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Our
adventures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue....
  
Well there we all went full of apprehension, faith, hope for the next round etc.etc.. Only to watch England get beaten on a penalty shootout. George, Michael and I enjoyed the tension but not the result, only one thing to do after that, take the girls down to the Silver Grill in Katsiyaka for dinner.
Incidently if anyone is interested in buying a business over here, the Silver Grill is up for sale. Ali had a kidney operation last winter and his wife suffers from back problems so they have decided to get out and retire. A good business I think, but the actual restaurant needs a touch of flair adding to the decor etc.
Other news in the papers today.
The south have arrested a Turkish Cypriot architect who was crossing the border with construction plans in the boot of his car. They said that the plans and documents related to land in the North owned by Greek Cypriots. They are treating him like a criminal for what could only be a civil offence. I am puzzled by all this when they repeatedly say this is an unrecognised state under occupation. How can they bring charges against citizens in a state they refuse to recognise. Just another attempt to make them very popular with the rest of the world? I would have thought despite all this, that somebody living and working here in the building industry would know better than to cross the border with documents in their vehicle.
The new bypass is under construction, but, it is reported that the project manager is threatening to quit. He is seemingly fed up with the delays which occur over here, between the various government departments that need to be involved in permissions. Now thats something we have been saying for so long, if even one department managed to get it's act together it would be a miracle.
Does anybody remember "The Homebuyers Pressure Group" set up to resolve diputes between property buyers, their builders, estate agents and lawyers. Well it seems that it could all fall down as a result of apathy by the members. Marion Stokes, the founder of the group, says that as usual in these sort of situations a few are trying to do the work for the many. Members with problems have been asked to prepare case histories, in both English and Turkish, so that they could be acted upon but very few can be bothered. Come on folks, if you have problems and there are people willing to support you in this way, digitum extractum, and see if you can get the whole thing sorted at the highest possible levels.
Sunday, a day to relax and what better way than with friends. Joan and I had invited our Turkish Cypriot friends Atay and Akila Rashid over for the afternoon and evening. They live in the middle of Nicosia where it is hot and sticky at this time of the year so they really enjoyed the pool and of course a BBQ meal to follow. Atay is apparantly not in to any form of domesticity, so was very surprised to find that I had prepared the lamb kebabs and then cooked them afterwards. A nice day all round.
A couple of days of work for both of us follwed by an evening out at The Cabin. Roger B's first night of the summer season enjoyed by many and of course the few beers to wash it down.
Well the new broadband installation has been up and running for one week now. Great to have this increased speed of internet access and in our case both computers networked so that we are not breathing over one another's shoulder waiting for our tutn on the keyboard. We are having a few small problems with the e-mail links as we want to set up info@frankandjoan.com as our address and it means that all is contained within the website. So watch this space, but in the meantime we can highly recommend the Internet Club, a group of English guys who know what service is about and expected by their users.
Last week, Susan went over to the UK on Friday, to visit her new grandson, George is following on tomorrow morning early so this evening the three of us went to L.D's to make sure that George got his fill of gamon with fried egg and pineapple before he went off.
Yesterday evening we had him round for a juicy steak with lots of mushrooms and salad. So don't think he is starving without his lovely wife to look after him.
I had an e-mail in today, from Julie Holmes, that says that EasyJet have received confirmation of their flights to Istanbul and that they are to start within the next couple of weeks. Good news for those of you who have already booked for maybe August and beyond.
Decided that all this garden watering was a mugs job, so today got a gang from a friends garden centre in and 5 of them installed a complete watering system in one day. Brilliant and one advantage of having quite deep gravel over the garden as they were able to bury most of the pipes.
Having arranged for this to happen a few days ago, nobody told us about the huge downfall of rain we were going have yesterday. It absolutely hosed it down for a couple of hours and areas of Nicosia were flooded and some of the building sites will be totally impassable for the next few days. Won't need to use the new watering system for at least the rest of this week and probably some of next week as well.
Saturday, a supposed day of rest from running around, but no not this week. Joan had me out at Esentepe, a long way the other side of Kyrenia, by 10 a.m., to install furniture in to a customers villa. It is nice to see some of the designs of other villas and have to admit, whilst we were waiting as usual for the promised delivery at 10.30, which turned up at 12 o'clock, we had a chance to sit in the shade and discuss our villa.
Many of you will remember we decided some time ago to put it up for sale as the constant stair climbing was not really good for Joan's arthritic knee. Well we maybe have come up with an alternative. Have the underneath filled in with lounge, dining room, kitchen etc and a set of stairs going up indoors to the smallest bedroom. That way when we convert our existing lounge to our bedroom we can come down and maybe stay there for the most of the day and as a builder friend of ours said, where would we be able to buy a piece of land like this anymore here at a reasonable price. So watch this space, providing the price is right of course.
What the paper, Cyprus Today, says.
Don't read too much in to that handshake. Talat and Papadopolous met for the first time last week. There were specifics on the agenda for the meeting but seemed to be no mention of discussions re the Cyprus problem. A statement from the presidents office later said that it was very clear that Mr Papadopolous does not intend to work towards ending the Cyprus problem.
As part of my recent kitchen equipment installations I have been driving passed the Amaranta Valley site regularily and am sorry to say that nothing is moving there yet. But now it is reported that there is a war of words between Gary Robb and the government about the fact that he says that they, the Government, have broken their promises and guarantees on his return. The government is now saying that the money, which is a very large sum, will be released within the next few days allowing work to commence and that Gary Robb was talking out of frustration at the speed of action here.
Drastic measures to prevent water being wasted are being proposed. Hose pipe bans, car washing, curbs on swimming pool usage etc. are being considered. New regulations will come in to force says the government, in two to three years time. Things move very, very quickly here.........
Penalty notices from 11 of the new speed cameras will start to come in to effect on 15th July, maybe they have got electric to them at last. All we need is a postal service which can deliver the fines notices.
Telsim, the 0542 mobile service, has been taken over by Vodaphone. That should be interesting and maybe it will cause some changes to charges and services.
The architect arrested last week is still in a Greek Cypriot jail and now it is reported that a letting agent from this side had rental agreements seized from her car as she went over on a shopping trip. Question, why, why, why take any documents relating to properties here when it is widely reported that they are looking for them and you? Leave the damn things at home, it only requires a modicum of intellegence to see this.
Now here is a beauty. An Internationally recognised award has been made to Cyrpus Turkish Airlines for its safety systems and the general manager says that the aim was to improve all standards. I wonder if this is part of that improvement system that was sent to me this week.
After every flight, CTA pilots fill out a form, called a gripe sheet, which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form and the pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Here are some of the actual maintenance complaints submitted by the pilots marked with a P and the solutions recorded marked with an S by maintenance engineers.
P: Left inside main tyre almost needs replacement S: Almost replaced left inside main tyre
P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft
P: Something loose in cockpit S: Something tightened in cockpit
P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear S: Evidence removed
P: DME volume unbelievably loud S: DME volume set to a more believable level
P: Suspected crack in windscreen S: Suspect you're right
P: Number 3 engine missing S: Engine found on right wing after a brief search
P: Aircraft handles funny S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right and be serious
P: Mouse in cockpit S: Cat installed
P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer. S: Took hammer away from midget
Only a joke, promise.
The Orams case starts in UK on July 18th. Enough said!
Joan and I spent part of the morning starting to get the downstairs bedroom, which used to be my office, ready for our visitors arriving from Holland next Thursday. A 15 year old girl, Samantha and her 11 year old brother, Michael, complete with their father, Arie. Thank goodness for the later can't imagine how a couple of mid 60 year old's could cope with that lot. It has been quite some time, in fact almost 4 years, since we saw the kids so we are looking forward to their visit. Maybe we will also be happy when the 12 days are over!
This afternoon we were invited to try out Brian and Pat's newly completed pool, followed by a BBQ. We were joined by Roger and Gill and the six of us had a very pleasant afternoon, this before Roger and Gill go off to UK again this Wednesday coming.
Oh yes we had very long power cut today and guess what, our generator would not start. This on a Sunday. Monday morning I went up to the local mechanic and he came down and fitted a new starter button. £10.00 including the call out charge.....
Big news.....
Our e-mail system is now live with our new e-mail address:-
info@frankandjoan.com
so please change your address book as the superonline account will be dead from 18th August next.
Just had to have an evening at L.D's before the gang came over so arranged to go down there with Michael, Barbara, Pat and Bryan.
Joan and I had an alternative reason for wanting to go down there. Some time ago as a sort of joke, Lorraine said she was fed up with her lot and wanted us to adopt her. We said that we would consider it very carefully and Lorraine said she would only come to us if she could have a pony. Ever since, when we go down there all we hear is I want a pony! so now she has one, not very large and about as false as the promised adoption papers, me thinks.
Next morning I got a text message from Sandra saying we forgot to take her home with us. Guess what I said, you don't get rid that easily!
here they come. Arrival day for Arie and the kids.
George, when he went to UK, kindly left his Subaru for us to use as it has just that bit more space than my Toyota, so Joan and I were both able to go over and collect the gang from Larnaca airport. I know; Larnaca airport, but in this case the only way to get from Amsterdam.
They were very excited to be here and for Michael it was his first flight so he was all hyper when he arrived. A bit of a late night for all, but great to see them after so long. My how they have grown up in the four years. Michael is now taller than Joan and Samantha is quite the young lady, 15 going on 35 I think.
We all spent most of the day in and around the pool as they clearly needed to get over the flight and long day they had had. Also Joan and I both had a couple of quick visits to make to customer sites.
Also in the evening I needed some help with the BBQ as that to them is a bit of a novelty whilst for us it is the only way to cook in the summer months. Who wants a hot kitchen stove? Guess it all went down very well as the plates got cleaned and we didn't need any help with the eating we even managed to finish most of the ice cream in the freezer.
This morning I took Arie and the kids down town to Kyrenia as they needed to change money and also to visit the watch shop opposite the Dome hotel. Arie replaced his watch that he had bought a year or so ago and also bought a couple of watches for the kids. At this point I learnt a couple of new words for the old mans vocabulary, "cool" which is probably obvious to all and then "bling bling" which means something that is bright, shiny and will be loved by all her girlfriends when she gets home. A nep Gucci watch all pink and shiny with a bright wide strap. Thus very bling bling.
In the afternnon we went down to The Sunset Club which Joan and I had joined recently on the assumption that it would be enjoyed by all who come to stay as a sort of club place to swim and relax. Also every time you want to go to a beach here you have to pay quite high prices not only for a sunbed but also to eat and drink. The Sunset is just around the corner so to speak, costs nothing to go in any more and offers 20% off food and drink to life members which brings these things down to avery favourable price.
Both Michael and Samantha found the swimming bit really good so guess that this was money well spent for them and Samantha as a young 15 year old going on about 35 found the young Turkish waiters quite interesting. I somehow think that we will get some really first class waiter service during the rest of their stay here.
In the evening Joan and I had organised to go down to The Pegasus restaurant where Veli the owner had arranged a Turkish evening and charity dinner to raise money for the Kidney Dialysis equipment needed here. The food was absolutely superb and we all really enjoyed that and the rest of the evening.
When we got home, quite late, Michael insisted on going in for a night swim and Joan had to join in like it or not. I suppose when we were that age we had all that energy too, but it's such a long time ago I have sort of conveniently forgotten.
Last day of the week again, or is it the first of the next week, whatever, time goes by so quickly here that sometimes I don't even remember which day of the week it really is. Who cares so long as we continue to enjoy the time.
Sort of leisurely morning for all, with me cooking the full English for everyone as a special treat. This was followed by an agreed stay around the pool day, with the usual brother and sister squabbles over the pool toys. The weekends, especially Sunday, can get very busy down on the beaches so it seems to make sense to stay around home and it also gave Joan a chance to catch up on some e-mails and me time to do this website.
In the headlines today is the attempt by the greek South to delay the Orams case due to be heard in UK. Obviously there is enormous interest in this case and no doubt from Tuesday next all eyes will be on the internet for reports.`
From today all 11 of the new speed cameras become fully functional, so watch out for those fines. Apparantly evidence from these cameras can also be used to catch people not wearing seat belts and using mobile phones.
Next Thursday is the 32nd anniversary of Turkey's intervention on the island in 1974. It will be marked by the usual celebrations and of course we will have the Turkish airforce presentation. Must remember to take Michael down to the harbour area to get a good view of it all. The Turkish president has promised a different message in his speech at the ceremonies, guess we will have to wait until next week to find out what that is all about.
The forecast is that temperatures will soar to 34 - 39 degrees during this next week but humidity levels will remain the same. Now that's warm.
The architect who was arrested on June 27th has finally been released by the Greek South. Not before time. How can an individual be held to ransom over what is after all a political issue and one that that man Papadoplous shows no signs of wanting to resolve. It is to be noted that former president Denktas is showing increasing concern about the way things are being handled here. His belief is that the current path of action will lead to surrender and going back.
On Wednesday the new improved facilities consisiting of an improved A & E unit and two day care wards, funded by the BRS campaign was officially opened by the Health Minister. The total cost came out at £43,000 and this was raised over a two year period by functions and other donations from companies and individuals. A magnificant effort and the sort of thing that assists relationships locally.
It is actually 6.15 a.m. on Thursday the 27th July. The “family” went home two days ago and since then we have had two days without electric and our generator is back to the supplier for repair. Life’s a bitch now and again.
It was lovely to have them here but also very nice to get back to the peace and quiet of just the two of us in our home. Have to admit that we have now learnt what is bling and what is not, what is cool or cool man and how to say yooo and give the hand sign to go with it. Strange sort of language, that obviously passed us by.
We have every respect for Arie being the single parent. Michael is absolutely hyper, at 11 years old, and just needs to be on the go all the day long. He loves the water and was never happier than when we did the boat trip or he was on the beach or in our pool. He then sleeps 10 hours straight, wakes up and is all full of beans again, very difficult to get an old mans afternoon nap with the likes of him around. Samantha at 15 is something else, very moody if she does not get just what she wants, expects to be waited on hand and foot and only breaks out in to a smile if she is the centre of attention like when she is pulling the local boys. Maybe that is just what teenagers are like and we don’t have the experience to back this theory up. A lovely girl who is going to be a very beautiful woman but good luck Arie, guess you have a lot of heartache and troubles to come.
Before catching up with everything, just have to show you this super photo of the very proud grandparents Grandparents.
Joan and I where out and about so we dumped the gang down at Sunset and got on with our business. They really enjoy it there so that was a very good choice for them.
In the evening we took them out to one of our favourite places, yes(07_16}, where they all declared the food to be something special. Samantha and Arie especially enjoyed the Cod Mornay and of course there is always the burger - king who declared it to be one of the best.
Samantha nad Michael had their holiday money that was burning a hole in their pockets. We did the only sensible thing and took them to Nicosia old town, where their eyes popped out at all the "brand name" T-shirts and tops available down the rows and in the indoor market.
It has been so incredibly hot these last days that that a long morning was more than enough time to spend in the town so we went to have a Nicosia doner in one of the little cafes near the mosque and then came back to the pool. there was a feint sizzling sound as we all jumped in and a great sigh of relief. Guess that is all the shopping done for this holiday.
Today is the local TRNC Peace and Freedom day, marking 32 years of peace and freedom for the Turkish Cypriots, not occupation as the Greek Cypriots would have you believe. All banks and civil offices are closed and everybody celebrates this day in some way.
There are parades at various places throughout the day but in Kyrenia always in the later part of the afternoon. Because it was so very hot we decided that the best thing to do was to spend most of the time around the pool and then go down town around 3 p.m.
Out in the bay there were two ships from the Turkish navy anchored, we remember them from a couple of years ago when we sailed between them in the dinghy, being carefully watched all the time. Down on the seafront there were parades of soldiers who had clearly been there for some time and who were getting quite fidgety in the heat. Sailors, UN troops, Paratroopers and of course walking around amongst them Mr Cool?. Anybody like to take bets on there being nobody on the other end of that phone!
Around 5 o'clock the The VIP's finally turned up for the drive past and to accept the salute from the military presence, much to the relief of everybody I guess.
When we had seen this, we managed to nip quickly off for a couple of cold beers before finding a really good place back on the seafront, to watch the Turkish Red Arrows. They put on their usual tremendous display, punctuated by masses and oohs and aahs from the spontaneously clapping crowd. One day somebody should tell them that the pilots can't hear them, just like they love clapping for an automated computer landing at any airport! Towards the end of the display we had a slow fly past to give everybody a chance to get a good look at the planes. It was good that this day occured when the kids were here, as it gave them a chance to see something like this at fairly close quarters and for us to explain to them the reason for it all.
Boat trip day. We had been telling Arie and the kids about our trips out and they fancied the idea so we did the obvious thing, gathered a few more of The Layabouts and friends, secured enough to get us a private boat and booked that boat trip for today.
This time we went west, as Ecevit reckoned the wind would get up in the afternoon making the return from the east very unconfortable. Samantha and Michael sat out in the sun with Joan so that she could point out some of the places that they had only seen from the road.
George did his best to catch some lunch but not even a very little one came his way. After about 1 hour we anchored up in one of the bays and it was a case of all in the water as quickly as possible. Joan always jumps in so has to hold ze nose!. I have in fact seen her hold her nose until just before she hits the water and then she lets go, very strange idea.
After about about 1.5 hours in the water lunch is served and as usual it is first class. It's a good job that Ecevit had been out fishing early in the morning so we did not have to rely on George's catch, but then he was seen taking a look into the future! so maybe next time he will know where the fish are.
After lunch, washed down of course with the inevitable beers etc. we set off back towards the harbour and then anchored up at Camelot beach where another swim was called for. This time Ecevit also joined us in the water as he had promised to give young Michael a snorkel lesson. Ecevit is a very experienced diver and Michael felt very safe with him and obviously learnt a lot. Ecevit wanted him to hang on to his shoulders while he dived down but Michael was not quite confident enough to do that, maybe next time. Samantha, who initially in the morning was a bit concerned about going in to the water decided that hold on to the lifebouy was a good thing to do, until somebody decided that it should be pulled rapidly towards the boat, then she had no chance.
back too soon. Always we feel that a few more hours would be lovely but sooner or later we have to return to harbour. Another great day out and The Layabouts are planning to do it agin next month, when Brian and Pat get back from UK.
Saturday was another day on the beach at Sunset for the kids with us joining them later.
As it was getting towards the end of their holiday Arie allowed some time on the jetskis again. First we got Sam on jetski with the guy responsible for them at Sunset and a real favourite with her. Then Michael got to have a go himself and the instructor said it was obvious that his experience at motocross showed up, as even at 11 years he had lots of control. Finally father gets a go too and believe he enjoyed it almost as much as the kids.
In the evening we all went back to have dinner at Sunset Beach Club and listen to a guy called Danny Fisher who is Elvis. The food on a Saturday evening at Sunset is a sort of Turkish BBQ. Full meze to start with and then the full kebab to follow. Have to admit that it was very good and plenty of it as you were invited to keep going back if you wish.
The Elvis performance was excellent and Joan and I are going to suggest that some of the gang join us one Saturday to see and hear for themselves. We had two sessions during the evening and after the interval the even More Elvis was really good. Maybe it because this music is from our era but even me was persuaded onto the dance floor.
Sunday and a day of rest? Not with Michael around it isn't. In the pool before anybody else and a.s.a.p after breakfast and now all he wants is some other idiot in there with him so that he can be a pest.
Me, I'm just going to sit quietly and read yesterdays Cyprus Today. Headline news of course is the fact that the Orams case was last week and now they have to sit and wait for the judgement. Hopefully this will be before the end of July, because if not we will all have to keep our fingers crossed until September.
Seems the speed cameras are working and already they have a backlog of 10,000 tickets which have to be delivered to drivers and this in only one week. As there is no real postal system here they are going to have to use traffic police to deliver the fine notices. Seems a bit daft really as one objective of the cameras was to release traffic police to do more important things to improve the standard of driving here.
There have been a couple more robberies reported over the last week. One of them was on an ex-pat retired policeman and his friends who were sitting outside on the patio at 1 a.m. when approached by three men, one of whom seemed to be carrying a gun. Never used to happen here, but there seems to be a bit of an increase in this sort of crime, lets hope that the authorities stamp on it very quickly. Most cases seem to be against locals and by reading between the lines it would seem that they are as a result of grudges against others or maybe debts not paid.
Lots and lots in the papers about the very sad situation in Lebanon, but then expect that the UK papers are also full of this news. What a very sad situation that it would seem that all over the world the belief is that you solve things by aggression and many innocent people suffer as a result.
Up a little early this morning. 3.30 a.m. to be exact as we needed to get Arie and the kids on the road and to Larnaca airport in time to catch their early flight back to Amsterdam.
Joan and I took advantage of being over that side and dropped in to Orphanides just as they were opening at 8.30 a.m. so got a little shopping done nice and quickly before coming home.
After a day over in Nicosia in all this heat, decided to give The Mediteranean Breeze special steak and starter night a try. We were joined by George and susan and then Roger and Gill. Seems as if many minds had similar ideas. Roger and Gill only got back from their UK trip yesterday.
The steak and starter was good value for money it's just a great shame that there are so few tourists around this year as many of these restaurants who depend on them to a degree must be struggling.
Wow it has gone quiet around here, just the two of us doing things we normally do like a bit of gardening, some lazy swimming when it gets too hot and that without somebody shouting "geronimo" and trying to bomb us.
We did have George and his labouring lads here for the last two days clearing a patch at the back corner of the garden to make a base for a timber shed. We need to find somewhere else to store all the garden furniture and tools etc as we are about to make some serious changes to the underneath area of our villa, which means we have definitely decided to stay put, so watch this space for the work, as soon as our builder gets back from holiday, we hope.
Serious stuff in this weeks paper:-
Tax plan for rented out properties. The government is considering legislation which will bring non resident owners in to the tax net and clamp down on avoidance by those living here with more than one property. Guess this has been instigated by the hoteliers who are suffering badly and partially blame the number of private villas for rent. They also heavily blame the cost of getting to the island and criticise the government for not influencing flight costs.
A huge increase in the cost of fuel was introduced on Thursday last, without any form of warning. Unleaded petrol went up from 57p per litre to 68p per litre. This of course represents a 19% increase just when the minimum wage has increased by 10.2%. As you can imagine there is an immediate protest from all the unions and threats of action to close various facilities etc. The usual problems will of course arise for people as fuel costs have there indirect costs effect on almost everything.
Mr Justice Jack, at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, has reserved judgment on the Orams case until after the summer recess, in September then.
On Monday evening we went with the kids down to Ezic Chicken restaurant in Kyrenia and saw what looked like a traffic accident in the main street. We saw one of the Sante Fee Construction cars which had driven in to the back of the vehicle in front, but in reality it turned out that this was something more serious. Two men, a 23 and a 24 year old were later arrested and accused of shooting the driver, luckily only in the leg. According to the press, the driver had a bag with him containing £35,000, which was untouched.
There are four separate articles this week about reunification or division. Or a Climate change for Cyprus. A step by step solution to the problem. Each one suggesting that there are moves afoot to find a solution. But then we have been there many times before, so sorry if I appear cynical.
This evening we are defintely going down to LD's, we are starting to get withdrawal symptons as we have not been there for two weeks.
Yesterday the last Sunday of the month we went across the fields to Sandy's BBQ. John and Sandy's son is here at the moment with his fiance so it was an ideal opportunity for them to gather a few friends together to do what we do best, eat and drink with a few dips in the pool to cool off.
The girls took one look at all that warm cooking thing around the BBQ and decised to head for the the coolest spot. A great afternoon and evening, thanks Sandy.
Well, Joan and I have finally decided, once and for all, to stay exactly where we are and change the house around instead of moving. So during the next month you can expect a few pictures of a builders mess. This first one I have called stage 1 as we needed this piece of equipment as a storage place for all the garden equipment, sunloungers etc as we are about to loose our big storeroom underneath the house.
Oh yes, one last thing before I close off the month:- ANY DAY NOW OUR SUPERONLINE LINK IS GOING TO CLOSE DOWN. PLEASE USE THE NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS IN FUTURE.
info@frankandjoan.com
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