Frank and Joan's news for 18 January 2009 in Northern Cyprus

Frank and Joan's Adventures in Northern Cyprus

Our adventures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue....

You would hardly believe it. The temperature has gone up to the mid 20s today so decided that a couple of hours in the garden might clear the sinuses, followed by a sit in the sun to read the weekly newspaper.

Whilst the elections to change this government are already under way, with a polling date in April, it hasn't stopped them having a go. This time they are saying that there will be a clamp down on residency and work permits. It is a known fact that every expat over the age of 18 needs a residency permit or work permit if gainfully employed. This is of course nothing new, but this clampdown follows the deportation of one family who were living here and running market stalls etc without any form of residency etc. I think that every expat is fully aware of the rules but some just choose to ignore them and have to accept the consequences.

A warning about car insurance in relation to accidents with vehicles from the other side of the border. Because of the the political situation on both sides it would appe

ar that in some cases people have taken advantage of this. One serious case involved an English couple who faced huge medical bills which should have been covered by the Greek Cypriots insurance, as he fell asleep at the wheel. However after a very short stay in hospital he managed to get back across the border and is of course now ignoring all summonses against him. I suppose that the same situation applies when we take our cars across, as we are only third party covered, so extreme care is needed at all times. Just a word of warning really as many of you hire cars in the south and bring them across whilst on holiday, check that cover.

Want a laugh. Two ladies darts teams playing a competition match last week have been suspended. Apparently an argument broke out and abusive language was hurled instead of arrows, so now both teams are suspended from the leagues. No comment.......

The two presidents are meeting still and the next item on the agenda is the property issue. They are still talking which is hopeful but yet they both admit that there has been little progress made to date so don't hold your breath waiting for a settlement.

This week the Club Lapethos Hotel here in Lapta closed. Reports suggest that more than one quarter of the hotels here in the North have closed. The Hoteliers Union claim that there has been a marked decrease in the number of tourists to the TRNC since 2005. Despite this they still seem to be building more casino style hotels and the government is paying subsidies towards this growth. Seems a bit daft to me, they would be better to award money to tourism attractions and maybe to cheaper flights to grow this part of the economy, it offers much employment to locals.

"Peace in our time" The South, whilst negotiating how to bring the island together in peace and harmony, have just bought 41 Russian tanks. Strange sort of peace token.

The overall inflation figure for 2008 is calculated at 14.5% which compares with 9.5% in 2007. A fairly sharp rise but maybe to be expected.