Always look on the bright side of life ...

As the Monty Python song has it ... and I have been reviewing my recent blogs and found them quite negative and depressing. So a change of tone is called for.

With springtime turning into summer recently, all sorts of thoughts cross our minds. Ann’s fabulous endeavours with plants and vegetables and fruit trees brighten our outlook every time we sit by the pool. Apart from the occasional failure (putting twenty seeds into compost and finding one did not germinate), the raised flower beds (thanks to our gardening crew) and the vision that Ann has shown with the placing of the pots which decorate our front garden, our garden is a delight. 

Months and months of sunshine and blue skies lie in front of us, and the swimming pool should be ready from the middle of May. Our renewed interest in cooking has brought much joy. Breakfast is a conveyor belt of new ideas and tastes. And evening meals are varied and experimental and occasionally more spicy, with all sorts of international influences informing our decisions.

The ability to decide exactly what we do, and more importantly when we do it, is one of the great freedoms that retirement brings. Thank goodness that we are retired or else we would never have time to do what we consider important. I am in the planning stages of two books. The first is a guide to retirement in Cyprus for those intending to follow in our footsteps. It will be a warts and all guide, with large extracts from the forum threads I participated in before and after we arrived. There will be extracts from this blog (where relevant) and - I trust - pertinent advice for those who are waiting to dip their toes into the water.

My second book, which may take somewhat longer, is a crime thriller set in the UK. I have long been a fan of this genre and hope to take a fresh look at this popular writing. The ideas have been mulling about in my head for quite a time. 

So, all in all, we should not be downcast. June 4th seems an age away - that is when my second vaccination takes place. I shall be more relaxed after that has happened. 

And so let “Fun in the Sun” proceed apace.