What a lovely day!  We finished off the last couple of jobs this morning.  Someone had broken one of the Roman blinds in the middle bedroom and we’d taken it into Mermaid to get it fixed as it really was badly mashed up.

  Basically, chaps, when raising or lowering a Roman blind, do it slowly, and if you reach a point of resistance, do not use brute force to proceed because SOMETHING IS WRONG and you are going to make it worse.  Maybe the control cords are caught on the window handle…. But all brute force does is rip the control wires out of the blind altogether……  So, if you meet resistance, STOP.  Lift the blind away from the window gently and look at the back to see what’s going on. 

So, we got it back yesterday and we re-fitted it to the window this morning.  Will be so happy if it survives the letting season!!!!!

Then we got the pool pergola curtains out of the pack they’d come back from the laundry in and re-fitted the hooks and got them hung up.  Looks so nice…..  I love that pergola.  It’s a perfectly romantic spot to have dinner and also provides a shady spot to put your lounger if you’ve had enough sun. 

Final job:  Bob extended the run on the master bedroom air conditioning condenser outlet.  We had been letting it drain into a large planter.  However, there is too much condensate through the summer for the plant pot and it would overflow and make a mark on the marble floor of the dining terrace.  So, he has extended it and now it drains into the ground near our main house climber.  

And that’s it folks for this time. 

Bob ran me down the hill for 1130 to be picked up by Pamela and Deborah to have an afternoon’s pampering at the Saray Hammam.  First we went for lunch at a health food café in Kyrenia.  I wish I could tell you it was good…. But it wasn’t.  I like vegetarian food, vegan food…. Let’s face it, all food.  But this was just tasteless and bland.  I had a chicken bowl that came with an enormous amount of rice and broccoli.  The chicken was spiced but very dry.  The rest was not even seasoned.  Never mind… it was cheap at under £4 for a big bowl and a bottle of water.  Won’t be going back and I won’t name it in order to give them advertising.

We had a good mooch around the clothes and shoes shops in that area of town (upper university area).  Some amazing shoes which I no longer have the feet or pain capacity to wear but could definitely admire.  Very reasonable too.  Spotted a pair of lovely, rugged leather sandals that Bob may want to buy to replace his Croc leather walking sandals that are at the end….  

At 2pm we had appointments for the Spring Special Offer at the Saray Hammam, a new facility down in Kyrenia, very close to the Dome Hotel.  To describe the location:  stand outside the Dome front entrance with your back to it, look across the street and slightly to the left and you will see a side road going up hill.  The Saray Hammam is about 50m up there on the left hand side and there is parking in front of it. https://www.facebook.com/Saray-Hamam-Girne-Cyprus-109905418198497?msclkid=ee949daec63b11eca67317166a433c8d

It’s a lovely old 3 floor house, and we were very much welcomed and shown to the changing rooms where we put on our swimmies and put our stuff in the free lockers.  Then wrapped in the Turkish towels and wearing the provided slippers we were guided into the hammam rooms.  There are 2 interlinked.  Totally clad in white marble from floor to ceiling, with a big marble platform in the middle and marble seating around the edge broken up by marble sinks every few feet.  We were instructed to lay down on the central slab which had leather cushions for our head and feet and a towel to lie on.  It was very hot and humid in there and the marble slap was heated and very hot.  Each of us was assigned a bath attendant who swilled us with water from the sinks, decanted into brass bowls – soaked from head to toes.  Then, we were rubbed from said toes to head with a loofah and some sort of product in an exfoliating rub, both sides, with much swilling with water as it progressed.  Then another attendant came with a bowl and cloth from which she dispensed an amazing frothy soap foam. Very light, very pleasant.  This was massaged in, from head to foot both sides and more swilling with water.  Then a full body massage on the slab and finally swilling in 3 temperatures of water, getting colder each time.  Finally we were wrapped in towels and sent to the rest area.  This process took 45 minutes.

We lazed on recliner beds and were served water and tea.  Then a clay mask was massaged into our face and left to dry.  This took 15 – 20 minutes.

Finally we were lead to individual massage rooms, the mask washed off, and we were given a 60 minute massage – mine was more like 75 minutes actually.  It was really excellent and it ended with lovely natural oils being massaged into my skin. 

So we had a fabulous pampering session of over 2 hours of active treatment for…… £30…….  A humongous bargain and one I shall definitely repeat.  They also offer single treatments, a package of massages and all sorts.  It;s a gorgeous place, very atmospheric and Ottoman…. impeccably clean and well set up. Definitely give it a go when you are here.

While I was doing this, Bob was at the Kyrenia Medical Centre having his shoulder inspected.  It’s been paining him for months, and just the last few weeks, the pain has got worse.  He made the appointment yesterday.  So first he saw the orthopaedic consultant for a physical check up and chat.  Then, he got sent for an MRI scan which took 40 minutes and which was immediately available.  Then, back upstairs to see the consultant.  After a 10 minute wait at this point he was called in to review the MRI findings.  It showed he had inflammation, probably caused by overuse over his lifetime and a bit of arthritis.  He has the scans to take back on a dvd.  The doctor gave him a cortisone injection and a prescription for some specialised painkillers (can’t take ibuprofen) and some painkilling gel.  The MRI was £35, the consultant meetings were £35 and the prescription fulfilment was £15.  This was all done without waiting, and in modern, professional surroundings.  God knows how long it would have taken him to even see a GP back at home.  The NHS really is a national disgrace more than a national treasure these days.  And not because of lack of funding.  But because of top heavy, expensive management who add nothing of value to the service.  Sorry if this hurts your personal feelings, but it’s simply not right if you can get far, far superior treatment in the banana republic of northern Cyprus than what you can receive in th e UK.

So… another lovely hot evening back at home.  Bob made buttermilk fried chicken and we enjoyed our sundowners and the setting sun.