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Our
adventures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue....
  
A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL.
Last night was a relatively quiet one, some of us were still recovering from that nasty stomach bug, so Joan laid on a small buffet supper. Then with a group of nine we managed to drink the new year in until around 2.30 a.m. Lots of phone calls with UK and with Holland and we had to keep remembering the one and two hour time differences between us and these countries. Quiet, but very enjoyable, maybe next year we will seek out the rowdy parties.
Richard stayed over as he had too much drink to do any driving last night, so at last we managed that scrambled egg with smoked salmon, washed down with bucks fizz, sort of brunch really but we had promised ourselves that we would do this, all over Xmas. In the evening Joan had prepared a fresh goose that Richard had acquired through friends. Yesterday morning the poor fellow was still warm when he was delivered and he was as sure as hell warm when we got him on the table. Delicious, roast goose, apple stuffing and all the trimmings, followed by a traditional sherry trifle. Yum Yum, made me forget all about missing that Xmas dinner
Many of you are asking about reunification and the effect on land etc. The answer is of course we don't know what the final outcome will be and we can only take the assurances that we currently have, as being the thing to go by. "It will be sorted out at Government level". One thing is very certain, many many people are buying up land and property in advance of the ultimate outcome, so that gives us all a stronger belief that it will all be resolved eventually. Equally certain is the fact that there are a number of different land types, so before you commit, get some good legal advice to ensure that your land and property is as safe as possible, come reunification. Another reason why we don't have any answers is because we don't have a government at this time. If you recall the result of the December elections was a 50/50 split. According to today's paper, Mr Talant, leader of the Republican Turkish Party, was given 15 days from 29th December to try to form a coalition government. Until such time as this problem is resolved, or we have a new election, there is no chance of sitting round the table and discussing the Annan plan or any other reunification possibilities. So basically watch this space. This evening, Michael and Barbara came round with a couple of DVD's that they had borrowed, so we opened a bottle or two of wine to wash down the stilton and biscuits etc and enjoyed a pleasant evening together. Joan and I think that the result for Michael, will be Barbara trying to persuade him to open his wallet and purchase an up to date TV with DVD and Dolby Surround Sound. Never mind Michael, its only your kids inheritance
This morning we went scrumping, for olive wood for the wood burner, well not really scrumping because it is Richards land, that has many olive trees on it. We had to do it the hard way, with an axe and saw, so I think I am going to have to invest in a chain saw at some stage.
Late afternoon saw me down at Pine Bay Club, to watch the Arsenal Game. A good game and a nice chance to wind up a few people who still believe that they are going to win the premiership.
Finally today I was able to resolve the fight with the local council over our water bill. On average we use 25 to 35 tons of water per month, but, during the period we were in UK, from mid July until 6th September, our water meter showed we had used 620 tons in total. This equates to a total cost of 1.2 billion TL, or around £500. Now you might well imagine that I queried this at some length, in fact I have made numerous advances to the council and have paid no water bills since that date, its a bit like beating your head against a brick wall and of course there are an added four months of water usage to go on since then. Finally I got them to agree that it is very difficult to use water when you are 3,000 miles away, apart from some pool evaporation, so we settled on a compromise, I paid approx £225 for the entire period and the council wrote off the rest.
Today was very windy, in fact great gusts of the stuff swirling around. I had taken Joan down to have a repeat eye test and a few other shopping bits, only to come home and find that a sort of mini hurricane had ripped the roof off our gazebo. Guess were most of the shingle tiles ended up, yep that's right, tiling the pool, so now I am having to go fishing, because one thing is certain, I ain't going in for them.
Small consolation I suppose, but Michael suffered the same fate on his gazebo roof, next time we are going to have to put timber battens down the roof length to secure them. Just a little extra work that needs to be fixed and probably a few complaints from management until it gets done.
Late night football game at Pine Bay Club, Liverpool v Chelsea. Could not miss that one and especially as Liverpool won 1 - 0, what a great result and a good game to watch.
Really a pretty uneventful week, just doing the things we need to such as shopping etc. We did however go out to The Polar Cafe this evening. Richard had spotted their fish and chips advert in the local English newspaper, so we thought lets give it a go. Brilliant is the only thing we could say, we all had garlic mushroom starter with warm toast and butter, followed by fish and chips, obviously a local fish in batter but nice and fresh, desert was apple crumble and ice cream followed by brandy and coffee, we added a bottle of Angora red wine and the total bill, for all three, was 50 million, or £20 in old money. It may be a winter special but the quality was superb and we as sure as hell will go back, probably quite soon. The only snag for us is that it is on the east side of Kyrenia, so around a 22 mile round trip.When we got back, Joan and I went round to Michael and Barbara's to see his new surround sound home theatre system and TV. See he did open his wallet after all
Last Wednesday, when Joan and I were in Lardy Da's having a spot of lunch, Derek received a phone call, that his 98 year old mother had died earlier in the day, he was pretty cut up about this news and they are all planning to go to UK next week for the funeral. So, Joan got a large pork roast added all the trimmings and cooked us all up a great Sunday lunch, we only hope that a few beers and some good food helped take his mind off it a little
So what has been going on this last week, not a lot really, except that I have been talking to one or two hotels etc about links on the website, to give you more information, but this has identified more problems. Some of the websites that have been originally designed out here, are not doing there job properly, they are virtually invisible on the most popular search engines, so it looks like we need to try to improve some of these a.s.a.p. One thing that did come to light, was that some friends of ours have won a 7 day holiday break for two people at the Merit Hotel. The Merit is a 5 star luxury hotel and the package is all inclusive, that's full board, one of their top rooms, a real treat for someone. The package has to be taken between now and the Easter weekend, but unfortunately our friends are unable to take advantage, as they have to spend some time in UK. The package is therefore on offer at £400 to anyone who fancies it, so get a cheap flight over with Onur Air and treat yourself. If you are interested then send us an e-mail and we will put you in touch with Reg & Kath
For some time now, Joan and I have been talking about getting a small car for her to give her a little more independence, to and from work etc. At the same time we have been conscious of the fact that all the extra mileage I have been doing is showing in the petrol consumption of our 5.2 litre Jeep. For example I had to go to Nicosia three times last week and run up and down to Kyrenia so ended up putting 180 million TL in the petrol tank ( £72.), far too much. So we went over to talk to the guys at Tasas Trading Ltd in Nicosia. These are the gents with the car sales link on the website and who import direct from Japan. They had a number of sensible cars which would suit me down to the ground, Honda Civic Hatchbacks, Suzuki Aerio Estates etc. All of these are less than two years old, low mileage and with all the bells and whistles that you could want so we discussed the best way forward. We also saw a couple of small cars which would suit Joan down to the ground and she found a lovely, metallic silver Mazda Demio which she declared to be a real sweetie and when somebody said its only little, I said but Joan's only little, so its a perfect match. So we decided to leave the Jeep there for them to sell for us, make do with the "little sweetie" until they do and then buy something for me. This evening we went off to the Polar Cafe again for their fish and chip meal. This was because we had told Michael and Barbara how good it was, so they declared a wish to sample the wares. Afterwards we ended up drinking one or two beers etc back at our place until around 1.30 a.m
We had managed to get some kippers for breakfast from Bell Foods so this was a real treat to look forward to. Also we had noticed that our little orange trees, planted only last April had produced fruit, amazing, only just over two feet high and three juicy oranges for fresh juice and with it being a beautiful sunny morning (20 degrees at 10 a.m.), we were able to sit out on the kitchen terrace once again. I could say sorry to all you folks back in England, but that would only be rubbing salt in the wounds and probably make you send us nasty comments by e-mail. But this is one of the things we came over here to enjoy and it makes putting up with all that rain and mini-hurricanes worthwhile.George and Susan are due back from UK this evening and the house has been empty for the last three weeks, so clearly time to put a couple of gas fires on to air the place out a little for them. Richard and I went round to do just this, but when we walked into the kitchen it smelt a bit sort of off. Investigation revealed that, probably because of a power cut, the electric had tripped and everything in the freezer was definitely past its eat by date. Major clear out time, everything into a plastic bag and then into the dustbin and a wash down of both the fridge and freezer was necessary. It was such a beautiful sunny day, 26 degrees in fact, so this afternoon, Joan and I then went up to the little shop, bought them some bread, milk and eggs and then walked round to their house again, just to give them a starter for breakfast.Stewart and Barbara where picking them up from the airport, so we told them to give Susan the good news about having to go shopping tomorrow
Today we got our latest water bill, for the period ending 31st December. At this time of the year we do not need to water the garden, there is little or no evaporation from the pool, so our total usage was 8 tons, this equated to a total cost of £1.80, so I still think we were ripped off over our water usage when we where in UK, but then I am clear out of arguments with the council, but I do know one thing, next time I will be switching it off at the gate and putting locks on the garden taps. Today I started to repair the damage to the Gazebo roof and this time I am going to put wooden battens on top so that the wind can't do the damage again. It looks like I lost about 4 sq meters of the tiles, ripped beyond repair, so will have to go down and get some replacements tomorrow
What did I say yesterday about going down for some more roof tiles, well this is where the gazebo once stood. Today we had a total turn around in the weather, it has been blowing a hooley all morning and when I picked Joan up from school, I said lets hope that all the roof tiles have stayed on the gazebo this time. We got home to see almost all the tiles blowing around the garden, as the wind got stronger, so now you can select your own anglo-saxon words to go with my comments. The wind was in fact incredibly strong and getting so gusty that it was even difficult to stand up. We took the shopping up to the kitchen and just as I was standing at the window, to survey exactly how many roof tiles had gone, the whole gazebo lifted into the air, almost level with the upstairs window. It then disappeared over the swimming pool, clear over the rose garden and smashed against the front wall, a distance of some 80 to 90 yards. Most of what was the roof finished up on the road and in the field beyond, the remains of the timber framework was snapped just like matchwood. Clearly a tornado or whirlwind, call it what you like, had just gone through our garden areas, because we also lost a few ridge tiles off the roof and the Chandlers, next door, lost both their solar panels, off the water tower. We consider we were lucky that the gazebo just went through the gap, next to the house, or it could have done lots more damage on the way. Some of you will remember that we had a 3 x 1 meter wrought iron table, under the gazebo, covered in floor tiles. It took 4 guys all their time to lift this off the truck and put it on the terrace, not an effort for this whirlwind, it picked it up, turned it over and dumped it half hanging over the pool. I am so glad that it didn't actually end up in the pool, because I don't know how we would have got it out of there. I am also so very very glad that neither of us was outside when any of this was happening, material damage is repairable!It remained windy and gusty for a while, then we went outside to start clearing up the mess. This was when we found out that we had not come off as badly as Michael and Barbara Smith. They had lost their entire pergola roof over the kitchen terrace, some of the outer skin brickwork had also been brought down and their air conditioning unit ripped off the wall. The stonework pillars that support the pergola had just snapped off at balustrade level and fallen down into the garden below, a major rebuild job for the Australian Construction boys I think. Strange but true, Michael's gazebo, which was almost the same construction as ours just stands unscathed in his garden. This totally convinces me that it must have been some sort of whirlwind, that was selective on its way through
The cold, windy and wet weather has remained with us during the last few days, but not as severe as that on Thursday. Yesterday we were able to clear up some of the mess from out in the road, but it went very cold early in the afternoon, in fact there is a light sprinkling of snow on the hills behind us. So for those of you thinking that this Mediterranean lifestyle is all sunshine, think again and remember your electric blankets for the winter months. The one huge consolation is that when the summer begins in March/April, it hangs around for the next 9 months and we all go around saying how hot it is and also we know that the sunshine is guaranteed every day.One thing is very sure, I will have to rethink the gazebo design in plenty of time for this warm weather and I think this time we are going to have to come up with a design that has a removable roof, so that it doesn't act like a yacht sail. Before then I need to have a word with our insurance company to see if this was covered. What do you reckon to the chances, slim or what!!!
A busy week clearing up the debris from the storm and yes I went to the bank to talk to the insurance department. I think I got an answer that was a little like don't call us we'll call you. They were trying to say that the gazebo was not included when they assessed the building and that I should have added it later on the policy. My response was, the policy is in Turkish and despite a number of requests for an English translation how was I to know, so its not over yet, but now it's Bayram until next Thursday so I will have to wait.Michael Smith and I did have a great bonfire on Wednesday, all the left over bits from his roof and our gazebo made a lovely blaze. Boys will have fun! There have been three momentous things that happened during this week that will have some differing effects on our lives. Firstly our best friends from the UK, Les and Jill, have had a change in their life. For some time now, Les has been looking for an opportunity to get out of the building trade and by chance he found out that Keith, who has run the town shoe repairers for some 18 years, wanted out to go and live in New Zealand. For the last months Les has been working with Keith on Saturdays and rained off days, to learn the trade and now finally the key handover has taken place. Good luck Les, that's him on the left of picture, hope it all works out for you. They are coming out to see us at the end of September so no doubt we will get all the gen then. Secondly, on Wednesday our neighbours, the Chandlers, moved out, on their way to New Zealand also and our new neighbours, Stewart and Barbara, took over the keys. They have yet to go back to UK and get their furniture shipped, so it was all hands to help with some bits and pieces to tie them over. We hope you will both be very happy in there.The third item was the great news that Derek and Sandra have sold their house. A signed contract and deposit paid. They have been trying for some time to sell and buy a piece of land where they can build two separate villas. A little separation between them and Lorraine and her partner, with a shared pool was seen as the way forward. I think that now they have all decided that they like it here and want to stay, their priorities have changed a little about all living together. Great news for them, all they have to do now is find that piece of land
For some few weeks now, a friend of Richard's has been planning a charity 60's and 70's night in aid of the SOS orphanages over in Famagusta. So with that in mind we gathered a number of friends together and borrowed the school bus and driver from Sunny Lane Primary and set off for a really enjoyable evening. The evening was held at The European Hotel in Famagusta and they did us proud with a tremendous buffet with much more food than we could eat, this was followed by the normal raffle and our table did very well for prizes. Ertugral won a soft toy dog which was clutching a small bottle of brandy and then a whole bag of drinks to follow, he had a good night out and as his wife is in Istanbul at this time he had Joan to keep him company. As the night wore on, Sandra tried to convince me that dog was for real, time to get a coffee maybe! Richard had been seconded to do the DJ job for the last part of the evening and a super job he did too. We all were up and dancing, probably the 60's and 70's music helps with all us oldies around, even I was persuaded onto the dance floor. We finally wrapped the whole thing up a little after midnight, but with the bus journey home it was a 2.30 a.m. bedtime for most of us. We all agreed a splendid evening enjoyed by everybody there and what the hell, it's Sunday tomorrow
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