity and ended up winning some special bottle of vodka which he took great delight in showing everyone.  I like Pissouri Amphitheatre - I don't like Tala so although it was a bit of a drive it was worth it - not least because we got to see Wendy and Bill and we haven't seen them for ages.