New Year's Eve 2023 - the Final Curtain

 

New Year's Eve 2023 and although it was a Sunday we were having a day without Mum because tomorrow January 1st 2024 we will be going to The Farmyard in Kathikas for a carvery with Lilian, Gail and Pete. 

This morning started out rather more grey than of late but it was very warm down on the coast and the sun just burned the clouds off and it was lovely.  What a glorious end to the year.  We walked Dot and Hector down as far as the campsite and then back to the harbour for a coffee.

We aren't sure quite what is happening with the campsite.  All the time we have lived here its future has been uncertain but it has been cleared although the campsite bar building is still there.  I understand that there are plans for it which may take a couple of years to complete.  No matter what those plans are the campsite will never quite be the same eclectic mix of patrons and camping homes which, from a sanitary point of view, is probably a good thing but it will lose some of its natural charm and unspoilt character.

We stopped off at Coffee Island for a coffee and a muffin and a chat and for the passers by to make a fuss of the doggies.  I reckon you should never be lonely if you have a cute attractive and pretty well behaved dog by your side!!!  It was such a lovely quiet start to the day, the sea was like a mill pond and once again we thanked our lucky stars for living where we do.

The remainder of the day was spent super quietly - exchanging texts with people near and far because we never stay up till midnight.  Instead we just relaxed, had a hearty meal of sausage and bacon toad in the hole with mashed potato, onion gravy and peas.  As I would be driving tomorrow morning I only had a glass of wine before we turned in and called it a night and an end to 2023.  In fact the fireworks from somewhere in the village woke us at midnight.

So in the words of Looney Tunes Cartoons "that's it folks".

After nearly 13 years of writing every single day, save for a couple of breaks when sad events meant I did not feel like posting, I am bringing this blog to an end.  That makes a total of 3,858 entries charting our move to Cyprus, building our lives and renovating our home and then our general day to day activities.  There was so much to write about when we first moved here - a real voyage of discovery - but now we have fallen into a routine it is harder for me to find things of interest!   Do you know that 3,858 entries taking about 30 minutes an entry equates to around 80 days of solid blogging?

Our time is now being taken up by more important issues like my mum's health - she needs us - case in point we have had Fred's passing and a day spent in A&E when she fell outside in the cold prior to us arriving with lunch.  We don't quite know how things will pan out this year - we just put our lives on hold a little so that we are available as and when she needs us.

On a brighter note I am actually looking forward to keeping in touch with people by way of a text, email or phone call because as we get older it becomes more important to know that people are ok rather than assume they are ok because social media has replaced personal contact.

So lovely readers thank you for your support and for the over 400,000 views and if you are in Cyprus we still need Lick-e-Lix and Branston Sauce!!!