Thursday, January 19/2012

Going to meet Margaret for coffee at George's and run into Jane having coffee on her own She's in for blood tests. So George, who doesn't have to be asked, arrives with a pot of tea and I drink the first half with Jane and the second at Margaret's very busy table. I've brought her a jar of lemon curd, made this morning, and, with the enthusiasm that must have been much the same seventy years ago, she's busy sampling it and giving a little taste to the man sitting next to her.

Much media analysis of the character of the captain of the Costa Concordia, the Italian cruise ship that ran aground. So that one psychologist talks of the panic fuelled personality disintegration of an alpha male who finds that everything has gone wrong and feels compelled to deny that there is a problem. Another commentator adds that he is not afraid of the Captain Schettinos in the world - only of the Captain Schettino inside himself.

Wednesday, January 18/2012

Explore the new (to us) charity shop up behind Carrefour. Quite a good selection of books - though this year we're far from desperate, with the Kobo. J picks up a copy of William Dalrymple's From the Holy Mountain. It's a travelogue with depth, a trip through the area of the Byzantine world as experienced by John Moschos, a wandering monk in the 6th century, just before the whole of the Middle East became Moslem. A fascinating look at that part of the world then and now, and a focus on the remnants of Byzantine Christianity still remaining in these countries.

Tuesday, January 17/2012

Dinner with Jane, Bill, Harry, Aylsa, and Maggi at Xylotymbou, a neighbouring village just up the motorway from Pyla. Very nice meal. The village tavernas seem to keep the old country tradition of extras - Greek salad and tahinni dip, pickles and olives, warm pita, etc. - that come gratis with the meal - even token desserts like fruit or deep fried nibbles and brandy. The restaurant's own sauce, available on chicken or pork fillet, is rich and oniony. It's a cool evenng and the fireplace - which is gas - is lovely as well as warm. Home with the car smelling of fresh basil from Jane and Bill's garden.

Horrific accounts of the behaviour of the captain of the cruise ship that hit bottom off the coast of Tuscany. We get to listen to recordings, with voice-over in English, of the coastguard demanding that the captain get back on the ship, which still has unrescued passengers. Harry and Bill, both of whom have extensive sailing backgrounds, Harry on ships, have quite a bit to say on the subject of safety measures aboard.

Monday, January 16/2012

Endless in-house drama as Norwegian couple in next flat seem to be angling for the same apartment, 302, that Maggi occupied last year and has booked for this year and next.  Iit's being renovated but the renovation is nearly finished. It is, of course, the fault of co-owner Mr. Andreas, who dislikes conflict and is therefore quite likely to promise the same flat to more than one prospective tenant, possibly hoping that the world will end before he has to deal with the resulting difficulty.

Sunday, January 15/2012

The Russian cyclists (obviously a national team of some sort) are moving out, with heaps of shopping bags and piles of luggage in the lobby. They train in Cyprus in the winter, taking advantage kof the varied terrain and relatively unbusy back roads as well as the climate. so we get usedto seeing them  in team uniforms in the lobby and sometimes biking through the city.

The Sunday edition of the Cyprus Mail deplores Standard and Poor's actions, its headline reading: Hidden Agenda of Downgrade.

Saturday, January 14/2012

Standard and Poor's has come out with major downgrades for most Euro countries. The most international attention is given to France's loss of AAA status, but Cyprus has, like Portugal, been downgraded to junk bond status - BB+.

Friday, January 13/2012

Dinner at Vlachos Taverna with Maggi, Bill and Jane. We were set for moussaka, but they apologise - one pan of it was burned and only one portion remains. So J and I split it, as well as splitting a mixed kebab plate. The usual enormous portions, and as the dog owners, Harry and Elsa, aren't here, the doggie bags come home instead of to the dogs. Fresh lemons and basil from Bill's tree and garden.

The Russian ship sent on its way by the Cypriots on condition that it go to Turkey and not Syria has arrived in Lattakia, Syria, somewhat predictably.

Thursday, January 12/2012

Final look at the icons on the dentist's wall. An article in The Cyprus Mail a week ago may shed some light. it refers to a surgeon whose walls contained not graduation certificates but icons given by grateful patients who considered that he had performed miracles.

Coffee with Margaret and a couple of expats. Len reminiscing about his early days: the doctor said move out of London or the run of the family won't survive - so we went to Southend.

Wednesday, January 11/2012

The Cypriots have detained a Russian ship that came into port at Limassol, suspecting it of carrying "dangerous goods." They have good reason to be wary, as last July there was a massive explosion due to seized munitions that had been stored for over two years in the sun at a naval base. Thirteen people were killed and the country's main power station wrecked. This time, despite suspicions, the ship has been allowed to continue on the understanding that it sail only to Turkey and not to its planned destiation of Lattakia, Syria. The captain's word, apparently, the guarantee.

Tuesday, January 10/2012

Maggi has reported the deficiencies of our fridge to the powers that be. Thus the cleaner and the brother arrive to investigate. We demonstrate - the door to the tiny freezer is missing - replaced by one of Jès construction, made of cardboard covered with plastic bags taped and tied with string that forms opening hndles. They profess astonishment at the missing door and leave, muttering "avrio" - tomorrow. The (feigned?) astonishment is interesting. The fridges obviously get defrosted and, one hopes, cleaned between guests. There's ample opportunity to observe damage and defects. And in any case, what do they presume has happened? This must be a regular occurrence with cheaply constructed fridges, and the freezer doors must be found periodically next to the afflicted fridges. It seems extremely unlikely that they can actually suppose that a maverick guest ripped off this particular door and disappeared with it in his suitcase.

Monday, January 9/2012

J rereading The Haj, by Leon Uris after many years - this time with a  sense of annoyance about the strong pro-Israeli, anti-Palestinian bias. And more critical of the quality of the writing as well.

Sunday, January 8/2012

Thunderstorms at night and some rain in the moroning. Sophie, the cat, is not pleased and goes out to sit on the ledge under the little white patio table to survey the world from a dry perch. But the sun comes out in time for our 11:30 bus home, and the flag it down on the waterfront system works. The pavement is busy as we wait - a little street market, Philippino girls with a day off, and an old woman who can scarcely reach into the roadside skip but emerges with three handbags, two of which, after careful examination, she returns to the skip, walking off with the third over her shoulder.

Rain holds off until we're home again before beginning. We're about to have lunch - acquired a seeded rye still warm from the bakery - when Maggi calls up to say that lentil soup is on the boil. we can come down but she has to get bread in. So down we go with warm bread to join M for lentil soup. Perfectly timed.

Saturday, January 7/2012

Sam and Paddy suggest we stay another day, with more time to visit. So we head off with Sam to look at Curium Beach - just below an old Roman settlement - and do some errands. The beach has interesting stones and shells and an exhilarating wind, which has led some parakiters to bring out their colourful sails like giant kites. we speak to a young Portuguese man just before he heads into the surf, the wind catching him and taking him what seems like a half mile down the breakers before he tacks back and builds up speed again.

After collecting the bread, Sam asks if we would like to see Kolossi Castle. It's a couple of miles away in the next village, an early 13th century square Crusader castle with walls that must be close to ten feet thick. The first thing that we notice is what looks like decorative stone work at the top of the tower. Not merely decorative, it seems, but the spot where boiling oil could be poured down on the heads of invaders. Inside it's simple but very nicely proportioned, with stone arches and fireplaces and window seats, and stone floors that must have been cool in summer and frigid in winter.  J wonders about water supply and Sam points to a stone aquaduct outside. Beautiful views across the fields and villages and out to the sea from the top.


Home to find that Paddy has not only fiished washing the crystal - having postponed all my offers of help - but taken down the Christmas tree and put away the decorations. The season is over. Chat, and nap, and dinner of prime leftovers. Then a game of Scrabble. Paddy, who has been working most of the time since dawn yesterday, is off to bed, but we linger and talk to Sam for a couple of hours. He has a lovely quiet style, a good memory and a wide range of interests. And, that greatest of charms, opinions and interests that overlap significantly with our own.

Friday, January 6/2012

Walk down to the beach to take the bus to Limassol, only to discover that the waterfront road is still blocked off after this morning's Epiphany parade. Rapid Plan B, as we remember that the second stop is opposite St Helena's Church. Where the bus duly arrives - unfortunately a small one that doesn't accommodate all the would-be passengers. J and I do get seats, but are at opposite ends until midway, when I move up and take a now empty seeat next to J, while the driver, who speaks no English, is at pains to let me know that I needn't sit next to this man as there is a single seat available across the aisle.

Sam, Jenny's father, picks us up as planned and we drive the 15 km to Erimi. The table is already beautifully set for twelve, but Paddy is ready with small bowls of soup to tide us over, as we won't be eating until 8:30.

And a lovely meal it is, with venison paté as a starter, followed by roast leg of lamb with mint sauce and currant jelly, roast potatoes and vegetables, and a choice of Paddy's homemade desserts - ginger trifle, chestnut log and mince tarts. Good conversation too, as we get to know the other three couples, all expats.

Thursday, January 5/2012

Weekly coffee with Margaret and assorted friends at George's café. The shop next to our outdoor table has a closing down sale ahalfnd women from our table make make forays in, emerging with bags of half-price gift items, including a tallish wooden giraffe. It seems everything really does have to go, as the shop owner emerges with a large shopping bag containing plastic boxes of potpourri, one for each of us

Wednesday, January 4/2012

Help Maggi move her things from the storage room - inconveniently located on the mezzzanine where the lift doesn't stop. She's two floors below us in 202 while they finish redoing the third floor - clearly not a day or two but now what? Three weeks?

Tuesday, January 3/2012

Rent due and so the annoying question of cash point withdrawals arises. Different banks have different maximum dispersal amounts, but on a long stay higher is better as there's a withdrawal charge each time. So it is irritating to find that no Larnaca bank appears to dispense more than €600 at a time (€540 of which will disappear instantly as the rent is paid) particularly as we were able to withdraw €1400 in Paphos. J suggests that our lack of info on cash point withdrawal possible is due to our reluctance to ask questions. Actually I think it's in large part due to the reluctance of Cypriots to provide answers, or at any rate accurate and useful ones, so that many inquiries take a lot of time without resulting in corresponding enlightenment. But, chastened, I head to the Marfin Laiki Bank round the corner to ask questions.

The first person tells me that the cash point allows withdrawals up to €€400. This is a little puzzling as I know from past experience that it will give €600. However, I put this down to possible, if improbable misunderstanding, as a woman with excellent English takes over. Perhaps it's a problem with my daily limit - what is my daily limit? Two thousand dollars, I say, deciding that the Canadian and US dollars are close enough for me not to bother complicating the issue with explanations. she takes my bank card, makes a phone call in Greek, and says yes, as she has said, the maximum on foreigh cards is €1000; there have been recent changes demanded by Visa. But my card isn't Visa, and the Paphos bank that gave us more in November was also a Marfin Laiki bank.  All the same, the maximum is €1000. So will the machine outside give me €1000? Yes. It doesn't, of course.  Just repeats its message that its maximum is €600. Which, as I say to J, is why I am reluctant to ask questions in Cyprus. After all the production, you're no further ahead.

Maggi arrives in the late afternoon. So hugs, and our first g&t of the season, with ice cubes made in the empty clear plastic six egg carton. Then supper with lentil soup and sandwiches - chicken salad, humus with cramelised onions, J's chicken liver paté, cheese. And a bottle of Smart Stores bubbly de maison to celebrate her return. 

Monday, January 2/2012

As New Year's Day is on a Sunday this year, Monday is also a holiday with more or less everything shut. J off to the beach, where he walks laps on the sand.I defrost the little bar-sized fridge. As its tiny freezer across the inside top  has no door - mush oonce have done, so what happens to these things - J has fitted it with one made of heaving cardboard covered with thin plastic bag taped in place. Frosts up faster than one with a real door, though. It will keep meat frozen or make ice cubes, but ice cream would turn (based on past experience) to milkshakes.

 

Sunday, January 1/2012

The rain is no longer what the television newsreader refers to as torrential, but it rains on and off all day. Finish reading the last book of Paul Scott's Raj Quartet.

Saturday, December 31/2011

Margaret phoned last night to say that the shops will be closed Monday as well as Sunday, so we're off early to pick up the few things we need. Will Prinos be open at eight? It will be a zoo later. Turns out it's been open since six - and 6:15 is its usual time. Who goes then? As usual, I go for two things - carrots and potatoes (the latter 40 euro cents a kilo - or 32p GB or 53 cents CAD - and still with the iron rich red earth clinging to them). But end up with extras - leeks, onions, garlic, courgettes, red and yellow peppers (€2.20 a kilo, £1.83 GB, $2.91 CAD) and lettuce (32 cents EU, 27p GB, 42 cents CAD) each.

We meet up at the beach later and go on to the New Year's Eve market. The sky is beginning to darken but the fruit and vegetables still gleam and we choose pink grapefruit, tomatoes, tiny cucumbers and green beans, all fresh.

New Year's Eve  is traditionally celebrated at the beach with fireworks, free wine and beer (and not a drunk in sight) and a concert. But suppertime brings a thunderstorm  with the lightning showing palm trees bending in the wind and sheets of water blowing up the street. We don't go out, and wonder if it's all been cancelled, but at midnight we can indeed see the fireworks, only partially obscured by a building on Makarios.