Day 21...

John and I are smarting a bit this evening.  Having been outside most of the day up in Droushia we hadnt realised how fierce the sun can be or how much clearer it is than in Paphos so we have some interesting white bits!!!  John looks like he is still wearing flip flops even when he has taken them off and I have some seriously peculiar strap marks.

We didnt intend to do much today as we were meeting Hils and Keith and eight of the other band members at Cristos's Taverna (our local) for a late lunch.

A couple of year's ago when our friends and ex-neighbours Helen and Pete came to stay in the Villa we started to mark out our boundary from the vineyard with some green 'stuff' (not sure what it is called).  Today we decided to complete the job having purchased the 'stuff' last week.  We had a further 18 metres of boundary to complete and we needed to make sure it was all secured properly to make sure it could withstand any winds.  The original 'stuff' still looks pretty good so we must have made a reasonable job the first time.  The only trouble is that the elements have bleached the original 'stuff' so the new looks very green indeed!  Being very English I cant get used to no boundaries so I feel much better about having got this job completed - the only trouble is it took us a good two or so hours in the heat of the sun.

John had some sanding down to do and some touching up with paint in the lounge so whilst he did that I went to clear our neighbours drive which adjoins ours and was making the place look untidy.  I cant believe how much the bloody weeds grow without any help whatsoever - in the end I needed John and the machete to make a difference.  Dad tells me that the lizard that kept me company yesterday was in fact a snake-eyed Skink and very beautiful it was too.  No sign of it today just a very very large black beetle instead - about the size of a 50p piece!

My little bit of cultivated garden is still alive - in fact better than that I can see that I have evidence of my first cucumber.  Not enough for a village salad I will grant you but better than nothing - I just hope it manages to grow a little bit more!

In preparation for our visitors John set about trying to get the fine silt off of the bottom of the swimming pool.  He tried using Dad's Barracuda but we reckon it is so fine that all we did was disturb it so it would just settle again and will be back there when we go up tomorrow.  If we really want to sort it we are going to have to invest in a proper sand filter.  Still cleaning the pool will take up one of John's 'hour' slots!

We cleaned up and showered and went down to the village to meet up with our friends - who didnt come the most direct route into Droushia so we had to talk them in and even then we lost one of the cars as it seemed to do a second circuit of the village!

We werent quite sure what we would be having to eat but our table was all set up when we arrived.  Alkisti's elder daughter is getting married in July - she was there with her sister making invitations.  I asked her how many she needed to make and she told us FIVE THOUSAND!!!  I told her she was mad but the Cypriots really go in for big weddings and if each guest pins 20 euros on her dress then she gets a very good start in married life thank you very much - not to mention the fact that most fathers provide their daughter with a dowry house.  Can't be bad - John and I married in Gretna Green - had seven guests - started with nothing and worked for everything we have - still we havent done too badly and the help support and love of our respective families have made it easier for us!!

We enjoyed a very lovely and relaxed afternoon.  The food was wonderful as we all plumped for a Meze - a little of whatever there was available.  We had:  Village bread and a village salad, olives, yoghurt, pickled caper leaves (complete with thorns), haloumi cheese and beetroot to start.  This was followed by liver, keftedes (meat balls), rabbit stifado, pork cooked with potato, tomato and peas, pastichio (a sort of macaroni cheese with spiced meat and bechamel sauce) and roast chicken with the potatoes that have been roasted underneath the chicken.  For afters Alkisti brought freshly made loukamadia (little donuts seeped in honey) and fresh fruit.  Coffee was offered but John and I had to shoot off to show Hils and Keith the house.  We each paid 20 euros which included our drinks and a tip - we didnt think that was too bad.

Hils and Keith came for a quick look round the house and to check out the bedroom that will be theirs if they ever come and stay.  Keith was a bit concerned that he would not be able to quite reach out of the bedromm window to pick fresh lemons for his G&T's. 

On our way home John was his usual Knight of the Road and gave a guy who was hitching at Stroumbi a lift into Paphos - the guy turned out to be an English Teacher from Iran who is a tour guide called Reza Memar and who is on an extended holiday using the services of couchsurf.org - this site puts travellers in touch with people who are prepared to 'host' travellers, or those who can't host but want to forge greater links with those from different countries will meet for a meal or a drink.  He was a very nice guy and by the time we dropped him of in Paphos he had already invited us to visit him in Tehran - it is probably a very interesting place but with the Middle East in such turmoil it isnt really top our our holiday list.

We stopped off at Paps to purchase a couple of bottles of well earned Rose Wine for this evening - one was lovely and the other gopping!

Up early tomorrow and it is all hands on deck with the wood for boxing in the beams.