I hate to admit it but …

A few weeks ago there was a bit of a storm in a teacup locally because, in my blog, I commented that the change of management at a local bar, and the service there, was not particularly auspicious but that “time would tell”.

It’s all change there now with the landlady of the last ten or eleven years back at the helm. What a difference. My darling wife has been down there to support the landlady, sorting out the book shelves and then designing, printing and laminating the new Sunday Lunch menu. Why? Because she wanted to support the landlady in her new endeavours.

Yesterday we ventured down in mid-afternoon for Sunday lunch. What a delight the meal was. The roast beef we both had was “melt-in-the-mouth” delicious and the vegetables (unlike so many offerings locally) were served hot. The gravy was to die for. Relaxed, friendly service and chatting to some customers we knew, and some we had never seen before, made for a very pleasant afternoon.

If you live within travelling distance of Argaka, then do give the Tipsy Turtle a call (99 936384) and ask Ann for a table between 12.30 and 16.00 for Sunday lunch. I have a feeling you won’t regret it.

No supper last night, and something of a struggle for breakfast, and excellent memories of a treat we shall return for.

As the title of today’s blog says, “I hate to admit it but I jumped to conclusions”.

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

http://furthermusingsfromacyprusgarden.blog

Funny old world, isn’t it?

 We hope, as do all mankind, that the terrible happenings in the Ukraine and in Gaza come to an end soon. And we pray that China does not invade Taiwan. All of these events, and others, have the potential to unleash unimaginable suffering on millions of people. And the thought of either the increasingly senile Joe Biden or the crazy Donald Trump becoming president of the USA fills me with foreboding.

Domestic and other matters tend to slide into the background and you make the comparison that these things do not matter as much. But, of course, they do. Man’s inhumanity to man is not limited to nations attempting to blow each other to smithereens. It can be scaled back to petty injustices felt at home and locally. People can be unkind intentionally or thoughtlessly, and then just move on - leaving unhappiness and distress in their wake. 

Small communities seem to excel in this and the reverberations are felt more intensely because everybody seems to be aware of them. Social media is both a blessing and a curse, and I cannot remember who suggested that keyboards should be fitted with a breathalyser. You can almost instantly see who has had a glass too much, especially those private messages that are sent in the evening. These keyboard warriors then commit the ultimate in cowardice by blocking the person to whom they sent the message. What intellectual giants they are.

Was there ever a time when people were not bitchy, being always ready to stab others in the back? Social media makes everything easier but you just need to glance through Twitter to see how many set out to disparage, hurt, libel and destroy others with their half-truths and rumours. I love skimming these posts for the gorgeous pet videos people share. They restore my faith in human nature. Just about …

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

http://furthermusingsfromacyprusgarden.blog

After the storm …

 Our lovely visitors have returned to the UK and what an impression they left. Becky brought a friend with her and she was like a bottle of champagne - all bubbles, which dispelled the gloom. What a time they had. They stayed at Savvas Villa in Argaka, which was only ten minutes’ walk from us. They were very impressed with the villa and highly recommend it (Google is your friend here).

After a slightly enormous Chinese banquet (thanks to the always reliable Farmyard Restaurant in Kathikas) at our house, they staggered off into the night to their accommodation. The weather was fabulous for this time of the year. On Friday we went to the museum in Steni and then onto the Watermill Restaurant across the road. We have not been there since before lockdown but it was as if we had been there last week. Warm, welcoming and very professional. The food was a delight and defeated us all (doggy bags were the order of the day). Interestingly they were very busy but the table service was fast and efficient, and friendly. This is what happens when a staff team gels.

All too soon it was departure day and we all went to Santa Barbara Resto in Argaka. It was intended we went for lunch but it became very obvious that we had all eaten too much the day before. A few drinks followed as we waited for the taxi to go to Paphos Airport. This is another hostelry where the greetings are warm and the service terrific. Another highly recommended venue for that lazy time in the sun.

A couple of weeks I dropped my iPad onto a hard surface and cracked the screen and crucially the surrounding bezel. Repair was possible but very expensive. And so, with Ann’s support, I ordered a new one online at an Apple Authorised Reseller in Nicosia. The price was identical to the price I would have paid in the UK. A couple of hours after ordering they telephoned to say the model I had ordered was out of stock, but they were prepared to offer me a more expensive model at the same price. The only drawback was that the screen was slightly bigger, which meant it would not fit into my Logitech Slim Folio. I explained this and he said he would order the out of stock iPad from Apple for me. An email following on from this conversation stated the estimated delivery time to be one to three weeks. A week later the store telephoned to tell me they had received it from Apple and would courier it to me. The following day it arrived. Brilliant service. If you are in the market for anything Apple then Prisma in Nicosia should be your first port of call. 

http://prismastore.com.cy/

Spring is teasing us at the moment and for the last couple of years it has been very brief, and then summer has come roaring in. We love Spring and Autumn so please hang around a bit longer this year.

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

http://furthermusingsfromacyprusgarden.blogspot.com/

Storms in teacups …

 Gosh how sensitive some people are about opinions in blogs.

My blog is a self-confessed mixture of news about our life here in Cyprus, advice (over the years) for people wishing to follow in our footsteps - sadly much more difficult after the insanity of Brexit - and some occasionally acerbic observations relating to UK politicians of all political persuasions. My opinions are just that - opinions. Standard advice is always if you don’t like my opinions, try reading someone else’s blog instead.

That’s the great thing about my blog - it’s mine and nobody has any right to criticise it. I know full well not to libel anyone. Some years ago a friend took me to task about an opinion I expressed about the Greek Orthodox Church here in Cyprus. He had a point, which I acknowledged in the blog and that was that. Polite, civilised and neither of us were upset by his intervention.

At the present time my blog has been visited over 83,000 times since I started writing it. I make the not unreasonable assumption that I must be doing something right. It’s all about choice - mine and yours.

I may have mentioned I am diabetic. The specialist looking after me asked me to visit an ophthalmologist to have my eyes checked for any damage. Ann had visited a very good ophthalmologist in Paphos but I wanted to avoid yet another drive there. I asked for advice at Polis Medical Centre and the wonderfully helpful Mary recommended Dr Katerina Stylianidou in Polis. I made an appointment with her under GESY. What an inspirational and gentle lady. I spent an hour with her. Her expertise and professionalism was so reassuring. Everything was explained. The only problem she found was the beginnings of cataracts in both eyes, which would eventually require intervention. No surprise there at my age. €6 well spent. If you need to see an ophthalmologist I highly recommend her.

The storm in the teacup to which I referred to related to me passing an opinion on a local pub. Briefly I stated “…our two subsequent visits were not auspicious. No doubt time will tell.” Not auspicious means not favourable or not conducive to success. And then the next sentence states unequivocally that time will tell.

And that, dear reader, is what I meant. I bear no ill will to the bar, its new managers or its customers. I passed an honestly held opinion. Good luck to the bar in the future. It would be lovely to see it flourish.

Running a pub is no cakewalk as Ann and I know. In England we ran a village pub together, then I took on an incredibly busy vodka bar in the Old Town in Hastings. After that Ann managed a large hotel, and I ran the bar and was a general dogsbody. None of it would have been possible without the intense training we received at the hands of Greene King. Without that training we would have been the worst of all things - amateurs in a competitive and busy world.

And that is that for today.

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

http://furthermusingsfromacyprusgarden.blogspot.com/

It’s been some time but …

 Well the last three months have been different - but not necessarily in a good way. There seems to have been no time for anything since Ann broke her hip in a fall at home. What a thing to happen. The nine day stay at Paphos Hospital was a mixture of the very good and the very bad, and I was never so glad to see the ambulance drive up to bring her home.

Ann has been incredibly brave and determined in the last three and a half months. On the credit side she was operated on by a brilliant surgeon whose skills were obvious once the monthly X-rays were taken. The plate and screws could not have been placed more accurately. Recovery was helped by an excellent physiotherapist from Polis, who visited us twice a week before Christmas. Since then Ann has made weekly visits to his clinic and the improvement is so noticeable.

The wheelchair has been returned to the medical centre, the walking frame is now in storage at home and the walking sick makes the occasional guest appearance. I am full of admiration for my darling wife, who has achieved so much in such a short time.

The end of winter is fast approaching and today is blue skies and warm sunshine. We have kept ourselves comfortable and dry at home thanks to a combination of log deliveries from “The Professor”, whose stacking skills are legendary, and to the installation of two modern air conditioning units (air inverter) in the bedroom and living area. They are quiet, much more efficient and cost less to run than the two units that were replaced. 

Our team to help us in the house and garden is now complete. Our super pool man has been with us for about four years now and the pool is always sparkling and healthy. Sadly our remarkable gardener (and general odd-job man) left Cyprus to return home, and has then moved to the USA. How we miss Gerald and his wife. But our new gardening team from Sri Lanka are outstanding, and I have never seen gardeners work as fast or as efficiently. And our new cleaner is from the same mould - works from the moment she arrives and does not stop. Ann is delighted.

The landlord of our local pub died unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago, which saddened us. He was a guy who never said “No” when you asked for help or a favour. His widow has handed the management of the pub to another couple but our two subsequent visits were not auspicious. No doubt time will tell.

Life here in Cyprus can become a prolonged exercise in navel gazing, whilst parts of the world go to hell in a handcart. The appalling events in Gaza occupy the television screens and newspaper columns, with Ukraine lurking just left of centre. The barbarity and cruelty of man is plain for all to see. The news from the UK suggests a country that is broken, and lawless - without hope of redemption. And the knee jerk reaction of decent people is what feeds the lurch to an authoritarian right wing.

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

http://furthermusingsfromacyprusgarden.blogspot.com/

Free Speech or totalitarianism?

 We took no interest in the royal events a couple of weekends but I was appalled at the actions of the Metropolitan Police and their high-handed actions with people who wished to protest at the proceedings. It matters not whether the protesters were republicans or “Just Stop Oil” extremists - they have a right to protest about things they do not agree with. Other people may disagree with their actions and have the right, within reason, to disagree with the protesters. That is democracy in action. The new Policing Act, parts of which were rushed through Parliament, is at complete divergence with the British belief in democracy and the right to free speech.

It does seem from afar that the UK is drifting (quite quickly) into a right wing position, where parliamentary scrutiny is bypassed by ministerial edicts (and you only need to see the way in which catch-all  legislation is only reluctantly surrendered by ministers). Altogether it leaves a rather sour taste in my mouth.

Sad news yesterday - we made friends with an English couple about ten years ago and became quite close. Meals out, meals in, and a shared interest in cricket (for the men) and a shared interest in many other things (for the women). And then, about three years ago, she changed at first subtly and then demonstrably. Rudeness and breaking of confidence became the norm, and reluctantly we dropped them. About two years ago we met them by chance at a bar, and she told us in no uncertain terms that her husband was suffering from Parkinson’s, and was telling everybody. Sad for him, and should have been sad for her. Yesterday we were in the same bar and he came in for lunch with a carer. He was a hollowed-out individual shuffling in with a stick. He walked past us with no recognition, and we decided it was better not to add to his confusion by going over to speak. It turned out that (Ann spoke to the carer as she was paying their bill) that he now had a live-in Asian carer, and that his wife had developed Alzheimer’s and died shortly afterwards. How tragic - a lively couple only a few years older than us - and her life ending suddenly (perhaps a blessing) and he existing as a shell of the man we knew.

I know it is an inevitable byproduct of getting older that other people age and die. I suspect, in that situation … I wouldn’t have a clue as to how to proceed. Let’s hope it never comes to that.

It is a sign of summer that, suddenly, out of nowhere, The Ashes are about to dominate the television screens of cricket lovers. The only problem is that we hate to be inside watching television when the weather is as beautiful as a typical Cyprus summer. A conundrum if ever there was one … a typical first world problem.

Schadenfreude … surely not?

 When the chickens come home to roost, and it is possible that you may have predicted it, there is a slight feeling of schadenfreude or epicaricacy as the English might prefer. I don’t believe that I am a vindictive person, yet the thought of some political figures getting their comeuppance fills me with a warm feeling. Some are currently falling, others have fallen and others are nervously on the precipice awaiting their fate.

In Scotland Nicola Sturgeon and her husband, and the rest of the crooked SNP crew have obviously being filling their pockets and have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Anyone noticed a £100,000 + motor home on the drive? As far as Trump is concerned the clock is ticking, and his acolyte Boris Johnson is preparing for the hangman’s noose and the long drop. It was David Cameron who referred to Johnson as the “greased piglet”, and never was an epithet more appropriate.

Of course it is said to be a British trait to build someone or something up to the heights, and then rejoice in pulling them down to earth. With politicians (as far as I am concerned) the venality of it all makes me nauseous. If it was second-hand car salesmen, or estate agents, I would accept it for the simple reason that they make no pretence at anything other than self-serving greed. I used, when I was much younger, to admire journalists, and even considered becoming one after university.

Was it an illusion, hard-hitting investigative reporters speaking truth to power? I’ll never know but the sorry state of journalism was never more dire. In the morning, over coffee in bed, Ann and I read the British newspapers and newsfeeds. I subscribe to The Times, which Ann shares, and I also read The Guardian online. Skimming The Daily Mail first is an act of masochism but can bring a smile to my face. And then a mysterious occurrence - I can be reading an article (sports, current affairs, business - it doesn’t matter) and a strange sense of déjà vu can envelop me. Have I read this before? I check back. Yes. It’s the same article, literally word for word, that appeared yesterday in one of the broadsheets. Add this to the increasing control of the newspaper tone and opinion by the owners, and it’s a one way trip to hell. The kowtowing of the editors and owners to the government (and still Paul Dacre hasn’t been “honoured”) is sickening. And, as for the pathetic attempts to persuade people by brainwashing that Camilla is somehow not the Queen Consort but the Queen, which was against the wishes of Elizabeth II, sticks in my craw.

It must be the life I have led for the last seventy years but never have public figures had the feet of clay that are so apparent. I have had a lifelong interest in politics (as my long suffering wife will tell you) and I remember Harold MacMillan with affection. The night I saw Alec Douglas Home resign and the dignity of his television address to the nation moved me to tears at the age of eleven. Even Prime Ministers on the other side of the political spectrum like Harold Wilson had my respect because their mission was to identify the nation’s problems and try and put them right. Margaret Thatcher was strong and forthright (and sometimes very wrong) and I never believed that she was putting anything other than the country’s good at the heart of what she did.

The Blair and Brown years dug a financial hole that the UK has never managed to dig itself out of, and as far as Cameron and the rest … their noses were so deeply in the trough that their ears were blocked, and it will only be the enraged electorate that finally drains the swamp. Whether the next election will be a cause of long-lasting celebration or not, I do not know. Quo vadis?

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

http://furthermusingsfromacyprusgarden.blogspot.com/