Thursday, October 31/2024

Day begins in the usual leisurely fashion. Drinking coffee, catching up on the news online. When we notice that neither of us has an internet connection. Try another device with the same result. Then J flicks a light switch. No electricity. Planned cut or accident? Just our street or area wide? Now that we have no internet there’s no way to find out. North Cyprus is famous - or infamous - for power cuts, though last winter we experienced only one and it was just twenty minutes.

Bit longer this time - about five and a half hours. Not particularly inconvenient as it’s sunny and warm, we’re pretty well supplied with “real” books, and the stove is gas not electric. No idea whether shops in the area still function when their electric tills don’t but no particular need to buy anything today anyway. Quite amazing the number of things we rely on the internet for, though: news, weather updates, translations, purchases, library books. It goes on. And the first winter of retirement we considered ourselves lucky to be travelling in the age of internet cafés! Remember trying to touch type on a Turkish keyboard, sharing the café with a bunch of loud teenage boys addicted to video games.

And when we have internet access again we can see that it was in fact a planned interruption for maintenance and repairs. Not assiduous enough readers of social media to have noticed in advance.

Wednesday, October 30/2024

Temperatures running in the mid-twenties or slightly higher. And sunny every day. Perfection. Although there may be a downside. Friends say that last summer was the hottest, driest summer they can remember and the evidence is still here. The orange tree on the edge of the patio had edible oranges at the end of November last year. This year we’re here a month earlier and might have expected them to be underripe. In fact they’re tiny and rock hard. Not green, but almost inedible. The leaves tell the story - curled and slightly yellowing. Water will have been in short supply and people talk of finding it difficult to keep trees and plants alive even when they had water. The fig tree at the edge of the orchard opposite us has quite a few figs on it but they’re tiny and also surrounded by wrinkled leaves. Said hello to the orchard owner today as he was harvesting some olives but don’t have enough language in common for further discussion.

Tuesday, October 29/2024

 Seems government offices, banks and schools are closed for the holiday. Shops are open, with the odd exception of chemists. Though admittedly on Sundays when the supermarkets are all functioning only the duty chemist in each area remains open.

No need for a pharmacy but pop down to our little local supermarket. No warm sourdough bread straight out of the oven but we do find an enormous dark green bunch of celery for 49 lira (€1.30, £1.08, $1.96 CAD). No easy way to predict prices. Celery is local but so are potatoes which cost more than they would at home, although they are much nicer. Imports tend to be fairly pricey but Italian wine more than reasonable, which is probably a question of tax.

Delighted to see the man who owns the orchard immediately opposite us back again. For the first few days we neither saw our neighbour nor heard his goat. Had assumed the goat had met the fate for which it was being bred. But then we began to hear it bleating. Encouraging but still no sign of the owner, who was previously in the habit of spending several hours a day tending his grounds. Had begun to wonder if he were ill or  even had died. He’s not young. And, had he died, there was the additional unhappy possibility that his heirs, not equally addicted to gardening, might sell the property to developers happy to erect high rise apartments. So for selfish as well as benign reasons we’re pleased to see him back at his labours.

Closed govt schools banks chemists

Orchard goat

Monday, October 28/2024

Courtesy of famous hotels.org

Discover relatively late in the day that tomorrow is a holiday, one borrowed from Türkiye. It’s the hundred and first anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye by Kemal Atatürk after the Turkish War of Independence following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. A reminder for us of the time many years ago when we stayed at the Baron Hotel in Aleppo, Syria. Down on its luck but rich in memories of previous guests, including Atatürk, who is said to have mounted guns on the roof during WWI to ward off attacks by the British or Arab Legions. Many other notables as well, such as Lawrence of Arabia and Yuri Gagarin. King Faisal announced Syria’s independence from the balcony of room 215. The whole political spectrum represented, including Kim Philby. And we ourselves stayed in room 203 where Agatha Christie wrote the first part of Murder on the Orient Express.

Sunday, October 27/2024

Beginning of winter time. Can’t see much hope for world peace if the countries (or parts of same, remembering Saskatchewan) can’t agree on a date for beginning and ending daylight saving time. Should be pleased not to have the problem of the Chinese, with the whole country on Beijing time. Though in fairness ninety percent of the population lives along the east coast. Türkiye is also one time zone, though it’s a smaller country than China, and does not switch to summer time.

This had left North Cyprus with a problem when Türkiye decided to scrap the daylight saving time shift in 2016. Initially the TRNC went with Turkish time year round. However that meant that it was out of sync with the Republic of Cyprus in the South and also meant that a high proportion of the population was unhappy with the arrangement. So in 2017 TRNC went back to Eastern European time, known as UTC +2, in sync with the South - and actually Lebanon, Israel and Gaza. While Istanbul, an hour’s flight to the west of us (well, to be accurate it’s more north than west) is on UTC +3. In other words if it’s 9 pm here it’s 10 pm in Istanbul. A question of politics as well as longitude.

And if air schedules are confusing now, it’s nothing to the difficulties encountered by railways in the days before time zones. Time zones were only agreed upon in 1884, thanks largely to a proposal of Canadian Sir Sanford Fleming. Before that communities established their own times. So despite the anomalies things are simpler. 

And daylight saving time? Canada trialled DST in 1908, making Thunder Bay (then still Port Arthur and Fort William)  the first documented case of Daylight Saving Time in the world.

A little unsettling to find the sun gone by four pm today, but that is in large part the result of living on the north side of a mountain range. The official sunset time for Lapta was 16:57.

Saturday, October 26/2024

Infrastructure splintering not crumbling 

Saturday is local market day. It’s a nice walk, a little under a mile. There are some reliable standards there, like the large and well organised book stall in support of the Kyrenia Animal Rescue charity and the Tulips stall selling miscellaneous items in support of cancer patients. Most vendors are there on their own behalf though,, some every week and others more irregularly. This week there is no produce for sale and no sign that there was any before we arrived. Handmade jewellery and cards, clothing both new and second hand, a couple of bottles of what looks like pomegranate juice, cushions and kilims. (OK, small Turkish carpets. Have just had a tussle with predictive text which was sure I was aiming for Kilimanjaro). 

Ask a regular who is selling dresses and shawls, and from whom I buy a half dozen eggs laid by her own hens, what has happened to the produce sellers. Beginning to fear that drought had wiped them out. She says that she thinks they found the increased price for a stall made if not worth their while. Too bad. Even after the nut seller stopped coming we used to buy honey and eggs regularly and also strawberries in season.

On the way home pass two wooden poles holding up a substantial looking transformer. Well, one pole seems to be carrying more than its share of the burden. Many countries complaining about deteriorating infrastructure but this the most graphic example we’ve seen. Expecting the lot to fall down and wondering if anyone has started a pool on when.

But positive developments re utility supply on the home front. When we get back we are greeted by the plumber of yesterday’s successes who is beaming as he leads us to the shiny yellow pump he has just installed. Italian he tells us proudly. And it is certainly performing as it should. The plumber comes up to inspect. First the kitchen water pressure on hot and cold and then the bathroom. ‘Duş’ he inquires, and we have learned a new Turkish word borrowed from the French. The word for shower pronounced exactly like the French word douche.

Friday, October 25/2024

Small praying mantis on John’s arm

 Division of labour this afternoon. J stays home to monitor the work of the plumber. I, no doubt influenced by life in Sioux Lookout, have quiet reservations about the probable competence of a plumber who appears within a day of being requested. If he were any good surely he would be unavailable for weeks, not that I’m hoping for this. Language is the chief problem but remember our experience in Famagusta when J gleaned an enormous amount of information from a unilingual Turkish plumber and I concluded that they both spoke handyman.

I meanwhile take on the onerous responsibility of walking down to the Blue Song, meeting up with our old crew and catching up on the latest. Enjoying a beer in the hot sun. A tiny (baby?) praying mantis lands on John’s arm and stays long enough to have its picture taken. They are apparently related to cockroaches, but much more appealing. 

There are bottles of homemade olive oil for sale inside. Try to ascertain the difference between the darker and lighter but the young man at the bar says none. Suspect he means in price but in any case he probably doesn’t know a lot about olive oil quality even if he did have a broader English vocabulary. Buy a litre anyway. Local olive oil is normally good and we need it.

Home to find that we now have running water with decent pressure. Furthermore pump to be replaced. Yes, the one J told building owner a year ago wouldn’t last if not serviced. And a surfeit of promises for other less pressing repairs. Optimistic if not fully convinced.

Thursday, October 24/2024g

 We’re back in the Mediterranean. Trying not to take for granted the stunning views as we try not to take the beauty of northern Ontario for granted.

Meet our neighbour in the next flat, Alexander. He’s Russian, from Murmansk, and identified quite easily with the photos of our home territory. His home was pine trees and snow as well. Though Murmansk is considerably to the north of us, at latitude 68.9733 N, the only major city north of the Arctic Circle. Yellowknife is only 65.453972. And London is north of Sioux Lookout, though warmed by the Gulf Stream.

Alexander is an interesting bloke. He no longer lives in Murmansk but now has a home in Kaliningrad, city in the province of the same name. It’s part of Russia but exists as a separate nugget, technically an exclave, completely surrounded by Poland on one side and Lithuania on the other. We hadn’t met him before as he’s not here in the winter so we haven’t previously overlapped. In fact could almost have alternately occupied the same flat box and cox style. Kind as well as interesting. When we arrived about midnight on Monday he came out with a light as J struggled to find the keyhole in a dark hallway. And has also lent us a large water container with plastic pump as the water system in the building is about to be repaired.

Wednesday, October 23/2024

Three tirbuşons looking slightly ashamed

 Brought the “good” corkscrew from home. You can’t travel without one. Well, you can. Remember many years ago in Rome using a toothbrush handle to push the cork down into a bottle of wine, a manoeuvre previously performed with a wooden spoon handle. Toothbrush somewhat less successful, though we did get to drink a fair bit of the wine after throwing our newly decorated clothes in the bathtub.

Identical corkscrew appeared in the cutlery drawer in the London flat. Took it for ours and packed it on Monday. Minorly embarrassed to discover it on unpacking here, but can pretty well guarantee that it was left by a previous tenant and not supplied by management as there were two other somewhat inferior corkscrews in the drawer.

Today find a third identical corkscrew, clearly left here by us last year. So now we have three “ good” corkscrews with us. Turks have borrowed the name from the French, with tirbuşon meaning literally pull cork. Three surplus to requirements even had we been partyers. (And now predictive text trying very hard to make me change that last word to party ears. 😵‍💫 Enough.

Tuesday, October 22/2024

 

Wake up to sunshine, flowers along the patio, mountain above and the Mediterranean below. Everything still in place. Very pleased also to wake up to internet providing unglitchy service - unlike the London flat, which was in other respects quite all right. May be a bit pathetic but there are so many things that can’t be done without it and agencies everywhere are more than pleased to tell you that you should have gone online instead of phoning or turning up at the door.

First priority though is an in person one. Down to the little supermarket for the basics - bread, wine, eggs, peanut butter, sheep’s milk yoghurt. Some difficulty remembering the Turkish for sheep - why don’t ALL the tubs feature pictures of the relevant animal? Check the big oven as we go in. Loaves, slowly rotating, should be done in five and a half minutes. So by the time we’ve collected the other things we can add a loaf of sourdough bread hot from the oven. Resist beginning on it before we reach home.

Monday, October 21/2024

 

Moving day, and as so often it begins before dawn. One advantage is that it’s well before morning rush hour when we catch the bus at quarter past six. The tube isn’t packed yet either. In fact on both bus and train we see the unusual sight of a man rolling a cigarette. Takes some skill on a bumpy ride. 

We’re on time at Heathrow - in fact early. Unfortunately our plane isn’t. Will be leaving three-quarters of an hour late. Which means that the nice man who checks us in is busy rebooking what had been a very tight connection in Istanbul. Moves an 18:20 flight to 21:50. Fortunately a WhatsApp message to the unflappable Ozy of Ozy’s Taxi brings the immediate response “All confirmed. Many thanks”. 

Gone are the times when flight days meant no exercise. Good twenty minute walk to the departure gate when it is finally announced. It’s a big plane - Boeing 777 300ER. Can’t remember the seat map but when we find our seats they do indeed bear my signature - in an economy section consisting almost entirely of banks of three, they’re a cosy twosome. And Turkish Airways food and entertainment significantly better than Air Canada (all right - admittedly a low bar). Wine is fine too. Have both Turkish and French. For my taste the Turkish slightly better. 

Long wait, obviously, at Istanbul, arguably the biggest airport in the world. (Well there are a number of ways of measuring size). Flight just over an hour from Istanbul to North Cyprus, but a hot sandwich and no nonsense about the flight being too short to serve it. No queues at immigration, no wait for luggage.  (I’m Piaget’s baby - when the suitcases disappear I never truly expect to see them again and am unreasonably pleased when they emerge onto the carousel). And driver with Ozy’s outside with a sign.

Not too much traffic congestion as it’s now well past 23:00. Driver efficient. And how DOES he know which bits of road are a ticketing risk and which not. And home shortly after midnight. Long day.

Sunday, October 30/2024

Courtesy of Newsflare

Toys and flowers brought to yesterday’s rally were left by some of those attending at 10 Downing Street in memory of the lost children of Gaza.

Packing up and minor errands day. Seems a shame to be leaving now, just when we’ve become really efficient at linking from the bus that goes past our door. Weather’s been pretty warm too, though it has been in Sioux Lookout and Cyprus as well. Much warmer in Cyprus obviously. 

Go to the cash points nearest the bus stop. Happy to supply us with a bundle of very small bills (no choice). Aware that there is a one further down on the other side of the road that has been known to dispense £50 notes. But could well be out of order - a frequent occurrence - so  settle for the £5’s and £10’s.

Bus passes a gate bearing a sign saying “NO PARKING. ENTRANCE IN CONSTANT USE”. Rather difficult to believe.

Saturday, October 19/2024

 To Trafalgar Square this afternoon for the weekly pro Palestinian peace demonstration. Over a year now, and over 16,000 children killed, some of them shot in the head by trained snipers or burned alive in refugee tents. And leaves one considering the quotation, probably misattributed to Gandhi, saying that an eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.

A number of short addresses, including one by Alexei Sayle who read a poem of James Baldwin’s:

The crowd was a pretty eclectic mix and totally peaceful. There were police in attendance but their presence seemed deliberately low key. And the leaders clearly chose their words carefully, leaving no doubt that they blamed the US and UK for financing and abetting the conflict but not endorsing any form of violence in response.

Jewish Voice for Labour was in attendance carrying banners advocating justice for Palestine and an end to Israeli apartheid. And, movingly, there was a large banner representing descendants of holocaust survivors against genocide in Gaza.

Friday, October 18/2024

 The name Kilburn sounds Irish, as many Irish towns begin with the prefix Kil (church). Most commonly it is said that the name probably came from a Saxon word meaning cattle stream, although there was an Augustinian priory founded by a stream here in 1134. The Irish immigrants were quite a bit later, with large numbers of railway workers coming in the nineteenth century and construction workers after the last war. And there are still Irish pubs as well as at least two newsagents selling a large selection of Irish newspapers.

We pass one of these newsagents on our way to catch the tube to West Harrow to visit Jean. A visit that very nearly didn’t happen, as I kept getting an answering service assuring me that she was not available. Then discovered that I had been using a previous telephone number and had entered it in the contact list on my mobile. Recourse to my address book set the record straight.

Have  been visiting Jean in West Harrow since 1989, shortly after she and Siva came back from Sri Lanka. Twice a year since we retired, and many a good curry round the dining room table. Not into cooking these days, as she’ll turn ninety in December, but still a voracious reader. Living on her own thanks to her local council’s social services and her weekly cleaner who is a real treasure - brings homemade food and does Jean’s shopping and errands, treating her like family. 

A glass of wine, a snack, and catch up on family news and it’s time to say goodbye for another six months.

Thursday, October 17/2024

 Small mouse on the platform at Piccadilly Circus. Thought we left those critters behind, although they say there are over 18 million rats in London. That’s two per person. They’ve even infested 10 Downing Street on occasion, giving rise to the obvious jokes. Pretty slim pickings here, though.

We meet up with Jenny at Waterloo for coffee and a chat. London is full of unexpected corners. Jenny has chosen Pedlar’s, a little café on Lower Marsh Street. The street is hidden behind Waterloo Station and is home to a lively market with street food and crafts. Pedlar’s does have a couple of tables on the street, which would be fun but noisy. So we opt for a leafy bower behind the café. Good coffee and croissants and, as always, good conversation.

And time for a little more exploration afterward. We circle Waterloo in the opposite direction and enter the arches underneath the station. Leake Street tunnel and arches are an extravaganza of wild graffiti. Constantly evolving, as anyone is free to add to it and overlays are continuous. It’s also home to a few commercial establishments, like bars, that thrive in the atmosphere. 

London has some 800 arches and makes good use of them. A number of years ago we went to a concert that Alexander’s brother was playing in. London Bridge Arches? Not sure any more. There are so many excellent spots for exhibitions and shows of all kinds.

Wednesday, October 16/2024

Continue to be fascinated by the shifting demographics as we live in different places. There is an Aldi (German supermarket known for very good prices) on Kilburn High Street, the shopping area nearest where we are staying. And also a slightly smaller Aldi near Finchley Road station, very near some places we have stayed in the past. Have always preferred the FR Aldi, mostly because it is less crowded, quieter, little queuing. 

So today, having other errands that take us that way, we stop at the FR Aldi. Prices mostly the same, although in a couple of cases they seem very slightly higher than we remember from KHS. Much quieter here. And a somewhat different clientele it seems. Well, it is a neighbourhood that is better off. Better selection of mustards, for example, and much wider selection of wine. But the most interesting thing is that the wine bottles - or at least the ones in our price range - have no security tags (the kind removable only with a very good saw or explosives). Presume that the people in this area not necessarily more honest than those in Kilburn but less prepared to risk their reputations for a bottle of vin ordinaire. Household incomes in this neighbourhood run about 40% higher than in nearby Kilburn, less than a mile and a half away.

Tuesday, October 15/2024

 

Photo I took in Roses several years ago

Shopping along Kilburn High Road. Love the ethnic diversity. Check out the Polish shop at the north end looking for pepper spread. No luck. Find myself instinctively trying to summon enough Polish to explain what we want. Ridiculously, both because J would do a much better job and because the girl at the counter presumably speaks fluent English - she lives here. Habit triggered simply by walking into a Polski sklep.

The Turkish shop down the road is much bigger and more tempting. They do have what we want, but it’s overpriced. Here too, I try to summon up the words (from a much more limited vocabulary) not to explain but to decipher the labels, interestingly there seems to be no legal requirement for food to be labeled in English as well as the language of its country of origin, though much of it is. Sundried olives are tempting but we’re heading out to the land of olives soon. Check the oil section. Many varieties, including some we recognise but never seem to see in the wilderness, like avocado. Astonishingly, though, lined up with the others, are glass bottles labelled linseed oil, castor oil, and hair oil. Can manage to separate linseed oil from its uses on furniture and recognise that it may simply be food grade flaxseed oil. And castor oil has obvious uses in the medicine cabinet. But HAIR oil?

Brings us to Roses (no, shouldn’t have an apostrophe - as it’s 🌹🌹🌹). We’ve been going there for years. Twenty? Wasn’t on the day’s agenda, but why retire if you have to have an agenda? So decide it’s more or less time for a meal and stop for cod and chips. Nice moist fish in crisp breading. It is unhurried, as always, and the few other late afternoon customers are men, sitting separately but looking like comfortable regulars. Roses has gone upscale over the time we’ve known it. Both the decor and the menu are more ambitious, less working man’s caff. And the menu is no longer chalked - and amended - on blackboards on the walls. But we do feel some regret for the loss of the old checked table cloths and the characters who were at home there.

Monday, October 14/2024

Kesgrave, Suffolk. Courtesy of Chris Lock, Royal Astronomical Society

We’re not alone in thinking of the aurora borealis as a northern phenomenon. Not only seen in Canada, of course. Tourists take special trips to observe the display in Finland and Iceland as well. But London? People who stay up later than we do and live in less heavily built up areas - next to a park for example - saw pretty spectacular northern lights in a number of locations in southern England over the weekend, including London. Down apparently to massive solar flares.

Not all that’s going on in the skies either. J asks where the nearest airfield is. It’s actually not Heathrow or even London City. It’s Northolt RAF airbase. Which is interesting, because what has attracted J’s attention is the non-stop sound of aircraft taking off. I have not been paying attention, but he’s right. War related? Who knows. Googling, of course, leads nowhere.

Sunday, October 13/2024

 Jenny and Doug have invited us to lunch in Thames Ditton, Jenny suggesting that we arrive earlier to have coffee and a quiet chat before the extended family arrive. Getting somewhat better at outguessing the bus system. There is a stop just down the road from our flat, but the shelter wall, like the others we’ve seen, no longer has handy little maps and information on routes. They’ve been replaced by info on how to report crimes on the transit system and stern warnings re committing same. There is, however, a small sign, above easy defacement level, giving the number of the stop as well as the number to text to find out when the next bus will arrive. Attempt to text the number on my less familiar mobile without having to add it to my favourite contacts. Though why not - it may become one. And can see that in a world of ubiquitous mobile phones only some of the poor, some of the elderly, and the terminally stupid are worse informed at the new bus stops. And there is indeed less scope for vandalism.

Jenny and Doug have the perfect dining table. Began life as a sturdy legged billiard table and seats twelve easily, fourteen companionably. Floor to ceiling book shelves along one side of the room and side cabinets make this a room to spend the rest of your life in. Jenny’s efficient about the serving as well - vegans at one end of the table and those eating chicken at the other. Tons of veg for both, with the luxury of both mashed and roast potatoes. And a lovely apple dessert. Some discussion about whether it’s actually a crumble or a charlotte, but delicious either way. And happily Jenny has made two of them, as Emma appears in the dining room doorway to ask calmly ‘Dad, what did you do when the oven was on fire before?’ The calm is deceptive and and it’s a minute before someone asks the obvious - ‘Is the oven on fire now?’ It is, but  apparently extinguished backstage as the meal proceeds to its delightful finish.

Happy visiting time as well. Noah is the only grandchild in evidence but we get to meet Laura’s partner, who is cheerful and relaxed, and talk much more than we have before with Giles, among whose modest accomplishments it appears is speaking thirteen languages. Making my usual excuse for having learned virtually no Turkish - it isn’t even Indo-European - a bit lame. He promises to quiz me on it on our return.

Return trip under an hour and a half with all the connections perfect.  And no need to eat for a week.

And an evening bonus. Watch Alan Bennet’s The Lady in the Van on telly. It’s the (only slightly embellished) story of the eccentric and cantankerous older woman who parked her van in his Camden driveway and remained there until her death fifteen years later. First read the account in Bennet’s published diaries and then, several years ago, saw the stage play starring Maggie Smith here in London. So tonight a happy end to the day with the film version, also featuring Maggie Smith.

Saturday, October 12/2024

 Now know where the bus stops are and which roads look parallel but, cunningly, aren’t. So back to the high street for proper provisioning. The fruit and veg stands on the corners have better produce than the supermarkets - and cheaper as well. Aldi crazy busy but as usual impressed by the cheerful courtesy of employees and customers, and the queues do move.

The afternoon brings news of Alex Salmond’s sudden death. Obviously unexpected as he had just finished giving a speech at a conference in North Macedonia. The man more responsible than anyone else for the Scottish Independence movement.

Friday, October 11/2024

Day number 1 in London. Kilburn again, although this time on the west side of the high street and a bit farther from it than we were last spring. Well, quite a bit, actually. Roughly a mile to Kilburn High Street, which is longer than it looks on the map. Obscured by long roads having innocent names, like ‘lane’ as well as by my tendency to see the maps as if the roads were straight rather than full of worm like curves that double their length. 

 The flat is a studio. Basic, but not bad, with better than average cooking facilities and an admirable shower. Wifi somewhat iffy though. Text the host, who is a little vague on where we are but suggests a couple of passwords that we could try. Router may - or may not - get reset. Limited success in the end, with some of the devices connecting and others not. But we’re functional. 

 So now to find something for supper. With only minimal confusion - all right, heading out in the wrong direction didn’t help - we hit familiar territory. A few basics from Aldi, where the automated checkout machine rejects my Canadian twenty as I reach into the wrong section of my wallet and hit a Canadian 20 instead of a £20 note. Blame it on jet lag - up twenty-eight hours by this point. But a lovely succulent rotisserie chicken from the little Halal butcher’s along the road and home to eat - and sleep.