Dalyan – 3rd & 4th March

I didn’t sleep well and still had a bad stomach when I woke up on Sunday 3rd March. I put it down to the sausages I’d brought back from Rhodes and they had to go in the bin. I managed a cup of tea and a banana but had to cancel any plans to join Mark, Kate and the Aussies for Turkish breakfast at a museum. There was also the Sunday walk which Carol had organised to go from Ley Ley restaurant which I skipped too.
I was hoping to be ok for later as I’d organised that tonight would be my leaving meal and drinks with an eclectic mix of just a few friends. During the day I managed to eat a fruit salad, some broccoli and potato soup, a small pasta Bolognese and lots of oresol, water and herbal teas. I spoke to Captain Caveman who was heading back in to the jungle on his Laos/Vietnam month long cave expedition that he was half way through. They had found some new cave which was good and it was nice to talk to him after a couple of weeks of him being in the Laotian jungle. This might be the last phone call until I saw him in Phong Nha in 12 days time.
I arrived at Mahir’s kebab place at 7.30pm to find that Jamie and Drew were already there and a random bag and jazzy jacket were placed on the middle seat so I moved it along one space to my left and sat down next to Jamie. Jaxx sat opposite me when she arrived, as Bill was away, then Carol (from Fat Club) arrived with Ian and moved the bag to sit next to me and Jaxx. I’d now worked out the stuff on the seat was perhaps Adele’s. She sat next to Carol which left the 2 seats at the end for Amanda and Greg, who arrived last and instantly got on with Adele. Mark and Kate had declined the invite as they had already eaten out today and they didn’t fancy the leaving drinks.
A few of us ordered the fish and chips at Mahir’s. I tried to be good and took most of my batter off, mainly because of my stomach more than the diet. Jaxx and I went thirds on a bottle of wine with Adele, then shared a bottle between the 2 of us. We had a lovely meal, I seemed to have made a full recovery and was feeling well enough to move on to the after party at Sofra bar. Adele, Carol and Ian went home as they had to be up early on Monday morning but the rest of us decided to move on for a bit of a drinking sesh.
As it happened, Mark and Kate were still out and were the only ones waiting in Sofra for me. Of course, it turned in to one of those nights. Jamie and Drew had been sensible and gone home once it started looking messy.
Greg took Mark and Kate home then returned to Jaxx and I where we put Jaxx in a taxi then Greg insisted that they drove me home. The night turned in to a very very late finish! Amanda and Greg were still at mine after 4am! Once upstairs I realised I’d left loads of coat hangers on the bed and then at 5.30am (9.30am in Vietnam) I had a drunken video call with Captain Caveman who had popped back to Phong Nha in between cave expeditions. We were both glad I had decided to have the leaving drinks in advance of my leaving date.

I was surprisingly chipper when Jamie picked me up at 10am on Monday 4th March, despite my 3 hours of sleep. We drove to Ortaca where we got to the shop and bought 2 grey sunbed cushions for 1200 lira (£29.93) then went straight back to Dalyan. The cleaner was hard at work so I dropped the cushions off then had a wander round Dalyan. By the time it got to 11.50pm I knew I needed a bacon sandwich but Ela’s Kitchen was closed. I went to Jiks where I bumped in to 3 other Dalyan Dwellers before finally going back home to start on my packing for Vietnam.
I’d called at the bank a couple of times to sort things out and try to get holiday insurance but the computer was down and I had to go back. The lira was now at the highest it had been at 40.1 lira to the pound.
For lunch I had left over pasta Bolognese then for dinner I had chicken stir-fry with bulgur wheat and chickpeas. I had heard from one of the Fat Club that there was a restock of Quark and on offer so I went to the shop to get them and some cheese to make Carol’s pasties. Here’s what I bought and prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket

Plastic bag 0.25
3 Quark 59.85
Cheddar 76.90
Total spent 164.95 lira (£4.11)

Later, I spoke on video call to my parents which was good and we spoke about my plans for Vietnam.

Dalyan – 24th & 25th February

Unfortunately, there was a full power outage, from 7am, in Dalyan on Saturday 24th February but Jamie had sent me a warning about it. This gave me a good excuse that I would have to have breakfast from the market today. I got up and sorted out Norman and Edna, then made a cup of Yorkshire tea with Jamie’s whistling kettle on the gas hob! It seemed a bit cold so I got on the sofa with the dogs and a blanket while I drank my tea and caught up with a few online chores. I went to the weekly market and here’s what I bought (prices in lira);

Mushrooms 15
Potatoes 18
Bananas 55
Strawberries 100
Apples and Chestnuts 125
1 cheese and mushroom gözleme 75
Total spent 388 lira (£9.95)

I’d got talking to Cath and Keith while I was picking bananas out and unfortunately instead of the 5 I wanted to buy going in to my bag, I got a whole bunch of them. The gözleme had increased in price a bit more too, but I didn’t think 75 lira (£1.92) for breakfast was unreasonable. The walk home was sweaty and my bag was heavy. I had cucumber water and rose tea, some strawberries and the gözleme when I got back to Jamie’s. For lunch I just had a red apple and a litre of cucumber water. I sunbathed outside for a bit and even had to pop on some suncream as it was warm. By 4pm we were all back indoors cooling down and I was going to have a shower before the dog walk. I got in the shower but the water was cold and it turned out that, because of the power outage earlier, the boiler was off. I messaged Jamie so he could get the plumber out. I could’ve gone over to our apartment for a shower but I didn’t bother. We did the dog walk, avoided the pub or any alcohol and I had a sweet and sour chicken with rice for dinner.
On the sofa I caught up with The Apprentice on TV and even Edna couldn’t believe how stupid some of the candidates were.

There was a bit of activity on Sunday 25th February; I was joining the Sunday walk which Carol (from Fat Club) had organised, the plumber was coming to fix the boiler and I was joining an online launch party with Lisa Johnson later.
I didn’t have a cup of tea this morning as I needed to get Norman and Edna sorted and fed before I left for the Sunday walk. Norman knew it was a Sunday and was stood at the bottom of the stairs trying to get me to take him back to bobos. I nearly didn’t go on the walk because the plumber was coming at 1pm and I wasn’t sure we’d be back in time, given we were walking to the Sultaniye mud baths. Carol had confirmed we should be back in time so I’d agreed to meet at the Denizkızı ferry. I met Tina (from Fat Club) and her hubby, Paddy, at Tez bar at 9.30am and we walked the 20 minutes to the meeting point together. It was quite a turn out and I said hello to a few of the walkers as we got on the ferry to cross the river. The ferry was just 10 lira (26p) each way for a foot passenger which was a bargain for the short trip. Ghislaine loaned me the use of Honey, her 13 year old spaniel, who could certainly motor but did like to pee a lot. It was quite a hard walk for me and unfortunately we didn’t get to the mud baths until gone 11.30am. This meant that, because I had insisted that I be back by 1pm, the group couldn’t enjoy any time at the mudbaths. We all had a quick pee, I was the only woman to brave the squat toilet, as I was in practice for my travels next month.

The walk back was hard and we stopped off for a drink at Pirates and Skulls, a nice little cafe. I just had an orange juice and tried to get the correct information on the times of the ferries. I had a panic on as I possibly wouldn’t be back in time for the plumber or to let the dogs out after them being alone after almost 4 hours. I messaged Jamie to see if he could delay the plumber, paid the 70 lira (£1.79) for my orange juice and decided to go for the ferry anyway. Ausaf, Lyn, Debbie and Christine came too, leaving some of the group having a few bevvies. The ferry turned out to go back and forth without a timetable so we were in luck, as well as Christine coming to the rescue with her hubby, Jez, picking us up at the other side and dropping me at Jamie’s.
I was more concerned with being late to let the dogs out but they were fine and snoozing away. I’d just let them out on the back garden when the plumber turned up and he fixed the boiler really quickly. Norman and Edna knew him so, of course, Edna had to get some male attention from the nice man!
For lunch I had a chicken pasta dish while Norman wanted to know why I’d been on a walk with another dog! I felt a bit guilty and even worse when I had to do only a short dog walk with them because I could hardly walk myself.
For dinner I had miso soup with egg noodles and lots of fruit salad. At 11pm I joined the launch party Facebook live with Lisa Johnson and a massive number of other people. It was really motivating and encouraged me to get on and start taking some action. I was really excited for next week’s free course and was glad my friend, Heather, had prompted me to get involved. Finding a job with my unique requirements and talents was going to prove difficult, but setting up in business might just suit me better. By bedtime I was still hungry and had to have a buttered crumpet with cheese and olives. This meant I was already on 174 syns for the week. I’d had a great day and had only spent 90 lira (£2.31) but tomorrow was my last full day with Norman and Edna.

Dalyan – 5th & 6th February

Now that I had Mondays off work, I was living the dream again on Monday 5th February. We were off on the boat to Köyceğiz and word must have got out as it was a very full trip. Vanessa and I were there with Adele, Mark and Kate, plus a fair few Dalyan Dwellers, there were also a few Turkish people and we were on yet a different boat. The yellow boat still was not ready and the boat we were on had a toilet but it wasn’t in use. We’d all gone togged up in warm clothing so we weren’t cold and Vanessa was on a shopping research mission. We got off the boat and after all the women had a walk to the shopping centre, Vanessa and I went in search of the plant pot shop where she checked out the merchandise and bought some dangly garden ornaments. I bought 2 bodies, the t-shirts with poppers at the gusset were back in fashion here and were on 2 for 1 offer and only 250 lira (£6.53) for both. We decided to go to Avangart again for lunch, a few others from the boat stopped by to check on the price of wine and were put off. Vanessa and I had a salad, bread, an orange juice and a big water. I paid 300 lira (£7.83) for my lunch and it was so lovely, the others went to Tuana but quite a few were disappointed with the service. The journey back was more prompt, as there were no takers for the mud baths this week. By 5pm we were having a cheeky one in Tez bar and Vanessa treated me to a glass of wine, which was half the price of Avangart at 90 lira (£2.35). Back home, I made a chicken pasta dish for dinner and was in my dressing gown by 9pm, it’s hard work enjoying yourself too much! I’d spent just over £30 and I’d caught the sun.

I decided to do a Slimming World Speed day on Tuesday 6th February. This is where you eat ‘speed’ fruit and veg, as well as protein, the Healthy A & B options, the daily syn allowance and any ‘free’ food. Rice, potatoes and pasta are not included in any meals. It sounds easy but it takes a bit of planning ahead so that you don’t get hungry. I started with my usual cup of Yorkshire tea, then had 1 slice of wholemeal toast (half of the B option) with baked beans (free) and butter (syns) for breakfast before Zumba. I also put the tomatoes from yesterday’s walk and the ones from the market in the slow cooker with onion and lentils to make a speed soup. After Zumba, I had an apple (speed) then a rather unusual lunch. I had 2 beef patties (syns) with roasted pumpkin (speed), raw red and white cabbage and carrot (all speed) with balsamic vinegar.
When I got peckish in the afternoon, I had a tiny bit of cheese (A option) and a big gherkin (speed).
At dinner time I really enjoyed the tomato and lentil soup (speed) with the other half of my wholemeal bread allowance but no butter. In the evening I still had some syns and A option left so I had cheese, olives and some strawberries. My total syns for the day was 10, making the weekly amount 303. I’m not sure that would be good enough for a loss at Fat Club tomorrow, but we would see.

Dalyan – 1st & 2nd February

Thursday 1st February was a busy day; the Aussies were leaving Dalyan early the next day and heading to Rhodes. They wanted to have a Turkish breakfast before they left and so it had already been booked in that I would join them, Mark and Kate at Melekanne, a restaurant by the river. I’d only been a couple of times before but had been disappointed, so had not been back for well over a year. Lots of people had recommended it so I decided to give it another go, however we agreed for us to meet there after my Zumba class, rather than before.
Zumba class was good and I mentioned I was rushing off to go for breakfast at Melekanne to a few of the ladies. It was too late to change our minds but I got told the prices were shocking for what you get and that the breakfast isn’t that good. I tend not to react well to Turkish breakfast as it’s either food I don’t like or food that doesn’t like me. As I’d been doing Slimming World I’d started to get better with my intolerances so I decided I’d go for it. It was the Aussies last meal in Dalyan and worth a little celebration.
The Melekanne breakfast was 300 lira (£7.73) each which is more expensive than some other places but we did have nice views and were sat in the sun. Amanda, Greg and I ordered the Turkish breakfast, Mark ordered a hamburger and Kate ordered an omelette. There were plenty of chips (with and without yoghurt), cheese rolls, cheese, tomato, cucumber, marmalade, jam, chilli dip, fried eggs, olives, bread and lots of tea. In other places a Turkish breakfast can be hard to finish but the portion size here was not too big. Mark’s burger was all sauce and very messy, Kate didn’t rate her omelette which came with a tiny amount of chips so she had to have some from our breakfast. Mark and Kate’s bill was 590 lira (£15.21) which included 2 coffees and a juice. Quite unexpectedly, I had no bad reaction whatsoever to what I ate. Admittedly I only had bread, cheese, a cheese roll, olives and chips but I was pleased I wasn’t ill. Mark and Kate left to go run some errands but the Aussies wanted to try the new coffee shop in town. Mono & More is owned by Ercan, aka Mario, from Spice Garden and people were talking about how good the coffee was. I don’t drink coffee or frequent coffee shops but thought it would be good to have a look. The place has been decorated really well and it looked nice. We met Jill, their neighbour, there and while the others had some fancy coffee, she and I had a hot chocolate. It was very nice and probably full of sugar and syns, but only 60 lira (£1.55).
Our next stop was Ozzy’s, where they had started doing food. There had been a post on Facebook, from Ozzy, to let everyone know and he’d put a photo of some chips for attention. They were crinkle cut and it got a lot of comments that they were or weren’t frozen. Ozzy had said they weren’t frozen, I believed him, but we had to go and give them a test. Mark and Kate joined us and Kate helped us test the chips too. I had a couple of the chips, they weren’t frozen, and they were good. They also do a beer plate, which I took a photo of but didn’t eat, which was popular with customers.
I had a couple of wines in Ozzy’s which came to 220 lira (£5.67) and was home by 8pm, having said bye to Amanda and Greg. I had a burger for dinner at home then an early night as I had work in the morning.

For breakfast on Friday 2nd February I had dried figs, an apple and a cup of Yorkshire tea. Then I got on with work for the morning, not noticing that I had got a missed call and a text from Greg. They had taken a taxi to Fethiye for a ferry they had booked with Sky Marine, only to find that there was no Sky Marine ferry. They were calling me for help as to what to do, unfortunately when I’m working I put my phone on do not disturb. There was another ferry company and they got that one but I later noticed they had put some angry posts on Facebook about it. I looked at Sky Marine ferries website and the ferries were not running in February so I’m not sure how that had happened. For lunch I had veggie pasta and a quick call from Captain Caveman. He’d just got out of Son Doong with Martin Garrix (a famous Dutch DJ) and Lando Norris (a famous F1 racing driver). We had a quick catch up and he said he would try to call me later.
I carried on with work with the waft of a homemade soup in the slow cooker, I was trying cauliflower, leek and courgette.
I had another break from work in the late afternoon when Captain Caveman video called me with Martin, Lando and their fellow cave trip members on the call. I got to ask what they thought of the tour, they said it was beyond amazing and the best week of their life!!! I didn’t get to ask my other 10 questions in person but Captain Caveman said that they would send the replies later. I was so pleased that they had called however, it meant I had to work until 8pm because of the time for the phonecalls. I had chocolate and some jellies to keep me going until I logged off the laptop.
For dinner I tried the soup with some potato wedges, it wasn’t my favourite meal.
Later, I got the answered questions I’d sent to Lando and I was so pleased, it had made my day. I’d also spent zero money today, in an attempt to get back on track with the budget. I went to bed in a good mood and looking forward to the weekend.

Dalyan & Köyceğiz – 29th January

I was once again able to go on the Köyceğiz boat trip because of not working on Monday 29th January. I did a quick check of my spending as of yesterday to find I was just £1.80 below my £300 budget, which I was so pleased with. Vanessa couldn’t make it but this time onboard were; The Aussies, their neighbour Jill, Mark & Kate, Nick & Michele, Donna & Neil and me.
I’d had my overnight oats and a cup of tea for breakfast, then drank 3 Turkish teas and had half a simit on the boat. It was cold and I think we all wondered what on earth we were thinking going on a boat trip in this weather. The yellow boat was still being repaired so we went on a boat without a toilet again and it didn’t have any plastic sides to put down. Still, for 200 lira (£5.18) return we didn’t complain.

Once in Köyceğiz, Kate and I headed up to the shopping centre as she needed some pyjamas and I was after a new pair of gloves. I’d been making do with just one but it was too chilly when the sun wasn’t out. By 1pm I had bought a pair of thermal fur lined leggings for 329 lira (£8.52), a pair of fur lined gloves for 300 lira (£7.77) and a bottle of prosecco at 190 lira (£4.92). We swung by the market where I bought a pricey pineapple for 60 lira (£1.55) and went halves on some shitake mushrooms at 25 lira (65p).
We rejoined Mark at Tuana, the Aussies and Jill joined us shortly after and we ordered lunch. I was on a strict budget so I ordered a Turkish tea for 10 lira (26p) and a chicken burger at 125 lira (£3.24). Unfortunately, when we came to pay, I ended up putting more than necessary in. I only had a 200 lira note for my 135 lira bill but I only got 30 lira back so I’d paid 35 lira extra but noticed not everyone put in a tip. My meal was nothing to write home about and a bit of a waste of going off my diet for, but Jill was pleased with her pasta and the Aussies enjoyed their Turkish breakfast.

We left Köyceğiz at 3.30pm and the Aussies were off to use the facilities of the mudbaths again. Luckily, we had the fizzy wine we’d bought and a couple of bottles from Hakkan and Nilüfer but I was reluctant to drink much without a toilet on board. It had been a great day – it’s pretty rare to see a peacock and a proposing street dog on the same trip!
By the time we got back it was pretty cold. The Aussies went to drop off the shopping while Mark, Kate and I went to Tapa. When the Aussies returned they had a hot chocolate each, I had a rosé wine and played Mark at pool.
Back home, it was too late for dinner so I had a few chestnuts and a bit of cheese before trying on my thermal leggings – they were amazing! It had been a good day out but I had splashed out almost 4 days worth of budget.

Dalyan – 28th January

I’d agreed to go on the walk on Sunday 28th January, having missed out on the one that was organised last week. This week a lady from Zumba, Jacks, had let me know the details. It was going to be organised by Bev, the new lady from İçmeler walking group, and her hubby, Steve. It was a round walk going from outside Tez bar via Eskiköy and all on the flat. I put all the ingredients in the slow cooker for a chicken curry for dinner. I had a cup of Yorkshire tea and a tangerine before I set off. There were loads of people for the walk this week, including some people from the İçmeler walking group. The Aussies had also joined but they were much faster than me. In fact, it turned out I was very slow and didn’t even see Michele, Jackie or Carol, who were at the front, the whole way round the walk. I walked mainly with Ghislaine, Jacks, and Debbie who are great company on a walk. We stopped for tea in Eskiköy which was nice and the cafe was really cheap. Steve was a real help to me as he kept at the back to help with the route. He told me the directions once I became the last person at the back as I couldn’t keep up with everyone else. There wasn’t really an end to the walk, as by the time I’d got back to town, everyone had gone their own way. The Aussies had zoomed off as they had a friend to meet.

I got home after walking for 3.5 hours and had 4 pieces of chocolate, a shower and leftover chicken stir-fry with egg rice for lunch. The slow cooker curry was coming on a treat and I was looking forward to that for dinner. I spoke to Captain Caveman who was incredibly cold in Phong Nha and couldn’t get warm. I told him to wear my monkey trousers for bed to keep cosy and he did.
I was still hungry after eating the delicious curry so I had a small wrap made in to a mini pizza. I’d only had 13 syns today so was pleased with that, but tomorrow I had more Monday plans! I decided I was going to cancel my belated birthday plans for Thursday as I now work on Fridays, initially thinking I would move it to Friday or Saturday but, if I’m honest, I just wasn’t feeling it and money was tight. I sent a message out and cancelled the group event.

Dalyan – 22nd January

On the morning of Monday 22nd January I totted up my budget spend for the first 3 weeks of the year. I’d set myself a tight £10 per day to live off, not including rent and utility bills. To my surprise, I’d done even better than anticipated and had managed to only spend the equivalent of £147.78, a massive £52.22 saving. I was really pleased with myself as it had not been easy and had took strict planning and a lot less going out/drinking. Because of this, I had allowed myself to go a bit mad today, as a treat.
Given that I had been working every Monday, I’d been missing out on the Köyceğiz weekly market that a lot of Dalyan Dwellers had been frequenting, with Hakkan and Nilüfer on the Yellow Boat. Köyceğiz, in my opinion, is a lot cheaper than Dalyan too and I’d missed the market on Saturday so it was good timing.
When I got out of bed I regretted drinking so much wine yesterday and Vanessa’s coat in the downstairs toilet reminded me I’d come home in a heavy downpour. I messaged Vanessa who was fine and not hungover at all, she called for me and we laughed about yesterday’s impromptu piss up.
Unfortunately, the usual Yellow Boat was being repaired so Hakkan took us on a boat that’s used to go to the beach, and it didn’t have a toilet. It was cold but I’d brought my big coat, hat and the one glove I had. There was also plenty of blankets and hot beverages on the boat.

When we reached Köyceğiz, Vanessa and I went off to the market, not realising everyone else went a different way.
Here’s what I spent on splashing out, with prices in lira;

1kg Tangerines 10
Cabbage 20
Bananas 25
Potatoes & carrots 40
Chestnuts 60
Melon 70
2 bags of olives 150
1kg dried fruit 300
Total spent 675 lira (£17.53)

My bag was so heavy and I was certainly missing Captain Caveman for carrying the rucksack. He wouldn’t have appreciated our willy-nilly approach to shopping, though – we didn’t even go row by row or do the heavy stuff first! I’d probably regret that when I was eating squished olives.
Feeling a bit hot and bothered, we walked back towards the boat and restaurants, bumping in to Hakkan and Nilüfer. They took our heavy bags to the boat for us, which was kind, and we decided on a walk along the water’s edge to find a spot for lunch. I love Avangart, even though it’s certainly not the cheapest place at 180 lira (£4.68) for a glass of wine. But, as Vanessa and I had drank our quota of wine last night, we were happy with a big bottle of water and an orange juice. I ordered the beef wrap and she had the healthier tuna salad, both meals were great and here’s what we paid in lira;

1 Big water 35
1 fresh orange juice 70
1 beef wrap with chips 225
1 tuna salad 245
Total bill 575.00

I thought my 300 lira (£7.79) lunch (including a tip) was lovely and I took half of the wrap away with me as it was so filling. Vanessa and I were also both conscious of there not being a toilet on the boat when we both suffer with reactions to food. We walked back towards the boat and were a bit early for the 2.30pm departure so decided to join the others at Tuana. We joined the table and I had just had a soda water which was a reasonable 20 lira (52p). The plan was to stop at the Sultaniye mud baths on the way back so the Aussies had gone to buy something to swim in.
I was looking forward to getting back on the boat, as usually Nilüfer does a nice spread of fresh fruit and some nuts for the journey. This time, they had provided 2 bottles of white wine, which was a nice gesture. Nilüfer is so lovely and was making sure everyone had wine or hot tea.
The boat trip usually arrives back in Dalyan for 4pm but we only arrived at the mud baths at 4.10pm, I didn’t have anything suitable to swim in and wasn’t bothered about going in.
Once back, everyone but me went to Tez bar, after Vanessa and I divided up my cabbage in to 3 for me, her and Kate. I had a relaxing evening at home, for dinner a chicken, chickpea and spinach curry with steamed rice.
It had been a lovely day off work, making a nice change on a Monday. I added up what the day had cost me and was pleased;

Market 650
Lunch at Avangart 300
Soda water at Tuana 20
Boat fare 200
Total spent 1,195 lira (£31.04)

Dalyan – 25th December

Monday 25th December was obviously Christmas day for a lot of people, we’d decided to opt out of celebrating it specifically, but we had chosen to spend the day and evening doing something nice with Josh, Martha and my parents. Most of the expats who I’m friends with in Dalyan were doing an English style Christmas here in Turkey, either with friends in their home or going to a restaurant serving English style Christmas dinner, like Lukka or Heybe.
I think my parents would have enjoyed it but they had said they wanted to do something with us and I was pleased. I think a lot of Christmas is a waste of money and an absolute over indulgence, instead of being a time to really enjoy a day spent with people you care about most.
The 6 of us had decided to book on to the yellow boat, owned by Hakkan and Nilüfer. Every Monday they put on a boat trip to Köyceğiz for market day at a cost of 200 lira (£5.38) per person. I’d seen a post on Facebook about a book shop/cafe that had opened in Köyceğiz and I wanted to visit there as a surprise, and maybe buy books. None of us were doing Christmas presents but a personally selected book would have been a nice treat for anyone who wanted one.
It was a lovely sunny day, hot beverages and biscuits were served as we headed over to the stunning Köyceğiz lake. Josh and Captain Caveman had been to Ela’s Kitchen to pick up breakfast sandwiches for the 4 of us so I resisted the turtle biscuits which were a cute touch. We may have been the only English guests on the boat which was quite nice. Nilüfer was the perfect host, making sure the çay was topped up and chatting to everyone on board. We chatted to the others a little, all were friendly and we particularly liked Bruno who was very energetic and amusing.

Once in Köyceğiz, we found Lutra Lutra, the book shop cafe, but it was closed. Captain Caveman went rogue by motoring through to the fruit and veg market on a mission with his shopping list. It was not leisurely and my parents couldn’t keep up, I got annoyed with him and told him off in front of everyone. We then had to have a meeting point by the cheese counters to reconvene as he went off with the bag in search of apples. In Köyceğiz the prices are cheaper than Dalyan but less stall holders speak English, I usually enjoy a browse and a chat but that was not on the agenda for today.
We bought potatoes, onions, pumpkin, leeks, red peppers, apples and 2 lots of cheese from the man who lets you taste as much as you like. I have no idea of the prices of the market purchases except for the cheese being about £6 in total.
We bought 2 bottles of prosecco from Carrefour supermarket at 479.80 lira (£12.90) in readiness for New Year’s Eve then headed for lunch at one of my favourite lakeside eateries.

While people in the UK were probably checking the progress of their Christmas dinner or opening gifts on Christmas Day, the 6 of us had arrived at Avangart restaurant in Köyceğiz. Here’s what we had with the prices in lira;

1 mixed toastie 125
3 Sprites 150
1 chicken wrap 225
3 lentil soup 240
5 Fanta orange 250
1 King prawns 395
4 Tuborg beers 540
Total 1,925 lira (£51.75)

It was less than £9 each on average for a lunch and drinks with a gorgeous view, but it’s certainly not the cheapest place to choose. I really enjoyed the lentil soup I had which came with loads of bread. We left there to get back to the yellow boat for the 2.30pm departure. Nilüfer had prepared some fruit platters with nuts for the journey back and it was such a lovely trip. I really enjoyed the fruit and meant I was doing my best to be healthier, even today. My camera phone really didn’t do the stunning scenery justice but I took a few photos on the way back to Dalyan.
We arrived back in Dalyan around 4pm, we popped the shopping away and had a bit of a rest before the evening’s outing.

While most of our Dalyan Dwelling friends were merry and fully in to their Christmas Day celebrations, the 6 of us had opted for a ‘normal’ meal out. It was, sadly, Josh and Martha’s last day of their holiday too so we wanted to have a nice evening. Bistro Blue is one of our favourite restaurants where the service and food has always been consistently good so we had booked there for 7pm. Vanessa and Brad were disappointed that we weren’t joining them at Mark and Kate’s and said they would come to find us after their Christmas Day celebrations as they wanted to wish us Merry Christmas. We got seated at Bistro Blue, Dad and Josh ordered a beer while the rest of us chose wine. The waiter was Bakı who we know from various places but he had worked in Bistro Blue some years ago. Selahı, the owner, looked very presentable and he greeted us all. Josh tried to get a group selfie but it’s often difficult to get Dad to face the camera, this time he was blowing his nose. Dad wanted a glass for wine, as well as his beer, but it caused some confusion and he didn’t get it straight away. I had to ask Bakı for the wine glass before Dad got too mardy. We ordered food, Dad didn’t want a starter but the rest of us did – well it was Christmas. Captain Caveman was in good spirits and we shared 2 starters between us. More wine was had and the mains were served. I thought the food was amazing and I couldn’t eat all of my pepper steak as, even the smaller weight, was more than sufficient for me.
Vanessa and Brad arrived just as we were finishing our mains and said that their Christmas dinner had gone really well and they had all had a great Christmas day. Matt had gone home as he’d had enough of the celebrations. We had thought of going on for a drink somewhere else but a lot of bars were closed on Mondays. Captain Caveman and I paid 1,950 lira (£52.42) for starters of stuffed mushrooms and liver & onions, a bottle of house red, pepper steak and Spaghetti Bolognese mains which I thought was reasonable for the quality of it. I took the rest of my steak home and we said goodbye to Vanessa and Brad. Back home, we had one last drink to round off the night and say bye to Josh and Martha. It had been a really great way to have a none Christmassy Christmas.

Dalyan – 20th December

Wednesday 20th December should have been my pay day so I had organised to meet a few friends and take our guests to a live gig tonight and was hoping for a bit of a blow out. Unfortunately, I would have to wait until January for my pay to get processed, due to a problem with my bosses new card being sent in the mail over the Christmas period.
I could certainly do without the stress of having no money but I had 2 choices of how I was going to let this affect me for the rest of the year! I decided there was nothing I could do about the situation and I was going to do my utmost to remain positive and get through the rest of 2023 as best as I could. Luckily, Captain Caveman came to my rescue and transferred some money in to my account.
I had a cup of Yorkshire tea, overnight oats with persimmon and then a lemon & green tea. As it was weigh day, I should have taken my measurements and got on the home scales but I forgot. Downstairs, Captain Caveman told me that he’d put some treats away which Josh and Martha had brought for me. It made my day that I had a bar of Dairy Milk chocolate, cheese (cheddar AND Red Leicester), and some duty free booze – the legends!!!!
Obviously, my Fat Club weigh in resulted in me putting on weight. A whopping 0.8kg (1.8lb), twice the amount I lost last week! It was reassuring that a lot of the other ladies were kind of in the same boat.
Afterwards, I met the gang at Rehab bar where Captain Caveman had dragged Josh and Martha to, as part of their continued initiation in to the expat life over here. Both of them seemed to be fitting straight in to the madness and were doing well.
After a walk home along the river, we went to Çağrı for dinner with a couple of friends. The tomato and lentil soup was tasty and I really enjoyed my chicken shish, the meal for just us 2 came to 600 lira (£16.22) including drinks.
Our next stop was to go to Ren Garden to meet more friends, including Jamie and Nanny Kay for a pre gig livener. With it being a new drinking establishment, I thought it would be a nice change but it wasn’t open and we plumped for Jiks instead. I had started to have a worse sore throat so I only had the one glass of white wine then I nursed one glass of red wine at the Jazz Bistro. I was glad I did as it cost 150 lira (£4.05), even a beer was 100 lira (£2.70) and a small water 40 lira (£1.08), which is more than most other bars. The music was great, though, and we had a good time – a few of us even got up for a bit of dancing. Martha gave the ball a good kick and none of us thought to mention that the measures of gin in Dalyan are often doubles, definitely larger than she’s used to back in the UK. Nanny Kay did rather well as she accidentally left without paying her bar tab and Jamie got her a taxi ride home as it was too busy for the usual ones to come.

Dalyan – 19th December

It was all go on Tuesday 19th December and we were both excited for Josh and his girlfriend to arrive in Dalyan that afternoon. Today was also Daisy’s 25th birthday with a party booked at Tapa from 2pm.
The cleaner was not at our apartment at 8.30am, as agreed, so we waited to see if she turned up. She was late as the office wasn’t open for her to collect the keys any earlier but no harm done. Captain Caveman and I decided we would go to a cafe or somewhere for a hot beverage, maybe some breakfast, before he went to Bridge Club. After walking round Dalyan to find nowhere open yet we bought 2 chocolate croissants for 37.90 lira (£1.02) from Migros and walked round the streets eating them.

When Captain Caveman left, I waited for Kaunos tea gardens to open and had a tea. I messaged Jamie to see if he fancied meeting up and I had a second breakfast with him, at Ela’s Kitchen. As tomorrow was weigh day, I tried to make as sensible a choice as I could. The beans on toast that I ordered was a very generous size and I was pleased id managed to resist Sev’s sausage.
By 11.30am I was on my way to my parents’ place as arranged so that I could go to Jiks with Dad, while Mom went for her hair cut. Captain Caveman would meet us at Jiks for lunch. Ma finished early and we all ate together; Dad a burger and the rest of us had pizza which was great – my diet was well and truly blown! While there, Jamie messaged to ask if I would be able to take 2 bed side lamps to Tapa for Janet. He was selling them for a friend, Janet, who was going to be at Daisy’s birthday party, where we were going to go for one, before Josh and Martha arrived. Of course I agreed and we carried them over to Tapa where the Dalyan gossip started that Jamie must have sold his house because he was getting rid of some lamps!

Daisy’s 25th birthday party at Tapa was busy with lots of friends. My parents had a cold but had managed to muddle through and I had a bit of a sore throat coming. We’d already said we weren’t staying long as we needed to get back to greet Josh and Martha who were on the plane. Captain Caveman left first with instructions to ring me when he knew that Josh was in the taxi. He forgot, so when I got back home our guests were already there!
It was great to see Josh again after a year and it was impressive to see he’d really done well for himself. Captain Caveman and I liked Martha straight away as she was really lovely – it takes a special kind of person to agree to a week in Dalyan with us lot (as I’m sure you can imagine). I just hoped we wouldn’t be spoiling her Christmas holiday and that she could get through the Dalyan shenanigans. We decided to ease Martha in gently with a trip to the Waterfall so we could have a drink together and get to know each other a bit better. She had a good sense of humour and it was obvious we were going to have a great week. Jamie popped in for one with Norman and Edna and he wasn’t too pleased that Dalyan Dwellers thought those lamps were his – surely they knew he had better taste in décor! We asked my parents, who had also left Tapa when I did, if they wanted to join us to meet Martha and welcome Josh back. Dad had already got bored at home waiting, so they had gone back to Tapa. The four of us decided to go to join them where we introduced Josh and Martha to everyone, some people Josh had already met. We had a couple of drinks and decided we were going to go for a meal as we were all peckish and I’d already booked Simple for the 6 of us. Daisy didn’t want us to leave and Josh, the not so devout vegan, managed to eat a slice of chocolate birthday cake as we were departing.

Simple was lovely, just the 6 of us indoors, with Onur the chef making us very fresh and tasty food. Josh and I had the vegan pumpkin soup, the others had the chicken soup – all were delicious. Martha and I had the pulled beef burger (with chips), Captain Caveman had a chicken quesadilla and the rest had the Asian noodles (meat for my parents, veggie for Josh). All the food was excellent although the noodles were on the spicy side.
Simple is not licenced for alcohol but we were able to get beer and wine from next door. The prices were reasonable to say it felt like a private dining experience. Unfortunately, my 2 breakfasts, a pizza lunch, a few wines and a loaded burger meant that I had completely gone over the top on the syns this week. We went back to Tapa to rejoin the birthday shenanigans which were now getting even more lively. It had been a great day and we had more excitement planned for tomorrow. Fat Club was going to be a bit more like a confessional for me tomorrow, having had 548 syns.

Dalyan – 24th to 27th November

After a cuppa and the dog walk on Friday 24th November, I tidied up and got myself ready to meet our Aussie/Viet friends for the last time. They were off this afternoon, on their journey to Istanbul, via some remaining archeological places. Captain Caveman had gone to Bridge so I met Veronika at Pier Gusto for a hot beverage. Bich and the kids joined us shortly after and we all had drinks while I listened to the tale of the missing hotel master key. I opened my purse to pay and found that I had picked up the white plastic card (the key) at the tea gardens yesterday, not realising what or who’s it was. They were delighted and it saved them paying for a new one.
We decided on a spot of lunch at Çağrı where we had a selection of food both off the menu and from the chiller cabinet. Bich had a beef stew but found it a bit salty, Veronika enjoyed her soup, I had chicken casserole with rice, Micheal and Howie had chicken wings. Captain Caveman joined us later and snuck in a Lamuchan and the kids leftovers. I couldn’t manage all of mine and took the rest home for the freezer. Ben didn’t join for food but swung by in the car to collect everyone. It was a lovely last lunch and I was definitely sad to see our friends leave. I was already looking forward to seeing them again in Phong Nha.
I was meant to meet Vanessa in the afternoon but she had already been to Kefal tea gardens while I had arranged to meet Adele at the Kaunos tea gardens. It is walking distance but Vanessa had a bad foot and she thought it may rain. We saw Adele and then went back to Jamie’s for more cute dog cuddles and to eat some lasagne (with cabbage in it!) for dinner. By 9.30pm everyone, but me, was having a bit of a snooze.

Saturday 25th should have been the Dalyan Winter Fayre but it was postponed to next week, due to the bad weather. I was slightly relieved as, I wouldn’t be getting paid until next week and I didn’t have any spare cash. We stayed in with the dogs and watched TV as more storms were predicted.

For the next 2 days I didn’t do much, aside from looking after dogs. On Sunday 26th November Captain Caveman did the Sunday walk. The rain had temporarily stopped so he and the one other walker were lucky with the weather but everyone else had been put off. Captain Caveman got some great photos and I wish I’d gone for the exercise, he said it would have been too difficult for me.

Because we were house and dog sitting for just the weekend, I moved my working day on Monday 27th, to later in the week. It would be easier back home to save bringing my laptop over and when Captain Caveman is out. The storm at not done any further damage aside from knocking a few outdoor plants over, and moving the patio furniture, which was lucky.
We got Jamie a shepherd’s pie out of the freezer to defrost for him tomorrow and Norman and Edna snuggled up with Captain Caveman.

Photo credit – Captain Caveman

Dalyan – 23rd November

After the usual morning walk on Thursday 23rd November, Captain Caveman had gone Dogging. I had some lentil soup for brunch which I watered down quite a bit. I went to meet the Le Mitchell family, my parents and Captain Caveman at Kefal tea gardens later. They all had food and drink, I just had a water and a bite of Captain Caveman’s toastie as I was trying to be good. Hilarity ensued as the kids, Howie and Michael, were messing about on the grass and managed to get covered in cat shit. Much toing and froing went on as they attempted to clean themselves up. Bich then had to clean the bathroom as it was covered in cat shit too.

Off they went to explore Dalyan while my parents, Captain Caveman and I went back to Jamie’s to see the pooches. Norman surprised us by bringing his ball and asking to play football, even though he’s not as sprightly as he was – he literally gave the ball a good kick. We had a little snifter on the patio with my parents and I finished making a beef, lentil and veggie lasagne using that cabbage I still had left. My mom didn’t seem convinced that cabbage went in a lasagne but it didn’t half bulk it out more, making 8 sufficient servings.

We wouldn’t get to eat it though as that evening we all met up for dinner at River House, one of my favourites. The meal and service did not disappoint and we all enjoyed our food. Here’s what we had;

Bread and dips (free)
Börek 100
Garlic mushrooms 100
3 bottles of water 150
Pide with salami 210
Pide with egg 210
Margarita pizza 240
Mushroom chicken 290
İskender kebab 345
King prawns 450
Onion steak 530
2 Singapore noodles 740
2 carafes white wine 1060

Total bill 4,425 lira (£124.65)

Based on the exchange rate at the time, this averaged at £13.50 per person which was great value. I was happy that our friends had all been impressed with their meals, especially Bich with the prawns and Howie with his Singapore noodles as they were both really missing Vietnamese food.
Captain Caveman and I were home just after 10pm and little Norman was sound asleep already.

Dalyan – 9th to 11th November

On Thursday 9th November Captain Caveman brought me a Yorkshire tea in bed and I had a rare lay in. He was off Bumming with the Riverbums until lunch time so I had a leisurely start to the day. As Caroline had stayed in a hotel last night and was leaving today, I stripped her bed, cleaned her room and bathroom. She had more or less packed her stuff so her departure looked imminent. I cleaned the rest of the house too, when Captain Caveman returned I was a hot sweaty mess, tired from cleaning, he pointed out that I had missed a bit. He then moaned that he had to clean the shower drain in the ensuite bathroom which I hadn’t done properly!
In the afternoon, Caroline sent a message to see if Captain Caveman and I would like to meet her for a beer and join them for dinner tonight. We had a beer at the Yağmur hotel, which is really lovely and has great river views, while Caroline told us of her plans! She would be staying one more night at the hotel and then tomorrow she would leave for a road trip. She planned to send the barely used motorbike back and the company in Marmaris said they would come to collect it. She’d been here 10 days already and her idea to take in Turkey and all it’s famous sights kept getting delayed further. Caroline decided to mark the occasion of her decision making with a drink and asked us where we should go. I suggested we try Luz, a nearby Mexican place which we’d not been to yet. I’m so glad we went to Luz, it was fantastic. More expensive than other Dalyan places but classy. Caroline was paying but I tried not to take advantage too much; I ordered a hibiscus margarita which was so good and 290 lira (£8.53), Captain Caveman had a Bloody Maria at 270 lira (£7.94). They were easily the best drinks we had tasted in Dalyan and when Caroline insisted on another round we found it impossible to decline. She ordered a cheese fondu and some nachos as nibbles which were amazing. Of course, I ended up accidentally eating some chillies and felt unwell. The toilets at Luz are really nicely decorated and had nice toiletries.

In the evening, Caroline invited us to join them at Balıkçım, which was Caroline’s favourite place where her and Captain Caveman had eaten on the first night of her visit. I don’t tend to eat there as I don’t like fish but Captain Caveman loves it. Everyone shared octopus and fish, I had a bit of the shared mezes (the ones without fish or chillies) and plenty of bread. We had half a litre of rakı between us too, which went down rather well. Here’s the prices of what we had at Balıkçım;
5 meze dishes 450
Octopus 400
Fish with chips & salad 510
50cl rakı 800
2 bottles of water 60
Total cost 2220 lira (£65.29)

The evening wasn’t cheap and I did well on my diet, more because of not being able to eat most of the dishes than good choices.
It had been a very pleasant afternoon and evening.

Friday 10th November started off with some bad news; I was meant to be getting paid today but my boss had let me know that, due to some banking changes, it would be delayed by 4 days. Not one to let having very little money worry me, I soldiered on! Caroline was up for afternoon drinking and I was quite glad of the distraction of her company. Captain Caveman was back from Bridge and the 3 of us cracked open the rosé wine from the fridge. The highlight of the afternoon was Caroline’s bang-on pouring out of the bottle between the 3 of us. I said I’d cook for Caroline, Kaan, Captain Caveman and I and made an enchiladas type of dinner from various left overs and some lavaş wraps. It was a good night and we were merry by 8pm.

Captain Caveman had took himself off on a bicycle ride to Gökbel on the morning of Saturday 11th November. He was keen to see how well the bike could do as he fancied doing more cycling while in Dalyan. Caroline was sorting the motorbike collection and was liaising with Tez for the guys from Marmaris to come to collect it. She was also talking of leaving after the weekend. I had the pleasure of doing the weekly shopping at the market and supermarket. With not getting paid on time it was going to be a bit tight but I would be as frugal as I could be. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira.

Dalyan Saturday Market
Carrots, Garlic & Cabbage 62
Tomatoes, pumpkin & mushrooms 110
Bananas 40
Total spent 212 lira (£6.24)

Migros Supermarket
Biscuits 9.75
Fresh ginger 14.29
Cheese spread 23.90
2 tomato purée 27.80
Spinach 29.90
Chickpeas 29.90
6 eggs 36.75
1 tin tomatoes 31.43
Turkish cured sausage 65.45
Toilet rolls 83.90
Olive oil (spray) 119.90
Discount – 50.00 lira
Total spent 422.97 lira (£12.44)

The cabbage I bought at the market was huge but Caroline had said she had a great cabbage recipe that she would do for us. I thought I’d done really well in Migros and even got a 50 lira (£1.47) cash discount on my Migros card. I decided not to buy any meat unless it was on offer and we did have some in the freezer so I could wait until after pay day for the more expensive items.
I bumped in to my parents in Migros who were also trying to stock up before the predicted rain came that afternoon. It looked like another couple of days/nights of staying home.
While I’d be gone, Caroline had texted to see if she could join me at the market to help carry things, I’d not got WiFi so I didn’t see her message until I walked near Jik’s. I said I’d see her back home for some lunch with Captain Caveman. When I got back, she’d gone out for lunch at Çağrı so I put the shopping away and tidied up.

Captain Caveman returned and seemed in a good mood, he was concerned the weather was going to be too bad to go out and that I didn’t get everything on the shopping list. He’d also spotted some bargains that we needed to get while they had offers on.
We went back to the shops and bought the following;

A101 Supermarket
Mandarins 5.20
Wholemeal bread 14.00
Pears 14.65
Apples 32.00
Clotted cream 47.50
Cheese 55.50
Kitchen roll 149.90
Total spent 318.75 lira (£9.38)

Migros Supermarket
1kg red lentils 22.50
4 X 500g bags of dried pasta 30.00
1 jar peanut butter 45.90
Total spent 98.40 (£2.89)

We really didn’t need the kaymak (Turkish clotted cream) but Captain Caveman loves it. The kitchen roll had a sign on saying it was on offer but it wasn’t and it turned out to be scented. Still, it was only £4.40 for quite a few rolls so wasn’t too bad. Everything on our second Migros visit was on offer so I was happy with that.
I messaged Caroline to say we were off to Kefal tea gardens, by the river, to meet our friend Adele and that she was welcome to join us. She didn’t respond or come to join us so she must’ve been busy. At the tea gardens we chatted with Adele and had food and drink. As it’s a council run cafe, the prices are really good, here’s what we paid;
1 Turkish tea 10.00
2 cheese toasties 90.00
2 Efes Malt beers 150.00
1 white wine 100.00
Total spent 350.00 lira (£10.29)

It was a cheap and cheerful lunch which we all enjoyed, especially as we saw a turtle in the river as we sat and chatted. It was too quick for me to get any photos though.
By the time we got home the rain was here, Caroline’s plans for a Saturday night out were scuppered as I told her we were staying in tonight. Captain Caveman made pasta which is one of his go-to meals – simple but tasty.

Dalyan – 20th to 22nd October

I pride myself on not throwing food away and always using all the food that we buy. Friday 20th October was a classic example of this as I served us yet another portion each of the chicken casserole, this time jazzed up with broccoli done in the airfryer with pepper and garlic powder. We treated ourselves to a couple of slices of fresh bread which I had to syn. The meal was still very tasty and neither of us had got bored of eating the syn free casserole.
In the afternoon I needed to provide Captain Caveman with wardrobe and drawer space in our bedroom so I had to rationalise my clothes, popping some in an empty suitcase. I had a good declutter of my 4 drawers, down to 3.
For dinner we had something I’d not had in a while – a wrap pizza! Although I had to use syns again for this it was still much healthier and cheaper than a normal pizza.

On Saturday 21st October we went to the weekly market in the morning. Here’s what we bought and the prices:

Stall 1
Peppers, red cabbage, cucumbers, leeks garlic and aubergine
Cost 82 lira (£2.41)

Stall 2
Potatoes and onions
Cost 55 lira (£1.62)

Stall 3
Radishes, mushrooms and apples
Cost 52 lira (£1.53)

Stall 4
Bananas, peaches, plums and grapes
Cost 195 lira (£5.74)

Our total shopping came to 384 lira (£11.29) and we had quite a fridge full of fresh fruit and veg.
We also bought a 19 litre water refill which was now 60 lira (£1.76) from the corner shop.
For breakfast I had grapes but for lunch I made a chicken and vegetable soup which I chucked some egg noodles in to, a Slimming World version of a pot noodle. At 1.30pm Vanessa came over for a cup of tea and a chat while Captain Caveman was busy unpacking his stuff and getting his bicycle out from underneath the spare bed.
For dinner we had sausage casserole and had my debut airfryer Yorkshire puddings. I had to fashion some foil tins to keep them from blowing about and the puddings seemed quite dense. They still tasted ok but I needed more practice and some containers which fit in the airfryer.
In the evening we invited Ma & Pa over for drinks, as we’d not seen much of them since our Rhodes holiday. They didn’t stay late though as Dad wanted to get home to watch some football on TV. I ended up drinking the equivalent of a bottle of wine to myself so my syns for the day were too high at 47! I’d now had 197 for the week, which wasn’t great.

Captain Caveman had decided he was going to organise a walk on Sunday 22nd October in an attempt to keep active. He also planned to continue it every Sunday, while ever the weather was good. So, without any breakfast and wearing my porter sandals, I found myself waiting in Migros Square for a few stragglers. It was a lovely sunny day, shorts weather, and it was a pleasant walk. I’d took no notice of the proposed route so was quite surprised when I managed 12.5km in porter sandals without socks. Ma & Pa also managed it and took themselves off to the tea gardens after, for lunch. Captain Caveman was off to watch Dalyan Spor play football in the afternoon so we had lunch at home – a cheese sandwich and some fruit.
For dinner we had leftover sausage casserole with potatoes with another round of airfryer Yorkshire puddings and a couple of glasses of wine.

Dalyan – 19th October

I’d previously been invited, but declined, an invite from Kate to go on a 12 island boat trip from Fethiye on Thursday 19th October. At the time of asking I’d not known when my residency renewal appointment or me having to leave Turkey date would be so we couldn’t commit.
My parents, on the other hand, didn’t have these problems and had said they were going and were being picked up from Lukka bar at 10am.
More recently, Jamie had invited Captain Caveman and I on Drew’s private boat trip for his brother’s birthday and we had agreed. This one was with Ünal, Sioned’s husband, on Duran Duran boat. My diet started badly with a homemade (by Sioned) Welsh cake and a cup of tea as we set sail and got introduced to everyone. There was Jamie, Drew, Robert, Lucie, their 2 (well behaved) teenage children, Ann, Sharon, Ali and us two. Drew’s family were lovely and we all had an absolutely fantastic day out with excellent company and amazing food. I ate fresh bread, courgette fritters, şakşuka, spinach, pasta, green beans, carrots, chicken, meatballs, chips, red cabbage, couscous and more bread! I pushed the boat out a bit and had a beer (just the one) too.

We all went swimming, walked on the beach and generally had a really good laugh. There was numerous stops (beach and the lake), there was crab fishing, which I didn’t do but all the crabs caught were females so they had to be put back in to the sea. Ünal really spoiled us in the afternoon with fruit platters and a delicious cake. We sang Happy Birthday to Robert and I probably should have said no to finishing off Captain Caveman’s piece of cake too.

When we left the boat, everyone went back home but we reconvened at Lukka bar, where there was another surprise singing of Happy Birthday. An impressive chocolate cake was shared out and I managed a slice. Norman and Edna had joined us and wondered why they didn’t have such treats.
I didn’t need any dinner that night and we were quite sensible with an early night. My parents, on the other hand, were still giving the ball a right kick!