When George Bernard Shaw penned these immortal words at the turn of the 20th Century (in Major Barbara) it is doubtful whether the disaster of Brexit was on his mind. But, for those of us likely to be affected by the insanity the UK government is currently pursuing, there are similarities. More and more commentators blindly hold out the hope that some piece of magical thinking may offer the glimmer of light that politicians pray for.
The EU does not come out of the whole Brexit negotiation process with much credit but I often ask myself what they must make of the British approach. My Cypriot friends are aghast that the British have embarked on a voyage of self-harm with so little thought and preparation. “Why are you doing it?” I am asked over and over again. To them the status quo is far much more beneficial to UK plc than any form of Brexit.
British expats seem to be in either various forms of panic or total “I’m all right Jack” mode. Neither is very edifying or pleasant to observe. The British High Commissioner spouts the government line, whilst offering no practical advice. And so, we wait and see. The apathetic think back to times past when Cyprus was not part of the EU and everything was rosy in the garden. In fact you wonder whether someone will spout about “lashings of ginger beer” as they sit down with the unicorns for tea.
We are making sensible plans (changing UK driving licences to Cypriot ones, for example) but resisting the lemming-style charge to the cliff tops. Only time will tell who was right ...
Thursday 31 January 2019
Thursday 17 January 2019
Bronpi has landed ...
The great day arrived with thunder, lightning, heavy rain and plummeting temperatures ... as did Stephanos and his workmate with our Bronpi Florida log burning stove. It was not an easy job, and it was not a quick job as it had to fit inside an existing fireplace (which was slightly too small).
Angle grinders to the left of us, Kango drill to the right of us, and thunder and lightning on all sides, these guys set to work. We retired to the bedroom, turned the heating on and even slipped under the duvet at times. Ann reinvigorated us with bacon sandwiches, and we managed chunky leak and potato soup at lunchtime when the guys took a break.
As the day wore on, there was more grinding and drilling but the stove stayed resolutely in the centre of the room. The word was that they had to remove a couple of millimetres here and a millimetre there to get an exact fit. At last, after hours and hours, the word on the street was that the stove was ready to be installed. Ann, Daisy and I crept out to watch. Nearer and nearer to the fireplace the stove moved but ... but ... another millimetre was needed. All this time Stephanos’ mate was vacuuming to ensure no mess at all. Then, with bated breath, the stove was lifted to the waiting fireplace and in it slid. Further adjustments were necessary until the flue could be lined up.
It was in, and then the frame was screwed around the outside. And then, at last, the glass door was put in place. “Finished,” I thought ... but an electrical connection needed to be made (for the convector fan). Fitting the trunking to finish the job seemed to take an age. The guys turned round and proclaimed they had finished.
Ann and I had collected pine cones and newspapers to help the kindling “take” but it was not necessary. The fire was laid upside down with wood at the bottom, a few pieces of kindling above and a couple of fire lighters at the top. The vent was opened, a match was applied and we were away. Within a couple of minutes the kindling was burning, and we just left it to ignite the small pieces of wood at the bottom. After fifteen minutes we put some more wood on the top, closed the door and that was that. Apparently stoves work much more efficiently when the chimney/flue is warm and our chimney had not been used for years. As time went on, the automatic fan started (which is controlled by a thermostat set at 60°C) and hot air started to blow as well.
The next day we set the fire alight at about 10.30 in the morning and even went out for a couple of hours in the afternoon. The house was “toasty” warm on our return and we could enjoy our (and the intsallers’) endeavours. Don’t believe people when they tell you Cyprus has mild winters. It can be absolutely freezing inside the majority of properties, as there is little or no insulation. Buy or rent a property with heating or be prepared to install a log burner. You won’t regret it. Our log burner is a 14Kw model, with a built-in convector fan. So in addition to the heat from the stove, cooler air enters at the bottom of the stove, it circulates around the outside of the fire box, and is then blown out as hot air from the top.
Winter is a time when you yearn for the cloudless skies and sunshine we get for months and months on end. But it is also a time when Cyprus needs rain - lots and lots of it. December last year and January this year have been very wet. Our local dam is 100% full but many others are not so rain, rain and more rain is needed. We’ll just curl up at home.
Angle grinders to the left of us, Kango drill to the right of us, and thunder and lightning on all sides, these guys set to work. We retired to the bedroom, turned the heating on and even slipped under the duvet at times. Ann reinvigorated us with bacon sandwiches, and we managed chunky leak and potato soup at lunchtime when the guys took a break.
As the day wore on, there was more grinding and drilling but the stove stayed resolutely in the centre of the room. The word was that they had to remove a couple of millimetres here and a millimetre there to get an exact fit. At last, after hours and hours, the word on the street was that the stove was ready to be installed. Ann, Daisy and I crept out to watch. Nearer and nearer to the fireplace the stove moved but ... but ... another millimetre was needed. All this time Stephanos’ mate was vacuuming to ensure no mess at all. Then, with bated breath, the stove was lifted to the waiting fireplace and in it slid. Further adjustments were necessary until the flue could be lined up.
It was in, and then the frame was screwed around the outside. And then, at last, the glass door was put in place. “Finished,” I thought ... but an electrical connection needed to be made (for the convector fan). Fitting the trunking to finish the job seemed to take an age. The guys turned round and proclaimed they had finished.
Ann and I had collected pine cones and newspapers to help the kindling “take” but it was not necessary. The fire was laid upside down with wood at the bottom, a few pieces of kindling above and a couple of fire lighters at the top. The vent was opened, a match was applied and we were away. Within a couple of minutes the kindling was burning, and we just left it to ignite the small pieces of wood at the bottom. After fifteen minutes we put some more wood on the top, closed the door and that was that. Apparently stoves work much more efficiently when the chimney/flue is warm and our chimney had not been used for years. As time went on, the automatic fan started (which is controlled by a thermostat set at 60°C) and hot air started to blow as well.
The next day we set the fire alight at about 10.30 in the morning and even went out for a couple of hours in the afternoon. The house was “toasty” warm on our return and we could enjoy our (and the intsallers’) endeavours. Don’t believe people when they tell you Cyprus has mild winters. It can be absolutely freezing inside the majority of properties, as there is little or no insulation. Buy or rent a property with heating or be prepared to install a log burner. You won’t regret it. Our log burner is a 14Kw model, with a built-in convector fan. So in addition to the heat from the stove, cooler air enters at the bottom of the stove, it circulates around the outside of the fire box, and is then blown out as hot air from the top.
Winter is a time when you yearn for the cloudless skies and sunshine we get for months and months on end. But it is also a time when Cyprus needs rain - lots and lots of it. December last year and January this year have been very wet. Our local dam is 100% full but many others are not so rain, rain and more rain is needed. We’ll just curl up at home.
Thursday 3 January 2019
A change of fortune ...
Having survived Christmas, and a lovely time was had by all, we rather ignored New Year (as we always do) and here we are in 2019. Readers of this blog will remember that last year was not great for us, and especially not for Ann. But here we are facing up to the challenges and opportunities that will present themselves to us.
Ann had some health issues last year, and I am delighted to see she is looking better by the day. She has given up smoking (her own decision) and has put on weight as well, which is great. We see the specialist in about ten days and that will enable us to get an accurate diagnosis, and to see what treatment (if she needs any) will follow. We have decided that 2019 will be the year when there are no accidental falls and late night visits to the hospital. At one stage it seemed that they were preparing to allocate me an official parking space.
One of the byproducts of all of this is that we must keep the house warm and dry. To this end, and especially as last year’s work appears to have resolved the damp and mould issues, we are having a large convection log burner fitted into the fireplace. It’s output is 14 Kw and that is possibly slightly more than we need, but it is better to be safe rather than sorry. The fitter came up yesterday to measure the fireplace and it will require some work to make the stove fit in the fireplace, but it should be fine. All other things being equal, it should be fitted at the end of next week and we shall face the winter with confidence.
To a large extent we have ignored the Brexit shenanigans that have been taking place in the UK recently. Never have so many supposedly intelligent people conspired to make a real pigs’ breakfast over something that should never have happened.
Ann had some health issues last year, and I am delighted to see she is looking better by the day. She has given up smoking (her own decision) and has put on weight as well, which is great. We see the specialist in about ten days and that will enable us to get an accurate diagnosis, and to see what treatment (if she needs any) will follow. We have decided that 2019 will be the year when there are no accidental falls and late night visits to the hospital. At one stage it seemed that they were preparing to allocate me an official parking space.
One of the byproducts of all of this is that we must keep the house warm and dry. To this end, and especially as last year’s work appears to have resolved the damp and mould issues, we are having a large convection log burner fitted into the fireplace. It’s output is 14 Kw and that is possibly slightly more than we need, but it is better to be safe rather than sorry. The fitter came up yesterday to measure the fireplace and it will require some work to make the stove fit in the fireplace, but it should be fine. All other things being equal, it should be fitted at the end of next week and we shall face the winter with confidence.
To a large extent we have ignored the Brexit shenanigans that have been taking place in the UK recently. Never have so many supposedly intelligent people conspired to make a real pigs’ breakfast over something that should never have happened.
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