General Chat

Hi all, Thanks for the offer J.A. When I went back the 3rd time I took
loads of pics. The church in Marston Magna is beautiful and very very old so took loads of pics. Books told the tale of the Biddiscombes so I was lucky to cover all of the ancestors on that side.Only have the Lavers to work on now but that can wait for a while!!! Have to get it all documented before I go further. Hope your visit has been good for you . Safe journay home.
Fred and Liz the same for you two. Sounds like you have had a great time.Will look forward to more stories and pics.
Hope everyone else is well. See you soon, Edith XXXX

Badger please pass om contrats to Sean, good for him

Safe travel home and hope that leg gets better - be good to see Hissy, Mr D is doing fine I understand

Edith Somerset is lovely, anything i can do - have another week

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Canucks all

JA

Badger congrats to Sean, you are rightly proud Love to you and liz

Edith Somerset is very beautiful Email me if I can get any pickles for you. Time running out here but you never know I may be able to take a drive in between parents and farewells

~~~~~~~~everyone

JA

Hi Mary ,Les and anyone else who shows up .
It is still very difficult to do any sort of work here.the internet being terrible even when you are on the best i s p ,which we are .
We had a good trip into the mountains late last week ,and finished up on Mt Olympus where we took some stunning pictures over the valley towards the sea, and he trip up and down to the plains went well ,the terrain being simular to Canada in the fall ,the trees all in their finery ,all gold ,light green and brown,with the floor under the trees littered with nut shells where the squirrels have had a good time storing nuts for the winter months.
We fly home Tuesday next week ,so i have to get busy with the camera yet again ,lol,these pics have to last us a few years,unless the lottery comes up.
I will be glad to get home in a couple of ways ,i need the doc's to get my right leg seen to ,it pains me much of the time because i wan't to keep it freed up and refuse to sit in a chair and vegetate ,but i have a feeling that i will have to impose on my eldest son in future for the hedges ,although i think i can still manage the lawns so long as i take my time over a couple of days .
I am missing my furry pal too,and can't wait to see her again ,such a pity i couldn't bring her too,i feel sure she would have loved it here ,lol.
Have to go and get ready now to go for dinner with Liz and Sean ,this being a celebration on his promotion ,well deserved too,so all he is waiting for now is conformation as to where they will send him now he is a cpl, maybe someplace for him to train younger members of the logistics branch,who knows ,the world is his oyster in this trade,
Catch all of you later ,take care all ,and be safe .Fred.& Liz.

Hi everyone Sorry I havent been here for a while but have been busy at the hospital with my dear friend Lewella who died on last wednesday of that horrible illness..She was a really lovely lady and a great member of the Wattlers..I shall miss her greatly..Her funeral was yesterday and it was lovely..if you can say a funeral is lovely..
She gave a lot of help to people on GR and was one of the kindest people I know..another angel in heaven..with the best sence of humour I have met for a long time..bet she has them laughing up a storm up there in heaven....

Hope everyone is well,, havent read back but will do so next time..
Les you still sewing...and Fred are you home yet...

Love to all Mary xxx

Christine, sounds like a great trip. My cousin lives in Fawley so we have been visitors over the years to the area you were in...pretty and pretty.
Loved the comments about the bathrooms and the loo....funny how alike we are....they are usually my first comment also.
My new computer seems to be having a problem with its wireless connectivity. If I have to take it back I shall be spitting mad...it is such a lot of work to get it all loaded up again.
Off to sew.
Lesxx

Sorry gang, not hiding just fiercely busy what with teaching the genealogy class and sewing for the upcoming fairs...then chuck in a few days of procrastination....and thats me!!
Sure hope our missing pals are OK. Haven't heard from Dorothy in Barries for a while either.
Ah well, life gets busy for everyone now and then. Will write more later...promise.
BTW Edith I cooked a small pork loin roast using the recipe you gave me with the onions, bbq sauce etc. I let it simmer in the oven for about 3 hours...it was amazing!!
Lesxx

Hi Our Edith Fred reporting in at last,not my fault honest ,we have only four I S Ps on the island ,and they are all hopeless cYTa being the best of a bad bunch ,and even when i get up at six ,normally i find it has dropped out.
I would suggest that anyone coming to this fair island be pre warned ,and bring carrier pigeons instead of a laptop ,lol
We went to the Neolithic settlement this morning ,tons to do ,and see ,with fourty huts built into the hillside ,made out of stone ,mud brick and a sort of limewash coating ,well waterproof and cosy.
The huts had a ceiling half the way up the wall covering half the living area inside,which was to put the beds, well off the floor for creepy crawlies [and worse ] lol,with the kitchen and living area beneath
The site was well thought out ,with a stream coming off the mountains for water all year round ,,a wall built all round the settlement in case of intruders ,and wild wheat on the hillside [still there today] for bread and gruel,wildfruits and veggies ,also ,to some extent ,still there ,as in fig ,lemon ,orange ,olive and the like ,with loads of natural herbs ,and the sea only two miles away for fish.
There is ,so far ,no trace of goats ,or sheep being kept ,so these people never brought animals with them,the goats and whatever ,must have come much later with the greeks and egyptians ,who also brought the cats with them.
Even the guards on the site this morning had their two cats ,well fed ,and content ,rolling on their backs to have their tummies rubbed [the cats ,i might add ,not the guards] he he.
As we came away the autumn here raised it's head ,thunder clouds
rolling over the site from the mountains ,thunder and lightening ,plus a few drops of rain ,but we wern't bothered by that time ,being in the coffee house over the road.
time to go and make the tea now ,stir fry i reckon ,will be back later if i get the chance.
Take care all .Fred.
.

Hello Where is everyone?? Haven't heard from Les in eons, I think Fred must be lost on Cyprus!!!! J.A and Mary have you both run away?
Teresa how are you?
I know I too have been tardy.(slaps hand)But In our town the fall season is so busy. All the ladies groups have the annual bazaar and of course the fall suppers etc.
Things have slowed a bit, so before things get going for Christmas I will have a bit of free time.
What a small world we live in. In reading back I see J.A is in Taunton. 4 yrs.ago I sat in the huge library there filling in some spaces in my tree.
All my ancestors on Mom's side are from that area. Marston Magna was
the main village but all the spouses etc. came from the surrounding area.
Also spent some time in Yoeville. This silly site has started jumping about so wil say Bye for now. Hope all are well. Edith XXXX

Evening everyone, hope you are all well, Fred still enjoying his travels? It sounds lovely... Well its been a really damp day here today so haven't done a great deal. My sister in law called today and told me my brother has swine flu. He is really ill! He has been given Tamiflu and at the moment can't get out of bed his is so weak. I thought at first that it was getting blown out of proportion, but now it has hit one of my family, I realise it certainly wasn't. Well I'll say goodnight to all and take care.....

Hi Y'all

Fred it is good to hear of your adventures and am eagerly awaiting some pics. I miss travelling a lot.
Daughter was here this weekend and we had a great visit. Did as much shopping as is possible in a small town like this. We all bought slippers, Nicky bought yarn for a throw and Norm a watch. I bought some really cheeky stuff for that sweet Rhian. We found a t-shirt that said :forget Princess I want to be a vampire" and some black leggings. Nicky and I figure she can wear the outfit as jammies. It will go well with the "teeth" she's had in her gob this last week. (Pic on its way!!)
This is the first post from my new laptop. I am liking it a lot. Also got a new keyboard....easier to bash on a big one. I am, at best, an erratic typist!!
Nicky and I cooked together last night while Norm yelled encouragement from his chair. We made chicken korma, lentil curry and aloo mutter palek. Very tasty as our Fred would say.
Ok I am off to the salt mine.
Keep well.
Lesxx
PS.BTW did any of you lot upgrade to the gold from standard???? just curious if there was any benefit.

Morning all ,niceto be back on line again after a loooong fight with windows vista refusing to update itself and trouble reloading windows8 because ofit too ,
any way ,i have been online since 6-16 am ,and havn't been booted off once ,so hopefully ,all is now sorted.
The revisit to Kourion went well ,exept that we forgot to view the earthquake house that the Romans built which just goes to show ,that the romans did know a lot about building in those days.
The water for the town was drawn direct from the river Kouris,fed down to the town through terracotta pipes into a huge stone sink tank that must have taken months to build,.
From the sink the water went asll over the site through pipes ,channels and culverts,amazing on such a big size as this place,the baths even in a hot climate supplied with underfloor heating for the saunas and hot bath. i swear that by the time we came away my camera was overheating as well as us both ,lol.
I di a lovely home made thai green curry for tea last evening complete with cocanut milk which added the finishing touch ,lol, i put a tad too much ginger in though ,ooooo hot hot hot he he,but it was more than edible.
I had a chat to a local stall holder mid last week who was trying to persuade me to try a cypriot dish ,so ,i struck a deal ,i would taste her's if she would taste mine [this came around because she couldn't get her head around the british leek.
Both dishes have to be meat free, so i have decided to make a calgannon made of course with all local produce ,including cyprus tatties,the only thing foreign being the leek.
I think a carefully balanced calgannon with some nice fresh cypriot fresh ground black pepper will we a real winner.and i am now looking forward to the contest he he.
.
Time to go,my turn for the dinnertoday ,cheese & bread pudding version 2 today ,the one made with breadcrumbs and comes up a little like a sufflei [you know what i mean lol]
Catch you all later Fred.

Hello Canucks and Co from a cool Wellington Somerset More later Cheers
JA

Hello all, Sorry Fred by the time my lot is finished with a turkey the only thing left are the bones.I have to add lots of veg etc. just to make soup.
Next time i will put some aside for you, just get here fast O.K.??
Thanks for the details on your castle visit, it's really enjoyed when you know you will never get there to see it .Hope the old pins get better quickly. I know what that pain is like and it is no fun.
We still have crazy weather can't decide if it wants to rain or snow so we have been getting both. Oh, for a lovely white world with about 3 feet of the stuff.( I know I'm not normal )but I do love the winter. Not too cold just snowy. heehee
Hope Mary, J.A>, Teresa, and all the others are well. Let's hear from you.
must go. Edith XXXXXX

Hiya Edith ,cor ,you could have saved me a bit of that turkey lol,you have my mouth watering at the thought of it ,with all of the trimmings.
Turkey here ,the smallest ready frozen one is well over £26 but ,seeing as all that stuff has to be imported from europe it's not bad cosidering.
The chickens grown here are pretty large ,free range and very tasty so at £8 each they do compare with home.
Liz and i went back to the castle yesterday seeing as it was too hot to do on Friday by the time we had been to the stadium,where the chariot racing and games took place whilst the romans were here.
The castle is on four floors including the basement /vaults where the sugar and wines were produced and refined.The building of this castle was very well thought out with the watercourse outside and the wells inside [3] were built.,and in those days of course ,the river would have been clean and pure [the river is no more].
all the floors had windows on all four sides ,with granite seats set into the walls for seating ,,so i suppose ,there would have been narrow trestles or tables so that these areas could have been used for meals as well. the top floor was of course reserved for the head honcho and his family with a spiral stairway built into the round tower in the rooms corner leading to the roof ,where said family could sit in the heat of the day and keep cool.
All floors had latrines built into one wall ,hope the knights didn't have to keep their armour on in the castle lol on the second floor ,it's a long way down if one was to slip ,ooooops] he eh.
I forgot my stick of course ,and by the time i had got up onto the roof and back down again i was knackered ,and my leg is so sore this morning that i can't drive at all [that will teach me not to forget the stick in future].
Well worth the effort though and the pic i managed to get of the motif on the main wall of the castle was alone worth all the effort.
The pic ,taken on tele shows the shield of the then royal family .richard the lion heart with the royal crown over the top.and the heraldry shields of three of the senior knights below,proving that the castle was built by christians.
Through the ages though ,first the turks ,took the castle ,then the Marmalukes [arabs] then eventually ,the Greeks ,quit a few changes of ownership,the sugar and wine being so important that there was a lot of fighting over the industries ownership.
Must go now ,we have been baking this morning ,egg and spam flans for salads to make a change ,some fish pasties and jam tarts with the left over pastry ,so ,it's time to sample some of the goodies,lol.
Catch you later all ,take care.Fred & Liz.

Hello all. The crazy weather just keeps going on and on.Sat. a.m. we woke to a white world. Just too early for us but what the hey it goes with all the nutty summer we had. Celebrating Thankgiving this week-end. Just returned from a lovely turkey dinner with all the fixings. Pumpkin pie and cream,apple with cheese slice and ice cream!!!!!!Diet down the tubes as well. Am enjoying Fred and Liz's travel tales and Les and Norms pics.The houses in the Maritimes are great aren't they??
Hello to all the other Canucks who will be celebrating, hope you are all well. Hi to Mary. J.A and Ian. Maybe the snow will chase the bears to bed Mary Hee Hee. Time to let all the food settle so will say bye for now.
Edith XXXXXX

Hiya J A yes ,i can see why your niece loves this island so much ,the people here are amazing ,nothing is too much trouble to them if you enquire about their methods of cooking and customs ,they are so laid back and relaxed,he he ,you get the impression that if their house caught fire they would finish their coffee and chat before getting round to putting it out.
We are doing the laddo a roast today ,something he dosn't get anymore now that his missus is back in Poland finishing uni.
We have a large piece of pork [all meats are produced in the northern island] which will do todays meal ,made with roast and mash potato's ,cabbage ,cauli and green beans ,home made stuffing,with a nice gravy,the rest of the meat will be halved ,one half in the freezer for a stir fry mid week ,and the other half for a curry on Sunday.
We are off duty now until Monday when we are due to visit the local castle just outside Episkopi, built by the ????? ,well ,i wont know that till i go will i ,but it looks before the turk invasion ,so it could well be moorish.
Have a good weekend all .still loving every minute ,and the tremperature so far today 24c whoopee .
fred & Liz xxxx

Good morning from a chilly Taunton, your sun sounds nice Badger, I think Canberra might have had a bitter snap LM like Sydney according to the boys at home
Badger my niece was born in Cyprus and they go back every year and love it
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬to all

JA

Hi everyone. We have gone back to winter and into jumpers again.. Crazy weather.. but they say worming up later in the week..

Had a lovely 2 days visiting my brother who lives about 1 1/2 hours drive away and John went well and really enjoyed himself.. That was so good as he hasent been able to do that for years.. We are going to try my other brother soon and see how he goes there as they have been asking us to visit but John has not been well enough, but things are so much better at the moment we are ever hopeful..We will take it slowley and do small trips at a time and then if all seems well we will try a longer one..

The red dust is slowly getting washed away by the rain we have had lately and more rain to come to finish off the job...

Hope Les is rested after the long trip and if she is like me when we did a lot of travelling it took me ages to come back to civilization and everday life again and then I wanted to pack up and go agian..I think I really didnt want it to end as I loved the outback life..I hate the city life and would love to move to the country but John is a city lad and could not manage living in the country. Never mind ,,cant have everyhting...lol..

Hope you are ok Edith and Fred is enjoying himself on holiday and hope all are well,, Have a lovely weekend all..

Love Mary xxxx

Well,good afternoon all ,from a lovely sunny Cyprus he he,where old Badger is settled on the patio after a nice day out.
Early this morning was a dead loss ,couldn't get onto the internet at all and gave up at 0930 and decided to go on a little tour over to the west island.
I had the wife sat in front ,with the camera pointed out of the open car window as we went along.
This is the only way to do it in any safety ,the roads being windy and narrow ,and the natives driving are as bad ,if not worse than the French.
These drivers take no notice of red lights ,driving blatantly though them without even slowing down ,ignoring the horns ,shaken fists and shouts.
Halt signs mean nothing here ,lol you takes your choice and go for it sending up a prayer to the virgin Mary if you meet something coming the other way,speed signs likewise are treated with contempt so ,all in all you need eyes in the butt.
We started off great turning right onto the road to Pafos and passed loads of proper date palms [not the decorative ones you see in the towns] all laden with datesa ,a thing i havn't seen since my days in Aden,lol,i was tempted to try shinning up a trunk to nick a few ,but thought that these old bones and legs might have something else to say about it ,so i didn't chance it,besides ,there was the thought of being chased by a very irate greek with a big stick ,so with a last longing glance ,i drove on
We came to our days destination in a while ,a lovely little village called Pissourie. where we decided to have a walk around ,the street shops before going down onto the beach.
The hotel we werer informed was very good ,doing full ,and half board ,and there were some apartments for hire which were self catering,so everyone can do their own thing.
The beach there has everything for the holiday maker ,sports from Egyptian P T with the associated sun loungers ,lol through to Para Gliding,Jet skiing ,,Scuba Diving. aqua lung ,Jet Skis ,speed boating ,water skiing ,and even Pedalos' for the oldies he he.
all equipment is there for hire at very reasonable rates.
There is a lovely garden so far along the beach with bushes ,shrubs of all colours si i took a few pics of Liz standing in front of them and she took a couple of me ditto.
The temperature today was a nice 30c and the nice ,green/blue sea was a very nice 27c,very very nice.
We did stop off at the bakery just before the camp enterance where we brought a very nice ,fresh ,fresh load ,and three lovely raspberry,cream cakes cum cheesecakes at £1-30 each and they were biiiigslives ,just the thing to follow a very decadent tea of Beans ,Eggs ,Snags,and,oven chips.
All in all ,a very nice day ,and now we have an A to Z of Cyprus ,the world is our oyster ,lol, now where to tomorrow ,hmmmmm.
See ya later peeps ,have a nice evening ,Fred& Liz,.xxxx