The meteorological delights of Paphos...

Today highlights exactly what we love about the island - its diverse weather conditions!!!!!

We were expecting Dip and Dave up today to go down to Latchi for Dave to see that part of the island and to have a spot of lunch - beforehand someone was coming to pick up our neighbour Lakis's car and take it off for an MOT.  The weather last night had been absolutely horrendous with driving rain and gale force winds and it had kept me awake for most of the night and John and I were up and having a coffee at 5.30am!

When we got up the winds had died down and it was not raining but the skies were heavy and threatening and in Droushia we were treated to periodic rolling mists.  We sat waiting for Maura to arrive for the car - if the sun was shining the conservatory felt nice and warm but when it was covered by cloud it was really quite chilly.  Maura arrived just before 12.00 with Argy's mum Kia who was looking really well.  Maura had managed to lower her car window and then couldn't get it back up and it was beginning to rain - fortunately John managed to sort it for her.

Dip and Dave arrived shortly afterwards - they said that the weather in Paphos when they left was lovely and were amazed at how different it was up in the hills but they had come prepared - we could see the coastline was bathed in sunshine but with plenty of white horses at the water's edge so it probably wasn't as warm as it looked.

We decided to park up at La Plage and walk in to the marina so we could have something to eat at Molos.  Dave was really impressed by the scenery and the relative non-commercialisation of Latchi compared to Paphos and that, I explained, was why we love this corner of the island so much.  Dave it hoping to return in the Summer with his son and if he does it will be lovely to catch up with him again.

Can you believe we were lucky enough to have sufficient warm sunshine to sit outside at the harbour and have our lunch?  It really was warm enough and there were several others doing exactly the same - diverse weather conditions? you bet your life - jumpers and thermals required in Droushia, eating outside in Latchi!

As this was to be our main meal of the day - and as it happened our only meal we decided to ring the changes and not have our usual steak baguette.  John chose a mixed grill and I chose a lasagne, Dip and Dave went for the bacon wrapped steak.  My lasagne was ok - the cheese on the top was a bit strange - it looked like a processed slice that had been melted - John's mixed grill was disappointing it looked a bit uninspiring - the others enjoyed their meals so maybe we just made a wrong choice.

We managed to walk back along the coast to the car before the weather deteriorated and by the time we got to Droushia it was grey and pouring with rain.  The boys were more than happy to shoot back to Paphos and the warm and we battened down the hatches, lit the fire and relaxed.  We wont get to see Dip again this visit but he will be back soon with Karen and without decorating to do they will have plenty of free time on their hands.

just another manic Monday...

I am finally getting to grips with my latest picture now that the roses have been completed and even better that the photograph I am working from has been reprinted so that the colours are true!  This is a busy picture that is going to take me some time to complete but I am in no rush.  Sheila has reverted back to her picture of the magpies having completed her commission.  There was a lot of sighing going on this morning, lots of concentration and not so much chat!  The weather was grim and it was definitely a day for comfort food so the spag bol made by Klaus was very tasty and very welcome.

The weather got worse and worse - I contacted Sofi our belly dancing teacher to say I thought she should cancel our class this evening and get home safe and sound and was pleased that she agreed because by mid afternoon we had gale force winds and driving rain.

There was nothing for it but to batten down the hatches and I had the remainder of some chicken curry earmarked for tonight so I got out the poppadoms which cooked up into weird and wonderful shapes and John lit the fire.  We opened a bottle of Ruby Cabernet and found some back episodes of the Farmers Country Show which we are addicted to!

I daren't tell the Bobster but we are nearing the end of my stock of home made lemon pickle.  John hadn't tried it before as I normally make a batch and give it to Rob so he was keen to see what the flavour was like - he loved it and it certainly went well with the curry.

There is something really lovely about being warm and cosy and dry, well fed and well watered when it is like a monsoon outside.  We have come to the conclusion that now, after 7 years, we have done all that we can do to make the house stand up to the elements so do not sorry so much about the rain.  The wind, on the other hand, started to wreak some damage as we lost the material part of our big brolly that is outside the kitchen which is a bit of a bugger but will force us to do something more permanent to provide shade in that area for the summer.

We are also thinking about what we should do on the wall behind the woodburner as we have a long stack pipe which reaches almost up to the ceiling - we are thinking of tiling up behind it further than we have done already.  John is still not loving the raspberry red wall - he has never liked it so that will probably disappear sometime this year or next.

We have started to compile a list of jobs which would be nice to do, improvements rather than maintenance because the regular maintenance never really changes although there is less of it as we tackled things like the flat roof by tiling it rather than have to paint it annually with the waterproof gunk.

So much of what we want to do is weather dependent and today was a day for thinking about it and not doing it!   This weather is forecast for the next four days - we have our fingers crossed that it will be better in Limassol on Thursday when we have our Droushian Day Out in search of the flamingos on the salt lakes.  We have no wet weather contingency plans so it will be sensible shoes and waterproofs if needs be!

In Paphos...

We had an early start today because we were going down to Universal to catch up with Dip and Dave to see if they had finished with the tools John had lent them so that they could decorate the apartment.

They had gone through the whole place giving it a fresh coat of paint and putting the TV up on the wall and all those sorts of things - Dip says that all it needs now are the final finishing touches by Karen when she is out in March.

Dip is great - he has no worries about finding his way around and apart from asking for the phone number of a dentist has asked us for nothing else!  Yesterday they took a trip out to Limassol and then decided, on a whim, to go and investigate the Troodos and stop off at a very ethnic eatery in town.

On Tuesday they are coming up to us, I have warned Dave to wear a jumper particularly as the weather if forecast to deteriorate tomorrow and then be awful for at least four days which is a bit of a shame as they want to have a wander around Latchi.

We gathered up most of the tools and the ladder and left them with a drill as they still have a couple more things to do and will catch up with them on Tuesday.

Being down in Paphos early on a Sunday morning is fabulous - the roads are empty and it is easy to get around - we needed to nip into Jumbos before arriving at Mum and Dads as we wanted to get a couple of the cheap little weather stations they had for sale so that we could put them in their bedrooms and they could keep track of the temperature and the humidity levels.

This is what the Mall carpark looks like at 10.00am on a Sunday morning in January.  I had thought that Jumbos opened at 10.00am on a Sunday and the other shops later but now it seems that it doesn't open until 10.30 so we had half an hour to kill - this turned out to be an expensive wait as John found Newcastle Brown Ale on offer at Sklavenitis supermarket and then we had two horrible cups of cheap coffee before Jumbos opened, still being able to get in and out of Jumbos and first at the tills was a bonus.

It was good to see that the Mall was displaying artwork by school children on the theme of Love Cyprus Keep it Clean - actually it is good to see that school children are being made aware of the vast problem there is on the island with regard to litter and dumping.  Education is the key but it is the adults from whom the children take their lead that also need educating.

We got to Mum and Dads' good and early so that we could get the dehumidifier set up and check the humidity levels in the rooms and sort out the surface mould which sadly is something which just about all of us have to contend with at this time of year - we didn't manage to get everything done this visit - the Muffy spray was noxious to say the least - don't know about it killing mould I reckon it could take out an elephant!!

Just wanted to finish with a photograph of one of the Cyprus grown strawberries we purchased from Paps yesterday.  Each fruit was ENORMOUS and sometimes when they are early grown and to this size they are tasteless but no no no - they were fabulous - absolutely delicious and as a result we didn't eat just one we ate the whole punnet!!

Since writing this Dip and Dave have returned to the UK and unfortunately Dave was taken ill over the weekend.  We wish him the speediest of recoveries.

Saturday...

When I got up this morning there was only one cat in which is strange - Minnie was in but the three boys were conspicuous by their absence.  After the situation with Boris last night I was concerned that something sinister was happening.  Minnie never ventures far and when she does do outside the confines of our garden she skulks around trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.  I tiptoed out in my dressing gown halfway along the path to our gate to call the boys.  Eventually, thankfully they returned, first Charlie heaving his bulk through the catflap, then Chivers and then as if nothing had been wrong with him the night before a very vocal Boris.  Great relief all round and a well deserved call to the vets to say 'thank you' for the calm and clear advice the night before and to confirm that Boris was no longer in need of an appointment - phew!

We needed to do some shopping down in Polis and whilst we were down there we wanted to investigate a dehumidifier for Mum and Dad and something to tackle surface mould which is an occupational hazard in Cypriot homes.

We went into the little family run electric shop in Polis next to George's and met the son who was just the best font of knowledge regarding all things to do with dehumidifiers and mould and came away with the Rolls Royce of all dehumidifiers and some highly caustic spray which he guaranteed would, if all conditions were met, eradicate any and all signs of mould now and in the future and he was so knowledgeable and so enthusiastic that we just had to believe him!  We shall be setting up the beast of a machine for Mum and Dad tomorrow and treating the mould with the Muffa killer and fingers crossed that will be the end of that.  The trouble is that the poor build of Cypriot houses combined with the humid conditions, lack of ventilation etc etc is a recipe for disaster - it is a fight we all engage in, some more successfully than others.

Shopping in a Cypriot Supermarket can be full of surprises - not least with how and where they display goods which don't seem to have any connection or goods which are placed next to one another which really shouldn't be - case in point was the freezer section today when there was a new range of meat free products placed next to a whole load of frozen 'little piglet' products!!!!  They really don't get the concept of vegetarianism at all!!

Once home we had a special treat of brunch which we don't do very often so we had a stack of crumpet, black pudding, crispy bacon, egg and baked beans.  Naughty but nice and it was to be the only thing we had to eat until our Kings of Leon curry in the evening - why Kings of Leon?  Well after sampling the curry we both started singing "woah-oh my mouth is on fire"!!!!

We had called up through the village via the post office and I was very excited to have some correspondence from Mr Amazon.

My very favourite duvet set had gotten so old and thin that I was reluctantly consigning it to the bin and I wanted a replacement - bedding here can be expensive and the choice limited but in the Amazon sale I had picked up a couple of nice sets which were delivered over here in a couple of days for a song - cheaper than it would have cost me to buy them over here.

I opened one set and was delighted with the quality and I hadn't realised that it was reversible so on the one side was flowers and butterflies and on the opposite flowers and birds.  John was well impressed which is good and I have a thing about nice bedding so I cannot wait to get this on our bed.

It was a beautiful day, such a change from a couple of days ago but apparently more bad weather is forecast for the beginning of next week so it was a day to relish.

It must have been sunny because the water feature sprang into life mid afternoon and I think John said that our electricity generation for the day was well into double figures which was brilliant compared to the half kilowatt we managed on Thursday.

There is a little colour in the garden too as some of the osteospurmum have begun flowering - brave things as experience tells me that the worst of our weather may yet be to come as February generally has a sting in its tail.

We are busy trying to decide on the priority of jobs to do around the house and these change depending on the weather!  John has decided that shelving is the order of the day.  Having tidied the wood store we realise that the space inside is to large to stack wood sensibly so some shelves up near the top wouldn't go amiss.  I also want some shelves in the pump house to store things like my veg and John's Leon crates, John also wants to make some pelmets and replace the curtain poles we have with tracking which will make it easier to draw the curtains in the spare bedroom.

We settled down to a nice quiet evening with the curry and some TV and Mr Boo on my lap.  He is better but maybe still not one hundred percent because periodically if you touch him somewhere on his feet he still has a whinge - he is normally a really cheerful little cat so we know that when he is not there is something wrong.

A painful 90-odd minutes this evening listening to John shout at the computer as he watched the Blades manage a 2-1 win over Norwich - there are times when I wish he could have supported a different team!!

Pimp my fire...

So, as they say, every day is a school day and yesterday we were watching a programme on the good old BBC and a guy was making pimps and the string tied bundle of sticks in front of the fire is exactly that - a pimp!  It is a by product of coppicing and when made correctly are apparently the very best fire lighter you can use.

John is now perfecting his pimping skills!!!  This was his first attempt and he will be rating its efficiency later when we light the fire.  It is a good way of gathering up all the small offcuts and kindling and packaging it up into something useful.

We had been blessed with a glorious start to the day for which we were very grateful.  We had some bits and pieces we wanted to get sorted before we went off down to Emba for pickleball and when it is dry and bright and sunny you feel more inclined to get up and get on with tasks particularly outside.

The garden survived relatively unscathed after the high winds and heavy rain on Tuesday - there are quite a few leaves needing clearing but I reckon that it is probably the time when those plants shed anyway - the wind just helped them along.  Apparently there is more bad weather forecast for next week.

Charlie Farley was sunbathing out on the bench so I took the opportunity to give him a grooming.  Fortunately he likes to be brushed for as long as he likes it and then he tries to bite the hand that grooms him.  He particularly likes the spot at the base of his tail where he cannot reach and I came away with a handful of fur in fact several hands full.

We received a belated Christmas card today from our lovely friends Sally and Tommy and their children Freddy and Molly and not forgetting dog Buddy.  I recognised one or two of the dressing up hats - I think the Tricorn that Tommy is sporting was worn by me to an 80s party held at their house when I went as Adam Ant and the Rasta hat with dreadlocks I wore as a responsible member of the community when we went camping in Weymouth with the Allans and the Stapletons and we had an Easter Bonnet competition.  There are so many stories from that weekend, the connect 4 championships, the extreme cross country boules, the girl from the tent next door who tucked into our biscuits and then her mum told us she was not to have sugar and Mrs Allan getting a tad squiffy watching H from Steps providing the family entertainment!!

As we drove down to the main road from Droushia you could see how windy it was down on the coast by all the white horses that were clearly visible.  It was relatively calm for us - it makes a change for the weather in Droushia to be better than down by the sea.  We had a quiet drive down until we got to the stretch along Banana Bay where they seem to be doing some resurfacing and we got a bit caught up in a bit of a queue but fortunately we were on the side that was moving.

The sea along that stretch was rough.  There was a lovely old wedding bus stopped on the side of the road and the sun was in the wrong position and John's windscreen was too covered in salt for me to get a good shot.  We are betting that the bride was very very glad that she hadn't tied the knot earlier in the week when she would have got soaked and frozen - she was wearing a dress with no sleeves and no shoulders.

We like to try and do our bit for the environment although Cyprus's record in that department is poor.  We take our bottles and cans to the bins in Peyia if we are passing that way and I collect plastics, cardboard etc which I bag up and put with Mum's recycling in Emba - she likes to do it but she and Dad probably don't generate too much so they have ours as well.  I would like to say that the fly-tipping and littering is improving but sadly not - the island seems to have a massive clean up once a year and then it just mounts up again until the next time.  We have our own village clean next week - weather permitting and looking at the road it is sorely in need of it.

We had some good games today - there were only four of us (Di and Kyle came) and we managed to avoid setting off the alarm so Marios was happy.  We followed our games with a nice chat and cuppa with Mum and Dad and will be seeing them on Sunday when it is Mum's turn to cook.  We drove home accompanied by a magnificent sunset (hastily taken out of the passenger's windows as John drove home) feeling happy with the chicken and roast potatoes and makings of coleslaw we had picked up en route.  It was the beginning of the weekend and Friday Night is John's favourite night of the week.  Our mode was dampened somewhat on our return when we found Boris on our bed unable or unwilling to move and crying and growling at us when we tried to see what was wrong.  He clearly had some sort of problem with his front left leg and when we tried to get him to stand he screamed with pain.  It was getting too late for us to get him to the vets but we were very concerned.  We rang Dr Inna's to see if there was anyone at the vet's in Polis which we might have reached by 6.00pm which is generally when they close but there is no vet there on a Friday.  We spoke to a Dr Victoria who was fabulous - she talked us through a few checks we could make and as it was clearly an injury rather than poison or a bite she said we should keep him quiet and make sure he ate and drank.  We did this and he gradually improved as the evening went on.  Dr Victoria left us her private mobile number in case we were worried or his condition deteriorated and said she would see us tomorrow morning if we still felt a visit to the vets was necessary.  

shitty weather...

Today was grim from start to finish - the bad weather had been forecast to coincide with one of our regular coptic storms and we weren't to be disappointed - at the end of the day our PV panels had managed a mighty half kilowatt and I have to say I am surprised we made even that as it wasn't daylight all day.  I had offered to go to make up the numbers at pickleball and was beginning to regret my decision as we had driving rain, high winds and rolling mists.

This was the view down to the coast when I fed the cats this morning - we could see no further than the beginning of the 'new' (now 7 years old) road in the field next door.  I decided it would be wise to check that we had four players today otherwise I wasn't going to venture out - I know I had arranged to have lunch with Mum and Dad but I knew they would understand with driving conditions just about as bad as they could be.

I waited and waited to hear from Rosemarie and was just leaving when she phoned to say she would be available.  John had told me to take an umbrella which was a complete waste of time because I couldn't put it up and when I did manage to slightly open it I was in danger of recreating the scene from Mary Poppins when she is flying.  It was a grim ride down to Paphos and it wasn't any better when I got there.

I had to go into Old Town and get the new lenses for my glasses.  I had hoped that the weather was going to have kept the punters away so that I could park outside but all that street parking was full so I had to go to the small car park round the corner opposite.  I reckon I was the only person to bother to buy a ticket but I know what my luck is like.  I got absolutely soaked running round to Trueyes but my new glasses took minutes few and although I could tell the prescription was very different my eyes got used to it quite quickly and I am looking forward to seeing how well the special coating to keep the lenses clean is going to work.

I had lunch with Mum and Dad and then went to pickleball where Tom, in his impatience, had managed to set the alarm off - deep joy that wont put Marios in a very good mood.  We kept our eye on the weather which went from bad to worse and back to bad so that we could cut our losses if needs be.

This was the state of the roads on my trip home - granted this is in Droushia but you get the drift - miserable - really miserable - maybe now Dip will understand what we are saying when we say the Winter here can be grim!  Crazily we had arranged to go out to Fitos for a meal now that it has reopened for the year.  There were people there when I went by but I did ring to make sure that they were remaining open this evening which they were.  We were picking up Di and Rob and then all things being equal Mina and Claire were joining us.

This was the temperature in the car when we were outside Di and Rob's waiting to pick them up.  When we got to Fitos he persuaded us not to sit at our favourite table because it sounded like the roof was going to blow off!!!  We sat further in with the luxury of our own gas patio heater to keep us warm.  Mina and Claire managed to join us and we had a fabulous evening - good food and good company and we were glad we had made the effort to go out.  

making the most of good weather...

So far we have been quite lucky this winter - it has been nothing like as wet as last year, nor as cold as I realise I have yet to really need to wear my boots which is good however generally the worst of our weather comes now - looking back we have had snow in February several times.  The wet weather we have had so far has come in the evening or overnight - we obviously had rain again last night and the mackerel sky at 6.30ish this morning was the last remnants of the storm.

Yesterday I treated John and I to a new thick cuddly throw from Paps.  It is a massive one to fit our king sized bed and is double thickness - it is, to coin a phrase, gert lush and although initially the cats were very wary of this big new bear lying on the bed, preferring to keep to the safety of the brown blinkie my sister knitted, Boris became much braver and once comfortable stretched out full length without any concerns although Minnie Mou was only happy to let her tail have contact with this new addition.  I am going to have to do some serious tidying up to the brown blinkie - it is looking so bedraggled but the cats just love it.

It was a different Tuesday for us because I was playing pickleball on Thursday to make up the numbers and John's cousin Karen's partner Dip had arrived yesterday with a mate to decorate their apartment and he had phoned this morning to ask to borrow some ladders, dust sheets and tools to get the job finished.

I had managed to get a hair appointment with the lovely Lumi today which was fantastic as I was beginning to look like a cross between Edward Scissorhands and Donald Trump!  This meant that we packed up the car with the things Dip needed and headed off to Paphos to drop them off and then get my hair cut.

Once Dip and his mate have got the apartment decorated we hope to catch up with them and have a meal - it is only a one bedroom apartment so it is hardly going to take them the whole 11 days they are over here.

We had a little time to waste before my haircut and inevitably there were some bits we needed from Jumbos.  It was rather more chaotic in Jumbos than normal as they were packing away the Christmas stock and doing a stock check at the same time - blimey all those little tree decorations having to be counted!

The Christmas stock was being replaced with Carnival stock - Carnival season is in February but I have to say a lot of the dressing up things were more suited to Halloween!!

John couldn't resist trying out some of the masks but he stopped short of buying one thank goodness!

We managed to find some new storage boxes for my herbs and spices - John was ecstatic as he has been going on about getting some new ones and once purchased I knew what my afternoon was going to entail!

We treated ourselves to a new culinary experience whilst we were there - we still have some Esso vouchers to use and so opted for burritos from TacoBell - buy one get one free.  We both had a crispy chicken burrito, shared some chips and a drink and that cost us just 7 euros!

We came home, I sorted the herbs and spices under John's supervision, battened down the hatches as bad weather was forecast and then caught up with The Tunnel - wow that is dark and creepy!

Monday...

Just a regular Monday today with my morning at Art with Sheila and Klaus.  My study of a cuppa, books and a jam-jar of roses progresses slowly.  I did at least finish all the blooms today.  When I printed off the guide picture from the internet the ink ran out on my printer and so the colour (apart from the flowers) was odd so I need to reprint it for the remainder of the picture.  As it happens this was easier said than done because for some reason I had deleted it from the laptop and as it happens if you do a Google search of 'teacup books flower painting' you get offered hundreds and this one does not appear amongst them!

Sheila has just about finished her commission.  If you check out her blog you will see that she has been working on a portrait of a dog for someone who came into the craft shop where she works.  It has not been an easy task as the photographs they supplied were not the sharpest, nor was it easy to make out the dog's eyes so well done to Sheila for doing a great job - I am sure her commissioner will be over the moon.

We learned on Saturday that John and Susan's dog Zak (seen here as a small puppy) had been knocked over.  

Apparently it had escaped from the confines of the garden and run up the track which meets the main road and crossed it.  We had seen a stray dog in that area so maybe that is what had caught Zak's attention. 

I text Susan today to find out how Zak was progressing, he had suffered a broken leg and more worryingly a head injury.  She told me that he was at home but he has symptoms similar to someone recovering from a stroke.  We have our fingers crossed that he will make a full recovery and soon as we know how worried John and Susan will be about him and we know how we would feel if it were one of our cats.

We were also sad to learn today that Elaine (pictured here talking to my Uncle David back in October) will not be reopening the Herb Garden in Akourdaleia this spring because it is not financially viable for her to do so.  This is very sad not least because of all the hard work she put into it getting it into shape as a lovely venue for tea and cake.  

One wonders now what will happen to the garden because if anyone was going to make it work I would have put money on Elaine being that person.  It was such a lovely peaceful spot to while away time and it will be a shame if it now becomes neglected.

I had belly dancing this evening.  Although we had had a dry fine and bright day the wind was cold and this evening it was veritably chilly even down in Polis.  It is quite hard to leave the warmth of the lounge at the best of times but when everyone else is warm and relaxed it is even harder.  Mr Boo had come in and just flaked out on the sofa warming his bits much to Charlie's disgust - he squeezed his bulk onto the sofa next to Boo but was very careful not to make contact with him at all.

Belly dancing was great fun as always but we started a new routine tonight and there was a lot of hip work and as I pointed out to John only the other day my hips are not as young and supple as they once were - I shall pay for this tomorrow that's for sure!

Doing a Bobster...

We had rain in the night and thunderstorms and several damp cats visiting us!  When we woke this morning a slightly soggy Mr Boo came in and tried to get in bed - that really is a step too far - he was summarily despatched but even after a severe toweling down he still insisted on trying.  When I got up to do the cat feeding and coffee run it was a miserable day with rolling mists and heavy rain.

However about an hour later what a difference - the skies had cleared and the sun was shining - how different the garden looks.  We have to take advantage of these sunny days because a coptic storm is forecast for later this week and El Kibira is a large feeder gale - not sure what a large feeder gale is or what it is feeding but it doesn't sound good.

I had arranged to pop by and see Elaine this morning having recently learned that she is giving up the Herb Garden in Akourdaleia.  She was definitely the right person to try and turn what had been a working herb garden into a pleasant place to sit and enjoy a cup of tea and a slice of cake but it wasn't to be and apparently that area of Akourdaleia is soon to be cobbled like neighbouring Kathikas and through traffic will be diverted away from the village so the Herb Garden was going to be without any trade for some time - you clearly cannot run a business like that.

I took the road down from Kathikas passing my favourite holiday let which is now surrounded by the yellow flowers of mustard or rape or whatever it is that they are growing.  Everything looks lush and green particularly as a storm had just passed through.  I was glad to find Elaine in good spirits, free of the worry and the tie of the garden and now able to concentrate on her own again (once the weather allows).

I did a Bobster on the way home chosing to go through Kritou Tera which is far more scenic and probably not a lot further and brings me out directly opposite the concrete road on the edge of the village.  The Church of Panagia Chryeleousa was looking lovely in the sunshine and I passed a couple of people who were foraging although I am not sure what for as it is too early for asparagus so maybe mushrooms.

Negotiating my way around the narrow streets of Kritou Terra I came across this sporty little number - I was well impressed with the paintwork and I am guessing that out and about in the wooded areas it really does get well camouflaged!  I carried on making my way home - not seeing another soul en route.

We had our tea all sorted - we were having the remainder of the chicken from Sunday so I had nothing really to prepare.  John fancied watching a film so we looked to see if we could find Gary Oldman in the Darkest Hour and were successful.  This was a dark film in that the 'action' took place in dark rooms with atmospheric lighting and Churchill's speech was sometimes difficult to understand with a big fat cigar still in his mouth but it was excellent and I learned a lot about that moment in history that I hadn't appreciated - that is assuming that the screenplay remained reasonably faithful to the truth.

We then watched a second film which we had picked out from the Film Guide of last week's TV guide - this one was The Lincoln Lawyer and I really enjoyed this one too - I am not a natural film watcher so it is quite difficult to fine one film I like let alone two!