Saturday 17 January 2015

Returning to the UK ...

Ann's daughter, Becky S., returns to the UK on Friday and - in true Cypriot fashion - the weather has decided to change for the better, with the next seven days being mainly sunny and warmer than it has been for a while. Just as well, as the weather on the Sussex coast was hovering just above 0°C this morning.  No doubt she will be working hard on her suntan so as to show all her many friends what they have been missing. After ten weeks here, I am sure she will be glad to leave "her olds" and go back to what promises to be a little more lively than Argaka in winter.

I must admit that seeing the sun return after some wet, cold days (and, according to our friend Savvas, it has been as cold here as he can remember) is a real tonic. I say that, bearing in mind, at times during our long, long summer we sometimes wish for a cloudier, cooler day. But we would not be British if we did not talk and blog about the weather.

Plans are afoot to revamp the front garden, and also establish some vegetables and herbs in the back garden (where they will be shielded to a certain extent at times during the day). Our vegetable gardens to the side of the house were great but, as yet, we cannot reach them with the present irrigation water set-up. So our end of summer water bill was a little too high for comfort. So the garden it is, unless I can persuade Savvas to extend the Lego-like irrigation system from his land to the side of the house. He has said he will be happy to do that, but - according to his wife, Androniki, - he has been saying that for years. Only time will tell.

One of the few links I maintain with the UK is my habit of watching Question Time, which we record and watch when we feel like shouting at the TV. But, in keeping with the general decline of standards at the BBC, the last couple of weeks have made for painful watching. David Dimbleby seems to have lost the art of chairing the panel, the members of the audience have become ruder and less tolerant, and the politicians ... don't get me started on the politicians. They all appear to be as self-serving and venal as ever, and with the approaching election, seem to want to outdo their opponents in graceless and intolerant behaviour. And David Starkey on Thursday evening - words fail me.

Roll on the revolution ...

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