A Day with our Stalkers...

Please note - Chivers is poorly - we had to take him to the vets today (Tuesday).  He has been sick and is dehydrated and has been on a drip - he is being kept in overnight.


Today, being Saturday, we had arranged to meet up with Wendy and Bill and their son Robert.  Wendy and Bill are, as you know, our friendly neighbourhood stalkers, as they followed our blog for some time before making themselves known to us.  We met for the first time way back in January and any doubts we might have had about meeting random strangers went out of the window from the outset.  

They kindly brought over John's new laptop which has been dedicated to his usage alone and not bogged down by all the odds and sods that have been downloaded on our other two machines.  With this pristine unadulterated laptop John is banned from moaning about the performance or the fact that something is 'not responding' as laptops don't get any better (well at least until the next model is unveiled).

In readiness for the 'Royal' visit we had a mass clear up, that was after a bit of a lie in as a result of our late night last night - baggy head? moi?  John has got a real bee in his bonnet about the glass in the conservatory and although we know there is still a coptic dust storm to come in the next week or so he decided to risk life and limb up on the roof with his telescopic squeegee pole - titter ye not madam!  Not sure that this was overly successful because it was a warm and sunny day and so the suds dried a bit too quickly even with the help of the hose and, lesson learned, don't do this when you have a bedroom window open!

John was also losing the war against the black flies that were nose-diving into the swimming pool despite his best efforts to get it looking sparkly clean.  These flies are like big horse flies and don't drown - they lie looking dead on the surface and when you fish them out with the shrimping net they suddenly come back to life and stupidly fly back in.

We had arranged to meet at To Karabani so that John could take Wendy and I down to the campsite.  We girlies were going to walk the coast path and meet up with the boys at Faros and then have lunch.

It was a lovely day for a walk and there were quite a few people enjoying the sun down on the beach but there is such a long stretch that it still looks relatively empty.  Latchi seems to be getting ready for the visitors to come but still had some work to do before the coast path is complete and the harbour paths and walls are finished.  

Bizarrely they have just started some development opposite the existing shops which has reduced the car park significantly and will inevitably cause mess and noise when there are tourists around.

There are some stunning beachside properties along that walk, many of which are available for rent.  We were particularly taken by this house (which is probably privately owned and not a rental) not least because the immaculate lawn turned out to be artificial grass and pretty authentic looking at that.  The gardens were beautiful and I am filled with enthusiasm for creating a lush and relaxing haven back at home.  It is all looking a little bare at the moment - not least because I planted the wrong things but now I know better plus I have people like Klaus and Sheila for donating plants and cuttings which should stand a chance of making it.

Faros was buzzing - nearly all the outside, marina-side tables were taken and once we had sorted out a seat in sunshine we settled down do a very very pleasant lunch for which I understand I need to thank Bill who paid for John and I which was very kind.

It was great to meet their son Robert who, as you can see, is a chip of the old block and he will hate me for saying it looks like a mini Bill (in my opinion).  I think it was great that during his precious week's holiday he was happy to come along and meet John and I.  Still in John he found a kindred footballing spirit and apologies that we made him miss the beginning of the Real Madrid Barcelona match - I hope his big night out in Droushia made up for it!

After a leisurely lunch we drove back to Droushia.  We were keen for Bill and Wendy to see the changes that we had made since they were last here in January.  The boys retreated to the cool of the lounge to watch not one but two football matches whilst Wendy and I relaxed in the conservatory.

The cats displayed the most overt cupboard-love ever when Wendy produced a whole raft of kitty treats including their absolute favourite: Asda Tiger Salmon Sticks.  Prior to this they had given our visitors a stiff ignoring!

No problems about Bill not having his glasses this time as Rob had insisted on driving so before it got too late we decided to venture down into the village to show the Bailey's the delights of a Saturday Night in Droushia.  

Unfortunately Christos's taverna was closed so our bar crawl was reduced to just one venue - O Stathmos.  As we went inside there were four guys in residence, one playing patience, two playing Tavli (backgammon) and one surfing the net.  No sign of either Bambos or Sylvia or anyone else who normally serves.  Oxi problem!  we sat down and to the amazement of the Bailey's John walked up to the fridge and helped himself to beers.  In the meantime the silver surfer had phoned Bambos who arrived from Palates and explained that there was a bit of a do going on up there with music and souvla and that we were welcome to go if we wanted - even if it was just to listen to the music.  Now had we known about this beforehand we could have factored it into our big night out so we thanked him but declined.  He then disappeared again.  This is so typical at Stathmos where if Bambos knows you he trusts you to help yourself and leave the money.

This rounded off a lovely day and it was brilliant to meet up with Wendy and Bill again - what a nice guy Rob was and a big thank-you to him for being 'Duty Drives'.