Too much shopping! (Out of Cyprus continued)

I'm not a fan of shopping, unlike Richard. However, when we're in the UK, I do quite like looking at charity shops, and kitchen shops, and also places where we can buy things so much more cheaply than in Cyprus.

There are two shops which I hear about a lot from the various online groups and sites I belong to. One is Lakeland, which has a lot of kitchen equipment. I've been looking at their website quite a bit lately, and seen all kinds of intriguing items. But I'd never actually seen a real Lakeland shop. When I mentioned this recently, I was told that there's one in Eastbourne, which isn't far away. When I said I'd never been to Eastbourne, Richard decided we should go there for part of Friday, and find Lakeland. And an indoor shopping centre/mall, as he particularly likes those.

So after lunch yesterday we drove to Eastbourne. And found Lakeland.

It was indeed surprisingly interesting; we spent an hour there, discussing various wonderful gadgets and devices, all of which looked intriguing.. but none of which we needed. We were very tempted by the dehydrator but I wasn't convinced I would use it much. The silicon egg poaching pods looked fun, too. And so many other non-essentials. We did buy some extra muslins (for coconut milk etc) and a large bottle of vanilla essence (much better value than in Cyprus) but resisted everything else. At least for now...

Then we went into the shopping centre, which wasn't terribly interesting. There were lots of standard shops, including Boots, and as I was still tired and not really concentrating, I found myself miles away, not thinking at all about where I was... and then had a sudden, momentary panic... wondering where our departure gate was. Then I remembered that we were not in fact in an airport...

Also in Eastbourne we saw the other shop I keep reading about, which comes highly recommended by many: Lush. It sells bath products and toiletries, supposedly with natural ingredients. I did start to head towards it out of curiosity, not that I planned to buy anything, but by the time I was about three metres away from the entrance, the smell was so overpowering that I had to move out of range. I had a similar experience a few years ago near the Birmingham Lush shop, so I think probably my rather sensitive nose is not cut out for this kind of product.

This morning we accompanied Richard's mother to Waitrose, a local supermarket. It's not a huge one.. and yet we found some of the product choices enormous. And so many delicious looking foods... at prices so much less than in Cyprus. We went to look at dairy-free 'milks'... there were dozens! Not just almond milk, rice milk and soya milk (each in several variations) but hazelnut milks, oat milks, flavoured versions of all the above, as well as long-life goats' milk, and even coconut milk!  We can get it in cans for curries in Cyprus, but not in litre cartons with added vitamins (and grape juice) to use with cereals or coffee.

So we picked it up, and Richard had it in his coffee after lunch. There wasn't much smell to it - unlike our usual home-made version - but Richard said it tasted much the same. Just as well we can't get it in Cyprus, really, as it would be very tempting to buy it - yet the cost is considerably higher than home-made coconut milk.

In the afternoon, realising that it was our last opportunity, we went back to the town on our own so we could scour the charity shops for books  -  we only bought about half a dozen - and get some birthday cards we needed. We also went to Argos and bought a new hair-cutting set and hairdryer, both of which we needed, and which - together - cost us a grand total of 14 pounds sterling. They would be more than that EACH in Cyprus.

So it was a successful afternoon, but by the time we'd been out for a couple of hours I was feeling back-achey and totally 'shopped out'. I'm glad that tomorrow is Sunday and Monday a bank holiday, then we'll be driving to Birmingham on Tuesday, so there's no further opportunity for shopping for a while.

Coffee and Culture Shock - Day One out of Cyprus

Night flights are no fun, but sometimes they make financial sense. So, our outward flight with Monarch was at 3.00am Thursday morning. That meant checking in at 1.00am as we didn't want to pay another 14 euros to choose seats online. We didn't start packing until about 8.00pm - I'd done the important things like charging my Kindle earlier, and had also mopped the floors, and other random non-essentials. Choosing a few clothes isn't that difficult. So by 9.00 they were mostly sorted. I had been planning to go to bed around 8.00 so as to get a few hours' sleep; but that obviously didn't happen. However, I did get to bed at 10.00 and must have fallen asleep almost at once because the next thing I knew was Richard waking me to get dressed to go to the airport. At 12.15.

I can't sleep on flights. I never have managed to, but I rested, and drowsed a little. Richard did manage to sleep for about four of the five hours we were in the air,which is just as well since he had to drive later.

We landed just after 6.00; I watched the sunrise,which was rather pretty and we were glad to see that it wasn\t raining at Gatwick. It felt like we had to walk miles to the luggage reclamation place.. at least it woke us up slightly. We got a bit worried when our luggage did not appear, and almost everyone else waiting with us had gone, but then we realised we were at the wrong carousel.

By the time we had our luggage safely, it was past 7.00 and we knew we needed coffee urgently. As we left the arrivals area, we were greeted by a Costa Coffee sign. There was no discussion; We didn't even look for an alternative.

I had a latte (delicious and extremely welcome) and Richard had an Americano, which gave him the required caffeine, but - he said - was disappointingly bitter, not as good as he expected.

Then we popped to the loos. And there I had my first reverse culture shock of the trip. Each cubicle was nicely decorated, about three times the size of any equivalent I'd ever seen before, and each one was equipped with its own washbasin! Richard had waited outside with all our luggage, but I could have wheeled it in with room to spare. There was a mirror, and an automatic dryer- everything was motion sensitive,so I didn't even have to touch anything to flush the toilet or turn the taps on.

I felt so awed by this super-loo that I didn't think to take a photo. Apparently the men's were just the same. Amazing.

As ever it wasn't particularly quick to confirm and sort out the car rental, even though we'd booked it online a couple of months ago, but at last we climbed in the car, and were on the last leg of the first part of our UK trip. Despite being slowed down by road works we arrived only a couple of minutes later than expected. around 8.30am. We had more coffee and breakfast at Richard's mother's house, then thought we might like down for a bit.

I didn't expect to sleep - I almost never can when it's light. But evidently I was so tired that I managed it... and woke feeling at least slightly more refreshed at 12.30, in time for lunch.

Last night we were both asleep by 9.00pm and I slept soundly for nine and a half hours... 

Where has August gone?

Three weeks of August have raced by. I'm in my summer routine - get up early, do whatever chores, cooking or shopping need to be done, have breakfast, take a shower, then switch the air conditioning on in my study and turn on the computer for a few hours.

Um. Except that, today, I switched the computer on before doing any chores. As I have done a few times recently. So I'm sitting here with my study door open and the ceiling fan on only. We're trying to use the a/c significantly less this year in a bid to save electricity. We're running the air conditioners at 29C rather than 28, and mostly relying on a fan at night. But, alas, the bills are as high as ever. If not more so. And I simply can't deal with unrelenting heat. Yesterday it was a little cooler.. 'only' about 33C at most, and the humidity was lower than it has been. But still too hot to have a computer on without cooling, most of the day, and too hot for me to do anything other than potter gently.

If anyone read my post about the end of July, they might have wondered how successful the jigsaw roll was. I'm happy to report that it worked extremely well. The following Sunday I unrolled it:

And even completed it. Then I rolled it up again, unwilling to take it apart again at once, and it's sitting in a cupboard. We no longer have a huge table that can take several completed puzzles over the summer, but it was nice to do one again, for the first time in many years. 

At the start of July, we said we'd aim to go to the beach for an hour each evening, around 5.00pm, and swim. Just to get some fresh air and exercise, and because it seems silly to live a mile from the beach and not take more advantage of it.

How many times did we do this?  Perhaps four or five times in all.  Some days Richard was busy with other things, some days it was still too hot for me, some days we just forgot. 

We did have a very enjoyable beach barbecue with our friends nearly two weeks ago, on Pervolia Beach where cooking is still allowed: 

At the weekend after that, Richard and a couple of friends took the boat for an overnight trip to Cape Greko, which they very much enjoyed. 

And then, suddenly, it was last Friday. The small cell group we belong to has been meeting at a local beach during July and August, to hang out and relax. We take our own picnics and usually stay until after it's dark (which was after 8.00 at the start of July, but nearer 7.30 now). I keep forgetting to take photos, but I did take this one of Katie, putting a lot of time and effort into creating a 'cake' for Richard (whose birthday is in a couple of months), covering it with vast amounts of fudge sauce, well disguised as sandy gloop. 

It occurred to me that it's probably the last time we'll visit the beach this summer. Possibly the last time this year.

If asked what I've done in the past couple of months, it would be hard to say. Mainly writing, reading, and browsing online.  Some website updates, some email, some reviewing, and some online Scrabble with friends. But I don't really see how that's taken up all my time. I don't ever plan to do much during the hottest months; low-key aestivating is all I can manage, but there seems to be very little to show for it this year.

On Monday I defrosted our large upright freezer, delighted to find that I had run down our supplies sufficiently that everything fitted (albeit rather tightly) into the top part of our fridge-freezer. I did throw out a couple of mysterious and un-labelled bags, which I suspect may have been leftover stuffing from Christmas. And a couple of small tubs of leftover pasta which I had evidently frozen a LONG time ago as they were iced up and smelled of freezer... we eat pasta so rarely that I'm not sure what I planned to do with frozen leftovers.

Keeping the large freezer off for the next few weeks should at least reduce our electricity costs slightly. I wasn't sure that everything would fit until the last moment - I have several tubs of frozen chicken stock, awaiting soup-making season. I still have three litres of frozen lemon juice to make more lemonade with - left from the very inexpensive lemon-glut season. I still have three tubs of frozen tomatoes, too, which I use instead of buying canned ones.  They're much cheaper here, if I buy tomatoes on special offer in season, and more nutritious too. I also have at least a week's supply of frozen portions of meals from the crockpot, some frozen peas in the only brand we like that were on offer a couple of months ago.  And various other bits and pieces... but it all fit in the fridge-freezer, so I was pleased.

Lakeland Electrical Plate Warmer

 One of the maxims of my childhood was that hot food should be put onto hot plates, but that proved difficult when we moved to Cyprus nearly fifteen years ago. There were no hostess trolleys, no double ovens... our only option seemed to be to balance plates precariously on simmering saucepans, or immerse them in boiling water in the sink. 

So, nearly ten years ago, we were delighted to come across the Lakeland plate warmer in use at a friend’s house in the UK. We decided to buy one, by mail order, on her recommendation. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

When it arrived, I have to admit I was dubious at first. The box looked rather basic, and had been squashed in the post. The plate-warmer itself seemed oddly flimsy. It’s rather like a scarf-shaped electric blanket, which folds into four sections, concertina style, to provide spaces to heat plates when it’s plugged in. 

Inside the plate-warmer is a flexible metallic element which heats up when it’s plugged in; it’s enclosed in a removable green and blue tartan patterned cover. The instructions and safety warnings are, sensibly, on a white label attached to the plate-warmer, so can’t get lost.

WARMING OUR PLATES

The plate-warmer must be put on a heatproof non-glazed surface, as it does get quite warm, so could potentially cause damage. We use ours on the top of a convenient Billy bookcase, and it hasn’t made any marks. It would be easy enough to put a heatproof mat underneath if necessary.

The unit folds into four, giving three spaces for plates. Up to twelve plates can be heated, four in each space, but it’s only rarely that we entertain ten guests. We’ve most often used it to heat just four or six plates, which works very well. With six, I put two in each space; with four, I put two in the middle fold, then just one each in the top and bottom. 

After plugging in, the unit warms up fairly rapidly. Even on a cold day, six plates are pleasantly hot within about fifteen or twenty minutes. However, if I forget to switch it on in good time, even five minutes is sufficient to take the chill off cold plates. 

On the rare occasions when I’ve put twelve plates in to warm, it’s needed rather longer - about half an hour, usually - with some plates warming better than others. I tend to move them around half way through if I have more than six, as the ones in the middle of each individual pile of plates tend not to warm so well. 

LONGEVITY

We’ve had our plate-warmer for about ten years now, and it’s still going strong. We use it regularly during the cooler months. 

CAT-WARMER?

After the plates are removed and the gadget switched off, it takes a while to cool down completely so we usually leave it where it is while we eat. One of our cats was under the impression that we had left a warmed blanket on the bookcase for her benefit, and spread herself out happily on top of it.  Happily, this did not damage the plate-warmer at all, but it did leave rather a lot of cat hairs on it, meaning we had to think about cleaning it...

CLEANING THE PLATE WARMER

Naturally, as an electrical gadget, this can’t be immersed in water. However, the outside can be wiped with a damp cloth, which is what we did after the cat adopted it as an electric blanket.  And the second time, and the third... the plates, after all, go in the middle and the cat was on top, so we weren’t too worried.

However, we don’t use the plate-warmer during the summer. Temperatures here are so high that we prefer hot food to cool down somewhat before eating it, so usually I put it away during the summer months. But one year I forgot to do so. We went away, and the cats apparently slept on it regularly, despite it being at room temperature. And there was a great deal of dust. By the time I wanted to use it again in the late Autumn, the whole thing looked decidedly grubby.

The outer cover is washable, so I followed the instructions to remove it, which proved to be quite simple. I straightened the whole thing out, undid the poppers at the end, and pulled the cover off. I washed it in my washing machine at 40 degrees, and hung it out to dry.

The cover looked clean and fresh, considerably more appealing than it had been. Unfortunately, it was unbelievably difficult to get it back onto the inside heating element! I didn’t want to damage it, and it seemed at first that the cover wouldn’t fit at all. I don’t know if it shrunk slightly in the wash, or whether it was always a tight fit. 

Eventually I did get it on, but it was not an experience I wish to repeat, so we’re now much more careful to put the plate-warmer away when we’re not using it. 

DISADVANTAGES

Other than the tendency to be adopted by cats, and the difficulty of replacing the cover after washing, the only real problem is that it’s too easy to leave it switched on by mistake after removing the plates. We’ve only done this a couple of times, and thankfully noticed within an hour or so, so no damage was done. But there’s no indicator light or on/off switch, so it must be unplugged or switched off at the wall after use. 

It’s also important to make sure that there’s at least one plate in each section of the plate-warmer. That’s fine when we’re entertaining, but when there are just two of us at home, we only really want to warm two plates. But there are three sections; leaving any of them empty would risk letting the thing over-heat. So either we must heat a third plate, or - as is our growing tendency - go against our upbringing and eat from cold plates after all. 

At the other extreme it can’t be used for more than twelve plates, but if we were entertaining that number of people regularly we’d either invest in another plate-warmer of the same kind, or a more solid Hostess-style warmer. 

RECOMMENDED?

If space is limited and you want a simple but effective way to warm plates then I would certainly recommend this. We’ve had no problems with it at all.

On the other hand, I don’t know if we’ll buy another one like this when it eventually perishes. There are many more reasonably-priced plate-warming devices available than there were ten years ago, at Amazon and elsewhere, so we’ll keep our options open. 

But in the meantime, the Lakeland plate warmer works well and we have no need to consider anything different.

2022 UPDATE

Another decade on, and our electric plate-warmer still works without problem. At least, it did so last Christmas, and on one or two other occasions when we entertained more than two guests, and brought it out to use. Not many gadgets last twenty years, even with the limited use that ours now has.

The main reason for its lack of regular use in the past few years is that we now have microwave plate warmers, also bought from Lakeland, which work instantly, can be used for just one or two plates, and have none of the disadvantages mentioned.

I see that this particular model of electric plate warmers is no longer available, but has been replaced by something that works similarly, but probably more safely. If you entertain more than a few people regularly but have limited space, a concertina-style electric plate warmer still seems to me like an excellent idea.

Magimix 'Le Glacier' 1.5 ice cream maker

We bought our first ice cream maker thirteen years ago, for ten pounds from the local thrift store. We were intrigued to know whether it would work. Ice cream in Cyprus is very expensive to buy, and I liked the idea of making my own inexpensive version, with the bonus of knowing exactly what was in it. 

Over the years, I tried various recipes, and experimented, and while inevitably some results were better than others, I don’t think we had any disasters. But I found that it was taking longer and longer for the ice cream to thicken, and I was less and less inclined to use it.

So when we saw a Magimix 1.5 litre ice cream machine on special offer at our local supermarket in the spring four years ago, it wasn’t a difficult decision to go ahead and buy it.  It cost us the equivalent of about £30 with the discount. I see that it’s still widely available: Amazon is currently selling it for just under £45, and Argos have the 1.1 litre version for just under £40. 

APPEARANCE

There are two main parts to our ice cream machine: the motor part, which has a cable attached, and the container in which the ice cream is made. The container, which has to be frozen before use, is plastic on the outside, metal on the inside, and clearly has some kind of fluid in it, since this sloshes around when it’s gently shaken at room temperature. 

There are also a few removable parts: the blade, the plastic top, and a small plastic piece that holds it all together. 

FREEZING THE CONTAINER

Unfortunately one can’t set to work to make ice cream immediately after purchasing this appliance. After giving it a good wash, the main container part has to be placed upright in the freezer for at least eight hours.  

Since our old ice cream churn worked the same way, I was expecting this, and quickly found a suitable sized space. I usually freeze it for rather longer than eight hours, so after buying it, we left it to freeze for the rest of the day and overnight. Indeed, unless I’m running out of room, I tend to keep the container in the freezer permanently nowadays, just in case I feel the urge to make ice cream. 

Important note: You do need a freezer with a fair amount of vertical room, such as in a chest freezer, or the freezer part of a fridge-freezer. If you have only an upright freezer with fixed size drawers, they may well not have room for the container that must be frozen before use. The Magimix ice cream container is about 18cm high, and a typical upright freezer drawer height is only about 15cm at most.  

PREPARING THE ICE CREAM MIXTURE

An ice cream maker isn’t like a breadmaker - you don’t just throw in ingredients and leave it to work. Recipes that come with the churn suggest using whipping cream (which must be whipped lightly before use), or a prepared egg custard using eggs, sugar and single cream, which must be made on the stovetop or in the microwave and then chilled in the fridge after cooling.  

I’ve used recipes like these, and the results have been amazingly good. Unfortunately they are loaded with calories and saturated fat, and since in my experience ice cream is usually wolfed down by children and teenagers, or eaten with hot puddings, I don’t think it’s worthwhile spending a lot of money and time creating luxury ice cream, other than for special occasions. 

So my ordinary, easiest ice cream is made using a 400g can of chilled evaporated milk (which can be low-fat), half a cup of sugar, and a few drops of vanilla essence.  

I try to remember to keep a can of evaporated milk in the fridge all the time, so that - should the urge strike - I can make ice cream at a moment’s notice. The evaporated milk must be whipped with an electric mixer until it’s very thick - this doesn’t take long so long as it has been well-chilled  - then the sugar and essence must be quickly whipped in.  

The vanilla essence can be replaced with a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder blended with some cold water to make a thick paste, or some pureed fruit can be added: strawberries in season are particularly good. An excellent variation uses soft brown sugar rather than white, and a couple of mashed bananas. 

USING THE CHURN

The frozen main container must be removed from the freezer, and the motor and blades attached. Assembling it is slightly fiddly - I’m somewhat challenged in three-dimensional thinking, and the instructions weren’t very helpful - but with the assistance of my family I managed it the first time, and have become more competent with use. 

Then it has to be plugged in and switched on, so that the blades start going around slowly, and keep going as the prepared mixture is slowly poured in through the hole in the top.  It’s important to keep the blades moving; if the mixture is poured in first, it will start to freeze against the sides and may make it impossible for the churn to work. 

ICE CREAM AT LAST

I find that the churning process typically takes about 15-20 minutes, but sometimes it’s a bit longer if the temperature in my kitchen is particularly warm. If I must make ice cream on a hot day, I sometimes put a couple of ice packs underneath it to ensure it stays cool. 

While it’s not necessary to keep watching while it works (although it’s fascinating to do so the first few times - the clear plastic lid allows the whole process to be seen) you do need to stay reasonably near, because the only way of knowing that it’s done is that the motor sound changes.  The instruction guide told me about this, and I was a bit worried the first couple of times - how would I know for sure when the change happened? What kind of change would it be?

It turned out that I need not have worried. The change happens when the ice cream mixture becomes too thick for the blades to turn properly, and the motor noise becomes more high-pitched, as if it’s straining (which it probably is).  So it’s important to switch it off at once. I usually check visually after about ten minutes; if it has a way to go, the mixture still looks like very thick cream, but when it’s turning into ice cream it looks more like the soft-scoop ice cream that used to be so popular from ice cream vans.  It’s fine to turn it off at this stage, particularly if you’re planning to freeze it.

The ice cream can be eaten at once, served directly from the container. But I prefer to make it in advance, transferring it all to a suitable sized container such as a previously used 1.5 litre ice cream tub. It can then be put in the freezer until needed.  Some recipes - such as the ones using egg custard, or any sorbets - then need to be thawed a little before serving, but my standard evaporated milk recipes remain soft-scoop and are usable straight from the freezer.

Home made ice cream doesn’t keep well as long as shop-bought equivalents which tend to be loaded with preservatives, but then we find that it rarely has a chance to linger in the freezer. Occasionally I’ve come across a nearly-empty container, which has usually iced up and slightly separated over the months, but usually it all gets eaten rather quickly. 

PROBLEMS

After just a few uses of this appliance, the on-off knob at the back came right off in my hands. I was concerned about this, but found that it was quite easy to push the little switch that was hidden inside it with a finger, and that set the churn going. Oddly, however, I have to re-attach the outer knob in order to release the blades after turning it off. It’s a niggle, but I’m so used to it now that I don’t worry about it. 

Other than that, we’ve had no problems at all in four years of regular (though not frequent) use. Some of my family members are dairy-free, so I’ve also experimented with fruit sorbets and have found that they work well, although they require more preparation and tend to need a lot of thawing to soften before use. 

RECOMMENDED?

Definitely. If you or your family eat ice cream, a churn like this saves money, particularly if you opt for the inexpensive recipes. It also allows you to know exactly what goes into your ice cream, so that you can avoid unpleasant additives. 

2022 UPDATE

About five years ago, my husband realised he needed to stop consuming dairy products, as did some of our local friends. So I had to stop making my standard recipe with evaporated milk. For a couple of years I didn't make ice cream at all.

But then I started experimenting with a range of sorbet-style ice creams, and also some using canned coconut milk. At first the results were not great, certainly not worth the extra effort, until I realised that the mixture must be very cold - thoroughly chilled - before adding to the machine. With previously chilled evaporated milk this was never a problem, but if I'm having to make a dairy-free custard, or anything else that isn't already refrigerated, it has to go in the fridge for several hours before I add it to the ice cream machine.

Some of the little plastic holding pieces have broken in recent years, meaning that the lid and mechanism are a bit wobbly, but it still works. For a ten-year-old appliance it's in good condition; I tend only to use it in the summer months, as it takes up considerable space in the freezer and we eat a lot less ice cream in the winter.

There are much more expensive ice cream makers on the market, but this one serves our purpose nicely, and I'll look for something similar to replace it when it eventually stops working.

Topping up a Cyprus phone when roaming...

I could take several paragraphs explaining why our son Tim, in the UK, needed to top up his Cyprus phone urgently. But I won't. If anyone really wants to know, please ask.

Suffice it to say that he had marked on the calendar that he needed to do so by tomorrow.  Had he been in Cyprus, as he had originally planned to be during August, this would have been easy. He could have popped into any shop selling MTN cards, paid five or ten euro for a receipt with a 'secret code', typed that into his phone, and been good to go.

But he's in the UK.

And while there is a website that, theoretically, allows people to top up MTN phones directly from anywhere in the world, he wasn't sure that it was genuine, didn't want to risk giving his card details to it, and didn't know how much they would charge for the privilege 

So I offered to buy a top-up here and let him know the 'secret code' via Google Chat.

I didn't even have to go out to do this, since the online 'shop' at our bank's website allows purchase of top-up cards for both the phone companies.  That worked easily, and within a couple of minutes our account had been debited by €10, and the secret code had appeared by the transaction. I copied and pasted it into a message for Tim, and assumed all would be well.

Tim then had to remove his UK sim from his phone, temporarily, and put his MTN Cyprus one in. And when he attempted to top it up, he was told that he could not do so because he was not in Cyprus.

So he phoned the customer services number, who put him on hold for three minutes - thus using up almost all his remaining credit - and then got cut off before he could explain the problem.

So he asked me - still via Google Chat - if Richard could borrow my phone (also MTN) and call the number here, to see if we could get it topped up.  Richard is much better on the phone than I am, and in general Cypriots seem to respect men more than women... so we agreed to do that.

Richard, too, was put on hold for three minutes - with some very loud music - but eventually spoke to someone who understood English.  He explained the problem, and gave Tim's phone number. Then he read out the secret code.

'No,' she said. 'That's not the right code. Where did you get it from?'

He explained that it was via our bank, and she said there was another number. I remembered that there was, indeed, a serial number given next to the transaction status, so I logged in again, and found it.

Richard read that out, and the girl said that wasn't right either. It was a 14-digit number, she told him. We counted, and the 'secret code' did indeed have fourteen digits.

So Richard read it out again, slowly. And this time, she seemed to think it was all right. She checked the phone number too, and said that it was now topped up.

A few minutes later, Tim checked his phone and, indeed, it now had €10 credit, and an expiry period of early August next year, rather than tomorrow.

So all is now well with the Tim sim saga; but once again, it appears that nothing is ever as simple as it should be in Cyprus!

The last ten days of July

As I wrote in my previous post about restaurants, we had a very busy week, out every evening seeing various local friends. It seems a long time ago now. I got as far as our anniversary on Thursday 19th July, but that wasn't the end of the busy period. On Friday we had our usual 'cell group' get-together on the beach, as we do during July and August. We hang out, swim a little, play with the children, eat our picnics, and chat about life, children, and anything else that comes to mind, staying there until darkness falls shortly after 8.00pm.

On Saturday we were out in the evening again, playing a Settlers game with our usual game-friends, and on Sunday they came to us for a DVD (for the children to watch) and yet another game for the adults, followed by a cold shared supper.

Then on Monday we were privileged, once again, to be invited to the 'family dinner' for our friends' daughter Katie, who was about to turn seven:

It was actually a day before her birthday, but she was about to go to Germany for ten days with her mother and two younger sisters, so she had an early celebration including a star-shaped cake:

I contributed some home-made ice cream, as I usually do.  Katie was expecting to have a 'proper' party after her return from Germany, but for various reasons there were no dates that worked with her chosen guests, so it was all the more special that we were counted as part of the family for her birthday meal. 

And then... 

We had a VERY quiet ten days. I don't just mean because we didn't see my three favourite small people who were away for that time, but we didn't see the rest of their family either, other than for a couple of minutes when they came to borrow a drill. 

And I didn't see any other friends, since just about everyone else we know seemed to have gone away to the UK, or US for a while. It makes sense to get out of the heat and humidity of Cyprus during the summer months, but I don't recall quite such a mass exodus last year.  

Besides, last year Tim came home for a couple of months, which was wonderful. This year he has a job, so is not coming back until Christmas. 

Richard has been working on cataloguing the various tools and other bits and pieces we have in multiple locations, and I've been reviewing and writing and reading, and keeping the house going, and generally coping with the high temperatures. In the evenings we played games, and watched more DVDs than usual, but by Sunday afternoon I was feeling in the need of something different. 

Richard had made the comment a few days earlier that I hadn't done any jigsaws this year. I replied that I hadn't done any jigsaws for, probably, seven years.  Other than a couple of small ones done for fun with friends at Christmas, the last time I did any real amount of jigsaws was Summer 2005 - I posted about the completed jigsaws in September that year. 

I pointed out that we no longer have the huge table where it was easy to do jigsaws and cover them with a cloth for meals. And I don't have anyone to do the puzzles with, now the boys have left home. And since we have small people visiting quite regularly, I don't think a puzzle would be very safe to leave out.  There were lot of good reasons for not doing them... 

Then on Thursday morning Richard needed to get some glue on special offer at Lidl. I wanted to go to the nut warehouse nearby, so I went with him, and in wandering around I spotted a 'jigsaw roll'. It supposedly allows a jigsaw puzzle up to 2000 pieces to be rolled up when partly done and put away.  It wasn't expensive, and I have a hard time finding anything I want to buy with my birthday or Christmas money, so I decided to be impulsive and buy it.

On the Friday evening the Olympics opening ceremony was broadcast and Richard had a link to watch it via his computer... but since it didn't start until 9.00pm UK time, that was 11.00 here, which is past the time I like to be asleep. He'd been sailing with a 

And on Sunday I got it out. It was just the right size for our small Ikea kitchen table. I also found a puzzle that I was given last Christmas, but had never done. Actually there were two puzzles in the box, so I picked one at random, not knowing which one it might be.

It was a bit strange working on green felt, and I had a bit of a battle to keep the cats from jumping onto it but at least pieces didn't go flying everywhere.  And it was useful having the approximate outline for a 1000-piece puzzle. It looked quite tricky, with patches of colour and not much to focus on, but I sorted, off and on, while cooking lunch, and then set to work on the sky, and it was a lot easier than I had expected: 

After lunch I pottered a bit, and kept sitting down to do just a little more to the puzzle, but had to give up eventually as I was getting neck-ache.  Still, I was quite pleased with what I'd achieved: 

So then I rolled it up and put it away!  I haven't got it out again yet... 

On Monday evening we watched an entire film on DVD (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) - something we do maybe two or three times a month at most. And on Tuesday evening, we played a game of Seafarers of Catan (Fog Island), where Richard insisted I take a photo at the end to show my rather excessively long 'trade route' - I think it was 28 roads and/or ships in all:

Kenwood 'Wizard' Hand Blender

 The Kenwood Wizard HB615 Pro Hand Blender, which cost around £20 from Amazon, consists of two main parts - the electrical motor end, and a detachable piece with blades at the end.  Each part is about 18cm long, and the whole weighs around 700g.  When I first lifted it up, it was a little heavier than I had expected, but fit comfortably into my hand. I was surprised to find just two rather small and flimsy-looking metal blades at the end and wondered if they would actually work... 

This hand blender comes with a calibrated plastic beaker, and a standard instruction manual that explains how to use it. Not that it’s particularly helpful. It was rather obvious how to fit the two parts together, and am already aware of safety issues, so would not have considered immersing the electrical end in water, or allowing a child to play with it.

Incidentally, photos on Amazon and elsewhere show this blender without a cord, but it has a reasonable length cable with a standard three-pin plug.  

WHY DID I WANT A HAND BLENDER?

I particularly wanted a hand blender for home-made soups, of which I produce large quantities during the winter. A traditional blender can be used, but the process is rather messy - one has to transfer unblended soup from a pan into the blender goblet, ensuring the lid is firmly in place; then, unless one has made a fairly small amount, find a new pan to pour the blended soup into, because there is still lots of unblended soup in the original pan. 

Plenty of potential for spilling, and a great deal of extra washing up. So, inspired by reviews I read and a couple of friends who already owned hand blenders, I decided to try this out. 

FIRST ATTEMPTS WITH THE NEW HAND BLENDER

I put some carrot soup ingredients to simmer. When they were well cooked, I turned the pan off for twenty minutes or so (as with a traditional blender, this gadget isn’t supposed to be used on boiling hot food) and then put my new hand blender together and plugged it in. Watched by my son - himself something of a wizard in the kitchen - I tentatively placed the blade end in the pan. 

Not being very adventurous, I switched it on to the low setting. The soup splashed slightly, but thankfully it was in a big pan. I could see it swirling around, but could not understand how it was going to blend the onions, carrots, and so on into delicious soup. 

The instruction manual told me to use a ‘‘stabbing’ motion. I understood this to mean up and down, as if I were stabbing the base of the saucepan with the gadget...

‘Nooooo!’ yelled my son, as I lifted it up for the first stab, still switched on, and soup went flying all over the pan, the counter top, and my shirt. 

I was ready to abandon this apparently ridiculous gadget, so my son took over. Not just a better cook than I am, he’s a great deal more mechanically aware, and realised that the ‘stabbing’ motion was supposed to be fairly slowly side to side, keeping the base of the gadget on the bottom of the saucepan. This was much more successful, particularly when he turned it up to full power.  

A couple of times the noise changed to a sort of graunching which didn’t sound very pleasant, so my son stopped the motor at once and lifted the blade out, to find a bit of onion stuck to the blades. A quick shake released that, and then it continued to work well. 

It was a minute or so before the entire panful of ingredients had turned into soup, ready to be reheated, but we all agreed that this little stick blender had worked every bit as well as my more traditional blender; possibly even better. The soup was smooth and delicious.  And while there was a great deal more mess to be cleaned up, due to my incompetence, there were certainly less pans to wash.

USE OF THE KENWOOD STICK BLENDER

Since then, I’ve used this little blender many times. Its primary function has been for various kinds of home-made soup, with increasing success as I grew in confidence and developed a better technique.  

I’ve also used it for:

- blending cooked chick-peas and other ingredients for humus

- cooked mixed beans, to make US-style re-fried beans

- mashed potatoes which are much smoother than using a fork or potato masher

- tomato ketchup (home-made) after cooking the first ingredients - no need to sieve

Since the end of the blender is metal, it shouldn’t be used on non-stick surfaces. Current wisdom appears to suggest that non-stick pans aren’t a great idea anyway, and my favourite saucepans are heavy-based stainless steel, so that hasn’t been a problem.  For smaller quantities of food - such as when making humus - the plastic container that came with the blender works well. 

WHEN TO USE A TRADITIONAL BLENDER

In the summer, I make fruit smoothies, and they are a easier in a traditional blender (liquidiser) with its own goblet. I make both almond milk and coconut milk, too, and the stick blender isn’t appropriate for either, while the traditional one works extremely well.  So I haven’t been able to dispense with it entirely. 

CLEANING THE STICK BLENDER

I no longer spew ingredients everywhere when I use my stick blender, so it is unquestionably easier to clean than a traditional blender. When I’ve finished with it, I unscrew the blade end and pop it in some warm water to soak, then give the electrical end a quick wipe with a damp cloth. When I’ve washed the blade end, I make sure I place it upside down to drain, as water can get inside it. 

CONCLUSIONS

After 20 months of regular usage, my Kenwood stick blender is still working well, if looking a little faded. I wonder, now, how I managed so many years without it. I sometimes wonder how long it will last - it still feels flimsy, despite being so effective - but if and when it gives up, I will certainly replace it. I would certainly choose another one with the detachable blade part; a friend of mine has an all-in-one stick blender, and finds it much more difficult to clean. 

Unsurprisingly this exact model is not available on Amazon any more, but there are several replacements starting at around £30, and equivalents by other manufacturers at slightly lower price. 

Definitely recommended if you mostly cook from scratch and make soup regularly.

2022 UPDATE

I am happy to report that my Kenwood stick blender is still functioning well, almost twelve years after I first acquired it. Its main use is for soup (which I make about twice a month during the winter) and ketchup, which I make around once every four or five weeks. The apparent flimsiness was evidently an illusion; the blender has long outlasted my expectations. I hope it will continue to work for years to come, but if not I plan to replace it, if possible, by one of Kenwood's newer models of stick blender.