Day 61...

Today we were ‘entertaining’ which meant that Mum and Dad and their next door neighbours, Rosie and Dave, and the couple who live behind them, Ray and Janice, were coming for lunch. 

We had quite a lot we wanted to do before they arrived so got up early.  John shot off to the local DIY store to get some breezeblocks to put under the water butt and some bits and pieces from the local supermarket to make sure we had enough food – I always panic about that!!!

One of the first things we did was to move all the tables around so that we could sit eight in the Gazebo and then put up a piece of wire fencing at the end of the swimming pool and planted the Dipladenia which we want to train up and along the fencing. 

The boundary is going to be two sections wood, two sections wire fencing, two sections wood, two sections wire fencing (get the picture?!!). 

On the wire fencing we want to train the vines that we brought over from Greenwood Road which are looking very healthy but which we have been advised should not be planted out until the Autumn and along some of the wire fencing at the side we will train the existing Bougainvillea which got a severe haircut a couple of weeks ago and now has runners some four or five feet long!

My menu for today was coronation chicken (small bugger-it when I realised I had no curry powder!!), salad, watermelon feta and basil salad, spicy wedges, hot pittas, Mum’s chicken liver pate mark 2 (mark 1 tasted lovely but looked like Sheba pouches!), olives, houmus and tsatsiki. 

Mum was also making a lovely fresh fruit salad for afters which I was going to serve with yoghurt or icecream.

We got the house clean and tidy and ready for inspection with all food prepared just before our guests arrived.  Ray had kindly offered to drive them all in his Zafira so he was the designated driver for the day and they pitched up just after 12.30.

All in all we had a lovely day with them leaving just after 6.00pm.  We started out with a good look round 10b which was followed by a very leisurely lunch and then various moves round the garden to take advantage of the sun or shade or sun and shade! 

Apologies for the quality of some of the photographs but they were taken into the sun which is never a good idea.  We have agreed to make up a quiz team next Thursday down at Sid’s Bar – Ray is a bit of a quiz whizz and there is quite a jackpot which could be won!

Also it will give me a chance to see Dave Rawlins from Martock – he is a guy I played crib against in the league and who said he would like to catch up if the opportunity ever arose.  It will be strange to see someone who I normally used to see in the Nag’s Head in Martock in Sid’s Bar in Emba!

Ray mentioned the Paphos International Rally  which is taking place tomorrow and Sunday and showed me where to find the route maps on the internet – some of it passes not too far from here tomorrow so we are planning on maybe going over to Lyssos to watch some of it.

Visitors gone we have eaten up the leftovers and settled down to watch the Murray v Nadal tennis match on the TV – pleasure and pain so far as Murray has won the first set and is well on his way to losing the second.  John has come over all Wimbledon Champion Expert and is yelling at the screen telling Murray where he is going wrong...