A different week.

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Sunday 20th August 2017

A mixed blog for this week with some updates from Sarah and Kilroy in the sunshine of North Cyprus and a few from Johns brief return to the UK with every possibility of experiencing some rain!

Early morning alarm call at dark o'clock for John ready for his pick up and transfer to Larnaca airport for the early flight by Cobalt Air back to Stansted. Up and at them at 3:15am ? cup of tea and sat on the balcony waiting for the transfer minibus. Five minutes early the chariot arrived and off to the airport. First result of the day, even tho it was a shared price paid there were no other pick ups en route. Driver was a nice old boy, not the mad, drive as fast as we can type that are sometimes around. He decided to go via the Beyamudu border crossing, which although it was dark is a more interesting journey. Transfer was fine and transit thro check in and security at the airport no problems. Larnaca is now an extremely modern, open plan and nice terminal, albeit the price of food and drink as always in airports is expensive. Even tho it was just before 6am the airport was fairly busy which you would expect in the peak holiday season. A wander round the shops for 10mins and then a nice strong cup of coffee and while away the time surfing the net. Cobalt Air are a relatively new airline who started up last year following the collapse of Cyprus Airways a few years ago, in addition there is another airline called Blue Air that are also offering flights to the U.K. Cobalt are a budget airline so no entertainment on board, so it's downloaded programmes on a tablet, listen to music or a bit of reading to pass the time away. Flight due to depart at 8:10am and it did.

Meanwhile back in the sunshine Sarah took Kilroy for his usual morning walk, this week there will be no Buddy dog for company as that would be to much chaIs. Home from the walk and breakfasted it was shower and change as Sarah headed off to St Andrews church in the centre of town.

Back in the UK and arrival at Stansted 10 mins ahead of schedule. A good trip for sure, pleasant crew on board, no entertainment, food available to purchase, yes a budget airline but no complaints The weather was set fair on arrival at 18C so not to bad at all. Once thro passport control it was out of the terminal for a pick up by Johns sister and the hours drive back to his Dads place. In fact the transit thro the airport was very quick, only 15mins. Plenty of time for a catch up and news on how Dad was doing arriving at around 1:30pm.

Sarah in the meantime was home from church around 1:30pm and the rest of the days was spent in her element. Managed to watch the equestrian and eventing competition and in her own words only interrupted by Kilroys evening stroll.

Back in the UK it was an afternoon of watching athletics and a catch up on what had been happening at home. A run thro of the pills and potions both dad and his dog have each day plus planning the week ahead. Plenty happening for sure. Johns sister has an early flight tomorrow so we wished them a nice holiday and would see them at the end of the week. John off out with the dog for a walk before coming home to prepare supper, pork chops, apple sauce, mashed spuds, carrots and sprouts. Caught weather forecast for the week ahead and it looks pretty good with Weds - Fri the best days and could reach about 22 - 25C. Sarah reported that she headed off to bed early after her long day and for John a tidy around and a bit more tv, dog went for his evening stroll and it was off to bed to catch up on the zzzzz's.

Monday 21st August 2017

John awake at 3:15am UK time.....must still be in North Cyprus mode as it would be 5:15am there and nearly getting up time for dog walking! Anyway soon realised that it was early so back off to sleep. By 6am tho, sleep caught up on John was up making the early morning cuppa, followed by dog walk, making sure Dad was ok and planning what to do for the day. Agreed a nice drive out onto the fens would be good. So after breakfast we jumped in the car and off we went, calling in the local shop to pick up some sandwiches and juice for a mini picnic. Off we went wherever we fancied, taking most of the B roads venturing into the fenlands. Have to say England in summer is a very pretty place. Got to the village of Holme just as the barriers on the level crossing were coming down.......all we can say is that don't get into Holme at 9:25am as trains on the mainline heading north are many, so it was a good 10-15mins and 6 trains later before we were on our way again. A nice drive all around and eventually found our way back home by around 2pm. Dad spent afternoon with the tv whilst John headed into town to try and tick the items off the list Sarah had sent of things to bring back. Only small things and funnily enough mostly for the hound! Back home and after a FaceTime call with Sarah, John walked the dog and then time for evening news and supper for Dad. John eating later but joined Dad with a glass of Pinot Grigio.

Sarah in the meantime had the usual Kilroy early morning stroll before home for tea and breakfast on the garden patio. Apparently whilst watering the garden a millipede the size of a prehistoric monster was also subject to a shower. A bit of cleaning around, especially our outside furniture where the pesky cats had decided to have a kip at some stage, plus some washing and ironing.......such an exciting time. Rest of the day spent chilling out.

Tuesday 22nd August 2017

A 6:30am wake up for John with a cup of tea for Dad followed by a walk with the dog before breakfast. Plans for today are to tidy out Dads garage, meet the boiler man who is coming out to carry out the annual service and pop to Peterborough for a wander. Sarah back in the sunshine was out with Kilroy nice and early as usual. She also popped out to the Food Lodge for breakfast and apparently picked up a lovely granary loaf......I am sure it was as I am not that keen on eating sand and bird seed! Dad had a home day after yesterday's trip out.

Weather today was warm and muggy with temperature around 22C. John wandered around Peterborough, thought it was a city in Poland, Slovakia or Romania ?. Eventually walked round to the home of character building aka Peterborough Utd FC and took a look in the club shop. Purchased a couple of items as you do. Back home by 2pm to meet the boiler service man, all went well. Late afternoon and Johns sister rang from Spain to check how things were, all good with them. Their hotel was good, weather very hot but having a good time. Walk again with Dads dog before preparing supper which tonight is sweet and sour chicken and for John a cold glass of white. A quick check on google maps to plan the trip for tomorrow and ensure had some directions to hand. Looking forward to meeting Kayleigh and catching up with her news.

There is a Beatles tribute band playing at the Girne amphitheatre on 16 Sept so Sarah is going to pick up tickets - our friends Bill and Joan will be out on holiday at the same time so they will join us. No idea what it will be like but it's live music in a nice setting.

Sarah said Kilroy was exceptionally well behaved on his evening walk - he has been trained well?. For her supper it's smoked haddock and cauliflower cheese all followed by ice cream for pudding. Back in the UK and a bit of tv it was then time for an early night for John and his Dad to be ready for tomorrow.

Wednesday 23rd August 2017

John awake just after 6am, so up and a cup of tea. Dad ready for breakfast at 7am and then John took the dog for his morning walk. Went a little further today as we won't be back home till late afternoon. Walk done it was shower and change and setting off for a mystery tour to meet Kayleigh. Sarah reported in to say usual routine for her with the early start with Kilroy before breakfast and plenty of tea sat on the garden patio.

Today's trip out for Dad was down to Buckinghamshire and the area around Marlow on the river Thames. Dad served at RAF Medmenham in the early 70s and we thought it would be a good trip down memory lane. It's a lovely area and about halfway for Kayleigh and us to meet up. A nice steady drive down and as we were a little early took a drive around the old married quarters area of the ex RAF camp, then a quick tour of Henley on Thames. Meeting venue was the Dog and Badger pub, a local haunt of Dads back in the day. Pub of course has changed an awful lot since 1973! A table had been booked in the snug area for lunch and a catch up. Kayleigh arrived at 1pm and soon after we had placed our lunch orders. A lovely couple of hours chatting and having a good catch up. The pub had a big refurb a couple of years ago and is really an outstanding place. For lunch we chose the home made soup, sandwiches and prawn arabiatta pasta options, accompanied by a small glass of local ale. Kayleigh could not resist the oatmeal apple crumble and ice cream! Lunch over we took some pictures and said our goodbyes as Kayleigh headed back to the south coast, she was off sailing with hubby George this evening so needed to get back in time to race. Everyone was back home by just after 5pm, Dad chilling whilst John walked the dog. A quiet evening in front of the box with a glass of white.

Meanwhile in the eastern Mediterranean Sarah's day was all about chilling in the sunshine. As it was Wednesday she then headed off for the quiz night, where they again finished second - just one point off top spot. They also won the raffle but could not answer the question to win the pot of money so it's a roll over until next week.......so close and yet so far away. Kilroy apparently has been behaving well, with only a minor blip last Monday with the cats again giving him grief. A late bit of FaceTime contact with Sarah for a chat plus she was able to speak to Johns Dad and see how he has been and how his day out went. Then for all of us it was time for bed after our long day.

Thursday 24th August 2017

John up at 7:00am and after a quick cup of tea it was around the village with the dog before home and more tea and toast for breakfast. Apart from a bit of gardening and a tidy around not to much happening today. John headed into Huntingdon for a paper, wander and also pick up some ice creams for Dad! Rest of the day, just some tv interrupted by dog strolls. Weather cooler today especially this morning and not as humid - very pleasant.

Supper here in the U.K. was lamb chop, mashed spuds, cauliflower cheese, cabbage and runner beans - very nice it was as well. Pud was ice cream as ordered this morning.

No reports from Sarah, presume she was busy!

Friday 25th August 2017

Johns normal start to the day and after the dog walk, breakfast and read of papers it was time to check on the holidaymakers flight home, all on time and managed to track its departure via the internet so Dad could see they were on their way. Loaded up the washing machine and whilst that was doing its thing it was time to run the hoover around. Cleaning done, showered and changed and then just as we were getting ready to head to town for Dads scan a telephone call. Scan cancelled, apparently the scanning machine has broken. Long conversation as to when appointment can be rescheduled and where it would be - the problem is that the call centre is in Manchester and whilst they were offering different surgeries for a new appointment, they did not appreciate that Cambridgeshire is a large county so did not understand travel time. Eventually rebooked for next month. Post was then delivered and another letter from the NHS saying that a hospital/clinic appointment recently booked had been cancelled and a request to rebook. The problem is that the letter was an e referral and had no details of date/time/hospital or even what the appointment was for. Dad has no letters or details about any hospital/clinic booking; so what appointment was it and why was it cancelled - who knows. You could of course ring the helpline number, wait on the phone for ever and then quote your booking reference and password to try and resolve the problem.......Dad off course being 84 and having never used the Internet knows nothing about a password! I do despair sometimes.....whilst technology can be wonderful there seems to be no provision for those who for good reason cannot use it. In the end John made a call to the doctors surgery who confirmed it was an ultrasound appointment. They gave us the direct contact number of the hospital to rebook - a good idea but when we got thro, guess what, they had no record of appointment despite the fact that it was them that had sent a letter asking us to rebook!! Confused or what! Rang the doctors surgery again who were very helpful and said leave it with them and they will sort and call back.

A glorious afternoon with the sun shining so sat out in the garden reading the paper for a couple of hours, the temperature hitting 25C. At 3pm the doctors surgery called to advise a new date for appointment, paperwork to follow - phew, thats one problem sorted. Late afternoon and Johns sister and daughter arrived back from their holiday in Spain - rest of the afternoon was spent on catch up and hearing how their week went. John managed to check in on line ready for his flight back to Cyprus tomorrow night, printed off boarding ticket so should hopefully just mean negotiating security on arrival at the airport.

No reports from Sarah today, although she did say she wasn't sure about quizzing tonight as there were a lot of people away, so maybe she just had a quiet night at home with Kilroy. As it's Friday, it's fish supper tonight of Dad complete with chips and beans, whilst John had a prawn curry. Not a lot on tv so it was an early night for us all.

A different week for sure and a chance for John to see for himself how his Dad was after his stroke - compared to last June he was so much better and making steady progress. Tomorrow it's the trek back to North Cyprus where it seems they are having another mini heatwave!

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Photos

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Wandering around the village in the UK

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Village church

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Peterborough Utd FC.....building Johns character since 1968!

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Motorpoint Stand - ABAX Stadium home of the Posh.
But it will always be known as London Road....not ABAX