Saturday, February 28/2026

The neighbourhood. Cyprus is the island top left. Haziness presumably meant to portray cloud and not confused identity, though that could apply too. It’s part of Europe by adoption but Middle East by birth.

Not necessarily any more dangerous than any other country. People joke about Iran being foolish enough to put their country in the midst of so many US bases. But truly there are American bases all over the world, well over eight hundred. Quite enough to allow them to forget that declarations of war are supposed to be approved by Congress and the UN and self defence is supposed to be in response to an attack and not the cause of one.

Friday, February 26/2026

 

Weatherman (weather person?) delivers cool and windy weather as promised but also full sun. Sun more than satisfactory as heat source most days. So at 10:30 this morning outside temperature 13 degrees, temperature in the salon on the north side of the flat 16 degrees, temperature in the south facing room (shady side of the room) 21 degrees, and temperature in the same south facing room (sunny side) 40 degrees. Always reminds us of the old Aesop fable where the sun wins the competition with the wind, proving itself the stronger. 

And in line with the fable (the competition was to see who could make the traveller remove his coat) we find ourselves unzipping our windbreakers before we reach the Blue Song. There are whitecaps but it isn’t cold. The bartender isn’t willing to dispense draft, though. Says not in winter. Do point out that it’s nearly spring. Well, it’s three weeks to the equinox. And apparently meteorologists go with March 1 as the first day of spring, since the equinox is so shifty about its appearance. In any case, he isn’t playing, so two bottles of Efes it is. 

Small group but interesting. Well John usually is interesting, having hired himself out as an engineer all over the world. Turns out he was working in Iran in 1979 and caught a bus out just before the shah was overthrown. One memory among many.

And in the bizarre news department, a Turkish actress and companion (think the article said accomplice but it will have been a translation) came to Girne and went to a house belonging to a British owner who was not in residence, accompanied by a locksmith. The locksmith not only let them in but changed the lock, whereupon the couple settled in. They were discovered three days later by a man hired by the owner to keep an eye on the property, who informed the police. The actress said in court that she was curious about the lifestyle of her daughter who lived in the neighbourhood. This seems not to have impressed the judge and the pair have been sent for mental health evaluation. To be continued, no doubt.

Tonight’s sunset promised a lovely day tomorrow.

Thursday, February 26/2026

Hooded crow. The type of crow found in Cyprus, and for that matter much of Europe and into Asia. Not keen on coming close to humans and even when they rest on a nearby tree or wall they seem to stay only for a few seconds. No point in putting out food. The crows would be wary and we would only be attracting a wide range of cats, feral and otherwise, as well, quite possibly, as rodents. It is legal to hunt them in hunting season and there is also a late spring hunt for culling purposes, so they have good reason to be wary.

Courtesy Matt Starling, Birdlife Cyprus

Not easy to get a photo. Pic    above taken of a bird that stayed for a few minutes in a tree in the orchard across the road. Obviously would need a telephoto lens to do better. They do apparently make them for iPad minis but haven’t done any research re quality and cost. 

Have no idea what was used for second pic, Matt Starling’s photo, but probably a decent camera. 

Wednesday, February 25/2026

Zoe down the road to the east of us posts that there’s lightning out at sea. Haven’t gone to look as we’re in the south side of the flat but we can certainly hear the thunder and it’s definitely raining. Didn’t rain in the daytime but was extremely windy. In fact several reports of water spouts, which are essentially sea based tornadoes. 

For some reason this winter seems to have been much windier than we’ve experienced in previous years. Do remember that we studied weather when I was in grade ten. Don’t remember anything I learned other than the names of the different shapes of clouds. So google and learn, or relearn a bit more re atmospheric pressure and the rotation of the earth. None of which seems to answer a more existential question - why, and why now, and why here. 

Leading perhaps to an existential answer. Why not? And to considerable gratitude for not living in the northeastern US, some bits of which got over three feet of snow in one dump this week.

Tuesday, February 24/2026

Courtesy Cyprus Mail

Windy today. Seems that’s frequently the case lately. Weather app lists the fine particulate matter as being “fair”. As usual that will refer to dust from the Sahara. Obviously not ideal for humans, and probably some animals as well, but there’s another drawback apparently.

A new Cypriot study has found that atmospheric dust has a deleterious effect on solar energy production as dust blocking light to solar panels can drop electricity production by more than twenty percent. Easier to measure than prevent.

Monday, February 23/2026

 Water, and also gas cylinders, are delivered by a nice man called Mehmet.  The deal is that I message him on WhatsApp the day before we want a delivery. So early this morning I have just said to J that it’s surprising that Mehmet is prepared to drive over and deliver a nineteen litre bottle of water for a hundred lira ($3.12 CAD, £1.69).

Short answer is that he isn’t. Not any more. Knock on the door. Young assistant there with the water bottle. One hundred fifty. Well, scarcely surprising. And inflation is hitting everything, and not only in North Cyprus, although the unstable nature of the Turkish lira makes it more obvious here. Though foreigners like us normally operate on harder currency that they bring in and change to Turkish lira as needed.

Still fifty percent increases seem fairly striking. Although probably a bit of bite the bullet about it. Simpler than raising it by five percent every couple of weeks. And nineteen litres of water is heavy. Well, nineteen kilos of course.

Sunday, February 22/2026

Courtesy kibrisgazetesi.com

 Late afternoon and a couple of gunshots from the mountainside remind us that this is the last Sunday in February and therefore the last Sunday of the hunting season in North Cyprus. There has apparently been a proposal to extend the small game hunting season into March, citing, among other reasons, changes in climate. However, KUȘKOR, the Birds and Nature Conservation Association, have protested, saying that March is breeding season and that in fact with climate change some partridges are beginning to breed earlier, meaning that the end of the hunting season should be moved back rather than extended.

Meanwhile police reports for the day include the account of a 47 year old female who failed to stop at a traffic stop. Then fled the scene. Raises a couple of questions. Why are police/news reporters obsessed with the age of everyone? Possibly because it’s the bit they’re allowed to report. And suppose it would be interesting if the driver were, say, thirteen, or ninety-eight. However the more interesting bit comes later:

“A search of the vehicle revealed that he was in possession of a metal detector without authorization from the relevant authorities. The individual was arrested.”

The “he” is probably a translation error. There is no third person gender in Turkish. He and she are both translated as “o”. Particularly awkward when translation apps are used, resulting in posts saying things like “my uncle died last summer and we really miss her”.

And about the metal detector. Have never thought about buying one but would have had no idea that it is illegal to possess one here. What other laws are we likely to be breaking?

Saturday, February 21/2026

Don’t usually acquire books and olive oil from the same source but today’s Saturday market is a happy exception. Karen, who runs the book stall in support of animal rescue, also harvests olives and sometimes has olive oil for sale. 

So today we collect, as arranged, a litre and a half bottle of olive oil. And, as we’re at the stall, acquire two previously unread Ian Rankin novels  and three Robert Harris books. Would have stopped at four books, but Karen points out that there’s a discount when you buy five so go with it. Besides spring is here so more time out on the terrace, which means higher proportion of “real” books. And it’s in a good cause. 

Friday, February 20/2026

Second day of Ramadan, but we, happily, are not fasting. A bit cloudy but no rain and not cold so we’re back to our usual Friday gathering at the Blue Song.

We go to the bar when we arrive and the bar tender says “two draft”. I’m impressed. “You remembered”. Then he goes to the cooler and takes out two bottles of Efes lager and two glasses. Would raise an eyebrow in query were I so accomplished. He explains with a nod toward the tap.”Not good today”. Fair enough.

Stop for groceries on our way home. 

Fruit and veg and a half dozen eggs. But most important the Ramadan pidesi, Ramadan  bread.  Sesame studded and at its best when still warm, as it is now. Seems a pity that those observing Ramadan have to wait until after sunset.

And, from the for what it’s worth department, North Cypriot press Kibris Postasi reports that Whitehall has not given permission for US operations against Iran to be conducted from RAF Akrotiri in southeast Cyprus, apparently as a result of concerns that the UK might be found to be violating international law.

Thursday, February 19/2026

Courtesy Kibrispostasi

Officially into the Ramadan month of fasting. Sunset roughly 17:30 now, although it varies with the exact geographical location and there are websites happy to provide the info. As with Lenten observances, it’s easy to focus on the deprivation aspects, and they certainly exist. Between dawn and sunset those observing (who are certainly not all those who are nominally Muslim) are required to abstain from eating, drinking (including water), smoking, and having sex. Naturally the prohibition on sexual activity is meant for those who are married - sex for practising Muslims is expected to be within marriage.

However the emphasis is not exclusively or even primarily on denial. Ramadan is meant to be a time of spiritual renewal. Of reflection, empathy, charity and community care. Iftar, the evening meal after sunset, is often a warm family affair. There are also public iftar meals provided by charitable organisations such as the Red Crescent or institutions like universities and government bodies. Everyone is welcome, Muslim or not, as the sharing should be inclusive. Those unable to fast for reasons of age or health or other causes are expected to make donations to contribute, but are not the only ones donating.

 

 

Wednesday, February 18/2026

Storm warning issued by Girne municipality, Girne being the regional centre ten miles to the east of us. Wake up to amazingly strong winds and the sound of lashing rain. This has to be the stormiest winter we remember experiencing in the Mediterranean, and there have been over twenty of them. On the other hand winters here really don’t last very long. 

Like the phrasing, particularly the bit about taking precautions against adverse events such as roofs being blown off - be prepared to duck? Though not as amusing as the tongue in cheek posting by a FB correspondent: “With all this wind I’m worried about the caravan in the garden. We didn’t have one yesterday.”

Unsurprisingly, the skies were far too cloudy to spot the crescent moon today, but the assumption is that it was there beyond the storm and Ramadan will begin tomorrow. For the observant this means fasting between dawn and dusk for the following month. Times of sunrise and sunset are calculated for pretty well every location in the world, in modern days easily checkable on the Internet.

And tomorrow’s forecast is for sunny skies and gentler winds.

 

Tuesday, February 17/2026

 Before Ash Wednesday comes Shrove Tuesday. The word shrove is derived from shrive, meaning to give absolution after confessing sins. Pretty solemn nomenclature compared to pancake day. And fat Tuesday always sounds   rather more indelicate than the romantic Mardi Gras - until the realisation hits that Mardi Gras translates literally as - Fat Tuesday.

But both fat and pancake refer to the using up of foods that won’t be eaten during the coming days of fasting - meaning meat, eggs and dairy (as well as wine and olive oil). Thus, prudently, pancakes were traditionally made the day before Ash Wednesday with the last of the butter, eggs and milk.

So Beverley and John have invited us for dinner on pancake day. And we rightly expect pancakes but are in fact regaled with a full meal from soup made from their own tomatoes - duly roasted, blended and frozen - to superb crepes, John’s specialty, following a full meat and roast potato main course. 

Joined, discreetly, by Henry, the oldest of the four rescue dogs, and two of the rescue cats. Not to mention excellent company. Pat is there as well, and kindly gives us a lift home.

Monday, February 16/2026

Courtesy BBC

Season of fasting coming up, for those who observe. Between lunar, Gregorian and Julian calendars it takes some sorting. Once had a student ask if there were any way of predicting when Easter would be. Before I had my mouth in gear a not particularly academic classmate said ‘Yes, it’s the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox’. And that’s pretty well it for the western Christian church.

There are western Christians in Cyprus. A few Roman Catholics as well as Christians of various denominations among the ex-pat contingent. But most Cypriot Christians, living almost entirely in the South, are Eastern Orthodox. The Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar which occasionally produces a date for Easter that matches the western - but usually doesn’t. (Christmas, on the other hand, is celebrated in Cyprus and Greece on December 25,  same as in the west, but this is not true in all Orthodox countries. Don’t ask). 

This year Lent begins next Monday, February 23, for the Orthodox in Cyprus. The Orthodox don’t do Ash Wednesday. They start Lent with Clean (or Green) Monday. Considerably less penitential than Ash Wednesday. No meat, but the tradition is to eat seafood and salads, often at outdoor picnics.

In Muslim countries, including North Cyprus, the penitential season is Ramadan, starting this year, tentatively, on Wednesday February 18. The date is based on the lunar year, and, in fact, the tentative bit is down to the tradition that Ramadan begins with the first sighting of the crescent moon. Used to be by the naked eye, and still is in some places, but TRNC - like Türkiye - now relies on astronomical calculations. Answering the question of what happens if the skies are heavily overcast for several days.

Thus the beginning of Ramadan is, coincidentally, on Ash Wednesday.
 

Sunday, February 15/2026

 Wake up this morning and can’t hear either raindrops on the terrace tiles or the near gale force to be reckoned with winds that seem to have been making themselves felt for days now. Cloudless blue sky (no photoshopping just classic Mediterranean blue) and morning coffee on the terrace tiles. Enjoy the palm tree next door but quite happy not to be responsible for one. They get very shaggy and are soon tall enough that a fireman’s ladder wouldn’t reach to do the haircut. Helicopter?

Have finished John Simpson’s Unreliable Sources as our current read aloud book so now move back a century to our next pick, Pushkin’s Button by Serena Vitale.  Had remembered far too little about the famous poet, although J points out that we did see a statue dedicated to him in Russia at Ekaterinburg.

Must have known at some point that he died following a duel. A duel which is the subject of the book. It’s surprisingly well written and compelling. As the Times Reviewer says ‘Vitale has created a new literary form somewhere between biography and detective story…the work of an artist and a scholar’. 

Saturday, February 14/2026

 

Walking home from the little supermarket with fruit, sheep’s milk yoghurt and sourdough bread still warm from the oven. Uphill to our place but less than a ten minute walk. We always look at the building barely visible from our spot (marked with a 🔻). Does anyone live there? Is there a road? How was it built? 

Have to remind my Canadian self that thirty degree gradients here may be steep but they won’t ever ice up. Unlike that in one of the scariest rides we’ve taken, which was from Antalya to Taşucu along the southern coast of Türkiye. It was twenty-five years ago but we both remember it clearly. Three hundred and seventy kilometres of coastal road. Tight curves, narrow passages, long sections running directly along the cliff edges, lack of guard rails. In places the road tilted perceptibly toward the sea side. We went on a day in January when the road was icing and occasionally we could see at the bottom of the ravine the corpses of previous vehicles that had failed to hold the road. A road that is apparently now in the process of being redesigned in acknowledgment of its status as one of the most dangerous in Türkiye.

Friday, February 13/2026

 Friday the thirteenth. Not lucky in the weather but can’t really complain overall. A snuggle in day with soup and spaghetti sauce ready to reheat and tea and coffee and whiskey to warm up with. Lots of good reading material too.

And outside? Intermittent gale force winds and showers, some of them very heavy. Not cold, though. Eighteen degrees. More in the short sunny intervals.

Actually Friday the thirteenth isn’t much of thing in most Middle East countries. What is common is the charm for protection against the evil eye. Probably not taken really seriously - but then is the avoidance of the number thirteen taken seriously? Yes and no territory. My grandmother, seventy some years ago, moved to a small Canadian village and applied for a postal box. None available - unless, haha, she was willing to accept number thirteen. They were astonished when she was pleased to have it.

The charm, called nazar boncuğu, or evil eye bead in Turkish, is very old, much older than any of the religions in the area. There are textual references to it as far back as the Bronze Age some five thousand years ago. It’s common as a bracelet charm or pendant and J pointed out that the house recently built next to the orchard has a small one embedded high in the wall. And surprisingly, while most Christian churches dismiss them as a pagan superstition, there is one high on an arch in the Roman Catholic church in Larnaca.

Interestingly in Turkish culture there is a reluctance to praise or admire children in particular lest this attract the evil eye, tempt fate. I had wondered about this - assuming tradition and not actual belief - when a Turkish Cypriot friend posted a photo of his new grandchild. Had been about to say what a lovely looking baby he was when I noticed that all the other friends had avoided this and instead posted things like wishes for health.

Thursday, February 12/2026

 

Courtesy Kemal Basat

A beaked whale has been found washed ashore at Tatlısu on the Karpaz peninsula about 60 kilometers east of us. It is male, approximately five meters long, and weighs about one and a half tons. Now being removed from the rocks and taken to the Tashkent Nature Park for necropsy in the hope of determining the cause of death. 

Surprisingly there are several thousand whales in the Mediterranean, including the elusive deep diving beaked whales. Thirteen whales were found beached on Cyprus almost exactly three years ago, with some suspicion then that the deaths may have been earthquake related.

Wednesday, February 11/2026

Warm enough but we wear our windbreakers down to the little supermarket not because it’s raining, though it may shower later, but because it’s really windy. Oranges, bread, onions, mushrooms, pasta and wine. No need to buy rosemary - ever - because across the road from us is an enormous rosemary bush covered with little blue flowers. Technically on the orchard side of the fence but it has sprawled well onto the road side and in any case is producing enough fragrant rosemary to satisfy the whole neighbourhood. 

Showers for enough days that it’s hard to believe that the island is much too dry, but it is after four years of drought. In the South reservoirs are at less than fourteen percent of capacity and little rain can be expected after February. The South relies on desalination for seventy percent of its drinking water, but there are still severe shortages looming.

Rainfall amounts have probably been similar in the North but here there is an 80 kilometre undersea pipe that brings water from Türkiye to the TRNC.

Tuesday, February 10/2026

Looking southwest  from the bedroom the view is of the mountain peaks. Southeast is uphill toward the old church. And almost certainly almond blossoms. Haven’t walked up to do a proper identification but looks like it from here and it’s the right time of year.

Been listening to podcasts at night, mostly ancient or medieval history. Somewhat less disturbing than much of the daytime news. The ancients may have done appalling things to each other but it was a long time ago and no need to worry about it now. Also much of the information is new to me (unlike J who knows far more and remembers it better). I can hear about some far off conflicts with suspense in waiting to discover which side won.

But, technicalities apart, human nature seems depressingly unchanged. Hence last night’s account of the siege of Istanbul, also known variously 

 as Constantinople and Byzantium. (Incidentally Greek Cypriot news reporters in the South still refer to the city as Constantinople rather than Istanbul). Long, if not always accurate, memories here in the Middle East). 

No nuclear weapons in those days but they did their best. And there were weapons manufacturers. A Hungarian engineer by the name of Orban (presumably unrelated to the current Hungarian president of the same name) said he would build a cannon “such as the world has never seen” to use in the siege. Not that he had particular Ottoman loyalties - he had previously offered his services to the Byzantines but they couldn’t meet his price and in any case distrusted his ability to fulfill the contract.

The cannon, duly completed in three months, was made of bronze and christened Basilica. It was over ten metres long and weighed so much that it had to be dragged to the walls of Constantinople by a crew of four hundred men with the help of sixty oxen at a rate of four metres a day.

Not much element of surprise, as they could obviously be seen coming, but plenty of shock and awe all the same. Basilica was horrifically inaccurate and could only be fired three times a day, as it had to be cooled down with olive oil, but when it did hit the huge balls of marble (iron ones not yet developed) weighing three quarters of a ton and travelling over a mile did massive damage to the city walls. Spoiler alert - the city fell.

Monday, February 9/2026

Courtesy Cyprus FAQ

Cyprus is, of course, a divided country. It’s possible to cross the border in either direction, though it hasn’t always been, but there are a number of limitations and complicating factors, some of which depend on which passport you’re carrying. There are nine crossing points, the busiest of which is Metehan. (Well that’s another awkward bit. All of the crossing points have two unrelated names, one Turkish and one Greek - and no, they’re not simply translations of the same name). Depending on date and time of day waiting time can be as much as two hours at Metehan/Ayios Dhometios.

But the latest border crossing difficulty, as recounted by Cyprus Mail, is hard to figure out. It seems that a Bangladeshi national called Hasan Kibria inadvertently entered the North without benefit of documentation or process and is now due to appear in a military court. Kibria had recently arrived in Cyprus and was working as a motorcycle courier for a food delivery service. Not speaking English (or presumably much in the way of Greek or Turkish) he was reliant on GPS and seems to have been misdirected as he tried to find an address in Nicosia, which he had not known was a divided city. When he was unable to explain himself at a Turkish checkpoint he was arrested.

Meanwhile his employer had been faced with the unexplained disappearance of both employee and motorcycle. It took about a week before he learned the story after being contacted by the Turkish Cypriot lawyer assigned to represent Kibria. With luck the court will see the incident as an unfortunate accident and one unlikely to set a precedent for extralegal border crossings.

Sunday, February 8/2026

Courtesy Adela Warrington

Adela, living in Ozanköy, twenty km east of us, posted this at dawn. Beautiful, but then there is the saying about red sky in the morning being a warning. Happily a lovely sunny day. Low twenties. Shorts and a gin on ice overlooking the Med. Along with a cigar (J not me). Towels drying on the line. No complaints. Cyprus Mail says dust in the air until mid afternoon, but fortunately don’t read this until late afternoon - and hadn’t noticed it.

Cyprus Mail pleased to join in the worldwide horror at the Epstein debacle, though with nothing particularly appalling to contribute. Left saying that the emails suggest that an Emirati businessman recommended a young woman with a Cypriot mother to Epstein in 2015 when she was studying in Dubai. About as peripheral a link as you could get and one can sense editorial disappointment at not being any closer to the gritty core.

A bit reminiscent of the headline - sadly later proven to be apocryphal - in the now defunct Scottish newspaper The Aberdeen Press and Journal: “North-east man lost at sea”. Following the sinking of the Titanic.

A tough editorial day down at the Cyprus Mail. An article is headed “Man hospitalised with fractured skull after being threatened by landlord”. After being THREATENED? In reading it’s possible to see what the journalistic problem is. An unnamed landlord seems to have threatened three men living on his property. Not receiving satisfaction he left and returned with two masked men who chased and attacked two of the residents, one of whom ended up with a skull fracture. There seems to have been an arrest but as no charges have been officially released the paper is understandably reluctant to become the purveyor of false information.

Saturday, February 7/2026

Head down to our little supermarket and spot on the edge of a puddle a five lira note, only slightly wet. And pick it up. 

For reasons which we decide are somewhat amusing. First of all it’s a bill and not a coin. There are five lira coins but you seldom see them. But that doesn’t make it particularly valuable. The smallest Canadian note is a five dollar bill - worth approximately 160 Turkish lira. The smallest UK note is five pounds, worth about 297 lira. So our damp little acquisition is worth roughly fifteen cents - or 8p.

So why did we do it - and why did the person who dropped it not bother (assuming they noticed)? Well, you don’t have to have a memory that goes back all that far to remember a lira that was worth quite a lot more. When we were first locked down in Famagusta in March of 2020, not quite six years ago, one euro cost 7 Turkish lira. Now it would be 51. So probably our instinctive reaction to leaving a bank note lying on the road has not changed quite as quickly as the value of said bank note has.

Maybe it was dropped by a kid. Could be there’s an age factor as well. J observed years ago that students would not bother to pick up a quarter lying on the hallway floor. Staff would.

Friday, February 6/2026

Unsettled weather but the morning rain disappears so we can walk down to the Blue Song for our usual Friday gathering. Temperature only about eighteen but the walk long enough to work up a thirst for our regular draft. 

Fluctuating numbers in our group but only seven of us today. Always good talk, frequently informative, and plenty of wit. But also a reminder that many people maintain equanimity and humour in the face of circumstances where that is the only defence.

Thus C mostly doesn’t mention unless asked the semi diagnosed problems that lead to frequent blood tests and sometimes transfusions. We do know about, but never discuss, the death of his wife a few years ago, killed crossing a road here. And we know that D’s husband has Alzheimer’s. A couple of years ago he was quite willing to tell people this. Don’t think he goes out much any more but D says he announced today that he is going to his room to commit suicide and she’s not to open the door for a week. She’s learned that these things are very quickly forgotten but there’s an obvious sadness mixed with the laughter. He says he hates everybody - but never the dogs. 

My father said many years ago that there’s enough tragedy on any city block to break your heart.

And then on the way home we pass beautiful orange flowers we hadn’t noticed before. iPad identifies them as flamevine, also known as orange trumpet, originally native to South America.

Thursday, February 5/2026

Notice from our municipality to say that they have investigated accounts of flags flying at half mast at one of their beach construction sites, information that seems to have come as a surprise to them. They are pleased to be able to say that there have been no unreported fatalities and the flags have merely suffered the ravages inflicted on the rest of us by the stormy weather and high winds. They have now been replaced. J had also noted earlier that the mountainside flags to the west of us had been taken down, either as a result of damage or to prevent it. 

Just enough breeze today to dry the wash, but seems the wild weather  may not be quite done. The meteorological department has announced that stormy conditions are expected in the regional seas from eight this evening until midnight tomorrow. The actual statement requires some parsing though: “In the Eastern Taurus, winds currently blowing from the north and east, and in the Western Taurus from the south and west, are expected to strengthen over time and reach force 8”.

All right, the Taurus mountains are a two thousand kilometre complex running along the South coast of Türkiye parallel to the Mediterranean and immediately opposite us. The ones we can see in good weather. So presumably the regional seas in turmoil will be the sea directly below us and the gale 8 winds may not confine themselves to the sea. It’s the wind direction that’s unclear. Sounds like two opposing winds will meet in the middle of the mountain range with force 8 gales, suitable for breaking twigs and small branches off trees and making cars, should there be any in the mountains, veer off the road.

May be interesting. Have brought the wash - now dry - inside.

Wednesday, February 4/2026

Spring has arrived? Full sun all day. Warm and only the lightest of breezes. Lazy choice of activities. Could wash clothes, first choice of most of the women on the local weather page. But J repairs the drying rack, damaged in a collision with a cement wall on the terrace on one of the high wind days, so maybe tomorrow, also to be blessed with many suns ☀️☀️☀️ according to one of the weather forecast apps. 

This leaves us sitting with a Cyprus brandy  on the end of the terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. Lovely deep blue and you can just see Türkiye on the far side. Aided by the fact that the south coast is mountainous, so there is something to spot on a clear day.

Terrace is a lovely place for reading aloud and we’re nearly finished John Simpson’s Unreliable Sources, having abandoned it temporarily for Dalrymple’s more compelling City of Djinns. Simpson is knowledgeable and sections are quite interesting but it is very poorly edited, and some of the editing should have included cutting it by at least a third. Actually it looks as though what he did was to farm out sections of the 20th century to a number of research assistants and allow their varying industriousness to determine the length of the different sections. A disappointment for anyone who enjoyed his memoirs and not a keeper but not sorry we stuck with it.

Tuesday, February 3/2026

Alexander Skeaping 1/5/1944-5/9/2025

Alexander Skeaping was probably the most alive person I’ve ever known, so when a message arrived this morning telling us there was going to be a super gathering in his honour it took a minute or two to register. A retirement maybe - but Alexander would never truly retire. Then it hit. There were happy emojis - but Celebration of Life.

Alexander listed himself on X (Twitter) - where I didn’t follow him - as “freelance piano-tuner, harpsichordist, pianist, helicopter-pilot, glider-pilot, who loves travel, good food, intelligent people (esp. women!) & LIFE in general!). Could say that summed him up, but it falls far short. 

We used to meet, spring and autumn, until COVID interrupted the pattern, for lunch in or near London.

Two occasions come to mind. One fourteen years ago when Flora was still alive and we met at the Bel Canto at Lancaster Gate. Alexander tuned the piano at the restaurant and the pianist was a pleasure to listen to but the real drawing card was the wait staff, all of whom were opera students. Between serving tables they acted and sang arias from popular operas like Carmen. Did feel when the bill came that we’d underwritten their careers, but definitely a meal to remember.

Then there was a meal at Roses in Kilburn. Our pick that time. Told A that it was a working man’s café (pronounced caff) but had on a Thursday the best lamb kleftiko we’d had anywhere, including the Mediterranean. In those days they only made it on a Thursday - fifteen portions so nothing frozen and no leftovers. I phoned at nine to ask them to save us three for 1:15 and they did us proud. 

Got into a political discussion with a man from the next table who introduced himself as a Marxist and wanted to say that none of the UK parties had managed to prevent homelessness. We assured him that we all agreed that the new minimum wage was inadequate to survive on and then followed an exchange which could only have taken place in Britain. The man told A, probably accurately, that if he had A’s posh accent people would take his views more seriously. Then asked A what his occupation was. A answered, not untruthfully, that he was a piano tuner, though that was modestly short of the whole truth, as he tuned and supplied instruments for concerts and symphonies. And the man responded as only an Englishman could - “You don’t sound like it”. They did part as friends though, with good wishes and Facebook information.

And the helicopter pilot? Never quite got together on that one but he did suggest quite seriously that we could fly to France for coffee.

Alexander Skeaping, RIP.

Monday, February 2/2026

Courtesy Cyprus Mail

Happier photo of the Cyprus mouflon than the one on Saturday. The Cyprus Mail reports that the mouflon is on the increase in Cyprus but are in some areas being pushed out of their habitat and too close to agricultural land where they sometimes pick up diseases and can a,so be at risk from stray dogs. Their preferred habitat is forest but not too dense woods, but it’s in increasingly short supply.

February 1/2026

 

Charles Schulz, November 4, 1964

Nearing the end of William Dalrymple’s City of Djinns, one of our read aloud books. It was far too good not to share but not the easiest book to read out loud because of the preponderance of double, triple, and quadruple Muslim and Indian names - like Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughluk. A silent reader would be more than tempted to do as Linus, of Peanuts fame, claimed to do while reading The Brothers Karamazov - bleep over them. 

But there’s some fascinating reading. The son of Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughluk, facing rebellions in 1335, pursued the rebel governors “beheading one, flaying another alive, ordering a third to be cut to pieces by his war elephants”. Yes, times have changed, but hard not to imagine how excited the execrable Trump would be to be able to cry havoc and let loose the war elephants on his enemies.

Do have a washing machine although usually wash small things in a basin and, like most people here, hang them outside to dry, which they do pretty quickly. Pair of sweat pants are on the dividing line. They do fit in the larger plastic basin but it’s hard to wring them well enough by hand to guarantee that they will dry outside before one of the recent sporadic showers interferes. Hence the spin cycle on the washer called into play. Have never used it on its own, but have been wanting to because of its name. Like all the cycles on the washer it is labelled in Turkish. Sıkma - translates as squeeze. Which is much more to the point than spin would have been. And, admirably, does as advertised.