Just after lunchtime, having gulped down some avgolemoni soup and chicken, Helen was ready to hit the road. The plan was to drive down to the big hotel strip on the seafront and then to park the car and walk the path between the sea and the hotels' gardens. It was well above the predicted 26 degrees, so we did as much sitting as walking.
As we were quite close to the Jasmine hotel, we dropped in for a chat with the lovely George and his wife. They of course dropped whatever they were doing in the office and sat with us for close to an hour...yes, catching up with all the news about all the old faces. Who needs a postal service or a newspaper in Cyprus, when you have the bush telegraph. We got the business news, the personal news..The family have known Helen for many years and other members of the family for even longer, so there is a lot of news to exchange at all levels
Suddenly we were flying out the door to the school pick-up and I got a chance to meet Danae's very beautiful friend Marina. When we got home, Aunty Mary, Ian and Di were waiting under the pergola and Stella was flat out on the poolside lounge. They had been down in the streets of Old Limassol, where Aunty Mary grew up, but the years have faded all memory of specific streets and houses. They couldn't stay long as they have to begin the pack up and clean up in preparation for the return to Oz on wednesday.
It's about 4pm now and duty called. It was time I gave the homework another bash. Helen was flying out to shop for Aunty Pola and to pick up mail from the post office. Danae was studying. If we heard a knock at the door it was expected to be the pool technician, coming to deal with a suspected burnt out motor attached to the creepy crawly...but no-one came.
We popped out to Helen's friend Maria. Maria goes to England and buys up suitcases full of womens' handbags, which she then re-sells locally. Her daughter was picking up Maria's grandaughter from the ballet school across the road from Helen's house and had told Helen that the stock had arrived and to drop in. As it happened, the stock had arrived but was yet to be unpacked so we were too early. Still we had a cup of tea and met another of Maria's friends, Maria. Maria is from Bristol and has married a Cyprian. We gave her and her son Muki a lift home, around the corner from Helen's.
Initially we planned to have no dinner to make up for the many previous excesses...but as time wore on and we began to talk about food, the plans changed. We decided to go out to a place iliatha recommended (and she should know, as she sold souvlakia for 10 years). The joint was across the road from Iliatha's house and it would have been rude not to say hello..so we popped in. I met her daughter, a dietician, who has a day job, but is also working hard to build up a private practice working into the night in a home office at her mother;s house.
We also met her blue-eyed little beauty of a son, whose christening Helen attended on the weekend. As we had the expert on hand, Iliatha came across the road to help us order, and in the end, stayed to eat with us.
Suddenly we were having a substantial meal and not a snack, but it was a nice opportunity to compare stories about Egypt. Iliatha wouln't hear of us paying and I felt horribly obligated, but there was nothing we could do.
That's all so far. I'll keep you posted, Love, Lily
