24th of September 2026 around the towns of Polis Latchi and Limni, Western Cyprus.
Have a lovely day.
Some observations in black and white
A walk around the towns and some observations in black and white
Category: travel
A windy day
An ill wind is forecast locally today…
Just ordered beans on toast in Cyprus, a big soup bowl full of beans turned up with two pieces of toast in a rack. How quaint and it was gorgeous. Just wasn’t expecting so many beans.
Have warned my fellow holiday makers that it’s going to be a windy day today.
And before anyone goes on about being a typical Brit abroad wanting some British food..stop right there! I love the traditional food, only last night it was Octopus 🐙 and traditional Cypriot cuisine as it has been most days. This morning I wanted something lighter as I have eaten like a pig the last few days…so there!
Have a super day
Just like this, with cold tea!
Sun, good company and no drama with cold tea
How do you make time for self-care?
Rest. Recharge batteries and don’t surround yourself with other people’s dramas.
Well, for two weeks at least, and then back to a normal service 😂
And my wife is in full silly mode at the moment. Asks for a taste of my iced tea only to comment, “ugghh that’s horrible, it tastes like cold tea” a real hand palm moment 🤦♂️
Have a lovely day.
Out of office
The out of office is on. Holiday mode activated
That’s it, we’ve left the county for a while. Time for some well earned R&R
Happy holidays 👍
My Gold bling bike
My favourite purchase, from the days of my youth…
Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?
It was around 1984 that the Raleigh bicycle company in the UK released the Raleigh Record Sprint entry level racing bicycle. I would have been around 18-19 years of age at the time and I would have been working in central London, temping as a photographic technician at the time. I would have been working between Edgware Road and Farringdon, and would be cycling in from Bushey in Hertfordshire every day, about 25 miles each way at the time. I was quite fit back then.
My mum at the time had one of those catalogues where you could purchase items over a period of time otherwise known in the UK as on the, “Never Never”. I loved this bike as this particular model had a lot of Gold coloured attributes, gold handle bars and levers as well as a gold chain set and mudguards. This bike really looked like, “The mutts nuts” as they say.
It was a pleasure to ride however the pot holed roads of London were not the ideal surface for a road racing bike with pencil thin tyres and narrow rimmed wheels. It gradually got to the stage where I was spending more time in maintaining the bike at the roadside, and being late for work, that I made the decision to transfer to public transportation.
I worked with a lad at the time who was mad on biking and he turned up to work one day on what I believe was one of the first mountain bikes I had ever seen. I was very sceptical at the time joking that there were, “No mountains in London” however he was the one cycling the roads of London daily with no issues with punctured tyres or breakdowns.
It turned out that Mountain bikes were the way forward on the mean pot holed roads of central London. Though, it would be a few years before I could afford one of my own.
I’ve seen many old Raleigh Record Sprint bikes since and have always considered getting another. But to be honest they command such a strong price now that to be realistic, it just wouldn’t be worth it as I’m probably never going to actually ride one again.
It was a lovely bike, it served a purpose but was killed by the potholes that were strewn across London in the mid eighties. The roads haven’t improved much since, but the bikes have, hence the amount of them you see if you ever venture that way.
Have a lovely day. Stay safe.
Trains at Melton
Here are four photos taken whilst I was visiting the signal box at Melton Mowbray. This train line is between Leicester and Peterborough and has a number of Victorian era signal boxes still in use today. All pictures taken with my IPhone 14 Pro Max.
Have a happy day. 👋
R.E.M 30 years ago today
Yes. 30 years ago today on the 30th July 1995 I was at Milton Keynes Bowl in Buckinghamshire Uk with one of my buddies. We had taken the train from Watford on a lovely sunny day to watch what was our new favourite band at the time, never knowing that very soon they would occupy a place in my heart as my favourite band of all time. And 30 yrs later my wife will attest to me randomly putting on the music, only to tell me to turn that noise down, she really is a heathen 😂
We were fortunate that day to have three superb support bands who would go on to carve their own little parts of music history The Cranberries, Sleeper and Radiohead.
Back in the early days of the bowl they had a strange system in place where they didn’t accept money to purchase beer, you had this weird system where you had to go and purchase “tokens” before the gates opened, to use as your currency within the stadium. If you didn’t purchase enough or any tokens at all, then it was tough – you would be having a dry old day. I remember purchasing plenty, I was paying the price for days after – no pity for me it was all self imposed.
Here’s the set list for the day. It was also broadcast live on the BBC’s Radio one.
It was a cracking day out and a day that would stick with me throughout my life, as I became a fan that would now follow them,whenever they came back to the Uk. The last time I saw them was in Hyde Park London just after the London bombings, on 16th July 2005.
Man I really miss them. I’ve always said if they were to reform just for one concert anywhere in the world, then I would be there. The wife has always been on standby should that date ever be announced.
But I doubt it ever will, but we can only live in a constant state of hope. We all need that bit of hope in our lives.
In the meantime, I’ll just go and crank that stereo up to eleven, just so I can hear the wife shout at me one more time 😂.
Have a lovely day.
Quaint men’s urinals
Now there’s an attention grabbing blog title if ever I saw one. Please don’t turn away nothing unsavoury to see, and I don’t normally take any pictures whilst in the Gents urinal area. Believe me this is a one off and will never again be repeated.
Unless I see better looking set of urinals than these:
I walked in this toilet and was instantly hit by the wow factor. Yes these beautiful sculptured ceramic flowers are in fact gentleman’s urinals. Apparently according to my wife all the hand sinks in the ladies are just as well sculpted.
I have never stood in front of a urinal before and thought, “Am I going to get told off for peeing in this” it was a conundrum that lasted two seconds as I was busting to go. I did not get in trouble, but what a charming way to equip, probably the most unappealing section of any business. well done to the design team here.
We visited the massive “Gates garden centre” in Cold Overton between Melton Mowbray and Oakham in Leicestershire. A family Member had brought us an afternoon tea for two, and as we had some time spare, what better way to spend a nice relaxing afternoon?
It was a lovely afternoon some fantastic food, and there was so much cake, that we had to take a box home that we’ve passed on to my brother in law and his wife who live nearby. I love my cake, but believe me I was already getting a sugar rush with what I’d already eaten. It made sense to pass this on and not to waste it.
I love days like this, making memories. It’s all that matters.
Have a superb day, thanks for passing by.
Brothers Memorial Day
My dear brother John succumbed to the “Bastard” that is Cancer ten years ago.
He was a lovely guy, fun to be with and the family compared him to a character who used to be on UK television called “Arthur Daley”. Anyone who knew that character would know why we made the comparison with John, as he’d be involved in everything all totally Kosher of course….cough,cough.
A decision was made at his wake that we’d have a family day, once a year at one of his favourite spots, Cassiobury park in Watford. And yesterday was the tenth anniversary meeting, it was a lovely day, however the weather didn’t really behave itself. Despite Watford have plus 30 degree days for getting on for a week now, yesterday the rain decided to hit in near biblical quantities. But did it dampen the day? No, we all had a great time and it was great to see everyone.
I lived for 54 years in Watford and never really liked the place, I really dislike going there but sometimes you just do what you have to do. It’s no big sacrifice is it? But there is no doubt about it that the park at Cassiobury is one of the finest, most beautiful public spaces I have ever visited in this country, it really is a stunning well kept and huge piece of parkland that you really should visit if you are ever in the area.
The normal agenda is for us all to meet at a local hotel and then wander off to the park with a picnic, seats and numerous bats, balls, frisbees and whatever, to have a good afternoon of laughter and sporting activity, that normally results in aches, pains and strains for the older participants that I can truly relate to as I write this post this morning.
There were 21 of us on this on this occasion, from all around the country, Southampton, Leeds, Wales and everywhere else in between. It really was a superb turnout and just shows how much John was loved.
I often like to have a wander, and as I previously stated it’s a massive park and deserves to be explored so here are a few pics to show it off
About 5pm the weather was drawing in and we decided to move out of the park, however we weren’t quick enough, the rain hit – heavy, and we were caught out. Thankfully we had some umbrellas ☔️ and we made our way back towards the hotel. Myself and my wife were bringing up the rear and we stopped under a tree, in the park and just watched the rain. It was beautiful, a calm and lovely moment in a world of total chaos, the only two people in our own little world, it was just one of those photographic moments that your mind creates for future reference.
Back to the hotel to dry off, and then we were out to a local eatery for a meal, 21 people into a restaurant is a feat of organisation itself, and thanks go to the ladies in the group for doing that without a hitch.
We left Watford about 10pm for a drive back to the East Midlands, we said our goodbyes, made arrangement for a couple of other gatherings that are on the horizon, and had probably our best run home up the motorway that we’d had in many a year.
A superb day was had by all, it reminds me of a picture that was displayed at Johns funeral that made everyone laugh.
Sums him up perfectly and had everyone who knew him smiling and grinning whilst nodding in agreement. It was him. And this is how we remember him.
We have a date for next years gathering, and I can’t wait.
Memories, there is nothing like creating wonderful memories. People may physically be gone from our lives, but they are never, ever, forgotten.
Thanks for reading. Have a super day.
Last nights pub crawl
Just back from our break away and some of us are still in the holiday mode, itchy feet the decision was made to take a short train ride out to one of the areas I patrol at work – Barrow upon Soar, a small town between Leicester and Loughborough.
Barrow-upon-Soar is a parish and large village, which gives its name to a Poor Law Union district, and a county court district. It has for ages been celebrated for its excellent limestone, and is pleasantly situated on the east side of the navigable River Soar, and on both sides of the Midland Railway on which it has a station 2 miles N. of Mount Sorrel, 3 miles S.E. of Loughborough, and 9 miles N. of Leicester. Barrow township comprises about 2510 acres of land and had 1099 inhabitants in 1801, 1638 in 1831, 1800 in 1861, and 1973 in 1871, the increase of the last ten years being ‘attributed to the opening of the limeworks.’ It is in East Goscote Hundred, but its parish comprises also the townships of Mount Sorrel North-end, Quorndon, and Woodhouse, all of which are in West Goscote Hundred. The area of the whole parish is about 9160 acres, and it had 5857 inhabitants in 1871.
Wikipedia
On the train we soon arrived after a 17 minute ride, and as always the difference between city and town is so noticeable, life is a lot more serene and uncomplicated in these small towns surrounding the city.
We tried four different pubs, had a lovely meal in one, took a nice walk on the canal, and ended up sitting beside the river soar to complete the evening. It was lovely and finished off the break away just fine. We now have the joy of a new working week to look forward to. Roll on next holiday….
Here’s a few pictures:
Have a wonderful day. Thanks for passing by.
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