Wednesday, December 16/2009

Alarm at 3:30 and we're out before 4. It's cold - though no minus 40 - and there's frost on the windscreens. And I'm grateful for the heavy tights which I had considered leaving in winnipeg until susan and Ian started talking about the possibility of moving during the winter. Swiss cottage bus stop is a bit of a surprise. for one thing, it's not truly dark: as with all of London, street lights and other light pollution see to that. And plenty of people are up - twenty-four hour buses, but also cars, taxis, and pedestrians. It's not, as I feared it might be, scary. And the bus, when it comes, isn't empty. Ending the night shift or beginning the day, people are on the move.

We change at charing Crosss to the Heathrow bus, N9, so busy that at times it's standing room only. a few air passengers but mostly the early workforce heading out. arrive at Heahrow 5 at about six o'clock and it's still early enough to be pretty relaxed, despite the strike vote that may have the cabin crews out next week.

Calm flight with huge carnivore breakfast. Fall asleep over wine and newspapers. The flight isn't full so J and I each get 2 seats - very relaxed. Fly in over the mountains and villages, then up the coast, and land at the "new" Larnaca airport - bigger if not better. Through immigration almost quicker than I can get the passports out of their pouch, but the luggage is slow despite extra new and improved carousels. Taxi to the Kition where our old semi-penthouse (2 slides glass and balcony) is waiting.

Text Maggi and she and Magne arrive for a glass of wine - stored from last year, so vin de maison tres ordinaire, but now vintage. M full of news of local updates and the death of old Lydia, who wandered away from the home in which her daughters had placed her in Nicosia, lost her way in a field and was found dead 3 weeks later. Very sad