Dalyan – 22nd September

Gayle messaged me on the morning of Sunday 22nd September asking where is good to go for Menemen and did I fancy a last breakfast with them. I don’t eat eggs and tomatoes generally so it’s not a dish I like but everyone I know who does, says that Ela’s Kitchen has the best one. Gayle said they had already been there 3 times this holiday so had wanted to try somewhere else and was thinking of Cinar. They didn’t have Menemen on their menu so we ended up at Ela’s, anyway. Beforehand, I had walked over to their’s and they had helped me bring all the rest of my stuff over from my parents’ upstairs room. My parents were arriving in a couple of days but I only had a 2 day window to get my stuff before they left for a holiday in Cappadocia.
Once at Ela’s Kitchen, one of my favourite breakfast places, Neil and Gayle both had their usual and I was extra hungry so I had a large full English (no tomatoes or eggs) and a cup of Yorkshire tea. The food was as good as always and I ate every bit of it as I was pretty peckish. The bill came to a total of 1300 lira (£28.63) for all of us so less than an English tenner each for a great breakfast.

After breakfast, Gayle & Neil were going back to get ready for leaving Dalyan tomorrow and, as I was up and off to Fethiye really early, today was the last day I would see them. They invited me to join them at Kingfisher restaurant that night but I was mindful they would probably want a romantic night by themselves. I did invite them to call in at mine for a drink before or after though, so we could say goodbye. I had really had a great time with them and I wasn’t really sure when I would see them again. I popped to the shops and picked up some essentials, including provisions for my trip to Fethiye tomorrow, prices below in lira;

Migros Supermarket
1 plastic bag 0.25
1 Quark 29.95
Water 34.90
Total spent 65.10 lira (£1.44)

Şok Supermarket
Water 9.75
Biscuits 17.00
Turkey ham 22.00
Cheese slices 28.50
Total spent 77.25 (£1.70)

Bakery
1 fresh loaf 10 lira (22p)

When I got home, I had a video call with Captain Caveman and I mentioned about me going to Fethiye tomorrow. He didn’t seem at all interested and was preoccupied with something else. He said he would call me back after he had a shower but then he forgot. I was a bit cheesed off that he had not wished me well for my appointment either. Was I maybe imagining that he really didn’t care if I got it renewed or not!?
Jamie picked me up at 6.30pm and I was outside trimming the bush that our gardener still hadn’t touched. The elusive gardening company were still experts at doing absolutely nothing and the bougainvillea was below face level for anyone going through the gate. My neighbours were older than me and had to duck beneath the spiky branches. We drove over to Julia’s so that I could pick up a key, meet her dogs and go through the requirements of what I was needed to do for the next few days of doggy care. Coco & Bebe were a little shy of me at first, while Norman & Edna were pleased to see me. Edna was a bit less giddy than usual but it was probably because she was at Aunty Julia’s house and wanted to show she was behaving better than the resident dogs! I wasn’t there long and then decided I would walk the 20 minutes back in to town, calling at the shops again on the way back. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Dido Trio chocolate bar 13.50
Dido Lemon chocolate bar 14.00
Popcorn 21.50
Total spent 49.00 lira (£1.08)

Nova Market (used to be Selcuk Market)
1 bottle of white wine 200.00 lira (£4.41)

I was definitely noticing that, although prices had gone up a little in Dalyan, the prices for drinks and snacks in the shops were definitely cheaper here than in England and Rhodes.

I made cheese and turkey ham sandwiches for tomorrow’s trip to Fethiye, even though it should have been a short visit once there. I was preparing for if it was not straight forward as I didn’t want to be spending money on lunch out. I ate a sandwich while waiting for Gayle & Neil to pop in after their meal at Kingfisher.
When they arrived, they weren’t as merry as I had expected they might be on their last night. They had a lovely meal but said they were finished quite early and then had to sit around for a while waiting to get the boat back. We had a couple of drinks and a good laugh. We had used my parents’ shopping trolley earlier to bring some of my stuff over, so they took that back with them.
We had hugs goodbye, which is unusual as my sister is not normally one for hugs or soppy farewells. We had all had a really good time together on the occasions I had joined them and there had not been any falling out whatsoever – we were obviously maturing! I was actually very sad to see them leave and a little bit glad that I wouldn’t be able to see them drive off to the airport tomorrow at 9.30am, in case I got upset. I don’t think they wanted to leave Dalyan, having had such a great holiday but they had to get back for the dog.
I got all my documents together and set my alarm for 6am so that I could be up and ready for tomorrow’s residency renewal appointment.

Ialyssos (Rhodes) – 19th September

Thursday 19th September was my last full day with my friends in Ialyssos as I was leaving Rhodes early the next morning. Tonight would be our last night together and all the girls were really looking forward to us celebrating the end of our (too short) holiday together. When I woke up, I felt like absolute death and could hardly clean my teeth without puking. Liz did a walk, the girls all went out for brunch and it took me until 2pm to force down a slice of buttered toast and a cup of tea. The girls had fancied trying out Casa Italia tonight and I pretty much had to drag myself out of bed to attend the evening’s meal out and I am so glad that I did. Casa Italia is owned by Costas, the same owner as Cosa Nostra, Creamland and Kostas Village Taverna. As we arrived, Louisa, Kelly and Clare were walking ahead and didn’t notice Costas who came to chat to Liz and me. He was a very nice man and you wouldn’t have known he owned all the restaurants, very humble. Once seated, the manager was not happy with where we had been plonked and moved us to a nicer table. The girls were on it but I could not face any alcohol and stuck to water. We shared garlic bread and more of the fancy bruschetta. Liz ordered shrimp linguini, Louisa spaghetti Bolognese, Clare the burata on a huge plate of prosciutto, Kelly a rather lovely salad and I had to have the ham and mushroom calzone. When the food came, it was absolutely marvellous but my calzone was so big that I had to take half home with me, with a piece of the garlic bread, for good measure.

At 10.15pm we paid our bill and some of the girls fancied ice-cream at Creamland, I’m not a fan of ice-cream so I faffed around taking photos, as you do. It was such a good night but I was sensible and was back at the villa with the rest of the girls by 11pm. That next hour was the saddest as I said my goodbyes (with tears) to Louisa, Kelly & Clare. Liz was going to get up with me early tomorrow as the taxi to the port was booked for 7am.

Ialyssos (Rhodes) – 18th September

There was a bit of bad news on Wednesday 18th September and it wasn’t just that I would have put on some weight from overindulgence with my family and friends over the last week or so. I did my measurements, as usual, to find that I had put 2cm on my waist and 1cm on my hips, my bust had stayed the same. Liz and I were up and about much earlier than everyone else, she had been doing her exercises and I had already done a couple of hours work. I saw 2 big black crows on the wall of the villa and they stuck around for a while, one of them let me walk up quite close and I vaguely remembered that superstition suggests that seeing 2 crows is lucky. Apparently it means new beginnings in a relationship or career. I’d had a reply back from my boss’s wife, to say to speak to him about why I hadn’t been paid yet. It was 4 days overdue and I knew from her response that it didn’t look promising. I decided to stop work until I had spoken to my boss to find out what was going on. I had a feeling he no longer could see the need in keeping me on during the quiet winter months. I closed the laptop so that Liz and I could go for a walk, get some breakfast and a coffee for Liz.
By 9.30am Liz was getting us something from The Cake Box. She had a croissant, a coffee and a detox juice while I had a sundried tomato and cheese ciabatta and a juice. It was once again lovely, although Liz didn’t reckon much to the coffee as it wasn’t a brand she preferred. We walked around and I took her to Creamland to see if the coffee was any better and, luckily, it was. It cost €5.50 (£4.58) for her Cappuccino with a Freddo Espresso in it.
Our next stop was a nice walk along the beach where a lovely Dutch woman had been making a cute heart and some writing out of stones on the beach. We got talking to her and her friend then decided to have our photos taken by her over her art work – I bet she thought we were daft, but Liz and I did not care!
When we got back to the villa it was gone 11am, I was hoping to get a call in with my boss, for an update on the work situation. While all the girls were busy enjoying their holiday, I got a message from him. It said ‘things were getting very quiet and he was canning our project’. He thanked me for my help, apologised for the late notice and that I had ended up working 4 days over what he had already paid me for. I already had a feeling this was going to happen so I just replied with best wishes for flood season and to let me know if there was anything I could help with in the future. It was quite a blow that, just like that, I had no further income and I would now have to wait to rely on Captain Caveman once again, until I found another job. I made a decision not to say anything to the girls, I was doing all I could to hold it together lately as it was and didn’t want to ruin their (or my) holiday. I made myself a promise to find another job within a month, though, or set up my own business. As luck would have it, only 2 days ago a friend had suggested I talk to his boss as he thought I would be a good fit for an opportunity at his place. I decided to tell the girls that I had the rest of the week off, which wasn’t exactly a lie but it wasn’t the complete truth. We only had 2 more days together and I wanted us all to have a good, and happy, time.

As if the girls knew to cheer me up anyway, the fizz was out of the fridge and it was jacuzzi time. Not before being dragged through a yoga/HIT session with Liz and Clare. It was far too difficult for me on a concrete floor with my knees but I gave it a go where I could. Louisa kindly took photos of us and pointed out when I needed to adjust my position.
The jacuzzi was fantastic and the bubbles were very much appreciated as I secretly celebrated being unemployed once again! By 6pm we were showered and changed, ready to hit the town – I even wore one of my dresses. Clare and I took photos of each other by the pool while we waited for everyone to finish getting ready. It was pretty windy and it took a couple of goes to get some without our hair all over the place.

Clare had took the liberty of booking a table for the 5 of us at Cosa Nostra and it certainly did not disappoint.
I was very conscious of being on a budget but I ordered a margarita cocktail at €12.50 (£10.41), a Gnocchi starter at €10.50 (£8.75) and a mushroom risotto at €18 (£15). The steaks started at €45 (£37.50) so I avoided those and we all shared some fancy bruschetta with various toppings.

The food was excellent and the service on our VIP table, second to none. We ended up having more cocktails instead of wine with our dinner and I threw caution to the wind a little having 2 more drinks. At the end of our meal we were brought out free shots of something ridiculously sickly sweet. As we were getting the bill, one of the girls had already paid and it was on her! Wow, I was both grateful and speechless. More free shots were had and a group photo with the staff before heading back to the villa. Of course, that would have been the best thing to do at gone 10.30pm but it was Liz’s first night out and she really fancied another drink somewhere. While Louisa and Kelly headed back home, Clare and I accompanied Liz to a bar which I think was called Blaze Bar. It had a band on and we must have been a bit tiddly as Liz ordered a Bloody Mary, Clare had a cocktail which looked like Sex on the Beach meets a Pina Colada and I, very foolishly, ordered a draft lager. The band was a lot better than we were expecting with 3 members who looked like famous people with our beer goggles on. We joined in on the singing and stayed until closing time. I paid for the round of drinks and had one of the best nights in years for just £20!!
It was gone midnight when we got back and then Liz and I stayed awake talking for a few hours – at least I didn’t have to worry about getting up for work in the morning!

Ialyssos (Rhodes) – 17th September

My day on Tuesday 17th September started with a healthy breakfast but would not continue in that vein – it was probably a good thing I was missing the Dalyan Fat Club tomorrow! I ate a banana and a plum with my cup of tea, then got on with work. At lunch time the girls were going for a walk so I decided to close the laptop and join them. On our walkabout, we spotted a lovely rooftop bar and went in for some lunch and a drink. Kompologaki restaurant also had sunbed rentals by the beach across the road and we had nice views of the sea from our corner rooftop table. There were lunchtime specials on so we ordered from that menu where it came with a beer or wine included in the price. It had one of those QR code readers to view the menu so we used that and I made a list of who wanted what so that I could go back downstairs and order, here’s what everyone chose;
Kelly: Pasta Carbonara + beer + Sprite + Mai Tai cocktail
Louisa: Gyros plate + beer + Sprite
Clare: Gyros plate + wine + soda water
Jo (me): Gyros plate + beer

We also ordered a bottle of still water for us all and the total came to 62.30 Euros (£51.76) and I really liked my lunch. I also ended up with 2 small beers because the lovely waitress had miscalculated the included ones, thinking all 4 of us wanted the beer and not 3 plus a wine. We also got a good deal on 3 bottles of decent wine for 30 Euros (£25), split between Clare and I.

On the way back to the villa, we called at the supermarket for provisions too.
Back ‘home’ I did a bit more work while the girls relaxed by the pool. I was happy to close the laptop and join them for crisps and a wine in the early evening. One of our other friends, Liz, was on her flight to come and join us. We were looking out for her plane, which would be flying directly above us. As we were waiting, we got a bit peckish and started our buffet for dinner, Kelly plated up some for Liz so that we didn’t eat it all. Clare took a video of the BA plane which Liz was on as she came in to land and we were all super excited when she arrived. There were hugs, tears and extraordinary footwear. Wine was had but not the fizz in the fridge as that was for when we went in the Jacuzzi in the main bedroom – oh wow, I hadn’t realised there was one! The rosé wine Clare and I had bought went down a treat and I even got to wear some fancy shoes of Liz’s while we caught up on her news. It was like having the band back together and I was so happy that Liz got the short straw and had to share my twin room for the next 4 nights.

Dalyan, Rhodes Town & Ialyssos – 15th September

Sunday 15th September was a long but eventful day, where I very nearly didn’t get to Rhodes for my holiday with the girls. My friend and I were up before the agreed 4.30am and were ready to leave before 5am for our drive to Marmaris. By 5.40am we had a blow out on the main motorway and we didn’t really know what to do. Luckily, we both had a working phone and our torches were able to flag 2 men down, despite the dark. They stopped, but spoke no English and were panicking that we had not managed to get the vehicle off the side of the road. We told them we had a jack and some tools but the bolts were too stiff for us and they didn’t know how to change the tyre for the spare. We managed to get in touch with a Turkish friend and he was on his way but would be about 40 minutes, we put the 2 men on the phone so that they could speak in Turkish to try to help further. We established they were Kurdish and that they were insisting on us moving the car off the road, which they helped us with and we had to push. By 6.45am we were in danger of missing the 8.45am ferry from Marmaris to Rhodes. As I was booked on the 11am we would have to ask if my friend could get on the later one with me. I took photos of the car’s predicament in case we had to prove our excuse for being late. Our Turkish friend arrived in a yellow taxi with a mechanic and they fixed the car. We gave them simits in case they were hungry and they followed us to the next junction to check all was fine with the car – it was. Ferry check-in was at 7.45am but we arrived at 7.46am and the staff member was great. She let me switch on to the earlier ferry at no cost and all was fine. I’d already taken a sea sickness pill as I anticipated a rough crossing but I was thinking I might take another. We were a little in shock that we had made it to the ferry in good time and there were even little bunnies just freely hopping about. The Yeşil Marmaris Lines ferry, left Marmaris at 8.45am, we got sandwiches and tea for a total of 400 lira (£9), and they were fresh and filling. We both decided to take a sea sickness tablet and we were asleep before we had even got out of the dock. When I did wake up an hour later, all I could hear and see were far too many people being sick – not all of them in to the bags that the staff were desperately trying to hand out. It smelled and sounded horrendous, I could see land in the distance through the very choppy sea but I closed my eyes and went back to sleep!
By 10am we were getting off the ferry, through immigration and I headed for the souvenir shop to ask if they did left luggage. The very nice lady there told me to follow her to a shelf at the back of the shop and we popped my rucksack in a hidden room for the day at a cost of just €3 (£2.51). I was glad that I didn’t have to carry it as it was jammed full but it did mean that I could probably have added in some duty free gin if I’d not been so concerned about avoiding vomiting passengers. I still had to pick it back up when we came back at 4.30pm to check in for my friend’s return ferry.

My travel buddy for the day already had a list of things she wanted to see while on the island of Rhodes, and was very keen for us to take the bus to Tsambika Monastery. We walked from the port, along the harbour and via the boats filled with stuff made from shells. The bus ticket from Rhodes Town to Tsambika Monastary on the 11am no.23 bus cost €3.30 (£2.76) each. The bus was in, we only just made it and I think I remembered where we should get off to head for the monastery. On a few of my visits to Rhodes, I had gone past it on the bus on my way to Lindos or Lardos.

It took us 50 minutes to get there and the sun was already pretty warm so I wasn’t relishing the thought of walking to the top but my friend was so keen to see this place and I’d never been. A Greek lady who also got off the bus and was wanting to visit the Tsambika Monastery was chatting to us, in Greek, as a car came past and we flagged them down. The 3 of us managed to cram in the back and got a lift to the first main car park, then set off walking. My friend reminded me a little of Captain Caveman as she forged on ahead, stopping to briefly check I was still following. I finally reached the top at 12.30pm and took a selfie at the Greek flag.

The old monastery is built on top of a big hill with gorgeous views to the sea and the surrounding area, the views over the beaches of Tsambika and Kolymbia are pretty amazing too. Like a lot of tourist attractions, the monastery itself was underwhelming, small and full of vendors selling religious tat. My friend loved it and had already taken photos while I had a puff of my inhaler. The 300 steps with just a small bottle of water and some polo mints had been hard work and there was no time to rest at the top. We had to descend the 300 steps, buy some more water and get back to the bus stop on the main road by 1pm. I’d asked when we had bought the bus tickets what time the return bus was and got told 1pm, the driver had told us 1pm from Lindos so we weren’t sure as we flagged a fancy car down and we got a lift to the bottom with some kind locals. We both needed a wee as there were no toilets at this tourist attraction. We waited ages for the bus, other potential passengers came and went, we drank all our water, ate our emergency apples and generally moaned about the sun and lack of any shade – we could see how Michael Moseley could have got in to difficulty in this type of terrain and temperature.

I was just about to go in to the bushes for a pee around 1.50pm, when the bus came and we were very glad to get on it. By 2.30pm we were safely back in the old town and ready to tick off another few ‘must sees’. My friend was quite a lot more taken with the Temple of Aphrodite than I’ve seen any other person be, as we simply walked past it in the ruins and walls.

By 3pm I was ready for food and a drink. We sat upstairs at Archipelagos and ordered a glass of rosé wine for €7 (£5.85) each and a main meal each. I chose the pork skewer for €16.50 (£13.80) and my friend went for the beef stifado at €17.50 (£14.63). The food was lovely but we were only just going to make it to the ferry port in time to check in.
I retrieved my left luggage and bought another bottle of water for 1 Euro then it was time to say farewell to my travel buddy. We had enjoyed a great day out in Rhodes and I was glad she had finally had someone to suffer the monastery with her.

At 4.45pm I was on my way out of the port and off to the bus station, once more. There was a bus which would leave at 5.25pm and take 38 minutes to get to a hotel near to where the girls were staying in Ialyssos, on the North West of the island. My bag was heavy, the sun was strong and I was tempted to get a taxi but there were none about. The bus stop was crowded and there was only one bus coming so I decided to walk back to the taxi rank and pay the €15 (£12.50) for the 10 minute ride. Unfortunately, without a working phone, I couldn’t find the location and the taxi driver only new the approximate place. I asked a waiter at a nearby restaurant but he was too busy and unhelpful. I finally found the villa, which was about 10 metres away from where the taxi driver dropped me in the first place!
Finally, after a very long and eventful day, I was reunited with Clare, Kelly & Louisa at the extremely lovely villa. I was welcomed with hugs and rum which was nice and then given a little tour of the premises, logged on to the internet and I shoved my bag in the twin room. Even though I still had to work while I was there, I was sure I would get lots of time to enjoy being with my friends again. Dinner was a fantastic buffet of meats, feta cheese, salad and bread which went down very well. I hardly took any photos as my phone was on charge after today’s jaunts. We stayed up chatting and catching up on who was doing what, while drinking. I stuck to just rum with ice as I had got so used to not drinking any fizzy drinks or juice most of the time and didn’t want to dilute it. That night, I was so tired I could’ve slept on a washing line and I did not need any help nodding off.

Photo credit – some photos taken by my travel buddy

Dalyan – 5th to 7th September

It was a busy day in my world on Thursday 5th September. My sister and her husband were arriving tomorrow so I had to make sure that my parents’ place was ready for them. I only had a biscuit for breakfast as I had to go to meet the cleaner at my parents’ apartment. There is only 1 key so I said I would meet her back there at noon
I had a morning in Ortaca where I first went to the council office to identify which property I actually lived in on their maps and get an address certificate, then I paid the council tax up to date at a cost of 2426.20 lira (£54.16) to bring everything up to date in order to proceed with my residency renewal application. The next job was to call to see the insurance broker where I got myself a new annual policy for 1,924.20 lira (£42.95) but was very basic cover and probably doesn’t really cover anything but accident and emergency.
Back in Dalyan, I walked over to my parents’ trying to get there in time to pick up the key. It was hot and I hadn’t put any sun-cream on as it was packed. As I arrived at 11.59am I saw the cleaner riding away on her motorbike. I left my bags, including wine and stuff for the fridge, outside the door and walked to King Emlak to retrieve the keys. Once there, I had a bit of a chat with Leanne, picked up the keys and walked back, a sweaty mess.
I stayed there for a glass of water and a pot noodle then had a call with my boss. Things weren’t very good for him as his son was in hospital in Hanoi, and it was quite serious.
I warmed up a mystery defrosted dinner and added some pasta to it for my dinner. Tomorrow I was going to enjoy a leisurely day before my sister and brother-in-law arrived.

It was a long day on Friday 6th September. My sister, Gayle, and her husband, Neil, were going to be arriving at Dalaman airport at 10pm tonight so I was making sure everything was ready for their arrival. My Mom had given them a spare key for the apartment but she wasn’t sure if it worked as it was a newly cut one that had not been tried yet. I had the other key so it had been arranged that I would be at the apartment when they arrived tonight. I started the day with tea and toast while reading the news that a typhoon was about to hit North Vietnam. Captain Cavemen was currently in Sapa but was due to travel to Hanoi very soon. He called me while he was out walking with our friends and didn’t seem unduly worried about the weather at that point. I got on with as much work as I could and tried not to worry about the weather in Vietnam. I just had a cheese and crisp sandwich for lunch. I had a break from work and popped over to check the elusive gardener at Captain Caveman’s apartment, it was impossible to tell if he’d done anything and it still looked uncared for, in my opinion. Then I popped to Captainnet to sort out my parents’ internet and extend it for the month. This cost 675 lira (£15.13) for the top plan, as my Mom would be organising for the TV Firestick to be put on for Neil. I bumped in to Drew who was at Mono & More with Pete & Carol so I stopped for a pot of green tea. It was very hot today and I was all of a fluster so it was nice to sit and have a quick catch up. The tea was really good and only 60 lira (£1.35).
I also called at the bank to transfer the rest of the required amount in to my Turkish account, this then meant that I could get the print out of my account to show the deposits for the last 8 months, including this month. On the way back, I noticed that there was a new clinic in town, next door to Şok supermarket in the old market square, where they displayed information and access to a private ambulance, as well as various cosmetic procedures like mammoplasty, gastric sleeve, hair transplant, liposuction, botox and filling. I said hello to Lou Colson who was working there now, as the receptionist, so she was the first point of contact to book appointments for these sorts of procedures which were very popular in Turkey now.
The rest of the afternoon was spent working and then I went over to my parents’ apartment to make sure everything was ready for the new arrivals. Luckily I had my laptop and something to eat at the ready so that I wasn’t sat about doing nothing. I warmed up a chicken casserole for dinner and opened a bottle of rose wine while I tracked their flight. Unfortunately, they were delayed but when they arrived they were very excited to be in Dalyan. We opened a bottle of fizz that I’d had chilling and Neil had a beer in an iced glass. Gayle is coeliac so I’d got some rice crackers with prawn, pork and spring onion (Banh Ep, from Vietnam) for her to nibble on. It was 1.30am when I got to bed and I was quite tired so I didn’t take long to fall asleep.

When I woke up on Saturday 7th September, I checked the news to see that Hanoi had most certainly been hit by typhoon Yagi and it looked pretty horrendous in parts of the capital city. Captain Caveman was safely in Sapa but was going to head to Hanoi today. I was concerned and said he shouldn’t travel but stay where he was until the storm had passed. He thought it better to get out while he still had the chance. I got on with lots of work and decided, while my boss was caring for his sick son in a typhoon, I would make the most of finding new sales opportunities from Facebook and news articles where Travel Agents were posting about the weather conditions.

I’d mentioned going to the Saturday market with Gayle & Neil but they couldn’t be bothered so I went much later than usual and it was unbearably hot with a full rucksack. I got some bargains, here’s what I bought and the prices in lira;

Saturday Market
Mushrooms, Grapes & 3 peaches 85.00
4 onions 5.00
3 red & 3 green peppers 15.00
Plums 30.00
4 Apples 30.00
16 fresh figs 100.00
Total spent 265.00 lira (£5.94)

On the way back I also called at the shop for other essentials;

BIM Supermarket
1.5l Water 6.50
2 soda water 12.00
3 tins sweetcorn 61.75
Total spent 80.25 lira (£1.80)

I still needed more and had to drop the stuff off then go back to the supermarket. I decided to treat myself to more water and some juice as I was super thirsty. I was surprised to see the difference in the price of a bottle of water between Migros and BIM, though.

Migros Supermarket
1.5l Water 25.25
Croissant 27.95
Milk 28.25
Washing up Liquid 33.95
Cherry and Apple juice 49.95
Total spent 165.35 lira (£3.71)

I had juice and a croissant for breakfast which was not Slimming World friendly and then another cheese sandwich for lunch. I worked for the rest of the afternoon and the AC from the bedroom cooled the dining area enough too.
Captain Caveman arrived during the eye of the storm and managed to get to his hotel unscathed, but the damage in a lot of Hanoi was bad. I had a quiet Saturday night in and had figs, plums and grapes while cooking a really good mushroom risotto for dinner. I had an early night, while Hanoi got hit by the worst storm that they had encountered since 1964.

Photo credit – Vietnam photos taken from various sources/new articles.

Dalyan – 27th & 28th August

It was a bit of an admin day on Tuesday 27th August. I put the rest of the money to make sure I had deposited enough in to my Turkish bank account for residency purposes. I asked the Health insurer for my renewal premium and I had a response from Nationwide about my complaint to the CEO, it was still ongoing. For breakfast I had overnight oats with berries, peach and grapes. Lunch was cheese spread on wholemeal toast and some strawberries. I managed to catch up on some work and not spend any money or drink any alcohol so I was pleased with that.
Dinner was a chicken and chickpea curry with steamed rice although I was missing my rice cooker. Before bed, I totted up my syns and the weekly total was only 102 – under target for the first time in months!!!
I had gone 1 whole week without a drop of alcohol and was very proud of myself. If I had not lost any weight when I got on Carol’s scales tomorrow, I would be very upset.

Before I’d even eaten breakfast on Wednesday 28th August, Captain Caveman was on a video call to me from Victory Road Villas. He was back from Dong Hoi and had a good time catching up with some friends to start saying his goodbyes as he prepared to leave Vietnam. Veronika was there with her husband so I got to speak to her briefly and we hoped we would be catching up somewhere in the world soon.
After the call, I took my measurements and found that I had put 1cm on my bust but I had lost 2cm from both my waist and hips, which was good. I was looking forward to getting to Fat Club at 3pm so that I could check if I had lost the weight I was hoping to have. I checked my emails to find I’d had a reply from the insurance broker who had increased my premium from 1,900 lira (£44) per annum to almost 50,000 lira (£1,163) which was completely ludicrous. I wrote back to challenge it and was told, that is how much I have to pay as a foreigner if I want to keep my policy. I wrote on the To Do list to find another provider which would insure me on continuous terms.
I just had fruit and a Yorkshire tea for breakfast and got on with a couple of hours of work. At 12.30pm friends came to pick me up as we were off to the prison for lunch. The prison is not far from Dalaman airport and has a café, a restaurant and a shop. One of the ladies hadn’t before so it was a bit of a treat but I needed to be back for 2pm, ideally for work, but definitely by 3pm for Fat Club.
I ordered chicken soup, we all had a soft drink as, with it being a Turkish establishment, they didn’t sell alcohol. I wanted to order the half chicken for main as I had to get weighed but they didn’t have any chicken dishes left. I had to opt for a pide but I decided to take most of it away so that I didn’t weigh too heavy. When it came, it was huge and I only managed 3 pieces of it before it was time to go.
Here are the prices, in lira, of some of the items (including mine);

Water 10.00
Soda Water 10.00
Mezes 25.00
Diet coke 30.00
Chicken Soup with bread 50.00
Lahmacun 60.00
Half a chicken 90.00
Pide with sucuk 160.00

My 2 soda waters, soup and a pide came to a very reasonable 230 lira (£5.35) and I paid 250 lira (£5.81) to include a tip. It was already 2.05pm when my pide came so I would be going straight to Fat Club. I had no internet to be able to let anyone know, should I be late. After a browse round the shop where my friend bought a necklace, we were ready for off. It was already 3.45pm as we got to town and I had to rush in to Fat Club, pide in hand. I had made it only 6 minutes before the meeting finished. To my delight I had lost 1.45kg (2.9lb) and I was happy with that. I still had and paid for the 25 lira (58p) water, so not to be cheeky and then went straight home.
That evening, I joined Jamie on the dog walk and we met Ann & Stuart and their family at Ela’s Kitchen. I was determined to continue to not drink alcohol for the rest of the month so I just had a big water for 60 lira (£1.40) which Jamie paid for. The 5-7pm happy hour offers did look good though, for future reference. We found an escaped dog, which the taxi driver owner came to collect, and the grandchildren got a stuffed cat as a gift – that would certainly surprise them when they woke up. Meanwhile in the UK, Oasis (the band) were performing a comeback tour and lots of people I knew on Facebook were about to pay a fortune to see them or be disappointed they couldn’t get tickets.
Back home, I finished off the pide and ended up taking the rest of the sucuk off it, to reduce the amount of syns and so that I didn’t eat as much processed food. I was trying my best to lose the weight I had put back on in England.

Dalyan – 13th & 14th August

By 9.30am on Tuesday 13th August I was in the supermarket getting some essentials, having been to the bank to deposit more cash. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
3 onions 4.48
Fresh bread 10.00
Pasta 10.75
Milk 28.25
Chickpeas/beans 31.90
Tinned Tomatoes 40.95
Carrots 49.67
Cheese spread 54.00
400g Mushrooms 59.95
Total spent 289.95 lira (£6.77)

Having read some Facebook posts about how expensive everything was in Turkey now, I was pleasantly surprised to have got a bag of shopping for less than £7 and was definitely not seeing a massive increase, yet. For breakfast I had some fresh bread with cheese spread and a cup of Yorkshire tea and then for lunch I had a cheese sandwich without butter. I was going to put a wash on as I realised Ma & Pa had a washing basket of stuff that could do with putting in the machine and I had quite a bit to do too. I popped to the A101 shop and bought 1.5kg of washing powder which was on offer at 62.75 lira (£1.47) which was pretty cheap. I spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and washing, then I popped round to Jamie’s to pick up my cases. I met the nephews who were very polite young men as well as having a quick catch up with Jamie and Drew. Of course, I got to have some love with the dogs, Norman and Edna, who seemed happy to see me and Edna wanted to know if I’d got any wine!
Back home I made a simple mushroom and tomato pasta, using a bit of pasta water and a cheese spread triangle for the sauce. It was Fat Club weigh in tomorrow, after several weeks in England, and I knew it was going to be bad so I ate some cheese and crackers before bed. My total syns for the week were 393 so I really needed to get back to the Slimming World plan in an effort to shift some of the weight I had so clearly put back on.

At 8.30am on Wednesday 14th August I was at the bank putting in the rest of the lira required in my Turkish bank account to maintain my residency. It had taken a bit of effort but I’d managed and had a little bit at the ready for next month. By 9am I was in the supermarket again getting more shopping now that I’d had time to plan a bit, for what I would need. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Potatoes 5.58
Red cabbage 27.53
2 tomato puree 31.90
1 tin chopped tomatoes 40.95
Sweet potatoes 41.86
2 Quark 59.90
Chicken thighs 121.97
Chicken breasts 148.54
Spray olive oil 149.90
Total spent 628.13 lira (£14.68)

There was a definite increase in the price of meat and Quark since I’d last been here but it was still very cheap in comparison to the UK. I called round to see Sonuç, of Dalyan Airport Transfers, to pay him for my taxi which was £30 but I gave him 1300 lira.
Back home, I did my measurements to find I had lost 3cm from my bust, my waist had stayed the same and I had put 2cm on my hips. I had Yorkshire tea and some chocolate for breakfast, which wasn’t ideal, then cracked on with some work. Today marked 2 months of working for this employer which meant it would be pay day tomorrow. It would be given to Captain Caveman, so I still didn’t physically have it and I had to be ultra-careful with money until he arrived in October.
At 3pm, I was at Fat Club to face Carol’s new scales and a funky new app that tells you lots of information about your body. I had put on 1.6kg (3.5lbs) in the last week but 4kg (9lbs) since I was last at Fat Club 6 weeks ago. I had a small water which now cost 25 lira (58p) and a good natter with the girls who were all looking fabulous and had lost more weight while I had been in England.
After Fat Club, and feeling motivated to get back on the wagon, at least until the weekend, I called in to the supermarket again for some fruit. Here’s what I got, prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Plums 20.55
Nectarines 32.07
Curry powder 39.95
Oats 47.95
Frozen berries 99.95
Total spent 240.47 lira (£5.62)

For my very late lunch I had more mushroom pasta followed by nectarines with Quark then got back to work, but not before throwing a few ingredients in to the slow cooker for a chicken casserole.
After work, I ate some crackers and cheese spread while I waited for the casserole to be finished for dinner. Captain Caveman called, he was on holiday from the caves and had a trip to Cambodia planned. Instead of a glass of wine, I had a cup of Yorkshire tea, unpacked my Clinique moisturiser and had an early night.

Otford & Gatwick airport – 11th August

There was lots of packing activity in the morning of Sunday 11th August and it wasn’t just me! Clare was off to meet her friend in London so was planning to get the mid-morning train. She had very kindly offered to take some of my clothes to alleviate me of the extra 2kg I had in my suitcase. Clare has always been one of those friends that is super reliable and solutions driven when it comes to any issues and she had me sorted right out these last few days. She took the warmer clothes and some PJs so I had some clothes in Rhodes and it was even more of an incentive to join her there on holiday next month. In the end, she took 2.5kg and I was so grateful for the help. Claire and Mark were also packing as they were expecting all 4 kids back this afternoon and were off on a holiday tomorrow morning. What should have been a busy family day, didn’t prevent my hosts being so hospitable and Mark made us a full English breakfast with the right amount of builder’s tea.
After the gorgeous breakfast, Claire and I walked Clare to Otford train station and said our goodbyes, I was desperately hoping that I would make it to Rhodes to see her again. Back home, Bee was the first of the children to arrive back at the house and it was great to see that she had really enjoyed her holiday to Turkey. I hadn’t seen her since she was about 2 years old so she didn’t recognise me. I did some work as I would be travelling later and may not be able to work tomorrow. For lunch we had a bit of a picnic with hummus, carrots, corn, pitta and even a sausage and some chicken. This was my last meal with Claire as we were leaving for the airport in a few hours. The rest of the family returned and went straight to their rooms to chill out, pack and repack for their holiday. I briefly met them to say ‘hi’ and give Bee some ‘borrowed’ face decorations from The Bull to play with Ivy.
I weighed my suitcase and found that it was bang on the 20kg allowance, thanks to Clare and that I had managed to snaffle the Mini Cheddars and a bar of Dairy Milk.
At 4.30pm I said my goodbyes after an amazing week in Otford and Claire drove me to Gatwick airport. I was surprised to see that they charge to drop off there and for a few minutes it was £6. We hugged and I started to get emotional, made worse by the fact we didn’t know when we would see each other again. Before I could cry too much Claire said to get in the airport as if we cried much longer (over 10 minutes) the drop off fee went up to £26 and we didn’t love each other that much! I walked in to the airport, pushing the cumbersome trolley, laughing and crying at the same time.
I was early for my flight but I was glad as the airport was absolutely rammed, mostly with families some of who were quite challenging. Once I’d dropped the suitcase off I went through security and didn’t even have to take out my laptop which was handy. I headed to the Whetherspoon’s pub and ordered using the QR reader app. I spent £20.95 on a mushroom pizza and a glass of rose wine, which wasn’t too bad for an airport. Through to the gate we were delayed and it was very busy but I got in quickly. Interestingly, there were 2 queues and the one for the people with special assistance or lanyards was very long. I was the only one in my queue and went straight through where I found a seat and got a water to use up some of my English change. It cost £2.80 from the machine and was nice and cold.
The queue to get on the plane seemed to take far too long to go down and lots of people were sweating a lot as it was almost 30 degrees at 9pm. We boarded late and I fell asleep on take-off. I was so grateful to have had the past 5 weeks in England with so many friends and family, I almost didn’t want to leave but I had a birthday party in Dalyan to get to!

Otford – 10th August

Saturday 10th August was my last official full day and night in England and the girls had plans to really make sure I enjoyed it to the fullest. I had once again declined the kind offer of an outdoor fitness session in favour of getting a bit of work done before the fun began. My legs still ached from the last one and the top up of impromptu dance moves last night. One of our other friends, Liz, was driving to Otford today to meet up and was already on her way by the time I met Claire and Clare for breakfast. Sally’s Café Emporium in Otford is absolutely amazing and, before I’d even tasted the food, it was going on to my list of favourites. The amount of cakes they had was immense and we were going to have breakfast there first, then take cakes away. I ordered pancakes with fruit and honey, Clare had eggs benedict and Claire had the fantastic combination of porridge, fruit and a hash brown. The tea, of which they had lots of different ones, came in china teapots and cups with saucers and our breakfast was a veritable treat. We paid for breakfast, which was reasonably priced and then got in the queue for the cakes. Claire, Clare and I chose fruit scones with butter, jam and clotted cream to take away, we got one for Liz and a brownie for Mark. The 5 cakes only cost about £20 and were massive.
Back at the house, I was still fuming about the Nationwide bank issue and Clare, who uses the same bank, transferred £50 in and I gave it her in cash. That way, if I couldn’t get it sorted before the next £13 charge, and because I wouldn’t be in the country from Monday, it wouldn’t incur more charges. My mom would bring my card out before the end of September and I could use the online banking to close the account. Clare and I also decided that I was going to send another strongly worded complaint to them in an effort to close the account and be done with it.

Liz arrived in the afternoon and made it into the town centre car park so that she could charge her electric car. Claire went to collect her and there were tears when we hugged each other. It had been such a long time since we last saw each other and I was really looking forward to spending time with Liz. Claire had prepared the spare room for her to stay over, I’d put the duvet and pillow cases on, and Mark had the heavy job of sorting the sofa bed out. Unfortunately, though, Liz was unable to stay and would have to drive home after dinner. I was sad that she couldn’t stay longer but at least we had the day together – it was a travesty that she would miss the Kake & Karaoke night which Claire had booked us in to tonight. Meanwhile, our other friend, Kelly, was on her sick bed and couldn’t make the weekend either and was feeling rather sorry for herself to be missing out.
Lunchtime was great and we had a chicken caesar salad with edamame beans in and then it was time for tea and the scones. It was the first time in my 5 weeks of being in England that I had eaten them and it was well worth the wait – there was even a proper tea pot and tea cosy.
In the afternoon, we had a wander to Otford town to pick up Liz’s car and called in to the antique shop for a quick look around. A drink was had in The Bull where last night’s dance floor had turned back into a dining room for pub food customers and we sat outside in the sun. It was a glorious day, ideal for getting me ready for the Turkish temperatures I would soon be enduring. Mark and Claire put on another BBQ and I’m sure they were getting even tastier each time. I ate sausage, chicken, pork, sweetcorn, feta salad and baby new potatoes. The pink fizz was flowing for the girls who didn’t have to drive and Mark joined us with beer. Poor Reg, the dog, had a long lesson in patience as he tried his best to get in on the meat action.
It was sad saying bye to Liz, although there was a chance I would see her, Clare, Kelly and Louisa in Rhodes next month, if all went well with my residency renewal.
I checked in online for my flight from Gatwick, leaving the next day at just before 9pm and would arrive at Dalaman at 3am. The rest of the evening was spent playing cards, something I rarely do as I’m not good at concentrating on the game. Mark taught us a game I had never played before, called Cheat, and I loved it. It was really funny playing with friends we know so well and a man I had only known for a few days with a lengthy career in the police force. Of course, it was absolutely hilarious and we sacked off going to the Karaoke night in favour of playing Cards Against Humanity – one of my favourite card games.

Otford – 9th August

When Claire, Clare and I started the day on Friday 9th August, none of us had any idea that we would be part of an event that might go down in the history of Otford. I started the day with a short spell of work and a warmed up leftover chicken tikka masala, rice and garlic naan, washed down with a cup of tea for my breakfast. The girls were good and had protein shakes after they came back from the fitness class in the park, the one I was still aching from! While Claire had meetings and work to get through, Clare and I took ourselves off on a little adventure. We walked to the train station and got a ticket to Sevenoaks. I even managed to operate a ticket machine and pay on card the £6.40 for 2 of us, before the train arrived so my skills were improving in the somewhat cashless UK. The walk up the hill in to the town was a killer on my legs and even Clare welcomed the stop off in Marks & Spencer’s. We had a good old look around and Clare found something to buy while I resisted. It had been so many years since I’d shopped willy-nilly that I now had the default setting of not getting anything. When we got to the town we located the Nationwide and I stood in the lengthy queue to close my account, for the upteenth time. I didn’t mind that the queue was made up of the old and disabled and was extremely slow moving as I felt like today would be my lucky day. I’d even had a message from my Mom to say my new bank card had arrived back in Sheffield and the old PIN was still active. When I finally got to the front, the lady explained that she wouldn’t be able to close the account as it was £3.54 overdrawn so I needed to pay that in to close it. I tried to remain calm but in the end I gave her a £20 note and told her to put £5 in and then close it, the balance could be transferred in to my other account. She paid £5 in and then said the system wouldn’t allow her to close it, and maybe there were more charges to come, which she might not be able to see. I asked her to check and she said the account looked fine, with a £13 fee due at the end of August so she didn’t know why it wouldn’t close. I left very annoyed, Clare took me for a cup of tea in a nearby café and listened to me rant on about what a ‘useless set of twats’ the Nationwide were being. Her Dad in Canada had experienced a similar predicament with the same bank but he had got his account closed and all the fees and charges refunded. We decided we needed wine to sort out a plan! After a little detour for me to pick up a small gift for Claire for hosting me (and her forthcoming birthday) we found wine in a very nice pub. The man serving behind the bar at The Restoration welcomed cash which was great, including 50 pound notes. He even told me of an incident last week of one of their other pubs having to close when they had a system failure and couldn’t take card. Clare and I discovered they had a rather nice Pinot Grigio which we had with soda and I splashed out on some pork scratchings and spent about £20 in total and we’re there a while. I only had 3 days left in England so I was sure that I was going to miss pork products like the scratchings, until I broke my tooth on one. Claire joined us after a trip to the opticians and getting her new glasses which looked great. We drove back to Otford via the Sainsbury’s where I treated myself to new PJs for £7.50. Mark was in charge of the BBQ once again that evening and we had a fab feast of meat, salad and rice before getting our gladrags on for an evening with a bit of a difference.

One of the local pubs, The Bull, in Otford was hosting a Gay Pride night on Friday 9th August and Claire, Clare & I were off to support it. Each of us had a bright outfit on and I was grateful to have brought my £6 multi-coloured long sleeved shorts suit with back fastening. On arrival at The Bull, we were greeted by friendly staff and decided to try their Rum Punch special cocktails. They were strong but good and we bumped in to a guy who looked like he’d just clocked off work and was having a pint of Carlsberg. The guy was from Leeds so he and I instantly had that Yorkshire bond and became buddies straight away. The girls and I discovered sticky jewels for faces and that a bottle of decent wine was on offer at £18 so more than one of those was enjoyed. The do was quite quiet, as I’m not sure Otford was yet the hub of the gay scene, or even had many open supporters, so we gave it a go at keeping it lively. I suspected an old couple who’d come out for their dinner, had to rush their pud to make sure they were out of the way of any of this sort of shenanigans in their local on a Friday night!
By 9.20am, I was dancing like a bad Rick Coffey (Google him, he’s one of my idols) on a carpeted corner of a dancefloor, giving it everything I had, including a solo chair dance performance to Lady Marmalade! We had such a great night and my aching leg muscles from the fitness class had only just started to loosen up. I met Guy, a gay from Otford, who personally thanked me for supporting Gay Pride at The Bull and emotionally shared that he had never imagined such a thing would ever be happening in this fairly traditional village of Otford. I assured him that he really wasn’t going to be the only gay in the village now and then broke in to a dance with Mr Leeds. My choice of outfit had proved itself troublesome with the double button fastening at the back when I had to take the whole thing down for toilet visits. I did manage to keep my sleeves dry and I knew my Mom would be proud I’d not peed on them. It was after midnight when we got home and Claire, Clare and I were shattered after such a memorable night. I had loved it and knew I’d sleep well that night and probably ache a lot tomorrow!

Knutsford & Otford – 8th August

Claire and I were up very early to get ready for our busy working day on Thursday 8th August in Knutsford. I ate muesli, half a croissant and a sausage and bacon muffin for breakfast with a couple of cups of tea. We drove to Claire’s work where she signed me in with the meticulous health and safety security man and I got positioned in the delightful kitchen/canteen area. I was so happy when Claire told me to help myself to hot drinks and that the hot chocolate was amazing. For future reference, I found 3 was probably one too many. I also had a couple of herbal teas and worked for a few hours in my new office. Mr Meticulous came in a few times to risk assess me and warn me of the plague of people due to hit the area at noon – that was actually Claire and her colleagues and there were certainly no more than 12 of them. MI5 was definitely missing a trick, not having this employee!
When we finished at noon, Claire had a client meeting and I wanted to attempt to close that bank account at Nationwide. We parked in Knutsford town, where I had been before, and I walked down the main road, Claire went the opposite way but gave me the car keys thinking I wouldn’t be too long. She was correct, as the Knutsford branch of Nationwide was closed today! Instead, I went to the post office to change some US Dollars where I only got £187.50 for $270 and I thought that wasn’t great. I tried to get in touch with Claire to see if she needed anything getting for the journey back but noticed my phone didn’t seem to be working. I topped up my GiffGaff SIM with another £10 for good measure and hoped it would work but there was still no signal. I sat in the car as it had started to rain and Claire arrived shortly after for us to set off back to Kent.

On the way back we stopped for petrol and I bought some healthy food at South Corley services, here’s what I bought with prices in pounds;

Waitrose Supermarket
Strawberries £3.25
Blueberries £3.75
Taiko Yasai Poke bowl £6.50
Total spent £13.50

The salad (poke bowl) had edamame in with all sorts of veg/salad and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Once eaten, I was back to concentrate on our Caraoke!!! Claire and I sang pretty solidly for about 3 and a half hours and had a right laugh. Back home, we were running late but luckily had timed it right with our arrangements for a meet up with another friend.

Clare had come over on the train from London, following her after-work drinks and we were off to the local India restaurant. Our fine dining experience at the Tamarind restaurant was so good and here’s what we had with prices in English;

1 pickle tray £2.10
1 Garlic Naan £2.95
1 pilau rice £3.95
1 Coconut rice £4.10
1 Mushroom Bhaji £4.10
1 Matar paneer £4.10
6 popadoms £4.20
1 pint Magners £4.95
1 pint Kingfisher £5.10
1 bottle of Cobra £5.50
1 Lamb Bhuna £7.95
1 chicken tikka masala £9.95
1 chicken Khorai £9.95
Side dish – free
3 Bailey’s – free
3 Baby Guinness shots – free
Total cost £68.90

I thought the meal, at less than £23 each, was an absolute bargain and tasted so good, we even took some home for me and for Mark for the next day. It was a lovely meal but the restaurant was very warm and we are ladies of a certain age so we didn’t hang about, apart from to partake in the free Baileys and shots of Baby Guinness, obviously. Outside was cold and dark on the way home but it was nice to have some fresh air. Clare doesn’t work Fridays so we had arranged to go in to town while the other Claire was working tomorrow and I was going to also meet up with Holly’s mom, Lynda, who didn’t live far away.

Otford & Knutsford – 7th August

Claire and I had exciting plans on Wednesday 7th August as she had to be up north for work and I had agreed to keep her company. I could hardly get out of bed and my whole body ached from yesterday’s workout. I got on Claire’s scales to find I had put on 0.7kg (1.5lb) which was not bad, considering what I had consumed. My measurements were much less favourable having put 2cm on my bust, and 1cm on both waist and hips. I now needed to lose 4.7kg (10lb) to get to target and that was going to be difficult. I had my tea and toast for breakfast and decided that it would be something to worry about next week!
I had a message from our Estate Agent in Dalyan to tell me there was an incident at Captain Caveman’s apartment complex and someone had left the outside tap on. The pool had overflowed badly, the road was covered in flood water which the gardeners said wasn’t them. It turned out it was probably our pool and garden company and I, as well as our tenants, were so impressed that they had turned up and put the hose on that we were willing to overlook the tap incident, mistakes do happen. However when the agent got there to speak to the Gardening company, they said it definitely wasn’t them!! I think it was.
Claire and I worked from home in the morning and then drove from Otford to Knutsford. On the way, we stopped at services to grab some lunch. Claire had another wrap and some crisps, while I went for the New York Deli Pastrami M&S sandwich deal with a brownie. We both ignored the money saving tip for the drink and just got water – but Claire was wearing white trousers. I was having trouble with the new style plastic water bottle tops which stay attached to the bottle.
We arrived at Cottons Hotel & Spa in Knutsford quite late as it had been a long drive and I’d done my best to keep Claire entertained and fed with wine gums. We had to log on to do some work emails and then we popped on our swimmers and decided to make use of the spa facilities. We had a sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and some swimming which was so lovely before going back to the room for a nice glass of wine and some nibbles while lounging in our room.
Claire arranged for us to meet a colleague for dinner and we ordered food in the bar which was very nice. I had (yet another) steak and ale pie which would more than likely be my last one in a while. Back in the room, we finished some wine and nibbles and put some weird jelly-like patches under our eyes. I’m not quite sure what they were for, but it’s some strange beauty phenomena which had become popular in the UK since I’d been away and we didn’t have any cucumber slices. I fell asleep while watching a very peculiar dating TV programme called Naked Attraction – it involved contestants who have trouble meeting people romantically but are not shy at exposing themselves to all and sundry on national TV.

Otford – 5th & 6th August

Monday 5th August at Claire’s was really nice, I had tea and toast for breakfast and gave Reg, the dog, some attention. All the kids were away now and Mark had gone to work so Reg was finding the house rather quiet. Both Claire and I had work so she took to her desk in the office and I used the dining table. I called Herdy back about my broken Herdy bag and the nice person asked me to email photos and organised a new one to be sent to Claire’s address this week. I offered to post the old bag back but they were happy with just photos and didn’t want me faffing around. I was very impressed with their customer service so can highly recommend them if you happen to be in the Lake District any time soon.
At lunchtime Claire and I broke off from work for a quick trip to Sainsbury’s. I needed an adapter plug for my Turkish laptop to charge it up and Claire had found a pack of 3 for £11.99, they didn’t do just one. For lunch Claire made us a rather lovely chicken caesar salad and we had strawberries, blueberries and raspberries afterward. I was being good until tea break when I had a cup of Yorkshire tea and 4 biscuits. I was already on over 350 syns for this week with a couple of days to go to weigh day so I was not doing too well.
After work, we walked Reg and I saw how pretty the village of Otford was, then Mark and Claire cooked an absolute feast of a BBQ and we sat in the garden with a cider or 2. I had chicken legs, vegetables and rice and it was so tasty. In the evening we lounged, chatted and ate some chocolate.

Claire had very kindly booked me in for a class on Tuesday 6th August, first thing in the morning. She regularly does a class in the nearby park and had invited me along. Claire’s also training to run another marathon so, as you can imagine, the class was way beyond my (lack of) fitness capabilities. There was a beep test and floor exercises and running – quite frankly, it nearly killed me for about 45 minutes. I also ruined any good work I had done by having a sausage sandwich with my cup of tea for breakfast as soon as we got home. Even in the shower my legs were like jelly and I knew I was going to ache tomorrow. I did a couple of hours work before Captain Cavemen called, he was doing his next Oxalis briefing in a few hours. For lunch Claire and I had chicken, cheese and sweetcorn pittas followed by a chocolate rice cake and another cup of tea. More work was done before getting ready for an evening out in Bromley – it had been a while since I’d last visited. Upstairs I found a new friend in Dave, the cat, who had been napping on my bed after I had left the bedroom door open. He did not want to move so I left him there while Claire and I nipped off to the cinema.
Bromley did not look like it had changed too much and we managed to get parked on a side street and find a supermarket to get our cinema snacks from. Tesco definitely had a better choice of Meal Deal items and I treated us both to ‘dinner’ for just £6.80 as Claire had paid for the tickets to see Longlegs.
I opted for a Katsu chicken wrap, a Naked Blue Machine smoothie and a Wall’s pork sausage roll while Claire chose a spicy bean wrap, a protein bar and a chocolate milkshake. I’d been reading tips from a money saving expert about how never to buy water or crisps on the meal deal as you’re not getting the best value. It was an absolute bargain as the non-deal price was £13.30. We had really good seats which reclined and were super comfy. The film, starring Nicholas Cage as a nutter, was pretty scary and jumpy. I’d say worth a watch but don’t have a blueberry smoothie open at the scary bits! We didn’t have any popcorn but we did take a packet of Minstrels in from Claire’s and ate a few but were full from our lovely meal deals. I had finished the week on 450 syns and was quite glad that I would not be going near Carol’s Fat Club scales tomorrow. I was intending to face them the following week, though.

Sheffield to Otford – 4th August

I’d taken the day off work on Sunday 4th August as I was leaving Sheffield and going to visit Claire in Sevenoaks for a week, before flying back to Turkey in 8 days’ time. Claire had already offered to take me to Gatwick airport when I left so that I could get back in time for Nanny Kay’s birthday meal on the 12th. Even though my National Express bus from Sheffield bus station was at 12.45pm, I had decided to go early because of the delays we had with Captain Caveman’s departure. At 10am I was outside the garage door with my suitcase, waiting for my parents to lock up and come with me. Dad had my rucksack, complete with teabags and wine bucket – it was finally leaving Mosborough!
We arrived in to the bus station before 11am and decided to walk over to the nearby train station. None of us had eaten breakfast but when I take a bus I refrain from it so that I don’t have a bad stomach. While Ma went and got her and Pa bacon sandwiches and coffee at the Starbucks, I bought a bottle of water for £2.49 in WH Smiths – how much!? I should’ve brought tap water but I didn’t have a bottle to put it in.
When the Sheffield Tap opened (at 11am) my parents were still eating their bacon sandwiches as there had been a long queue. We decided to have a pint in the pub before it was time for me to walk back to the bus station. A pint of pale ale, a stout and a cider cost me about £15 – better value than bottled water!
We walked back to the National Express stop where there were 2 buses and I said my goodbyes and thanks to my parents. I got on the second bus which wouldn’t be stopping at Golders Green but going directly to Victoria, just what I wanted.
I sat about 3 seats from the front next to a man who, when he was on the phone was quiet, so I liked that. The drivers were not quiet, however, and we had to listen to endless drivel about their colleagues and political opinions all the way. We stopped off at Northampton services for a toilet break and I bought some sweets and some chocolate as I was peckish. £5.50 for 2 bags was a bit of an extravagance but that included a supposed £2.48 discount and I did have to use a self-scan check-out.
We arrived in to London Victoria bus station on time at 5.15pm and I had a train to Otford due at 5.42pm. I went straight for the information desk and they told me which platform. Captain Caveman had already bought me the train ticket when he bought me the bus one and I just made the train. By the time we were pulling in to Otford station I didn’t even realise mine was that stop but saw Claire waiting on the platform. It was great to see her after what we think is probably over 5 years!
We got to her house and was met by Reg, the cute pup. I met 3 of the 4 kids as Bee, ironically, was in Turkey and Mark for the first time. The Prosecco was opened and an amazing roast pork Sunday dinner was dished up – my first since being in England! We had a great night, drinking fizz and later rum while catching up and I felt like we’d not really been apart. My bedroom was so lovely with a comfy bed and I slept so well that night.