Expanding my Reading Repertoire

 Richard went to the PO Box this morning, and retrieved four parcels - all of them for me. 

Each parcel contained one book. I ordered them nearly a month ago from the excellent Awesome Books site. The prices on that site are usually better than those on Amazon UK, with the huge advantage that there's a fixed postage cost of £2.99 per order, throughout Europe and most of the world. (Postage within the UK is free). 

But perhaps more importantly, Awesome Books claims to be the 'no 1 ethical retailer' for books, as well as CDs and DVDs. They donate books to schools all over the world, and they also rescue books from being thrown away. Not that they're poor quality. They sell new books as well as lightly-used second-hand books and the ones they call 'bargain bin' quality: but even those are in good condition. If I can buy something in the bargain bin, I do so.

Those familiar with my preferred reading genres might be a tad surprised to see what was in these four parcels:

They are not the gentle pastel covers of modern character-based novels about families and relationships, which are my favourite reads. Other than the one by Fannie Flagg, they are not by authors I have ever read before. They weren't even recommended to me via Amazon, based on my wishlist and previous purchases.

Instead, they are the books for the first four months of 2021 which will be discussed by the reading group I joined nearly a year ago. One was new, and three were second-hand. They are all, as far as I can tell, in perfect condition. 

I suppose it's rather strange that, in five-and-a-half decades of being an avid reader, I have never before belonged to a reading group. I had heard about them - I was even invited to one, about ten years ago - but they always seemed to me to read a selection of books that did not appeal to me at all.  

But two things came together at the start of this year. Firstly, I decided that it would be a good idea to expand the genres of books I read. I was experimenting with one or two different authors, and had even read a couple of literary fiction books which I thoroughly enjoyed. But I didn't really know how to go about finding suitable books, other than by trial and error. And I wanted to continue reading new books by my favourite authors, as well as re-reading some which I hadn't read for a decade or so. 

Then, looking at books at the St Helena's monthly book sale at the end of February, I was chatting to one of the helpers, and saw a book I had very much liked, though I hadn't expected to. 'Oh, yes,' she said, 'We liked that in the reading group, too.'  

'Reading group?' I queried.

I then learned that there was a local reading group which met once a month, and discussed the book they had agreed to read. And one of the aims of the group was to encourage people to read books they would not otherwise read. I would be very welcome, I was told, and the lady took my email address so she could send me the 2020 list. 

It was serendipity. Or perhaps synchronicity. Or, as I prefer to think of it, a gentle divine prompting to try something new.  

The list was a little daunting; I had never heard of any of the books, and some of them didn't sound very interesting. But I went to the Awesome Books site, where I found two of them inexpensively second-hand, and one in the bargain bin. I also found another book I had been looking for in the bargain bin, so I made my order immediately.  I found a couple of others on Amazon, in the Marketplace, and ordered those too. And I put the rest on my wishlist. Generous family members bought them for me for my birthday a couple of months later.

None of the books had arrived by the first meeting, early in March, so I had only read the 'sample' section of that month's book, downloaded to my Kindle. Yes, I could have bought the entire book for my Kindle, but I prefer to read real books if at all possible. I read a summary online, too, and some reviews. I eventually read the book - 'All We Shall Know' by Donal Ryan - in the summer. I can't say I particularly liked it, but it was well-written and interesting enough that I kept reading. 

By April, Cyprus was in lockdown. The group could not meet. I read the recommended book for April anyway, and was glad I did so, despite not being able to discuss it with anyone. I then started the recommended book for May, but found it a bit heavy-going and repetitive; I still dip into it occasionally - it's a kind of memoir rather than fiction - and if we ever do discuss it, I'll make the effort to finish it. But I didn't at all mind that the group was still unable to meet in May.

In June we were once again able to meet as a group, albeit in a larger room with chairs set over a metre apart from each other, and hand sanitiser on the way in. And since then we've met and discussed books every month other than August, when it would have been too hot and humid, and everyone needed a break. My favourite book so far from the reading group selection is 'The Beekeeper of Aleppo', which was this month's choice. 

I have loved being part of this small, friendly group, and have thoroughly enjoyed discussing the books we have read, some of which have been excellent. They try to introduce books from a variety of cultures and genres, some light-hearted, some heavier; some fairly short, some quite long, most of them highly reviewed. 

And so, when the list for 2021 was agreed, I went straight to the Awesome Books site, and ordered the first four, putting the others on my Amazon wishlist. 

I was delighted to see the books which arrived today, although it seems that my unread-books piles are growing rather than shrinking:

And this despite my reading three new-to-me books every month, in addition to re-reading six or seven favourites.

I suppose I could stop buying books at the St Helena's monthly sales... but there's something very reassuring about having a good number of books still to be read. I would hate to get to the end of the pile. 

Time and Trust in Cyprus

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a lengthy post bewailing modern technology as it gradually takes over life in Cyprus. Things are no longer as simple as they used to be.

To summarise the post: I couldn't pay our van tax because it needed an MOT, and when the MOT was done I couldn't pay it because my debit card had expired. When I went to collect my new card from the bank, they had returned it because I hadn't collected it in December, despite not knowing it was there. Meanwhile I couldn't pay our PO Box fee because the 'system' wasn't working, so I left the money with the postmistress who assured me she would do it the next day...

There's something about starting a routine, or habit, which makes it become easier as the weeks go by. Those two Fridays in January, I made sure I had things to post to motivate me to walk to the Post Office. It's only a mile away, and it wasn't as cold as it had been some early mornings when I walk with my friend Sheila, but I didn't much want to go out. However, Richard was away, and I don't drive.

I decided to combine the trips to the Post Office with my usual Friday shopping at our local froutaria...

... and the connected mini-market over the road from the froutaria:

The Post Office is about a mile from our house, near the sea-front. It's another mile or so in the other direction to the fruitaria, and then a short walk home. Quite a pleasant outing, once I was out in the sunshine, even if it was rather chilly.

So each time I took my Lakeland shopping trolley (one of the best purchases I have ever made):

A few days after my foray into the bank, they phoned me to say that my card had arrived.  I could have gone to collect it at once (the bank is perhaps half a mile away) but decided I would leave it until the Friday, and do another round trip.  There was no urgency to pay the road tax, and I didn't need the debit card for anything else; I generally use cash at the froutaria and discount mini-market.

PO Box Rental part 3
So on Friday, just over a week ago, I walked down to the Post Office once again. There was no receipt in my box, so although I didn't have anything to post this time, I went inside.

Once again there was only one postmistress there, not the one to whom I had handed over the cash for the box renewal. She remembered me from the previous week. I asked her if, perhaps, the other lady had done the renewal and forgotten to give me my receipt. She checked the system, and said that no, it wasn't renewed.

However, she told me, I wasn't the only customer in the same situation. Apparently the other postmistress had been off sick, and had put the money for the PO Box renewals in some account which her colleague couldn't access.  She assured me it would be done on Monday, and they would phone to let me know.

Perhaps I should have ensured I was given a receipt for the cash when I paid it; or, even better, kept it and said I would return another time, since I did in fact keep on returning every week. But trust is important in Cyprus, and I couldn't imagine they would try to cheat me, or insist that I hadn't in fact paid anything. So I said it was okay, and I would wait.

New Debit card part 2
I quite like walking along the main shopping streets of Larnaka, occasionally popping into a shop, or looking in the windows, but my next stop was the bank.

I stood in the queue, as usual, and when I got to the front was told I needed to go to one of the desks further inside the bank. I eventually found it, and instead of just handing over my card (in a thick envelope) and asking me to sign for it, the man at the desk had to access my account, and spend several minutes entering things and eventually succeeding in printing a form. Then I not only had to sign it, I had to enter my passport number. I have no idea why, but it's a good thing I carry it with me. It would have been very annoying to have got that far and been unable to collect the card.

The design of the card is different - it's yellow rather than red - and it's equipped with contactless technology, which always slightly scares me. But we keep our contactless cards in little metal-lined folders so they can't accidentally (or maliciously) be triggered.

Car Tax part 4
I got home, and logged into the jccsmart website, and - at last! - succeeded in paying the year's tax for the van.

Success!

Side note
A few months ago, when we realised we had to write off our two old cars, the mechanic agreed to deal with the scrap merchant, and harvest any parts that could be used. They said we might possibly get €200, and that was only because one of the cars had fairly new tyres. They were supposed to let us know when the transaction happened, but we didn't hear anything. Then we went away shortly after Christmas, and hadn't thought much about it.

When Richard got back from his travels, ten days ago, he went to collect the van after its MOT.  They had had to sort out one or two things, and did a full oil change too, and - including the test certificate - the bill came to €70, which seemed quite reasonable. Better still, they said that our old cars had in fact fetched €250, so rather than having to pay anything, he was given €180 in cash as well as the van with its up-to-date MOT.

PO Box Rental part 4
There was no phone call on Monday, but on Wednesday I had a call from the Post Office! They wanted to check the details, then went ahead and renewed our box rental for another two years.

Whew.

The receipt was awaiting me when I walked down to the Post Office yesterday.  So everything is now done. It might take much longer than it should, but I should have trusted that it would work out correctly. 

Complexities of Technology in Cyprus

Car Tax, part 1
In Cyprus, we don't get reminders in the mail (or even electronically) to renew car tax. We're supposed to know that it needs to be renewed every January, although it's not usually possible to do so until at least the 7th or 8th, and there's a 'grace' period until the end of February, sometimes early March.

And whereas, a few years ago, we could take the information into the co-op banks and get it dealt with by someone else there, it now has to be done at the 'jccsmart' website, a portal that allows for the payment of many bills that can't be paid directly at the bank website.

So, on Friday two weeks ago, when I was doing our weekly bookkeeping, I logged into jccsmart, and entered the information for our blue car. No problem: it recognised the combination of numberplate and the last three digits of Richard's ID, and I was able to pay for another year's tax on my debit card.  Then I tried to pay the tax on the black van which is used for our PA system, and various other loads.  A warning message appeared: it needed an MOT before tax could be paid.

Fair enough; Richard knew it was due its MOT (they happen every two years in Cyprus). He was due to be away, so took the van round the corner to our friendly mechanic, who said that he would sort it out, make any minor repairs or adjustments necessary, and have everything ready by the time he got back.

PO Box Rental, part 1
A few days later, I had to go to the Post Office to post something to the UK.

We get our mail delivered to a PO Box connected to this post office, and we'd just received the reminder that our subscription had run out. We needed to pay for 2017 by the end of March. So I asked if I could pay it while I was there, as it can't be done online. I offered my debit card, and they tried to enter my details, but then said that the system wasn't working.

When we first moved here, the system was a huge hand-written ledger. It always took a minute or two for the postmistress to find our records, but there was never any problem.  For fifteen years we thought it was quaint, but very Cypriot. And it worked. Since they have a new computerised system, it has been much more complicated.

I had already tried to pay ten days earlier, and the system wasn't working then.  So the postmistress (a different one, but they get to know the regulars fairly quickly) suggested I leave the payment with her, and she would enter it the following day when the system was working again, and put a receipt in our PO Box. I could hardly leave my debit card, and didn't really want to give the details, but I had cash on me, so I handed over the amount for for two years' rental of the PO Box, and she clipped it to our reminder, with a note of our name and phone number.

Car Tax, part 2
On Friday, a week ago, I thought I would try again to pay the car tax.  Once again, the warning message about the MOT appeared.  Evidently they had not yet got around to doing it.

PO Box Rental, part 2
On Sunday I was in town, although the Post Office was closed, but I checked the PO Box anyway. Our electricity bills were there, but there was no receipt for the box rental payment. I shrugged, mentally. Perhaps the system was still down.

I thought no more about it until yesterday, when I needed to post something else, so I walked the mile or so to the Post Office again, and checked the PO Box. Our water bills were awaiting me, but still no receipt for the box rental.

So I went in to post my letter. There was a different postmistress there, looking a bit hassled (usually there are two of them), and when I asked about it, and explained, she said that 'the system' was now working but she would have to look for my payment and paperwork, and would let me know. She wrote down my name and phone number again. I was beginning to feel a little anxious, but this kind of thing usually works in Cyprus. So I hope I'll hear from her next week...

Car Tax, part Three
When I got home again, I logged onto the JCCSmart site, and entered the van information. This time, I was given the go-ahead to pay the tax. So the mechanic must have done whatever was needed, and it had passed its MOT.

However, as I was entering my debit card details, I saw that the card had expired at the end of January. Oops. A pity I hadn't realised earlier, as I came past the bank on my way home from the Post Office, as I needed to buy some fruit and vegetables. But I put on my shoes again, and walked to the bank....

New Debit Card
New debit cards don't get sent to the owners, for security reasons. But in the past when my card had expired - or when it was about to - I simply popped into the bank.  New debit cards were usually in a rather random looking pile of envelopes, and it would take the clerk a minute or two to locate mine, but it was always there.

At first, when they started issuing them, my debit cards were only valid for a year at a time. But the last time I collected one was at the end of January 2014. The one that had just expired had lasted for three years, so I had got out of the habit of popping in at the start of each year. Since then, the bank has moved to new, smarter premises, and updated their systems.

So when I handed my card to the clerk, after quite a long wait in the queue, he looked puzzled, but entered the number into his computer so he could see our bank account. I pointed at the date on the card, and said that it had expired, and I wanted my new one. He asked me if I wanted to withdraw cash. No, I told him, I just wanted a new card.

He asked if they had phoned me, to let me know it was at the bank. No, I said. When it had expired before, I came in, and they found my new one for me. He looked confused - this was not a clerk I had seen before - and went off to another office, before returning and saying that he couldn't find it. Then he turned to the clerk at the next desk, and asked him (in Greek) if he would deal with it.

The second clerk seemed to be more senior, but also went through the process of typing my card information into his computer. He clicked several things, and then said, 'Ah. Your new card has been cancelled.'

'Why?' I asked.

'Because you did not collect it in two months. It was at the bank on December 2nd. You didn't collect it so we cancelled it on January 25th.'

'But it hadn't even expired then,' I said, trying to stay calm and as assertive as I could. 'Why would you cancel it?'

'We telephoned and there was no reply,' he said. 'Maybe we have the wrong number?'

I checked, and they had both my mobile number and our house phone. I said that we were away for a couple of weeks after Christmas, and he said that perhaps they phoned then.

'So how can I get a new card?' I asked, realising it wasn't his personal fault that the card was cancelled incorrectly.  He said he would have to cancel the cancellation. He typed some more things on the computer, printed something out for me to sign, and said that there should be a card within the next few days, and that they would phone me....

Utility bills
So I came home again, realising that I still couldn't pay the van tax.

However, I knew I could pay the water and electricity bills at our bank website. I was pleased that they were rather lower than I'd expected, probably because we were away for a couple of weeks during the billing periods.

I logged into the bank site, and was greeted by a screen telling me I needed to update my details, for security reasons.  Yet more new technology.  I checked that they had correct phone numbers, address, and my passport number - no problem.  But then I had to fill in all kinds of other information about our status in Cyprus, and whether we filed taxes in other countries (we do, in the UK), and what my source of income is, and what it's estimated to be in a year.

I became more and more bewildered, since none of the categories applied to me, and I had no idea if they wanted figures relating just to me, or to both of us. But it wouldn't let me leave it until another time, so I had to make best estimates and keep going through several pages.

At last this was complete, and I was, thankfully, able to pay our electricity and water bills.

But what a performance.

When we first moved here, online banking in Cyprus didn't exist. Nor were there debit cards. We had to write cheques for our rent, and at supermarkets, with our home phone number considered sufficient identification. We also had to write cheques for utility bills and take them to the relevant offices.  Like the Post Office box rental ledgers, it was old-fashioned and non-technological.

But it worked.

Happy Christmas 2012

So, it's Christmas Eve. For anyone wanting to read about our year in a nutshell, here's a link to this year's Christmas Newsletter on our family site.

The cake is, at last, iced:

..although I had begun to wonder if my home-made marzipan would ever dry out. And there was a near disaster when a packet of cornflour, which looked almost EXACTLY like a packet of icing sugar, was accidentally used in the first batch of - well, royal cornflour, I suppose. Happily we had another packet. 

Gifts are wrapped:

...although, as ever, the Cyprus post has been rather slow and not everything has arrived. But that's okay. We don't mind if the Christmas season lasts a bit longer! 

Another batch of mince pies is made: 

... by Tim. Usually I make all our mince pies, but yesterday afternoon I developed a short-lived tummy bug, and although I'm over that now, I feel decidedly fragile and rather weak.  Richard had the tummy bug overnight, and has not got up today.

The stuffed turkey is in the oven, to be carved tonight, re-heated tomorrow.

... however, we had to ask a friend to drive Tim and me to Metro to pick up our turkey, as Richard was unable to get out of bed.  Then we found that they had run out of sausagemeat, although they had assured us that they did not need to be ordered. At least they said they had run out... until I was quite assertive in a way that does not come naturally to me, and somehow they managed to find some... which had been ordered by someone else! I could hardly refuse to accept it at that point.

So, all in all, it's been quite an 'interesting' day. We hope that tomorrow will be rather less so...

Happy Christmas!

Christmas tree, with a little help...

Last year, I asked for help from my three small friends (and their mother) when putting up our Christmas tree. It worked so well that I suggested they might like to help again this year. They seemed quite enthusiastic, so before they arrived this morning I got out the various boxes containing our artificial tree and ornaments.

Sheila and Katie managed to get the trunk and base together without my assistance, which is just as well since I'd completely forgotten how to do it. Helen, who had removed all the branches from the box and piled them randomly on the floor, helped me to look for the letters which showed where each branch went. Here she is with a 'D' branch, one of the biggest ones:

Elisabeth, who is two-and-a-half today, was a lot more helpful than she was last year, and quite understood the importance of figuring out which branches went in which slots:

When all the branches were in place, the bigger girls made sure they were firmly fixed, then started putting little ornaments on the tree:

Unravelling the lights wasn't too hard this year, as we'd managed to pack them away properly, so I placed them around the tree then moved it over to our usual spot in the corner near a power socket. Katie, once again, was the most enthusiastic about decorating the tree thoroughly:

I had even found a red felt shawl thing which we wrapped around the base to make it look slightly less unattractive...

... or more garish, depending on your viewpoint. 

Here's how the tree looks after dark, with the lights on:

Although we've been given two Christmas cards, and a third had arrived in our mailbox today, I don't suppose many will arrive before Christmas. Last year, the majority of our cards arrived in the middle of January. We'd undecorated by then, so I kept them, deciding to use them as decorations for this year. More and more people are sending electronic cards or email greetings now, anyway, but we like having a display of cards above our sliding doors: 

.. and behind the piano: 

I wrote our cards this year on Sunday and Monday, and we posted the ones to the UK today. We seem to send fewer and fewer cards every year: this year it was only 39 to go in the mail.  I hope they'll arrive before Christmas.

After the rain....

I wrote yesterday about the thunder and rain, which was really the first good rain for quite some time.  A bit came through the roof over the stairs, but by the time I went to bed the rain had stopped and the little puddles had almost disappeared. 

However, in the night it started raining again, quite heavily.  It had stopped by the time I got up this morning, but by around 7.00am when I was just thinking about walking down to the PO Box, it started again:

There was some blue in the sky so I was hopeful that this would not last too long; and, indeed, about twenty minutes later the sun came out.  

As I stepped out into the wet world that greeted me, I was struck again at how very clean everything looks after it's had a good downpour.  There always seem to be flowers blooming somewhere, and I snapped a few such as this one:

And this one, which I believe is called a bottle-brush plant: 

Some of the raindrops can still be seen on the leaves of this one, if you click to enlarge the photo:

This one, too, with vivid yellow blooms, looked very pretty sparkling with raindrops in the sun: 

There were puddles on waste ground, which will no doubt provide more breeding place for mosquitoes:

Some puddles in the streets, too... but I didn't see any really flooded roads.  Perhaps the new drainage system is beginning to be of use even if it isn't all connected: 

It would be nice if the roads could be re-surfaced after their extensive excavations, but perhaps that's too much to ask. 

Shortly after I arrived home, the rain started lightly again. Then around noon, there was some torrential pouring, making me glad that Richard had put the usual bucket and cool-box on our stairs to catch some of the leaks: 

We always need rain in Cyprus, so I hope this has gone some way to filling up the reservoirs again.  More is predicted tonight, and tomorrow.  Autumn has well and truly begun. 

Random ramblings from the first half of October

After my 9k walk by the Salt Lake a couple of weeks ago, I was shattered. My legs ached the following day and I wondered if it had been a crazy idea. However, a friend on Facebook commented that if I repeated the exercise every other day, it wouldn't be long before I felt twenty years younger.

It was a serendipitous comment (if there is such a thing). I knew that there was no way I would walk daily; on the other hand, I was aware that once a week would not really give me a chance to get used to going for brisk walks of more than a couple of kilometres. So I tentatively proposed that I might walk with Sheila on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as either Saturdays or Sundays - three times a week - although sometimes it would only be half the distance.

So we communicate by text and I've managed it, although it was over a week before I actually felt enthusiastic about going out in the half-light; my limbs continued feeling as if they were being used rather too much, and a blister kept recurring on my heel.

However, I was rewarded one morning with this rather gorgeous sunrise:

- and today (although I didn't walk this morning) I've found myself with a great deal more energy than I can remember having for some time. Of course, that could also be connected with the beginning of more autumnal weather, at last. The humidity has finally gone, at least mostly, and we had the first rain on Monday:

We then had the second rain, and the third rain.... some of it very heavy, and a slight leak in our roof over the stairs, as has happened in previous years.

Autumn is not all good news - mosquitoes have appeared in the evenings, out of aestivation, perhaps. And there was a tragedy in Larnaka during some heavy winds and rain earlier in the week, when a tall crane fell over, crushing a car.

On a lighter note, we very much enjoyed spending half a day with some friends we had not seen for years, on Wednesday last week; they were in Ayia Napa for a family wedding, and were able to come to Larnaka a couple of days later. It was so good to catch up; one of the benefits of Facebook is being back in touch with several long-lost friends.

Other friends who live here returned to Larnaka after spending the summer in their home country, and came to supper one evening; I was pleased to be able to share some of the produce of my new kitchen 'toy' (a dehydrator, which I'm sure I will write about at great length in future):

And finally... 

I made an order from a UK website, which said that - as a new feature - it was not able to deliver to PO Boxes abroad. So I thought that perhaps they were now using couriers, and entered our street address for delivery. 

And waited. 

The promised 7-10 days passed, and there was no sign of my parcels. I had made the effort to stay in the house for most of the day, although a courier would usually phone before coming. But there was no sign of anything. I started to wonder if the order might come in the regular mail - the problem being that the postman drives around on a motorbike and does not deliver parcels to houses.  We have an outside, US-style metal mailbox attached to our fence so I checked that to see if there was a note telling me to collect a parcel - but no.  Nothing. 

On Friday, as I try to do weekly, I walked down to our PO Box to check for mail.  At the last minute, I grabbed a cloth bag, although I wasn't really expecting anything. I keep one light one folded in my handbag anyway, but I had an odd feeling that I might need a second one.  Introverted Intuition, or perhaps a hint from God...?

I collected a few items from the mailbox, and there was a slip saying that there were three parcels waiting for me.  I wondered if they were for Richard's approaching birthday, so went inside.  As I handed the slip to the friendly postmistress, she said, 'Ah! I need to talk to you about your parcels!' 

Uh-oh. Was there some problem?

No... the parcels, she told me, had our street address on them. She shrugged and pulled a face, as if to say, 'How silly of the sender.' 

But, she assured me, there was no problem because she knew our PO Box number, so she put the slip in there. However she said that it was possible that the postman might also put a slip in our home mailbox - she didn't seem to think it likely, but wanted me to know that if he did, it was for the same parcels. 

It was, indeed, my order. Or, at least, three out of the four boxes.  Just as well that the fourth one hadn't yet arrived, since it was quite difficult to fit it into my two bags but I managed: 

One of the things we really like about Cyprus is that so many things are relationship-based. 

Another birthday rolls by

Although we've been 'empty nesters' for nearly four years now, I've managed to spend the last three birthdays with at least one of our sons. I wasn't entirely sure what one does for a birthday with just the two of us - but in the event, it was a pleasant and relaxing day.

I had a pile of presents that had already arrived or been passed to us from various relatives, first thing in the morning: 

They were DVDs and books - mostly from my wishlist - and a new webcam as my previous one was rather unreliable with the sound. 

Then we drove to Immigration - not something I'd have chosen to do on my birthday, but Richard was happy to spend the morning doing random things around Larnaka, so that was our first stop. I wrote yesterday about our experiences, past and present, with Immigration, so won't repeat that here. 

Next stop was the Land Registry Office, since we had managed to lose one part of our house deeds. We were told that it was an easy and inexpensive process to get replacements, so we went to the place where we first acquired them... only to find it totally closed down. 

We had parked in nearby Lidl - not the branch we had been to before - so thought we might as well take a look and see if it had anything more interesting this week: 

It didn't. I was seriously tempted by some delicious looking white chocolate with strawberry pieces, only to see, from the ingredients on the back, that it contained maltodextrin - one of those annoying migraine-inducers. But we wandered around the rest of the store in vain. Nothing that appealed was good value. 

So Richard checked the map on his phone, which gave directions to the new Land Registry Office, which we found easily. It was a lot grander than the previous one:

We spoke to a helpful receptionist who filled in the forms for us, and explained where to go. It was, indeed, quick and easy. We had to pay a grand total of 1.71 euro for new copies of both our deeds. It took about fifteen minutes in all, and involved five different workers... one to fill in the form, one to take our money, one to write the date and direct us to the lift, one to produce the actual deeds, and one to give the inevitable official stamps. 

It was only about 9.30 by the time we had finished all this. As we came out, we saw this:

Unlike me, Richard likes looking around shops, particularly new ones, so he suggested we take a look. It wasn't very interesting. Lots of junk - toys, ornaments, garden tools. There were some clothes, and we took a look at the 'crocs', since Richard needs a new pair, but they weren't very good quality. 

So, as the Land Registry Office is right behind Carrefour, we thought we'd take a look in there to see if they had any crocs. And we thought we might have coffee too...

Unfortunately, the café didn't open until noon. And they didn't have any crocs, nor indeed anything else that interested us. 

We thought we might drive by the Post Office to see if any mail had come: I walked there on Wednesday and picked up a fair amount, so was quite surprised to find all these packages and letters awaiting us: 

They included some bills, and books for review, but also some cards and yet more presents from relatives.  I was pleased to find that I had seven cards, which seems rather a lot for a non-special birthday:

Later on a friend called by with yet another. I had two e-cards as well, and about sixty birthday greetings on Facebook! Social networking is a wonderful thing. 

This is the pile of gifts by the time I had opened them all.... 

We spent an hour or so at home, then went out again to get a new printer cartridge at the place that does recycled ones. For some reason it was cheaper than the one we last bought, about three years ago. 

Without Tim at home, I wasn't going to get a cake, so next we took a look in Zorpas, a bakery which sells delicious looking cakes and desserts. We thought we might buy a couple of small ones, or two slices... but they were full of cream (Richard tries to avoid dairy products) and very expensive for what they are. I didn't want a cake THAT much.

By that time it was one o'clock and I was getting hungry. I'd forgotten to take bread out of the freezer, so Richard suggested we go to the café at the marina for toasted tuna sandwiches and salad, which was very pleasant. However I forgot about taking any photos!

In the afternoon we had a very good Google video (like Skype) chat with Tim, using my new webcam, for over an hour. I do like modern technology for keeping in touch with our sons. And we pottered at home, caught up with email and Facebook and so on.

Usually on Fridays we go to a cell group with a meal at our good friends locally, but they're away at present so the group was cancelled. Richard and I had decided to go out to eat - and since I don't like making decisions, we opted for our favourite inexpensive sea-front restaurant, Alexander's.  They had some new menu options but we went for tried-and-tested dishes...

Richard had fish and chips:

I had veggie moussaka:

One of the things I like best about Alexander's is that they almost always offer something 'on the house' after a meal. So Richard had a de-caf coffee, and although I was feeling extremely full (it's rare for us to eat out at all, let alone twice in one day!) I chose the ice cream. Last time I did that, one of the scoops was strawberry. This time it was yellow:

It was really very yellow, more so than the photo shows. It was artificial banana... not unpleasant, exactly, but rather odd. Anyway, I ate it all and enjoyed the chocolate part... and then was surprised how very cold I felt! 

Sunshine after the rain, and a pleasant walk

It's been wonderful having Tim here for the past two weeks. But all good things, as they say, come to an end - and he departed in the early hours of this morning for his flight back to the UK.

Today is officially a public holiday - I did pop out earlier to see if the fruitaria was open, but even that was closed - and, indeed, it's still technically a holiday week; many businesses and all schools are still closed, until after January 6th.

But still, it felt like the proper start of Richard's sabbatical, and of life assuming some kind of normality - if such a thing is ever possible in Cyprus - after the Christmas break.

We had very heavy rain on New Year's Eve, and for most of yesterday morning, but today the sun had come out. In the afternoon, we decided to go for a walk, just down to the PO Box.

The rain must have been even heavier than I had realised; I don't think I have ever seen quite such deep puddles in some waste ground:

I just hope they dry up soon, or we could be in for a major infestation of mosquitoes in the spring.

As we approached Larnaka town, we were amused by this life-size Christmas scene outside the municipality music school:

What amused us wasn't that Santa was apparently reading a book, but that the cat sitting under the reindeer was in fact a real cat, who watched us and twitched its ears a few times.

There were a couple more Christmas cards awaiting us at the PO Box. Mail from the UK was very delayed in December, and we collected several parcels and a couple of cards on Friday, so I wasn't really expecting much today.

Returning to Cyprus, and cooler weather

It's three weeks since I last wrote. The rest of the week after Tim's graduation raced past, with visits to and from other family members, meeting friends, and, of course, a few more Catan games. We said goodbye to our sons and daughter-in-law at the end of October and drove down to Sussex for a couple of days with Richard's mother, than back from Gatwick Airport nearly two weeks ago.

I know from experience that jet-lag is far worse coming this way. Not that I was particularly tired, but my brain feels foggy and unable to think creatively. It's only this week that I'm really feeling like myself again. Still, I did manage to do a few important jobs such as sorting the freezer out again, and baking this year's Christmas cake.

The day after we flew home, I walked down into town to our PO Box, relishing the rather cooler weather, and forgetting just how early the sun now sets, since the clock change. And having been out of Cyprus for nearly three weeks, I was aware of the skyline again as I walked home - so typical of Cyprus with the white buildings decorated with water tank and solar panels, the pine trees, and the wasteland, mostly brown after a dry summer:


I liked the colour of the sky, too, and the clouds which suggested that it wouldn't be too long before some rain:

Heavy boxes from Holland and Barrett

I mentioned, early in January, how I had discovered that I could order some items from the UK health food store Holland and Barrett for rather less than I pay for the same items at supermarkets or pharmacies in Cyprus. The order arrived within ten days, and I was delighted.

Early in February, I realised that I was running low on my favourite green tea and blackcurrant teabags. I haven't been able to get them in Cyprus for a while, so I went back to the Holland and Barrett website. This time I had a voucher from Quidco for 15% off the order - had I actually registered with the site (as I did a few days later), I'd have had a 'cashback' too.

Holland and Barrett were having special deals with several products reduced even more than usual, if I bought two of them. I decided to get four packets of the fruity tea - at a total of £5. I wanted some more oats, but the 1kg bags were not in stock; however they had 2kg bags, with the same offer - buy two, and get the second one half price. I browsed around, looking at the things I had tagged as 'favourites', and also following some links... and it wasn't long before my order came to about £45... then, when I applied the voucher, and they added postage, it came to just over £30. Very reasonable, it seemed to me.

I did wonder, in the days that followed, how I would get the order back from the Post Office. The email they sent implied that orders over 2kg (as this undoubtedly was!) would be sent by courier... however I didn't receive any notification, and nobody phoned. I didn't go to the PO Box last Monday, but on Friday was concerned that there might be a fair amount of mail awaiting us, so as it was a nice day, I walked down. It's a gentle stroll of about a mile. In the box were two slips saying that there were parcels waiting for me inside. I'd taken a large cloth bag with me, wondering if the order might have come, and thought how sensible that they'd divided the order into two. Or, perhaps, there would be something else awaiting me...

The postmistress brought out two parcels. They were a little bigger than I'd expected. 'Wait,' she said, as she handed them to me. 'There are more!'

She returned with THREE more parcels. One large, two medium, two small. I managed to fit three of them into my bag.

For the first time ever, I did contemplate phoning Richard at the office and asking if he could spare ten minutes to come and collect me (and the parcels). But they weren't that heavy, so I thought I would probably be all right. It was a little awkward, and by the time I was half-way home I was out of breath and quite warm, but I took a five-minute break on a bench in the nearby park, and made it home.

Then I piled the boxes on the sofa to take a photo:


I then weighed them individually. They were each around 2kg in weight, with a total of almost 9kg. So, not THAT heavy, really... but still, rather more than I would normally carry for a mile.

The two smallest boxes each contained a 750g jar of molasses:


I didn't need that much molasses. I use a teaspoonful at a time when I make bread, and a 340g jar (which I can buy in Cyprus) lasts me a couple of months, usually. But 750g from Holland and Barrett cost HALF of what a 340g jar costs here... and the second was, of course, at half price.

The medium boxes each contained one of the 2kg bags of oats:


I use that for granola, and sometimes for biscuits/cookies. It will take me a LONG time to get through 4kg, so I put the bags straight in the freezer.

And the large box contained:


Two bags of cough lozenges, two bags of sunflower seeds, two boxes of lemon/ginger tea, and four boxes of blackcurrant/green tea.

(Which sounds like something 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' might have eaten!)

It was only as I checked the packing labels that I realised that there's still more to come. Evidently the last box was delayed, since my order also included two bags of linseeds, some echinacea/goldenseal extract, and a copy of the latest 'Healthy' magazine.

Just as well, really. I don't see how I could possibly have carried a sixth box home as well.

I hope they didn't make too big a loss on my order. There's no way that the £6.95 postal charges would have covered over 9kg of parcels from the UK to Cyprus.