Looking back at my last blog there was a fair bit of doom and gloom there, and one of our mantras is - like Monty Python - to always look on the bright side of life. When I stray from that path, Ann is always keen to remind me that we had agreed to focus on the positive. And she is right. Anything other than that will be a long, downward path.
Today the sun is shining, the sky is blue and the breeze is calm. Occasionally we forget what a lovely house we live in, with its beautiful garden (and how many hours has she laboured, even if it is a labour of love?) and peace and tranquility. We, and the managerie, are healthy and happy and fulfilled. We look westwards over the Mediterranean Sea and could not be happier. Beautiful and inviting though the swimming pool looks, we know from experience that it will be another three weeks before that first dip.
My writing is making substantial progress and it will soon be time to bring the desktop fan into play. Our study is very bearable in the morning, and the words are flying onto the page. “Bridges over the Tyne” is proving something of a cathartic experience, delving into the Newcastle underworld in the 1970s. The time of Vince Lander, T. Dan Smith and John Poulson, who were all clients of my father although I never understood the significance of that at the time. My novel, a work of fiction, draws upon those memories and my research. It is proving engrossing. Only time will tell if it leads me to become a best-selling author.
One of the things we discovered during our self-imposed lockdown was a renewed love of cooking, especially in the cooler months. An air fryer brought a new dimension to our culinary endeavours, a soup maker has proved an absolute boon, a new electric oven (which actually achieves the temperature set) and a set of Ninja knives … hot stuff indeed. But the most beneficial item we bought cost €5. It was an app for our iPads called Paprika, which is the most sophisticated way of downloading, modifying and scaling recipes from all over the internet. I believe it is available for IOS, Android and Windows and is highly recommended. You can find it at
For a different point of view on our life here, you might enjoy Ann’s blog “Further Musings from a Cyprus Garden” which you can find at
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