Wherefore art thou, Roland?

 We have had an unwelcome visitor in the house for the last week or so. Roland the Rat makes his presence felt in the early morning by scratching at the back of the kitchen cupboards (which is where he is making himself at home). Our cats have shown absolutely no interest - back to kitten school, I say - and Daisy goes quite berserk, but that’s as far as it goes.

Advice is somewhat varied. Poison (takes weeks and we have pets), glue traps (tried and failed to make any difference), humane traps, which will prove possible to source here, and call in Pest Control. Many expats on my forum have advised against this, saying they are ineffective and expensive. So the next step is to contact our friend Savvas and see what he suggests. There may be a weird and wonderful way that Cypriots manage to keep their house pest free.

Christmas was a great success, mainly due to the superhuman efforts made by Ann. In the run-up to Christmas I was rather under the weather, and she stepped up and dispatched me to bed (eighteen hours asleep on Christmas Eve). Fortunately I feel rather better now. The beef en croûte was lovely, and the trifle a veritable triumph. Boxing Day was a smorgasbord of homemade soup (tomato and celery), and cheese and pickles and olives and ... Roses chocolates ... grapes. As my grandmother would have said “FTB ... full to the brim and fit to burst”.

It’s touch and go whether this blog reaches fifty thousand views before or just after New Year. It is gratifying that people visit and read my words of wisdom, rants, complaints and tips if you are moving to Cyprus.