Not quite the Sunday we had planned...

Sadly our visitors, Jackie and Costas, from Tea for Two, couldn't come today so it was just Mum for lunch so I shelved some of the planned salads I was going to serve because I knew they wouldn't be her cup of tea.  We had said to Costas it wasn't a problem as it is so hot that if Jackie wasn't feeling too brilliant the travel and the heat wouldn't make it any easier and we can rearrange for another time which is what we are going to do.

I kept it simple today as we are all flagging with the heat and did yoghurt marinated chicken skewers with coleslaw and roast potatoes/chippy type things.

I learned from Bassam that the secret to super tender super moist chicken kebabs is to marinade overnight in yoghurt and spices.  As Mum doesn't do spicy I simple used lemon juice and black pepper which I had done when Liselotte and John came for lunch and which she said she enjoyed.

We were going to cook them on the barbeque but actually I have a nice heavy bottomed frying pan/come skillet which does the job just as well and I can have control over how much or how little they are cooked and I have also learned from him the importance of letting the kebabs rest so that the juices are absorbed into the meat.

I have to say it did exactly what it said it would do and allowed me to produce a set of kebabs which would give Fitos a run for his money!!!  The potatoes and the coleslaw were also good and we topped the meal off with a fresh fruit salad and some cream.

I sat with Mum in Wendy and Bill corner so that we could have a chat and John retreated to the Doje so that he could watch the test match and the last game of the season for the Mighty Blades which was against Southampton and was, to be absolutely honest, woeful which was a shame as they had had such a good season.

At the end of the day they finished in the top half and that was much better than anyone expected and have given John a right old roller coaster ride.

The cricket was much more interesting and England had set themselves up for a win providing that the weather holds tomorrow and the next day.

We keep saying that one of the really good things to come out of lockdown was John's decision to turn the front gazebo into the Doje because that was a space we never used and now we sit there nearly every night watching the TV.

We do get a bit bothered by biters although we have citronella candles and smokey things to try and deter them and I could really do with a hanging incense burner like they waft around in the churches here - then we could load it up with some of the cones I have and hang it from the roof.

Mum got home safe and sound - she said it was really quiet on the roads today so we don't worry about her travelling up and back to us.

We smiled this evening to see Nicky sat on a chair in the front garden enjoying a bit of evening air.  She has most definitely embraced village Cypriot life as this is exactly what the elderly ladies in the village do!!!   I am glad that their camping out is becoming less basic and more civilised!!