John is feeling pretty rough with his bad throat. I have had a bit of a look but if I try and push his tongue down he starts gagging so that isn't overly successful. I don't think I can see any white spots on his tonsils but cannot be sure. More worrying is that a sore throat has often been a symptom of Corona-Virus along with a temperature. We have no way of checking his temperature as our medicine cabinet is pretty useless. As John said in the 9+ years we have been here we have had very little requirement to see a doctor and we only have some paracetemol, Snips and plasters on hand. I have persuaded him that he really must go and see the doctor and so he tried to make an appointment today. I think it would be fair to see that the indigenous population of my adopted homeland are not renowned for their ability to queue or adhere to an appointment system so although he asked for an appointment the receptionist took no details like name or GESY (Cyprus National Health System) number so we reckoned he would have to go and wait and if some yia-yia staggered in doing a fair impersonation of a dying swan (in the hopes she would be let in before anyone else) he would just have to smile and let her do so.
Our doctor is open for about four hours in the morning and then again for another four hours after 4.00pm so as we had the window cleaner coming who said he was not the quickest because he couldn't 'splash and dash' we had two windows of opportunity to get John there.
Richard, the not-so-fast window cleaner, was due at 9.00am and he did say he might take all morning and then when he arrived he said we were his only appointment today and as it was so very hot he was not going to rush.
He started with the conservatory roof using his purified water system which he said was so good it meant we would not need him to come as often as a regular squeegee and sponge merchant.
The conservatory roof was so bad it looked like it was obscured glass but by the time he had finished it was sparkling and you could actually see through it even though there is a layer of Triplex underneath.
Having Richard cleaning the roof motivated John into giving the solar and the photovoltaic panels a clean although I have to say I don't think Richard will be employing John any time soon!! So I don't know why but I hadn't expected Richard to clean anything other than the glass but he did everything - and I mean everything - shutters, fly screen, runners, aluminium, the old patio doors that are in the garden and even offered to wash the triplex offcuts that are on top of the gazebo outside the kitchen. He was right, he wasn't quick but boy was he thorough and it was so warm poor bloke. We kept him hydrated with water, milk shakes and cups of tea. At 1.00pm I offered him a sandwich but he said he had something in his van. By 3.00pm I thought he might be moving in for good but he was actually just coming to an end. He loved our house so much that he said if he lived here he would never want to go outside the front door!
Just as Richard was packing away Bassam pitched up - he had kindly got the marble we want for the top of my potting bench and we persuaded him to stop for a coffee and a chat until my phone rang and it was his son Rabia trying to track him down. Bassam looks great and he is preparing to get back into work proper now that Lola will be going down to Polis for school in the Autumn which will mean that all three kids are down there together and will travel to and fro on the bus and he will not have to race around being their taxi quite so much. We have told him that we are more than happy to show people the work he has done for us, we love our wall so much.
We eventually got down to Polis so John could see the Doctor. It was not a yia-yia that came in and queue jumped it was an old papou but it was only one and so it wasn't too long before he emerged with the verdict. I had been waiting in the car for him parked outside what must have been a beautiful colonial building in the past but which is now a home for chickens!!
Anyway the good news is that it is nothing more than a severe throat infection which was going to get worse before it got better. In addition to the prescription for antibiotics we splashed out on a thermometer, some throat spray and replaced our supply of SNIPS.
Our doctor is open for about four hours in the morning and then again for another four hours after 4.00pm so as we had the window cleaner coming who said he was not the quickest because he couldn't 'splash and dash' we had two windows of opportunity to get John there.
Richard, the not-so-fast window cleaner, was due at 9.00am and he did say he might take all morning and then when he arrived he said we were his only appointment today and as it was so very hot he was not going to rush.He started with the conservatory roof using his purified water system which he said was so good it meant we would not need him to come as often as a regular squeegee and sponge merchant.
The conservatory roof was so bad it looked like it was obscured glass but by the time he had finished it was sparkling and you could actually see through it even though there is a layer of Triplex underneath.
Having Richard cleaning the roof motivated John into giving the solar and the photovoltaic panels a clean although I have to say I don't think Richard will be employing John any time soon!! So I don't know why but I hadn't expected Richard to clean anything other than the glass but he did everything - and I mean everything - shutters, fly screen, runners, aluminium, the old patio doors that are in the garden and even offered to wash the triplex offcuts that are on top of the gazebo outside the kitchen. He was right, he wasn't quick but boy was he thorough and it was so warm poor bloke. We kept him hydrated with water, milk shakes and cups of tea. At 1.00pm I offered him a sandwich but he said he had something in his van. By 3.00pm I thought he might be moving in for good but he was actually just coming to an end. He loved our house so much that he said if he lived here he would never want to go outside the front door!
Just as Richard was packing away Bassam pitched up - he had kindly got the marble we want for the top of my potting bench and we persuaded him to stop for a coffee and a chat until my phone rang and it was his son Rabia trying to track him down. Bassam looks great and he is preparing to get back into work proper now that Lola will be going down to Polis for school in the Autumn which will mean that all three kids are down there together and will travel to and fro on the bus and he will not have to race around being their taxi quite so much. We have told him that we are more than happy to show people the work he has done for us, we love our wall so much.
We eventually got down to Polis so John could see the Doctor. It was not a yia-yia that came in and queue jumped it was an old papou but it was only one and so it wasn't too long before he emerged with the verdict. I had been waiting in the car for him parked outside what must have been a beautiful colonial building in the past but which is now a home for chickens!!Anyway the good news is that it is nothing more than a severe throat infection which was going to get worse before it got better. In addition to the prescription for antibiotics we splashed out on a thermometer, some throat spray and replaced our supply of SNIPS.
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