October

We've had a few comments from people recently that they haven't heard from us for a while .. well there is a reason for that which we'll come to in due course. We were up to the 28th weren't we. So, the 29th being grand-daughter Hayley's 18th birthday, we just had to ring her to wish her a Happy Birthday. We also managed a little sailing but as soon as we saw mini whirlwinds forming over the sea, we decided to call it a day and scurried back home.



Sunday we woke up to a power cut... one of the many we are suffering at the moment. This one lasted for six hours. Very inconvenient as we had invited Eric and Diane for brunch as it was their last day here in Yeslkent till next year. Fortunately we have a dual fuel cooker and were still able to feed them. That evening we met Don and Anthea at Sabila restaurant for their farewell meal. Everyone is leaving.



We needed a day out, so on Monday we joined up with Phil and Lynn, hired a car and went off to Bodrum for the day. Sue and I needed bits for the boat, and our friends just wanted a look round. We weren't very successful with our boat bits. The chandlers in Icmeler cater mainly for much larger boats, like the gulets and million pound yachts. So, for a change we went off to Gumbet and Bitez to see how they had changed in the last few years since we holidayed there. It's funny isn't it how you remember a place one way, and when you return, although nothing much has changed, it seems quite different. Gumbet was so much more brash than when we stayed there; perhaps it was because it was a different time of year, or perhaps we have mellowed since. Bitez on the other hand, although more commercialised than when we last saw it, was still a very tranquil little place but probably not in July and August.



We reluctantly gave them their car back on Tuesday, the motorbike always seems so much worse after we've treated ourselves to a car for the day. We picked up the post, found a bill from Isbank, out of date of course as Turkish post takes so long to arrive even in Turkey, and then had to go to Isbank to dispute this. As always, a 2 hour queue in the bank before we eventually lost patience and knocked on the manager's door and got him to sort it out. We did see our new neighbour, the one who moved into Mike and Doc's house. She's the cashier in Isbank, and, as she speaks good English, the manager left it to her to sort out, which we are pleased to say she did. Near to Isbank is a furniture/white goods shop, and unfortunately we popped in there to see the owner who we know, and came out with one of those water cooler/heater things. We thought it would be useful when Christie and her brood descend upon us next August .... premature or what? Money spent we had to go sailing to cool the collective brain. Didn't stay cool for long though. As we packed up and were chatting to a couple of neighbours a fight suddenly erupted nearby between some residents and a young Turkish couple. The young couple had been on a bench, relaxing young man lying in lap of young lady, as they do. The old men in the nearby café took great exception to this, as it is Ramadan, and if you are Muslim, one of the things you are supposed to abstain from is sex, which seems to include any outward signs of affection. Punches were thrown and the young man went for his gun tucked in his belt. At this point, a man (Sargestine), who was once a chief of police, intervened and slowly seperated the warring factions and calmed things down. Got a bit hairy for a while though. We later heard of a similar incident a few days previously, this time over leaves falling from a tree into a neighbours garden, and each combatant had a gun pointing at the other. Guns are too easily available here, not for aliens like us though thank goodness.



Wednesday was a non day when we did all those little jobs that build up during the periods when we're having fun.



And now we come to the reason for our lack of communiction recently. My (David) computer went wrong. Oh what a calamity. It's at this point you wish you'd backed up more frequently. I tried everything to get it to work, but to no avail. With the help of Melih, a good neighbour, we went in search of a computer engineer. Well he just went through everything I'd done and then said we should contact Hewlett Packard and gave us the number. When we contacted them, we were told that they couldn't service my machine as they don't sell that model in Turkey. So much for the world-wide guarantee. We looked for a good service agent and decided upon one in Izmir, but before I sent the computer to them, in my own mind I was sure it was the hard-drive, so on Saturday, I scoured the internet for a supplier in Turkey who had one in stock and finally found one in Ankara. With Melih's help I ordered one. It was also market day, and while we were there, we purchased some plants which of course had to be planted as soon as we got home.

Sunday - sailing, swimming, sun-bathing

Monday - We discovered that the sail had started to tear. This was because a loop that should have been on the boom to tie the foot of the sail to was missing. We bought some stainless steel fittings at the local fising tackle shop, and adapted them to the task in hand. Sue then sewed up the sail and we fitted the adaptations, and then went out on the boat to check them out. Worked well. Back at the quay-side we met a young Turkish friend we hadn't seen all summer. Apparently he's been in hospital having further operations to correct the damage caused by a bad car accident he'd had a couple of years ago. It was nice to see him back.

It had to come, but it's always disappointing when it happens, but they dug the foundations of the plot behind us on Tuesday. As always they cleared the plot first and of course they dumped the rubbish behind our wall. After remonstrating with them, they were persuaded to move it elsewhere. Then we met the estate agent who sold the plot. His first comment was that he needed to speak to our neighbours Nicky and Mary and us, as he was going to raise our back wall as his client wanted her privacy. We left him in no doubt that he would be doing no such thing. It would have been nice if his client, who was there, had been more amenable, but she was not willing to compromise, so our wall will stay as it is. If they want a high wall, she will have to have it built alongside ours on her own land.

It was a very calm sunny day on Wednesday, perfect for the canoe, so we paddled across the bay and beached at Konya. Had a look around before paddling back to Ladybird beach (in front of the Blue Restaurant) where we saw Ken and Betty. That was handyas we needed to see them to get their English contact details. Then on round to Pine beach The canoe raises a lot of interest wherever we take it , and today was no exception. After a cooling swim we paddled back to Gaye 2, swapped boats as the wind had returned, and sailed off. While we were criss-crossing the bay we had a phone call from Mandy and Lawrence to give us the good news that, after a year of trying they had finally got the phone. They also asked if, when we had finished on the water, we could go round and set up the modem for the internet for them.

Nigel and Yo's relatives have returned to England, and so we arranged to meet them on Thursday at Pine beach for a picnic. We had prepared enough food for 6 of us, but Phil and Lynn had to cry off at the last minute as they had suddenly realised that it was a 4 day public holiday starting at lunchtime, and they needed to pay their bills as they were returning to UK on Monday. We had a good time with Y & N, and after we had finished at the beach we returned to our place for refreshments, and a look at the photos they had accumulated during their visit to the UK. It was nice to see them after such a long gap.

Friday was a very windy day so we set off to catch up with a few friends. Kevin and Annette had been to the Lebanon for their daughter's wedding and they had several pictures to show us. What an eye opener. If you expected to see a war-torn city, then you, like us would have been surprised. It's actually very smart and quite beautiful in places. There are big shops with all the products you could buy in Tescos (whisky £1.40/litre) or Debenhams, six lane motorways (petrol 20p/litre), amazing churches and a cathedral reached by cable car. The only part of the country that is war-torn is the Muslim quarter.

Saturday there was no market as it was Bayram (religious public holiday), there had been a smaller version on Thursday, but we missed it, so it was off to Migros supermarket for a few essentials. We met up with Pat and Stuart who invited us back for coffee, which turned into lunch and tea. They had recently returned from a trip around the Greek islands and we heard all about their adventures, illustrated by all the photos they took. During the night we had a violent thunderstorm and the first rain since May.

By morning it had cleared up and was a beautiful day for sailing. In the evening we had invited Phil and Lynn for a farewell meal. They were going back to the UK the following morning. And what a shock ... the temperature dropped to 10 degrees that night, time to replace the single sheet on the bed for a summer weight quilt.

Monday was cold (19C) and windy, so we started on some home maintenance, during which Gary came to adapt our boat trailer by welding a wheel to the front. Should make life easier when we take the boat out of the water in the winter. He also fixed the arm-rest on the sofa. He and his welder are jolly useful .... cost? a bottle of wine ... bargain. Recommenced our cleaning only to be interrupted again (thank goodness) by Kevin and Annette, who wanted to look at our boat catalogues. Then it was off to Mandy and Lawrence to add a few programs to their computer so they are protected on the internet, and so they can use the computer to phone home.

Tuesday, too much wind to sail, which was lucky as it was also bill paying day (means we don't waste a day's sailing doing mundane things). Checked the meters and boing!!! Electricity meter not working. Went to Tedas (local electricity board) only to be told WE had to buy a new meter, take it back to them and they would fit it when they could. Where do you buy a meter? What sort? No idea, but we knew a man who might. Remember, all these conversations are in sign language and sprinkling of Turkish, not easy. Our man not only knew, he could supply and his wife filled in the obligatory Turkish form we had been given. Back to Tedas who said they would come sometime during the week. It's a year since we had all the problem with our post and had decided to have a PO box to resolve the issue, so it was time to renew the payment, 6 YTL (£2.50) for the year. Went to the main PO, but were redirected to a smaller PO on the seafront, well this is Turkey after all. We also called in at the Cargo offie to see if the part for the computer had arrived .. no. So, with the day totally ruined, we had a drink (non-alcoholic) with some friends in Sabila, before taking the motorbike for it's yearly service.

Wednesday we waited in for Cargo and Tedas. no joy on either score, so we gave up and went sailing and swimming.

Waited in again on Thursday, but with a six hour power cut ,we couldn't tackle anything indoors so we passed the time by clearing up and redesigning the front garden. Cargo arrived with the computer hard disk, and finally, when the powercut had finished, Tedas turned up to fit the new meter ... result! I (David) fitted the new hard drive, and bingo, another result, it worked. Of course, that means everything on the old disk is now lost, but it also means I have a computer, although it will be a long job putting everything back the way it was.

Friday, our neighbour Mary had to go to Kusadasi to pick up her new residency visa, and invited us along for the ride. On the way we called in at a DIY store in Soke, where we managed to get the patio lights we had been searching for during the past year. We needed four, but have never found an outlet with more than two in stock that matched, so we were well pleased. Then it was off to the new Kipa (Tesco) store that has opened on the road to Kusadasi. It's nice to see a few recognisable labels again. It's on a complex with other shops, so will make an outing for us during the winter. This time it was only a cursory glance as we had to make sure we arrived in Kusadasi before the police station closed the visa office. After we'd collected the visa, we had a walk and a meal along the seafront, browsed a few clothes shops and headed for home via Koctas (B & Q).

Market day, and we had to do a big shop. We went early as the weather man had predicted rain for the afternoon. Everybody else had done the same thing as we seemed to meet everyone we know up there. However the rain didn't arrive, so in the afternoon we hopped on the boat. It was a bit choppy, but we stuck with it for about a couple of hours. We were joined by Peter and then by Mandy and Lawrence who were giving their rebuilt boat it's maiden voyage. They are so happy to be out on the water again, but with the winds getting stronger we all had to give up and make for home. The expected rain arrived during the night with a vengeance, accompanied by a thunderstorm, and extremely high winds.

The next morning saw sunshine and the aftermath of the storm to clear up, retrieving patio furniture from around the garden, cleaning up the patios and balconies etc. But once again, although rain was forecast, it didn't arrive. In fact it was a beautiful day, short sail, long swim. More storms during the night.