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.
Thursday, 28 June 2018
Sunday, 10 June 2018
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
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
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