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Lots of Pictures of our trip from Florida to Las Vegas on the picture page. Click on the box below.
You just can't beat a good 4th Birthday Party
Say hello to some of the Nicolau family here in Anoyira
You can tell where the Davies family good looks come from !!!
And this is the Culley family at play !
And hopefully, good bye and good riddance |
Well, it’s certainly been a busy year for visitors and travelling to and from Cyprus. In February I travelled to Ireland to watch them beat the English in the Six Nations Rugby and then Rhian and the boys were out here for Easter and again for 3 weeks in July / August - even Guy managed to join them for a week. They had an eventful time though, which started off in late June. I'm sure you have heard of Swine Flu; well, in June, Eton College was shut down for a week because of it and Gareth and James go to school just half a mile away. Yes, you've guessed it, Gareth was one of the first in his school to be a confirmed case! He made a very quick recovery and so it was with some trepidation that they arrived here in Mid July. Within just a few days James was admitted to hospital with a severe respiratory infection - not tested for Swine Flu but we are pretty sure that was the root cause of the problem. He was quite poorly for a week but soon recovered enough to enjoy his holiday!! I then travelled back to the UK with them for a week for a variety of reasons. The first was the annual cultural tour of Bridgenorth - a very austere term for what is a group of lads on a beer and fish and chips pub crawl !! This was followed by a drive down to Swansea to see sister Sonia and collect Isobel's vacuum packed fresh cockles and finally, up to see Richard in Liverpool and go with him on a hospital appointment - don't worry, nothing life threatening !!
In July, Cousin Pam (Dobbins) and husband Mike came to stay with us for 2 weeks from South Africa. It really was smashing having them and they were the perfect visitors. They borrowed our pick up and spent a great deal of time exploring the island and ending up back with us each day for an evening meal. They enjoyed it so much that they are seriously considering leaving troubled South Africa and coming to live here in Cyprus - although they have not yet decided whether it will be the north (Turkish) or the south (Greek). The only problem was that Mike supported South Africa in the Lions Rugby Tour and I supported the Lions. Whatever, I'm sure that all of you will agree that although South Africa won the series on statistical terms, the Lions were far the better team !!!!!!! (sorry Mike).
In October, Isobel and I planned an exciting trip to the USA. We intended flying into Florida and staying at our old flat for a day or two (thanks Jill and Paul!!) then driving across the States to San Francisco. Vince came out from the UK to house sit and holiday but then disaster struck— I slipped on the bathroom floor (and I was perfectly sober, honest) and ended up with 2 broken ribs and 1 dislocated. Needless to say, flying was out of the question so it was a case of recovering first then rearranging. In the meantime, old friends Cliff Orme and Andy Blair had arranged to come out and join Vince for a week so we had the great pleasure of being with them (not so sober that week!). Finally we managed to rearrange the holiday so, some 3 weeks after the original date we flew to Florida. Naturally the original schedule went out of the window and, without boring you with the holiday snaps (!), we drove from Cape Coral to las Vegas then back again - a total of some 6,000 miles. It really was spectacular and very exciting but I must confess that after 2 weeks of driving and exploring, both Isobel and I felt that our days of grand safaris were coming to an end and in future we are likely to enjoy the comfort of hotel and family holidays!! Coming back to Cyprus after nearly 5 weeks away really was a relief—holidays are an exciting change but its always nice to come home. Vince was still here and had almost taken root—our friends and neighbours had tried very hard to make him stay but I don’t think Bobbie in Wolverley would have been very pleased about that.
As you can see alongside Isobel is really becoming an expert in creating mosaics. The one you can see there is the latest and best of her efforts, a mosaic of St Barnabas Church, Limassol. The problem is, she keeps giving them away so the next one is for our wall!
When we got back in mid November, we had 2 days before Pad and Gill from Warrington arrived. Pad, Ifor and myself were very close friends at university and have kept in touch ever since. One of the highlights of their trip was to join us at a local hotel for our Bowling Club Annual Dinner Dance and Presentation evening. No trophies for Isobel and I this year as the rearranged USA trip meant that we missed the club finals day!! I’m dropping out of being club chairman this year but intend carrying on managing the club website and Isobel will carry on as club secretary - gluttons for punishment!
Pad and Gill left for the UK on 25th November and it was then a relaxing 3 weeks before the final trip of 2009 which will be Isobel and I travelling back to the UK to spend Christmas with Rhian, Guy and the boys and, with any luck we hope to visit some old friends— not sure who when this went to print. Hopefully we will also see Richard but he has at last managed to get a HGV job after a year of redundancy and so seeing him may well be a bit hit or miss.
Not too many plans for 2010 yet. In February I will be joining the Kidderminster lads on a trip to Paris for the France vs England International—not sure if we will be fortunate enough to find any tickets but, what the heck, the company will beat any rugby!! Then at Easter (Greek and Anglican are the same dates this year) Rhian and the boys will be joining us in Cyprus. They will also be with us in the summer and Isobel and I really love the ‘family’ atmosphere that builds up during these visits. Not sure when Guy will be joining them but sure he’ll be with us for at least part of the time. Unfortunately, he has been up to his eyes in work keeping his company afloat during the Gordon Brown recession - hopefully, perhaps the light at the end of the tunnel will become brighter after next year’s election.
Well folks, that’s all for 2009. Have a wonderful Christmas and 2010 (my first year with an old age pension). As usual, a warm welcome to all of you to come and visit us here on the island and if we are anywhere near you, don’t be surprised At the unexpected knock on the door. Contact details below so you have no excuses!!! |
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Barrie & Isobel |
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