It couldn’t be put off any longer.  Today was the day we had to start decorating the twin bedroom.  We had bought a paint roller system at The Range before we came out.  It came with a large paint roller that also contained a paint reservoir i.e  the roller loaded from a canister, you didn’t have to use a tray; a smaller “edging” roller, a corner device.  I was a bit sceptical being an old school paintbrush kinda girl.  Anyway, I have to say, the big roller was amazing and worked brilliantly plus saved lots of time going up and down step ladders to load the roller.  The corner device was also genius.  I was slightly less convinced by the edging roller but it worked well enough.  We did the entire bedroom in just a couple of hours.  Bob did a heroes work of course.  Our intention was to put a light yellow coat down and then for me to sponge over the top in a deeper yellow.  However, after the base coat dried we felt that the sponging colour was not sufficiently different so we’re leaving it as a matt colour.  Very pleased with our work, will post pix tomorrow.

A beautiful day again, weatherwise.  Not that we saw much of it.  But the views and the clarity around the house were just gorgeous.  So wonderful to look out and see the mountains and sea from every window.

Late morning Habibi came up with his friend the electrician to hang the big lantern at the top of our landing.  We have a 2 storey hallway and I’m ashamed to say we have lived for 13 years in the house with just a bulb on the top.  It’s a very difficult light to access and for ages we couldn’t find a fitting we liked to go there, so it just remained…..  last autumn we finally found a lantern we liked at the Ottoman light shop in Kyrenia.  It is a copy of a style found in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.  It took a bit of hanging.  The electrician had to get up in our loft to add a securing bar.  We are so pleased with the result though and we hope our guests will be too.  I must say that all the tradesmen Habibi has introduced to us have been utterly first class.  So glad that we have found a friend like him.

He also brought up the painter who had done the outside of the house.  We have decided that the middle “turret” bedroom needs a coat of paint this year, rather than next year as we had previously planned.  He came up and is returning tomorrow to start work.  I need to go to the paint shop tomorrow to pick the paint.

We had just finished work when Marion came up to check in.  Had a long chat over about 2 hours, just catching up on happenings over the winter.

Tonight we went out to eat for the first time since we’ve been here.  When we come back from Turkey, in June, we will eat out a lot more, so this first stay, we are mostly eating in.  Anyway, we went to Kervan Terrace restaurant, on the far side of the bay of Escape Beach.  We haven’t eaten here for a long time mainly because it can be difficult to park.  The food has always been very good here though and the view is sublime.  It was one of the first restaurants we ever visited in northern Cyprus.  They specialise in pizza cooked in their wood ovens, but they also offer a good selection of other dishes.  It was busy as usual but they seem to have secured some private parking and we had no problem tonight.  We started with a shared plate of calamari which were delicious.  Then Bob had a spicy beef pizza and I had lamb chops with chips and salad.  I gave Bob my chips and he donated me a small slice of pizza.  I have to say it was delicious: thin crust with a very thick and succulent topping.  My chops were fabulous.  We washed it all down with 2 large g&ts and a large beer.  The bill was just a shade under £20.  The view down over the beach and the sunsetting coast was fantastic.

On the way home we called in at Starling supermarket for a few bits and bobs.  The supermarkets here are great.  Just like home really.

Came home and watched the sun set fully with a nice Cyprus brandy.  Watched downloaded The Looming Tower which we are very much enjoying and turned in.