Stop that pigeon

Ok.  Had enough of pigeons basking in the sunshine on our solar panel and leaving their mess to fall onto the hot tub.  This should do it ..... courtesy of Barry the pigeon man.  It was not free gratis.... charged more than expected but he was on the roof for 7 hours!  Sods law we have not even seen a pigeon in the sky for the last two days let alone on our roof.  However they will be around again we are sure and then we will see if the neighbours are covered and we are clear.

Friends Chris and Nick from Harrow arrived at 0530 this morning.  So glad that British Airways are changing their flight schedule next week to more reasonable times.  The forecast for the next seven days is great with daily temps all listed at 28-29C so hope they will have the relaxing time they say they need.  Hard go working at the best of times with two weeks holiday a year but Chris works shifts which must be the same as me getting caught up with jet lag going from one time zone to another.  Chris has a huge suitcase.  When asked what she had in it a one word reply.  BOOKS. Hope they have a good time.

All smiles at the start of the game!

It rained during Saturday night - not that we saw it only the resultant puddles on the road on Sunday morning.  The first since April if memory serves right.

Some events since last posting.

A trip to Kyrenia in the north for a night stay and a game of golf with Geoff and Hazel at their club.  First game for Lillian and i since June and it showed, well in my game with 7 lost balls on the very tight course meant a poor score.  But it was all fun except for some of the hills.  Having elected to walk instead of a  buggy cart was a brave decision with us gasping for breath on more than one occasion.

Each year the village of Pervolia has a Charity week.  Events are created at may of the restaurants and bars in the village to raise funds to help those less fortunate in the area.  It is a sign of the times when supermarkets have large perspex containers past the check-outs where shoppers can donate foodstuff that they have just bought.  So on Friday night it was a 'Dutch Auction' of various gifts given by regulars that would make attractive 'parcels' of prizes to bid for.  We had nothing that we could think would be useful so after a meal in Pyrgos determined to be charitable and make some good donations we joined the fun, helped by more than a few beers.  If you have not been to a Dutch Auction there are a number of methods but this was designed to raise the maximum amount of cash in the shortest time.  Hosted by Nat, the landlady of the The Cottage, who did a fantastic job, she first selected a number of gifts that had been donated to make an attractive package.  Bidding started at anything from 10 cents to 5 Euros depending on the prize. So whoever bid say 10 cents placed the 10 cents in the bucket, the next bidder who perhaps raised the stake to 20 cents put 20 cents in the bucket and so on.  It was easy to get carried away and soon place a lot of cash into the bucket.  Everyone was in good spirits and it was all a lot of fun with over 2000 Euros being raised by the end of the evening.  We had contributed well and come home with some 'junk' and a voucher for a meal at Pyrgos!  We will enjoy it as we spent enough to go there 5 times!  Still a good cause.

Late Saturday afternoon saw a special bowls event when people from the town of Kiti were invited to try bowls for the first time.  About 20 turned up, many not speaking English so Lillian was a star with her greek. After a couple of hours of fun, which seemed to be enjoyed by all it was locals time to entertain with three games of bingo (numbers called in greek as well as English) and kebabs and pitta from the BBQ all held in the meeting hall.  It was a good event.

Sunday ...... with the pool temperature reading only 20C it was probably the last swim of the year. Managed 6 lengths before saying enough ...... believe me the hot tub felt roasting afterwards.

Bowls Club

So much for saying bowls has improved ........... after four wins on the trot normal service resumed this morning with two defeats this morning although it was not all down to me.  Two very close games both decided on the last end of 11.

Strong winds today.  My little app on the iPad shows 30mph and although I have no way of confirming it certainly matches the beaufort scale description of whole trees sway and the awning staying firmly in.  Waste of time doing any tidying in the garden as it would be an never ending job trying to clear leaves when the wind is so strong.  28C / 83F though is still very pleasant to sit on the patio despite the wind.  Have had to rescue the garden furniture twice.

We have new neighbours.  A Chinese family moved into House number 2 yesterday.  They stayed the night but today seem to have gone again.  Perhaps they are just out exploring the surrounds?

Its getting colder

September moves into October and whilst life continues in much the same way with routine days of pottering interspersed with 'special' events so the weather changes too.  The clear blue skies and hot sun of summer are now not guaranteed with the first clouds of the approaching cooler period becoming more regular.  In fact there has been rain ...... not here in Perivolia  but in the surrounding districts causing flash flooding in dry river beds and subsequent mud and rocks washed across the roads.

The cooler days, temperatures are now in the upper 70F to low 80s F are coupled with certainly cooler nights.  Great that we no longer have the air conditioning blowing at bed time but the cooler nights have certainly lowered the temperatures of the pool.  We are still swimming but for how much longer ...... a week or so at the most I think.  Another downside to the cooler temps is the return of the mosquitos which buzz around in the evenings entering via open windows.  The bites are fierce and both Lillian and I compare both numbers and severity with very much 'my bites are itchier than your bites' tone.

Village of Kalavasos

Since the last blog I've had yet another birthday.  Pleased to still be having them and if it was not for the skill of surgeons in Dubai I might not.  Everyday is but a bonus which I try to remind myself and time should not be totally wasted.  However I'm thinking of counting backwards now with birthdays.  62 - where did the last 20 years go?  The strategy of taking a year off will fit with Lillian's view that I am regressing as I get older.  We actually had a very nice day.  Pottered about in the garden, beach walk and then a trip into the Troodos mountains to stay at the Library Hotel in the small village of Kalavasos.  The meal was good, but not good enough to go there just to eat in the future, but we had a very nice room and it was nice to be able to sit with a brandy and coffee post meal in a nice lounge not worrying about driving back home.  In the morning we walked the village and then drove for a couple of hours on a fairly long route home taking in the views.  There really are some pretty little traditional villages here.  It was on this drive that we saw the effects of the rain and flooding mentioned above. and allowed us to collect a few coloured rocks for the garden

Rocks from the Troodos, washed down by rains

A 70th birthday celebration for friend Val, who has greek lessons with Lillian was a nice afternoon / early evening event.  Sitting under a beautiful grapevine, beer in hand, drinking and chatting with 'new' acquaintances whilst Val's husband john slaved away at the BBQ is a very pleasant way to spend time. I am still resisting the long ago stated promises that 'sometime' I will BBQ.

Red sky at night

Trips to bowls have now become a 2 / 3 times a week occurrence.  Despite my protestations that i am useless the last couple of sessions have no been so bad.  Trying to develop a new technique by bowling off the other foot which seems to be helping and I have now been on the winning side for four games in a row .... this is a record.  So the bowls improves slightly and the golf takes a massive step back.  Having last played in June, we ventured to the north of the island to stay with friends Geoff and Hazel and play on their course in Kyrenia.  They play 4 times a week now as their club is only four minutes from their home.  In all the years Ive played golf with Geoff I don't think he has ever beaten me until this most recent game .......... soundly thrashed.  The course is very hilly and at times I wished I had an oxygen cylinder in the bag .... it felt heavy enough to have had one!

Wind damage

The blustery day just got stronger with winds speeds showing at 45mph on my weather app!  As a consequence today was spent repairing wind damage to the garden.  A large branch had snapped from the cottonwood hibiscus tree which need to be cut and dragged to a suitable dumping ground and bamboo poles have been added to oleander.  Not used to so much physical effort in one morning.

Its great just being able to wander across the fields to cut your own bamboo.  Long, thick and straight.

All looks to be restored but worriyngly the wind continues to blow in strong gusts.  See what tomorrow brings!

"Poo Bear and the Blustery Day" describes this morning's weather so no bike riding but a 90 minute walk, through the village and along the beach and home. 

Some pictures that were taken along the way:

Pervolia village	Pervolia village church
Pervolia Community Building	Football Stadium
Okra fields	Jogging!

Another week of doing fairly little ..

A garden visitor

 We are both well and enjoying the lovely weather there is here now, clear skies and temps very bearable. No doing much at all really.  Spend a lot of time pottering in the garden.  Lillian is in the process of overhauling the front garden, having taken all of the white stones up to clean cuttings from her prized olive tree, which has an almost perfect round shape.  I don't have the patience for this project but labour at trimming and collecting the fallen leaves each day.  The purple bouganvillea that I cut back in July has had a complete new lease of life with a whole range of new shoots that seem to grow daily and lots of new flowers.  Mixed with the white that is now rampant and dominates the swing it is all looking very nice.  The hibiscus plants although suffering from 'yellow leaf' are growing well and each day more red and yellow flowers show.  Such a shame they last only the day.

We try to swim each day even though the water is cooling.  Lillian does twice the number of lengths than me and she was cursing yesterday as I managed 30 very slowly.  I'm not a good swimmer.  We got the bikes out on Thursday night for the first time in a while and cycled for about 50 minutes along the cliff tops.  It has been too hot to cycle up to now.  I have a little gadget on the bike that tells how far, how fast etc and how many calories used.  We promptly put them back on with a nice meal and bottle of wine.  Both of us are having trouble with our weight going up ...... but what to do?  Eat  less, drink less and exercise more.  Sounds so easy.

Monday night and Saturday morning confirms what I know ..... I'm never going to be a bowls star, although somewhat better play than the first couple of visits at start of the season makes it more enjoyable experience and even end up on the winning side on one game of four played.

Friday confirms my retirement / end of work with final payments received, phone and laptop returned.  A moment of indulgence in the hot tub to celebrate.  Is this really the end of my working life?

A trip to the pub on Saturday full of tension watching the scores come in as Ipswich win and a meal at Pyrgos finishes the evening.

Sunday and an incredibly blustery day.  Such that the awning makes only one brief appearance out as the anemometer spins at an amazing rate, yet with temperatures at 88F the breeze / wind is actually quite pleasant.

Beach walking

No beach picture so another one from the garden!

Just back from an early morning (well 0830) beach walk in the most beautiful of conditions.  Absolutely no movement at all in the air which is as still as can be and of course not a ripple to be seen on the sparkling sea.

Perhaps its because it was early or the summer season is starting to to wane in terms of beach goers as not one of the three beach vendors had anyone sitting on sun loungers.

Despite the shock of seeing a cloud earlier in the week the weather is beautiful with blue skies and less humidity.  This really is an ideal time to visit Cyprus if you like to be in the sun as you can easily sit out all day without roasting.  Its just like November in Dubai!  Whilst still warm, evenings are starting to cool and it is having its affect on the water in the swimming pool which now feels decidedly cooler on the first length before you adjust.  Good job the hot tub stays at a constant 35C.

My first week of officially being  unemployed and retired.  Spent it doing nothing Monday to Friday, rested yesterday and now its Sunday and time to spend the day with 'The Sunday Times' on the iPad.  My biggest gripe at the moment is that there does not seem time to get everything done.

Bowls has started again after the break during the hot sun with two evening sessions and Saturday morning.  I guess with any game, especially demonstrated when I play golf, it takes a time to get back in the swing or in the case of bowls the roll.  Others do not seem to be having that difficulty but my play at times has at best been embarrassing. I don't think there is any chance of me ever becoming any good, however I am sure we will continue to go, especially as Lillian is the exact opposite to me and becoming quite accomplished.

Greek homework!

Lillian continues to persevere with her Greek lessons and is very modest in her assessment of how well she is doing.  A visit to the post office, a trip to Nicosia and chatting in the Pyrgos restaurant this week I can confirm that everyone she spoke with in Greek seemed to a) understand what she was saying and b) responded that her greek was good.  Well done Lillian ........ I am still having trouble with 'thank you' but seemed to have mastered 'good morning'!

Something new ..........

Saw a cloud today - first for over a month.

Haven't seen a swallow for over a week.

Is the summer over?

Thermometer says 34C ........... so I guess not yet.

What to do today?

Garden tidied ........... lengths done .......... so what now?