Dalyan – 10th January

I was up and about early on Tuesday 10th January as Louisa was on her way from Manchester to Dalaman airport. I was really pleased that she was coming out to help me celebrate my 50th birthday. The dogs weren’t happy that I wasn’t back in bed with a cuppa so they had to do their snoozing on the sofa. I popped all the ingredients for a chicken and pumpkin curry in to the slow cooker and let Louisa know that’s what we were eating later. I crammed in as much editing as I could before lunch as I would be taking the next couple of days off for my birthday. Jamie had been gone a week now and he and his partner were enjoying Mauritius. Everyday they showed off their hotel towel art but it wasn’t that good, I decided to make some out of their tea towel and sent them photos of it.
I spent my lunch break walking Charlie, Norman and Edna and even got a photo of them walking together. Back home, I cleaned and tidied in readiness for Louisa arriving. The sky was growing dark and storms were predicted, my birthday tomorrow was booked for quite a lot of us so I hoped it wouldn’t get cancelled.

Louisa arrived and she had brought me a block of Red Leicester cheese, which I’d asked her to and I was so happy. She’d been a bit worried about being able to get dairy through as it’s on the list of produce not to be able to bring in, even though everyone does. It’s my favourite cheese and you can’t get it often here, what they do have is super expensive too.
I’d not seen Louisa for 9 months, the last time was when she’d been over with her nephew and mom in April last year. It was great to see her and she had a funky new haircut which looked great. Louisa didn’t fancy the curry I’d made for dinner so I turned it off and we could perhaps have it tomorrow for lunch. The rain was still holding off so we decided to go out to the bank. As we were walking it was obvious that it was definitely going to rain tonight and the forecast said it would be heavy for a few days. We ended up in Jiks where a glass of red wine was now only 60 lira (£2.64) but a shandy was 80 lira (£3.51). Of course we had to bump in to Madge, who came over to ask about my ‘pregnancy’ again. I really should have been eating that Slimming World friendly curry at home instead of joining Louisa for a pizza. I ordered the Slim pizza (which was incorrectly named but I took off ham and added mushrooms) while Louisa ordered the Happy pizza. They were only 90 lira (£3.95) each and it tasted so good that I ate the whole thing. My diet was, once again, postponed – until after my birthday. The rain started and we walked back to Jamie’s where I opened a bottle of red wine and Louisa had a vodka and coke. She’d not even managed to drink much of it before falling asleep on the sofa around 9.30pm – it had been a long day of travelling for her. As the rain got heavier and heavier I had a feeling my birthday tomorrow would not go as planned.

Dalyan – 9th January

It was the start of my birthday week on Monday 9th January and the plans were coming along nicely. After breakfast I took the dogs out as usual but this time Charlie wanted to check on Milo, the dumped dog, who we had now found out was called Cookie. Apparently the owner of the off-licence, Yaman Bufet, had said he would take it if we could take it to the shop. I was struggling enough to handle the 3 dogs I did have on the lead so I sent the location to people who could help.

While Captain Caveman was on his way back from Son Doong, I was on my way for my first treat of the week. Kate was meeting me at Egehan restaurant, where her birthday gift to me was lunch and drinks. We had a lovely table outside by the pool in glorious sunshine and we were the only lunchtime guests. We had beers and a couple of beef dishes which were absolutely stunning. My meatballs were so tasty and Kate enjoyed her meal too. I was wearing winter clothes and was too hot, even the pool wasn’t that cold.

Next we went to Tez bar where we were later joined by Mark and we were discussing plans for my birthday.
On my way back to Jamie’s villa, around 5.30pm, I called at the shop for some essentials, a little bit tipsy. Louisa was arriving tomorrow so I’d asked her what she might want so I could get it in, and I also took some vodka from home as she doesn’t like wine or beer. Here’s what I bought;

Migros Supermarket
1 Twix 13.95
Skimmed milk 15.50
Carrots 16.25
Toastie loaf 17.50
Crisps 18.45
Apple juice 22.00
1 tin of tomatoes 24.90

Total spent 128.55 lira (£5.66)

After shopping and walking Norman and Edna, it was time to take Charlie for his walk. This time we went a different route and ended up in Waterfall where I met up again with Mark and Kate. After a couple of drinks I went back home and sent the Bistro Blue menus out to the potential birthday party attendees so they could preorder. On the whole, prices had an average increase of 20%, which was normal but I expected some cancellations because of it. As my diet was on hold until after the celebrations I treated myself to a couple of pieces of the white Terry’s Chocolate Orange which Josh had brought me over from England.

Dalyan – 6th January

All 3 dogs came back to bed with me on the morning of Friday 6th January. Even while I waited for the kettle to boil, Norman and Edna were halfway up the stairs and it was still too early for breakfast. They got on the bed together and there was some repositioning as Edna and Charlie both wanted to be nearest to me. In bed, while some of the dogs snored, I made some arrangements for my 50th birthday celebrations next week. It was likely to be bad weather and so I envisaged I might need to have a Plan B, just in case. I’d decided I fancied going for a nice meal and some drinks at Bistro Blue and was having conversations with the owners to arrange. I had to wait for them to reprice the menu as the prices were increasing for 2023, the new menus would be with me on Monday. I was really looking forward to having Louisa come over to celebrate my birthday with me but I did hope she wouldn’t be too bored – Dalyan can be very quiet in the winter time.
I’d brought my tape measure with me to Jamie’s so I did my weekly figures;
Bust & Hips remained the same,
Waist +1cm,
Both thighs and Right calf +0.5cm,
Left calf still the same.
I popped to the shop to get some provisions for a soirée I was hosting that evening. Here’s what I bought at Migros Supermarket:
880g chicken 67.00
400g tin of chopped tomatoes 24.90
1 carton of cream 18.90
Total spent 110.80 lira (£4.89)

I suspected that wasn’t far off the cost of the same things back in England, although I hadn’t been back for over a year. I put the ingredients for a Slimming World friendly curry in the slow cooker and brought my rice cooker over from one house to another. I had a bit of a tidy up then Vanessa popped over to join me on a dog walk.

Cheeky Charlie, obviously had us call in to Waterfall bar, which ended up being 2 drinks and Charlie getting lots of attention from his friends. When Vanessa and I got back to Jamie’s villa to pick up her bicycle, Ann and Nanny Kay were already on the patio waiting for me.

Once indoors and the dog fussing had been completed, we got the wine out. Ann had brought me a lovely birthday gift; a gift bag with Buzbağ red wine, Dairy Milk chocolate, M&Ms and a lovely purple bobble hat. Nanny Kay gave me a bottle of Tigre wine, which I also thought was a pre birthday gift as she also wasn’t coming to my birthday party on Wednesday. As Jamie would be away for my birthday, and Nanny Kay and Ann weren’t able to make it, we said we would do a night out at the end of January instead.
I thought the curry turned out well and the ladies were impressed with my rice cooker rice. Charlie took a real liking to Nanny Kay and was loving being a bit cheeky with both our visitors. We had a lovely evening and I was quite merry by the time they left.

Dalyan – 31st December

On Saturday 31st December, Charlie woke up in a cheeky mood! He was rolling on, and in, Abi’s bed with his toy, Slothy. It was New Year’s Eve but I had no plans to do anything to celebrate it. Josh was booked to leave for the airport at 1.30pm so Jamie and I had said we would meet him for a send off meal at Bistro Blue.
I took Charlie out for a decent walk first and was walking him back, off the lead, through the garden. It looked like some neighbours had moved in downstairs but I’d not met them yet and I was looking over to see. Charlie found some green sloppy poo on the grass and decided to roll in it, then rub his face and ears in it! I was disgusted and shouted for him to stop straight away, he ignored me so I had to pull him off the grass, using the bit of his collar not covered in shit. I had less than 1 hour before lunch so he and I were straight in the shower where I wished they had a hose, and not just the overhead one. I panicked and used Abi’s Body Shop banana shampoo which worked a treat but Charlie was not too thrilled with it. I made him sit outside on his box to dry off, convinced he still smelled of poo!!!
At Bistro Blue, I ordered a breakfast, without eggs or tomatoes, and it was very tasty. We had a good laugh and a nice last meal before Josh and I walked over to the bank to meet Fikri. We said farewell, I had really enjoyed having Josh come to visit and would miss him, and his humour, for sure.
Back ‘home’ I didn’t really do much aside from polish off one of Annie’s homemade mince pies with kaymak and honey. No alcohol was consumed, despite me having bought a bottle of cheap fizz, and was in bed by 9.30pm. Before 10pm, Charlie had come to tell me he wasn’t happy with the fireworks he could hear and, as they got louder and more frequent, he got very scared. I kept him close and reassured him and eventually got to sleep.

Dalyan – 30th December

Charlie was loving having a bit of a lay in on Friday 30th December and even slept after I had got up, got ready, had my cup of tea and done some housework. He didn’t want to venture outside, even though it was nice weather. I took him for a walk, then back home before I went to meet Josh at the bus station in town. We had decided to go to the turtle hospital and the beach, but without Charlie this time. The bus left Dalyan at noon and the return fare was 36 lira (£1.58) per person. We were given a card for the return ticket and reminded that it was necessary to book a return ticket these days so that the driver knew he was required to come to collect us at 4.30pm, as per the winter bus schedule.
Josh and I went to the turtle hospital first and saw lots of good work and knowledgeable staff trying their best to ensure rescue, safety and recovery of the turtles. We tried to get some photos but the area where the tanks are is kept in low light and for obvious reasons, flashes are not allowed. Iztuzu Beach was very quiet today as Josh and I wandered from the bus end towards the boat end and back. We even had a paddle and the sea was not that cold, although I wouldn’t have swam right out.

We had lunch at the beach café and then decided to go off exploring up the side of the cliffs. It was beautiful scenery and we could see a German Shepherd dog was playing with his family. When he saw us he came running up the mountain side and I think he was just checking we were ok as he went back down when called.
We got the bus back just as it was starting to get a bit cooler and I still got off at the bus station and walked back to Charlie’s. Josh went back to our home and I was starting to miss being in our apartment. It was a month since I’d moved in to look after Charlie and he was so pleased to see me when I got ‘home’. We played catch Slothy, his toy, for a bit before walkies and then cuddles on the sofa.
That night was Josh’s last night in Dalyan so I’d planned to make the most of it!

I arrived at China Town, a few minutes late where Josh, Mark & Kate already had a beer. I joined them and we perused the extensive Chinese menu for ages, uncertain on whether to have a set meal or order dishes separately. I went for a set meal and had chicken and sweetcorn soup for starters followed by sweet and sour chicken with fried rice. It was very good and I completely forgot to take photos beyond those of the starters. After a couple of Efes beers and our Chinese we went to join friends for Lukka music bingo night.

Most of the time it was evident that Josh was too young to have heard of a lot of the songs but it didn’t matter and we had a good old laugh. We didn’t win but we didn’t care and I think Appo, the waiter, had to ask us to leave at gone 1am! Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve and Josh would be heading back to the UK to celebrate it, so I had no particular plans.

Dalyan – 28th December

On Wednesday 28th December Captain Caveman had arrived in Istanbul after midnight and was leaving for Saigon at 2am. Jamie had left early for an overnight trip away and I was ready to go over to his villa for dog sitting. The maintenance company were going to contact me to organise coming to look at his plumbing either today or tomorrow too. I walked Charlie, who must’ve known he was going to see Edna and Norman as he took his time on his walk.
My weekly measurements were favourable so I was hopeful for good results at Fat Club later. I’d put 1cm on my bust, lost 3cm off my waist and hips while my legs were the same as the week before. At Jamie’s the dogs were pleased to see me and they enjoyed a walk separately to Charlie, mainly because I thought I’d struggle to take 3 together. Jamie had some Christmas cake left for me and I had a small piece just to taste it, before Fat Club. It was rather hot and a bit of a sun trap on Jamie’s back garden so I was too hot in my long sleeved top. On my walk round to Nil Lounge I spotted a stray sheep, eating foliage in the garden of an unoccupied complex. Josh went to join the pool afternoon at Rehab bar but us ladies probably wouldn’t join them as it was Ghislaine’s birthday celebration straight after Fat Club.

There were Carol, Kate, me and Nil with Ghislaine at Fat Club to help celebrate her special day. She had brought bottles of Prosecco with her as a treat for us all and, before I’d even got weighed, Ghislaine and Carol were on it.
When I stepped on the scales I had lost another 0.5kg which meant I had lost a total of the equivalent of half a stone in old measurements. I was pleased with that and surprised to be slimmer of the week, as I got handed a chilled glass of fizz. We sat down to order food and I decided to go for a cheese burger, as did Ghislaine. Kate ordered a chicken shish and Carol opted for a vegetarian spaghetti dish. The food was very good at Nil Lounge and my lunch cost just 120 lira (£5.29).

The afternoon started off very civilised but you know you’re in a bit of a pickle when Mark and Josh turn up, to help us all get home ok. During our luncheon a nice Russian hotel guest had bought Ghislaine a bottle of fizz and had it sent over to our table. This was very kind and we got chatting to Atyom who bought us more champers and was very lovely. He ended up buying several bottles but when we asked him to join us for a drink he said he didn’t drink alcohol but he would have a coffee with us before he had to go to Dalaman to meet friends. By 7pm we had asked for the bill and were sorting out who owed what. Kate ordered Fikri’s taxi for Carol, who could not pronounce where she lived, and called her husband to ask for the address. Ghislaine decided to get in the same taxi, despite living at the opposite side of town to Carol, and she forgot to take LuLu the dog home. Mark and Kate went home in their invalidity scooter, Josh and I walked back to Jamie’s and Lulu was invited to stay by the fire at Nil Lounge.

I’d promised Josh a curry from Spice Garden which arrived so promptly that I had forgotten it was coming. We got the set meals which were so good that they weren’t on the plates long enough for me to remember to take a photo. I remember us eating every single morsel and then, when I went to check on Josh after sorting the dogs out, he was done! Sleeping on the sofa by 10.10pm, I popped a blanket on him and went to bed, knowing that tomorrow I would feel a little fragile!

Dalyan – 26th December

As it was my parents’ and Captain Caveman’s last full day in Dalyan on Monday 26th December, I had organised a last outing. After the copious amount of booze yesterday I was somewhat woolly headed as we walked Charlie and told him he would get to have a day at home. We were off on a boat trip to Köyceğiz and there was 28 of us on Ali Özalp’s boat. To make it simple we had organised it via Kaan, who’s boat was out of the water, to leave from near Kaunos Tea Gardens at 10.30am. We would take our own drinks, have a mooch round Köyceğiz market, have a bite to eat and then return before it got too cold. Josh had agreed last night that he would bring a rucksack full of Efes and we would meet him at the tea gardens. We called for croissants and Sprite at Migros then when we met Josh, he had also bought Sprite and we were all begging for mercy, after last night’s boozy shenanigans.
On board the boat were some of the usual reprobates as well as a few new people; my parents, Captain Caveman & me, Josh, Kaan, Tayfur, Vanessa & Matt, Janet & Kev, Adam & Kath, Mark & Kate, Linda, Julio, Julius & Toni, Peter, Bianca, Sue, Ron & Sarah, Cath & Keith, 007 and Gay Gaz. Of course Gay Gaz had turned up already tiddly and hadn’t got the memo that it was bring your own booze, as he stepped on the boat and asked for a vodka and coke. Kaan and Tay sorted out a quick trip to the shops to get Gaz his required fix and then we were off on the pleasant journey to Köyceğiz. I did my best to be sociable with everyone but I was feeling quite tired and delicate, and it wasn’t my last day in Dalyan, afterall. When we got to Köyceğiz I was keen to go to the fruit and veg market on account of not going on Saturday in Dalyan. There had been some talk of us all meeting up in Tuana restaurant and, if not, back on the boat at 3pm. My parents, Josh, Captain Caveman and I went off in search of fresh produce and left the others to decide what they were doing. After purchasing a rather heavy bag load of groceries I was looking forward to having a sit down and a cold drink. We didn’t get as far as Tuana before I needed to put the bag down and nip to the loo at Avant Garde restaurant. A lovely little place on the waterfront which also had good veggie options on the menu. I got a bit over ambitious and ordered a chicken burger, mom had a seafood pasta dish and the men had various quesadillas/wraps. Only Dad and Captain Caveman could manage a beer, while I hoped I’d make it home in tact.

By 3pm we were all mostly back on the boat but just waiting for a stray or two. It would be have been easy for any onlooker to think we were in the throws of a murder mystery afternoon but it turned out Kev was feeling rather more delicate than I was and had gone for a lay down on the front of the boat. Sailing back was pleasant and sunny but it was rather fresh as the sun dipped. Gay Gaz was on one of his ‘drunken and don’t care’ missions by leaning on the anchor chain while being precariously close to the switch. A few of us tried to talk him in to moving due to it not being safe and that he could end up decapitated, but it fell on deaf ears. What made him move in the end was that he might get his bright yellow coat dirty.

When we got off the boat most people went home for a good rest while only the foolhardy and inebriated soldiered on for a last drink at Rehab bar. Captain Caveman and I decided we would go get Charlie and walk him back to Rehab. By the time we got there, Kate was doing a superb job of trying to get Gay Gaz in to a taxi where neither them nor the driver knew Gaz’s address. Luckily, I had it marked on my phone and could tell the driver as Kate shouted ‘Get in to the choppa, Gary!’
In Rehab bar, Julius and Peter got their decks out and gave us a few tunes while they waited for their taxi back to Fethiye. Charlie didn’t really care for the music but he certainly was up for meeting more people and chasing a stray dog if he got the chance.
That night we didn’t even all go out as I think we had overdone it. Captain Caveman and I stayed in and he insisted on having some quiet time with Charlie to say goodbye – I think they would miss each other. My parents still went out as they had nothing in for dinner and Josh went out, but separately. Tomorrow we would all meet for breakfast and to say farewell.

Dalyan – 25th December

When I woke up on Sunday 25th December, I was slightly regretting agreeing to a Christmas Day walk so early. Our friend, 007, had previously suggested that she would like to join Captain Caveman, my parents and I if we decided to opt out of the usual Christmas Day festivities and go for a walk. We’d been looking after Charlie for 26 days now and I was wanting to make sure that we gave him plenty of exercise before we left him to go out enjoying ourselves.
007 was prompt and outside Waterfall bar at 9.30am and it was just us and Charlie, who wasn’t really wanting to go out for a walk and wanted to stay at home.
We had a lovely walk, chat and 2 stops for a hot beverage at the tea gardens, one of which we couldn’t take the dog to so we had to move on. We had set off in the cold but had ended up taking several layers off and by 1pm, when I headed back ‘home’, it was very sunny. 007 had kindly given me a small Christmas gift which I put in the kitchen for later. Charlie was absolutely done in and had decided he was getting on the sofa and not moving. This was concerning as I’d already told my parents I would go on another walk with them this afternoon. The one this morning had been too early for them but I was also worried I’d even manage it as it I was pretty tired already. Captain Caveman was about to leave to meet Josh and they were heading off to Dalaman to watch Dalyan Spor play football. I was unsure if they would be going at all as they had struggled to find transport to accommodate everyone who wanted to go.
When I contacted my mom about the walk she suggested we went to the tea garden for lunch first and then see about a walk afterwards, which I was pleased about, even though I’d already been to the other two this morning. I didn’t take Charlie with me, much to his delight and we bumped in to Tay (from Rehab) and he joined us. My mom and I had Fanta, Dad had a beer, my parents had a sandwich and I just had chips. It was really warm and we spent a couple of hours there before going back home, ready to meet up again in a couple of hours, once the fellas were back from Dalaman.

By 5pm on Christmas Day, Captain Caveman and I were treating Charlie to a trip to see his friends in Waterfall bar after his walk to Poo Corner. My parents were on their way to meet us and Josh had popped back to Captain Caveman’s apartment to get ready for tonight’s shenanigans. After dropping Charlie back off at home we walked to Bistro Blue where I had booked the 5 of us in for a meal. Captain Caveman was on good form and behaving himself, he even agreed to share starters with me. We chose stuffed mushrooms and garlic mushrooms, Josh had the onion bhajis and I can’t remember what my parents had. I was too busy trying to make sure Captain Caveman didn’t snaffle both starters. For main courses my parents had casserole type dishes, Josh had a veggie stir fry, Captain Caveman had chicken fajitas and I decided to have the steak with peppercorn sauce. My parents ordered a nice wine that they particularly liked, Captain Caveman and I stuck to the cheapest, Buzbağ, and Josh was on Efes. The meal was really lovely and I enjoyed my steak very much, having gone for the big size I had to take some home. Captain Caveman couldn’t eat all his chicken fajitas either so we had that packaged up along with a trifle and a mince pie, courtesy of Annie. We had thought we might pop by Adam and Kath’s for a drink to wish them, as well as Mark and Kate, a Merry Christmas but it was getting late. By 9.45pm Captain Caveman had surprisingly ordered an Irish coffee and was scooping the cream off, Dad was on brandy, Josh on the posh whisky, Mom and I on the Bailey’s. Annie gave us complimentary shots, Ferrero Rocher and After Eight Mints to finish off our meal and we didn’t leave there until almost midnight. I’d really enjoyed my non-festive Christmas Day and it seemed like everyone else had too.

Dalyan – 24th December

Charlie was excited to be going to the beach on Saturday 24th December, Christmas Eve. Captain Caveman had packed a bag of goodies for us to take which included a bottle of vodka, full fat and diet cokes, paper cups, fruit cake soaked in brandy, cheddar cheese and Red Leicester cheese. Fikri picked us up in the taxi at 11am and off we went to the beach, having to have a slight stop on the way because Charlie got travel sick. We decided when we arrived at the beach to take Charlie for his walk straight away to make sure he got his exercise first. We dropped our bags next to Bill and Jaxx, who had brought meat pies(!) and off we went. Charlie was much more used to the beach this time and had a lovely run and even a little paddle.

By midday Captain Caveman had poured himself a vodka and coke and was mingling around the various tables of people and their food. I took Charlie and went to find my parents who were sat with Vanessa, Matt, Mark, Kate, Debbie (Darling), Roy and Melanie. Folk were already eating and Charlie was keen to see who would drop food first as my parents ate some chicken in front of him and he snaffled a morsel of chicken breast from Dad. I saw Jamie, Norman and Edna so I took off for another walk with Charlie. He even got introduced to playing fetch the stick but he wasn’t very good at it yet.

By 1pm I was sat having a gin and a sausage roll with Penny while Charlie snaffled a couple of sausage rolls too. At 2pm Charlie and I took another stroll down the beach with Kate and then I decided to find Captain Caveman and give him Charlie for a bit. I managed to see Nanny Kay, 007, Sabine and Ray while I had a vodka and coke. I noticed Captain Caveman was getting down it, Carol from Fat Club and Vanessa joined us and they were very merry – I needed to catch up as I’d been walking and talking too much!
Before 2.30pm I had succumbed to one of Bill’s pies which were bloody lovely. Katherine, also from Fat Club, brought me over some of her goodies and I gave her some of ours. By 3.30pm a few of the Turkish fellas had arrived and I said hello to Tay, from Rehab bar. Captain Caveman introduced me to Cath and Keith, his walking buddies, and we hit it off straight away. Vanessa came in search of more wine because she’d finished hers and I saw my parents were having a good time.

For some reason a lot of our friends left rather abruptly while it was still very sunny and warm but we stayed because Fikri was booked to pick us up at 4pm. Charlie had a great time, he was such a well behaved boy and had made loads of new friends, including seeing his old mate Skippy, from Waterfall bar. Fikri had to come and get us as we were still near the cafe and we went straight back to Lukka bar to meet our friend Josh, of Phong Nha fame! As Captain Caveman, Charlie and I were in Fikri’s taxi going back from the beach, our friend Josh was already in Lukka bar waiting for us. We’d last seen Josh in March 2019 when he had left Phong Nha, Vietnam to move back to England. I was so excited to be seeing him again and that he was going to be staying in Dalyan for a week. We had welcome hugs and Efes and introduced Charlie, the dog. Charlie was not so keen on men but he liked Josh and Josh loves dogs so they were going to get on fine. I’d invited others to come to Lukka to welcome Josh but, for various reasons, it was just us. Most of the other expats were already in Tez bar, or had gone home drunk, after the Christmas Eve Iztuzu Beach shenanigans. We played pool in Lukka so that Josh could be reminded how bad I am at playing it and we caught him up with our very loose itinerary for his stay. He would be staying at our place while we were still at Charlie’s so Captain Caveman took him to drop his bag off and gave him a key.

The 3 of us and Charlie joined my parents, Mark and Kate, plus a few others at Tez bar, which was very busy. Captain Caveman took Charlie home and came back then we all got on with introducing Josh to as many Dalyan expats as possible. We were all pretty merry and by 8pm most people had overdone it. Kate got a taxi home but left Mark with us so we all decided Duble for food would be a good idea.

The 6 of us got a corner table with a heater nearby and it was very cozy. My parents had glasses of white wine while Captain Caveman, Mark and I shared a bottle of Isabey red wine and Josh had a Sprite. A few of us had the lentil soup which was lovely and then we had lamb, chicken, liver and a veggie dish. Josh was the first to go home as he’d had a long day travelling from England. The rest of us were still in Duble at 10.45pm when we insisted on Mark getting a taxi home and the rest of us walked home with arrangements to meet up tomorrow.

Photo credit – various including Captain Caveman, Jamie, Melanie and Facebook

Dalyan – 21st & 22nd December

On Wednesday 21st December we had Jamie booked in for introducing his dogs to Charlie. Captain Caveman was leaving in less than a week and I already had Norman and Edna (Jamie’s dogs) booked in at the end of December and again in January. Jamie had kindly agreed to let me bring Charlie with me when I moved in to his villa but we did need to make sure the dogs got on. They had met before but Edna had been a bit of a Diva so Charlie had been scared of her. Captain Caveman decided to warm up left over sausage casserole and potatoes for our brunch, it certainly wasn’t Slimming World friendly but tasted lovely. An update popped up on a Facebook group to say that the local buses were going to be on from 12 on Christmas Eve to take people to and from the beach at the usual cost of just 36 lira (£1.60) return and I sent it to my mom just incase but she’d booked the private bus with Vanessa already so she didn’t need it. I popped a curry in the slow cooker, we both walked Charlie and then I went to find out my fate at Fat Club. To my surprise I had lost 0.4kg (less than a pound) which meant I had lost just over 3kg, in total. The group had a good chat, mainly about trying not to use the Christmas excuse to eat and drink more in the run up to Christmas Day. Our group leader, Carol, confirmed we would still be having a meeting next week, in between Christmas and New Year, so that we could attempt to keep things under control! After Fat Club, I went to meet Captain Caveman at Rehab bar where he was playing pool. Charlie was making more new friends and trying to eat cat food from a hole in the bottom of a bag. I’d invited my parents but they didn’t fancy it; they had been for a walk, called at the tea gardens and were heading to Tez bar. I saw Kath, Kate and Vanessa at Rehab and more talk about Christmas arrangements/buses and such like had ensued and I could feel the tenseness of it all. I was glad not to be doing anything Christmassy as it seemed to be stressing some of the women out. Captain Caveman had decided he was going to watch football on Christmas Day and I fancied doing a dog walk. When we got home the chicken curry was coming along nicely and Jamie, Norman and Edna were due over soon. Unfortunately, Captain Caveman and I had a row because he was annoyed at me for getting involved in Christmas arrangement discussions. I was upset and was very close to cancelling Jamie coming round but decided it was too late and I didn’t care if I was emotional in front of Jamie anyway. I took Charlie out for a walk, it was dark and he alerted me to something by the side of the road – a dead cat. I took a photo so that I coud send it to the Cat charity woman, Tina, it looked like a well fed pet rather than a street cat – I thought she could post it on her page to let people know.
Fortunately, I managed to hold it all together and get on with our night without a meltdown. Jamie never suspected a thing because Captain Caveman acted as if nothing was wrong. We were all so pleased that the dogs did get on, albeit a little apprehensively on Charlie’s part at first. The curry went down a treat as did the red wine and we had a good night in the end.

It was our 11 year anniversary on Thursday 22nd December but it didn’t go well. We had mentioned it a couple of days ago but that morning, Captain Caveman didn’t acknowledge it and neither did I. He was constantly playing Bridge on an app on his phone and every time I spoke I had to repeat myself so I was at the point where I couldn’t be bothered to converse. He went Bumming in the morning and I got the laptop out. There was meant to be a plumber coming today or tomorrow too so I stayed in to make sure Charlie wasn’t near any workmen or left alone as he would be scared. In the afternoon my Mom messaged to ask if we were planning on doing anything for our anniversary and I replied that Captain Caveman was probably playing Bridge on his phone. She suggested we go out to celebrate, I wasn’t really feeling it and I needed not to be hungover tomorrow for a busy day. When Captain Caveman returned I asked if he wanted to go to meet my parents and he then twigged it was our anniversary so we decided to go. My parents had already been out for a bit when the 3 of us got to Tez bar, which was busy and full of smokers. I instantly had a coughing fit and just could not stop, despite having not coughed for 2 days. I walked off towards the river to get some air and my mom joined me shortly afterwards. I eventually went back and sat down but I was not enjoying not being able to breathe very well. I joined my parents, Captain Caveman and Gay Gaz outside and at least I could tell Gaz to move his fag without upsetting him.
While I wasn’t looking, Dad organised for a bottle of fizz to celebrate our anniversary and we were probably in the wrong place to get champagne. I think he paid a lot for it and I got annoyed that Captain Caveman didn’t even say thank you. We ended up giving Gay Gaz a glass seeing as he was sat with us and he didn’t waste any. My parents asked us to go for a meal but we weren’t up for it and we had some curry left over at home. We said our goodbyes to my tiddly parents and then arguments got worse between me and Captain Caveman. He was generally being condescending and unkind, I was not happy about it so I went in to the bedroom. Charlie kept me company as he could tell I was upset but nothing prepared me for what happened next; Captain Caveman had eaten all of the curry for his dinner and not saved me any.

Dalyan – 20th December

I was feeling much better on Tuesday 20th December but not 100%. I decided to take it easy during the day aside from being the hoover assistant to Captain Caveman. He had finally got the right tools and fixings to mend Abi’s wardrobe with and my role was to offer up the hoover to suck up the dust as he drilled the new holes. I was sceptical it would be fixable but he did a cracking job and Abi could definitely have more weight on the wardrobe rail and shelf now. It did mean she probably wouldn’t be able to find stuff when she got back as he’d taken all the outfits and bags out and not necessarily put them back as they were. In the early evening the weather was still nice as we took Charlie for a walk and had a quick trip to the shop where we bought the following;

Migros Supermarket

Onions 5.93
Potatoes 8.14
Red peppers 10.79
6 Eggs 22.45
1kg chicken breasts 75.65

Total spent 122.96 (£5.34)

When we got back I explained to Charlie that we were off out for dinner and a party. He wasn’t too pleased and decided to show me his bum!

We had been invited to Michele’s 60th birthday party at Temsi restaurant. It started at 7.30pm and, as I was probably still full of germs, even though I was feeling better, I went for a table away from everyone. Adam and Kath had just returned to Dalyan so they joined us and then Bill and Jaxx, from the Dog shelter, came and sat beside us. Michele had very kindly put a bottle of each colour wine on the table for us to drink, had organised a curry dinner and a band. It was one of the best parties I’d been to in a while and the wine seemed to perk me up no end! Before the night was over I had managed to get as many photos as possible, dance to the band and eat a very delicious curry themed buffet. We only stayed until the singing of ‘Happy Birthday’ and cake cutting as I didn’t want to overdo it. I’d enjoyed the party and it was the first time I’d been at Temsi’s new venue since it moved in to the old Nazo’s building a while ago. We were impressed and it had been lovely to be invited and see so many people celebrating.

Video of the band at the beginning of the night

A video of a few of us dancing to a song that Ian, from the band, dedicated to the ladies of the Fat Club – Lip up Fatty by Bad Manners.

Dalyan – 14th December

Knowing that I had something arranged in the afternoon of Wednesday 14th December, I cracked on with getting stuff done in the morning. Captain Caveman went Dogging so I took Charlie out for a walk to Poo corner. At 2.30pm Kate came over to pick up her house key and pop some stuff in the freezer for Christmas day. Captain Caveman and I were looking forward to having our mate, Josh, over from Christmas Eve and we were happy to not be doing a traditional Christmas Day, we were in Turkey afterall.
At 3pm I got weighed at Fat Club where I had lost 1kg (2lb). This was good news as we were about to start our Christmas party at Nil Lounge where we had already pre-ordered food and prosecco. The place looked gorgeous, everyone was dressed up, except for me as I’d not taken many clothes over to Charlie’s. Kate and I had 3 bottles of fizz between us. Others from Fat Club were much more sensible and only had 1 bottle between 2. We also both ordered the mixed mezes as we didn’t want to eat a big main course but it was huge and I ended up taking quite a lot home. We had issues opening all of the bottles of wine, which Carol had got for us from outside of Dalyan, so Katherine got the knife out on them – for the price we didn’t care! The food was very good and we had a lovely afternoon which turned in to a late one for Ghislaine, Kate and I as we had a couple of beers in Mustang bar. We had tried to join the pool lads at Rehab but it had closed and they had all gone home. When I got home I was very tipsy having had a really good time with the Fat Club girls.

Dalyan – 26th November

I had a mystery meal defrosting on Saturday 26th November so that I could eat a sensible lunch before I went out. I was busy all morning until lunch time and then worked out what the mystery meal was. It was a chicken casserole so I added roast potatoes and roasted cauliflower to give it a bit of substance. It was delicious and would sort me out for any beer drinking which might (would!) happen. Captain Caveman had been in touch and he’d given me some money to go to the Christmas Fayre with but it came with strict instructions to not buy anything unnecessary. Neither of us like ornaments or trim up for Christmas so there was no chance of that – it was more likely to be spent on food and drink, unsurprisingly.
I’d told friends I would be at Bistro Blue at 2pm and I was already running late so when I arrived some people were there and others not yet. Vanessa and her mother in law were waiting for me and we managed to find a seat, as Diane isn’t too good with her legs. Ann, Jax, Debbie (Darling) and Kate were already there and I briefly said hello. Vanessa ordered a white wine and soda, I had a beer and Diane didn’t order a drink. My parents were running late and when they arrived my mom had a black eye from being drunk lask night. At first she started to tell everyone about her drunken walk in to a door but in the end I said she may as well say Dad hit her (which he didn’t), and no-one seemed to care about that. Kate came over to join us and was keeping an eye out for a tall black guy with dreadlocks, Julius. She did ask a few people if they had seen him and they said they wished they had. Julio (the less tall Welsh man) turned up first and his friends were also joining us later.

I had a little mosey round all the stalls with Kate and there was a lot of stuff for sale. We bought some cheeses and Kate bought a crocheted top. I decided to get some curry from the Spice Garden stall to take home and I also ordered some onion bhajis for us all to share. The afternoon got lively, my parents got tired after overdoing it yesterday and I walked them part way home with the intention of dropping my stuff at home and returning. I got changed and came back out as it was difficult to not get involved with 40 lira Bistro Blue beers and DJs giving it the ‘what for’! Most of the day time people I knew had either gone home or were about to leave but the evening crowd and the hardcore few had arrived already.

There was lots of dancing and I really enjoyed chatting to and dancing with Katrina, Steff, Penny, Eileen, Julio, Toni, Julius and Mark before it got quite messy.
Needless to say a few of us ‘accidentally’ ended up back at Mark and Kate’s for some more shenanigans, despite Kate having gone home before it got dark. I slept in the upstairs room in a single bed with a tremendously warm blanket. Not everyone made it back to Fethiye as planned either so tomorrow was bound to have people with sore heads!

Dalyan – 25th November

On Friday 25th November I did my weekly measurements and found that I had lost a tiny bit more weight on the home scales and a few centimetres from my bust, waist and hips. I treated myself to beans on toast for breakfast using some syns but I didn’t have any lunch. After checking some of the documents I went to my new Turkish class which was very interesting. The students in there had asked for revision of things they had already learned as well as conversational practice which I found useful – especially as I was sure I’d not learned half of it before. After class, I’d let my parents know that I’d be in Lukka at 3.30pm for a glass of vino if they fancied joining me. Seeing as it was Friday and I had achieved 3 alcohol free days and 3 days of spending zero money this week I was out for a treat. I had decided already that I wouldn’t ruin my hard work, though, and limit myself to 3 drinks.
Because Ma & Pa had stayed in for a day due to the weather, Dad was already extra excitable and loud. Maybe he was excited for the England football match that night but my mom had to keep telling him off. Fortunately, Lukka didn’t have many people in at that time so he managed 3 beers without disturbing anyone and was getting louder with each one. Mom had 2 beers and I had 2 glasses of wine. The house red wine in Lukka bar is Buzbağ which has replaced the Tılsım and is served at the perfect temperature for me. My parents fancied one at Tez bar as the sun was gone at Lukka and they hadn’t brought a coat. I said I would go with them but I was only having one because I needed to stick to my diet and was busy tomorrow morning. At Tez there were Penny & Phil, Andy & Kaye, Irena & Wolfie, Jack & Sue – already some of them were quite merry but not a loud as Dad. Tez kindly gave us free walnuts and all was going well with an early evening drink. I’m not sure what happened, exactly, but after my 1 glass of red wine in Tez bar, I decided to go home. My parents didn’t want me to and started calling me boring, surprisingly it was mainly my Mom who was a bit tiddly and on her 4th beer. I’d not seen them both act as lairy in a while and, given the week I’d had, I stuck to my plan and went home at 7.30pm. I thought I’d done well to stick to my 3 wines in 4 hours and knew if I’d stayed out I would have blown all my syns in one night, and my budget! I made myself 2 diet pizzas, this time one with BBQ sauce as a base and got ready for and early night.
I was in bed at 11pm, with my winter socks on for my cold feet, when I got a message from my Mom to say they were eating in Duble. I responded with a thumbs up and went to sleep a bit disappointed to not be out drinking on a Friday night but proud of myself for managing to do it. Tomorrow was a big day as it was the Christmas Fayre and I’d arranged to meet everyone from 2pm.

Dalyan – 19th November

On Saturday 19th November my diet didn’t quite go according to plan! It was one week since Captain Caveman had flown to England. I’d spent a mere 999 lira (£45), including 3 days where I spent zero, 4 days without any alcohol and I’d pretty much stuck to the diet.
I made a shopping list for the weekly market and called for Ma & Pa along the way. I spent just 80 lira (£3.64) on mushrooms, peppers, potatoes, onions, plums and chestnuts before we all walked back via Migros. Dad wasn’t up for walking round the supermarket with a rucksack full of purchases so he used it as an excuse to go for a beer at Jiks while Ma & I went in. I bought just a fresh loaf and some Turkish sausage for a total of 33.90 lira (£1.54) then we went over to join Dad in Jiks. It was sunny but looked like rain – still I didn’t cave and have a beer, just a diet coke.
After walking home, in a bit of rain, I went back out to buy top up data for my Turkish phone. I didn’t realise the Turkcell shop closed each afternoon (2-8pm) in the winter season so I had missed out and would try again tomorrow. I walked past Penny and Phil at Tez bar who were with other friends and I didn’t call in, but went straight home.
I had a cheese sandwich (no butter) out of my allowance and was doing so well, I even had a few plums and a big glass of water.
Kate messaged to say that the pool afternoon wasn’t at Rehab bar today so she was at Lukka bar and she was sat on her own having a wine if I’d like to join her. It was the first time she’d been ‘out out’, so of course, I would! She was already on her second glass of wine as I ordered my first, then Janet and a friend walked by and decided to join us. I spoke to Lily Fish who had unfortunately had a bad experience at the restaurant I was planning on going to tonight with my parents so I spoke to her at length about that. Kate and I decided that it worked out better to get a bottle of wine, given that the staff at Lukka were looking after us and it was a lovely sunny day. By the time we paid the bill a second bottle of wine had been had and it was jolly nice. Kate went home and I met Ma & Pa who were coming out fo the evening. We’d arranged to meet friends in Sofra bar to watch the Rugby match at 8.30pm.
My parents and I decided Çağrı would be a good venue for dinner so we went there. My diet was well and truly on hold for the day as I tucked in to the courgette fritters for a starter and ordered a glass of wine. By the time we got sat in Sofra bar I was drunk and I was probably more of a hindrance to anyone trying to watch the rugby, than a supporter.