Billy Bargain...

This morning Lakis came round to sort out return flights to the UK for him, Argy and Kia.  Sadly this will be earlier than they had anticipated but it is important for them to be back in the UK to help and support their son who is to undergo surgery for a heart condition.  They needed a flight back from Paphos to Luton and in the week they had chosen the flight prices on the Sunday were nearly 400 euros more expensive than the following Thursday - I guess that is the price of getting children and students back before the new term begins.   Anyway we managed to get the flights booked and them checked in and whilst we were at it we checked out what sort of price flights might be next year for John to do his annual pilgrimage to the North.  Unbelievably a flight for John in March at the tail end of the winter season was less than 100 euros and even with adding Up Front seats and car hire came in at around 250 euros which is a bargain.   Out of curiosity I thought I would take a look at flights to Bristol - normally these are astronomical and at ungodly hours but actually in January the times are much more reasonable.    The cheapest time to fly was in January and would enable me to be there for Hazel's special birthday and I had to check and double check that I was reading the price correctly - 33 euros out and 29 euros back - a mistake surely?  Actually no, the prices were correct and I looked at John and he looked at me and said GO!!!  After quickly checking with Hazel that is would be convenient I booked - I have spent more on a meal out!!!  Actually I tacked on car hire to give me some independence and am now furiously looking for something special to do on Hazel's birthday - all contributions gratefully accepted.

I spent a long time trying to find the right picture for Art on Monday.  I wanted something to pair the picture of the poppy seed head and to fit in the black frame that I have.

After a lot of searching on tintyweb and some lengthy discussion with John he suggested an artichoke head - we have plenty of them around us and so it was a good suggestion - I shall temper the colours so that they are softer and more muted so that the two pictures look like they are connected.

I shall look forward to starting something new - particularly because I shall be doing this for us with a frame and a position in mind.

Natalie at the Herb Garden is planning on doing some art classes - it might be quite nice to go there for an afternoon to learn something new and I also keep meaning to go to Neo Chorio one day for one of Anna's craft mornings - the only trouble is that so far her's have been held at a time when I cannot attend but I will make it there one day.

John's love affair the the little horse continues and he goes every day to ensure she has water and takes with him a little something by way of a treat.  We are single handedly keeping the cucumber industry on the island afloat!  She is moved a bit further away every couple of days and shortly I reckon she will be moved elsewhere completely and then John will worry about her.  She now recognises the sound of Kenny and comes to John to see what he has for her.  At least when her water bucket is empty we know she has gained some moisture from the cucumbers until the water is replenished.

After going shopping for supplies for tomorrow's barbeque with the Rogers family and Mum the remainder of the afternoon was dedicated to the beautiful game and the return of the Mighty Blades to the top flight after an absence of 12 years.

The first game of the season was away to Bournemouth and one which I left John to enjoy whilst I busied myself in the kitchen getting ahead of the game for tomorrow.

It was not a classic game - in fact Bournemouth took the lead after a disputed free kick and some poor defending but almost at the eleventh hour god, in the form of Billy Sharp stepped up to grab an equalizer and for a short period of time the Mighty Blades were sixth in the league.  Stop the clocks folks because if the season were to have finished then they would have secured themselves a place in Europe.

I think it is going to be a roller coaster season but inspite of all the ups and downs and the shoutings at the screen John will enjoy every minute of it although I am not sure that I will!