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Our adventures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue....
A very busy and eventfull week and a bit, coupled with an unexpected place of rest this week. in a local hospital. More about that later, first a catch up. The weekend Cyprus Today, on 1st May, clearly had so much really eventful news that their lead story included a half page picture about only going fishing with a licence. I think that with the new president now in situ and not many firm appointments or decisions to be discussed at this early stage, they have little of any real merit to report on. There is in fact more interesting news about things happening in the south than here in TRNC. A British couple there have been awarded 120,000 euros compensation from their lawyer because he did not represent them as he should have done during their purchase process. A property advice website has been ordered y the courts to close down after complaints by developers. Interesting, sounds like it is back to the "buyer beware" thing again. The government in the south is advising people not to go to the Immovable Property Commission, despite the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights which stated that this was the appropriate route. The leader of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus has called for an end to the "nice guy" attitude of the Greek Cypriot side at the negotiating table. Interesting !!!!! Tiggy has been to the vets for another session of chemo last Monday. It is all still a bit worrying as she goes sometimes for days without really eating enough. Joan and I try to tempt her with all sorts, but there is only one thing that she really has and that is a love of yoghurt. We will have to wait and see how it all goes as she only really has two chemo sessions left, maybe the vet will suggest we go back to Istanbul for more. On the way back from the vets we stopped so that I could take a picture to help all those of you who ask for advice, on selecting a good builder. Now this is built by somebody who has an eye for the finest quality and design. Until recently this was the Picnic Restaurant, opposite the entrance to Escape Beach. The building of the new dual carriageway has really exposed this quality building. Tuesday 4th was a bit of a surprise day for me. I had gone to see a doctor, at the Medikent Hospital, because I had been having some mild chest pains since I got back from France, After blood tests, echo sounding and a treadmill test, a cardiologist suggested that I might have partially blocked artery. He wanted me back in Wednesday morning for an angiogram. Joan took me there for 9 a.m. and by 10 o'clock I was down in the operating theatre, lying on the table, with my hands behind my head, watching them stick a tube in near my groin and conduct an inspection of the arteries in my heart. What an amazing piece of equipment, but I have to say there are better TV programs that I would rather watch. The consultant then said, "look there is the partial blockage. we will need to fit a stent there" Ok I said, "when do you wnat me back." But they didn't want me back, just wanted to do it whilst they were busy in there. I suppose in a way I didn't have time to think or worry about it, because less than 1.5 hours after going down to theatre, I was back in bed with the job done. The uncomfortable bit was yet to come. I had to lie in bed with my right leg stretched out for the next 6 hours and was told quite clearly, not to move it. After this time one of the surgeons came and removed the tube they had put in there, squeezed until the bleeding stopped and then placed 5 kg weights on the bandaged wound and told me to lie still for another 5 hours at least.. Has anybody ever tried this torture? Sleep impossible, I had a drip in the right arm, a blood pressure bandage on the left, which pumped itself up every 20 minutes and a heart monitoring machine that just kept going beep, beep. I suppose that at the end of the day all this meant the treatment was done quickly and very professionally, as the surgeaons there had all trained at Guys or St Thomas's in London and the whole hospital is only about 1 year old. It is important that people realise that when you come here, this sort of treatment si available but it has to be paid for, as all those years you have paid in to NHS funds counts for nothing here. But the cost is a fraction of the private hospital costs in UK. Joan was allowed to bring me home around Thursday lunchtime, but with strict understanding that I took it easy for the next couple of weeks and certainly no heavy lifting etc. The week was not yet over for us and more bad stuff to follow. Anybody remember Smudge the little kitten we got in 2004. Well she had appeared a little off colour over the last few days and not eating, so this morning meant another trip to the vets surgery. Blood tests revealed that she had feline leukemia for which there is no cure, so the vet had no choice but to put her down, she had been vacinated against this, but it seems that this is not the ultimate protection. Very sad and we did not want her thrown on the local dump, so with my no heavy work thing, Bryan had to come round a dig a hole under her favorite tree. Apparently this disease is one of the biggest killers here because of all the strays around, it seems to be very contagious. After a week like this, Joan and I decided that a juicy T-bone steak at The Green Palace was the only cure. I might not be allowed to do heavy things but slicing in to a juicy steak does not come in to that category.
Last Saturdays newspaper had a bit more news than we have had in recent weeks. But I have to say that watching Sky News every day at the moment is interesting. Did anybody see the almost fight between Alastair Campbell and Adam Boulton? Guess you will get some sort of government over there shortly but if it is a Brown/Clegg agreement guess there might be more fireworks to come. Can I just suggest that when the last Brit leaves they switch off the light. Here the biggest story has to be the fate of CTA. If they don't get refunded by 15th May then they will have to be declared bankrupt, the paper says.Their debts are in excess of 100 million dollars and the staff have not been paid for last month yet. There just has to be a massive restructuring and a major stripping of staff. Can't see anybody being willing to take them on as they are. Also political appointments to run an airline, with men with no airline experience at all, cannot be right. The new president, Mr Eroglu, has confirmed that he is to start negotiations with the South on May 26th. He also, probably quite rightly, says that his term in office must be the make or break for island peace talks. It will obviously take him some time to get a feel on the overall situation, but he says that he believs that the world is running out of patience because of the non-conformist attitude of the Greek Cypriots. There is a partial connection to the new Girne bypass now open and this at both ends. In the next few weeks, when the whole is open we should see journey times coming down between here and Lefkosa. The forecast for this week is that summer is here at last. Maybe we will get in the pool before the weekend. The forecast suggests that temperatures are rising to 35 degrees before the weekend. This is the first year that we have had to wait so long before getting in to the pool. Tiggy bulletin. People ask so here is the current bulletin. She continues to have her chemo every two weeks now and is all bright eyed and eats a little, but not enough for us. She still has Tiggys favourite which is of course the empty yoghurt pots and it keeps heer amused for a long time. We don't know how much longer she has but so long as she is not in pain we will keep up the treatment.
St Andrews Church, here in Kyrenia , has recently become the proud owner of a new Johannus Organ. This is a fully digitalised instrument and they wanted an opportunity to show it off to its best. We are lucky in that a man called John Crothers, has a villa here in TRNC but is also a organist and music teacher in Paris. He gave us an organ recital this evening of organ music over four centuries. The music was especially chosen to show all the best of the new organ and it's capabilities, with each section of music being explained to us so that we were able to understand how this fantastic instrument really worked. A superb evening and a music lesson as well.
Things are beginning to pick up with the warmer weather. So far this week we have had three viewings and one was supposed to come back again today, but that didn't happen and it seems that they still have a house to sell in UK. We have had other viewers like this but it seems a little pointless until the market picks up in UK as well. But it is heartening that people are coming over to view and to buy so we will have patience. One worrying thing is of course the situation with CTA, because if they are not financially rescued by this weekend who knows how people will get over here. The headline in Wednesdays paper says "Deadline Looms". Ministers are saying CTA will survive. The tourism industry is pushing very hard for funding and trying to put together a rescue package, because they will be very big losers in all this. Lets wait until the weekend and see the outcome. The new president gave an interview to Cyprus Today for this weeks paper and the main headline to be seen said "I want a deal, but I will do it my way". This clearly refers to the start of talks with the south on 26th May. Mr Eroglu was at pains to point out that nothing was finalised between Talat and Christofias, so that means that all issues are open for discussion. One of his criticisms of Mr Talat was that he had been too secretive about the goings on at the negotiating table. When asked if he was prepared to be flexible to reach a compromise settlement, he responded "if I say I will show flexibility, it means that I accept that I will make concessions. Flexibility must come from both sides, so that depends on the Geek Cypriots. We will evaluate the situation when the time comes". Me thinks this man will be a little harder to deal with than Talat ever was. OK, so you lot have a government now, strange bedfellows but only time will tell. Here we are also trying to set up a coalition government. The majority was eroded when Eroglu became president and another member defected. But they are more used to coalitions here.
Five tourism organisations have submitted an eleventh hour bid to try to save CTA, but this bid could be just to stave off the inevitable. The group that are proposing the finances to save the airline are saying they want a minimum 51% control so that they could appoint the board and technical staff. They also say a major restructuring would be essential. This group of tourism unions is clearly aware that if something does not happen to resolve the situation then more and more companies would go under. We are struggling here also to et a coalition government formed. The parties involved have fallen out over local elections for mayors as it seems to be important here that support in local politics is as important as support in main government. We wait. Prior to the meeting between presidents on 26th May, Turkey has called on the UN to set a deadline as there is a feeling that this would show both sides political will to resolve the issue. Meanwhile, it has been reported that the UK and Sweden have told the Greek Cypriots to achieve a peace deal by the end of the year or they will push for direct trade with the TRNC. I think that the EU and UN are starting to get a little pissed off with the Greek Cypriots prevaricating. Forecast for the week is partly cloudy until about Thursday and then the sun will shine they say. Strange, we are half way through May and still the real summer has not begun.
Wow, what did I say about summer. Yesterday the wind blew and blew. Gusts were so hard that we had to take the canvas top off our pergola as it was starting to pull the supports out of their bases. We were out stacking chairs and everything in a secure position in the hope that it would die down over night. Joan went off to her water aerobics class in the morning and she said only three turned up, probably because of the tidal waves on Pam's pool. This morning it has calmed down quite a bit, but we still have some wind to contend with.
"Who will land up in the CTA cockpit" is the headline in today's newspaper. Still there seems to be a number of offers on the table but no clear leader in the race to take over this sick airline. Apart from the tourism consortium offer on the table there is thought that Atlas Jet might be interested in taking over and now there is an offer of a £50 million loan from a Turkish business man. Obviously all these proposals have strings attached and all include the essential manpower stripping that has to happen if they are to survive. As of yesterday there was still no word from the government about what is to happen, but then we have to realise that they only yesterday formed their new cabinet, the need for which was brought about by the presidential election recently. Any governments problem is the need to maintain staffing levels, which has always been the CTA problem, because there is no social security system here that can feed money to those not working. One of the costly exercises for CTA has always been the direct flight ban and the extra cost incurred in having to land in Turkey every time, on flights from Europe. A judicial review has started today, in the British High Court, to re-examine the ban on direct flights. This problem starts with the fact that UK and the rest of Europe do not recognise TRNC. Maybe there will be more news on Saturday as to the outcome of all this.
This evening Joan and I had a Chinese meal at home early, from the Dinky Chinky stall at the Saturday Lambousa market. This is a fairly new service where you can call in advance and order your meal or get there early and take pot luck as to what is left. A lovely change and you just have to heat it and eat it. The reason for the early meal was that we had booked tickets for the Theatreland concert down at Girne Auditorium. This is the new open air theatre which opened last year and tonight's show was in aid of the Children in Need charity here in TRNC. The show was hosted by Bobby Davro who had been over here to do one of his One Man Shows at the Savoy Hotel last night. Joan and I had considered this, as it was an all inclusive dinner show, advertised for "adults only". But we had always wanted to go to the new new auditorium so this evening won out. Apart from Bobby Davro the stars were from London's West End theatres. Both the stars had played leads in Andrew Lloyd Webber hit shows and they had put together a whole program for us from many of the classics, such as West Side Story, South Pacific, Evita etc. There was a support group, the GAU dancers from the local American University here and they gave us an excellent routine. The auditorium is a wonderful spot for a stage and it is just such a shame that it gets used somewhat infrequently. The new government is to set out it's aims for the future. The program that it unveiled is exactly the same as the program from the last cabinet! Improve the economy, allow stable development and growth but in addition it is seeking to hold the previous government of CTP + ORP accountable for alleged wrong-doings which left the country in a financial mess. We will have to wait and see. The London Court of Appeal is being urged to end the terrible isolation of the people of Northern Cyprus, by allowing direct flights. The legal challenge against previous decisions is being carried out now, at a time when Europe is considering an end to trade embargoes whilst the UN and other world organisations are targeting the Greek Cypriots to do more to win peace. The world is finally beginning to realise that the Greek Cypriots are only working hard to prevent the Turkish Cypriots from having a voice. It is interesting to see this attitude change now, just when the new TRNC president is about to commence his entry in to the talks. At the London court, the Greek Cypriot QC, stated that The Republic of Cyprus is sovereign over the entire island and therefore the ROC, i.e. the Greek Cypriots, alone is competent to take the decision in respect of opening up airports on the island to International traffic. See nothing changes in their attitude, they want and always will want the whole and nothing but the whole. There is still no definite decision on the CTA situation. They continue to fly, propped up we assume by the government. Still the pilots and other staff have not been paid they say, but have been promised half of their back pay by Thursday last with the balance next week. I guess if this has not happened they will down tools. There has to be some sort of decision soon. At lunch time today, Joan and I met Margaret and Norman down at Silver Rocks. It is ages since we four have been out together so it was a real catch up session. We had to eat indoors at the restuarant as it was blowing an absolute hooley down there. We will all be glad when the weather turns to real summer. After lunch we all came back here for coffee and we also realised that Margaret & Norman had never seen this place since we made the alterations. Considering that was 4 years ago it just shows how long it is since we have really been together. A very enjoyable afternoon and evening.
The Wednesday newspaper has not come up with any positive news about CTA. In fact it would seem as if a weekend cabinet meeting has failed to come up with a firm plan for the future of the airline. Also it is believed that two planes, that are leased from an American company, have not been returned to CTA after undergoing routine maintenance. Something has to happen soon, or maybe they will just go under. Our local Lapta council has fined an expat 500TL and cut off their water, because they were allegedly watering their garden. I know we have all been warned about water usage but if you go around the village it still seems as if there is one rule for them and one for us. We saw a local family washing 4 motor cars with a hose pipe connected to the domestic water supply and this happens two or three times each week. There are many other instances of people just hosing down their terraces etc, but no inspectors looking! The bypass link is now partially open, albeit if we drive through a no entry sign to join the Girne/Lefkosa dual carriageway. Everybody has been doing this for a week or more now, but there is very rapid progress being made and it certainly cuts down the travel time. With all the work going on and all the machines available, it looks as if completion really is imminent. Today is the first day of the meetings between the two presidents. Saturdays newspaper could have some interesting news.
This afternoon we attended the annual ABF Soldiers Charity Event which is always held at Shakespeare House, the home of the British High Commission here on the island. This time the music was from The Band of The Royal Logistics Corps supported by The Corps of Drums. The music was as usual absolutely brilliant. In particular there was one sergeant playing clarinet, whose ability had to be greatly admired. Personally I could have spent the whole afternoon just listening to him playing. All the ladies in our group had gathered together earlier in the week and concocted a menu for us and we all agreed that the food was wonderful. A whole variety of chicken legs, cold meats with salads of every sort, this followed by some delicious sweets. The boys of course managed to supply the booze. Always at these events they offer the opportunity to dress up the tables and yourselves with a judge deciding the winning table. This years the winners table was the table of "Peace" . Ban the Bomb, Peace for everyman etc. We had just decided that our table would declare themselves to be only here for the beer and the music of course. The whole event was very well attended as usual and the band and their leader have to be congratulated on an superb performance enjoyed by us all. Well according to the newspaper "They are talking". Nothing concrete has come out of these initial meetings, a social one on Tuesday evening and the first formal meeting on Wednesday. Don't suppose that they could be expected to make any real progress in this short term but Mr Eroglu said, when he got back to Lefkosa, " I hope that the negotiations, which began in good will, will continue in good will. I hope that all headings will be opened and closed and a solution reached by the end of the year". The UN continues to push for a final decision by the end of the year and is using threats of direct trade agreements etc as a lever. Possible good news for the Aga Development buyers. it is suggested that Gary Robb, who resides id prison in UK, is willing to sign over the land to the buyers. This would enable the government here to get involved and buyers to get their properties finished, but maybe at extra cost. At least that would be a favourable solution and should there be an agreement on the island between the Greek Cypriots and the TRNC, then property prices would undoubtedly rise rapidly. Anybody know The Dubai Bazaar in Lefkosa, next to the Lemar supermarket. Well on Wednesday at around 6.30 p.m. the whole store was gutted by fire. Damage is extimated at $3 million. According to the insurance company the insurance value was only $1 million. The Turkish government has reportedly offered £25 million to help save CTA. It is also reported that a tender process for CTA was due to start on Monday. The tender is due to open in Turkey and the Turkish Privatisation Office are involved. Guess they will cover wages, maintenance etc in the interim and then we will have to await the final outcome. Weather wise we have had a major improvement and it now feels like summer has actually arrived. Even I ventured in to the pool and we are eating only outside now and that is what it is all about here. For some time now, Joan and I have been watching a new villa being built on the land behind us. This is being built by a local family and because they only have access rights to this land, as there is no designated road, it is only possible to build this one property. The guy has been experimenting with various vegetables and has planted some new olive and citrus trees, so it looks as if he is going to try some market gardening. The interesting thing to watch is the building process and especially the health and safety aspect of the roofing. We have watched them manhandle all the materials up to the top the hard way. Safety boots, hard hats etc are totally non existent and take a look at the ladder. They didn't have one, so built their own with timber and nails.
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