The alarm went off at 7am on Sunday 29th September and I got up to see the sunrise over the opposite block in the complex. I had tea and toast for breakfast and then made my way to the meeting point for 10am. I noticed that a small miracle had occurred and that Mehmet’s Dad had been and cleaned all my cuttings off the floor beneath my balconies. He had not done the rest of the trimming and, when I asked Mehmet, he said not until the end of October. I said he had to do it sooner, as I still couldn’t hang my washing out, and he said tomorrow – I didn’t believe him. At the corner shop I bought a 19 litre water bottle top up for the cooler and it was now 100 lira (£2.19) which had gone up more than I had expected. I had decided to join the Sunday Walk which one of the Dalyan Dwellers had organised. A couple of friends had said they were going as well so was a good opportunity to see them. It was about 10km so would be a challenge for me after sitting at a laptop most days and not moving much. The walk was lovely and 18 people turned up, which was good. Michele, the organiser, asked me if I thought Captain Caveman would run the next one, with it being the day after he arrived, and I said I would ask him.
After the walk my friend, one of my friends talked me in to a beer with her at Tapa – so that she could take her dogs too. As I’d not seen her for a while and she was limited as to where we could take her dogs, I agreed and messaged my other friend to say we were there if she wanted to join. She had been at the front of the walking crowd and I am always at the back of the group as I walk slowly compared to everyone else. I introduced the 2 ladies who got on well and, despite me chatting to another friend about how well I’d been doing on not drinking any beer, I had 3! My drinks came to 270 lira (£5.92) in one of the cheapest places in town for draft Efes. By 3pm we were over in Okyanus having some lunch and another beer. My friend had a new dog from the shelter, called Polly, and she was a real cutie. I ate a chicken wrap with salad and chips and it was very good. My friends ordered a chicken wrap too and a pizza which the lovely waiter, Üstün, ordered in from Pamukkale restaurant. My lunch and drink came to about 300 lira (£6.58) which was very reasonable, especially for a riverside restaurant.
When I got home, shortly before 6pm, I messaged Captain Caveman to ask if he would do the next Sunday Walk but Michele and he had already arranged that he would. Later, Jamie and Drew were taking Norman & Edna for a walk and I suggested they call in. While the pooches had a snooze on the sofa, the boys had a drink and I only had tea because I had already overdone it today. I was now on over 170 syns for the week so far and had spoiled the idea of getting some exercise. I made myself a vegetable and egg fried rice for dinner and had another relatively early night.
I felt like I was incredibly lucky on Friday 20th September as I said goodbye to the villa and got in the taxi, with Liz, to go to the port in Rhodes Town. In my bag, as the girls had insisted, was the bottle of red wine we didn’t drink and my leftover ham and mushroom calzone. My ferry back to Marmaris wasn’t until 9am but check-in rules are to be there an hour before. Liz had planned to explore the old town and wait for the other girls to get up and join her for the day. I took my sea sickness pill expecting that it could be as choppy going back as it was coming, and that was not doable for me without medication. Liz and I said our goodbyes and had the privilege of a couple of knights to see us off. It was an emotional goodbye and I had been so grateful for being able to spend time with Liz, Clare, Kelly and Louisa. We had laughed and talked so much and I even had more ideas for my book which they were all very supportive of. I felt I had a renewed energy and belief in myself that, although things were tough at the moment, I was going to be ok. The ferry left over 30 minutes late and there were no fresh sandwiches on this one so I had a peanut bar from my bag and a bag of salt & vinegar crisps with a cup of black tea. I wasn’t quite up to cracking open the wine and eating the calzone for breakfast as I didn’t think it would be too pleasant if I couldn’t keep it in. I fell asleep and woke up as we approached Marmaris, realising that I did not have very long to get my bus connection. The crossing had been relatively calm too so there were no sick bags out. The queue to get off the boat was long and I wasn’t at the front of the immigration queue. I got through and found that there was only 1 remaining taxi and jumped in it. I used my best Turkish to ask to go to the bus station and established it was 200 lira (£4.41) which turned out to be less than a 5 minute journey. I was so lucky to make the bus from Marmaris to Ortaca as it pulled out. It was a small dolmus type bus with only one seat remaining right at the back corner and it was hot and very full! I still had the ham and mushroom calzone which was now in the top of my rucksack as I tried not to offend any muslim passengers who might be getting a whiff of pork products. When I got to Ortaca there was no time to waste as the Dalyan bus was also in and about to set off so I squeezed on, also on the back seat. I made it back to Dalyan just in time to drop my laptop and bag at Gayle & Neil’s and grab my travel towel and swimmers because we were off on one of my favourite things to do in an afternoon.
Gayle & Neil had wanted to book on to one of the Captain Boris’s Cheese & Wine boat trips and had tried to get a space before they arrived in Dalyan. Rebecca and Basrı had been fully booked but I’d asked them to let us know if they had any late availability. We were very lucky to get on the trip although the timings were cutting it a bit fine for me, to say the least, but I was determined not to miss it. On board there were no other people we knew but that was quite nice as it meant the 3 of us could relax and enjoy what would probably be our last night together. The boat trip departed at 2pm and was 5 hours of absolute bliss. There was so much cheese, meats, fruit, nuts, olives, jams, honey, gherkins, breads and crackers, as well as the wine now being included in the £50 price tag per person. We got talking to some of the other guests and everyone seemed lovely, especially after a few wines. We even got to see a gorgeous sunset before heading back to Dalyan around 7pm.
To top off the night, it wouldn’t have been complete without being able to say bye to Captain Caveman’s tenants, Ann & Stuart, who were leaving tonight. The 3 of us had arranged to meet for a drink or two at Aşkın’s and as Neil had insisted on paying my £50 for the Captain Boris trip I insisted the drinks were on me. I think everyone warned Gayle off ordering any Marshmallow Martinis this time but even I had a gin cocktail. Here’s what we all had and the prices in lira:
I didn’t think that was bad considering we had 8 cocktails and spirits are expensive in Dalyan. I found it certainly cheaper than where we had been in Rhodes. It was a great end to Gayle & Neil’s stay who were off back to the UK on Monday and I loved the fact that we had made new friends of Ann & Stuart who were flying later, hence the cokes. We were all sad to say bye but knew we would see each other next time that everyone was in Dalyan at the same time.
There was a bit of bad news on Wednesday 18th September and it wasn’t just that I would have put on some weight from overindulgence with my family and friends over the last week or so. I did my measurements, as usual, to find that I had put 2cm on my waist and 1cm on my hips, my bust had stayed the same. Liz and I were up and about much earlier than everyone else, she had been doing her exercises and I had already done a couple of hours work. I saw 2 big black crows on the wall of the villa and they stuck around for a while, one of them let me walk up quite close and I vaguely remembered that superstition suggests that seeing 2 crows is lucky. Apparently it means new beginnings in a relationship or career. I’d had a reply back from my boss’s wife, to say to speak to him about why I hadn’t been paid yet. It was 4 days overdue and I knew from her response that it didn’t look promising. I decided to stop work until I had spoken to my boss to find out what was going on. I had a feeling he no longer could see the need in keeping me on during the quiet winter months. I closed the laptop so that Liz and I could go for a walk, get some breakfast and a coffee for Liz. By 9.30am Liz was getting us something from The Cake Box. She had a croissant, a coffee and a detox juice while I had a sundried tomato and cheese ciabatta and a juice. It was once again lovely, although Liz didn’t reckon much to the coffee as it wasn’t a brand she preferred. We walked around and I took her to Creamland to see if the coffee was any better and, luckily, it was. It cost €5.50 (£4.58) for her Cappuccino with a Freddo Espresso in it. Our next stop was a nice walk along the beach where a lovely Dutch woman had been making a cute heart and some writing out of stones on the beach. We got talking to her and her friend then decided to have our photos taken by her over her art work – I bet she thought we were daft, but Liz and I did not care! When we got back to the villa it was gone 11am, I was hoping to get a call in with my boss, for an update on the work situation. While all the girls were busy enjoying their holiday, I got a message from him. It said ‘things were getting very quiet and he was canning our project’. He thanked me for my help, apologised for the late notice and that I had ended up working 4 days over what he had already paid me for. I already had a feeling this was going to happen so I just replied with best wishes for flood season and to let me know if there was anything I could help with in the future. It was quite a blow that, just like that, I had no further income and I would now have to wait to rely on Captain Caveman once again, until I found another job. I made a decision not to say anything to the girls, I was doing all I could to hold it together lately as it was and didn’t want to ruin their (or my) holiday. I made myself a promise to find another job within a month, though, or set up my own business. As luck would have it, only 2 days ago a friend had suggested I talk to his boss as he thought I would be a good fit for an opportunity at his place. I decided to tell the girls that I had the rest of the week off, which wasn’t exactly a lie but it wasn’t the complete truth. We only had 2 more days together and I wanted us all to have a good, and happy, time.
As if the girls knew to cheer me up anyway, the fizz was out of the fridge and it was jacuzzi time. Not before being dragged through a yoga/HIT session with Liz and Clare. It was far too difficult for me on a concrete floor with my knees but I gave it a go where I could. Louisa kindly took photos of us and pointed out when I needed to adjust my position. The jacuzzi was fantastic and the bubbles were very much appreciated as I secretly celebrated being unemployed once again! By 6pm we were showered and changed, ready to hit the town – I even wore one of my dresses. Clare and I took photos of each other by the pool while we waited for everyone to finish getting ready. It was pretty windy and it took a couple of goes to get some without our hair all over the place.
Clare had took the liberty of booking a table for the 5 of us at Cosa Nostra and it certainly did not disappoint. I was very conscious of being on a budget but I ordered a margarita cocktail at €12.50 (£10.41), a Gnocchi starter at €10.50 (£8.75) and a mushroom risotto at €18 (£15). The steaks started at €45 (£37.50) so I avoided those and we all shared some fancy bruschetta with various toppings.
The food was excellent and the service on our VIP table, second to none. We ended up having more cocktails instead of wine with our dinner and I threw caution to the wind a little having 2 more drinks. At the end of our meal we were brought out free shots of something ridiculously sickly sweet. As we were getting the bill, one of the girls had already paid and it was on her! Wow, I was both grateful and speechless. More free shots were had and a group photo with the staff before heading back to the villa. Of course, that would have been the best thing to do at gone 10.30pm but it was Liz’s first night out and she really fancied another drink somewhere. While Louisa and Kelly headed back home, Clare and I accompanied Liz to a bar which I think was called Blaze Bar. It had a band on and we must have been a bit tiddly as Liz ordered a Bloody Mary, Clare had a cocktail which looked like Sex on the Beach meets a Pina Colada and I, very foolishly, ordered a draft lager. The band was a lot better than we were expecting with 3 members who looked like famous people with our beer goggles on. We joined in on the singing and stayed until closing time. I paid for the round of drinks and had one of the best nights in years for just £20!! It was gone midnight when we got back and then Liz and I stayed awake talking for a few hours – at least I didn’t have to worry about getting up for work in the morning!
My day on Tuesday 17th September started with a healthy breakfast but would not continue in that vein – it was probably a good thing I was missing the Dalyan Fat Club tomorrow! I ate a banana and a plum with my cup of tea, then got on with work. At lunch time the girls were going for a walk so I decided to close the laptop and join them. On our walkabout, we spotted a lovely rooftop bar and went in for some lunch and a drink. Kompologaki restaurant also had sunbed rentals by the beach across the road and we had nice views of the sea from our corner rooftop table. There were lunchtime specials on so we ordered from that menu where it came with a beer or wine included in the price. It had one of those QR code readers to view the menu so we used that and I made a list of who wanted what so that I could go back downstairs and order, here’s what everyone chose; Kelly: Pasta Carbonara + beer + Sprite + Mai Tai cocktail Louisa: Gyros plate + beer + Sprite Clare: Gyros plate + wine + soda water Jo (me): Gyros plate + beer
We also ordered a bottle of still water for us all and the total came to 62.30 Euros (£51.76) and I really liked my lunch. I also ended up with 2 small beers because the lovely waitress had miscalculated the included ones, thinking all 4 of us wanted the beer and not 3 plus a wine. We also got a good deal on 3 bottles of decent wine for 30 Euros (£25), split between Clare and I.
On the way back to the villa, we called at the supermarket for provisions too. Back ‘home’ I did a bit more work while the girls relaxed by the pool. I was happy to close the laptop and join them for crisps and a wine in the early evening. One of our other friends, Liz, was on her flight to come and join us. We were looking out for her plane, which would be flying directly above us. As we were waiting, we got a bit peckish and started our buffet for dinner, Kelly plated up some for Liz so that we didn’t eat it all. Clare took a video of the BA plane which Liz was on as she came in to land and we were all super excited when she arrived. There were hugs, tears and extraordinary footwear. Wine was had but not the fizz in the fridge as that was for when we went in the Jacuzzi in the main bedroom – oh wow, I hadn’t realised there was one! The rosé wine Clare and I had bought went down a treat and I even got to wear some fancy shoes of Liz’s while we caught up on her news. It was like having the band back together and I was so happy that Liz got the short straw and had to share my twin room for the next 4 nights.
It was the first time that I had felt a little bit cooler in Dalyan on Wednesday 11th September. I did my measurements first thing to find that my bust had stayed the same but I had put 1cm on both my waist and hips – this didn’t look promising for weigh day. Carol at Fat Club messaged to say that due to there being another storm forecast in the afternoon that Fat Club might be cancelled but if any of us wanted to go to her house to get weighed we could. I didn’t need telling twice and headed off with a screenshot of a map to find it. I was happy to find I had lost 0.5kg (1lb) and then walked back as the rain started to come down again. By the time I was back at my hotel it was absolutely chucking it down and I got soaked! I had the same breakfast as yesterday; overnight oats with quark, frozen berries, figs and plums. It was today that I found out that figs are not syn free and I was gutted as I had been eating quite a few this week without counting them. They are 2 syns each, which is quite high and today I had eaten 3 with breakfast. I worked all morning and the rain didn’t ease up until almost lunch time.
I had an important appointment today with our tenants, Ann & Stuart. They had very kindly invited me out for lunch and, after meeting Gayle & Neil on the boat trip, they had also invited them. Ann had asked me to choose the venue so I’d decided River House might be a nice place for lunch as they have a varied menu, cater well for allergies and always have really good service. As soon as the rain eased, I set off and the others had the same idea as we all arrived early. Ann & Stuart were first and asked for a table undercover so that if it rained again we wouldn’t have to move. We ordered rosé wine for the women and the guys had beers, we shared a meze plate and balloon bread (lavaş) as a starter. Gayle ordered fish with chips and salad, Neil and I both had İskender kebab, Ann chose the liver and onions which came with bulgur wheat and mashed potato while Stuart went for the mixed grill. We had a lovely meal with more wine but Gayle, who hadn’t been drinking much lately got a bit tipsy. Neil and Ann had to keep reminding her to drink some water but the suggestions fell on deaf ears as she got chattier. We were still at lunch and on the second carafe of wine at gone 4pm so it was a good job I didn’t need to get back to work. It had been such a lovely treat and I was very grateful for being invited out.
When we eventually got Gayle to drink some water and get ready to leave River House, on the afternoon of Wednesday 11th September, it was decided that we would go to Tapa for a drink. Ann wanted to introduce us to the delights of the pornstar martini which she had been impressed with there, and Gayle is partial to the odd Tapa cocktail too. Three pornstar martinis arrived for us women and the fellas had a pint of Efes each. The cocktails were impressively large for 350 lira (£7.87). On the next round I decided to have a whiskey sour as it was 2 for 1 on cocktail happy hour. Ann ordered a strawberry daiquiri and Gayle had been hankering after a marshmallow martini so insisted on one of those without checking the ingredients. When the barman brought it, Neil and I saw that it had sauce and biscoff all around the edge which probably contains gluten. I had the biscuit and scooped off the cream as Gayle was going to drink it. When she did drink it, she noticed there were no marshmallows in it and complained. The barman was not impressed with her and told her the marshmallows are only for children’s drinks. She was not happy! Neil told her to order something else so she got a pina colada, Ann stuck with the daiquiri and I asked for a wine which they didn’t bring in the end. Gayle was still going on about the missing marshmallows in her martini so the barman was now asking if she wanted him to go and buy her some, she said yes and pointed out the nearest shop. It was time to leave, we asked for the bill. Neil tried to pay on card, I tried to pay for Ann & Stuart’s and Gayle decided she was only putting so much cash in as she was drunk and unhappy with her drink. I ended up putting the rest of what Gayle should’ve put in instead of paying for Ann & Stuart as that was all the cash we had between the 3 of us. I bet Ann & Stuart thought we were a right set. I walked home with Gayle & Neil as she was insisting we go back to theirs for more drink. When we got there, Neil tried to hoodwink Gayle in to drinking water and pretending it was gin but she was having none of it. I decided I’d better leave them to it. They had an early start tomorrow too as they were off on a boat trip to celebrate their anniversary! I’d had a great day but I was a bit concerned we might have shown ourselves up a bit in front of the tenants. I was still chuckling to myself as I went to bed that night, thinking that Gayle would feel very differently about marshmallows in the morning.
I only had a cup of tea on the morning of Sunday 8th September as I was busy checking out the updates on Typhoon Yagi and the havoc it had wreaked in Hanoi, before I headed off on a day trip. I was happy that Captain Caveman was safe in Hanoi now but still worried he would be ok on the 5th floor of a building. He assured me he was fine, despite the capital city looking like it was a scene from the film ’28 Days Later’.
I was off on a boat trip which started at 10am with Captain Fuat on Adıl boat with some friends and family. There was a quick introduction for everyone then tea/coffee and some simit to nibble on as we sailed out towards Köyceğiz and the lake. The sun was shining, the scenery was lovely and I was looking forward to a day out with Gayle & Neil. Captain Fuat put on a delicious lunch which catered for everyone’s requirements easily (and there were quite a few of us that needed different allergies taking in to consideration). I obviously was not really concerned about the amount of syns I shoved in. I ate chicken, pasta, salads, meatballs, bread, fruit and, later, cake.
We did quite a bit of swimming, where we met a friendly terrapin who we called Bob. He took a shine to Ann’s chest and kept going really close to her, even though she wasn’t keen. He even went off and brought 2 more friends over who swam amongst us and seemed to want to play with us. We called these 2 terrapins Rita & Sue and then when we thought Bob had returned, but it was actually another terrapin who was slightly more interested in the ladies and their chests, we called him Bob 2. I probably found it funnier than most other guests that we had called our new friends Bob, Rita, Sue & Bob 2 after the film. The day was really relaxed and easy going with lots of swimming, which I loved. By the time we got off the boat I was quite merry and I’d gone way over my usual wine consumption by having 5 glasses.
We got off and said our goodbyes to everyone. Ann, Stuart, Gayle, Neil and I were walking the same way home so we ended up stopping off for a quick drink in Askın’s where I ordered a pint of draft Efes. I ended up having a gin & tonic at Neil’s insistence, back at theirs and then Jamie, Drew, Norman & Edna were passing for the dog walk so they popped in to say hello. Edna took to Neil very quickly and wanted to sit on his knee while Norman had a sniff about to check for any scraps of food. I did the dog walk with Jamie & Drew and then realised I was a bit tipsy and peckish. The night ended with me getting pizza that I didn’t recall until the next day. My Sunday had been so good and I still managed to do it on a budget; the boat trip plus drinks on the boat 2100 lira, a beer at Askın’s 120 lira and pizza 310 lira – a bargain total of 2,530 lira (£52.81).
Photo credit – Vietnam ones taken from various news and Facebook pages. Boat trips ones shared from various attendees.
It was a busy day in my world on Thursday 5th September. My sister and her husband were arriving tomorrow so I had to make sure that my parents’ place was ready for them. I only had a biscuit for breakfast as I had to go to meet the cleaner at my parents’ apartment. There is only 1 key so I said I would meet her back there at noon I had a morning in Ortaca where I first went to the council office to identify which property I actually lived in on their maps and get an address certificate, then I paid the council tax up to date at a cost of 2426.20 lira (£54.16) to bring everything up to date in order to proceed with my residency renewal application. The next job was to call to see the insurance broker where I got myself a new annual policy for 1,924.20 lira (£42.95) but was very basic cover and probably doesn’t really cover anything but accident and emergency. Back in Dalyan, I walked over to my parents’ trying to get there in time to pick up the key. It was hot and I hadn’t put any sun-cream on as it was packed. As I arrived at 11.59am I saw the cleaner riding away on her motorbike. I left my bags, including wine and stuff for the fridge, outside the door and walked to King Emlak to retrieve the keys. Once there, I had a bit of a chat with Leanne, picked up the keys and walked back, a sweaty mess. I stayed there for a glass of water and a pot noodle then had a call with my boss. Things weren’t very good for him as his son was in hospital in Hanoi, and it was quite serious. I warmed up a mystery defrosted dinner and added some pasta to it for my dinner. Tomorrow I was going to enjoy a leisurely day before my sister and brother-in-law arrived.
It was a long day on Friday 6th September. My sister, Gayle, and her husband, Neil, were going to be arriving at Dalaman airport at 10pm tonight so I was making sure everything was ready for their arrival. My Mom had given them a spare key for the apartment but she wasn’t sure if it worked as it was a newly cut one that had not been tried yet. I had the other key so it had been arranged that I would be at the apartment when they arrived tonight. I started the day with tea and toast while reading the news that a typhoon was about to hit North Vietnam. Captain Cavemen was currently in Sapa but was due to travel to Hanoi very soon. He called me while he was out walking with our friends and didn’t seem unduly worried about the weather at that point. I got on with as much work as I could and tried not to worry about the weather in Vietnam. I just had a cheese and crisp sandwich for lunch. I had a break from work and popped over to check the elusive gardener at Captain Caveman’s apartment, it was impossible to tell if he’d done anything and it still looked uncared for, in my opinion. Then I popped to Captainnet to sort out my parents’ internet and extend it for the month. This cost 675 lira (£15.13) for the top plan, as my Mom would be organising for the TV Firestick to be put on for Neil. I bumped in to Drew who was at Mono & More with Pete & Carol so I stopped for a pot of green tea. It was very hot today and I was all of a fluster so it was nice to sit and have a quick catch up. The tea was really good and only 60 lira (£1.35). I also called at the bank to transfer the rest of the required amount in to my Turkish account, this then meant that I could get the print out of my account to show the deposits for the last 8 months, including this month. On the way back, I noticed that there was a new clinic in town, next door to Şok supermarket in the old market square, where they displayed information and access to a private ambulance, as well as various cosmetic procedures like mammoplasty, gastric sleeve, hair transplant, liposuction, botox and filling. I said hello to Lou Colson who was working there now, as the receptionist, so she was the first point of contact to book appointments for these sorts of procedures which were very popular in Turkey now. The rest of the afternoon was spent working and then I went over to my parents’ apartment to make sure everything was ready for the new arrivals. Luckily I had my laptop and something to eat at the ready so that I wasn’t sat about doing nothing. I warmed up a chicken casserole for dinner and opened a bottle of rose wine while I tracked their flight. Unfortunately, they were delayed but when they arrived they were very excited to be in Dalyan. We opened a bottle of fizz that I’d had chilling and Neil had a beer in an iced glass. Gayle is coeliac so I’d got some rice crackers with prawn, pork and spring onion (Banh Ep, from Vietnam) for her to nibble on. It was 1.30am when I got to bed and I was quite tired so I didn’t take long to fall asleep.
When I woke up on Saturday 7th September, I checked the news to see that Hanoi had most certainly been hit by typhoon Yagi and it looked pretty horrendous in parts of the capital city. Captain Caveman was safely in Sapa but was going to head to Hanoi today. I was concerned and said he shouldn’t travel but stay where he was until the storm had passed. He thought it better to get out while he still had the chance. I got on with lots of work and decided, while my boss was caring for his sick son in a typhoon, I would make the most of finding new sales opportunities from Facebook and news articles where Travel Agents were posting about the weather conditions.
I’d mentioned going to the Saturday market with Gayle & Neil but they couldn’t be bothered so I went much later than usual and it was unbearably hot with a full rucksack. I got some bargains, here’s what I bought and the prices in lira;
Saturday Market Mushrooms, Grapes & 3 peaches 85.00 4 onions 5.00 3 red & 3 green peppers 15.00 Plums 30.00 4 Apples 30.00 16 fresh figs 100.00 Total spent 265.00 lira (£5.94)
On the way back I also called at the shop for other essentials;
BIM Supermarket 1.5l Water 6.50 2 soda water 12.00 3 tins sweetcorn 61.75 Total spent 80.25 lira (£1.80)
I still needed more and had to drop the stuff off then go back to the supermarket. I decided to treat myself to more water and some juice as I was super thirsty. I was surprised to see the difference in the price of a bottle of water between Migros and BIM, though.
Migros Supermarket 1.5l Water 25.25 Croissant 27.95 Milk 28.25 Washing up Liquid 33.95 Cherry and Apple juice 49.95 Total spent 165.35 lira (£3.71)
I had juice and a croissant for breakfast which was not Slimming World friendly and then another cheese sandwich for lunch. I worked for the rest of the afternoon and the AC from the bedroom cooled the dining area enough too. Captain Caveman arrived during the eye of the storm and managed to get to his hotel unscathed, but the damage in a lot of Hanoi was bad. I had a quiet Saturday night in and had figs, plums and grapes while cooking a really good mushroom risotto for dinner. I had an early night, while Hanoi got hit by the worst storm that they had encountered since 1964.
Photo credit – Vietnam photos taken from various sources/new articles.
On Tuesday 3rd September I spent most of the day working on my laptop. I had cereals for my breakfast with a Yorkshire tea. At lunch time I had to make do with a cheese and lettuce sandwich. I spoke to another Health Insurance provider who said they could insure me for a lot cheaper than the existing one so I said I would think about it while other companies came back with quotes. It rained in Dalyan for the first time since I’d been here and I had to bring the outdoor cushions in. It was soon over and it dried up very quickly again. For dinner I warmed up some of the chicken casserole that I had previously batch cooked and then had a walk with the dogs. I spoke to my parents back in Sheffield who had booked their flights to come to Turkey and were excited to be getting back to Dalyan soon.
It was weigh day on Wednesday 4th September and I was hoping that the 178 syns I’d had this week, combined with some dog walking, would mean I was lucky enough to still lose weight. I did my measurements to find I had put 1cm on my bust and hips but lost 1cm off my waist so it wasn’t looking optimistic for the Fat Club weigh-in. I had wholemeal toast with cheese spread and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast and cracked on with work. Before 11am, I was at the Turkcell shop getting phone top up of 400 lira, on top of the 200 lira I’d already paid online. It seemed a bit steep to have to pay 600 lira (£13.39) for a working phone that I barely use but I needed to have it for my residency renewal application and to receive an OTP code from the post office for my E Devlet. I called at the bank to put more money in – it was turning in to a part time job, keeping tabs on how much and when. I had guests coming over tonight so I also had a quick trip to the shops while the dogs were at home, sleeping. Here is what I bought at various shops and the prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket Peppers 6.99 Pot Noodle 19.95 Chicken noodles 33.75 614g Chicken 119.73 Magnums 139.90 Total spent 320.32 lira (£7.15)
I nipped back to the bank in the afternoon to ask about increasing my 10,000 lira (£223.21) credit card limit but they now require a document from a UK pension which has been translated. Obviously, I am not retired therefore I don’t have such a document and they couldn’t increase it. I did ask if I could get a letter from an employer but they said no. This was a bit of a pain as with the rate going up and up, I had not increased my limit accordingly. If ever I needed to use the card for anything more than a bit of shopping, it was going to be too low a limit. Back at Jamie’s, I threw the ingredients in to the slow cooker for a chicken curry and did some more work. I didn’t have time for lunch so I just had an apple and legged it to Fat Club to see how kind Carol’s scales were to me. To my delight I had lost 1.4kg (3lb) so I was really pleased with that and was spurred on to keep on the plan to get back to target – I had just 4.4kg (9.7lb) to lose! I finished work at 5pm, Ann & Stuart (the tennants) came over later and we celebrated with Prosecco for Ann & I, and beer for Stuart. We had a good laugh and the dogs really enjoyed having more visitors. We had a lovely curry and the pide bread I bought earlier, doubled up as a great naan bread substitute. We had a fab time, going on to the wine after the Prosecco and taking photos to send to Jamie as we sat at his dining room table. It was quite a late night and I had drank quite a lot, the most I’d had in 2 weeks, so I might regret it tomorrow morning when the alarm went off at 7am.
I took it easy on Sunday 25th August, I did some work and didn’t get much of a lay in. I had and amazing fresh fruit salad for breakfast with a Yorkshire tea. At lunch, time I made a cheese and lettuce sandwich on wholemeal bread (no butter) and researched what I needed to do in preparation for my residency renewal application. Jamie had offered to take me to Fethiye tomorrow to update the passport number at the Government office and I’d said yes. In the afternoon, once I had finished work, Captain Caveman called me from Victory Road Villas in Phong Nha, while he had a beer and a pizza. He’d finished his last Son Doong cave tour and was planning his departure from Phong Nha once any loose ends had been tied up. He would take a bit of a holiday in Vietnam to see and say bye to friends before he booked a flight to Turkey. In the evening, I made a bit of a strange concoction for dinner; I cooked pasta with chickpeas, tomatoes, marmite, tomato puree, garlic, mushrooms, peppers, chicken and a small amount of sucuk (Turkish salami). It was also another zero spend day and I was pleased to not have had any alcohol either. My will power was holding up as long as I didn’t go out but that was fine for now.
There was a bit of excitement for me on Friday 23rd August as I had agreed to an outing after work, with a friend. For breakfast I had overnight oats with berries and grapes plus the obligatory Yorkshire tea (and I still hadn’t opened the wine bucket of them yet). I worked until 1.30pm and had another chicken and veg wrap for lunch. Unfortunately, the bread in the wraps had to be counted as syns but at least it was still better for me than booze, of which I had not touched a drop of, since Sunday. I’d decided in my mission to lose weight and save money, alcohol was the obvious thing to cut out. I set myself a goal to get to the end of the month without any alcohol – it was going to be tough, but needs must!
At 2pm, I was picked up and we drove up to Radar Hill, one of the highest points around and has beautiful views. We had come prepared with water, coffee, a melon and a knife. It was like being on a trip with Crocodile Dundee as my friend whipped out the knife and asked me to slice up the melon while she tried to take photos of dragon flies. A couple nearby, having a romantic picnic, must have wondered what was going on, especially when the flies came and my companion was hitting my legs with a notebook in an attempt to stop them biting.
Next, we went to Iztuzu beach for a drink and a swim. The car park fee is 100 lira (£2.33) and all payments at the car park or café must be done by card (no cash), but the café does sell beer now. After a soft drink, and a tuna sandwich for my mate, we had a swim in the sea. I got talking to some holiday makers from Ankara; Emrah and his 3 daughters Nisa, Eylul and Ela who were all very nice and the eldest wanted to practice her English. They loved Dalyan and were staying in a villa in Dalaman, they commented on how cheap they were finding it compared to where they lived in Ankara. We stayed until sunset and then I was dropped back off at my parents’ place, where I had leftover chicken casserole for dinner.
On Saturday 24th August I had my cup of tea and toast before going to the weekly Dalyan market to get some fruit and vegetables. Here’s what I bought, prices in lira;
Stall 1 Tomatoes 23 lira (53p)
Stall 2 Bananas, grapes and peaches Total 120 lira (£2.79)
Stall 3 Plums and a lemon 30 Lettuce 40 Melon 100 Strawberries 120 Total 290 lira (£6.74)
I had spent a total of 433 lira (£10.07) at the market and had quite a lot of lovely produce to last me most of the week. Once back home, I unpacked my shopping and washed all the fruit, then rolled the grapes to free them from the stalks easily, and chopped all the strawberries and stored them in glass jars. These 2 ways of prepping grapes and strawberries mean they stay fresher for longer and is a good money saving tip as well as having no waste. I got on with some work and needed to crack on as I had an important video call booked in for later on. Feeling motivated to stay on my Slimming World plan, I ate some grapes and strawberries then made a really nice wrap for lunch. It had chicken, lettuce, cabbage, carrot, and bean sprouts in and I counted the wrap as 10 syns for the bread content. When it got to dinner time, I wasn’t that hungry so I just had fruit salad with Quark and a tiny bit of honey – delicious! I finished work at 7.30pm and went for a quick walk to the shop, prices as usual in lira;
Migros Supermarket Popcorn 26.95 Milk 28.25 Jasmine rice 44.50 2 tins of tomatoes 59.90 Total spent 159.60 lira (£3.71)
I hurried back and then called my parents for our video call, it was the first one since I had arrived in Turkey, 12 days ago. Ma & Pa were having a glass of wine and it was good to talk to them, even though Dad is a man of few words and leaves us women to jabber on. They were hoping to come out to Dalyan in a month’s time and would probably arrive around the same time as Captain Caveman. In the evening, I watched a bit of Netflix on my phone, while eating some popcorn before bed. I was on 79 syns for the week so far, less than half where I was this time last week and I was determined to stick to plan this week. Tomorrow I had quite a few life admin jobs to do but I was hoping for a bit of a lay in.
Sunday 18th August got a bit out of hand! I’d given myself the day off, with it being the weekend and I had an invite to a special birthday party. Debbie (Darling) was having her 60th birthday party at Laguna, a new river side restaurant at the top end of town. The party started at 1.30pm so Jamie, Drew and the 3 nephews came to pick me up in the car. The sun was out and it was pretty hot out there so we squeezed in, rather uncomfortably, and managed to get quite near to the venue. Jamie would leave the car as we would (obviously) have a drink. We were welcomed with a free cocktail which was pink and had gin in it for the adults and a mocktail for the kids. It was rather good but the youngest nephew thought his ‘would be better with a gin in it’! Laguna had also arranged that all drinks of beer or wine would be 100 lira (£2.33) for the duration of the party, which was a really good deal and made it easier to pay as you go. It also made it a little too easy to drink too much and I had 2 wines on an empty stomach! Debbie (Darling) looked lovely and happy as she took a drink of wine from her birthday cake. Yes, you read that right! Louize had made a cake in the shape of a wine barrel which had actual wine in it and the tap turned to pour out in to her glass. It was so clever. As the buffet was being put out, Jamie went off-piste and ordered a rather nice bottle of wine for him, Drew and I to share. The food was very good and I over ate; there were chicken goujons, spaghetti, cheese rolls and various delicious accompaniments which went down well. Debbie (Darling)’s daughter, Mel, did a lovely speech and Sioned took some great photos of everyone (I borrowed some for the blog too). I saw lots of people I knew, which was nice. Laguna was a lovely venue and looked like a great place to go for an evening meal one day. I left with Jamie, Drew and the 3 nephews with the intention that they were going to buy some last minute souvenirs and gifts and I was going to walk back to my parents’ with them. And that is where the frivolities should have ended!
As we got past the Post Office, sauntering down the street in Dalyan, one of the boys needed a toilet break. Sofra bar was close by and not busy, as everyone was still at Debbie (Darling)’s 60th birthday party. We sat down, Ahmet rearranged seating for us and I said I would have a glass of wine, before popping to the loo too. On my return, I saw that Jamie and Drew had ordered another bottle of the same wine from Laguna, between the 3 of us. This meant I was having more white wine on top of the free cocktail, 2 glasses of wine and the third of a nice bottle – I was already past my usual non-sloshed limit. A beautiful butterfly landed on the pavement behind our bench and several of us got a photo of it, I’d not seen one like that before. When it was time to leave, I gave the rest of my wine to Drew as I couldn’t manage it. It was agreed that Jamie and the 3 lads would go to buy a couple of things and then see us at home. Drew and I would go to the bank and Yaman Büfe to buy some wine and crisps for a follow up drink at their villa. I should have said no and that I’d already had enough to drink but, having been back in Dalyan a week already, I was up for it. I took out money at the bank but then I needed the loo again and we decided we would head to Jiks, where I could nip to the toilet. However, as my eyes caught sight of Ren Garden, I suggested we go there. On the short walk from the Bank to Ren Garden, Drew’s brother called and we spoke to him to say we had been to a 60th birthday and were a little tipsy (understatement from me) but we understood that he had just booked his flights to bring the family to Dalyan next year. How lovely! We got a drink in Ren Garden, as it would have been rude not to. I paid 270 lira (£6.28) for an Efes Malt and a wine and soda which was very nice. Jamie was already at home as we went to the off-licence where I bought 2 bottles of Angora white wine, and 3 packets of crisps/Doritos. It cost just 694 lira (£16.14) – which was a lot cheaper than I expected! I didn’t have any of the wine in the end as, when we got to the house, Jamie was ordering pizza from Sosyete for us all and had already promised the boys. I drank water, fussed the dogs and when the pizza came, I paid the delivery guy 600 lira (£13.95) for 3 pizzas, chips and some chicken nuggets – a reasonable price. I was hungry and I felt that the food helped to sober me up a bit. I vaguely recall Drew thrusting some money my way for the takeaway, etc and getting home about 11pm, regretting drinking so much.
Photo credit – 60th birthday party photos mostly by Sioned Wyn Duran
The flight was meant to land at Dalaman airport at 3am on Monday 12th August but it was delayed. I was fortunate that my parents had kindly agreed to let me stay at their apartment in Dalyan and Sonuç was picking me up. I got there about 5.30am and my Mom had instructed me that I would need to turn on the electric at the meter in the garden and then on the fuse board outside the front door. When we arrived, Sonuc carried my suitcase and we noticed that the electric meter was already on, as were the lights in the next door neighbour’s apartment and on the communal staircase. The fuseboard outside the door was already on so I went in carefully while Sonuç waited to check no one was inside – there wasn’t. I went straight to sleep, after making the bed and had 2 hours before it got light and woke me up again. By 9.30am I was in the Captainnet office putting the internet on. My residency permit expires in October so the lady would only permit me to put on one month at 675 lira (£15.77). I went to the bank and deposited some Dollars and I contacted the dentist for an appointment for my chipped tooth. At 7pm I was getting ready to go to Nanny Kay’s birthday meal at Hotel Dalyance, I hadn’t unpacked (aside from my wine bucket and tea bags) and couldn’t find anything nice to wear. I arrived and was a couple of minutes late so everyone was already seated and there was about 20 people on one table. I sat at the end next to Lisa and Engin and I ordered an Efes beer. We had already pre ordered food and I had chosen the Pad Thai. When the food came, it was very nice but I would say it was more a Singapore Noodles than a Pad Thai and it was very soy sauce heavy. There was no water ordered for the table so I ordered myself a big bottle of water of which 3 others shared some. A beer was 150 lira (£3.50), the water 50 lira (£1.17) and the Pad Thai 550 lira (£12.85), a total of 750 lira (£17.52) so not extortionate for a meal out in a nice setting but prices were definitely on the rise a little. Service was good but the cooling fans that were on us got moved when a family with kids came in so it was a bit sweaty. As soon as the birthday song had been sang and the cake distributed I was ready for my bed. The cake was carrot and had been made by Nanny Kay herself, probably the best birthday cake I’d tasted in Turkey. The night had been nice but I didn’t get to speak much to Nanny Kay and it was disappointing that Jamie and Drew weren’t there as they had Jamie’s 3 nephews with them.
Photo credit – Lisa, Engin, Sue, various party goers
Saturday 10th August was my last official full day and night in England and the girls had plans to really make sure I enjoyed it to the fullest. I had once again declined the kind offer of an outdoor fitness session in favour of getting a bit of work done before the fun began. My legs still ached from the last one and the top up of impromptu dance moves last night. One of our other friends, Liz, was driving to Otford today to meet up and was already on her way by the time I met Claire and Clare for breakfast. Sally’s Café Emporium in Otford is absolutely amazing and, before I’d even tasted the food, it was going on to my list of favourites. The amount of cakes they had was immense and we were going to have breakfast there first, then take cakes away. I ordered pancakes with fruit and honey, Clare had eggs benedict and Claire had the fantastic combination of porridge, fruit and a hash brown. The tea, of which they had lots of different ones, came in china teapots and cups with saucers and our breakfast was a veritable treat. We paid for breakfast, which was reasonably priced and then got in the queue for the cakes. Claire, Clare and I chose fruit scones with butter, jam and clotted cream to take away, we got one for Liz and a brownie for Mark. The 5 cakes only cost about £20 and were massive. Back at the house, I was still fuming about the Nationwide bank issue and Clare, who uses the same bank, transferred £50 in and I gave it her in cash. That way, if I couldn’t get it sorted before the next £13 charge, and because I wouldn’t be in the country from Monday, it wouldn’t incur more charges. My mom would bring my card out before the end of September and I could use the online banking to close the account. Clare and I also decided that I was going to send another strongly worded complaint to them in an effort to close the account and be done with it.
Liz arrived in the afternoon and made it into the town centre car park so that she could charge her electric car. Claire went to collect her and there were tears when we hugged each other. It had been such a long time since we last saw each other and I was really looking forward to spending time with Liz. Claire had prepared the spare room for her to stay over, I’d put the duvet and pillow cases on, and Mark had the heavy job of sorting the sofa bed out. Unfortunately, though, Liz was unable to stay and would have to drive home after dinner. I was sad that she couldn’t stay longer but at least we had the day together – it was a travesty that she would miss the Kake & Karaoke night which Claire had booked us in to tonight. Meanwhile, our other friend, Kelly, was on her sick bed and couldn’t make the weekend either and was feeling rather sorry for herself to be missing out. Lunchtime was great and we had a chicken caesar salad with edamame beans in and then it was time for tea and the scones. It was the first time in my 5 weeks of being in England that I had eaten them and it was well worth the wait – there was even a proper tea pot and tea cosy. In the afternoon, we had a wander to Otford town to pick up Liz’s car and called in to the antique shop for a quick look around. A drink was had in The Bull where last night’s dance floor had turned back into a dining room for pub food customers and we sat outside in the sun. It was a glorious day, ideal for getting me ready for the Turkish temperatures I would soon be enduring. Mark and Claire put on another BBQ and I’m sure they were getting even tastier each time. I ate sausage, chicken, pork, sweetcorn, feta salad and baby new potatoes. The pink fizz was flowing for the girls who didn’t have to drive and Mark joined us with beer. Poor Reg, the dog, had a long lesson in patience as he tried his best to get in on the meat action. It was sad saying bye to Liz, although there was a chance I would see her, Clare, Kelly and Louisa in Rhodes next month, if all went well with my residency renewal. I checked in online for my flight from Gatwick, leaving the next day at just before 9pm and would arrive at Dalaman at 3am. The rest of the evening was spent playing cards, something I rarely do as I’m not good at concentrating on the game. Mark taught us a game I had never played before, called Cheat, and I loved it. It was really funny playing with friends we know so well and a man I had only known for a few days with a lengthy career in the police force. Of course, it was absolutely hilarious and we sacked off going to the Karaoke night in favour of playing Cards Against Humanity – one of my favourite card games.
When Claire, Clare and I started the day on Friday 9th August, none of us had any idea that we would be part of an event that might go down in the history of Otford. I started the day with a short spell of work and a warmed up leftover chicken tikka masala, rice and garlic naan, washed down with a cup of tea for my breakfast. The girls were good and had protein shakes after they came back from the fitness class in the park, the one I was still aching from! While Claire had meetings and work to get through, Clare and I took ourselves off on a little adventure. We walked to the train station and got a ticket to Sevenoaks. I even managed to operate a ticket machine and pay on card the £6.40 for 2 of us, before the train arrived so my skills were improving in the somewhat cashless UK. The walk up the hill in to the town was a killer on my legs and even Clare welcomed the stop off in Marks & Spencer’s. We had a good old look around and Clare found something to buy while I resisted. It had been so many years since I’d shopped willy-nilly that I now had the default setting of not getting anything. When we got to the town we located the Nationwide and I stood in the lengthy queue to close my account, for the upteenth time. I didn’t mind that the queue was made up of the old and disabled and was extremely slow moving as I felt like today would be my lucky day. I’d even had a message from my Mom to say my new bank card had arrived back in Sheffield and the old PIN was still active. When I finally got to the front, the lady explained that she wouldn’t be able to close the account as it was £3.54 overdrawn so I needed to pay that in to close it. I tried to remain calm but in the end I gave her a £20 note and told her to put £5 in and then close it, the balance could be transferred in to my other account. She paid £5 in and then said the system wouldn’t allow her to close it, and maybe there were more charges to come, which she might not be able to see. I asked her to check and she said the account looked fine, with a £13 fee due at the end of August so she didn’t know why it wouldn’t close. I left very annoyed, Clare took me for a cup of tea in a nearby café and listened to me rant on about what a ‘useless set of twats’ the Nationwide were being. Her Dad in Canada had experienced a similar predicament with the same bank but he had got his account closed and all the fees and charges refunded. We decided we needed wine to sort out a plan! After a little detour for me to pick up a small gift for Claire for hosting me (and her forthcoming birthday) we found wine in a very nice pub. The man serving behind the bar at The Restoration welcomed cash which was great, including 50 pound notes. He even told me of an incident last week of one of their other pubs having to close when they had a system failure and couldn’t take card. Clare and I discovered they had a rather nice Pinot Grigio which we had with soda and I splashed out on some pork scratchings and spent about £20 in total and we’re there a while. I only had 3 days left in England so I was sure that I was going to miss pork products like the scratchings, until I broke my tooth on one. Claire joined us after a trip to the opticians and getting her new glasses which looked great. We drove back to Otford via the Sainsbury’s where I treated myself to new PJs for £7.50. Mark was in charge of the BBQ once again that evening and we had a fab feast of meat, salad and rice before getting our gladrags on for an evening with a bit of a difference.
One of the local pubs, The Bull, in Otford was hosting a Gay Pride night on Friday 9th August and Claire, Clare & I were off to support it. Each of us had a bright outfit on and I was grateful to have brought my £6 multi-coloured long sleeved shorts suit with back fastening. On arrival at The Bull, we were greeted by friendly staff and decided to try their Rum Punch special cocktails. They were strong but good and we bumped in to a guy who looked like he’d just clocked off work and was having a pint of Carlsberg. The guy was from Leeds so he and I instantly had that Yorkshire bond and became buddies straight away. The girls and I discovered sticky jewels for faces and that a bottle of decent wine was on offer at £18 so more than one of those was enjoyed. The do was quite quiet, as I’m not sure Otford was yet the hub of the gay scene, or even had many open supporters, so we gave it a go at keeping it lively. I suspected an old couple who’d come out for their dinner, had to rush their pud to make sure they were out of the way of any of this sort of shenanigans in their local on a Friday night! By 9.20am, I was dancing like a bad Rick Coffey (Google him, he’s one of my idols) on a carpeted corner of a dancefloor, giving it everything I had, including a solo chair dance performance to Lady Marmalade! We had such a great night and my aching leg muscles from the fitness class had only just started to loosen up. I met Guy, a gay from Otford, who personally thanked me for supporting Gay Pride at The Bull and emotionally shared that he had never imagined such a thing would ever be happening in this fairly traditional village of Otford. I assured him that he really wasn’t going to be the only gay in the village now and then broke in to a dance with Mr Leeds. My choice of outfit had proved itself troublesome with the double button fastening at the back when I had to take the whole thing down for toilet visits. I did manage to keep my sleeves dry and I knew my Mom would be proud I’d not peed on them. It was after midnight when we got home and Claire, Clare and I were shattered after such a memorable night. I had loved it and knew I’d sleep well that night and probably ache a lot tomorrow!
Claire and I were up very early to get ready for our busy working day on Thursday 8th August in Knutsford. I ate muesli, half a croissant and a sausage and bacon muffin for breakfast with a couple of cups of tea. We drove to Claire’s work where she signed me in with the meticulous health and safety security man and I got positioned in the delightful kitchen/canteen area. I was so happy when Claire told me to help myself to hot drinks and that the hot chocolate was amazing. For future reference, I found 3 was probably one too many. I also had a couple of herbal teas and worked for a few hours in my new office. Mr Meticulous came in a few times to risk assess me and warn me of the plague of people due to hit the area at noon – that was actually Claire and her colleagues and there were certainly no more than 12 of them. MI5 was definitely missing a trick, not having this employee! When we finished at noon, Claire had a client meeting and I wanted to attempt to close that bank account at Nationwide. We parked in Knutsford town, where I had been before, and I walked down the main road, Claire went the opposite way but gave me the car keys thinking I wouldn’t be too long. She was correct, as the Knutsford branch of Nationwide was closed today! Instead, I went to the post office to change some US Dollars where I only got £187.50 for $270 and I thought that wasn’t great. I tried to get in touch with Claire to see if she needed anything getting for the journey back but noticed my phone didn’t seem to be working. I topped up my GiffGaff SIM with another £10 for good measure and hoped it would work but there was still no signal. I sat in the car as it had started to rain and Claire arrived shortly after for us to set off back to Kent.
On the way back we stopped for petrol and I bought some healthy food at South Corley services, here’s what I bought with prices in pounds;
The salad (poke bowl) had edamame in with all sorts of veg/salad and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Once eaten, I was back to concentrate on our Caraoke!!! Claire and I sang pretty solidly for about 3 and a half hours and had a right laugh. Back home, we were running late but luckily had timed it right with our arrangements for a meet up with another friend.
Clare had come over on the train from London, following her after-work drinks and we were off to the local India restaurant. Our fine dining experience at the Tamarind restaurant was so good and here’s what we had with prices in English;
I thought the meal, at less than £23 each, was an absolute bargain and tasted so good, we even took some home for me and for Mark for the next day. It was a lovely meal but the restaurant was very warm and we are ladies of a certain age so we didn’t hang about, apart from to partake in the free Baileys and shots of Baby Guinness, obviously. Outside was cold and dark on the way home but it was nice to have some fresh air. Clare doesn’t work Fridays so we had arranged to go in to town while the other Claire was working tomorrow and I was going to also meet up with Holly’s mom, Lynda, who didn’t live far away.
joloyolo 