Dalyan – 22nd March

I woke up to my 7am alarm on Sunday 22nd March with a banging headache and feeling quite out of sorts. I went downstairs to let Norman out and, unfortunately, he had already peed in the house – right next to the lamp and Dennis, the doorstop. I cleaned it all up and fed Norman before messaging Jamie to check they had arrived in the UK and that all was ok – it was! They were flying to Tenerife tomorrow. I checked my budget and updated my expenditure list. It wasn’t great as I’d spent £72.23 this week, just over the increased weekly budget and £29 over for the month so far. I needed to really be careful this next week and I planned to.
It was cold, even with a thermal vest, t-shirt and hoodie on so I walked over to town to run some errands. I would be looking after Norman until the end of the month and Norman seemed happy with that.
By the time I was walking back, via the chickens who wanted some bread from me, the sun was out and it was a tad warm. I had a rare bit of time where I wasn’t doing anything related to work or travel so I decided to do a puzzle – guess what? It was a travel related one!
I took Norman for a short walk and he didn’t seem overly keen to walk on the road where my parents stay and he was super slow. On the way back he was quicker because he knew it was time for dinner.
I met a friend in the evening at Joy Cafe where they had the spaghetti bolognese and I had a sandwich and some cheese rolls with Turkish tea. They also brought us a free dessert to celebrate Bayram, which was sweet. It’s a really lovely cafe in Gülpınar and there was just us there. I paid 320 lira (£5.42) and my friend dropped me back off. Norman hadn’t moved since I left but was happy to see me when he did wake up, so that he could have sofa cuddles – he loves those.

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. The sun coming out
3. Joy cafe.

Dalyan – 19th March

On Thursday 19th March I was busy but doing the bit of my job I enjoy most – speaking to potential and existing customers. I made myself some fresh orange juice to have with my homemade lentil soup for a late lunch and it was very good. The oranges from Kate were just so juicy and tasted of sunshine.
I spoke to Captain Caveman who was flying to Vietnam tomorrow so was busy getting everything ready. He had also moved out of the house in Pontefract and was hoping to be living in Sheffield when he returned in April.
In the evening I decided a walk by the river was a good idea, despite it being dark already, and I called to the off licence for a bottle of wine. It wasn’t in the budget but I felt I needed it and it was just 300 lira (£5.08) for the one I liked. I called at the bank and took out some cash for the market this weekend.
Back home I had another chat with Captain Caveman as I was trying to plan when to visit him in the UK. I had seen a cheap flight for Easter but he said not to bother as he had volunteered to work all of it. We discussed May and June but he couldn’t commit to where he would be and nothing got agreed. Later I enjoyed a glass of wine while I caught up on my blogging.

Gratitude List
1. Fresh orange juice
2. Speaking to Captain Caveman
3. A lovely glass of red wine.

Dalyan – 16th March

I was beside myself with excitement on Monday 16th March; Claire Clarke, my publishing consultant, was about to give me help to get my book(s) in to actual UK bookshops – on the shelves or to preorder! I needed to buy the ISBN numbers for the books. These were £93 for 3 or £175 for 10. I spoke to Captain Caveman who was super supportive and thought that it was a great idea to get more of my books out in to the world. I decided to buy the 10 ISBNs as it would mean I had the rest for all my other books – if I didn’t think of myself as a writer or author before, I needed to now!

Claire and I got on a Zoom call at 1pm and, while it was technical for me, we got through the necessary work to get it set up (I won’t bore you with the details but it wouldn’t have been easy to do on my own). At the end of the call, I had a few more things from Claire to do and she was going to do her tasks. We would reconvene once we got an answer from the publishing company, which would allow us to then be on the national database for all booksellers in the UK.

I was so giddy, as I’d been trying to get to a point where my book(s) could be found in bookshops rather than just on Amazon. If all went well, all those people who ‘didn’t do Amazon’ would be able to buy my books in a bookshop this summer! ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ was first in line, then we would add ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself’ on a Bicycle…’ before the next couple I was currently working on. There was a slight setback in that my next book, ‘You Can’t Eat a Whole Blancmange and Dance….and other handy travel tips’ would be delayed. It was a bit scary, but also very exciting.

I was so grateful for Claire being there to support me and if you’re reading this and want to get a planner or journal published you should definitely get in touch (link below).

https://iamclaireclarke.co.uk/

I decided to celebrate in the evening; Vanessa was going back to the UK so we had arranged for me to join her and Matt for fish & chips at Cadde Balık. We’d had it planned for a while and Vanessa came to call for me at 5.30pm. Matt had decided not to come as he had eaten out at lunch time so wasn’t hungry.

As we were walking along the river, Vanessa said the reason we had picked fish and chips was because of Matt, and I’d been recently so we decided to change the venue so we could have a celebratory wine. We arrived at River House and the weather was nice enough to sit outside at 6pm. We decided to splash out with a full meal plus wine and it was amazing. Here’s what we had with prices in lira;

River House

1 soda water 50
1 Carafe white wine 590
1 Lahmacun 295
1 Chicken risotto 850
1 Liver & Onions 950
1 chocolate pancake 230
Total 2,965 lira (£50.25)

We also got free bread and mezzes so we had lots of food! Various stray cats and dogs waited to see if they would get any leftovers and one dog got a bit of liver from Vanessa. Obviously, we split the bill. It was the most I’d spent on a meal out in a while but I thought it was excellent. While we were there, a friend from the UK on holiday here, stopped by and she joined us. It was a lovely girl’s night and it felt nice to go out and treat myself while saying bye to one of my best friends. I would worry about the £70 weekly budget later!

When I got home, things had progressed with the pay day chase up and we were getting paid tomorrow. I was certainly looking forward to the money being in our accounts!

Gratitude List

1. Progress on getting my books in to actual UK book shops!

2. Getting to say hello to a friend on holiday

3. A wonderful send off for Vanessa.

Dalyan – 11th & 12th March

My weight on the home scales on Wednesday 11th March showed no change and I hoped that was because the battery was low on them. My measurements were much more favourable as I had lost 1cm from my bust and waist and 3cm from my hips. I just needed to lose 3cm more from my waist and hips to be back to target.
After a couple of hours work, I did day 3 of The Signal, the free course which was really opening my eyes to how I write content and how I might want to improve it in the future. At 1pm I was on a zoom call with the publisher, Claire Clarke, and the Create, Publish, Grow group that I’m part of. We started to discuss advertising and getting our books in to actual bookshops which is what I really needed. I still wanted to do more book sales as I knew my handy travel tips and the handy travel planner could certainly help more people have better holidays.
At Fat Club I had a bit of a surprise when I got on Carol’s scales – I had lost 1.9kg (3.8lb) so, naturally, I was pleased. The swimming pool and the garden area at Ren was looking good, ready for the tourists coming soon. It was colder than it looked out so I was regretting wearing shorts! I spent just 30 lira (51p) on a water, although I was meant to be on a zero spend day today. I rushed back home as I had more work commitments booked in which meant I couldn’t make it to Matt’s birthday meal at the new fish place in town. I’d decided I might meet them after for drinks but I didn’t go in the end. I’d not been paid yet and I was keen to wait until I knew what I was getting, before I spent money on going out or alcohol, plus I was absolutely knackered. Most of the people out had gone to Corner bar, some had gone home. I had an early night, ready for another busy day tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. Free help with courses and zoom
2. Losing weight
3. A very low spend, zero alcohol day.

It was a busy day in Dalyan on Thursday 12th March. I did a couple of hours work while having tea and toast. At 10am I attended the 4th session of The Signal with Georgina Chapman.
In the Resort Experts team meeting at 2pm there was no apology or mention of the late pay day so I asked the question (again). Luckily, we were reassured that it was being worked on as we spoke. It was likely we would get paid tomorrow but definitely by Friday! I was fine with that, I just wanted to know how much I was getting and when, so that I could make sure my money was in the Turkish bank account before the Bayram bank holidays. It was hot today so I sat outside and got sunburn through my black trousers. I ate left over curry for lunch, outside on the balcony.

At 6pm I decided to go for a walk and take some photos by the river, go to the bank and call for some wine. I bought 2 bottles for 560 lira (£9.49) and took them over to Jamie & Drew’s where I had been invited for dinner.

At Jamie’s I sat outside with a glass of red while chatting to Lucy (Drew’s sister-in-law) and getting to know Scott (her friend). They are really nice people and we had such a laugh. Nanny Kay arrived shortly after and more wine and more laughs were had before enjoying a delicious chicken dinner.
It was late when I got home and I was a bit tipsy!

Gratitude List
1. My new phone and camera
2. A great night at Jamie & Drew’s.
3. Wine.

Dalyan – 10th March

I was so busy on Tuesday 10th March, the day started with the banana cake and tea and then I was in the office until 3pm.
I bought Captain Caveman’s annual Earthquake Insurance for 1,797 lira (£30) as well as the annual home insurance for 10,723 lira (£182). I now use Aytaç Burçak of Saraymine Sigorta for all our insurances as he knows what he’s doing and is easy to do business with.
I needed some essentials and some lunch so, at 3.30pm I took a break and went to the shops. Here’s what I got with prices in lira;

Parlak Bakery
1 Bread 15
1 simit 15
Total spent 30 lira (51p)

Migros Supermarket
Bin Liners 29.95
4 Quark 180.00
Total spent 209.95 lira (£3.56)

I got as many Quark as I could because they were on offer. Back home I ate the simit with cheese, olives and gherkins for a very late lunch, before getting back to my desk.
There was still no email or sign of pay from Resort Experts but I was reliably informed it could sometimes be as late as the 14th so I waited patiently.
I arranged for some quotes for home repairs to be done by Leanne at King Emlak and then I finished a busy day around 6.30pm.

I went to meet friends who were back from the UK and had brought me butter back. When I got to Corner Bar, I ordered a red wine, and found out my friends had forgotten the butter! Still, it was nice to see them as I don’t get out an awful lot these days and they always make an effort to check on me, which is nice.
I paid 170 lira (£2.88) for a glass of wine, but limited it as I had Fat Club tomorrow!
Jamie walked past and was with Norman, the dog, Drew and his sister-in-law and her friend so we all did the usual hellos and Norman got a stroke.
Back home I had curry for dinner and then did some writing. I hoped I’d done enough this week to lose some weight at Fat Club tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. Getting boring tasks sorted
2. Seeing friends
3. Nice food.

Dalyan – 6th & 7th March

On Friday 6th March I only broke off from my laptop for a cup of tea or a couple of chicken fajita wraps. I wanted to finish as much as possible so that I could take tomorrow morning off. I had planned to go to the market with Vanessa and then grab a drink in a cafe somewhere.
I didn’t take any photos, I didn’t leave the house, I didn’t spend any money and I didn’t drink any alcohol.
While sitting down to post my blog, though, I saw a post which made me cry. A friend who I met 26.5 years ago on our first day of our new job at Norwich Union (now Aviva) had a date for her surgery to remove a brain tumour. About 15 years ago she met her now husband and later moved to the States to be with him. I remember this as it was around the same time I met Captain Caveman and we would both end up moving abroad ‘for love’. I’m older than her and have probably abused my body and made worse lifestyle choices than she has, so there’s something that happened to put so much in to perspective today. I didn’t even need a Gratitude List today, as it would just read ‘everything’. Over the years we’d not kept in touch as much and I’d never met her American hubby. I messaged her and we had a conversation about how she was feeling, she was being brave and was understandably shitting herself. I shared her go fund me page on my Facebook and I got a message from another friend to ask if I’d been hacked. I imagine, like me she also thought it might be too unbelievable to be true. It wasn’t!
If you’re reading this and are able to donate towards Angela’s medical costs, it would be much appreciated. Here’s a link and her photo of what the tumor looks like.

https://gofund.me/61f18c7b3

I woke up early on Saturday 7th March and read some awful news on Facebook. A bloke I used to work with at Norwich Union (now Aviva) had died. He’d been one of the most entertaining people I’d known and was just so lovely. He was only about 10 years older than me so it was quite a shock. He had a huge family and was so well loved by everyone who knew him. I’d had the pleasure of being his manager for a few years and the customers just loved him too. I felt sad and searched out a photo from that period – we were a motley crew back then but had some great memories.

I was involved in a customer enquiry over the phone and I was meant to go to Vanessa’s on the way to the market but she ended up coming to mine. I checked the weekly budget and I had less than £9 left for this week, which was not impossible but unlikely, given that I needed to buy quite a bit today. We both needed the bank so that worked out better and I withdrew just 1,000 lira (£16.95) at the ATM. Before we even got to the market we noticed the new florists in town and went in for a nosey. It is brilliant and has plants, flowers and gifts – just what Dalyan needs.

Here’s what I bought at the market, prices in lira:
Potatoes 30
Mushrooms 47
Cabbage (half of) 25
Satsumas 110
Asparagus 120
Strawberries 200
Total spent 532 lira (£9.02)

We went halves on a cabbage as they are huge and we even asked the stall holder to cut it in half for us. If I had gone home then, I would have been on budget for the week, but I didn’t.
Vanessa had a soirée that she had been invited to tomorrow at Adam and Kath’s, so she wanted to buy some treats at the supermarket. Unfortunately, I couldn’t resist and I also got a few treats for myself:

Şevikoğlu Supermarket, now with a new name

Bread 15.00
Chocolate wafers 34.90
Biscuits 36.00
Mini meringues 66.90
Dark chocolate 67.00
Turkish black tea 184.90
Total spent 404. 70 lira (£6.86)

I had run out of conditioner and was down to the bottom of my shampoo so I had to get a bottle of each, luckily it was on offer and is my favourite.

Millennium shop

Olive oil 1 Shampoo & 1 Conditioner
Total spent 210 lira (£3.56)

Our bags were heavy so we decided to go to a lovely cafe next door to the computer shop. Here’s what I had:

Mornings in Mavi

2 large teas 100
1 Granola bowl 300
Total spent 400 lira (£6.78)

That granola bowl was so good and I really enjoyed it. Today I had spent a lot more than I should’ve, despite it being my 5th zero alcohol day this week. I had gone over my £50 weekly budget by £17.44. I decided to reduce the next 2 week’s budgets to £40 to compensate. It was going to be tight but it was doable if I put my mind to it and didn’t get tempted by alcohol or treats (easier said than done). Today was pay day from Resort Experts which would probably be in the bank on Monday, with it being a weekend. This was going straight into my emergency/holiday fund.
It was almost 3pm by the time I got home so I ended up working until gone 8pm.

Gratitude List
1. Out and about in the fresh air
2. My first Granola bowl in Dalyan
3. Seeing Vanessa.

London & Gatwick – 17th January

My flight from Gatwick to Dalaman was scheduled for 5.15pm on Saturday 17th January. It was my last day in Barnes and we had great plans for my last morning. My friend, Claire and her daughter were on the way over to join us for breakfast. Even though I’d been in England for 18 days (plus 8 in Morocco), it had been quite tricky to meet up with friends. I appreciated most had family or Christmas and New Year commitments so it had only been possible in the last week, but I’d already planned to be back at work and celebrating birthdays with my sister. I really understood that not all friends could put themselves out for me being back in town but I really appreciated the ones who did. Claire drove from Kent to Barnes where Captain Caveman had cooked a superb breakfast for us all – even popping to Barnes Farmer’s Market for fresh produce.
Of course, I had decided to repack my case in the garden room and was mid pack when my friend arrived. They helped me try to get my massive case with all the food in, to under 15kg. Gill brought down the scales and we weighed them several times until we were sure they were under the weight limit.
After catching up and planning to see each other more in 2026, it was time to get to the airport. Captain Caveman isn’t one for airport farewells so I knew he was hoping I’d leave him in Barnes so he could get on with playing some Bridge. I decided he should come with us so at least if my suitcase weighed heavy he could take some stuff back home. Being the practical sort, he agreed and brought my empty rucksack which we had already decided wouldn’t fit in my case.

We had a nice drive to Gatwick airport from Barnes and I was grateful to spend a bit more time with Claire who had very kindly offered to take me to the airport. It costs £10 now to drop someone off at Gatwick which was a bit extreme and Claire ended up paying that. We said our farewells and we had a plan to get together in the summer which I was very excited about.
Captain Caveman came in to the airport and to the bag drop where things didn’t go to plan. My case weighed 17.8kg on the easyJet scales and I had to remove items. Captain Caveman was on it and took out some of my clothes, the frozen crumpets, tomato paste and curry pastes which I had multiple of. He took out some other products and when we weighed at just over 15kg the member of staff said that was ok. As they got distracted with another member of staff asking about my hand luggage, Captain Caveman slipped a few items back in to the case. Those scales were very biased so we were a bit annoyed and I was glad Captain Caveman was there. The goodbye wasn’t too bad as Captain Caveman had already planned to come out to see me in 5 week’s time, but I still got upset. We had spent almost a month together and I had felt very lucky at all the treats and experiences I’d had with him – even spending Christmas Day in Barking had been fun.

Once through security at Gatwick airport, where I didn’t need to take anything out of my bag and more than 100ml liquids were allowed, I decided I would have a look for some new headphones. The ones I had been borrowing from Captain Caveman had fell apart so I had left them with him. I decided I would use the rest of my birthday money to get myself a good pair, they did cost £49.99 but were noise cancelling, which I wanted. At the gate, my hand luggage underseat bag got checked and the man behind me had to pay extra for being a few centimetres over as easyJet were being really strict – he tried to argue as he works for easyJet but they were having none of it and charged him £34. On the flight, I was sat in 14D which was an aisle seat behind the exit row and had a couple sat next to me and 2 young women in the seats across the aisle from me. When the flight attendant came round she asked if the 3 of us in our row were together, I said not and she asked me and the 2 women across the aisle to move forward a seat, to the exit row. The man on my row wasn’t too happy about that as he wanted to move but the staff member said no to him, without a reason. Ironically, my underseat case which now had the wheels off to fit the specification, had to go in the overhead locker and I could put the wheels back on.

During the flight, I decided to celebrate the end of my fabulous 26 day holiday with the 2 for 1 prosecco and a chicken teriyaki with jasmine rice. It cost me £23.95 which was expensive but I really enjoyed it. I watched something on Netflix and filled in more of my copy of The Handy Travel Planner with all the new travel plans I had for 2026; Madrid, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Brussels, more Turkey and a couple of unknowns yet. I ended up spending another £12.50 on more Prosecco and I opened the midget gems which I’d stuffed in my coat pocket. I fell asleep before midnight and was due to land by 12.30am.

Gratitude List
1. A delicious Barnes breakfast with everyone
2. Getting to see Claire and her daughter
3. Having had such a great 26 days away that I was sad to be leaving.

Pontecarlo to London – 16th January

Friday 16th January was a busy day as Captain Caveman and I started work early in our respective working from home offices. We had train tickets booked to London later so had planned for a 4pm finish. I had a video sent from Dagne in Majorca who had taken time to have a proper look at her new copy of The Handy Travel Planner and she loved it. I was pleased as she was the first non-UK person to get her hands on a copy. It was great feedback that the planner also worked in other countries and for foreigners who spoke English.

By 4pm Captain Caveman and I had logged off and were ready to leave Pontecarlo. For me, it would be the last time I’d be in this house as Captain Caveman was moving out in March. He’d decided to move to Sheffield and I was pleased he would be moving to somewhere he would probably be happier and have more of a social life.
The taxi came and we got to the train station to see a few trains were delayed. Ours came and it was full, with kids sitting in our seats. Captain Caveman turfed them out and we sat down, cracked open a train tin and started to relax. I went to the cafe carriage to get us more light refreshments (gin & tonic for him, wine for me), plus a snack and the journey seemed to go very quickly. The train journey price was £19.80 each from Ponte to London King’s Cross, then £4.20 each to Barnes which I thought was quite reasonable.

When we arrived in Barnes, at Captain Caveman’s parents’ home, it was gone 8.30pm. As we said our hellos I could smell a roast dinner cooking (nothing gets past me). Captain Caveman had failed to mention that his parents were doing a full on roast pork dinner for my last dinner in the UK – I almost cried. In the living room with a glass of wine, more excitement came as I opened a delayed Christmas gift from a friend – a thoughtful bottle of Argentinian Malbec and some caramel cheesecake macarons. We decided to have these with dinner and for afters we ate cheese and biscuits then the macarons. It was such a lovely last evening in the UK and I knew that this time I was going to miss it more than usual.

Gratitude List
1. Dagne’s video with The Handy Travel Planner
2. A belated Christmas gift
3. A lovely family meal in Barnes.

If being better prepared for your future holidays is something you would like to happen, you can get my planner here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

Pontecarlo – 15th January

On Thursday 15th January both Captain Caveman and I worked from his home in Pontecarlo – he in his upstairs office and me in the living/dining room. There was much excitement as my colleague and friend in Majorca received The Handy Travel Planner – the first one to get to Spain and it had took 3 weeks! Dagne was so pleased and she sent me photos from Majorca and would send me a video tomorrow as she was on her way to work now.

I finished work at 12 to go meet Louisa, who had very kindly driven from Sheffield to come to meet me at The Carleton pub for lunch. As we’d picked a dog friendly pub, she had brought Bodhi too. We had a good catch up and decided to order some starters to share as our main meal so that we would have room for their fab jam roly poly and custard. I was glad I’d got to see Louisa and have cuddles with Bodhi, who was very well behaved in the pub, as I’d not had enough time to catch up with her when I was in Sheffield. It was also good to chat about potential holiday plans together for later this year. Louisa very kindly treated me to my lovely lunch for my birthday and unfortunately I had to get back to my desk.

After a few more hours on some admin and quotes, I finished for the day. As tonight was my last in Pontecarlo, Captain Caveman decided he wanted to take me out for a last birthday celebration and we could choose between Indian or Thai. We had a walk to the Grocer’s Arms pub. The music was great and they served proper beers and ciders at reasonable prices. The man serving was friendly and the punters all seemed interesting – a local walking group was in when we were there.

Next, we went to Mumbai of Pontefract where we ordered the shared starter with fish, samosa, pakora, chicken tikka and onion bhaji. We ordered the non-alcoholic wine which the waiter said was £4 for a bottle but was actually £4 a glass. It tasted better than I thought it would be and they didn’t sell alcohol in there. For main, Captain Caveman had a spicy dish and I had a chicken tikka (no sauce), we shared all the accompaniments and the food was ok. It was not the best Indian we had been to and just 5 minutes after finishing eating I was in the toilet with a really bad stomach! It cost just under £50 which Captain Caveman paid for and we were both a bit disappointed that I was ill. The reason we had chosen the Indian was I didn’t want to be unwell for the train down to London tomorrow, too – so maybe we should have gone for Thai.
We walked home, with me feeling rubbish and only just made it home to the bathroom. I had to go straight to bed to rest too.

Gratitude List
1. Seeing Louisa and Bodhi for birthday celebrations at lunch
2. A visit to the Grocer’s Arms
3. Spending the evening with Captain Caveman for more birthday celebrations.

If you’d like to be better planned for any travelling you want to do, here’s the link to where you can buy my planner: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

Sheffield to Pontecarlo – 14th January

After a lovely night’s sleep, with no snoring from Captain Caveman, I woke up quite early on Wednesday 14th January. Ordinarily, I would have done my measurements and got weighed, but I didn’t today. I didn’t have my tape measure with me, although I’m sure I could have borrowed one from Ma. I also knew the scales at my parents’ were different and I could wait. I was due back in Dalyan in 4 days time and needed to get back on the wagon then. It was a very busy morning at work, where I crammed in helping customers who were thinking of, or who were already booked for, Vietnam. I spent time on 3 key areas; money exchange (as the laws were being tightened), destination advice and the weather in different months per region. I also checked my analytics on my various pages as I was trying to get over 500 followers so that I can earn money from Facebook. So far, my Jo Lo – Resort Experts had over 17,000 views in the last 28 days but only 358 followers – it was a constant grind to get this figure up as once you’ve invited a Facebook friend, you can’t re invite them. I had gained 10 new followers in a month so, at this rate, it would take me until June 2027 to reach that target! I checked my Jo Lo – The Author and joloyolo.com pages too, but they had less followers. The frustrating thing was that I had 1,800 followers on my Facebook page so if I could get even half of them to follow me it would be ideal – I would continue to keep trying! If you’re not following, please do! https://www.facebook.com/share/1KS5eFfqPm/

At lunch time I managed to get some fresh air when I joined a friend on her dog walk. We walked around Mosborough and, although a little slippy on the farm tracks, the weather wasn’t too bad at all and it was good to catch up.
In the afternoon, my parents and I went up to my sister’s to say farewell and take her birthday card and presents. The whole family were there so we managed to get to say bye and Gayle gave me a lift to the station, which was good. I said bye to my parents not knowing when I’d see them again, which is always tough, but hopefully it would be in the next 3-4 months in Dalyan. I got the 4.40pm train from Sheffield to Pontecarlo via Wakefield.
We were meant to be going to Aldi to get more stuff for me to take back to Dalyan but we didn’t bother, as Captain Caveman was driving back from Scotland. Instead, I made it just in time for fish and chips from the amazing Carleton Fisheries where the staff are friendly and their fish & chips are just so good.
That evening we sat upstairs in Captain Caveman’s office/den where he now has a giant bean bag and a futon. It was chilly so we had to whack up the heating while we shared some Green and Black’s chocolate, a Christmas gift from Captain Caveman’s work.

Gratitude List
1. A dog walk with a friend
2. Getting to see my parents, Gayle, Neil, Morgan, April, Harley and Sumo (the dog) one last time.
3. Fish & Chips in Pontecarlo.

Photo credit – Carleton Fisheries photos used (as it was dark when I went).

Pontecarlo to Sheffield – 13th January

I was at Pontefract Tanshelf train station in the dark on the morning of Tuesday 13th January, waiting for my train back to Sheffield. A return ticket was £12.30 which I had to collect at the station using a code for the machine on the opposite platform. Captain Caveman was driving up to Scotland for work and an interview tomorrow. I’d decided to spend my birthday money and arranged to meet Vanessa for a spot of shopping in Marks & Sparks, before going back to my parents for the evening.
I met Vanessa at 9.30am and we went straight to the M&S cafe for Yorkshire tea and bacon rolls. Vanessa treated me for a late birthday gift, which was lovely and we caught up on everything. She’d arrived limping and in need of paracetamol as she had a broken toe. I was surprised she had still turned up as she was in pain despite it being strapped up. I bought a really nice jumper for £20, using some of my birthday money and I picked up part of a present for my sister. I had decided that we would buy her Hotel Chocolat products but, after a chat with the shop assistant who said they couldn’t guarantee any of the chocolate was safe for coeliacs, we left empty handed. Next, we walked down to Primark where I picked up 2 thermal tops for £11 (using my birthday money). We popped in to Superdrug and Holland & Barrett where I stocked up on 4 boxes of Gin Gins for a bargain £10.20.
We decided to have a quick look in the Korean shop and then we both needed the toilet so we nipped in to see what was on at the cinema and go there. I was tempted by the pick n mix stalk but resisted. Our next stop was to get tea and cake at Massarella cafe on the ground floor of Atkinson’s. It was full of pensioners and I could see why, their jam and cream scones were excellent and the pots of tea ideal for at least 2 cups each. Oddly, each item was priced £3.50 whether it be a pot of tea or a sweet treat. This gave Vanessa time to rest before catching her bus and I went back to M&S to pick up some bits for tonight’s dinner. I’d offered to cook but Mom had said we could have burgers and chips if I didn’t want to spend money unnecessarily. I did fancy something a bit healthier for dinner but the M&S food section had looked like it had been hit by a plague of locusts. There was not much left and what they did have didn’t appeal so I just bought some breaded mushrooms and onion rings to go with the burgers, plus some ibuprofen and a plastic bag, spending a total of £9.20. I managed to get the 3.30pm bus, costing £2.60 for the 20 minute journey to Mosborough.
When I got to my parents’ it was getting late but I managed to log on and deal with some emails before food. The dinner was a bit too much and Dad couldn’t eat his, I soldiered on and Mom did ok but we had to leave room for birthday cake. It did make me laugh that Dad, who was complaining he couldn’t eat a burger, managed more than one small piece of chocolate cake – but it was amazing. By 9.30pm crisps were out and the salt and vinegar ones from Aldi were so good! Tomorrow was weigh day and I knew I had put on lots of weight because all my clothes were tight, especially around the waist!

Gratitude List

Meeting up with Vanessa for more birthday celebrations
So much food
Birthday cake with my parents.

Pontecarlo – 12th January

It was our first day back ‘in the office’ on Monday 12th January and I had lots to catch up on. Resort Experts had a new system being launched which would make our jobs easier and included automation and task, enquiry and holiday management. It looked very good and I was keen to have a go at using it.
Today was also the day I got to open my actual real copies of ‘The Handy Travel Planner’, both hardback and paperback. They looked and felt great, even if I do say so myself, and I was pleased with them. Now I just needed to sell them. My aim was to sell at least 1 per day, which doesn’t sound a lot but it was a target to start off. Ideally to be able to make a minimum wage type of income, I needed to sell in excessive of 10 per day – which I think is a bit of a stretch. What I should’ve done is ask people to buy a copy for themselves or someone else as a birthday gift to me – but I was too busy being hungover!

If you are reading this and haven’t bought a copy yet, I’d really appreciate it if you would – the paperback is just under £15 and the reviews and feedback so far have been extremely positive. Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/
You can see it as buying me my belated birthday drink but with so many more benefits for you too. Thank you! 🤪
It’s also available in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. If you’re in Turkey, it’s better to ask me to bring you a copy back from the UK next time I go.

Both Captain Caveman and I worked all day with barely a break, except for a quick sandwich at lunch. By 7pm we had gone for a rather chilly walk to Asda but got sidetracked and ended up in the Robin Hood pub because it was so cold out. I ordered a pint of tap water and a cherry beer, Captain Caveman had a toffee stout which nearly tipped me over the edge, after drinking stout on the birthday night out. We just had the one drink then went shopping, here’s what we bought with prices in pounds;

Asda Supermarket

1 bag for life 0.40*
6 packs of crisps 1.00*
Coriander 1 05*
Paprika 1.05*
2 Tomato Puree 1.36*
Spinach 1.60
2 Chinese sauces 1.66*
Lazy Ginger 2.00*
2 Moroccan Seasoning 2.20*
4 Slow Cooker sachets 2.50*
Curry Meal kit 3.00*
2 packs cheese slices 5.08
Options hot chocolate 5.64*
3 packs of Cheese 7.95*
Total spent £39.49

*were items for me to take back to Turkey.

During the shopping, I needed the loo and discovered that Asda didn’t have a toilet so I had to call back in to the pub, but didn’t get another drink. It was really cold so we hurried home to have a pasta bolognese, cooked by Captain Caveman. We opened the Christmas Belgian beer to drink in mugs and I only managed a little bit – it was very nice but the alcohol was not going down well with me.
It had been a decent day but we were still both tired after the wild weekend, with a very early start due tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. The Handy Travel Planner – all my hard work had paid off
2. Getting caught up with work stuff
3. A lovely evening with Captain Caveman.

Sheffield to Pontecarlo – 11th January

It turns out it wasn’t the ‘snow’ that ruined my birthday on Sunday 11th January, it was me. My hangover was immense and I could barely function to open my birthday cards and presents. My present from Captain Caveman had been to pay for Marrakech as well as all the Christmas and birthday Shenanigans. My parents and sister gave me money which I was grateful for and promised I would buy something I needed with it. I also got a travel toiletry kit and a birthday cake from my sister and the family, which I didn’t realise how lovely it was until much later. On Facebook I had so many messages to say Happy Birthday and I couldn’t reply as my phone was playing up and my head was banging!
Captain Caveman took himself back to bed, he was also in a state. We were meant to be getting the train to Pontecarlo around 3pm so Ma cooked us a lovely Sunday dinner. We had forgotten that the eggs had been eaten at breakfast so we sent Captain Caveman out to get some. When he returned he looked broken and had bumped in to Neil who was walking the dog to the Angel at Spinkhill to get the car. He reported back that their household were mainly in a state too. Captain Caveman was so bad that he didn’t even eat half of is Sunday dinner – and he left the crackling! After dinner, Captain Caveman went back to bed again and I still felt rough and resigned myself to staying in Mosborough another night.
Captain Caveman decided we would leave Mosborough and we got the bus in to town, it was dark, cold and trying to snow. There were certainly no train tins on our journey back and we even got a taxi from Ponte station to Captain Caveman’s house where we got in and went straight to bed.

Gratitude List
1. Birthday cards, money and gifts
2. A pork Sunday dinner with Yorkshire puds
3. A very low key birthday!

Sheffield – 10th January

Ma cooked us a full English breakfast on the morning of Saturday 10th January and it was so good – I do miss a good sausage! It was pretty cold in Sheffield. The snow that had come down recently was just icy now and all the roads were fine in Mosborough. I caught up on some Resort Experts admin in the morning and saw a post from Claire Clarke, the business book publisher. She had posted on Facebook a photo of her with a pile of books which included mine – which was nice.
In the afternoon Captain Caveman and I decided to chance an icy walk to the Co-op for some essentials. Here’s what we bought, prices in pounds;

Co-op Supermarket
Garlic 0.80
Onions 1.10
Potatoes 1.35
Stilton 1.40
Peppers 1.95
Feta Cheese 2.45
1 bottle Pinto Grigio 5.80
1 bottle Rioja 7.75
Total spent £22.60

I got a dodgy stomach while we were in the shop, so I headed to the Alma pub for a loo stop and a pint of water, while Captain Caveman did the shopping. He then met up with me at the pub and we had a couple of pints. A friend came to join us and we had a really good catch up, drinking probably a little too much cider for me. This meant we were running a little late to get ready for tonight’s celebrations.

All 8 of us (Ma, Pa, Gayle, Neil, Morgan, April, Captain Caveman and me) were booked in for a joint birthday celebration at the Angel in Spinkhill. Because the weather was unpredictable, Neil drove in 2 trips and we would get taxis back. The place was very nice and had quite a cosy dining area, next to the bar – which was very handy. I overdosed on cheese for my meal choices; Captain Caveman and I shared baked camembert for starter, we both had the duck for main and we shared a cheese board for afters! The food was very good and I managed at least a couple of glasses of red wine too. My sister had the gluten free choices, as she’s coeliac, and it was excellent – all served on back plates so that they weren’t mixed up with the white plates, containing gluten. I was impressed with what I had and our share of the bill was paid by Captain Caveman with it being for my birthday. Our waitress happened to be the daughter of an old school friend of Gayle’s and a neighbour from when we lived in Frecheville – she was so like her mother and had a lot of patience with our group.

There was a bit of a rush to get the taxis back as the restaurant closed at 9.30pm but we took our wine with us and decided we would call for a last drink at the Craftworks in Mosborough. It was hilarious and the drinks were flowing – it was certainly not a good idea for me to drink a pint of stout as my final drink, or get a selfie with the barman who had lovely hair! It was great to spend time with the family and our combined birthday celebrations were a winner, without snow ruining it. Back at Ma & Pa’s we ended up drinking more wine! I had a feeling my actual birthday, tomorrow, was not going to be hangover free and we had to get the train back to Pontecarlo!!

Gratitude List
1. An English breakfast cooked by Mom
2. Cheeky afternoon drinks in the pub with a friend who needed a beer
3. A fantastic family meal to celebrate our birthdays in bad weather.

Marrakech to Sheffield – 9th January

Our flight back to Manchester from Marrakech on Friday 9th January was at 4.05pm. Unfortunately, news from Manchester and Sheffield said that all trains had been cancelled which meant we would not be able to get from Manchester airport to Sheffield, as planned. It was a bit annoying and I got a little upset as we were going back to Sheffield to celebrate my sister’s 50th and my birthday, with my family. It had all been planned and booked in and I was disappointed the trains were cancelled due to snow, especially when the snow had not yet appeared.
My sister cheered me up by saying she was sure the celebrations would still go ahead, in fact she had booked 3 different places just in case. She also sent me a photo of page 25 of my planner, ‘The Handy Travel Planner’, as I had a panic that I’d not spotted and changed a mistake – it was fine though. Captain Caveman and I both had our last breakfast at the riad rooftop and I was definitely going to miss the mint tea in Marrakech.

We went back to the room and packed our hand luggage, before leaving our bags at reception. We paid our bill which included the bottles of water we had got and our city tax. The government takes a small payment for accommodation in Marrakech and it has to be paid directly to the hotel on check out. The amount depends on the type of accommodation but ours was £4 per night. We also decided to book the airport transfer which cost just over £18 and well worth the money if it meant Captain Caveman and I didn’t have to have a fall out over walking to the airport! Incidentally, he did suggest we had time to walk it as check out was 12 noon and we didn’t need to be at the airport until 2pm!
We decided to grab a quick treat for lunch at a local crepe stall. I was sure I’d end up with a bad stomach as, the stall lady wore gloves but touched money, the crepes and a man’s hand while wearing them. However, I was pleased to find they were very tasty for just over £2 for the both and all was well!

We grabbed our bags and walked to our pick up car with the hotel receptionist, who made sure we were safely in the vehicle – it was rather fancy, not a taxi. We got to the airport without incident and had quite a wait once through to the gate. I went for a wander and saw lots of choice of places to get food (no alcohol) and came back to give Captain Caveman the low down. He went next and came back with 2 baguettes and water from Paul’s. They weren’t overly pricey for an airport and were very good sandwiches.
We went to get in the queue to board, our plane was late and I got stopped for a full bag and body search. Captain Caveman made a fuss about being ushered in to queuing when he liked to be the last on the plane. I got peeved when he started arguing with the staff member as I was sure he was trying to get us in to trouble. It turned out, the airport staff wanted us out so they could update the data to say we had left the building. We then stood outside for ages, waiting for everyone to board.

The flight was good and I watched some Netflix instead of typing up my blog!
When we arrived at Manchester airport we rushed to get to Manchester Piccadilly. The machines let us buy tickets to Sheffield and mine cost me £27.80 – there had better be a train!!!

All the boards showed trains were cancelled but Captain Caveman found a train and we got on it, it was empty but it was going to Sheffield. In all the faffing we were quite stressed and I was really looking forward to seeing how deep the snow was. We had a train tin and chilled out, the train was cold and we did see a tiny sprinkling of snow at Edale. I didn’t moan too much about the train situation as I didn’t want Captain Caveman to have to send the train company a strongly worded email. They were definitely in the wrong to have cancelled the trains. There was no snow in Sheffield and we got a taxi to my parents, who were waiting up for us. We had wine and my mom cooked us a pizza as we were hungry. I was just so glad to have got to Mosborough as I’m not sure what we would’ve done if Captain Caveman hadn’t spotted that train.

Gratitude List
1. Having had an amazing holiday in Marrakech
2. Getting safely back to Mosborough
3. That rogue train!

joloyolo

The ramblings and observations of a fortysomething lady of leisure

Tag: England