On The Island

The boys stayed at home while I took my car to be serviced to Ziggy (down by the Merit).  Ingrid picked me up when I dropped the car off and we went for an ice cream at Mardo’s….yummy! Ziggy always does a good job and did all the usual service things and kept all the old parts to show me, also 2 new mud flaps and new brake pads…..180tl. He’s a good man.  I told him I would walk down to collect it but I hadn’t even left Malatya when he arrived to pick me up so that I could collect the car. Good service.

Meanwhile the boys were in the pool most of the day.  Our water was getting very low again and Ingrid kindly rang the Beledeysi for us as it is obvious that there is a leak the other side of the meter as others are getting water but we have nothing on our meter reading. They were supposed to have fixed it but obviously not!

We were up early and took the boys to Mavi Kosk. They loved the excitement of the army checking our passports etc as we entered the military ground.  They also liked the stories about the old owner of the house, Pavlides, being in the Mafia and going down into the bunker to see the guns.

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We had a nice day at home around the pool.  Tariq and I did go shopping in the morning. Water melons are now 50 kurus a kilo, just as well as the boys demolish one a day, along with grapes.

Grandad cooked the evening meal and it was lovely out on the terrace accompanied  by the elephant trunk and the cement mixers,building what we all think is the replica of Edinburgh Castle, below us. It started at 1/4 to 7. It is now 9.00pm and it is still going along with washing the mixers out and tipping all the rubbish into the ravine.

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We were up early and set off for Saint Hilarion Castle. It doesn’t take long to get there now the new bypass is open. It opens at 9.00am, a good time to start before the midday sun.  Mal and I paid 7 lira each and the children are free, so a bargain! The boys even made it to the highest peak. They really enjoyed it.

In the evening we went to The Roof for our dinner. It is in Alsancak, upstairs of what used to be Lacem Restaurant (now The Barrel). The prices are very good, when you think we are feeding 6 of us, well worth a visit. The boys loved it there and they do a good brandy sour.  A sample meal, pizza (highly recommended!) and a cola, 7 lira.

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Happy birthday Torin…still in Madrid!

Another day in the pool, the boys are getting much faster at swimming. In the evening Margaretha brought her people carrier round as she said we could borrow it. Really very kind of her.

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Tariq and little Torin were up early and so went for a walk with Rosie and I. During the day the boys did some of their challenges and also swimming trying to better their times for two lengths.

In the evening Grandad cooked us all a BBQ. Later Torin rang and told us he was “stuck” in Madrid because of the French Air Traffic controller’s strike. He went for the day to work, went to the airport and joined the chaos there to find his flight amongst many others had been cancelled and of course all the hotels close to the airport were already full. He found a hotel but of course had to go out and buy things as he had nothing with him. Poor Torin, it is his birthday tomorrow and he can’t get a flight back until tomorrow night.

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PEACE AND FREEDOM DAY

There was a firework display at 1.00am in the morning. At 9.00am there was a 21 gun salute. The early morning was the dawn vigil at Alsancak Landing Beach.

In the afternoon we went into Girne where there was a parade. We went upstairs in Carob restaurant in the harbour, where Margaretha had booked tables for us. We all had our starter and then went up on to the roof terrace  to watch the air display. It was fantastic, much more risky than the Red Arrows. This was the Turkish Stars. They fly so low to the sea and the harbour really is the best place to watch the display. The boys loved it, especially the end where they flew right over our heads and the noise was deafening.

We then went to the downstairs terrace and had our main course. It was quite late when we left and then had ice creams on the way back to the car.

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