Last night we went along to the Blue Song Restaurant and Bar situated at the water’s edge on the Lapta Strip. The occasion was a celebratory Coronation BBQ organised by The Foreign Residents association. It started at about 630 and we left at about 1015 – it was still going.

I would say there were about 150 people there of all nationalities, mainly European. They’d decorated the place up with a special King Charles Coronation banner and lots of flags and bunting. The tables were decorated and we all had Union Jack Napkins. People were wearing Union Jack hats and some had golden paper crowns. We were not wearing anything like that but we joined in enthusiastically. It began with a rendition of a few verses of God Save the King which everyone stood for and sang – even all the non Brits!!!!

It was a lovely evening. The sea was so blue and like a millpond. I would have rather eaten outside but of course people who live here still think it’s a bit parky!!!!! The summer really has settled in now – 27-28C for the next week or so before it ramps up again. We are planning on spending our last week relaxing and we’ll be able to get in the pool and hopefully have a beach day.

Anyway, the food at the Blue Song was plentiful and ok, if not the best I’ve had. I did enjoy the desserts which had been supplied by some of the TFR lady members. My sherry trifle was yummy and definitely had a good dollop of sherry in it. Company was good of course. We were on a table with Pamela and Eddie, Ann and Roger, Joe and Lesley, Jacqui and Tony and Linda and Mike. Good yak and a fun time.

This morning we did a big food shop for the rest of our stay and then we went for a medical appointment for Bob. He’d had a dental check up out here at the end of last week and the super duper rotating x ray machine had picked up a small node under his jaw. The dentist said it was almost certainly nothing to worry about, but she wanted him to see an ENT specialist. She referred him to Dr Ahmed Varis at the Varis Hospital in Alsancak and we went today. He examined the x ray and examined Bob very thoroughly and said he thought it was almost certainly a benign cyst but that to be sure he was referring Bob for a CT scan at the Dr Suat Gunsel University Hospital in Kyrenia. By chance I am going there tomorrow morning for my followup after my d&c/uterine scare last November. Anyway, Bob has his CT scan tomorrow morning too – just ring up for an appointment. There are 2 machines in Kyrenia. Honestly it’s amazing here. The UK is now very third world in terms of healthcare. It’s super cheap too. The dentist was £50 for x rays, a full check up, scale and polish and a proposal for 2 crowns (400 euro for both). The ENT specialist today was £24 for the full examination of ears, nose and throat and the referral. We don’t know yet how much the CT scan will be but I’ll update in a future blog.

Tonight we ate out beside the pool. I’d bought 2 steaks which were supposedly ok for grilling…. they looked amazing. I marinaded them for hours and Bob fired them up…. gosh….. I have never eaten tougher steak in my life…. god knows what it was. Tasted lovely but was sooo difficult to cut and worse to chew….. oh dear…… It was a lovely evening too. Gorgeous and so warm. Beautiful light as the sun begn to fade…. We’ve really done well today. Pergola urtains back up. Water lines checked and run…… Bob has the gourd lights back up.

Nearly finished with jobs for now….