Fire

Bored with this super cold weather now - today was grey and grim and I am not sure it went above single figures in Droushia.  Some weak sunshine made the conservatory just about bearable but the lounge/diner was Baltic.

Mum had been on a heart monitor for 24 hours and rang this morning to say that there was nothing to worry about other than whatever heart problems they already know about.  She will, despite all her aches and ailments, probably outlive us all!

I reminded John that he needed to pop round and pay Stephanos for the briquettes he dropped off last night.  They were different to the ones we had before - the new ones were called European Turtle briquettes which seems a somewhat bizarre name for something you are going to burn on a fire but not so bizarre as the other ones in the range which are called Sleepy Hedgehog!!!!  I am thinking that these ideas were never pitched on Dragon's Den - that's for sure!  You can imagine some dickhead somewhere might actually try burning the real thing just to see 😞😞😞

We were meeting up with Dip today for lunch today - he is on a fleeting visit after having spent 6 months doing up his flat in London.  I must admit he looked quite tired but the job he has done to that flat is absolutely amazing.  He said that they wanted to spend more time out in Cyprus even though the weather at the moment was somewhat offputting.  

We had decided to go to The Farmyard because it is lovely, offers a wide range of food and has the fire lit at the moment and Rachel had given us a table right next to it.

Dip said he had often seen us commenting on the food here so was pleased to be trying it for the first time - John and I were sure we had been in there with him and Karen previously but obviously not.  We were actually trying to think the last time we were all together - pre-covid obviously but it all seems like such a long time ago.  We did meet up with Dip just before Covid when he was out here on his own and we went to Casa Mespilea in the Old Town and also Laona Taverna if my memory serves me right.

Dip was really impressed with the menu and when we started discussing having our favourite Thai food he got straight onto it!

We had chicken satay starter to share followed by Crispy Chili Beef for John and Honey Chicken with Extra Chili for Dip and I - served with egg fried rice.  To begin with I didn't think the chicken was overly spicy but a couple of spoons in and I hit a hot spot which lasted for the remainder of the dish!

We all thoroughly enjoyed our food and it was pleasant and warm inside and nice to see it had a fair few tables in - it is tough for the restaurant trade at the moment because of covid and now the galloping price increases on just about everything you can think of.  When times are tough eating out is one of the things which people stop quickly.  

We retired home for coffee - John lit the fire in the lounge and we sat chatting in the warm.  I was surprised when Dip said he really liked our lounge/diner/kitchen area because it was cosy - that is because it is furnished as a room for winter rather than the summer and it very unmediterranean-like and we are surrounded by lots of personal stuff (aka clutter) whereas Dip and Karen's flat in Universal is very clutter-free and furnished for the summer season!

We said goodbye - Dip is spending a couple of days doing some DIY and maintenance and we said we would drop by on Monday on our way to the airport to have a coffee and say goodbye.

We didn't do much else for the remainder of the day - we started to watch a series called Annika - each episode a story in its own right and starring Nicola Walker who we really like.