I’m making a quick spring visit to the villa to get some things set up before the main booking/summer season starts. Our first guests are coming early this year so we originally booked just a short trip which has since changed again to just be a trip for me because Bob is unavoidably detained in the UK.

I flew out yesterday on Pegasus from Stansted. It was a lovely day to fly – very clear – and there were lovely views all the way. Lovely snowy views of mountaintops as we flew over the Alps and then the approach to Istanbul was gorgeous. The Golden Horn and Bosphorus were mirror calm and blue with the beautiful city in the background. All the flights were smooth and without difficulty and I got through Ercan airport in less than 30 minutes. My taxi arranged by lovely Gunray Rentacar was waiting and I arrived at the house at about 1115pm.

Wilma had left some lights on for me which was good. Our street lamps up here are quite dim and well spaced which is advantageous in preserving the beautiful night skies but possibly a bit eerie when arriving alone late at night. Anyway, nothing to fear, the villa welcomed me as warmly as usual and I was soon unpacked and tucked up.

This morning I woke to sunny skies and a temperature of about 20C. It’s getting warmer over the next few days but I have jobs to do so I don’t mind it being warm rather than hot. After a couple of Nespressos I set to work. The terrace needed a good brush. The vine growing over the top is lovely during the summer but in the late autumn it drops all its leaves which need clearing. I also unpacked some food from the store cupboard and switched on the internet mesh system and the tv system. We leave them all unplugged when the house is empty to guard them against possible power surges. We have surge protectors but you never know…

At about 10 the lovely Mrs Ozzie from Gunray delivered my hire car and we had a good chat as usual. Gunray are such a lovely company to deal with. Most of our guests take their cars too and have been happy. Then Habibi the Gardener arrived and we walked around the plot and discussed some jobs that need doing now notably several areas of irrigation pipe need replacing before the hot dry weather really sets in. He’s coming back on Tuesday to do it and to help me with a few other ladder jobs. Bob and I would have done the irrigation system ourselves but I can’t do it on my own. The water pipes are pretty heavy.

Once I had my transport, I drove down to Dema supermarket and got a food shop. They are good value and have a lot of discount offers. Then I drove across the road and made an appointment at Ali’s hairdresser for a cut tomorrow..

One of the admin tasks I have to do on this visit is to try and get the villa registered under the new Holiday Home scheme recently enacted here. The scheme has come as a bolt from the blue to everyone and it was a complete surprise when the new law and procedures were announced.With quite stiff penalties for non compliance. Many people are still unaware of it and may run foul of the law. However, not to worry as things here are often launched chaotically and this is no exception. Quite apart from the sudden requirement to comply, the process is rather complex requiring 12 pages of rules and regulations plus appendices of forms that must be filled out and submitted. It was all published only in Turkish too which didn’t help. And although it has been published under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, no office address has been given in order for registration to take place. Anyway, there is an office in Kyrenia so I drove down there to check if they were doing it and what documents they required. I was thwarted though as when I arrived, the building was empty and abandoned. Zounds! Drove home and rang the Lefkosa office and they confirmed they were managing the new system but that they weren’t ready and I should ring back in a week when they hoped to have things in place. Seems like the owners weren’t the only people to be taken by surprise by the new legislation. To be clear, the new system presents no worries to us: we register and pay an annual fee, they apparently inspect the property and certify it as suitable for guests and then we have to register our guests and send the registration forms to them for filing. No problem doing that, just need to get cracking.

Tonight I drove to Lapta to the Silver Rocks restaurant and met Pamela, Lesley and Joe and their friends for dinner. It was lovely to see them all again and we had a super dinner and a very jolly evening. You get a small meze starter and then your main. I had lamb chops and they were huge and very nice. All in with service mine was £20. I was driving so just fizzy water for me. I’m still getting my confidence driving alone at night on the hill roads. Bob always drives. Still, it’s good to be doing this really.