Month: October 2017

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Firstly I have to thank Irene for all the information she sent me yesterday concerning places to possibly move to when we are back in the UK. It was a great help and a diversion from the task we have in hand at the moment. Thanks also due to Jan and Clive for all your help during this trying time! It’s nice to know people do still read this blog! I am actually surprised how many there are looking at the stats!

So we are told by the shipping company that we have to get a stamp from the council. We had a feeling this was the Muhtar so went up in the village to find her. The shop where she used to be has closed down and no one was around to ask. Plan B Alsancak Beledeysi. My goodness how that office has changed from the ramshackle place it used to be when we first moved here.

As usual we were passed from one department to another with plenty of Cyprus shrugs. Finally a nice man told us it should be the Muhtar and drew us a map of where in the village to find her. 

Back to Malatya. This makes us laugh every time we drive into the village. The new road, pavement and drains at the side stops right at the Malatya sign! Are they trying to tell us something?

We drove on and basically the Muhtar’s house is the highest (and possibly the biggest) house in the village.

It was surrounded by security cameras. To us, this just sums up how things have changed. When we arrived in 2002,we went to see the old Muhtar in his cosy village house. He welcomed us, brought chairs out, gave us coffee and cherries and we sat in the middle of the road and chatted. Obviously this house wasn’t built then, it was a proper Cypriot village and thinking about it we were the first ‘yabanci’ in the village. 

So, the Muhtar came to the door, said very little, asked if our boxes were sealed, we told her no, you can come and see them. She declined, realised this was for customs, rubber stamped the form and asked for her 20tl. We thanked her and still not even a smile. One day when all our goods have reached us I will say a lot more about life here. While I am still here and my goods haven’t left Gazimağusa, I will keep my opinions to myself.

At the moment Mal and I are walking around like a pair of zombies. We are now sorting through things we are sending back with the shippers…where did we buy things from etc etc. Thankfully we kept all our original shipping lists when we came over and a lot is coming back. For anyone else who is shipping things back DON’T pack your printer!!!  A good thing we are leaving ours behind as we have had to print out no end of forms.

Our today’s achievement!

All ready and labelled for our shippers to collect tomorrow but no, they have now changed that to Thursday!  I just can’t leave our Persian rug behind, we bought it in the UK and it cost a lot of money. 

We were going to the Blue Door in the evening but there was obviously a function on, the car park was full, instead we went to Tervetuloa, I think Mal wanted to go there as they give you so much food. This was just the cold mezes and Mal’s pork chop was two!  We also had the hot mezes, dessert, bottle of water and Turkish coffee and brandy included in the price! Yes and I needed the brandy sour after the day we had today! They are only 9tl at Tervetuloa.

The waiters thought it amusing that Mal had so much pork!

Thought for the Day – “Before you assume, learn the facts.Before you judge, understand why. Before you hurt someone, feel.  Before you speak, listen.”  ~ William A Ward

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The lira is possibly at its lowest level ever today at 4.86 to the pound. 

We went to Alsancak Beledeysi to top the water up, can’t have Soner moving in with no water!

We were still waiting to hear from all the shippers we had contacted. We then decided to try and take some of our books to the Tulips charity shop and they said they didn’t want too many. It amazes me when at Demelza, we take in absolutely everything. I also had a couple more people about goods I had advertised asking me to deliver. It’s a joke, no I don’t have time. Torin did suggest we had a bonfire. That would have been far easier.

We then went to look for Belek (shippers), who are supposed to have a storage depot by Starling. No and no one knew where they were. Someone suggested a place at the side of a shopping Mall in Lapta. We went there and a man there said they moved to Karsiyaka. At least we had a quick glance at the beach there!!

No one knew there, we even went into the coffee shop (where they know everyone’s business). No, they live in a house in Lapta somewhere?? But his son is in the police force. Well, that was handy to know!! We gave up on that one!

We then had to find a decent stationers who sold packing tape that hadn’t been ruined in the heat. We found a new place on the way into Girne.

A dozen rolls should be enough.

By this time a whole morning wasted , we had some lunch and then received an email from one of the shippers giving us a quote. More than we wanted to pay but at this stage we have almost given up and so accepted the quote and they wanted a shipping list.  Another busy afternoon finalising boxes and compiling the list.

I think we are both exhausted. We will need a holiday after this! Yes this 4 weeks was supposed to have been a holiday with no work on the villa. Thing never quite work out as planned.

We took a break in the evening and went to eat at Silver Rocks. Last time we were there, they were building the Lapta walk way right across their view……what a shame this is what it looks like now.

 

Having said that, it hasn’t stopped people going there, it was filling up as we left and there wasn’t a table to spare. I think it was the best meal we have had there and the owner was on the ball going round talking to all of his customers. It was excellent service and food. 

I did say to Mal “Isn’t it romantic” as we were sitting by the water’s edge with the sea gently lapping against the rocks…to which he replied “My feet are cold!” Ever the romantic! 

I had chicken stroganoff and Mal had the swordfish and then so many extras with them. I just couldn’t finish mine.

This was all finished off with a complimentary Turkish coffee and brandy. Then back to the chaos but we are getting there at last!

Thought for the Day – “Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.” ~ Margaret Peters

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Again dogs barking at 4 in the morning and then that is me for the day, wide awake. The thing is I don’t want the air con on and I like the window open. Mal sleeps through everything, so I leave him sleeping and get up. 

It will be nice to get up one day and not have a messed up house with piles of boxes and bags all over the place! 

We worked and also started looking for possible places to buy back in the UK.

We then went to Acmenya for our last Sunday roast. I think the waiter must have known it was our last as he gave us so much, far more than usual!

Mal did a little wave goodbye as we left!

Thought for the Day – “Everything we hear is an opinion not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective not the truth.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

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Mo told us that there is a man at Lambousa who sells books and so we went to the market and found him. He said he would come up on his way from Lambousa. He did, one quick glance and he said “no thank you”. It wasn’t as though they were all intellectual, there was loads of fiction there too. So what do we do with 800  books? Perhaps he only sells Mills and Boon but we don’t have any of those.

We did have a nice fella who came from Lefkosa and bought some things but he wanted to buy over 100 LP’s and he worked out at a price of less than 50p each. No we’ll take them back to the UK.   He tried to tell us no one buys them in the UK. We looked a couple on Ebay and they are selling for over £20. Obviously he knows more than we do!

We didn’t know where to eat in the evening that wouldn’t have music/belly dancers or be fully booked and in the end we decided to try The Village Aysergi Meyhane in Lapta. It has new owners I believe. We should have realised when we walked in and were the only customers but we were too tired to walk out again. I asked for a brandy sour and he took so long making it and when it arrived it was not a brandy sour. He asked if I liked it and I said it was OK but not a brandy sour, he just laughed and walked away. Mal and I decided we would just accept this for the comedy value!

Next “sorry we have no steak”, that was what Mal was going to have. A long story short, a disappointing meal and the owner had two friends came in and when he wasn’t sitting at their table chatting with them, he was on his phone and didn’t even say goodbye when we left. I don’t think that place is going to last very long.

 

Thought for the Day – “Some day everything will make perfect sense. So, for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason.”

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We are waiting for a couple of quotes now for shipping our personal things back to the UK. It looks as though we are taking a few more things than originally  planned.Not too much though as we have a house full in the UK.  

Margaretha came up and collected the two bikes we had and then we loaded up her people carrier with more things for the charity she is helping. I really don’t mind this at all, everything will be sold and the money used very well.  We carried on after she left until we just couldn’t do any more. In the evening we went to Lokmans. Mal had the cod and chips. Instead I had grilled fish and salad, much better for me. It has a nice cosy bar there.

 

 

Thought for the Day – “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” ~ Dalai Lama

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Confirmation, if any were needed, that the internet is probably the worst it has ever been. Just one more thing controlled by Turkey.

 Ingrid bought the telescope from us and came up with her baby. She is gorgeous, so of course we had cuddles and she was sick all down me!

In the afternoon Mo arrived (from Pine Bay boot fair) and bought a job lot of my glass and crockery…thanks Jan for putting me in touch. Gradually we are getting there.

There was a beautiful harvest moon in the evening and so we said we would eat by the sea so we could watch it rising.

We went to The Hut which we haven’t been to for years. It’s a very welcoming place with good food. I had the seafood platter (60tl) and then I was so full! Mal had the big mixed grill. He’s the meat eater, I love fish. It was the first evening I put a jacket on, I felt a bit chilly and then discovered it was 21 degrees!

Thought for the Day – “Life is short. Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness. Laugh when you can. Apologise when you should & let go of what you can’t change. Take chances. Give it your all & have no regrets. Make every day count.”

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Another day of sorting and we had asked David and Kenny to come and help themselves to any books that they want. We don’t know what we would have done without them as they have watched the house for us, looked after the pool and held our keys and opened the house up for the estate agents. So today we had the ceremonial handing back of the keys!

 

I don’t know whether it is because we now live somewhere very quiet but here there seems to be nothing but dogs barking. The kennels until way after 10pm and also the 2 poor dogs at the Russian house who are never walked. Every time someone walks past , they start off. It just seems continual. Good luck to the new owners.

We sold a couple of things we had advertised, people visiting. I put more on the sales online and then people kept messaging, will you bring the things to me……erm no, I don’t have the time or the inclination and I have advertised things very cheaply and then they want me to deliver them. People never fail to amaze me. I do believe they think all us Brits are soft ….or stupid or both!

We went to Blue Song in the evening. We have never had a bad meal there and to be honest, the mix kebab and the chicken sis is the best and the cheapest of anywhere we go.  So, a chicken sis, mixed kebab, Pint of Efes, coke, a large bottle of water and two Turkish coffees all for 78tl (£16.46)

It looked like a full moon but it is actually complete tomorrow. It is nice sitting next to the sea though.

Thought for the Day – “There will always be a reason why we meet people. Either you need them to change your life or you’re the one that will change theirs.” ~ Angel Flonis Harefa