Just one little piece of coastline....................

..................left to visit on this little island, so off we trot to Polis and Latchi.

Polis, ah a teeny little gem with stunning stone buildings and a little cluster of bars and restaurants.  We came here for a lovely little fish meze, to be honest it wasn't the best fish we have had in Cyprus, the calamari was perfect but in general the fish was overcooked, however the wine was lovely and the ambience was perfect and we did have a lovely evening.

I seem to be drawn to anything green or flowering, think I am just desperate to get growing again.  We have been successful with tomatoes, peppers and chillies here this year, the harvest wasn't bountiful but it was enough for us.

Well ofcourse this little beauty caught my eye, I wouldn't say no to a little drive in this 💓

Latchi Harbour was typically beautiful of fishing harbours in Cyprus, lined with restaurants and sellers offering boat trips.  It was a hot weekend temperatures touched 40 celsius and we clambered aboard a boat to enjoy the sea breeze as well as the views.

Can you see the village on the hillside above, this is were we stayed.  The view from our balcony was out of this world.

The coastline was very rural, the Akamis Peninsula is stunning and the waters are so cool and clear.  We had a lovely swimming stop where we tried out our new full face snorkel masks which worked brilliantly and are much easier to use than traditional snorkels.

A spectacular peaceful fishing spot, can you just make out the lone fisherman?

Just look how clear the water is, and those colours - I love them💓

Polis again, the views behind me stretch for uninterrupted miles and miles.  Although this is a very touristy resort there are no high rise hotels the accomodation available consists of traditional stone villas, just stunning.

Finally we ventured as far as we could along a track into the forest, the canopy gave us welcome shade from the sun and we stopped to have our little picnic.  As we wandered through the trees a bunch/flock/flutter of butterflys flew up around us - it was magical.  After some inspection we saw the little disguised butterflies resting on the tree bark.  What do you call a bunch/flock/flutter of butterflies?

On our trip back to our village we passed by this.  It is the entrance to a property and the driveway was framed with this pergola covered in vines and dripping with bunches of grapes.  I had such vine envy - I have a yearning for vines rambling across a pergola.

This was our final jaunt around Cyprus, we have now done the entire coastline and most of what is in the middle too!  We intended to 'do' the island when we arrived nearly three years ago and we have certainly 'done it'.

Now time to get packing, selling and sorting!

Visiting sproglets.

June has been pretty much booked up with Abbie and Jess. Abbie and Matt spent a week with us and we certainly managed to cram in  some serious sightseeing.  Abbie is a beach kinda gal who is keen to get a tan whereas her boyfriend Matt is the kinda guy who burns when he simply steps over the threshold - factor 30 and parasols on the beach are essential!

We travelled north for a couple of nights, while Abbie and Matt were happy to hang around the pool  and relax we hopped in the car and decided to climb a mountain! Oh yup we couldn't just sit and relax now could we, so we visited Buffavento Castle, the views were absolutely out of this world and well worth the hour climb to get to the top.

Bellapais is a little gem high in the mountains looking down over Kyrenia, there are the remains of an Abbey and a little ole fella selling coffee (Andy thinks he is atleast 105 years old! but if you know Andy you will know he has a tendancy for exageration - he is probably only 100! Whatever his age he is certainly respected by the village, it is usual to see villagers kissing his hands whilst he sits shaded by  an enormous fig tree, which is probably atleast 105 years old !

I adore these guords hanging outside the gift shops entwinded in the bourgonvilia..

Here we sat under The Tree of Idleness, which is reputed to be where Lawrence Durrell wrote his novel Bitter Lemons of Cyprus, I am beginning to plough my way through the book although to be honest it is a tad hard going so I may opt for the cd version and listen while I sew.

There is always a white and blue checked table cloth restaurant.

Beach days to keep the  little splodge happy, although Jess did take a shine to a spot of snorkeling.

A day trip to Nicosia while Mr Reed toiled away in his office.  Neither Jess or Matt had been to Nicosia, the difference in atmosphere as you walk through the passport checks still amazes me, I find it incredible how relatively peacefully a capital city remains divided.

We stayed in beautiful apartments in Kyrenia, next to the pool where Abbie could swim and sunbath while Matt could stay under a sunshade.

The World Cup began this month  and while Abbie isn't  a football kinda gal she didn't mind having to go to a bar and watch a game or two if pizza, malibu and the odd friendly cat were involved.

A strange occurance happened during Jess' second week with us - quite unexpectedly she asked "Muuuummmm! can you teach me to crochet!!!!!!!!!"  I was kinda speechless for a few seconds - quickly out came some yarn and a hook and utube video to help her and off she went.  It was a struggle and I thought for a moment she was gonna throw a strop and not persevere, but she was persistant and gradually little by little a few chains were made and then a rather wonky granny square.  A few days later we took another trip to Nicosia to buy her own choice yarn and a hook. "It's addictive" she declared - yup, tis true.  Then a few days later blig splodge could be found operating the overlocker!!!!!! I needed photographic evidence, this was not something I ever expected to see.

I have donkey photos to share next time but yet again I have had photo problems, the card reader simply stopped working and I am awaiting delivery of a new one!!!!

Cheers Big Ears xx

Repairs, the Cypriot way!

This is gonna be another photoless quick blog.  One of those days that needs to be recorded so we remember.

Abbie and Matt arrive today and then Jess lands on Saturday and we have been merrily running the Jeep with no working aircon, windows open blowing the cobwebs away.  I love it, Andy hates it and as we will be travelling around the island with a car full of folks for the next few weeks we figured it was time to get it regassed.

Andy went into work and asked Mehmet where was best to go, Mehmet duely rang a man (who is probably his cousin's half brother's sister-in-laws friend's friend!)  That is just how it works here.  We pootled into Pergamos village - Andy gave me a quick boundary tour and explained how the goal at one end of the football pitch is in the republic of Cyprus and the other is in the Turkish north of Cyprus.  The border fence actually runs through the garden of the property we visited!

We arrived at a typically Cypriot house we intorduced ourselve to Ali who said he knew Andy from his last tour here in 2007/8!  This isn't uncommon, how the locals always remember dates and names of UK officers when they change so regularly is quite impressive.  Lots of hand shakes and smiles and welcoming greetings are exchanged, then he trots off to say something in Turkish to his daughter, chairs are brought round for us to sit on while he tinkers under the bonnet.  Then a young lad pops over from across the road, turns out the Ali is showing him how to tinker with and repair cars. 

Remember this is a country where cars hold there value and are repaired rather that scrapped or exchanged for new, there are so many old cars 20, 30 and even 40 years old trundling around the island, so the young lad is learning a valuable skill on a street corner in Cypriot village.

 I digress!

Having plonked ourselves down on the chairs Ali and Andy are chittering on about life in Dhekelia and the young lad then reappears with a small table which is placed in front of us, quickly followed by Ali's daughter who has made Turkish coffee and then offers us cake - both in Cyprus and Turkey the Turks are unable to serve coffee without a sweet accompaniment, it is usually a sweet, Turkish delight or a cake.   When Ali has finished the car he comes over and drinks coffee with us, there is no rush  "this is Cyprus my friend" .......... "slowly slowly".  After this very sedate and relaxing affair Andy talks money and this guy asks for only 20 euros, Andy only had a fifty to which Ali replies , 
"no worries my friend, no charge!"  We did not leave with paying the man, we scrabbled around in my rucksack and the car to coble together the reuired twenty euros.

I must also point out that this afternoon coffee date is not unique, we have visited Turkish Cypriot garages (not just houses on street corners) and have then been invited into the house next door where we are served Turkish coffee and sweet delights.

Turkish hospitality knows no bounds, they are so welcoming and humble, and very proud people both on Cyprus and on the mainland!  I shall miss this when we leave.

Bonne année.................better late than never

Flippin 'eck.  This post has been sat in drafts for five months!!! Probably about time we published it!. In my defence the reason it got drafted and not published was yet another photo problem - and the small fact that Andy started writing and then wandered off ......................so I shall pick up where he left off and get this blinkin thing published .

The photo problem this time was with the Istanbul photos, on my phone, not on my camera but not able to save them on to the pooter.  GGGGGGGGGggggggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr and double GGGGGGGGGGGGGgggggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  It turned out to be an i-cloud issue which  I completely and utterley had absolutely nooooooooooooooo patience with so it was left to the Reed Boy to sort out.  I will now add the photos and publish pronto!!!!! Oh and watch out, we have only 9 weeks left in Cyprus and I have finished work so there may be a flourish of posts now I have a little more time on my hands.  For now though just turn back time five months ...............................................................

2018 blimey - this year we leave Cyprus and move to France where did that time go?
It's forever ago since I blogged, so a resume as to what has happened in that forever. Beccy has covered up to the summer holidays and getting married and all that stuff. Since then.....

France - seems like ages since we've been, we didn't get to go this year over New Year as usual - but more of that in a bit, but we are going back in couple of weeks, Where I'll be re-united with our shredder! What a great piece of kit these things are - I spent hours merrily turning the enormous piles of pruned hedges, lopped roses and trees into huge piles of shredded prunings, loppings and sticks! I was almost at the point of going around the village asking whether any of the neighbours had anything they wanted shredding - it's almost as much fun as having a ginormous fire (but obviously much more eco-friendly). My advice to anybody who hasn't got a shredder - get one you won't regret it!
Patrice's place over the road is nearly ours - we've sent money to the Notaire to pay for it, just waiting for the exceptionally slow French wheels to turn until it becomes part of the Reed Estate.

Cyprus - We've moved onto camp after getting married. Only the MOD could make you live off camp and pay for you to do so, then as soon as you get married stop paying and make you move into their houses! It's different on camp, the house is nicer, but we can't just wander out to the pub or for food anymore - nearly everywhere is a drive away. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - it means we are eating more healthily.
The boys came out over Christmas, which was good - they did what boys do when they are home from Uni - which is actually nothing whatsoever. How anybody can sleep for so long is beyond me - but it was great to see them!

The reason we didn't go to France for New Year was that we went to Istanbul instead. Beccy has mastered the art of making a movie from photo's on her phone - so she may also master the art of sharing it on here! Istanbul was an adventure, first night at midnight the nightclub that we didn't know was next door opened it's doors. I'm too old for club music in English, the same in Turkish was just too much. So second night, ears stuffed full of cotton wool we settled down. We were both aware of music, but we could live with it until 05-00 - when  it was chucking out time - then the doors opened and the music flooded out onto the street so that was it time to find another hotel.

Once settled in our new abode we slept like logs and got back to the important business of exploring Istanbul.  We did the whole Big Red Bus thing as usual because this is by far the best way to explore all the sights in any city but we also did our usual thing of venturing off the beaten track too.  So we braved the Grand Bazzaar and then found the smaller and more authentic spice market where the locals shopped.  There is a very unique atmosphere in Istanbul - it attacks all the senses, the smells are of spices and barbecue, the sights are full of vibrant colour, the noise is of chatter and street sellers and the tastes are out of this world, chai, turkish coffee and meze.  Istanbul and is alive and buzzing wherever you go. It is unique, the blend of east and west is everywhere and fascinating.  Our only regret is that we were not there to see the tulips - we saw all the preparation and the planting and shaped beds were clear to see and I can only imagine how stunning the displaywould be in Spring.

So fingers crossed this  movie will upload!


..........................it didn't, there is problem, what a shocker lol

This will be a no photo blog, I don't think I have done a no photo blog! hey ho

xx

Patrice's Place

Andy started a blog a few weeks ago covering Christmas and New Year, but he kinda got distracted mid sentence and it is now saved in the archives waiting for him to finish.  As a result I shall continue with  our latest news.

Off we wandered to Brittany over February half term.  We had a delicious ten days there, it rained, snowed and the sun shone.  We had a small tree delivery during our visit and started to plant our little orchard, we managed to buy some heirloom varieties one of which was a Peasgood Nonsuch (what a fantastic name!).  I bought Andy one for Chirstmas a few years ago but it was left fruiting its little heart out at the bungalow and it was always a regret that we were unable to move it to France so it was just a little bit excited that we were able to find and buy another tree.  We also planted a Cambridge Cage, Keswick Codlin, Summer Sun cherry, Kidds Orange Red and moved a plum tree from the existing orchard which is to become the goat paddock.

I digress - the title of this post is Patrice's Place. Patrice's Place is the barn and land across the road from our house and not surprisingly wher Patrice once lived!  As of 14th February Patrice's Place belongs to us.  It is a small piece of land with a barn, two ruins and a pig sty.  We have plans for this little piece of Kermin which we will no doubt fill you in on soon but for now here are a few piccies ( I do realise you will probably think we are bonkers when you see pics but we are delighted with our purchase).

The barn is on the left and the roofless ruins on the right are to become a walled garden.  Oh the excitement, the extravagence, a real luxury - our very own walled garden.

Andy opening the door of OUR barn.

Time to relax and celebrate maneuvering our way through the French legal system.

Toodle pip for now, Beccy xx

21st July 2017

.......................this date will now be etched in history as our wedding day!  We managed to keep it fairly hush hush, there were a few folks in high places who needed to know, oh and our witnesses, who were not always so good at the secrecy part of the arrangements, but hey.  We always knew we wanted a quietish wedding day.  We really didn't want the whole wedding thing, flowers, dress, invites, official photos, bridesmaids, best man, speeches, it just wasn't for us.  It is ok knowing this though but the problems arise when you start to consider the reality of not inviting anyone to your wedding.  If it was atall realistic we would have had all 4 of the sproglets present, but considering one was on the other side of the world, another is working 6 month contracts and could be anywhere in the world for half a year then somewhere else for the rest of the year and the boys are both at University in Uk it made the whole idea of such a plan  quite complicated.............so we opted for the very small and quiet option.   Once the special licence was obtained and a new frock bought we pootled off to the SBA Court uttered our vows, exchanged rings, signed the documents and that was it, Bobs yer Uncle, job done!  We had a lovely little do at the Officers Mess, Bev and Tony (our witnesses) unknown to us had a arranged a lovely private meal and had wedding cake made.  In the evening there was an End of Term  Barbecue at the Mess which became a relaxed unofficial Wedding reception once our 'news' became public.

All in all it suited 'Us' !

We then flew to France and had a blissful if hectic couple of weeks, we spent much of our time in Kermin tackling the garden and weeds which was great, we both miss gardening!  Then we spent a few days in Normandy visiting Bayeux, The Beaches and Mont St Michel before heading back to Paris where our time was spent hopping on and off the Big Bus Paris taking in all the main attractions, pootling along the Seine and marching our way through the vastness of Versailles.  We crammed so much in to just a few days!  We both agreed that although we had a wonderful holiday we do prefer the scenery, pace of life and people of Brittany!

It isn't easy fitting us both and the Eiffel Tower in a selfie!

Oh my! Oh to other news, Andy has become fascinated with selfie taking! Not in his own selfies, but in watching others taking selfies.  They preen, pose with one bent knee, hand on hip whilst pouting and making sure every hair is in place.  The whole process of selfie taking seems to have notched up a few levels.  Our boat trip along the Seine was like a photgraphy studio, and oh how we giggled when adults try to include children in their oh so perfectly posed selfies.  Children under the age of 10 just haven't grasped the fact that a selfie should be immaculate, they sulk, refuse to smile, don't look at the camera and generally spend their time frustrating and annoying the adults.  We even saw one girl change not only her hairstyle for a variety of different selfies but she changed her entire outfit!!

Since returning to Cyprus we have been on a another boat trip around Cape Grecko and have yet again been watching (probably opened mouthed) at the art of selfie taking.  This time it involved a lot of hair styling whilst out at sea and battling the wind......................

On to other news, Andy is now, atleast temporarily, the Fiscal Officer until the newly appointed person arrives on Island.  So the upshot is that he is a busy bee until further notice!

Then to finish the holidays we spent a week in Athens with Jess (atleast for a couple of days) and the boys.  More of that next time though, I need to find more photos for that blog post.

Red red wine................goes to my head............................

Sometimes life gets in the way of a good blog!  That is certainly how it has been over the last three months.  We do live a good life on a meditteranean island, this is fact, however, we have to work and pay bills too and just sometimes these things have to become priority.  So a quick round up is necessary to keep the blog just about uptodate.

We did indeed pootle back to France, and our little very Breton notaire did complete the work we so handsomely paid him for in advance!  We all let out a collection Phewwwwwwww as we left his office!

Since then life as a Customs OIC stepped up a gear. Andy is still very short staffed awaiting for various agencies to complete paperwork and sort out the movement of three new UK officers, and his single remaining officer at Dhekelia had a horrific cycle accident, breaking 6 ribs, collarbone and pelvis!  Thankfully he is recovering well and the medical treatment here is second to none.

Suddenly, we were then catapulted into schmoosing season.  There is a period of about 6 weeks on the run up to Christmas, and again in May/June when the invites roll in to various functions we are expected to attend.  Don't get me wrong we do enjoy these do's, who wouldn't?  We get to visit the High Commissioners residence, watch military pomp and splendor and then there is the function of the year in the village next to us (I feel Mr Reed will do a much better job than me of retelling that particularly story so I'm leaving that one up to him).

We have squished in a little visit to Troodos again and another weekend at the coast, at some time during April we realised our time here will be over in the blink of an eye so in our quest to visit as much of Cyprus as possible we booked a few nights away in areas we haven't visited before.

Andy checking out how to make an enormous still!

Omodos village

 Koilani winery

We visited the wine making region in Troodos, some Cypriot wine can be wonderfully smooth, although there are others where you need to man up for the first glass then miraculously every other glass after that is delicious.

This trip really was quite rustic and authentic, we loved it, old boys playing back gammon in the local tavernas, everyone speaking Greek, no menus, you simply ate what they had to offer, and meals were followed by a Greeklish chat with the landlord and some of his special 'homebrew'.  The only exception Omodos which was a little more touristy with quaint craft shops, cobbled streets and cafes with menus!  We will be returning to Koilani, it will probably be one of those last minute kinda trips that are needed after a demanding week at work, a relaxing and rural getaway!

Beccy xxx