Our last day and another bright sunny one to see us off. We spent the morning packing our suitcases and also the stuff that goes into our lockups ie Bob’s tools. We’ve got it pretty much down to a fine art now.

Part of the grape vine blew down in the storm of last week so we hoisted it up and I’ve got it going along the balcony balustrade of one of the guest bedrooms now which will be very nice come summer. I also went down to our neighbour’s house to pick up some more baby equipment which they no longer need, for our guests to use. We already have a stairgate and a travel cot but now we have a lovely high chair and a pushchair too. Nice not to have to lug that out with you.

In the afternoon, Bob went out to the printshop down the hill to get our documents printed for the trip home, We have everything digitally but still print them out, “just in case”.

We’ve chosen our fabric for the couches. The first choice was just a bit pricey and a bit iffy so we have chosen one of the ones from Mermaid and Marion will get it started in the new year. I shall be very excited to see them when we are next here.

Had a last explore round the garden. It is still so mild here. 21C today. We are going to notice the difference when we get home!!! Luckily these days we have a Hive system in the house which lets us – amongst other things – control the central heating by using a tablet or mobile phone. So, first thing this morning, we put the central heating and hot water back on in Kent to start th house warming up ready for us tomorrow night. In the days before we had it, we used to come back to a freezing house with damp feeling bedding and shivered through the first 24 hours….. that’s a thing of the past now.

Tonight we went for our last dinner out to Tervetuloa in what has become our tradition. It was still windy, but rather warm and the sky totally clear. Weird really. No coats required at all. The space station was going over but I forgot…. we’ve often seen it fly over here and it’s a lovely sight.

So, we had our hot and cold meze, a lamb chops main served with salad and chips and rice. We passed on pudding but had Turkish coffee and brandy. It is so cheap. Honestly such amazing value. If you come to this part of CYprus, you must eat at Tervetuloa. Lovely lovely people and good honest food at a great price. And the best gourd lamps ANYWHERE.

And so another lovely stay here comes to an end…… we’ve had a fantastic time and so enjoyed all the lovely outings with our friends here, our visits up and down the coast, and just spending time at the house. Bob has done his usual marvels with a list of jobs as long as the road home. Habibi has also achieved epic improvements outside on this visit. We thank you all and can’t wait for our next visit in the spring.

Next week a lovely family reunion will take place here. Family members from literally the 4 corners of the world are coming together for Xmas at our house. It’s a lovely thing and we feel rather proud. Hope they enjoy it as much as we have.