Friday - getting crappers catching snappers - NOT!!

It was a good job we were not in a hurry to get down to Emba this morning because en route we were caught up in a Rascal Convention!!!!  We got stuck behind one little Rascal truck at Fitos's and then when we had got round the corner from the house that John says belongs to Peter Andre (it does not) we got stuck behind a second - neither of which seemed in a rush to get anywhere which is most unusual for anything with a Cypriot driver behind so there is a high probability that they were not!

We called into Grande to see if there was any wholegrain mustard - there appears to be an island-wide shortage but they didn't have any either and then we shot up to Kissonerga to drop of my old-but-working steam mop to the charity shop where Mum works on Thursdays, although not this week as she is recovering from a dodgy throat.   No sooner had we turned off than John suddenly spun round and said that he couldn't believe what he had just seen.  He normally does this when there is a chameleon trying to cross the road so that John can rescue it from being squashed but this time it was not a chameleon - my hastily taken photograph is not very clear but it was what appeared to be a baby heron right in the middle of a residential area - you can just see its head to the right of the water tank on the white building.  We thought it might be injured but as I was just about to get a clearer shot it flapped its monumental wings and took to the skies with some magpies in hot pursuit.

At pickleball this week we were pleased to have Felonius Gru back playing with us, well not the real Felonius Gru obviously but Keith who used to play before and then through work commitments had to take a back seat.  I call him Mr Gru because he is a biggish guy but has skinny legs and impossibly small ankles to support his frame.  He is a great player and approaches with such gusto that he had only been playing a short while before looking like he needed a shirt change.  It is good to have him back and the extra player means we will be able to cover sessions so much easier.

Back at Mum's afterwards John set up her TV in the sunroom so that she can watch some series that she is not able to find on her current system.  We thought she would enjoy Hatten Garden and she says she hasn't seen The Crown so they were to of the things we added to her favourites.  It is a good thing that she can master the sort of TV system we have to have over here otherwise her evenings would be very long indeed.  I also managed to ressurrect her old Skype account so she can bet back in contact with people and they with her.

Her Boris lookalike cat is still around although nursing an injury as he has a poorly paw and is holding it awkwardly and running with a limp.  There is nothing Mum can do about it because although it is around all the time it disappears when you approach - anyway as I said to her, he is not her responsibility and hopefully it is just a sprain or something minor which will right itself.

The subtle changes to the weather mean that there is more cloud around which means that the sunsets are even more spectacular.  I managed to grab a few photographs of the setting sun as we drove along Banana Bay.  There were people still in the sea and drinkers at the Sea You Bar which is due to close the end of this month.

We came home along the back road to Droushia (via the dump which is not so scenic) but before getting to that point we caught the very last bit of the sun slipping down - it was absolutely stunning and is a vivid reminder of how lucky we are.

We had had sufficient sun during the day to have plenty of piping hot water for a shower so we sorted ourselves out, had a shower, put on our slobbers and then settled down to enjoy the leftover pasta dish which we supplemented with some of John's toasted pittas doused in sea salt and olive oil.  It was delicious and the cosy atmosphere in the lounge did nothing to help me stay awake a little longer than I can normally manage!!  We have a few things we want to do tomorrow but nothing too onerous - I just need to make sure that I have lunch sorted for Sunday as Mum is coming up with her friend Lillian.