Christmas Shopping Day is over by lunch!

We were up super early this morning - sod's law as we were having a lie-in today and once we had had breakfast we were going to mooch on down to Paphos and do a bit of Christmas Shopping - not that we had a lot to do but we always spend a day together getting into the festive spirit.  It was a glorious morning and the sun was coming up over the hills - we have had rain forecast today but it didn't look like it at 6.00am!  We did everything we wanted to do, fed the cats and set off for the day or the morning at least!!  In fact we arrived down on the Mesoghi Avenue before most of the shops were open!

We did the functional stuff calling into the Smart Shop and Cycleband and then into the Superhome Centre because we weren't entirely sure what time the bulk of the shops opened in the Mall.

Fortunately the supermarket was open - it used to be Carrefour but now it is Sklavenitis - John wanted to see if there were any real ales in there because he was hoping to find a little something for the Bobster - there were some interesting bottles of drink in there but sadly no real ale and even worse there was nothing special in the fags and booze shop at the other end.  This is all a bit sad because normally John finds something in one or other of these shops.

We then tackled Jumbos.  Being there early meant that it was actually relatively easy to get round and through the tills.  John asked if we needed to have a trolley and I had said no but we would have been better with one than the basket on wheels we had.

We wanted lots of small bits and pieces, little things to decorate the house and little gifts for our present game and there is nowhere better for this than Jumbos.

The Mall is nicely decorated but at 27 degrees outside it was hard to feel particularly festive save for the fact that all the shops were playing a Christmas song!

I failed miserably to find anything for John to unwrap on Christmas Day - he has been looking for a casual jacket but all of the ones he has seen might fit his arms but dont go round him and I know they are designed not to be done up but they have to look like they might at least meet in the middle if they needed to.

We completed our shopping and went for a quick spot of lunch and then headed back home - done and dusted and all within a couple of hours.

We had a 'would you believe it' moment this afternoon.  I had been approached by a couple who spend an extended holiday here every year and who have been playing pickleball in the UK.  They wanted to know if they might be able to get a game whilst they were over here and so they were going this afternoon when Mum was playing.  Mum rang to tell us that this couple currently play pickleball in the Somerset village of Charlton Mackrell and they live in Barton St David.  These two villages were adjacent to Keinton Mandeville which is where Mum and Dad lived for years before moving to Cyprus and where I was born and brought up - it is a small world!!

As we were home much earlier than we had anticipated we watched a film this afternoon.  We chose Blackkklansman which unbelievably is based on true events and tackled the very touchy subject of black oppression in the United States and organisations like the Klu Klux Klan but with an element of humour.  I am not a great film watcher - I either get bored or fall asleep but this was a good film, quite thought provoking particularly with the live footage of events in America last year.

The Mighty Blades were on TV this evening - that is my cue to go to bed with my tablet because it is painful to listen to John and particularly so as they were one down within about 15 minutes although in the end they got a win but if my hearing is correct not one of the team is good enough and they should all be rounded up around the centre circle and shot.

I plan to go to the Cemetery tomorrow morning to dead-head the plant that Aunty Joyce and Uncle David put on Dad's grave and Nicky and Mark are up this way with friends and they might be calling in for coffee.  In the afternoon I have been invited to join Sonia at the winery to celebrate her 70th birthday.