A fabulous evening with the Bennetts

We are Air-Con newbies and not yet converts.  We have resisted installing it thus far because (a) in previous years there have only been a couple of weeks when we felt we needed it and (b) I hate the look of the external gubbins.  This year we just had to give in and we think in the spare room with the gubbins mounted above the door is about the best we could have hoped to achieve.

Last night we had the inaugural night with the cool air and it was a bit like the hokey cokey - arms in, arms out - one moment too cold the next moment too warm!!!  It is going to take a while to find the right ambient temperature and the right length of time anzd the right angle of the fan blades but we will get there - Sorry Savvas by my bedroom was not quite the heaven that I had hoped for.  

On the plus side it is exceptionally quiet and the hidden mode means we can switch off the digital display - we haven't quite finished reading all the manual to ascertain exactly what it can do - that is my next project.

We had odds and sods penciled in for today including an evening meal with Malcolm, Louise and the girls - we had given them a list of possible venues (they wanted to try somewhere new) and they had opted for Mylari in Kritou Terra.

My first task of the day was to take Nicky and Mark to meet my lovely friend Georgia and her husband Marios who are currently staying in the family home in Droushia and who rescued a tiny kitten from a hole in the wall of a chicken coup and was being pecked by the chickens.  Georgia and Marios and the children will have to return to South Africa in due course and they are trying to find a home for kitty who they have named Zoe (Greek for Life although not spelt that way).

What you realise about small kittens who have not had sufficient bonding time with their mothers is that they bite.  I guess when they are suckling the mum soon sorts them out if they give her a nip.  We saw that with Das and Belinda's kitten Lola and Zoe is the same cute and feisty but with a sharp set of teeth.

Anyway Georgia and Marios made us very welcome in their courtyard and we sat around chatting over frappe and a table heaving with pastries and croissants and fruit.  

We all took turns to have some time with Zoe - I said to Georgia I would try and find her a home - she may well not be the right cat for Nicky and Mark but at least I eventually got them to meet her.

On my return I got ready for Rob and Di who were coming round for a catch up and a coffee.  It was good to see them -  we always seem to find things to talk about.  Hopefully it wont be too long before we see them again.  We have penciled in a night at The Farmyard for a Thai buffet and entertainment by Rhys (who played at my birthday) but that is not till late September so I hope we can manage something in between.

After they had gone we made a brief visit to see Les.  He is very poorly and the difference beween last week and this week was, to be frank, quite shocking.  I found it so upsetting when we did, for the briefest of moments, see the Les of old and then he disappeared back into nothingness.  He is also painfully thin, almost half the size that he was last week.  It is all so very sad.

We went from Les to the cemetery to see Dad.  I am so very grateful that when Dad was taken from us he was still physically and mentally the man I knew and loved and will always remain in my memory that way.

After a rather sobering afternoon it was lovely to go with Malcolm, Louise and the girls to Kritou Terra.  We managed to bundle everyone into The Pug and John drove.  They loved the place and the girls were more than happy for us all to have the Meze on offer which wasn't too much although we didn't eat all of it!  It was good to go somewhere different and Chris has made a great job of creating a lovely atmosphere with some quirky fixtures and fitting.  Our meal was rounded off by some pretty lovely puddings on the house which reflected his desire to inject a bit of fine dining into a traditional grill house.  All in all a very successful evening and we must thank Malcolm and Louise for kindly paying for our meals as a thank you for what we have done to help keep an eye on the property.

We asked them in for a quick drink before bedtime and several hours later will still all sat round the outside table enjoying the cool night air.  I shall pay for this tomorrow!!