Wet and miserable

 

The weather was grim this morning.  March is proving to be a bit of a disappointment so far and I am worried because both George and Pam and Lakis and Argy are due at the end of the month.  Last time George came for Easter it was freezing and he ended up with a cold and wasn't very impressed at all.  The problem is that their house has very little in the way of heating if it is cold.  Tomorrow we are being forecast temperatures in single figures.  This was my view as I made my way to Paphos this morning.  I had appointments and errands to run, I had promised lunch with Mum and we were going to the Mall so she could buy me something for my birthday.

One of my visits was to Alpha Bank on the Mesoghi Avenue.  This is currently chaos as they are making the road dual carriageway.  The nearest I can get to the bank is to park at Sklavanitis supermarket and walk through the end of the carpark and down the road.  They are currently working on the far side - not sure how I will get to the bank when they start on this side.

You have to take your life into your hands walking down to the bank.  Not only is the roadway narrow and so you have traffic wooshing past you there is a bloody great hole in the pavement by PASYCAF which is a dented grate over the top which is so dangerous and there is no choice but to jump over it.  It has been like this for months.  I am hoping that this is going to be rectified when they do the road this side but I am not holding my breath as this is probably the responsibility of a completely different department.

I made it to the Bank.  I had a new bank card for Mum's account (I am a joint name on the account) which needed to be activated.  The only trouble is that I don't use that account - Mum is more than capable of doing her own banking at the moment - so I couldn't remember the pin number which I was going to need!  John had several suggestions - thankfully he was correct with the first one that I tried so I was able to activate the card and check her account and was thrilled that her second pension payment had gone through without any issue so after a shaky start that now seems to be working thank goodness.

I also had to go in and get some money to live on - it is one of the few times I get to use my Greek.  The girl on the counter really appreciates my efforts and I have been able to progress from just asking for the amount to asking for an envelope (to put it in) μπορώ να έχω ένα φάκελο παρακαλώ

I did my regular meat shop at Shuks - this week we were having some lamb shanks and pork neck steaks to go with our date night beef fillet - Naz is always so chirpy and cheerful it is a pleasure to shop there.

I eventually got to Mum's at about 11.30 and we decided to (a) go and find out exactly where my sister will be staying when she comes in May and (b) have a bit of lunch at KFC on the Tombs of the Kings Road.  Kaye's accommodation was a bit tricky to find - only because it isn't on the main road but at the back of the Island Blue restaurant.  I got Mum a bargain bucket of chicken strips and chips with a drink and some coleslaw - we decided that the coleslaw was nowhere near as nice as it used to be.

We went to the Mall starting at Jumbos which is in full on Easter Mode - I don't know if that is why they no longer have a decent range of candles - I am hoping this is just a short term issue as we burn loads of candles and theirs were the only reasonably priced ones.  It wasn't very busy in there - I got Mum to buy a new jigsaw and some sorting boxes for the pieces which should mean she isn't bending over the table looking for them now.  We then went on to the jewelers where I chose two new charms for my Pandora bracelet - I quite liked an owl and a pig but realised they both were references to Sheffield Wednesday so didn't go for them!!!

Mum and I started the jigsaw on our return but the weather started to deteriorate and the wind was so strong that I decided to leave earlier than planned.  I stopped on my way home at Banana Bay to look at the waves.  The photograph doesn't give you any real sense of how wild it was.  The spray was coming right over the road and as I was taking this snap a guy on the beach with his dog nearly got swept away.  

I was glad to get home in one piece - John and I shot off down to the garage to get another big gas bottle for the fire because the price of fuel is only going one way at the moment although the Cyprus government is doing something to try and alleviate the price hikes.