Month: April 2011

A much nicer day and a good look around the garden and the rain has done it the world of good, everything is blossoming and looking very green. My basil that I planted a very short time ago is ready to transplant. I love fresh basil, my favourite herb. The pictures are of only one of our gardens.

Cyprus Today see link All good things in the future then, the prospect of food and drink prices going up. They say it is because of government taxation. Well done the government. Just what we all needed.  “Some products could increase by 90%” There has also been a ban on olive oil imports…I bet they are wishing they hadn’t destroyed so many olive trees now. No one listened and even Jack who tried his best to rescue the trees (we bought two of them) left the island long ago.

Imported cheese is set to increase by 30-40%. 90% tax on imported water. The knock on effect of course will be a hike in restaurant prices.  I am not just ‘whingeing’ here. There is a solution, issue peoples deeds for their houses, they pay their taxes and it will bring in  millions of lira each year. I am not a politician but this is all so simple. Along with deeds being issued, instead of the endless years waiting it would also give people confidence to buy here. At the moment how can anyone want to buy here. To the left in front of us is one ‘half built’ site, to the right in front of us is another. People have paid for these houses and lost their money.  The list goes on and on, Kulaksiz 5, Aga buyers, Victoria Homes to name but a few. I wonder just how many people don’t have their deeds here or are unaware that there have been mortgages placed on their ‘Homes’ without their knowledge.

I hope all the readers of this diary have their deeds, if not see link It seems  that this will be the forum that highlights property problems. There is stength in numbers and support there.

In the afternoon we had the footie matches on. A win for Man U but Everton played well. Then Spurs, shame they didn’t get their three points. Last but not least, Hammers. They played well in some of the game and then seemed to fall apart but I think they did well. Looks as though Mal won’t be watching them next season as Digiturk only show Premier matches.

There was a letter in Cyprus Today which I just had to duplicate here:

Cheap airline tickets to TRNC? Yeah right!

“We have just been on the Turkish Airline booking site to purchase tickets for May 26th from Manchester to Ercan for a holiday.

The return cost for two is £1,136.00. Distance approximately 2,130 miles.

By comparison, Manchester to Karachi, similar dates: return cost for two £!,818.00, distance approximately 4,008 miles.

Both journeys require a change at Istanbul.

Further comparison: we could have booked a seven day cruise around the Med for £635 each.

Is it any surprise that the TRNC hotels, restaurants, bars, shops etc are all empty?

How can these costs be justified? Is Turkey also applying embargoes of sorts on the TRNC because they certainly are not helping matters.

The TRNC desperately needs a new national airline. Oh, silly me, wasn’t one going to start up recently?

Are there any entrepreneurs in the TRNC able to encourage an independent (non Turkish) airline to fly in?

To add insult to injury, an ad on the side bar whilst typing this email: “70% off Turkish Airline Tickets”

MK

Liverpool“

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Thought for the Day – “Earth laughs in flowers” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

Good Friday, and we didn’t have any hot cross buns! I may have baked some but our oven is ‘being repaired’. Well, let’s say the electrician came some time back, quite a long time back. The part was faulty and I think he was trying to repair it but we have heard nothing. It’s no great problem really as we have the grill working, the hob, a George Foreman grill, a convector microwave and a slow cooker. I guess one day it will be repaired.

I was going stir crazy sitting indoors with my foot on a stool and seeing as the swelling had almost gone away, I persuaded Mal that we should go out. We had seen adverts for Bar 10’s lunches, so thought we would give that a try, so we drove towards Girne, arrived at 1.00 pm and they were shut, no sign of life at all. While we were that far down the main road, we went to Mr Pound for some trellis and flower pots. By the time we had walked round there we were feeling a bit peckish.

We tried the restaurant just along from Mr Pound, infact next to Turk Ekonomi Bank. It is called Adana Sofrasi. We just wanted a snack so both had the chicken wraps. They were delicious, it tasted like home made bread and the chicken was really moist. We had a plate of lemon quarters and chillies to go with it. Mal had a Turkish coffee and I had a water. The total bill was 15tl! The coffee cup that Mal’s Turkish coffee came in was very unusual. As Mal said it kept the flies off! We looked around at the other tables, people who had ordered full meals and they all looked really good. We will definitely be going back.

We also managed to find some Easter eggs in Tempo on the way back.

Our chlorine for the pool was running out and so we stopped at Siba, Alsancak to buy some more. € 45 plus KDV for 18kg of 90% chlorine. Our net and brush have seen better days too, in fact the net has quite a huge hole in it, so we bought those too € 14 each plus KDV.

Mal had asked on C44 if anyone had property problems see link . It seems very few have HA HA!!! He is happy to help anyone who has. I wonder if they are all thinking it will just go away or Pauline’s version is that they are all suffering from HISS (Head in sand syndrome). I tend to agree with her. The site to the right and further in front of us is just left half built. I know people have paid good money for those houses because one of the ‘owners’  asked me to take photos for them. Now is transpires that Hasan Sungur, the owner of the land, didn’t sign the contract and now wants £20,000 from each of them for a small patch of land, saying he will demolish the properties if they don’t pay. Just one example among many.  Some people just don’t help themselves. Then there is Kulaksiz, the Aga buyers, Victoria Homes, the list goes on and on.

The garden won’t need watering for a while….I will say no more on that subject.

 

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Thought for the Day – “We may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all  – the apathy of human beings” ~ Helen Keller 

 

 

Swedish tradition for ‘pink Thursday’ is “for girls, dressed as witches wearing head scarves and long skirts, go from door to door with a coffee pot which they expect to get filled with small change or sweets. Known as Easter crones or Easter witches, they recall the old superstition in Sweden that Easter was the time when the witches flew to the devil on the “Blue Mountain”, a belief which, even in the 18th century, could still mean capital punishment for those who were denounced. The ‘witches’ also carry a broom and wear two big circles of blush on their cheeks and drawn on freckles.”

Well, we were unaware of this until our very own witch called on us. She brought us an Easter egg! It is lovely discovering different Cypriot traditions and equally so discovering Swedish traditions. Thank you Margaretha!

The grandchildren from Cardiff came on the web cam in the evening to thank us for their Easter eggs. It was decided to let them have them early as they are going to Cornwall for Easter and Rhys said they would melt in the car……I think he is rubbing it in how hot it is in the UK and how different it is here. Early evening it was 15 degrees here and raining, at times torrential and we even lit the log burner!

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Thought for the Day -“It takes a long time to grow an old friend.” ~ John Leonard

 

 

Thankfully the swelling on my ankle is going down a bit and I could actually walk on my foot a bit but every time I did it clicked!

Ollie came on the web cam to show us he was better. It was good to see him, poor little mite.

I read this article and then wondered whether people really know half of what is going on here.  It is scandalous. see link

Cyprus Today see link So North Cyprus Airlines won’t be flying until September?! Pegasus Airlines now have their winter schedule online (www.flypgs.com) and Mal and I booked a winter flight for £160 return, preferable to the summer flight we were trying to book of £330 one way for one of us. I am sure we only managed those cheap tickets as we booked them the first day they put the flights on.

Weather! I have tried to not mention it this week as it ‘unseasonal’! This morning it was warmer in Surrey than it was in the Med. Something is not quite right we are usually having glorious weather this time of year.

 

Thought for the Day – “The weather is like the government, always in the wrong” ~ Jerome K Jerome

My ankle was still swollen so I managed another day sitting with my foot elevated.

Ollie is out of hospital, having changed medication and a lot more help from the ‘asthma’ team.

Pauline and Chris went to the court yet again for the continuing saga of Kulaksiz see link

In the afternoon they came round and brought us some pork chops. Yummy.

A bit of a boring day for me, not for Mal as he was doing everything I couldn’t! Mal found it amusing, me hopping on one leg and Rosie hopping on three. As soon as I am totally mobile we will have to take her to the vets again.

Thought for the Day – “The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does.” ~ Sir James M Barrie

Not a good day. During the night Ollie was rushed to hospital with a severe asthma attack and of course Lou was with him.

I took Rosie for a walk early in the morning and as we walked down the drive, I tripped and fell head first. It was nothing to do with Rosie as she was walking behind me (I have been watching too much Cesar Millan to do otherwise!) As you do when something like that happens, I felt a prize prat!

I managed to get to my feet, one grazed knee and a hole in my trousers but then discovered I had twisted my ankle and couldn’t stand on it! I watched it swell up as the day went on, with me sitting with that leg up on a stool. I was praying that I hadn’t done anything that required hospital treatment. Mal and I have both been offered operations here that were totally unnecessary (we declined) and I did not want to be offered another! Mal was now back on domestic duties while I sat with my foot up!

Thought for the Day – “Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.” ~ Mark Twain

 

I took Rosie for a walk about 1/4 to 6 and by the time I returned Mal was up. The sun must be rising earlier…summer is on its way!

By the time the afternoon came I decided summer was here as it was 27 degrees and the pool temperature was 20 degrees. So, I jumped in and had a lovely swim, the first one this year. The first one always feels so good.  Mal was going to swim but in between cleaning the pool, putting more on his forum and other jobs he didn’t get round to it. To be honest I think he believes the water is still a bit cold!

Early evening Mal had a phone call from Pauline to say that she had been “arrested” and was down at Lapta Police station. You can read the full story here see link

We sat waiting to hear more and when we finally did, Pauline was exhausted. I don’t know why ‘they’ are continually trying to wear her down…..she won’t give up!

Thought for the Day – It is from weakness that people reach for dictators and concentrated government power. Only the strong can be free. And only the productive can be strong. ~ Wendell L Willkie