Day 64...

Busy busy day today as we had to get up and go down to Paphos.  We struggle to get our heads round the fact that things close at around 1.00pm and dont reopen until 3.00pm (or not if it is Wednesday or Saturday) and that it is important to fit any business around those times!!

First stop was the Bank as the Bank Manager had asked Dad to get us to call in.  We weren't exactly sure what he wanted but suspected it was something to do with not paying the Defence Levy or some other taxation issue which was never going to be in our favour.  We decided that I would go in and see him on my own and be charming but ignorant (I can do charming and I can do ignorant when I need to).  We were prepared for the fact that the Bank would ask for the Defence Levy money back even though we didnt think we needed to pay it and it was not an inconsiderable amount of money. 

It amazes me that even though I have only met the Bank Manager twice he recognised me immediately and called me by my full name (made me feel like a naughy child!!).  Dont know why we worried - he opened by saying that it wasn't urgent that he saw us but that as he understood we were now resident we needn't come all the way down from Droushia in the future to fill in the forms for reimbursement of the Defence Levy and that what we had done for this year was fine.  Panic over!!!

Next stop was the Insurance Company to pay for the insurance on the scooter and to let them have a copy of our log book for the CRV.  Just as well as the girl from the insurance company noticed that the log book was in my name alone and not in joint names - deep joy that means another trip to Timark and Stavros to sort it out!!

We then headed down to the Begonia garden centre to spend the voucher which Mum's neighbours Rosie and Dave (keep wanting to say Rosie and Jim!!) gave us as a moving in gift. 

We opted for a clementine and an australian bottle brush together with a really healthy shrubby lavendar (pictured on the left) and some house-leeks to grow as 'hair' in the two ladies head containers which we brought with us from Yeovil and purchased from Vickery's Auctions.

From there we headed back up the road to GEVO the tile shop to pick up the tiles for the kitchen and for the bathroom border.  As we stepped into the shop who should be in there but Mum's neighbours Ray and Janice.  They were purchasing a shower door from the guy who runs GEVO who turned out to be their nextdoor neighbour (and therefore Mum and Dad's neighbour too!!!).  Small world and meant that we all had to sit around having coffee while he worked out the best discount he could give us!!

Back at Lakoudia Street I went to give Dave his first lesson on using a computer.  Boy where do you start????  Fortunately he wanted to know about emails.  Unfortunately he has Yahoo Mail which seems to have a bit of a mind of its own.  Still we managed to get emails sent and received and he was happy.   Lesson number two is Thursday.

On the way back home we stopped at the village to get milk and were parked outside Christos's taverna and Alkisti insisted that we went in for coffee.  We received our first invitation to a local wedding which is at the end of July - her daughter gets married in Paphos and then has her reception at the Monte Lisa (a location we know well as it is next door to Timark!!).  We will have to go - it will be an experience!!!

John is a very happy bunny today as he has a full to overflowing wine rack!!!  On the top are two ten-litre cartons of the butchers red wine - that is the 'coiffing' wine for everyday supping!!!  Underneath are bottles of Australian wine which were a real bargain in the new Lidl store that has opened in Paphos. 

Bottles of Cyprus wine are really really expensive and can be very variable in quality - but you rarely get a poor bottle of Ossie Red do you???  Anyway John is stocking up for when Trev or Mark come over (even though Trev tells us that he doesnt drink too much anymore).

It has been very very hot and sticky today even here in Droushia so we waited until much later this evening before tackling any of the outstanding jobs.  John wanted to get the wire fencing put up and we can do the wooden fencing tomorrow.  Here you can see him cutting off the excess with an angle grinder - I dont like that bit because you get sparks and shards of hot metal flying around!! Still now it is done we can start to get the climbing plants growing up like the Bourgainvillea, Morning Glory and Vines.

At around 7.00pm we unexpectedly had a visitor and Savvas the electrician turned up with his wife and his brother in law.  He is a man of few words and not many of them are English but it transpires that he had come to replace a circuit breaker in the outside box.  Apparently this brings us one step closer to getting our own electricity supply - we have only been waiting a year!!!

Forgot to say the gas fire man is supposed to be coming on Friday to complete installing our gas fire.

It has been a good day all round!!