Frank and Joan's news for 11 January 2010 in Northern Cyprus

Frank and Joan's Adventures in Northern Cyprus

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

Joan and Anne went over south today on a ladies shopping trip and that left me with Anne's car to take Tiggy to the vets. I am convinced she knows when we want to pop her in to that basket and take her for the treatment because she always manages to go walk about. She came strolling back in around 9.30 not realising that I was ready for her. She has 5 more of these monthly chemo treatments left to go and she is doing so very well that we have to keep going.

Popped in to the village on my way back for a 10TL haircut, which was really needed as the last time was 6 weeks ago. So now I have no excuse for not updating this site with some news before I have to go back down town to collect Tiggy.

Apparently we are to get an Italian Invasion this summer. CTA and a locally based travel company, have done a deal a Rome based company to bring 7,000 Italian tourists to TRNC this summer. Lets hope it all comes off, with the first tourists due to arrive on May 25th.

The government is urging the shop owners

to cut prices. Their argument is that the Turkish Lira has strengthened against other currencies making imports cheaper and if they don't act competition from the south would become a bigger threat. The chairman of the Consumers Association said that there is nothing the government cam do about prices it was up to businessmen and shopkeepers. In other words.....It ain't going to happen, me thinks.

The long awaited Girne bypass will be finished in March, weather permitting, a highways official has vowed. Oh dear, is this another promise. Note that nobody said which year.....

Now it would appear that the former coalition government has been shown to cover up CTA's huge debts by making illegal corrections to the national flag carriers accounts whilst they were in power. It is clear that this government is trying to prove these sort of actions to strengthen their argument for pay and staff cuts.

Lots, at the start of this new year, about the Cyprus solution. Lord Maginnis of Drumglass has made lots of comments in the House of Lords by saying that he feels utterly ashamed at the UK governments attitude to the Cyprus tragedy. He further said that the privileges that the Greek Cypriots enjoy today as "the government of Cyprus" .. have resulted from the fundamentally immoral disregard by Britain and the International community of the appalling crimes of the Greek Cypriots and of the rights of the Trkish Cypriots. Strong words, but is anybody listening?

As for a solution, opinion swings wildly between party leaders here in TRNC. Opinion also swings about the presidential election results due in April. Guess the result for Mr Talat depends on if he can make any significant progress in his talks with the south. If the fact that the two leaders failed to make any significant progress during 2009, must go against him.

Finally for the week, the weather is set to take a turn for the worst in the coming days so that will probably be my excuse for not doing too much gardening.