Stormy

Two posts today so read this one and then the one below - just trying to catch up after being away...



Woah woah woah sweet child of mine where the hell did that storm come from???  John and I reckon that last night was the worst storm we have experienced here on the island or anywhere ever to be exact.  We had high winds, thunder, lightening and hail the size of golf balls and it lasted all  night, coming and going.  The electric was on and off, on and off and everytime it happened the pump went in the cupboard in our bedroom waking us up.

The cats were terrified.  Initially Charlie and Minnie were in and Chivers and Boris must have got caught in the middle of it so had sheltered somewhere but then they shot through the catflap wailing and we had to jump out of bed and towel them dry because they were insisting on getting on the bed for some warmth and company.

We haven't had the duvet on the bed for weeks and recently dispensed with the throw but last night found just a sheet was too cold!

We kept hearing strange noises and would have to get up to investigate - we worry about the PV panels - particularly when the massive hailstones were crashing down and we worry about the furniture up on the roof terrace, in fact we worry about everything because on nights like last night we suddenly feel that the house is quite fragile.  In fact as it happens we got off quite lightly.  The rain and hail battered the plants in the garden to the ground which was a shame as they were looking brilliant and some will not survive the battering.  Nothing seemed to get broken and apart from a couple of drips no water came into the conservatory which is such a relief because previously the water used to gush through the front door and we would have to have barricades of towels to stem the flow.

Our friends Sheila and Klaus were not so lucky as it would appear that a power surge has taken out their laptop and PC.  For once we did switch everything off - I lost a phone to a power surge previously.

Needless to say we did not get a good night's sleep!

This was the view as we drove off down to Paphos for John to collect the results from his MRI and to see Dr George about what was to happen next.  It was grey and wet and all the shit had been dragged down off the fields and was lying in the roads.  John picked up his MRI file complete with CD and explanation and handed over €300 which seemed pretty reasonable to me not to mention quick.  Dr George peered closely at the results and read the report and explained to John that it would appear that he is suffering from an injury to his knee-cap which would have been some time ago and as a result the knee-cap itself isn't sitting comfortably in its recess and so moves and chafes which causes the pain and the inflammation.  The good news is that with targeted physio and some special supplements which include rose-hip and some special gel John should be able to strengthen the supporting muscles sufficiently to hold the knee-cap in place - well that's how I understood it.  Even better news is that John made an appointment to see Marios the physio in Polis straight away and Marios confirmed that the exercises John had been doing are the correct ones so John does not need to pay for further physio sessions.  He has to rest the knee in terms of sport but not in terms of physio and then John has to go back in around 10 days to see how he is progressing.  So nothing to pay Marios and so far we have paid nothing to Dr George.  John is feeling much happier to have had a proper investigation and a proper explanation and a path to recovery which does not involve surgery but may in the worst case involve an injection.  He says that his knee has felt better since the MRI and Dr George says he isn't the first person to have said that - maybe it is something to do with the magnetic fields.

We have friends who arrived last night for a three month stay in Polemi - fortunately they arrived before the storm started but they must have wondered what they were coming to!  Still they were stationed over here years ago so may remember weather like that when they were here before.

Kim had asked me to keep an eye out for a beer called Warsteiner - not one I was familiar with so I had mailed Athos at the Beer Seller and he confirmed that he stocked that particular brand and in particular the one which is truly non-alcoholic.  Blow me if we weren't in Paps waiting for Marios the physio to open up after lunch and I spotted the exact beer on sale and on offer - I took a picture and sent it to her to make absolutely sure and then when she confirmed it was correct we cleared the shelves - sadly that was only 7 bottles but we were so pleased to have found what she wanted.

We shall be catching up with her and Steve over a quick coffee on Thursday and then will do so at leisure when I return from my trip to the UK.  So pleased that they made it and so pleased that the cottage Kim found on the internet is a beautiful in real life as it looked in the pictures.  She says it is idyllic - high praise indeed.

Just want to give a shout out to the bloody marvelous UPS man who came today.  When we returned from Polis and John's trip to Marios I checked the emails and found one from the UPS head office to say there was a parcel on the way to us and I had to ring to arrange its delivery.  Our house is so hard to find that I normally speak to the UPS man and get him to deliver to the Droushia Heights and then I go and pick up the parcel.  So I rang the office which I think is in Limassol and the woman took my phone number and said the UPS man would ring me tomorrow (which was going to be a little awkward because we were going to Pissouri to return Bill and Wendy's car) and would arrange the delivery.  I said to John I would just have to ask him to leave the parcel at the Hotel like normal.  At this point we could hear a vehicle outside sort of revving and reversing so John went out to investigate and my phone started ringing.  On answering the caller said he was from UPS and he thought he was on our estate!  John was out at the road and sure enough there was a van outside and it was UPS so my parcel was delivered there and then.  How was that for service - 24 hours earlier than planned and to the door without asking for directions.