On The Island

Mal and I and the three boys had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel overlooking the sea. The boys still amaze me how much they eat “make it four sausages please with my full English”!

We checked out and Rhys came and collected us all, dropped us off at Salmestone Grange to collect our car and then they all headed back to Cardiff. Phew, I felt exhausted!

More wedding pictures:

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Lou and Rhys’s Wedding Day

It was a really hot sunny day, the best day they could have had. Mal and I drove to Rhys and Torin’s hotel, all the boys were suited and booted and looked so smart. I knew it wouldn’t be long before Oscar looked wrecked but he was clean for a while. The Sunday traffic was horrendous, so we went all round the back turnings and we were all there in plenty of time.

The boys all played their parts as ring carriers, ushers and best man. They were so good. The service was really lovely and no one cared about the kids, and there were a lot of them, being a bit  talkative (the little ones.) Everything was perfect apart from the fact I forgot I was witness and fell down the step on the way back to my pew.  We then went into the reception and River (best man) gave the most magnificent speech which was very moving. He did so well for a 13 year old. He bought a tear to his dads eye (and a lot of others).

Torin had a phone call to say Scarlet was not so well and so had to leave after just the starter but he had managed to come with Jack which we all appreciated.

We had a lovely meal and lots to drink (after my week I needed it!)  The evening was spent on the lawns. Even though I had a couple of drinks, it was Mal, Paula and  I got the littlies to bed and then made sure Lou and Rhys were up there too (both a little merry!) Mal Paula and I then got a taxi back to the hotel with the 3 oldest boys.

A brilliant day which I know everyone enjoyed. I felt such a proud ‘Nanny’ because everyone kept saying how well behaved the boys were. All credit to their fantastic parents Lou and Rhys, now Mr and Mrs Daniel. Bless ’em both.

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A new day and a nights sleep and we were feeling a bit more human but Scarlet was still in hospital having more tests trying to find the problem. Although Torin was torn between staying to hear about Scarlet and coming to his brothers wedding, he travelled down in the afternoon with Jack so at least half his family was at the wedding.

I went to the hairdressers and had a call from Torin, he hadn’t got Jacks shoes for the wedding nor fruit juice in his hurry to leave. Yes, I went shopping for those, then had to collect Mal to go to the stag do, then my friend Paula and I went to the hen night with all the littlies.  I later had another call from Torin would I mind babysitting Jack, of course not, so Paula and I went to the hotel and watched him sleeping while Torin had a break at the stag night. Torin came back and I ferried back the ‘drunks’ to their various hotels. I think they all had a good night.

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Mal and I were shattered when we woke up, only to have a three hour conversation with Barclaycard about airline tickets, car hire . Suffice to say that Barclaycard are not what they used to be, a Mombai call centre and customer service could not even access our account to see when we purchased tickets last September…we can online but evidently they can’t. We went higher and higher up the chain.

Everything was turning into a nightmare. Scarlet in hospital, not knowing if any of them will be able to make the wedding on Sunday, flight tickets with an insolvent airline, car hire companies taking monies they assured us they weren’t taking etc etc.

Not my best week of the year!!

Having to return to Stansted, we called in at Torin’s on the way, poor Scarlet was in hospital and he had Jack. What a worry as they didn’t know what was wrong with Scarlet.

The evening we had to return our hire car, we had to use Hertz for the 2 extra days and then swap it for Budget (all booked by Easycar). Suffice to say we spent FOUR hours at Stansted airport as Budget wanted £750 deposit from MY credit card, not realising Hertz took a large deposit and we didn’t know this one had not been refunded. A very long story but they wouldn’t take it from Mal’s card, would not take it from a Debit card and would not take cash. We have an annual car insurance to cover car hire but to avoid paying the £750, we had to pay an additional £11 a day to Budget for their insurance. My brain hurt by the time we got in bed!

Mal and I arrived back at the caravan at 1.30am.

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All the stress over the past week or so, worrying if I am ever going to get back for Lou and Rhys’s wedding and the bun fight at Ercan took its toll on me! I was totally whacked. Mal knew I wasn’t myself when I didn’t even want to go shopping…usually the first thing I do when I get back to the UK!

It upsets me when I read comments from Turkish Cypriots saying how ashamed they are at the way the government is handling this, or should I say, not handling it. They have taken people’s money and then turned their backs on them. Just one comment sent in to North Cyprus Fre Press:

“The government of North Cyprus should be ashamed of itself allowing
its airline to take money from people knowing they were going
bankrupt. And now Atlasjet is not honouring the flights instead they
are treating these paid customers like animals and also selling
tickets for the same seats that the CTA customers have already paid
for. I am Turkish Cypriot and have ALWAYS supported everything Turkish
Cypriot including buying CTA flights for me and my family. Look at the
way we are being treated. We are the people who year on year come to
North Cyprus and spend our money, helping the TRNC economy. I wish I
never bothered. The worst thing is that I am being pushed to buy
flights to Larnaca to get to North Cyrus HOW SHAMEFUL IS THAT? You
people in power disgust me, you only think about yourselves, your
money your comfort but spare a thought for all your fellow Turkish
Cypriots wanting to fly out to North Cyprus, these people who pay the
money to help your floundering tourist industry. The Greek Cypriots
are laughing their heads off at your incompetence. Right now I wish I
was I was not Turkish Cypriot. The government needs to intervene and
insist Atlasjet honours all CTA flight tickets properly not on a first
come first serve basis. That is a disgusting way to treat people. Also
Atlasjet must stop selling flight tickets on planes that should be
designated to CTA ticket holders. DO SOMETHING NOW PLEASE.”

I hardly slept and was ready to leave at 5.00am!! David ran me to the airport and waited until I confirmed yes there was a flight at 10.30am, Antalya and Stansted. Thank you David!

I went to the check in desks and nobody had a clue what was going on. About six vacant check in desks and no one had a clue which ones would be used, so people queued at all the check in desks.  What was to follow was not pleasant and as we all queued more and more people joined the ends of the queues. A cheer went up at 8.30am when three check in clerks appeared and took their seats. How lucky was I that I was in one of the three. Then the other people all crammed to get in the three queues. I hasten to add that at no time did they put up on the check in boards where the flight was going to or any information whatsoever. It was bedlam. I would have been about the third person in our queue to get a ticket BUT a group of TC’s pushed in, in front of us, blocking the desk and one even straddled the scales. Police were there but were doing nothing, just chatting to the ones that had pushed in. Then more cases were being passed to the people who had pushed in. I was convinced that they were checking in their entire village. I did voice my opinions to them but of course it fell on deaf ears. A dear grey haired old lady in the next queue was then being shouted at by a TC saying she had pushed in and other Brits were shouting back in her defence. I don’t think she even had the strength to queue jump. I used all my tactics learnt from queueing with TC’s at the old Ercan airport when it was every man for himself. It certainly was not a pleasant experience. The couple in front of me had a trolley and when they took their cases off it, I wedged it beside me so that no more TC’s could queue jump. What an appalling display to all the tourists trying to get a ticket home.

When I reached the desk, she didn’t even look at my reservation, I tyhink it was just getting ‘bums on seats’. I was one of the lucky ones but I heard there were about 60 people who didn’t get on. What a total shambles it was.  The flight was OK and the air hostesses were very pleasant.

Of course on arriving at Stansted my hire car had been booked for Thursday, so during the flight Mal called Easycar to arrange it for two days early. They booked through Budget who didn’t have it available for the first two days, so I ended up with  a Hertz car which has to be returned to the airport on Thursday and swapped for a Budget car.

I arrived at the caravan, totally shattered. A  nightmare of a day but at least I am back for my son’s wedding!

The government have seriously let down so many people, knowing this would happen and still taking bookings for CTA.  They are NOT making information available and no one knows what the hell is happening. Again I must thank Sheniz from Ankara Travel or I may have missed my sons wedding. Customers who supported the country’s airline have now been abandoned. It makes me wonder if the same will happen to people’s title deeds. They seem not to care a jot. Shameful.