The Pool is open....

The water temperature guage hit the magic 20 degrees this week just in time for the Corsair girls arrival so the inflatables were inflated and lots of hysterics and screaming ensued just as girls do whilst falling off rubber rings and lilos.  Abbie has been deposited in Protaras with lots of other summer entertainers, she lives next door to Elvis and in the apartment above Lady Gaga!  Jess is here busy trying to get a tan although I don't think her legs have ever been out of a pair of jodphurs hence they do have a slight blue tinge which is turning a little pink at the mo.  Watch this space for  reports on Jess' incredible colour changing legs.

There are many tales to report from SBA Customs but you may have to wait a while, Andy is very low on UK staff, still has a variety of migrants to deal with in addition to wonderful Cypriot staff who are proficient at causing headaches - I m sure they don't mean to, its just a talent they have.  There is also the small matter of being seriously outnumbered by female family members to keep him occupied too.

Last weekend Andy and I decided we needed to embrace the peace and quiet before the arrival of the girls and pootled off to the Troodos mountains.  The weather was quite hot so a drive to Mount Olympus at a height of 1942 metres meant we could enjoy some cooler temperatures.  During Winter skiing is possible on Mount Olympus so in theory you could ski in the morning then drop down to Paphos and sunbath on the beach in the afternoon.  We trogged through the forests and looked at waterfalls and did lots of ooing and aarghing, the rivers and streams here reminded us of Brittany.  Once on the mountains the views were spectacular, we learnt all about the geology of the area,the copper and asbestos mines.  After the closure of the asbestos mines in 1988 the whole area fell into decline, thousands of local Cypriots worked the mines and moved to the coast for work, the area needed to redevelop and they are rising to the challenge.  There there are maps, accurate signs (very unusual for Cyprus), information centres, walks, campsites and ofcourse the skiing and yet it has still retained its rural charm this is a beautiful part of the island and I can see us pootling up the mountains regularly.

Isn't the bark on this Oriental Plane fantastic?

The black pine trees smelt heavenly!

We ended the day at Platres with eating souvla, potatoes, bread with dips and salad.  We love Cypriot food, it is very simple, usually cooked over charcoals and just delicious.  Andy generally finishes off my meat and I eat his salad - a match made in heaven!

Whilst typing this our lovely little kittens brought us a present..........................we no longer get mice, oh no, these kittens are much more exotic than that, they bring us praying mantis!  It certainly gave Jess a shock, and don't think she was too impressed to find out that Dusty likes to bring lizards into the house!.

Toodlepip til next time xx

Tis April........time to crank up the temperature!

It is just like someone turned up the thermostat, it has hit 30 degrees this week, well I guess it is the Easter holidays.  Oroklini has been fairly quiet and sleepy over winter, we are preparing for the population to expand rapidly.  I ve been reliably informed that there are many British folks who own property in the village and live here April-October.  So watch this space for a slightly frustrated Andy!!  We all know how much he likes crowds and tourists!

March seemed to fly by, the month started quietly with a Sunday lunch at the Mess and a St Patrick's day service and 'bit of a do' courtesy of the UN in Nicosia.  Things started to pick up mid month with the arrival of Abbie and a leaving 'do' for Claire and Dave, this all coincided with customs related incidents concerning fish, potatoes and discipline which kept Andy a little preoccupied. Then of course there was the small matter of a plane hijack which fortunately ended peacefully.

On the animal front we had the arrival of Edward (was that March? or February?), he arrived with a filthy matted coat which had to be removed so off I pootled to the groomers trying to drive with a dog who insists on sitting in the footwell of the drivers side!!!! Karen tried, she really tried, but had to admit defeat.  Poor Edward was so frightened and in such a pickle with himself, so back in the car we went with a half clipped coat to the vets, where he had to be sedated.  It was eventful day but he must have felt better after his shave.

Then came the arrival of three kittens, reared by Lucy and Ben at DAWS after they were abandoned in a carrier bag near the base.  Andy went off to collect Bert and Ernie and came home with Bert, Ernie and Junior! (re named Lily). It came as no great surprise as he does have form for this - he once pootled off to Boston to collect two Golden Guersey kids and came back with four!!  We agreed a two week trial because we weren't atall sure how Edward and Dusty would react to these little bundle of fur.  The two week trial lasted less than a week before we decided they were staying, Dusty especially loves the kittens and is fast becoming the best of friends with Ernie.


Serious discussions were then had with emphasis being placed on the fact that we cannot take in any more strays.  Last Thursday evening I heard the dreaded words "I ve been thinking".  In the UK this usually meant Amdy had seen some curly coated pigs for sale, or someone at work had suggested breeding emu's, or he wanted another breed of goat etc etc etc................................Here it means, he had been to visit Bay Tree Rescue, a dog rescue centre just outside the village who are really struggling to cope with the amount of dogs they have rescued.  So we have offered our services, really to mainly do physical work around the centre but yesterday we arrived just at feeding time when a call was taken asking if they could take a skinny little puppy which had been found in Agia Napa.  So off we trogged to collect the puppy and take him to the vets leaving the centre staff free to juggle feeding time.  We left him well fed and snuggled in at Bay Tree, hopefully his blood tests will all be ok and he can be rehomed quite quickly.

I am trying really hard not to have a rant about Cypriots in general and their attitude toward animal welfare, they are a strange race, obviously European (speak good English and drive on the left etc etc) but in so many ways they are Arabs with a serious lack of humanity and manners.  By way of a disclaimer I will just point out that I am being very very general here and there are obviously exceptions.  But just before I get back in my box, I ll have a little rant about rubbish - they just dump it everywhere, beaches, parks, side of the highway..............everywhere.  I don't understand it, the councils collect household rubbish twice each week, bulky waste such as sofas/fridges once every two months and garden waste every month.  The service they provide here is much  better than we have in the UK and yet they still just empty bags and bags of waste all over the island. I dread to think how much plastic is making its way into the sea, but I won't get started on that particular plastic related sermon just yet.  I didn't succeed in not having a rant did I? ....................

So what will April have in store, probably more unbelievable antics and strange goings on at SBA Customs, the arrival of Abbie to start work in Protaras, the arrival of Jess to spend a month here before jetting of to Australia and the departure of Andy to UK to visit the boys and Wes and Rosa.  Possibly a dip in the pool too, we are checking the water temperature daily and it won't be long before it hits that magical 20 degrees.

Oh and I will be starting work on a more permanent basis.  I have been working on a casual basis at Dhekelia Primary School covering in class as and when required. Work here isn't easy to find for military dependants so I was thrilled when I was asked to work for the entire summer term with the new intake of 3 year olds.

Below we have Lily and Ernie.

And this little soul is Bert.

Think thats all folks........................

Will try not to leave it so long next time.

xx