Walking to keep Warm!

It was so bloomin' cold this morning that we decided to get togged up and go out for a walk to keep warm!  We have lost our Cypriot winter fuel allowance by virtue of being British even though we had been promised that the Withdrawal Agreement would protect our rights.  To add insult to injury this winter has been deemed soooooo cold that there has been a second winter fuel payment so we are double pissed off and it would appear that Cypriot residents don't realise that we are now being discriminated against.  It really peeves us because we love the village, we pay our bills and our taxes here but we are now classed as Third World citizens and the converse is not true for Cypriots who live in the UK so how is that fair?  We realise that this is a lost cause and nothing is going to change so we just have to take it on the chin but it does rankle.

Anyway initially we were just going to walk the long way round to the Post Office and then to the Cemetery and then return home but as we started to walk it did feel most definitely warmer to be out than in and so we extended our walk so that we took in part of Inea and then cut along the side of Inea's cemetery to come back into the village near Lordos 2 and then back to the village.

We saw that Clare's car was up at her house so we called by to see how she was doing.  She has a C-NC (cold - not covid) picked up from the school children she is teaching so we just had a quick chat over the garden fence.   

She is currently trying to decided where her future lies as she has been offered posts teaching abroad, including back in Hong Kong, as well as being offered a contract in Limassol.  I guess she just needs to take some time to do what it best for her and not make any rash decisions - she says that she thinks she now wants to settle somewhere and put down roots - maybe that is what Les's passing has made her realise - shame really that she was still working in Hong Kong when he was taken ill and had always intended to commute from there to the island so never really made the village her home.

We saw next to nobody on our walk - no-one else was mad enough to be outside - except for Bambos who emerged out of the Palates Hotel as we went by.  There were a few children playing in the empty streets but apart from that nothing - everyone has gone into hibernation and who can blame them?  We were thinking of stopping in the coffee shop and having a coffee but decided against it in the end as we thought it just might be too chilly in there and as we walked by we weren't sure if it was open anyway.

The countryside is recovering after its covering of snow.  I took this picture for my friend Georgia because if my memory serves me correctly the track leads down to the plot of land she owns and which she was wanting to sell.  You can't see the mountains from this point - if you could you would be able to see that there is snow on much lower lying ridges than we have seen in the past - I said to John I fancied going to see it close up but we have more bad weather warnings in place for next week so may have to wait.

We went to see Dad on our way back home.  Fortunately after all the bad weather his little plot is looking ok and the plants we planted recently are looking ok and in flower.  Dad's is the only one in his row that doesn't have a grave in front of it so the ground is a bit soft and soggy.  Once the row in front is complete I guess a proper pathway will be put in between the two rows which will make it easier.  

Once this bad weather has been and gone I really will go up and sort out the lettering - it has lost a lot of the black and would just look a bit smarter if it were seen to.  

Whilst there we went and paid our respects to David, who is at the far end of Dad's row, next to David is Les and then behind Dad is Elena.  One of the things which has really hit me recently is that moving away, covid and advancing years means that inevitably there will be people that we do not get to see again and that is a sobering thought.  Whilst technology makes it easier for people to keep in contact with a quick text or video call we get less and less emails and next to no landline phonecalls and a letter is nigh-on unheard of - I think people feel they are in contact because social media allows them to see what you are doing but that isn't quite the same as actually speaking.  I plan to try and be better at keeping in touch with friends and family this year.

We moved our date night to tonight because we had been out for a lovely lunch at Sheila and Klaus's yesterday.   Our steak supper was to be followed by watching The Mighty Blades who obliged today by securing a win.

We had splashed out when shopping and treated ourselves to some mange-tout peas which made for a nice change from frozen peas.  I had saved the batter for the onion rings from last week and had half a red onion that needed using up so did onion rings (they are not overcooked - the red onion coloured the batter).  We had hand cut paprika chips and some of Naz's outstanding local fillet steak and my home-made mustard sauce.

Those steaks do not shrink - or at least they do not shrink for us because we have them rare - and are absolutely melt in your mouth.  I am prepared to give up lots of treats to ensure I have my weekly steak but at less than 5 euros a steak don't think I will have to make too many sacrifices just at the moment.

A good day all round - tomorrow Mum is here but I have the meal all in hand so don't need to stress about it - this is good - the dermatologist and the periodontist have both told me I am not to get stressed and I am sure the cardiologist will say the same.