Bike riding

A beautiful day, warm and sunny with temps in the mid 70s F and ideal for a bike ride.  Routes that we have frequently taken before but always enjoyable as we get to see the sea!  The colour looks wonderful. Even time to sit on umbrella beach and just enjoy being there.  We pass through a number of fields that are showing already their first crops of artichockes and potatoe plants are in flower.

Plenty to do in the garden too.  It becomes addictive and we collect leaves, cut and trim.  Its so good to see everything coming to life and sprouting new leaves.  The bougainvillaea are just starting to show their first flowers.

An evening in the village with a stop in the Cottage Pub which is really quite empty.  The landlord Ken has been badly hit with the Cyprus 'problem' with the breweries no longer taking cheques and wanting cash payments.  Business is not good for him and it will be a real shame if he goes under after 8 years.  How will business be good when his prices are so cheap? I like it in the Cottage Pub!

Quick trip to Doha

Good morning

 Good morning.  Once again back in Cyprus after a quick 4 day trip to Doha, once again staying at the St. Regis Hotel.  Certainly live sup to its 5* billing with a lovely room with true sea view.

This trip was not without its moments with to flight changes on the way via Amman in Jordan, then Bahrain and finally Doha, meaning 10 hours all told. However I arrived safely but my case did not and for 20 hours I was without a change of clothes until eventually heading for a shopping mall for replacements.  It was 36 hours before my case eventually re-appeared.

HRH Prince Michael of Kent speaks with students

This meant I missed lunch on the first day at the Islamic Museum with HRH Prince Michael of Kent who had come to Doha to perform the opening ceremony of the new teaching block at one of the schools.  Couldn't go to lunch with members of the British and Qatari Royal families in jeans and T shirt! I have been working solidly to get this project finished for the last 6 months so it was good to see it eventually opened.  I did get to meet the Prince (we have met before at school openings) on day two when he officially cut the ribbon when I was suitably attired.  As ever he was delightful, interested and really excellent with the children.


Day three was a trip to our school in Al Khor, a 40 minute drive to the north of Doha.  We need to build some more classrooms. Not sure if it shows very well but it is the northern settlement on the picture to the left just to the north of the inlet in central of the picture.  I took the picture from the plane on the homeward journey. Currently only a few thousand people but it is expected to have 0.7 million in ten years time!

The building between Doha and Al Khor is immense and even though only four weeks since I was last there the changes are noticeable.  Al Khor will be one of the centres for the World Cup in 2022.

Flights back were fairly uneventful and I arrived complete with case.  A quick SMS to Lillian for the 'taxi service' and home.  Now here for a whole week.  Watch this space.

Charity Bowls

The semi-finals start ..... should have been my team.  Fix

The annual Kiti Bowls Club Charity Day.  A day when bowlers from all clubs on the island descend for a day of 'mixed' bowls.  Mixed in the terms that all names are put in a hat and drawn into teams of four which means players from all club teams are mixed.   As it happens I was drawn with three ladies from our club whereas Lillian was in a truly mixed team with one member from each club.

Throughout the night the strong winds from the day before had brought heavy rain and so for a 0930 start the mats were wet and a slight spray shot up as the bowl rolled along the mat, but a strong breeze and some sun soon dried everything out.  It was an enjoyable day with two wins, a draw (against the eventual runners-up) and a narrow controversial defeat 6-8 saw my team eliminated in the group stages.  The controversy surrounding a bowl being moved too quickly when deciding the points on the penultimate end.  Whilst I kept out of the arguments that ensued had we got the 7-7 draw we should have our team would have moved into the semi-final. Oh well it was an uncharitable moment and there will always be next year for glory.

As the day went on the sun disappeared and a cold wind blew.  The coloured shirts from the various tam members disappearing as more and more sweaters and fleeces appeared. We did well to stay to the end supporting three of our bowlers in the grand final as i was freezing having gone in shorts!  All a bit of fun.  Whilst there was an evening function it was down to the village to eat and some time in the pub.  

A blustery day

and the waves crashed

Wow ...... strong winds, cloud interspersed with the shortest moments of warm sunshine.  The garden was well and truly bashed today with chairs and sofas whipped from the patio and sent spinning across the garden.  We braved a walk to the beach which was fine when the wind was blowing behind you but head on was a struggle.

The waves crashed and provided the perfect example of longshore drift with even the largest stones being washed up and sent moving along the beach.  We ventured for long as we could but only an hour such was the battle against the elements.  With grey clouds beckoning, looking to bring rain we head back home to find a power cut which lasted some four hours.  Good job we always have candles and like the atmosphere it brings.  Once the power was back on it was a night at home with the DVD.

Thanks to all of our friends and family who have expressed concern about our 'wealth' with the problems that Cyprus is currently facing.  Its nice that our little sunny island gets a mention on the world stage, it's us you think of!!!   It's all a bit of a bummer really, but since we can't do anything about it we'll just have to see what they all eventually decide.....luckily we have most of our savings in UK; and of course, there was meant to be a guarantee by the EU that 85,000 euro in any country is always safe - obviously unless you are a sunny little island with no clout on the international stage!!!!   But as they say - whatever!!!!  Lets wait and see.

So good to be back once again after almost three weeks ‘on the road’ and away from home comforts not least Lillian.

Whilst away I was asked on three separate occasions if I liked traveling? Each time I told the story of how 12 years ago I was so envious of people who travelled with their work, especially my sister-in-law Evelyn who seemed to be here, there and everywhere with her job with  IHG hotel group.  At that time even Lillian was ‘away’ with trips to to ‘exotic’ Dubai earning some cash. Now its ‘ok’ but one different hotel, different room, different bed, different bar and different airport after another takes its toll and the novelty has worn off a bit.  My passport shows this as my 29th trip to the USA in the last 30 months.

Boston Common

In terms of work the trip was fine and achieved virtually all that I set out to complete.  At one time it seemed dogged by the risk of flight cancellation due to snow.  There were severe weather warnings in Washington whilst there, even causing schools to be closed.  Hundreds of flights were cancelled but somehow I managed to get to New York where it started to snow just as I arrived and was very soon quite deep. (Well be UK standards anyway) Fortunately in the last 12 hours before I was scheduled to leave a sharp rise in the temperature changed snow to slush instantly and so it was on to Boston where 12 inches of snow had just fallen.  A walk across Boston Common watching children tobogganing and families building snowmen of all shapes and sizes was probably the most pleasurable time of the trip.  The invite to play golf at the Myers Country Club in Charlotte was also well received and a good time.  Bright, sunny but cold and good company made for a very enjoyable 4 hours and light relief from continual meetings.  A fine course with lovely club house and facility in general.  The course was sown with bermuda grass which whilst a beautiful lush green in the summer months changes to dead brown in the winter months.  Only the greens were green!  I was inwardly pleased with my score as its some time since I have played.  Needed to have putted better to have been a winner.

Back In Pervolia Lillian had been busying herself keeping the garden immaculate with two new pots displaying petunias and other patio plants.  I was pleased to see the two pots I had planted whilst ‘home alone’ a few weeks ago had also been tended and are now in full bloom.  Its good to be back together but sadly a short time as its off to Doha, Qatar on Sunday.

With a late arrival flight on Wednesday it was Thursday before we could really get out an about and a brisk 90 minute walk along the beach and the Faros headland soon blew cobwebs away.  Needed the walk as wining and dining at times and just eating too much at others has meant the scales are tipping the wrong side of what I call  ‘fat man weight’. The sea looked fantastic.  It was as clam as a millpond reflecting afternoon sunshine.  Temps in the low 20’s C but next month will go to mid consistently and then bring on the summer!  As ever work is not far away and a three hour evening phone call to the USA on international dialing rates finished the working day at 11pm

Red Sky in the morning

Red sky in the morning 0615

Ok let start with the normal introduction.  Let's talk about the weather, the favourite of Brit conversation openers.  "Isn't it lovely?" "Really quite warm today - perhaps summer is coming at last?" "Wow that wind was so strong!" 'Did you hear the rain last night?" "Real storm blowing, I could hear the waves crashing on the beach all night".  The last three days have been all of these with temps into the upper 70s and down to 40s at night.  We've had lovely blue skies and the strongest of winds which on teo occasions whipped the two seater from the patio sending it flying across the garden.

Bike ride looking to Faros

Today is one of the lovely days, and really quite hot, rather than warm and I've come in from sitting on the patio to write this to get a little cooler!  With it being such a lovely day this morning was an hour bike ride on our favourite coastal route and new roads inland bringing us back to Pervolia via Kiti.  The fields look good and many are full with wheat, oats and barley growing to heights of 2-3 feet.  Still green but growing fast.  Every space is filled and the crops grow right to the road edge.

We have learnt to recognise some of the more unusual crops and there are a number of fields with artichokes, which are  showing their large green heads.  Some fields are planted and have rows and rows of large plastic cloches warming a protecting the young growth.  What is in them remains to be seen although some look like peppers.  We passed one farmer planting small plants of what I don't know but he had a huge tray and was stopping every couple of strides to plant.  It was a big field so clearly had a days work ahead.  Last night as we walked back from the village at 9 o'clock another was ploughing a field with only the lights of the tractor.  The farmers work hard.

The fields look great (so does Lillian!)

Today is football watching day and soon its off to the Cottage Pub for the normal Saturday banter.  Come on Ipswich ..... just can't bare the comments that will come with another defeat.  'Your boys aren't looking too good Chris.  Division 1 next year?'

And so a week has passed with some time to relax, but far too much computer based work and its time to set off again on travels, Washington, New York, Boston, Charlotte, Miami and London ..... all in 18 days.