It’s definitely turned into full autumn in the last couple of days. It’s still 20/21C during the day but in the mornings and after sunset…. definitely colder. We aren’t eating dinner outside anymore and I’ve brought the woollen throws downstairs to snuggle under in the evening. Haven’t been tempted to put heating on yet, it’s not that cold and I’m still in shorts albeit with a long sleeved T shirt.

Tuesday night we ate at the Blue Song with John and Wilma who’ve done such a brilliant job of managing the house for us this year. Only the highest praise from all the guests and a great worry off our shoulders. We had a lovely convivial meal and I was quite impressed with the Blue Song. The food was good and it was a lot cheaper than some others on the Lapta Strip.

We’ve started “winterising” the house ready for our departure on the 5th. Bob has taken down the gourd lights and I’ve brought in the terrace decorations, oiled the African wooden statues…. The outdoor cushions are all inside. The loungers are stacked.

Wednesday we met Pamela and Eddie at the Starlux cinema in Karaoglanoglu and went to see the film, “Napoleon”. It really is a nice cinema, very comfy seats and good screens and sound equipment. It’s a great facility to have nearby. The film was very good, especially the battle scenes, which were brutal as indeed the real ones were. Ridley Scott has actually cut 2 hours out of the cinema version to make it viable but when it is shown on Apple TV+ from December 20th, it will be the full version. I think this will be better because there were quite a few “jumps” in the narrative in the film. The main lack, I felt anyway, was any evidence or explanation as to why the French followed him, what drove his ambition, why was he so brilliant? From the film, you would just have thought that he was rather odd and that his life was a series of battles, and completely missing the fact that most of Europe was under his sway at the height of his powers.

This afternoon, Bob went to canasta at the Blue Song in Lapta. It’s a very friendly group of players and you can also learn to play there. He enjoys it very much.

We don’t have a lot of time after we get back so I am doing a fair bit of internet shopping and having the parcels posted to either Lucy’s flat or to Penny. There will be a fair bit to collect when we get back.