A big day today because our new front doors were arriving and being fitted. Our old wooden ones had done valiant service for the past 18 years, the last few admittedly containing more plastic wood and filler than actual wood!!!!! The new ones are an aluminium composite, with a white coating inside and out. They are exactly the same pattern as the old doors – solid and no glazed panels. We have glazed full length side windows on either side of the door so we didn’t need more light. This was our biggest expense this trip: around £1450 fitted and including door furniture. We got them in Tesco Mar in Catalkoy, having also tried Aypen in Yesiltepe and Dog Pen in Karaoglanoglu.

Bob finished top coating the six kitchen chairs this morning and we moved the table back into the kitchen from the terrace – the marble guys had asked us not to bring it back in for a couple of days to let the sealer set. I gave that a good clean and polish.

The chaps arrived dead on 12 midday and set to work. They did a good clean, neat job. I’d put dust covers around in the hall but in truth they weren’t needed. They made very little mess and what they did make, they cleaned up immediately. Took all their rubbish away and – thank god – our old doors too. We debated if we could recycle them as something but nothing came to mind. Hopefully someone can make something out of bits of them. If they wouldn’t take them, we’d have got them to the roadside and that would have worked. Anyway, soooo pleased with the doors. No more gaps under them or between them. My only concern is what the little lizard who used to come under them into the house will do.

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Spoke to Daisy who was printing out her paperwork and packing. At least she will get two weeks of normal, free, full life out here before heading back. And then hopefully “Freedom Day” in the UK will not be too long delayed into July. We are heading back at the end of July and then will be travelling again in September and for much of the rest of the year.

The vaccine rollout continues well here. Another 76,000 doses were received yesterday and the plan is to have 60% of the population fully vaccinated by the end of this month.

Tonight we had a brilliant evening at Deborah and David’s house in Alsancak. Also there were Jacqui, Deborah’s sister, and Pamela and Eddie. We had drinks first on their terrace and then dinner and then more drinks and sweetmeats out by the pool. Such a lovely meal – paella, just delicious – and as always with this group, great chat, banter and many laughs. We are very lucky to have made such good friends here.

Home by midnight, happy but soooooo tired…… Tomorrow we have a day of clearing up before picking Daisy up in the evening. We reviewed our job list tonight, which is enormous. Bob has done an extraordinary amount of work in the 5 weeks we’ve been here. Time for a bit of a rest from now on.