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Published: October 28th 2017
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Miko Peled talking to a nice healthy gathering at The Hermitage (Vicarage) in Girne.After dog walk it was breakfast and then we headed off into town to do a couple of jobs. First stop was the vets to hand across a urine sample from Kilroy.......it was three weeks ago that he had a urine infection which with antibiotics has cleared up. Vet had advised us to finish the antibiotics and then pop down with a urine sample so he could see if things look better. Well to us the “sample” looked much better. However; exercise will need to be repeated as vet was not in his surgery......will go down again Monday. Then to money exchange shop, onwards to the library to return a load of books....John managed to resist picking up another handful only coming away with one book as it’s unlikely he will have time to read thro a lot more. After the library it was a call into Supreme supermarket mainly to pick up something for supper tonight. We will be out for the evening attending a talk organised by St Andrews Church so picked up a menu of the day.....Kofte meatballs in a veggie sauce, plus nice olive bread which we can pop in the oven
on our return. A quick call into the bakery for a Chelsea bun to go with our cup of tea when we get home and that was the morning done. Back home for a chillax on the front balcony. Around 3:30pm it was an early walk for Kilroy as we are off out tonight to attend a talk by Mike Peled......An Israeli in Palestine. A little bit of background information......
Miko Peled joined Israel’s Special Forces after high school, earning the red beret. However he soon grew to regret his decision. He surrendered his red beret almost as soon as he earned it, becoming a medic, and finally, disgusted by the 1982 Lebanon invasion, he buried his service pin in the dirt. In 1997, Peled’s 13-year-old niece Smadar was killed in a suicide attack in Jerusalem. This became the starting point for the remarkable personal story of a man who sought justice not through revenge but through understanding.
We needed to be at the venue early as Sarah had “volunteered” to collect the entrance money .......so John was also helping! As is usual at these sort of events, a bit of chaotic organisation to start but soon sorted
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Dome Hotel in Girne. This hotel is a very long established old fashioned hotel right on the front in town. Has an air of old fashioned services about it. and we managed to carry out our allotted tasks with no problems....apart from the fact it was a bit dark to see the colour of the money! However trusty iPhone torch to the rescue. There was pre talk wine and nibbles and eventually we got underway at around 7:30pm, following tradition here in North Cyprus that nothing happens on time. A very interesting and at times challenging talk by Miko - it certainly made you think more about what was happening in Israel or Palestine as he preferred to call this land. Some people did not necessarily agree with his point of view but even so it was enlightening and the time passed quickly as he held your interest. We slipped away shortly after the main session had ended as we had hound at home, probably wondering where his food was plus we had yet to eat as well. Supper was our Supreme special purchased earlier today, plus a bit of pasta. Very tasty.
Just before 10pm a message from Gary....are we at home? Yes of course, so he and Ellie came around for an hour and we enjoyed a glass of wine and a chat, plus of course
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Wandering around the back streets near the old harbour. Buddy came and socialised with Kilroy. Just before midnight John took Kilroy for his final wander of the day, then it was upstairs to bed -Sarah a bit of book reading and John on the internet to catch up with his clubs latest defeat. ☹️.
Sunday 22nd October 2017 Awake early and after a cup of tea we took the dogs for there morning walk before back home, toast for breakfast, showered and changed. Both of us went into town, Sarah off to church whilst John had a wander around the old quarter and harbour area before ending up at the Cafe George. Getting into town early on a Sunday is great, nice time to stroll. On the front the old boys were out fishing, didn’t see much being caught but think they were more interested in chatting. The old town just behind the harbour area is really nice, narrow cobbled streets with some interesting buildings. At the Cafe George John settled down with a cafe latte, papers and his book to await Sarah coming from church. The Cafe was quiet on arrival but 2hrs later when Sarah arrived it was very busy. Home via supermarkets for supplies
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Kyrenia Boutique Hotel next to the mosque and time for a late lunch before chilling for the rest of the afternoon.
Usual late afternoon walk with Kilroy, just as things are cooling down - 24C at 5:30pm. Then home for a cup of tea before thinking about showering and changing as tonight we are off out for or usual Sunday treat....a meal out. Today our neighbour Sue has asked us to join her so we agreed to go to Happy Valley to see Riaz. Arrived shortly after 7:30pm, ordered some drinks and sat outside in the comfy chairs just chatting for about 30mins before placing our orders, beef curry for John, steak Diane for Sarah and fish in lemon sauce for Sue. As always, good food, great friendly service and excellent value for money. Post supper coffees were taken indoors as it was now 10:30pm and beginning to feel cooler. A lovely evening out. Home for the usual pre bedtime routine with Kilroy, another coffee and Sunday was over.
Monday 23rd October 2017 Awake just before 7am to a clear sky so looks like another nice day ahead, although it does seem rain is forecast for later in the week. Sarah was straight into
action as she busied herself making a lemon meringue pie, all before setting off for our morning dog walk. Today we headed into the hills to the goat farm, then down a short gully to join up with the track and road which headed towards Catalkoy village before we then crossed the ravine and uphill back home. A slightly different and longer walk than normal - dogs were tired! Sarah set about preparing our meal for later. Brendan and Beryl are coming around early afternoon for a drink and we will then have either a late lunch or early supper depending on how we feel. Meal is to be our favourite Cyprus style chicken and an assortment of roasted vegetables, followed by the lemon meringue pie with cream and if we can manage it some cheese and biscuits! In the meantime John nipped to the vet with Kilroys urine sample......vet took a look and said colour is normal, so now ok to stop antibiotics but keep an eye on him as very occasionally some dogs have a strong resistance to the antibiotics. Vet asked us just to let him know if things change and we will also see him again
just before we all leave for the U.K. By midday the jobs were done so we could chill for a couple of hours with papers and books.........Kilroy was already chilling in his favourite spot, the outside sofa on the patio. The clear sky of this morning has changed a bit and now a little bit cloudy, but still warm especially when the sun breaks thro. A quick look at the temperature gauge and it’s showing 25C.
Early afternoon and after a shower and change we were ready for our guests who arrived just before 3pm. Drinks sorted we sat outside on the front balcony to while away the rest of the day. Sue our neighbour said goodbye to her feline friends and then us - the felines were sad to see her head home to the U.K. We look forward to seeing her again in 2018. For the rest of the day we had a lovely 6hrs chatting, drinking and eating. The meal was superb, thanks to Sarah and the conversation flowed aided by the single malt whiskey which rounded off the meal perfectly. Thank you to Brendan and Beryl for your company. On 9pm John took Kilroy for
a stroll - he had been a very well behaved boy all day....we really think he is getting the hang of his training. Back home, Kilroy had his food and his parents chilled in front of the tv. However, after only 20mins Sarah’s eyes were closed, time for bed.
Tuesday 24th October 2017 Woken by the sound of a road sweeper slowly chugging by, so it was up and at them with our cups of tea before heading out with the dogs. A breezy day, with clouds racing across the sky. Still warm but maybe this is the prelude to the rain that has been forecast. To make sure we werent caught out John put the roof up on the jeep just in case it did rain....wouldn’t want to have to venture out in the early hours to sort it. Home and pottered about, interrupted by breakfast. Today John is having a blast from the past....toast with peanut butter spread -thanks to Sue who handed over half a jar before she returned home to the U.K. Not a lot planned for today, Sarah wants to go to church late afternoon as there is a visiting choir on island
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Cafe George....in town square, popular meeting place for tourists and ex pats. who will be singing evensong. John spotted an old Technics stack hi-fi system for sale on an internet forum so will pop out and take a look at it. Our current music player has now refused to play cds..... not a disaster but we do have a few cds which we like to listen to. The rest of the day passed quietly and by around 3pm we headed into town, Sarah was dropped off at church and John went onwards towards Karsiyaka to check out the hi-fi. Yep all looked good and at only 100TL a bargain. John headed back into town, parked up and strolled to the Cafe George and enjoyed a coffee whilst waiting for evensong to end before picking up Sarah. Home via supermarket....picked up some chicken breasts as another Chinese stir fry was on the menu for tomorrow night. Gary had dropped off more pak choi for us. Back home and John took Kilroy for his evening walk then it was doors closed and time to set up hi-fi, put the tv on and settle down for the evening. Sarah made supper which was sausages plus leftover roasted vegetables from yesterday and of course lemon meringue
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The standoff at 13 Zeytinledere Sokak. pie. A nice chilled evening before Sarah took Kilroy on a quick sprint round the block and bed.
Wednesday 25th October 2017 A very windy start to the day and a lot of cloud around as we were on the dog walk. Kilroy a bit confused, all these things flying around on there own.....how is that happening. Home for shower and chill time. Yesterday Sarah decided that our lookey likey electric wood burner was no longer needed. We have had it a few years and it was useful when we were out here in Feb/Mar time, however it looks likely that we will probably be out here during the warmer months so the fire would not get used. Advertised it on a local Internet forum yesterday and after sending a couple of people pictures we had a call offering to buy. Good result. Agreed to meet in the supermarket car park to do the deal. In the meantime; it’s happened, rain has arrived and for about 30mins we had a reasonable shower. Of course we were not fully prepared so a rush around outside putting waterproof covers on the patio furniture, then a dash downstairs to close jeep
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25th October 2017. First real rain has finally arrived. Summer is over. ☹️ windows (We had put the roof up a couple of days ago) and then move it under the balcony which gives it some protection from the rain. It’s a little cooler now in the rain with the temperature outside showing 19C, but still warm so only have t shirt and shorts on. Before we knew it midday had come around so John headed off to do the fireplace deal and Sarah prepared lunch. Ten minutes later, deal sorted and it was time for food and tv for the rest of the afternoon. Outside it had warmed up a little to 23C but cloudy overcast sky.
John pottered in the kitchen preparing supper, it will be another chicken stir fry with egg fried rice which we will finish off when we get in from the quiz. Late afternoon walk for Kilroy before we changed and off to Ozankoy village and the Club Tropicana quiz night. The heavens opened just as we left home and as is the way of things out here a spot of rain brings its usual chaos with roads closed and drivers not used to the sudden damp, wet stuff. On arrival Sarah did a quick sprint
First real rain ☔️ since we arrived in Juneindoors whilst John parked up. Usual table of 5 this evening. A reasonable score giving us a mid table position - once again we often talk ourselves out of the right answer! Back home shortly after 8pm and whilst John gave his Dad a call and started to cook supper, Sarah wandered around the block with Kilroy. Supper was very enjoyable and instead of tv we put on a couple of cd’s to check out Johns bargain Technics hi-fi system. By 11pm it was time for bed.
Thursday 26th October 2017 No rain this morning so it was a stroll into the hills with the dogs for an hour. Back home and we removed waterproof covers and mopped up outside after the showers of yesterday........cloudy sky but the forecast is for no rain today but possibly more over the next few days. A few jobs done we then headed into town, Sarah needed to replenish water supplies in church plus we wanted to drop off a few items at the KAR charity shop and also get some salad items in. Was going to stroll around the old town but as the heavens had opened decided not to bother.
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Patio furniture will soon have to be packed away.....rain has arrived Hmmm......weather forecast was wrong! So back home via China Bazaar to pick up a lead to connect iPhone to hi fi.....they had the very thing and then to Sah supermarket for some nice puds, salad items and also decided to give there mackerel a try. Drove home thro Catalkoy village and it was time for a late lunch. Got home to find hound had decided that our small wicker basket we use for bread rolls was very tasty - just goes to show you can never be certain that all his training has sunk in. Suitably chastised Kilroy went outside and sat in the naughty corner. He knew he had done wrong and kept glancing up at us but never holding eye contact. ? We were trying hard to remain serious as he looked so upset and sorrowful but could not help but smile. He knew he had done wrong. Anyway it was lunch of Italian meats, cheese with a nice olive bread french stick.....it was very good. Another lazy afternoon then followed, with a bit of admin being done - car insurance in U.K. due, road tax as well ☹️ plus we checked all the items we had ordered
from Amazon for Kilroy had been despatched or delivered.....dog bed, bowls, waterproof coat etc. He better realise how lucky he is. Most of the time was spent on the garden patio as the clouds had gone and sun was out. Went for our 40min wander late afternoon before home again and more reading for Sarah. A check of the temperature mid afternoon and it peaked at 26C - definitely coolIng down now, but still pleasant during the day with cardigan needed in the evening.
Supper tonight is tuna salad, very nice it was as well.....plus we indulged in the puds we bought from Sah supermarket earlier. For John it was the chocolate option and Sarah had the caramel cheesecake. Put covers back on the patio furniture just in case it decides to rain in the night and also jeep under balcony, then it was time for bed. Another week is coming to an end.
Friday 27th October 2017 Awake and time for a cup of tea, whilst sorting out some admin. First job was to select our UK car insurer for the next year and then also pay the road tax! A necessary expense but when you
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Kilroy reclining on the balcony, kittens sunbathing close by. ? compare the costs back home to what we pay out here it is expensive. Oh well ? nothing we can do about it. Dogs were then walked and once back home it was the usual Friday clean around. Whilst Sarah finished off the cleaning, John headed out to the pharmacy to restock on the pills for hound......the pills are something the vet says he has to take for ever following his brush with leishmania, transmitted by the sandfly at the beginning of this year. We did ask does he need to take them in the U.K. and vet said he would advise he continues.Think the pills are called Aluprinol.......used for gout In humans......he just has half a tablet with each meal. Anyway they were in stock and so we bought 6mths worth, the cost is so much cheaper than back in the U.K. Will pick up another load in the next couple of weeks so he will have plenty to last him when he is back in Blighty. Will of course grab more when we are out next year. Then it was into the supermarket, bread ? milk ? cucumbers ? and some cat food as Sue had left some money for us to keep feeding them during our last few weeks out here. Back home and what had started as a bright sunny morning was slowly clouding over, dont think we will get any rain but clouds have returned.Kilroy in the meantime was reclining on the front balcony behind the patio chairs, whilst only 1mtr away three kittens were busy sunbathing....think he has given up trying to catch them! Seems like the washing machine not spinning properly, so Sarah was busy cleaning out the filter and giving it a bit of a test. She put some more washing on and we will see how things go. Midday and Kilroy a bit restless and began nibbling leaves off the plants.....this is usually a sign that he isn’t feeling to well - sure enough soon after he decided his breakfast wasn’t to his liking! Being an ex street dog, he does scavenge a lot especially on his walks so has probably found something which has disagreed - that will teach him. As the afternoon came around more clouds began gathering and sunshine had disappeared, now very grey over the mountain above us.....maybe it is going to rain again later after all. John and Kilroy relaxed on the sofa, the one with the four legs snoring loudly. All very still and quiet around the site; just getting cooler and clouds continue to get darker, plus no cats around so maybe they have decided to find a safe dry spot to hunker down should it rain. Washing machine now behaving...whew. Late afternoon and a stroll for the dog before head off to the Friday quiz. Wow, the place was packed out! We had to sit outside which is fine for an hour or so but once the sun goes down it gets very chilly this time of year. Well we had a poor show all round at the quiz, maybe the cold affected our thinking ?. Managed to grab some seats and moved indoors for the card bingo but despite getting close we never won so it was time to head home for supper and a film. Supper was reliable spaghetti bolognaise which we seem to have a stock of pre prepared in the freezer plus a nice ciabatta bread and a glass of red wine. Kilroy feeling better and enjoyed his supper before John then took him for a stroll round the campus and then off to bed.
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