Sunday 30th October

60F ....... Brrrrrrr

With the clocks 'going back' one hour as per changes in BST full use was made of the extra hour in bed being lazy.  In fact more than an extra hour was gained and it was not until 1100 we eventually got our act together to stroll down the road for our Sunday morning 'Full English'.  This has the added advantage of being able to use the free wifi provided by the restaurant to download the Sunday Times for reading suing the day.  It is also chance to 'surf the net' without the exorbitant charge of the 'dongle'.  How long can you stay over breakfast?  An hour and 30 mins and then you start to feel uncomfortable, not only from your expanded waistline but the use of the internet without adding to your order.

Rain on the Table!

Back home it was time to sit in the sunshine until 1600 although the last 45 minutes or so there was a continuing build up of cloud.  However it was soon time for bike riding and we set off with a determination to see how far we could go in 30 minutes compared to our ride earlier in the week when the wind was so strong. Just as we set off I thought I felt a spot of rain and sure enough 15 minutes from home the heavens opened and it poured.  We raced back home as quickly as we could but were soaked!  What surprising was how quickly the temperature dropped.  From 78F to 60F in 15 minutes.  A hot shower to warm us and then  on to activities for dark 'winter nights'.  I spent time organising all of the pictures taken in the last month on the computer and Lillian making two 'stepping stones' for the garden form small flat black stones collected from the beach.  She is sticking these onto a a sheet of garden webbing.  Pictures to follow when the project is complete.

Spent most of the remainder watching 'World News' - how exciting!

Saturday 29th October

The 'Pub' taken before setting off on Golf Day

Saturdays now run into a pattern, well they have for the last three weeks.  Bowls, garden, pub, meal and home. so the morning started brightly with all hands to the 'pump'.  Lillian sprayed and washed down the patio - floor, tables, chairs whilst I went in search of the last two bags of stones from the beach to complete the first phase of the 'stones' project.  The long wall under the ficus trees is now complete and the stones certainly look better than the bare earth.

Off to bowls.  My first session of two defeats and both heavily at that too.  Our first time that Lillian and I have been drawn to play together for both of our games.  Is there a correlation between Lillian and I playing on the same team and defeat.  I think there is ....... we are not very good as yet and when playing with others we hide our 'bad bowls' as somebody else is always there or there about.  On the way home I tried to blame our skip who was not very good and Lillian reminded me that I was skip on one game and I was not very good, never rescuing a point!  Enough said.  We will be better on Monday!

We enjoy very much the pottering in the garden and the 'Charlie' episode is one that we seem to be on top of although it is still sprouting especially through the stones, coming through the mat.  We stopped at a garden centre and Lillian bought some 'weedkiller'.  It is not so readily available as in UK and what she was given needed to be 'mixed' so a trip to Kleima store for a new spray canister and Lillian stalked the garden on a mission 'Kill Charlie'.  We will see.

We arrived at the Cottage Pub having walked from home 10 minutes into the football matches only to find that ipswich were already losing 0-2.  Not a good day.  The pub was emptier than usual as many had been there to watch the earlier matches, especially Chelsea v Arsenal.  A couple of hours later, with Ipswich losing 1-4, and the pub being decorated for a 'halloween' evening it was time to eat.  A trip into the square to 'The Coast of India' which really does superb indian food.  We overindulged and were quite full on the walk home.  It was a lot colder and I was freezing (low 60's) - surely this is the last time for me to go out late in shorts an T shirt.  I only have one sweater here.  Why didn't I listen to lillian when she suggested I bring more?

Friday 28th October

Taken during our drive on Wednesday

Not much to report. A very blustery day put us off setting out for an early morning bike ride so it was potter about until the afternoon.  Pottering about was the usual - a trip to the beach for some stones, a bit of work talking to the US and of course digging deep in search of the 'Charlie' root.  We really are becoming obsessive about this but it is so frustrating to spend an hour digging down 9 inches, picking out the smallest of roots to find in two days its growing again!

The bike ride setting off at 4.15 was hard work and we both puffed into head winds and so an hour was plenty.  Once back we deserved our drink on the patio, although not for long.  As soon as the sun sets the temp drops quickly and goes from 78 - 62 in the matter of 30 mins.  62F seems cold when you have spent the day in the low 80s.

Meal, Tv and bed!

Thursday 27th October

Narrow streets of Pano Lefkara

We certainly have settled into a pattern for our days.  Thursday is Bowls morning and a good turn out of me members celebrating their victory in the match played on Tuesday.  A morale boosting speech (I don't think)  by the Captain congratulating everyone for the fine win and setting out his determination to be the best club on the island.  There are only 6!

Anyway tow games were played and once again I was drawn with 'Super Bob' in the first match and thanks to his excellent bowling a win was sealed with his very last wood.  I made little contribution as I bowled far too erratically and it speaks highly of 'Super Bob', as the lady playing my lead bowled I would think 15 of her 22 bowls out the other end, that we should win.  My second match was again a very close match, again join to the last end and again thanks to all my team, including me, delivering great final bowls we ran out winners by 3 points.  2 wins again!  Hurrah.  Good for the spirits and good for me as I was able to hide at position 2 on both games, played on the same mat!

As usual home via the supermarket with the purchase of another hand trowel so we could continue the fight against 'Charlie'.  We are slowly winning but you clear an area thinking you have every root and its back in two days!  I got fed up and lazed in the tub whilst Lillian did two tubs of washing, ironing and changed the bed and prepared a meal.  She says I am very lucky to be still bringing in an income and wait the day that I stop and will then find out what 'my job is'.  We were going to bike ride but a strong wind started to blow so it was meal, video and bed.

Wednesday 26th October

Another sunny morning after what is becoming the norm in a chilly start.  Having had enough of fighting our losing battle with the dreaded long rooted Charlie we decided to go off on a venture in the car and drive, see if we could get lost (which we managed quite easily) and see some of the villages in the foothills of the Troodos mountains.

It was a lovely time and for four hours we just drove slowly taking in the views as Lillian tried to track our route on a not very good tourist map which clearly does not have all of the roads marked they we travelled along.  Each village seems to have its own church and some are just huge in comparison to the size of the village.  'Our church will be  bigger than your church' must be the mandate.  Some are perched right on top of a hill, whilst nearer to God we wondered how on earth they built them and who actually attends them?

Border look outs on Turkish side

Having lost our way and nearly ending up back into Larnaca we turned north on the old B road towards Nicosia (Lefkosia) to a village called Lympia.  There you could see the watch towers of the Turks at the border in the north whilst in the south there were soldiers with machine guns, hard hats etc.  It must be so boring on duty looking at each other all day.  The picture here was taken using my new telephoto lens and considering the distance I was away from the subject i am really pleased with this shot.

Once through Lympia we stopped at Dali where there are some old ruins that date from 400 BC.  Looked a pile of stones to me but Lillian, as ever was interested and ventured into the museum whilst I sat in the sun playing with my camera.  The curator was delighted to see someone and made her sit and watch a video presentation! From Dali it was on to the village of Tseri who enabled us to head up into the mountains as a route back south to the coast.  The road was narrow and winding with some stunning views. We stopped and looked, sighed and thought this would make an interesting trip for visitors.

As our journey was coming to an end we passed through a little village called Pano Lefkara which it would appear is famous for its traditional lace making.  There were a number of small shops in little side streets which all seemed to have an old lady sitting there 'lacing' if that is the word.  Lillian bought a runner for the  sideboard in the 'pool' room which is a fabulous piece of work.  The shops also had a predominance of silver jewellery made locally and I treated Lillian to a bracelet which was very pretty.  Much to my surprise she accepted it without her normal protests.  Played that all wrong LOL.

It was about 1630 when we got back home having driven some 80 miles in all.  So after some checking of work emails and strolling the garden we went to Tony's Grill and Bar (400 yards from us) to eat.  Not a great place but the food is good.

Tuesday 25th October

A warm and sunny start to the day meant up relatively early and a bike ride.  There are two main routes to follow away from the house.  Along Kite Beach and inland or up to Faros lighthouse and the coast path finishing inland across fields to the village and home.  We chose the later today along the path that goes between the fields and the sea.  The picture here shows the same potato fields that I took only a few weeks ago and referred to the other day.  See how the field is now green with plenty of white flowers showing?

Once at the end of the coast path instead of heading straight across the fields we went on for a while along the road which runs between the salt lake and the sea to what is known as Spiros Beach.  Named after the developer who has built the lovely sea facing villas that I envy for their sea view.  We stopped there and walked for a while and sat looking out to sea before the normal field route back home.  All in all I guess we were out biking for about 90 minutes.  Good for the fitness levels and I have lost 5/6 lbs in weight since we first came to Cyprus back in August.  A slightly smaller waistline and tummy can only be good for the overall health.

After playing / working in the garden on the dreaded 'Charlie search' (this job is never ending) and a trip to the beach for two bags of stones (another never ending job) we went into Larnaca to pay the internet bill for the 'dongle' the equivalent of 32GBP per month for a very slow connection.  We have had an email from the developer saying the sub-contractor should start the cable works within the next two weeks, that was 10 days ago but no sign yet.  There is a saying here amongst the expats who know that the Cypriots are 'Arabs with shoes' and that is exactly how they work.  A complete Dubai style to everything, 'Inshalla' (God willing) it will all happen but first we need our two hour lunch break.

A wander around the streets in Larnaca shows it to have all of the designer clothes shops that you would see in a Dubai shopping mall, only on a smaller stage and possibly the world's smallest Marks and Spencer which could probably first 5 times into the Clacton one!  After an hour you have done Larnaca so it was a walk along the 'Avenue of Palms' and to stop at a bar with free wifi to write some emails and download the Times newspapers onto the iPad.  This was to be an expensive stop costing 43 euro for two beers, two glasses of wine, some chicken wings and nachos (crisps covered in a cheese dip out of a bottle) so it was back home for yet another snack and two episodes of the 'The Wire'.

Monday 24th October

60 years and one month!  How time flies when you are having fun.  I can't believe that it is already one month since my lovely birthday celebration and that makes it almost a month since we have returned to our home here in Cyprus.

Monday is bowls morning and we were all asked to arrive 45 minutes earlier than normal for 'cleaning' as there is a match today (Tuesday) and the 'committee' wanted everything looking its best.  So brooms were found, clothes for bench washing and hoovers for the mats.  I hovered, not hoovered around, looking busy but just generally chatting and taking a supervisory role whilst Lillian washed and scrubbed benches to her heart's content.

So with spotless mats it was on to the matches and I was fortunate to end on the winning side both games, the second against the team Lillian was playing in.  She bowled far better than me in the second match and I am far too inconsistent with long, short and wide bowls the norm an the occaisional great roll.  Still it was good fun and an easy way to spend three mornings a week.  A stop at the beach not he way home for two more sacks of stones.  We need to venture to a new set of beaches as the perfect egg is becoming harder to find.

With stones to place it was 'hunting Charlie' for me.  It seems to spring up by the hour and with it coming  through the mat under the stones it is hard to get the whole root, not wanting to cut the mat.  Lillian spent the afternoon writing a report for my on an analysis of the examination results of the WCL Group schools.  She has to earn her keep after all.

Whilst 'gardening' a photo opportunity arose with a preying mantis making its way across the path.  I took lots of pictures but as I am still experimenting with camera settings not all were good.  However they are unique for me and as it moved quite quickly not so bad.

Evening at home watching 'The Wire'.  Bed about 1030.

Sunday 23rd October

Sunday, after a few beers on a Saturday night really are the most lazy of days in the extreme.  Sun lounger, hot tub, time in garden attacking the ever spreading roots of 'Creeping Charlie' and a trip to the beach for more stones.  Two huge bags, as much as I can lift without straining covers less than a metre strip under the ficus tress.

The attached picture today was taken yesterday as Lillian sat reading her book.  It must have been good as she read half of it during the day and finished it when we went to bed, reading past mid-night.  We are really pleased with the red bouganvillea that can be seen to the left of the swing.  It had completely died, or so we thought and after about four weeks of looking no more than a twig it started to sprout at the bottom and now look at it.  The flowers are a very deep red and when it spreads along the pool fence will look fantastic.  Not the blue sky.  Not a cloud to be seen today and according to the patio thermometer went to 84F during the afternoon.

Saturday 22nd October

I like Saturdays.  We went to bowls this morning as a pair after Lillian missing due to the bed arrival.  There was a good turn out and 5 of the 6 mats were in use.  The first game I was drawn in an all male match with undoubtedly some of the best bowlers that were there this morning. Bowling second I did OK and certain did not disgrace myself and was pleased to finish on the winning side with a very close 16-14 win.  But the second match where I was drawn as lead I was terrible.  I hate that position and all too frequently bowled off the side or two long leaving my team struggling from the outset.  However with the skip playing exceptionally well on the other team I am sure we would have lost even if I didn't contribute.  So win one lose one.  Lillian was the same.  All good fun.

A quick stop at the supermarket on the way home and then to Kite Beach to pick up to some more stones.  One project completed is the browny, coloured stones under the hibiscus tree which you can see here.  The white stones have at least another 20 visits to the beach to go!

At 4.30 p.m. it was off to the Cottage Pub for football Saturday.  We are getting known there so it is easy to sit with people and chat about life in general and of course the football.  All are getting to know that I am an Ipswich supporter but no joy today as a 0-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace.

Evening meal at Pyrgos and home by 1000 pm.

Friday 21st October

A beautiful early morning with sun shining although temperatures quite low.  A winter T shirt for our bike ride for me although Lillian was a lot braver with a bare back which continues to get a golden brown.  Uphill towards faros Lighthouse and along the coastal path to Menaou.  This really is a lovely ride with the sea on one side and fields for part of the way on the other. A while ago I posted a picture of furrows in a field that had potatoes planted.  These are now a mass of green tops with lots of white flowers showing - they sure do grow quickly.  Other fields have aubergines and by the look courgettes or possibly cucumbers.  Once past the fields we ride past some lovely large beach from houses.  Built sometime ago these houses are nearing Dubai proportions with lovely swimming pools and mature gardens.  Out of our price range unfortunately unless one of my 5 premium bonds come in.

Inland across the fields onto a track that looks as if it is going to be made up into a road.  Oh that they would come and do that for our road into our little development.  No road means no telephone, no internet and no 'good TV' channels.  Hey ho.

Once back home it was breakfast and an easy day doing what we do ...... pottering, chasing down the spreading roots of the dreaded clover type weed, which continue to sprout through the stones by the hour.  We have called it 'Creeping Charlie', a name that somehow comes back from my childhood days, but I can't remember how.  A dip in the hot tub for 30 minutes which is long enough as you skin shrivels after that.  At a water temperature set for 34C and sitting in the sun it is a lovely way to pass the time.  The tub is sending the electricity meter spinning but we have got to use it as that is what it is there for.

Meal and 'The Wire' DVD series that we are watching .... Lillian bought the complete set - 78 Episodes.

Thursday 20th October

Its bowls day ....... so we were up breakfasted and ready to go when a call from IKEA said the bed would be delivered at 1100.  "No 1230' I said "as we are going out".  With my English and his Greek we agreed that 1100 would be the delivery time meaning that lillian did not come to bowls but waited to receive the bed!  Strangely my first trip out in Cyprus alone.  So feeling very much 'Johnny No Mates' I went to bowls alone.

It is amazing the affect that Lillian has on people and how quickly she gets known through her sometimes 'loud' but chatty and warm personality.  When I arrived hardly anyone spoke directly to me without asking 'Where's Lillian?  Is she OK? How's her foot?'  When I said waiting for the IKEA delivery the response was always the same .... 'Oh yes they come when they want!'.  Bowls was good and I finished on the winning team in both matches.  No help from me on the first game when I was rubbish but in the second game, an all male 6, playing with 'better bowlers' I did OK and felt good when one said, 'You bowled well' at the end of the game.

Back home quickly as its only a 10-12 minute drive and after a quick sandwich some screwing and the bed was fixed.  At least IKEA furniture always fits properly and goes together nicely and just like the plans.   Not like the good old MFI days when you always had a piece left over!.  The bedroom looks nice and now we have 3 nice rooms ready complete.

The remainder of the day was spent in the sunshine.  It was a lovely day today with blue skies and warm temps and hardly any breeze.  A dip in the hot tub, some weeding - this weed is amazing, dig it up and three days later its back, trip to the supermarket stopping off at the beach for some more stone collecting.

It's a hard knock life for us!

Wednesday 19th October

Back on the bikes again and how we enjoyed it.  Lillian decided to give it a go ........ placing the pedal and pushing with her instep rather than the ball of her foot and was able to cycle quite well even racing ahead a couple of times leaving me slowly plodding along.  I try to keep myself evenly paced so not to put pressure on the ticker.

We took our favourite route, going inland first and then cutting across to Kite Beach and along the narrow bumpy path that follows close to the sea.  We cycle only yards from the water.  A brief stop where somebody is erecting a beach side cafe on the shore of a lovely sandy bay.  This work, which is a couple of converted containers has been going on at odd days and weekends since we started down this route.  We guess the hope is to have it ready for next summer.  It will be a fantastic spot but how to market it?  Inland across the fields took us to the main Zygi road where we could then take a smaller very narrow one lane road, past fields and greenhouses (plastic not glass) into the village and home.  Potatoes grow fast and now fields that were brown rows of soil a couple of weeks ago are now green with the tops.

Back home there was the continuing fight against the dreaded long stalked, long rooted clover like weed that is springing up everywhere and a trip to the beach to collect white stones.  This will take sometime as a) we are being very selective and wanting white egg shaped stones and b) the bag gets heavy quickly!  A 30 minute 'stone pick' only covers 2-3 feet under the ficus bushes.  Hope the picture shows what we are trying to do.

A visitor to our home.  Geoff Turner who I was responsible for going to Dubai who followed me to Jumeriah College and then to Wellington International has now 'retired' to Northern Cyprus where he and his wife had a house built.  Geoff was to pick up his wife Hazel from Larnaca airport at 10p.m. so we had time for a drink and chat and then quickly into the village to Soutsos for a meal.  It was good to catch up as we have not seen each other for a year.  What was noticeable was how cold it got sitting on the patio ...... so much so I went and put on some long trousers and the only jumper I have here!  Brrrrrrrrr 62F  can't being doing that.

Tuesday 18th October

At home in the dining room / lounge

Despite being up during the nigh to watch the storm it was still a fairly early start to the day to clear the water from the patio and more importantly the cushions on the furniture which had acted like giant sponges. The sky was overcast and grey although the temperature warm, quickly rising to the mid 70s.

What to do on a day where sunshine and lounging is not going to be the order for the day?  Its off to IKEA.  Whoppeeeee how I hate going to that store no matter which country it is in.  The drive takes about 40 minutes to the outskirts of Nicosia where the store is situated.  A relatively fast two lane carriageway with sections that are three lane.  A Cyprus motorway although it is called the A2 rather than M2.

We had decided to make the journey to look at and buy furniture for the downstairs bedroom which we are going to set as a study / TV room for the laptop and then television for the winter months.  The reasoning behind this is that everyone says it gets cold in January and February and therefore we will not have to heat the large open planned space for sitting in the evening.  We already have the sofa bed purchased (again IKEA).  So once there we wandered through the lanes of furniture heading for the 'Billy' section, which is the wall units we had decided to purchase.  Of course as you do that you look at other things and start saying 'yes but that will be nice ..... we could'.  Two hours later of deliberations we scrap the 'Billy' idea and move onto 'Besta' as that has a unit that would be better for the television.  But they don't have a the glass doors in stock.  'OK if we change the configuration to this'.  More debate and we are settled.  All in stock.

As we walk through the bed section we see the bed that we wanted for the third bedroom is in stock even though when Lillian phoned the other day she was told that it would not arrive until the end of October!  Great ......... and this mattress?  No sorry 'Out of Stock' but you can have this one at twice the price.  OK, whoever sleeps on it better enjoy it.  IKEA have this huge warehouse wear you physically get the furniture form the shelves and then pay for it putting it in your car or handing back to them for home delivery. 30 Euro to Pervolia.  So we get the bed in 5 bits and the expensive mattress and push it to row 13 to get the wall units which I start to load onto another trolley.  Excuse me?  Where is shelf carcass 800.340.1718?  Errrrr I will check. 'Sorry Sir.  Out of Stock'  ........ but upstairs we were told it was all in stock.  When will it come in?  End of the month?  Yes ...... Urgghhh........ have heard that one before.  Put it all back as not worth having a big gap in the arrangement for what might be clearly some time.

Out through the check out.  Deliver the bed to the right place and arrange delivery.  During our travel through the store we had bought a lamp stand for the lounge.  Where's the bulb?  Not there.  So Lillian has to walk back through the whole store, bad foot and all to get it.  I wasn't going as I had had enough and needed a coffee.  You can see why I hate shopping at IKEA even though it has some good stuff!

On the way home it rained ........ couldn't switch the windscreen wipers on.  Well it was the first time!  A great day.

Monday 17th October

Surfer at Kite Beach

Unusual to write 'as it happened' as my writing each morning is about yesterday.  Excitement in the night with huge flashes of lightening and greta claps of thunder.  Just like we used to in Dubai we got up at 2.00 a.m. to watch the rain!  It was bucketing down and the road was quickly flooded.  The storm lasted for about 30 minutes but the early morning warmth is starting to dry everything pretty quickly which is just as well as the patio furniture cushions are pretty wet. One must have taken all of the water that washed from the balcony and has acted like a great big sponge and was full!

Monday is bowls morning so off we went at 1000 to play. Quite a few members were presented and enough for all of the six rinks / lanes to be in use. One win and a defeat for me and the same for Lillian. I really must concentrate more on the second game as i seem to play well in the first and poorly in the second. However in the second game I played as the Skip. Positions. teams and the order you bowl are decided by everyone drawing a key fob from what must have been an old coin bag. I don't like being the Skip as everyone down the other end are wanting you to bowl the saving or winning bowl and I can't take the pressure, often hitting the wooden block where you try to bowl narrow or off the side when I try to bowl a curler into the pack. The bowls we have do not seem to turn in very much although a couple of the lanes are not perfectly true. Lillian bought another two bowls from a lady who was selling her husbands as he has had a stroke. They came in a nice 'bowls bag' for 50 euro. They are size 1 compared with the size 3 that I bought which are slightly too large for Lillian's hands. She used them for the second game and was on the winning team so perhaps they will work well for her.

We enjoyed the morning and the members are nice people if not a little 'older' than us. Many have been in Cyprus for 5 plus years and therefore that makes most in the late 60's or more. We will certainly continue to go and with time will get better. There is a match today (18th) at Momosa which is about 45 minute drive from Larnaca which all seemed excited about and 18 are playing. We were asked but declined as we did not feel we should take an established members place so early in our tenure.

Late afternoon as the wind was blowing we went to the beach by car to collect more white stones for placing in the garden under the ficus bushes that run along the wall to cover the bare soil, from which the dreaded creeping clover continues to sprout.  From there we went to what we call Kite Beach to watch the wind surfers and I could play with my new camera.  The surfers are really very talented and we enjoyed sitting watching for 30 minutes.  They ought to be a tourist attraction.  A couple are very skilled and one, who clearly was playing to my camera would continually come fast to the shore and then leap in the air as het turned.  The most difficult thing was to try and get pictures that showed the kite as well as the cords / ropes are quite long.  I took lots of pictures and a few I am pleased with in terms of quality. 

Sunday 16th October

Early morning sunrise over the swimming pool.

The morning after the night before!  After celebrating Lillian's fine shot to be 'Nearest the Pin' winner and generally chatting with too much beer and wine today was a lazy day of rest and relaxation.  Lillian has a swollen foot again and is finding it very sore.  Her toe looks at a very funny angle!

So lounging about on the swing, reading and admiring our garden, television, meal and early to bed were about the total of the days activities.  The temperatures are dropping now with 78F the top day temp and more clouds in the sky.  Overnight it is certainly cooler and we sit with the doors closed now whereas perviously have always been open in the evening to let the breeze blow through the house.  Overnight lows are now 55F and it is often only 60F when making early morning coffee at 0730.  We don't do cold weather!  I'm going home if this keeps up LOL

Saturday 15th October

Golf day with the Pervolia Cottage Golf Society.  Up early we drove to the Cottage Pub in the village for a 7.30 a.m. meet to play in the monthly round of golf hosted by the Society and sponsored by the pub.  This month the trip was to the Secret Vally Golf Course which is between Limassol and Paphos.  There are only  5 golf courses in Cyprus and one of those we are told is not worth playing as it is in such bad condition.  As its name suggests this course is situated in the foothills of the Troodos mountains and runs along the a river valley floor.

Lillian decided to play provided she had a buggy car to avoid walking too far.  A draw was made to divide the golfers into teams with 3 lots of 3 balls and one 4 ball which included myself.  Lillian was in the first group to go off, although I did not see here leave the first tee as I was practising putting which later in the round was to prove to be a complete waste of time. I couldn't have putted worse without any practice.  So after a wait it was time for me to tee off, using a brand new ball which I proceeded to hit 220 yards straight over the trees, across the road and into the car park!  I fine start on the first hole with a 7 urgghh.  Things did get better but if you don't play enough, consistency is poor.  I hit some great shots and some poor shots, especially from the tee where another two balls disappeared as the round progressed.  My shot of the day was at a par 3 where I hit 190 yards to ten foot from the pin only to then 4 put!

The 13th hole was a very short par three.  Only 102 yards from an elevated tee hitting to the green below.  It was the hole designated 'Nearest to the Pin' and the flag marker looked only to be a few feet from the pin.    Having lost a ball on the previous hole from the tee I took my time with an easy wedge shot which sailed high into the air ........  into ........... the bunker!  It is natural when you walk onto the green to see whose name is posted on the marker.  LILLIAN in big black capitals.  A winner with what must have been a great shot.  Lillian as ever is her modest self so has not talked me through how she played it so I can't describe it here. However she did get a certificate back at the pub and 10 Euro (spent on a round of drinks for those who played at the pub, where we had returned for some food and the presentations) and will have her name on the trophy that sits above the bar in the Cottage Pub.

It was a very enjoyable afternoon in good company with some laughs along the way.  The pace of play was very slow however as there was always somebody ahead looking for a ball.  Its a long time since I have played a 5 hour round of golf.  Me?  I finished with 32 points which is 4 shots over my handicap and having lost in total 6 penalty shots have to be reasonably pleased.  We look forward to next month.

Friday 14th October

An early morning search for the new sink for the downstairs cloakroom continued with a drive to neighbouring Arridippou.  Three bathroom shops later and Lillian seems to be getting nearer to making a decision on what she wants and who might do the work.  She always wants to 'have a think about it' before making the big decision.  Not a bad strategy as she always in the end seems to make the right decision on most things.  Not like me and I would have said yes to the first one we saw and have to confess not excited by sink shopping.  Surprisingly there does not seem to be a huge range of sinks that are only 30cm deep.  The downstairs cloakroom is certainly the smallest room in the house.

Once back it was time to potter in the garden.  What do we do 'pottering' there each day for hours you might wonder when in the pictures I post all look so nice.  The are struggling to keep down a very horrible weed that looks like clover.  It had appeared when we return after the 'Birthday Bash' to UK and it intermingled with the roots of most plants.  It is also growing up between the red shingle stones that cover the garden coming through the black liner.  Lillian as ever is painstaking in trying to remove every last root, which are long and go very deep.  In fact there is more to this weed under ground than showing above it.

Thursday 13th October

View from balcony - the clouds are coming!

Thursday is bowls morning so off we went bright and early in warm sunshine but a few clouds.  Lillian managed to play as well. Her foot is slowly getting better although she still hobbles quite a bit, but without too much grimacing!

Lillian and I were drawn in teams to play each other  on the first game which my team (Red) one easily thanks to the excellent bowling by a man called Ian.  So victory in my first game as 'Skip' - not that i did anything except stand at the other end chatting to the other Skip, also called Chris who has heart problems too.  We exchange denotes throughout the game until it was our time to bowl.

It was an enjoyable morning although my winning streak came to the end in our second match when my team was soundly thrashed 13-4 to which I contributed diddly squat.  I thought I had cracked this game but was really very poor with nothing even close to a point.

Back home another contractor called - this time for the bathroom cloakroom where Lillian wants to change the sink.  This was the carpenter who will build in the cupboard.  So now we need to go and buy a new sink!

Lazy afternoon, with a gradual build up of clouds throughout.  I managed a swim which was very brave as the water temperature in the pool has now dropped to 23C.  Lillian sat on the side holding the thermometer in the water.  Don't know how long I will be able to manage this ...... it sure did feel cold.

An early evening visit to the pub for a drink and a chat with a couple of locals was a good way to end the day before eating at home.  I spent a lot of the time on the phone to my WCL boss who is in Boston.  I am pleased to be out of this full time.  Lots of politics.

Wednesday 12th October

Picture taken across fields at the rear of our development

It looked as if it rained during the night!  Shock, horror!  The evidence was just like we had in Dubai, large dusty spots on the table tops and on the car windscreen.  Not a lot, but a few drops.

Lillian, who does not complain is struggling with her foot so again we did not go far.  A car ride into Larnaca to some bathroom showrooms.  Lillian wants to change the hand basin in the downstairs cloakroom as she thinks its cheap looking. It is certainly not top of the range which is disappointing for the house.  However this trip was cut short as the 'Bannister' man rang and wanted to call an hour earlier than expected.  This is another change that we are having done as what has been provided!

As the afternoon went on clouds again formed - large black ones with ever increasing wind but no rain.  The temperature dropped and went as low as 62F outside.  Brrrrrr Brrrrrrr nothing more to do than sit in and watch videos!

It is great to have time on your hands, so when you don't do much there is always another day.

Tuesday 11th October

Early morning from the balcony

Not much to report from today as we did not venture far due to Lillian having trouble walking.  We did drive to the beach in the afternoon, right to the edge so we could pick some stones for the garden.  It was very windy and as you can see from the picture - clouds.  They have been building up all day.

Worrying!

Monday 10th October

A trip to immigration - interesting in that it is a fairly ramshackled building with lots of people sitting around, not doing very much behind huge numbers of files.  Reminded me of visits to the Indian Embassy when in Dubai!  Forms collected and appointments made for a month's time during which we need to collect lots of paper not least getting an E106 form from the UK for Health cover.  We need to explore this as i don't want to lose access to UK hospitals.  Might be that we will need to take some form of private health care to meet the authorities requests.

Although Lillian could not play as her foot is still bad, we went to bowls.  Lots of members present and 6 rinks in operation.  We paid our dues and were issued with membership cards and am now 'fully paid up members' of the Kiti and Pervolia Bowls Club.  The Captain gave a rallying speech after the first games to congratulate all that had played in the Champions weekend just gone and the supporters who attended.  Although none were overall Cyprus Champions but obviously acquitted themselves well.  It would seam following a draw at the presentations that K&P will host the 'Champions weekend' next year.

I played in two games of triples and was on the winning side both times, even getting a couple right on the jack.  "Have you played before?" asked one lady I met for the first time as I rolled another close.  "Yes.  On Saturday." was my smug reply.  Of course it was all down to Lillian's coaching from the side.  The bad ones that is and there were plenty of those.

Home and lazy for the rest of the day.  It was hot this afternoon and the thermometer on the patio showed 90F at about 1500 hrs.

Sunday 9th October

Very much a stay at home day today due to Lillian's bad foot!  Although she never complains very much and it doesn't look so bad she is hobbling and its obviously sore.  We did manage to go along the road for our Sunday full English breakfast and afterwards spent the most of the day sitting in the garden.  Good job the sun was shining!

Late afternoon we went for a quick drive into Larnaca to confirm where the immigration offices are.  We need to register for residency and then watched a DVD for the evening.

Saturday 8th October

Lillian was up early today creeping out in the garden as the air was clam and still leaving me sleeping.  As ever she was tending the garden removing any dead or infected leaves on the bougainvillea. We sat and had coffee on the garden swing before showering and then “off to Bowls”.

Our first morning at Kiti and Pervolia Bowls Club with our own pair of bowls.  There were only 8 other members of present.  That was for a variety of reasons.  In the last couple of weeks the club had been holding its annual championships and this weekend the ‘champions’ from 5 clubs were all meeting together for the Grand Finals.  Therefore not only were the best players playing many it would seem had gone along to give moral support to the Club Champs.  There were some that had stayed away to watch the rugby.  With England losing I am glad that we did not bother and went to play.

This meant a game of doubles, followed by a game of triples.  Lillian and I played together on the same side for both matches, which were played over 11 ends and both times finished on the losing side.  We did well in the doubles and raced into a 9/4 lead only to completely lose our concentration and to be pipped on the last end 12/10!  We both bowled some good woods and some absolute rubbish.  So practice will make us better we are sure and we will go back again on Monday.  It was fun and we both enjoyed playing.   A couple of the ladies attend Greek lessons at the school in Pervolia and Lillian wants to join for the next classes that start shortly so we called in on the way back home where classes were taking place.  Out came Lillian complete with forms but as the classes are subsidised with EU money we need to start the ‘residency’ process before she can join.  So as well as bowls on Monday it will be an early trip to the Immigration Office in Larnaca first.

Back home we pottered about and sat in the sun although by mid afternoon it had become very windy.  I swam my 10 lengths but Lillian, who had missed the last two days only got to the steps where she sat for a while with wet ankles.  After a while she go up and said ‘That’s it!’  It would appear she has finished with swimming until next may by when the pool will be warmer.

The other main talking point is that we are no longer the only residences of ‘Pervolia Residences’.  A couple, complete with dog and motorbike have moved into number 12.  This has had a ‘For Rent’ sign on it the last month.  We have not spoken with them as yet, although they have clearly come from somewhere else locally as one would drive away in a car and come back about 40 minutes later with it full.  So out of the 15 houses there are now 2 living here, 4 owned by ‘locals’ who only visit occasionally, 1 that we have seen being furnished and have been told by Quality Group is for rent, 1 that is still for sale and the rest (7) empty with no sign as yet of the owners.

The day ended badly for poor Lillian as when we were just going to bed she stopped he little toe  on my foot whilst walking past.  She clearly had dislocated it and after lots of jumping about and some ice appeared to have popped it back.  We strapped it up in plasters but it was clearly very painful.  Our first trip to the hospital?

Friday 7th October

Morning beach walk to Faros Lighthouse

A quiet day and not much to report.

An early morning beach walk for about 80 minutes got the circulation going flooded by a late breakfast and a trip to the bank in Arridipou.  Lazy afternoon with a swim - I am still braving the pool and as ever Lillian finding some  'cutting and trimming' in the garden.

Evening meal at Tony's Grill and Bar - our nearest eatery.  Despite the name ...... the food at Tony's is very good.

Thursday 6th October

We awoke late today - to clouds in the sky.  Not enough to set the alarm bells ringing for a change in the weather but more than we usually see.  They stayed all day.  White and fluffy. At home in UK we would console ourselves that these were fine weather clouds and I guess that was today.  A fine weather day where the temperature reached about 82F and a sea breeze blew all day, getting stronger as the evening wore on.  So much so one of the branches of our centre alecastrum palm feature split away from the main trunk.  As a consequence it had to be cut off.  I include this garden picture so you know what is an alecastrum palm!  Its the fan type in the middle.

It was exercise before breakfast with a 80 minute bike ride during which we covered about 10-11 miles.  Inland first. Along the coast road that goes towards the fishing village of Zygi. It is a new road with a large cycle path along most of it.  In a car this is one of our most favourite drives as the road runs parallel with the sea, although probably 200 yards inland for its first few miles but this diminishes to 20 yards as you approach Zygi itself.  Not a place for us to cycle to as Zygi is about a 45 minute drive from Pervolia but certainly a place to take visitors.  The road has few houses to break the views and is mainly fields on both sides.  Some are already planted with potatoes which are growing quickly whilst many have the huge ‘Swiss Roll’ bales of straw.  We are not very good yet at recognising the crops that are growing.  Need to do some research via Google.  

After riding for about 50 minutes we cut across the fields to the coast track.  This runs only 5-10 yards from the water.  It really is a lovely place to cycle even though the bumps and ruts still hurt your backside.  We stopped after a while to paddle our feet on a stretch of grey sand.  The tide was out.  As we walked the beach we could see around the bay a large group of people which looked like a ‘family outing’ from a distance but as we cycled passed, much to our surprise it was a large group playing the french boules on the beach.  They all looked very organised and although some were local cypriots there were certainly some ‘Brits’ within the group.  Something to find out about.  At the moment we are very content just relaxing and doing what we are doing and have no great need to meet other people  (especially if they want to play bingo) ......... but in time that will be nice.

On our return Lillian as ever found some chores to do whilst I did some work!  Yes work! I still spend about 1-2 hours a day on the internet sorting some ‘admin stuff’ for WCL.  I am not really looking forward to what I am sure will be my last trip to the USA in November.  I have been given some big tasks to complete and therefore over the next couple of weeks I will need to spend time doing some preparation.  Much to my surprise earlier this week I spent 50 minutes on Skype talking with an education company that has 6 schools in the UK.  They have approached me about being their ‘Director of Schools’.  Enjoyed the conversation but they will have to pay ‘big bucks’ to tempt me away from our life here.  Thank you but no thanks I feel at the moment.

Spent some time practicing with our new bowls (Thank you Mum) in the  thought that we might go in the evening.  Our artificial grass is no where like the surface that we will bowl on but it showed that practice is what I will need. How to make the bowl roll rather than wobble?  So off to bowls we went only to find no-one there.  The club have obviously changed their evening bowls back to the morning now the temperatures are not so hot!  Next time is Saturday morning, but that clashes with the rugby England v France.  Oh the decisions we need to make when every day roles into one.

So having no bowls we stopped at the Cottage Pub for a drink.  Talked with the publican and Fulham supporter Ken during which time we compared medical histories.  He has a pancreatic problem and met a guy who is associated with the Cottage Golf Society.  There next day out is to the Secret Vally Golf Club between Limassol and Paphos on 15th October.  We have signed up to go which is why we bought our golf clubs back with us.  Something to look forward to next week and a chance to meet new people.

Wednesday 5th October

Pervolia Church

Yet another day in lovely warm weather with blue skies and sunshine.  

After our normal time spent just loving being in our garden it was a day to use what we were doing to experiment with my new camera.  I am delighted with the quality of the pictures that I have taken so far and having a telescopic lens is a real bonus.  There was a need to take some pictures other than the garden so on the way to the local supermarket for some fresh bread (which is lovely) we stopped so I could take some pictures of the churches of Pervolia and Kiti.  They are both shown here. 

Angelokisti Church, Kiti Village

Angelokisti Church in the village of Kiti, which means ‘Built by the Angels’ is 11th century but built on the site of a church from 6th century from which a mosaic of the Virgin Mary survives.

From the supermarket we went to the beach to collect stones for the garden.  These big white pebbles are being used as a base under the Ficus bushes.  They look good, although a lot more as one bag does not go very far.  Still we have plenty of time to collect to collect more.  We had the beach to ourselves as you can see below and even braved the water which was surprisingly warm and very calm.  Certainly warmer than our swimming pool.  Although the beach is full of stones once you wade into the water it is often soft sand which is good for swimming as you are not worried about putting your feet down on jagged stones and rocks.  We have always liked walking along the edge of the sea so it makes being here so perfect.

The rest of the day was pent being lazy lounging on the sunbed, a swim (only 10 lengths - its cold) and a sit in the hot tub.  A meal at home in the evening and a watch of a DVD.

Tuesday 4th October

Sun setting over the Troodos mountains

Its so nice to wake up in the morning here. The sky is virtually always blue and the air very still and clam with the evening breezes gone. I lie in bed sometimes though wishing I had a chain saw to remove some trees across the road so that I can see the sea from lying down instead of having to stand up and check its sparkling. In the evenings when you sit on the patio you can hear it breaking on the shore.

Another busy day.  LOL.  A trip into Larnaca to pay the internet bill.  This little dongle is quite expensive compared with broadband at home.  There is no sign when we will be able to get the same as it is linked, we are now told, to the authorities and the access road.  The contractor is waiting approval of the sub base for the road so he can then dig it up to lay the fibre optic cables!  So like the UAE in the way things happen, or don't happen.

Larnaca was a lt quieter than a few weeks ago although the lovely sunshine still meant many were sitting on the beach or swimming and playing. However many of the 'sun lounger' vendors had vacancies!  We walked to the small pier at the harbour to look back at the town.  With the majority of the buildings only 3 stories with the maximum of 6, The Avenue of Palms as the main seafront road is called looked nice.  The old castle at the far end bringing a focal point to the end of the bay.

Back home there was garden to tend.  Lillian always finding something to do but there again she also has books to read.  A swim ...... oh the water is cold now and placing the thermometer gave a reading of 76F for the water.  A bike ride to kite beach ....... but no kite surfers for the first time ever.  Has the season finished for them too?  After watching the most beautiful sunset, with the sun dropping behind the Troodos Mountains a walk into the village for a meal at KoKos Restaurant.  It was fairly empty when we arrived but soon lots of 'retired' expat Brits started arriving.  At 2100 there was bingo and a quiz night!  Oh dear.  We left them to it to stroll back home for a drink on the patio.

Monday 3rd October

Stripes in the lawn

Our first day back at home and a day for 'chilling'.  I worried at first that it would be exactly that as the sky started grey and cloudy and really not as warm as we are 'used to'.  Fortunately it was not long until 'normal service' was resumed with clear blue skies and 28C, just like the UK temperatures that we had left!

After a slow start to the day, enjoying wandering around in the garden we set off on a bike ride in a need to get back to 'fitness ways' after the over indulging during the UK celebrations.  It tuned out to be the longest of all of our bike rides so far, heading 'up hill' to Faros lighthouse, along the beach track, inland and then heading back to a 'new' coastal track which eventually lead to a dead end, right at the beginning of the main Larnaca airport runway.  There we sat on some rocks, in the sun, two feet away from gently lapping crystal clear blue sea watching the planes arrive.  Two from Thompson Airways and one from Thomas Cook bringing I guess more UK people looking for the last of the summer sun.

Back on our bikes, we did not cycle far until a small beach side taverna beckoned for a beer and lunch, again sitting right next to the sea.  Having stuffed ourselves (so much for the new light eating regime) it was a long haul back through the fields to the village of Pervolia.  We never take the coastal path back home as it is all up hill, but of course this is great when coming down.

A lot of time was spent then pottering, trimming and fixing back new growth on plants.  Whilst trimming the olive tree which stands in the front garden we came across this little critter.  Fascinating to watch and a chance for me to try out various settings on the new camera.  I also spent time 'tending the grass' which of course is so hard.  The main problem is what to do with the cuttings?  You might laugh but each time you spray and brush the 'grass' to get rid of the dust a few plastic blades come out.  Lillian gets most upset if I leave them lying on the stones.

A swim in the pool ...... oh dear I wonder how long we will be able to do this.  The water is certainly a lot cooler but a 30 minute dip in the hot tub which is set for 35C soon got the circulation going.

Sunday 2nd October

And so after 10 good but busy days back in the UK it was time to head back to our home in sunny Cyprus, although we cant complain about the weather in the UK whilst there.

I need to record my thanks to Lillian, family and friends for making my 60th birthday such an enjoyable event.  It was lovely to see everyone and it was a time to be remembered.  A special day.

The other highlight of our stay was watching Ipswich win at Upton Park against West Ham Utd.  they played really well, deserved to win and the atmosphere amongst the Ipswich fans one to savour.  So much better than my trip to Villa Park to see Aston Villa v Wigan.  Not the same when you watch as a passive observer not worried who wins!

Steve took us to Heathrow, laden with two sets of golf clubs and and a couple of bags of little things to take back with us.  the flight was uneventful and the short taxi ride from the airport to Pervolia was soon completed, although we haven't seen Larnaca airport so busy before with a number of charter flights arriving from the UK all at the same time.  Clearly a good time to come to Cyprus for late holidays.  It was great to be back at our home and virtually immediately Lillian started on her inspection of the garden. Having been away for almost two weeks the new growth on some of the plants was very noticeable and there is some trimming to be done.

Darkness arrived soon and after a drink on the patio, some sorting and unpacking an early night beckoned as we are sure to have a busy day the next morning LOL.