When I got up on Monday 7th February I discovered several people I knew, and had been out at the weekend, had either symptoms of, or tested positive for Corona. I decided it would be a good idea to do a lateral flow test despite not having any symptoms, just in case. While I waited the 15 minutes for the result I read in the news that schools in Vietnam would reopen at last, more here: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/education/20220207/vietnam-starts-reopening-schools-after-yearlong-pandemic-closure/65605.html There was also an article about how the people in Vietnam were queuing for Corona tests, following the Tet holiday: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20220207/in-vietnam-people-queue-for-covid19-tests-after-tet-holiday/65601.html Luckily, I was negative because at 2pm I had a meeting with a decorator. This is when I noticed I was missing a glove and that my boots were a mess from walking through the roadworks after the party at Sofra bar at the weekend. In the afternoon I went to Migros for some shopping, where I bought the following:
I was pleased to finally find a bowl for popcorn but then remembered the popcorn maker lid was missing so I didn’t get to use it. I had a very late lunch of bread with homemade baba ghanoush, a Babybel cheese, some crisps and an apple. I also cooked a 3 egg omelette to go in rice for dinner later. I made sweet and sour chicken to go with the egg fried rice for dinner which I really enjoyed. I also marinated some chicken in tandoori tikka paste for tomorrow. Captain Caveman had invited Tatas round to his place in Phong Nha and they were drinking wine, we had a video call and I saw he was cooking bacon pasta for her to try and he was pretty drunk as she had taken wine round. It was good to see them and I missed being there, drinking wine and talking about cave issues. It had been a pleasant day, my 2nd week of doing some work where I had managed 5 hours today as well as being a domestic Goddess! I’d also decided that tomorrow I would try something new in my ‘lunch hour’.
When I woke up on Tuesday 8th February I read the news that a Chinese city near the Vietnamese border was in lockdown due to Corona, more here: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/international/20220207/china-locks-down-city-of-35-million-near-vietnam-border/65600.html In Dalyan it was windy, bad weather and lots of rain was forecast. I didn’t have any breakfast as I had an exciting event planned at midday which I needed to ensure my stomach was good for. Because I’d clearly found it easy enough to dance for quite a while at Alp’s birthday party, without too much pain, it was time to get more active. I joined Maria’s Zumba Gold class with a few other ladies and I’d gone for the easy session as this group is better for my leg. I foolishly stood at the front of the class which meant I had to keep going and had no chance for a cheeky rest. I actually enjoyed it and I was worn out after dancing for about an hour. Back home I had baba ghanoush, bread, Babybel cheese, crisps and some fruit cake for lunch and had a busy afternoon. I did my Turkish homework and accidentally finished the worksheet because I’m enjoying being on fuller sentences. I made tandoori chicken for dinner with rice and had plenty of leftovers for the freezer along with the rest of the sweet and sour chicken. I spoke to Captain Caveman who really made me laugh when I asked him if he had any plans for Valentine’s Day. His response was ‘I think the answer you want to hear is no’! Unfortunately there was some sad news; poor Carrot, the Elements Collection dog, had died! Captain Caveman didn’t know the details just that he was gone. I finished the night off with something on Netflix and some chocolate orange.
At my Turkish class on Wednesday 9th February we learned even more useful sentences. It was a lovely sunny day in Dalyan, although in nearby Köyceğiz there was a big storm which caused flooding, more here: https://youtu.be/SASXGcrsSM0 When I went to the bank I saw that there was more progress on the road improvements but it still seemed to be taking a long time to finish. I had more baba ghanoush with fresh bread and a Babybel cheese for lunch (no crisps today) then had sweet and sour chicken with steamed rice for dinner. It happened to be the 3rd day of me not having an alcoholic drink so it was only about right that Ann and I should plan to meet up tomorrow for a cheeky afternoon wine with some of our friends.
I was at King Emlak to see Leanne at 11am on Thursday 10th February. Captain Caveman had asked me to pay the council tax and it was proving difficult without any paperwork so Leanne was helping me sort it out. We had a good chat and then I went to my Zumba Gold class. I had leftover sweet and sour chicken for lunch, then popped to Lukka bar to meet more decorators. It was a sunny afternoon, Penny and Phil were there so I sat for a chat but didn’t get a beverage, until after the meeting. I joined Penny and Phil for a white wine and soda while sat outside in the sun. I’d arranged to meet Ann, Sarah and Debbie (Darling) at Wonky’s but Ann came to join us at Lukka for one. We got to Wonky’s late, Debbie (Darling) had decided not to join us and Sarah was working and on the phone. After one wine we decided to go to Porta Dalya for some dinner and more wine, the place was busy but welcoming. I should have stuck with having the pasta, like Sarah did, but I opted for the chicken shish and Ann had the chicken schnitzel. Mine was fine but I do prefer the chicken and mushroom Alfredo from there. While we were eating Ann said that she had seen Mal earlier who mentioned meeting up with a few of the other expats so we went to a new bar. It wasn’t officially open yet but in we went and had a jolly good night.
I have no idea what time it was when I went to bed in the early hours of Monday 24th January after the frivolities of the night before’s Comedy night at Lukka Bar. The initial CSI style evidence check downstairs showed that we had drank whiskey, white wine and red wine, there was a coffee cup but I don’t have coffee in the house. I found soda water and Coke zero in the fridge, the apartment was very tidy still, there was a nice scarf on the sofa, a pair of black leather gloves, a couple of blankets and lots of glitter! I checked my phone and gleaned information from the other ‘party people’ that when we got back I had put Rod Stewart on the music channel, which was great as I didn’t even know how to, and it must have been a request as it would never be my choice of artist. I messaged the rest of the gang to all meet in Jiks at 1.30pm for a ‘post-piss-up’ debrief over much needed food, not realising at the time that most wouldn’t make it. At Jiks there was a glimmer of sun so they had all the doors open and it was freezing, I was the first to arrive and ordered an orange juice and a cup of tea. Due to hangovers it was a slim turn out, I had a bacon sandwich and another juice, I could hardly eat it and was about to go back home to bed but the sun was out and a window table became free so we moved. I was about to go home, after leaving most of my breakfast, when Roy had the bright idea to have a wander round to Tez bar for a bit more sun as it was really warming up a bit now. As it was on my way home we decided to join some others there and this time I had an IPA blonde beer, a hair of the dog at 3pm. Captain Caveman got in touch, he asked how my comedy night had gone but I didn’t get to speak to him as I was still out. I made my 1 beer last until 2 more friends arrived then had one more beer. I’d almost forgotten that I’d agreed to go to the Wonky’s quiz but I couldn’t do it alone so messaged Jamie for reinforcements.
At Wonky’s I ordered a mini burger which came with chips for just 50 lira (£2.71) and decided the only way to get through a quiz with a hangover was wine. Jamie commented that it looked like I had got dressed using a charity bag as I was wearing Christmas patterned trousers, a pink t-shirt, a camouflage hoody, a multicoloured scarf and a black coat – fetching, but I had only gone out for breakfast! Everyone enjoyed the quiz but most of it was way beyond me, even The Beatles section which I thought I would be good at. It turned in to a mental Monday evening and Jamie got told off by the quizmaster for having his phone out (he was reading an email) and people were smoking indoors which I didn’t like as it made my cough come back again. As another bottle of wine was ordered to get us through the rest of the quiz, we made friends with a new couple in town who had just moved to Dalyan. Debbie left first as she still wasn’t feeling well, then Sarah as it was a school night, then Roy. As the rest of us were about to leave, it started to snow so we had another drink thinking it would stop but it just got worse. It was definitely after midnight when I went outside to check how bad the snow was for my walk home and saw that it was settling and coming down very quickly. I did have my boots on, but not my wellies, and I certainly had enough layers of clothes to be warm enough but I knew I was drunk and shouldn’t walk home alone. I was walking (actually drunkenly skipping) down the newly concreted bar street while sticking my tongue out to catch snow on it. It felt so strange but fun until I put my hands in my pocket and noticed I didn’t have my phone. I was suddenly stone cold sober – not my phone!! I went to bed, as I went to turn the light off my glass of red wine from Sunday night still sat in my Jacqueline De Plonk glass on the bedside drawers!
On Tuesday 25th January I didn’t even wake up with a hangover, just a snowy Dalyan and a real panic that I had lost my phone and that really upset me – I can’t believe I would be so careless! I got up and decided I was going to go out to try to find it and report to the authorities. There was no way anyone could get hold of me without it and only Jamie had my new Turkish phone number. I was hungry so I had some buttered toast for breakfast and had just eaten it when there was a knock at my door. It was Jamie with my phone – I was so excited and relieved. He had received calls and arranged a meet up with the person who took my phone by mistake at the quiz. Dave, the new man in town, had mistakenly put it in his coat pocket during the Wonky’s quiz and hadn’t realised until he got home! Jamie and Dave had arranged to meet up this morning to return it which I was very grateful for. I was definitely happy about getting the phone back and was looking forward to a quiet day and night today but I’d already arranged to go to Jamie’s with Ann and Nanny Kay for a Sunday roast – it was all go! Captain Caveman messaged to say he was off to his Son Doong briefing tonight and would be off in to the cave for 4 days with customers tomorrow and I was pleased he was busy again. Jamie picked me up at 6.45pm, we had wine and pre-dinner chat with lots of laughs with Nanny Kay and Ann, before we sat down to a roast beef dinner which was fantastic. There was beef, veggies, and three different potato dishes as well as Yorkshire puddings and a full on cheese board for afters. The wine and chat flowed and we didn’t end up going home until almost midnight, after a wonderful night.
I was looking forward to a quiet(ish) week on Monday 17th January as I got on with some chores, including making a bolognese in the slow cooker, ready for dinner later. I had also lined up a few interviews and discussions with various people from my LinkedIn connections about doing some paid work for a spell, just part-time temporary positions until a more permanent opportunity presented itself. I had leftover Sunday roast for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it. The pasta bolognese for dinner was so good and it was another day of zero booze.
On Tuesday 18th January I arranged to meet Jamie for lunch so that he could try Kebapçı Yusuf for the first time. This was not before I managed to almost embarrass myself and Captain Caveman in front of the advisor for the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, as you do. It was cold so I had on my thermal lounge wear with my fluffy dressing gown on top when Captain Caveman video called. He was at Chay Lap drinking with Vinh and his son, who had just returned from their trip to Son Doong. I was on the video call when Captain Caveman noticed my dressing gown at the same time he wanted to put Vinh on to say hello so he pointed it out. My reaction obviously was to take off my dressing gown, to expose my perfectly decent black top underneath but Captain Caveman didn’t know I had anything underneath and thought I was stripping off! It was nice to see them in Vietnam having a good time, though, but I had to go get ready for my lunch date. Jamie and I both ordered the Turkish sausage pide which came with complimentary side salad and fresh chillies at Kebapçı Yusuf. Even though I warned Jamie the chillies would be hot he still shoved one in his mouth – he didn’t have a second one. The lunch was lovely and we had a good chat and decided we would have a wander along to Lukka Bar for an afternoon alcoholic beverage. It was a very cold day but inside it was warm and cosy. For dinner I had pasta bolognese with birthday cake for pud and an early night after making a list of things to do in Dalyan for when my friend comes to visit in April.
Another day off the booze was had on Wednesday 19th January and my knuckles were still bruised but my face was less painful now. It was my Turkish class today and I was a bit tired because of not getting to sleep until about 2am due to it being so cold that I had to double up on duvets on the bed. Turkish class went well and it is helping me progress on Duolingo better but I still can’t hold much of a conversation with a local. In the afternoon the weather had improved, it was cold but dry, so I decided it was time to go shopping, properly this time:
I was certainly noticing the difference as prices in Turkey continued to escalate to try to cope with the extreme rates of inflation – I was managing ok but I really didn’t know how the locals were coping. I’d had no breakfast but I had a simit with beef ham and a cheese spread triangle for lunch, which looks boring but is one of my favourite things. I wasn’t too hungry for dinner so I just had a smoked turkey sandwich with 3 cups of earl grey tea and some birthday cake. Katrina and Abi made a poster for my comedy night as Jacqueline de Plonk, the event was on for this coming Sunday! By the time I was watching Catfish on my new Firestick TV I had to indulge in some crisps making a note to myself not to buy them as I find it hard to resist eating a whole packet.
On Thursday 20th January I woke up with a sore throat and a cough but I didn’t feel unwell. I lounged in bed a little while reading the news and saw an interesting article from yesterday on how you can now buy Turkish citizenship, given the economic crisis here, more info: https://tfiglobalnews.com/2022/01/10/in-a-desperate-move-to-save-its-economy-turkey-puts-its-citizenship-up-for-sale/ I had a cheese sandwich for breakfast and was slightly expecting a bad stomach from it, as this was the first uncooked cheese I had eaten this year – I was fine! After popping all the ingredients for a beef and ale stew in the slow cooker I decided to have a walk while the weather was decent enough and walked past my parents’ place. I saw a chicken cross the road and it reminded me I had better write my comedy routine when I got home. I did a bit more shopping for the things I was missing at Migros and I was still struggling to find a popcorn bucket or receptacle that didn’t involve buying a 5 litre tub of ice-cream to eat first. Here’s what I did buy:
Migros Supermarket
Ginger 5.60 Bounty 6.95 Apple juice 8.45 Milk 11.75 Mushrooms 12.67 800g Chicken breasts 32.17 6 mini magnums 42.50
Total spent 120.09 lira (£6.65)
It was interesting to see how much the price of meat was increasing so I got a bargain on the chicken while it was on offer, I suspected others were doing the same as there was not much of it left. The fresh milk was much more expensive these days too so I had gone for the skimmed UHT carton which keeps better but isn’t as good for pancake mixture. It was still shocking to see apple juice is cheaper than milk. I got a few treats in and hoped some fresh ginger would help with my sore throat and cough. Back at home I had a smoked turkey sandwich, crisps and a mini magnum for lunch then finished off half the bottle of Efes beer I’d used in the stew. That night I made Yorkshire puddings to go with the stew but they didn’t rise enough, despite tasting good and me having a very hot oven. The stew was so good and I was glad to have the slow cooker mix from the UK to put in it. For afters I had a chocolate spoon (the ones Ann bought for my birthday) with a couple of glasses of birthday red wine. The red wine made me cough more so I had a ginger tea and a Tylol before bed. Tylol is like an English Lemsip mixed with a Vietnamese Tiffy and it makes my heart palpitate so I have to be careful I don’t have them often. This time I was asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow.
I got up quite late on Friday 14th January, we were 2 weeks in to the year now and my health kick, and being a bit more sensible on my eating and drinking, hadn’t really started out well. It was weigh-in day and I was expecting a bad result but I had lost 0.75kg and I was happy with that. I was about to have some food when Jamie messaged to say he was at Tez bar and to meet him there. As the sun was shining I decided it was a good idea but was not expecting to see someone wearing shorts – it was warm in the sun but definitely unusual to find a Turkish man wearing shorts in Dalyan at this time of year. After a couple of IPA blondes, and a spot of socialising with friends, Jamie and I left to go to the supermarket, leaving some of the others who were going to Bingo night at Lukka’s. Unfortunately Jamie and I got sidetracked and ended up in Jiks having a couple of wines and a pizza, which was really lovely and I even ate the whole thing. I did go to Migros, as intended though but only for a few bits and bobs. I got home at a reasonable hour, had tea and biscuits and finalised the invites for Sarah’s birthday party tomorrow afternoon.
Saturday 15th January started very well but finished badly; I decided to go for a walk along the river as it was another sunny day and I wanted to see how the water levels were now. Unfortunately they were still extremely high but below the flood line mostly now. I could see the snow on the mountains and the tea garden had been completed demolished.
I’d had no breakfast so decided to have lunch out at Mahir, a local Turkish restaurant in the mosque square – a place I’d been meaning to go to but had never got round to it. I ordered a chicken doner kebab and chips with a coke and it came to 50 lira (£2.74). It was big, fresh and so tasty – definitely a new favourite now. While I was eating, Peter went past and I shouted him over for a chat then we left together to walk back down the river where I went to Lukka bar and Peter carried on walking.
It was Sarah’s birthday celebrations and a few of us were meeting at 3pm at Lukka for drinks and pressie giving. There was quite a turnout, we all sat in the sun having a beverage and I chose a Turkish cider. After 2 drinks, and as planned, we walked over to Sofra bar for the next bit of celebrating and a few more people joined us there. Nanny Kay had some nachos but spilled the sauce down her white jumper and Sarah had one of the delicious bacon sandwiches. Ann and Helen had chicken stir-fry noodles, Debbie (Darling) had a burger and Jamie had a sandwich and cheesy chips. I made the mistake of being too full on kebab and didn’t have any food so it probably comes as no surprise that the night ended messy!
Peter and Selahı were drinking rakı on the next table to us and people at Sarah’s birthday started to leave so we merged the party at Sofra. Even Sarah and Debbie (Darling) had vacated Sofra bar but Jamie, Ann, Peter and Selahı remained to come up with the bright idea of going to Jazz Bar. Jamie and I are dubious about the drinks there and didn’t want to go but, before we knew it, we were watching a very talented musician play a clarinet and had ordered a glass of wine each. The last thing I remember is putting Ann in a taxi home and then having a tequila shot!
I wasn’t feeling too spritely when I woke up on Sunday 16th January and was convinced that the booze in Jazz bar was dodgy. I had 3 swollen, slightly bruised knuckles on my left hand (I had to take my ring off) and my face hurt so I messaged Jamie and Selahı to see if they knew why. They didn’t, but something wasn’t right and we vowed not to go again. We had already booked in to have Sunday lunch at Heybe’s with Ann and when I got there, in my wellies, I stunk of cat pee. What a to do, I leave my wellies outside the door so that is why they stunk from the cat spraying on them on Wednesday night. We were all hung over, cold and drinking soft drinks while waiting quite a while for our dinner. We had tomato soup for starter, beef with Yorkshire puddings for main and apple crumble for dessert. I really struggled to finish mine, due to the hangover, and took half of mine plus a bit of Jamie’s home. We were all begging for mercy and I went home and got straight back in to bed!
I slept in until 10am on Monday 20th December and it felt good to have a lay in so late! After we put some washing in I walked with mom as far as the chemist, as she was picking up prescriptions, and I went to get the bus to town. I’d been in England for 9 days now and unfortunately I’d not been able to meet quite a few people who were still getting over the dreaded virus but today, after rescheduling, lots of lateral flow tests and concerns about logistics I would be meeting up with more friends. Poor Vanessa and Matt had been stuck at home longer than they wanted to be, due to a delay with their day 2 PCR test results but were finally free to be let out, Maddie was in Lincolnshire and was no longer coming to Sheffield due to other commitments, and of course my parents were trying to minimise risk by not going out, plus they had a food shop delivery due that afternoon. I got off the bus and walked to the wrong venue because I’d mixed up where I was planning on going tomorrow night but luckily I was early and had enough time to walk down towards where Debenhams used to be. It was heartbreaking to see so many of the high street shops now closed and, to say it was almost Christmas, it wasn’t nearly as busy in town as usual. I walked past the Christmas markets where quite a few shoppers were and arrived at The Furnace, a new addition since I’d last been back. I was impressed with Becca’s choice of venue as, not only did it look fancy, it was spacious, airy and almost empty. Becca, Caz and Nel were already there but there were to be no hugs which was sad, of course, even the menus were already laid out on the table. All 3 of the girls had suffered with Corona this year and so it was good to see they looked fab, especially Caz’s hair after a trip to the hairdresser’s this morning. We ordered drinks, and it was different to our past meet ups where we would have shared a bottle of wine. We all ordered food and drinks; I had a pint of lager, another pork belly dish and some poutine, Becca and Caz had fishcakes, while Nel had a Korean chicken burger and chips. All the food was fantastic, with the starters/sides being easily enough for a lunch and I’d definitely go there again – it was the cleanest place I’d been so far too (the toilets were immaculate)! Our next stop was made in an attempt to be sensible by being outside as we headed to the Christmas bar in the peace gardens. Vanessa had already let me know that it was just her coming in to town but she also had a shopping delivery on it’s way so we said we would go to the Alpine bar and wait for her. Of course, I had no WiFi on my phone so once we had all drank a rather expensive (£4.50) mulled wine in a small polystyrene cup, Becca messaged to check where Vanessa was. There was also another pop up bar at the top of Fargate called the Sleigh bar and she was there so we set off to meet her and bumped in to her on the way. We all had one more drink (£2.50 for half of dark fruits cider) at the Sleigh bar then it was time to say bye. Again, it felt funny to not be hugging, or even touching, each other and also not really knowing when we could all ‘get back to normal’. Vanessa and I had a wander back down Fargate to Marks & Spencer’s and we bought a few treats and some Christmas presents before sacking it off to call for a quick half in the Brown Bear. As I walked in to the half empty pub I had a wave of nostalgia as it was one of those boozers I loved to visit in the winter, with its cosy interior and no nonsense bar staff – there’s not even any WiFi. Vanessa bought us half a cider each and we just had time before I had to tog back up in winter layers to go to the bus station to get the bus home. I only just made it on time and, as arranged, I was home by 6pm. Mom had been busy making another one of my favourite English meals, toad in the hole (sausages in Yorkshire pudding, for the unfamiliar) and Dad was supervising the process. It was bloody lovely but my dad had a face on when it wasn’t up to his expectations and he thought Ma should have left it in the oven longer as it got a bit stuck in the middle. Mom was more worried that the ends would burn and I wasn’t complaining because I think I got the most sausages – I thought it was spot on. Dad seemed happier once we got a red wine on the go and we started watching something a bit odd on BBC1 called The One Before. After dinner I got a message from my friend I was meeting tomorrow night saying she had to cancel our plans which we had arranged some time ago as she had double booked herself. I had done similar in recent weeks so I was fine about it, I think once it gets in to December it is hard to keep track of everything that’s meant to be going on – I knew it was nothing personal and it was just one of those things. It was a shame I wouldn’t get to see Leanne this time but I hoped I would be able to see her in the summer instead and maybe even help her out with a new project she had taken on recently. I went to bed and, conscious I was falling behind on my Duolingo Turkish practice, tried to do some but ended up watching Lubricant (Russell Howard) in bed – it made me laugh!
I was excited on Tuesday 21st December to be seeing my aunties, Jill & Rita. They were going to be at my sister’s house around lunch time so, as I got up late, I had an M&S sausage roll for breakfast and read the Vietnamese news. In Vietnam cases were higher again (just over 16,000 in a day), and more deaths (250) in a day than in the UK, more info here: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20211221/vietnam-records-16325-coronavirus-infections-50191-recoveries-250-fatalities/64844.html My parents and I walked up the hill in Mosborough to my sister’s house where Jill and Rita had already arrived and the dog, Sumo, was going crackers over Rita while she tried to get her shoes off. There was an offer of a hot beverage or a glass of fizz and it was easy to see how the family split went; Jill was driving and so plumped for a cup of tea with ma & pa while Rita and I decided prosecco was on the cards – we aren’t one to turn down alcohol often. Gayle doesn’t have a normal kettle, more like a fancy teasmade-come-coffee machine type of appliance and so, while she fannied about with that, I poured the prosecco, not realising the champagne flutes were far bigger than usual. Rita and I had almost a half bottle of prosecco in each glass and it was rather moreish. I had planned on getting a photo of us all but between stories of excrement and Harold Shipman plus a quick quiz on what that name of the doctor my nannan hated was, I got distracted. I genuinely feel that the TV show Gogglebox has nothing on my family and I think cameras in my sister’s house would make for entertainment gold! There were chocolate cupcakes and luxury biscuits to eat and poor old Sumo wanted them all, he picked his moment to wolf down an unattended cupcake wrapper and wouldn’t let me or Gayle get it out of his mouth. When Neil and my nieces returned I found out something that all my English friends had been keeping a secret from me, something that I had said would be a great idea about 20 years ago and is now a thing – you can order a Macdonald’s! April, my youngest niece, wanted to order one and I was amazed that this now existed, even though she was told ‘no’! Neil got some white wine out and we carried on drinking, ma & pa had one and Rita had a whisky. It was good to have everyone together when we finally remembered Dr Paget’s name (crikey, we wouldn’t have slept tonight)! The walk back home was down hill and easier because I was merry and Dad zoomed ahead so he could put the fire and heating on for us as it was getting dark. My Mom really was pulling out all the aces as she had a beef stew in the slow cooker which was for dinner tonight and she only made her best Yorkshire puddings yet – Dad was happy! I had some stew left over for tomorrow and, instead of a night out in Sheffield as planned, I got to watch the 2nd episode of The One Before in the living room with Ma & Pa – I was a bit late to realise that there were 2 female characters, Emma and Jane, who I thought were the same actress (they weren’t) and wondered why it now was starting to make more sense. I didn’t have any wine with Dad tonight but I did finish off Clare’s blue cheese with Red Leicester mini cheddars for supper and really enjoyed them. We had some more family plans for tomorrow so I was in bed before midnight.
It had been arranged before I left Turkey that my parents and I would go to uncle Gary & aunty Jo’s for lunch on Wednesday 22nd December. They had moved house since I last visited but didn’t live too far from my friend, Sheree. I’d therefore also organised for a sleep over at Sheree’s after visiting my relatives. Unfortunately, due to the Corona virus those plans had to change, my cousin, Liz and her family, were coming back from Scotland and we needed to make sure Gary & Jo didn’t have to cancel due to catching Corona. In an effort for us all to still be able to see each other my Mom and Jo arranged that we would instead go for a walk around the lake(s) at Rother Valley at 11am. I explained this to Sheree and we decided we would come up with a Plan B once I got back from our country walk. To be quite honest I wasn’t looking forward to the cold or the walk, given that my ankle still hurts, my mom has a bad leg, my Dad has bad knees and my uncle Gary had not long since had knee surgery, and it didn’t involve a homemade lasagne or an alcoholic drink – we were more likely to be out of action from exisitng injuries than Corona! On my bottom half I put on my thermal tights underneath my Christmas leggings but only one pair of socks and my new boots, my top half consisted of a t-shirt, a hoody, a scarf, my big coat, a hat, gloves and a face mask – I forgot to put my ankle support bandage on but couldn’t be bothered to address that issue. It was great to see Gary and Jo and instead of cooking me a lovely lunch they had brought me a bottle of red wine, and from one of my favourite regions in Italy – I love a Primitivo from Puglia so I was very happy! We had a good walk around and didn’t go too fast, first I was chatting with Gary and Dad and we were having trouble keeping up with Jo and Mom who were speeding ahead with Henry, the dog. Once we had walked around one of the lakes I thought we might be cutting through but there was no chance of that, it was a 5km total loop around the main and northern lakes so not too far for able-legged people. By this time I was warm and had taken off my mask as there was only me who had kept it on, even though the UK rules don’t say you have to wear one if you’re outdoors. My feet were the only part of me that were cold but they soon warmed up when we swapped walking formations and I went to the front with Jo and Henry. It was great to see Gary & Jo while I was back and such a shame that we couldn’t go to the pub with them but the walk and chat was rather nice. This was the first time since tearing my ankle and knee ligaments that I have managed to walk 5km without limping or a sit down and I think having a slight heel on my new boots helped. When we got back home I made new plans with Sheree for tomorrow lunch and cancelled the plans I had for tomorrow daytime with my sister and my parents. This gave us a free evening at my parents tonight and of course we made the most of it. We only had fish and chips again and it was sad knowing this would be the last time until July next year! This time the chippy tea was even better than before as the owner had just cooked fresh fish and we had plenty of chips. Dad put the kettle on and we all had a cup of tea while we watched the last episode of The One Before – which was all a bit confusing. While we watched Live at the Apollo with Jason Manford, Dad fixed us all an alcoholic beverage, mom and I managed 2 sherries, each with 3 cherries, and thoroughly enjoyed our Harvey’s Bristol cream, seeing as it was almost Christmas. There were a couple of disappointments before bed though; today was the 10th anniversary of me meeting Captain Caveman but, because of the 7 hour time difference, I didn’t even get a chance to speak to him. My friend, Louisa, who I was looking forward to seeing tomorrow night, had sent a message to say that she had been in contact with a relative who had tested positive for Corona yesterday, she herself was negative on 3 lateral flow tests, and had already had Corona a while ago, so it was up to me if I still wanted to meet up. It was awful news, as we all knew we could catch the virus anywhere and at any time, but no one wanted to catch it for Christmas or jeopardise my mom’s operation.
When I woke up at 6.30am on Monday 13th December I checked to see if I had my PCR results back yet and I had. The email had been sent at 11.55pm last night, after I had fallen asleep, and was negative so I could now go out. I googled the bus time table and saved screen shots as I wouldn’t have access to a phone, or be able to Google anything, once I left my parents’ internet and I went for the 8.35am bus in to town. As I hurried for the bus I heard my name called and turned around to see Amanda and her daughter off to walk her dog, what a lovely surprise. I was dressed warmly but I did feel the cold on my feet in my Volleys and thin socks as I waited for the bus, which came roughly on time and wasn’t too busy. A single bus journey to town (Sheffield) is £2.10 but a return is £3.60 so I went for that and the bus was occupied with only 50% mask wearers, the windows were open, no heating on and the driver didn’t wear a mask, which I was surprised about as there was a sign to say masks were compulsory. It didn’t take long to get to town and not much had changed along the route during the 3 years and 4 months I had been away. When I got off the bus in Fitzalan Square I did notice they had smartened up the area next to the bingo which lead to Arundel Gate and it looked much safer. I was at the bank by 9.05am but I wasn’t the first in the queue and had to wait a short while to sort out my expired/lost bank cards predicament. By 9.30am I was in a rather empty Marks & Spencer’s looking at winter boots to keep my feet warm and dry. I tried a pair on which fit perfectly and would be ideal in the rain so I bought them along with socks, knickers and bras. A lovely lady who worked there let me put my purchases to one side to pick up later and also I was able to use the free WiFi. My Mom sent me a message to say she was leaving home to go to the optician and, because I didn’t have a key or know if Dad would be in, I looked for an alternative to going straight back to Mosborough. I almost went to meet Gayle, my sister, at Meadowhall shopping centre but I’m not a fan of that place and a friend who worked there had just been commenting on Facebook how she was sick of people there not wearing masks in shops. Instead I decided to find a place for a spot of breakfast and saw that one of my old favourites was still around.
I decided to go to Marmaduke’s for my breakfast, it wasn’t too busy and the place had screens up between each table. I ordered a bacon sandwich with a cup of Yorkshire tea and it was served pretty promptly. The breakfast was excellent, there was free WiFi and I got a message from my Mom that she was back and Dad had been at home anyway. I decided to pay and go to get the next bus home, but I’d not accounted for the fact that, due to Corona, some places don’t accept cash and I had just cancelled all my English cards to get new ones reissued. All I had was my Turkish one which when presenting it to the waiter was told it was useless as it had no chip on it and I was meant to wave it at a tray like device he was holding. I had no idea what he was talking about and he now had to request help from his supervisor because I wasn’t allowed to pay cash. As I was explaining that my card is from a Turkish bank, he said the transaction had already gone through, without the need for a PIN or a signature, and I was shocked. Apparently I have a contactless card which I didn’t realise and so now I was able to get the bus back to Mosborough via Boots where I picked up some imodium, senocalm medication and a new ankle support (at a cost of £23) as my ankle was still playing up from walking on hills. The bus station in Pond Street was very cold and completely empty, the bus had just 2 other people on. My sister had finished having her nails done and came over to my parents’ house bringing cakes and we all had a cup of tea while I tucked in to a massive piece of Yule log, Dad also had a piece but my Mom had fruit cake and Gayle had gluten free fruit cake. I had an idea that we should go out for a festive drink to the micropub on the Mosborough high street and I booked us a table online for 4.30pm. I’m not saying my Dad was keen to go but by 4.15pm he was at the door waiting to go to the pub. I’d not seen my sister in over 3 years so we decided to give the ball a bit of a kick, I had a gluten free IPA, my parents had a pint of stout each and Gayle had a mulled wine. I’d managed 2 pints of the IPA, 2 Brockman’s gin and ginger ales and possibly a Bailey’s. It was great to catch up over a few drinks, the small pub was really good but, of course, we overdid it and by the time we’d had 6 rounds it was time to get a takeaway. Gayle ordered curry from Khushboo and the rest of us ordered pizza but when we went back to get mom she was worse for wear and we had to send for reinforcements. My brother-in-law, Neil, came with the car and took us all the very short distance home and we had an impromptu party, where my niece must have thought we were all mental. This day has now been named Mad Monday by our family and we all burst out laughing every time we talk about it!
My hangover on Friday 10th December wasn’t as bad as it probably should have been but there was no time for breakfast as I had stuff to do. I was flying to England tomorrow so my To Do list was a bit hefty and it was weigh-in day. I had put on 0.5kg so I was now back to the same weight I was when I left Turkey in January 2020, my starting weight for my 20 months in Vietnam. My measurements weren’t so thrilling either, I still didn’t seem to be able to shift that 1cm difference in my leg measurements and my bad leg still needed to increase – maybe the Sheffield hills would do the trick! I went to the bank to transfer some Turkish lira in to my current account for my 18 day holiday and the bank also gave me a new card, which they said was my credit card. It was a bit annoying that when I had put the money into the Turkish bank it was worth 3 times as much as it was today, but I had no money in my English bank and no access to use it anyway. Still, I was cheered up by the cat allowed to sleep on the table in the bank without having to show their HES code and social distance! I got a message from Sarah, who was working from home in Sofra bar, to see if I was coming to join her. I went there, I narrowly avoided falling in to the drainage holes by slipping on some gravel in the road works, then ordered orange juice and a bacon sandwich, they do the best ones in town! I had a bad stomach, no surprise there, and so I went back home to pack. In the afternoon I went to meet Maddie (it was her birthday), Vanessa and Matt at Tez bar and also get my PCR results, in order for me to fly tomorrow. My test was negative, I had a coke, Maddie had a couple of rosé wines with sprite then Vanessa and Matt arrived for their PCR tests as they were flying from Antalya on Sunday. I still hadn’t been able to complete my PLF required to check-in at Dalaman and entry to UK because I was waiting for my day 2 PCR reference number from Collinson, so that was stressful. When it eventually came through, after numerous emails and my mom trying to call them, it was dark but I was packed. I completed it, went round to Vanessa’s and Matt printed it me off, along with my Turkish vaccine proof. On my way back I called at Heybe’s to say bye to Maddie and the gang, who were all there to celebrate with a chateaubriand which looked beautiful. Even Sarah’s dog, Yaps, was hopefully sniffing at the door and walked home with me – I thought Sarah may have been in Lukka but she wasn’t there and I didn’t get to say bye to the Lukka lot. I booked my train from London St Pancras to Sheffield when I got home and gave myself 1 hour from the PCR test at the station, then I decided to go to bed. Unfortunately there was a huge storm which kept me awake, then a powercut followed by a few leaks and drips! I set my alarm for 7am and hoped 5 hours sleep would be enough before the journey home I had tomorrow!
I ate a buttered crumpet (from the Mulberry Tree restaurant in Fethiye) for breakfast on Sunday 5th December and, whilst it was delicious, I did get some stomach pains and was a bit bloated. In the news, questions were raised about if Corona vaccines will be made mandatory in some countries, here’s the link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59506339 I had some messenger chat with Captain Caveman who was doing well but we discussed that going to England for Christmas might be a bad idea. The number of cases was rising, I had no insurance, my return flight could get cancelled and most of all I might contract Corona between having my Turkish PCR test and getting to my parents. My mom was due to have an operation at the end of December so I was reluctant to put her further at risk than was necessary and, apart from going back to visit people, I needed to sort out my banking situation. Having said that, I wondered if moving my trip to January might be better. I arranged a video call with my parents to discuss and I aired my concerns about coming back and potentially not being able to go out, if restrictions increased or things got worse with the virus. I’d already changed plans of staying in London or travelling down south to catch up with people as soon as I arrived. My parents said it was up to me but they were happy to take the risk of me still coming to visit and my mom said she would check the rules of when she had to isolate and test negative before her operation. We left the call with me deciding to sleep on it because I had another important meeting to get to. Vanessa was at mine ready for our trip to Tez bar, just round the corner – we were going to confirm the times of our PCR tests, do our Turkish homework and have a glass of wine. I ended up having 3 glasses of red wine and Tez helped us practice our Turkish by introducing us to his daughter who works in Ortaca. Tez also managed to flog us some prawns at 70 lira (£3.79) a portion, they were lovely but we had to order some extra chips to go with them and the sauces were a bit random. That night I was going to stay in but as I went to the shop and then needed the toilet, I had to call in to Jiks, where I had pizza and another glass of wine. Here’s my shopping, from Migros supermarket, prices in lira; 1 pack of biscuits 2.75 1 pack of turkey ham 3.15 1 caramac type chocolate 6.50 2 packs of crisps 8.00 1 pack of wraps 11.25 1 pack of spinach 11.90 1 pack of chicken breast 20.03 Chestnuts 24.95 6 mini magnums 27.50
Crikey, I was poorly on Sunday 28th November!!! I’d been up a few times in the night with a bad stomach and I woke up so dehydrated and hungover that I had to go back to bed. I had to cancel meeting up with Vanessa and Janet to go to the Christmas fayre and I really did think I had just got a bad hangover but it seemed to get worse as the day went on, no matter what I did I could not recover. Vanessa hadn’t been able to come to Maddie and Onur’s housewarming on account of her being ill so I did wonder if I may have got something similar as there was a bug going around. By the afternoon my shoulders and chest muscles were aching and I felt like death. While the people of Dalyan went out and about, the sun came out and I spent all my day between sofa, toilet and bed – I’d only had a litre of wine over 7.5 hours last night so surely it wasn’t just a hangover! In the Vietnamese news there was a few reports that the international tourism trial was not working and there were a few problems with that. I did have some good news that day though, friends who I had met in Phong Nha had sent me a wedding invitation for 2022. Bryan and Kendra, who will be visiting Dalyan for New year are getting married in Georgia and so I got a save the date, which is great news – I’ve never been to Georgia so it would be a good excuse!
By Monday 29th November I was still not much better but I forced down some cornflakes, I still had a bad stomach, muscle aches, a headache and was a bit clammy so I didn’t do much. In the news there was an official update of the requirements to enter England, effective from 4am on 30th November and to be reviewed in 3 weeks, these would be the rules that would apply to me on my forthcoming visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-to-england-from-another-country-during-coronavirus-covid-19 By 3.30pm I decided a bit of fresh air and a trip to the shop might be in order. I could hardly concentrate and felt terrible as I bought the following:
Migros Supermarket
1 plastic bag 0.25 1 pack of polos 2.50 1 Bounty 4.95 Crisps 7.00 1 gold chocolate 7.00 1 litre of cherry juice 7.50 4 Probiotic drinks 12.26 1 pack of chicken breasts 20.85
Total spent 62.04 lira (£3.60)
On the way back from the shop Sara (from River Terrace) brought my order from the Christmas fayre that I missed. When I got in the apartment, I ate the Bounty and some crisps washed down with cherry juice and went back to bed. When I woke up I felt a lot better and decided to make a proper meal for my late dinner. I had beef köfte and homemade chips with BBQ sauce and all seemed fine. Later I had a mince pie and a chocolate orange truffle (from Sara) and my stomach was kind of ok. Unfortunately I had cancelled having a curry at Ann’s tonight as I didn’t know if I still had a hangover or if I had a bug. I hoped I was better for tomorrow as Vanessa and I had a very important trip planned.
I had hardly any sleep and felt like I couldn’t do a bus journey on Tuesday 30th November so I had to cancel Vanessa again – it’s a good job she’s understanding. Instead, I forced buttered toast down and went back to bed, I had cups of tea and lots of water but didn’t really start to recover until almost dinner time. It was a cold day and I had lots of layers on so I decided to have meat and potato pie with carrots, mushrooms and gravy to make me feel better. It was not only delicious but I was almost back to normal by bed time and the pastry didn’t give me a bad stomach.
I had a busy day at the start of the week on Monday 22nd November. The lira was at 15 to the English pound so my money was now at half the value of when I put it in the bank, which was disconcerting. I was too busy checking all the up to date rules for my forthcoming trip to England that I completely forgot to have any breakfast. I found that I was going to need all of the addresses of where I would be going in the first 10 days of my stay so that I could put them on the PLF, I also needed to decide on at least 1 address to stay at, for the first 2 days – this was going to be tricky as I didn’t really have a plan as yet, but I needed one before I left Turkey. I decided to have a bit of a clear out so that I could donate any bric-a-brac to the white elephant stall at the Christmas fayre this year and I came across a lamp without a working bulb. I had a walk to the Millennium shop to buy a replacement to see if it worked and the weather outside looked like it might rain at any time. The forecast had said to expect a lot of rain this week and so I decided to go to the new A101 supermarket on the high street and Migros to stock up on essentials. Here’s what I purchased, I will let you decide what was actually essential:
A101 Supermarket 1 packet of chicken noodles 2.20 2 bottles of soda water 2.70 1 pack of sigara böreği 6.90 2 packs of crisps 10.40
Total spent 22.20 lira (£1.48)
Migros Supermarket 1 plastic bag 0.25 1 pack of biscuits 2.50 2 simit 4.50 1 Bounty 4.95 1 packet of bechamel sauce mix 6.45 1 toastie loaf 9.95 1 jar of tomato paste 9.95 1 pack mushrooms 11.49 3 probiotic drinks 12.75 1 pack lasagne sheets 13.95 1 can baked beans 17.95 1 jar of pesto 22.95 1 pack of beetroot 24.90 1 bag of chestnuts 24.95
Total spent 167.49 lira (£11.17)
While I was packing my shopping I saw Maria from Askins estate agents and we had a little chat, then I paid and left to go home.
The lamp bulb was replaced, it worked so I decided to keep it and, after dropping off the shopping and eating a simit for a quick lunch, I decided to go for a walk to the doctor’s. I got a message from Maria to say I had left my Migros card at the supermarket but she had it at work and I could stop by to collect it, which I did – it was really kind of her to do that. My app said I could go for my 2nd Pfizer jab now so I thought I’d make sure that I was still booked in, especially as I needed to have 14 days clear before I landed in England. It was a nice walk along the river but the streets where the road was being taken up was a mess. The doctor confirmed I should come at 9.45am on Wednesday for my next Corona vaccine so that was good as it gave me 2 days spare. On my walk around town I bumped in to Viv who had just been to Alp’s Balıkcim for sausages, which made me want some. Alp has a section of English stuff so I made a few purchases as a treat:
Alp’s shop 1 bottle of HP brown sauce 1 can of baked beans 1 jar of tandoori paste 6 pork sausages 1 Cumberland sausage wheel
This came to a total of 150 lira (£10) but the beans were on offer at 12.50 lira so I couldn’t resist buying another for 5 lira cheaper than in the supermarket.
While I was out, Ann had messaged to ask if I fancied meeting at Heybe’s for an early dinner so I did. She had wine, I had tea and when she ordered her usual chicken schnitzel I decided to go with the potato skin starter. When it came it had a jacket potato with it and was gorgeous but I couldn’t eat it all so I took the jacket potato part home to have with my leftover Sunday dinner tomorrow. By the time I got home it was dark, had gone quite a bit colder and I saw that the Vietnamese Corona cases were on the rise again.
It was probably the coldest day so far on Tuesday 23rd November and I was wearing a fleece indoors as I ate my simit, cheese and olives for breakfast. I decided I still needed provisions for the massive week of rain that was forecast so I togged up and ventured out to the shops again;
Şok Supermarket 3 red onions 3.22 1 packet of roast chicken bags 4.15 4 carrots 7.16 4 probiotic drinks 19.80
I also picked up a bottle of wine from Tolga’s wine shop for 45 lira (£3), never mind the rain I was ready for a blizzard!
I had a late lunch which consisted of my leftover Sunday dinner and yesterday’s leftover jacket potato (both from Heybe’s) which was absolutely gorgeous. My next mission was to make a lasagne from the bolognese that I had bubbling away in the slow cooker and could use my new glass containers for batch freezing some of it. I got peckish while it was cooking and ate a Bounty and then some chicken pieces with BBQ sauce. When the lasagne was ready I had to taste some so I cut off the ends and ate those, it was really good and I would look forward to more of it in the next couple of days. I’d been watching a series on Netflix called Cuckoo, with comedian Greg Davies in, and was finding it quite entertaining so I watched more before bed and set the alarm so that I didn’t overlay for my important appointment tomorrow.
I’d been having probiotics every morning for just over a week and, although there were some improvements, I definitely wasn’t ‘cured’ as I was well and truly about to find out on Saturday 13th November. Vanessa had very kindly invited me on a trip to İçmeler today and, as this was a road trip, I was conscious that I certainly didn’t need a repeat performance of what happened on the Mediterranean Highlights trip only 3 weeks ago. I made the decision to only have the probiotic drink but no breakfast and then I had no chance of having a dodgy stomach, even though I felt absolutely fine. I knew another 5 of the other trip goers already (Michaela, Janet & Kevin, Martin & Wendy) and the minibus was full so it was only 50 lira each for the return fare. On the way there I started to have the rumblings in my tummy so when we were asked if we would like to stop off at a cafe made from an actual aeroplane I jumped at the chance. I’d been past it many times, although I had never had the chance to visit, but this one wasn’t about to go well!
We’d arrived at the aeroplane cafe and I desperately needed the toilet now but the cafe was closed, fortunately for everyone a man came and opened up for us. The toilets didn’t have the water turned on in the Western style toilets but there were containers of water in the squat ones so I went and was definitely not well. As I opened the door to get out of the cubicle I cut my finger on the lock and then had quite a bit of blood which wouldn’t stop. I joined Vanessa and a couple I had not met before (Andy & Julie), Vanessa had got me a Turkish tea but as I sat down the chair had a puddle of water on it and my top and trousers were soaked. Great! Vanessa and I paid the 10 lira (less than a pound) to go in the plane and it was very strange but interesting so I’d definitely recommend it! I needed the loo again before we left and I felt exactly like I did on the last road trip!
On the bus I found out that when we got to İçmeler we were all booked in for either fish and chips or pie and chips at the Fryer Tuck restaurant which everyone who had been before said was amazing. I was beginning to think I’d have been better off staying at home because of my stomach but when we arrived we had a walk along the beach and the town looked like it was closed, there was nothing going on. A lot of the ladies on the trip had a look around the shops and Vanessa picked up some bargains. I had a soda water while others had beer or wine in the pub and I was feeling really hungry but was worried about eating in case I was ill again, I had already had 3 imodium but they didn’t work at all.
The fish and chips were absolutely fantastic and easily the best I’ve ever tried in Turkey, I didn’t eat most of the batter (which was perfect) even though I wasn’t allergic to it but was trying to avoid what I thought had previously made me ill, just incase. There was also mushy peas and curry sauce available which my fellow diners said were good, but I just don’t like either, some people on the other tables had pie and that also looked really good but I couldn’t chance it. They had one of my favourites, treacle sponge, but I also avoided it because of my stomach and the journey back, while the others really enjoyed it and I drank my pot of tea like a proper Brit abroad. The whole bill for the 4 of us, including all the drinks, came to 500 lira (so less than £9 per person) and it was very good value for money and we were all stuffed!
After lunch I found that there were no pharmacies open in the area to buy more plasters as mine was letting the blood through still and was too big for a little finger. We did find a shoe shop which had some bargains and I bought a pair of sheepskin slippers and a pair of trainers for a total of just less than £15. On the way home I was still ill and we had to stop off for me to use the services again – I was beginning to wonder if my allergy was actually travel sickness! Back home I had a quiet night between sofa and toilet but by 8pm I was so hungry that I had to make myself some beans on toast. As I went to bed I saw that there was a post on Facebook showing that Thailand was now back to normal, with lots of people out drinking on the Khao San road, in Bangkok.
We were going to have a last breakfast together on Friday 12th November but my parents had a surprise visit from the door fitting workmen who were back with doors that were the right length this time. The plan was for my parents to come to mine and then we would go for food but my mom messaged to say they were waiting for the workmen to finish and then they would leave. With my parents leaving Dalyan were my updates over the next few weeks were unlikely to contain as much going out and Bailey’s in them! Eventually my parents arrived at my place, we were surprisingly not hungover and we marked the end of their holiday with a visit to Jiks for our last lunch together. I had the prawn skewers with chips, mom had a sandwich and chips and Dad had chicken shish with with chips. It was all really tasty and, because of too much booze last night, only Dad had a beer. This time when we said our goodbyes I wasn’t too emotional as I would be going back to the UK next month for a short visit. We were so lucky that we had all been able to go to Turkey which had been a risk we had been willing to take and it had paid off for us.
My parents had some of their left over washing that they brought to mine so I’d already got the first lot on because bad weather was meant to be due soon. As a treat I had a takeaway afternoon tea from Sara at River Terrace which I divided up and put some in the fridge for the rest of the weekend. I did have the sandwiches and a jam and cream scone with a cup of earl grey tea about 5pm which was so good and I thought that would be enough for the rest of the day. It wasn’t, so before I went out that night I had fish fingers and beans – I had really missed eating fish fingers! It was music bingo night at Lukka bar so I joined Debbie (Darling) and Sarah who didn’t seem to mind that this fairweather friend hadn’t been sitting with them for the last 4 weeks – and Sarah’s canine companions seemed pleased to see me, too. Even though the nights were colder now there was the awning up to shelter us so it didn’t feel cold where we were sat. Katrina also joined us and I thought that her chicken casserole dinner looked and smelled fantastic, I must try that dish. I had a good time, I didn’t win but a couple of us were sweating, and it is a bonus that the wine is only 20 lira a glass on special for Friday nights. I did need to cut back on the spending, especially with the lira to pound rate almost halving my money, but at that discount it was totally worth having 3 glasses of red!
Thankfully, Thursday 21st October turned out to be a lot calmer and I was starting to feel better from the cyst, even though I still couldn’t wear a bra. I didn’t bother with breakfast because I’d eaten so late last night and was still full. The building work next door was now at the stage where the shuttering was going up and I noticed that the remaining bougainvillea was sprouting some leaves on one of the trees. I decided to take a few books round for my dad because they don’t have a TV or internet at their place and he spends his free time reading, he was already getting through the books he had. I made a list for shopping as I planned to go on the way back to grab something to go with lunch. Tonight I had arranged for us to go out with Maddie and her family but my parents had organised a night out with their friends and Maddie’s parents were still in Kaş, so we weren’t sure if it might end up being just me and Maddie. When I arrived at my parents’ apartment my Dad had decided he was going to go for a shave and a hair cut at the barbers and my Mom gave him some spending money to go with. She and I went to Migros supermarket together to get some shopping and then went back home.
My shopping, for all of you who love a nosey at my shopping trolley. Prices in lira, as usual;
Bread 2.00 Tomato puree 3.95 Small bin bags 6.50 Quark 6.90 Mushroom soup 7.95 Crisps 8.00 Big bin bags 8.95 2 tins of sweetcorn 10.52 1 bottle of white wine 56.90
Total spent 111.57 lira (£9.46)
I didnt realise sweetcorn can be pricey in Turkey, especially compared to Vietnam, and there was even 25% discount! On the other hand, can you believe that’s including a bottle of nice wine, too!?
I ate a very late picnic style lunch then managed to squeeze in a bit of blogging and another episode of You on Netflix. By the time I was leaving to meet Sarah for a drink at Tez bar the building work next door was in full swing with the metal grid work already being laid ready for the concrete pour. Sarah was already there when I arrived, a little late, she ordered an Efes and a cheese toastie while I treated myself to a blonde ale at 38 lira (£3.22) but it was really nice and I enjoyed it as Sarah chatted on and then Süleyman turned up and joined us. I didn’t stay long as the sun had gone in, I was cold in my shorts and I needed to get ready for tonight. In the end we decided we would postpone going to Egehan until the parents could join us, I’ve been wanting to try it for a while so it was a good idea to wait until we could all enjoy it together. I was also quite happy to have a dinner at home – a good portion of Lancashire hotpot, done in the oven with a sprinkling of cheese. Ma & pa chose to eat at Kebapçı Yusuf for a second time and stayed out having a lovely time with their friends for a lot longer than I could’ve managed – I dont know how they do it! Before bed I read some rather concerning news that the UK daily Corona cases were 52,000 (this time last week they were 45,000) and this started to worry me about it impacting my visit in 2 month’s time. I could not afford to catch it or be stuck in a lockdown in England and I hoped they would be able to get it back under control before it got too risky again.
Finally it was my last full day on antibiotics on Monday 18th October, I had bread, cheese and olives for breakfast. I watched more of You on Netflix and was glad I had persevered after the 1st episode of Series 3. I managed to wash my hair without my cyst hurting, it was now healing and just needed antibiotic cream and a plaster, which was great news. I decided to have a mish mash of a lunch because I could; 2 nectarines, 2 plums, toast and a couple of biscuits. That night I had arranged for the 3 of us to meet up with Maddie at River Terrace where they had live music from 6pm. My parents had agreed to come over to mine and arrived at 6.15pm then we walked the short distance to River Terrace. This would be the last time I would have to sit and watch everyone else enjoy a beer or a wine so I had a cherry juice and soda – almost a new cocktail. Onur was playing some really good music including a lot my Dad likes and it was a lovely evening with quite a few laughs. We’d not decided where to eat yet so we asked Maddie to choose and she fancied a pizza. River Terrace didn’t have their pizza oven on but Sara, one of the owners, said we could order one in if we wanted to, which was very accommodating. In the end we decided to go to Pizza 48 to eat there, ma & pa had not been before, I’d tried one of their pizzas at a bar a few weeks ago and had enjoyed it so it would be a nice treat. When we got there I don’t think my Dad looked too impressed and he can get a bit tetchy when he goes somewhere new. He went and stood outside the front of the shop while I read out what they had to my Mom from the sign above the counter and Maddie was telling us about the deals you can have, which were great value. Mom went outside to tell Dad what the options were as best as she could remember and Dad didn’t want anything with meat on so he just ordered a Margherita pizza deal but didn’t want the soft drink so ordered beer. Mom (obviously) went for tuna and onion pizza deal, also with a beer while I decided on a mushroom pizza deal with a coke. Maddie ordered Margherita too but her friend, Simone, went off piste by ordering a double cheeseburger. We sat at the back of the restaurant in the cosy seating area which is next to Bistro Blue. When the chips came they had a garlicky coating and were really tasty, and very hot, the pizzas came out pretty quickly and were excellent – even Dad was impressed. My pizza, chips and coke came to just 30 lira (£2.54) which was amazing, the bill for Ma & Pa was just 110 lira (£9.32) for 2 pizzas, 2 chips and 2 Efes beers. I got a free fridge magnet and took the rest of the bottles of coke home so I got quite the bargain and the takeaway menu would come in handy for rainy/winter nights at home. When we had done we decided to go for one more drink at Lukka bar. It was a good day and I’d really enjoyed a (sober) week of being with my parents after all this time of not being able to see them, but I was a bit peeved that it had been a few days since Captain Caveman had bothered to ask how I was, even though he knew I’d been feeling quite ill recently.
Wednesday 13th October was my parents’ first full day in Dalyan and my second day of taking antibiotics. We’d all stayed at Captain Caveman’s apartment last night, ma and pa wanted to nip over to their apartment to drop their bags off and get changed this morning, so we agreed to meet at Jiks for breakfast at 10am. I went to the bank and got some cash out in readiness for whatever activities we would do today, with it being my parents’ holiday I wanted them to be able to choose want they wanted to do, I know they will have missed Dalyan as they hadn’t been for nearly 2 years. When I got to Jiks pub at 10am it was still closed so I decided to pop in to Migros to pick up a bit of shopping that I couldn’t get yesterday (they had ran out of milk).
I bought the following from Migros: Milk 5.90 Cherry juice 7.95 Cherry jam 8.76 Cornflakes 9.90 Turkey ham 12.90 Cheese 24.95
Total spent 70.61 lira (£6)
By 10.25am I was tottering on the very wet floor at Jiks as Adem, the bar man, was watering down the gardens and floors. I waited for my parents for a bit and they arrived about 11am, they were probably still on English time but I was getting peckish. Mom had a huge bacon and mushroom sandwich, Dad had a full English breakfast, and I had a full English without eggs or tomatoes. The portions at Jiks are good value and the food there was really good, as we scoffed we decided what we would do for the rest of the day and tonight. My parents would spend the day sorting stuff at their apartment, getting some shopping in and I was going to try to make myself feel better, I was in pain and the tablets made me feel so drowsy and a bit seasick. The cyst had started to get bigger and definitely more painful so I spent most of the day putting hot towels on it to try to ease it a bit. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, Captain Caveman was going to get a typhoon and everyone was prepared for floods in Phong Nha, here’s more info: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20211012/typhoon-kompasu-heads-to-northcentral-vietnam/63546.html
Because we ate breakfast late I didn’t bother with lunch, Ma & Pa came to mine for 6pm, as agreed earlier, and we took a walk in to town to go for a drink. Before going out I decided to put a blister plaster on my infected cyst, hoping it would draw out the badness or help it to heal quicker. We had drinks (no alcohol for me) at Aşkin’s bar and Işmail, the flower seller, came by, as he does every evening to say hello, my Dad bought 2 roses, one each for us. We bumped in to a friend, Gültekin, at his barbers and he had got married and was expecting a baby, since we last saw him. For dinner Dad suggested we go to one of our favourite restaurants in Dalyan, Bistro Blue, which we were lucky enough to get the last table at. It was great to see the owners, Annie and Selahı, and the 2 waiters were still there, it was a shame I couldn’t join in on drinking wine but my parents had a bottle of red, even though mom had wanted white. I had courgette fritters to start which were more like a courgette bhaji and came with a mango chutney, mom ordered garlic prawns and dad had cheese rolls but they shared. They opted for liver mains and I ordered a pepper steak which was so delicious that I forgot to take a photo of it, which means I will have to go again. The food was gorgeous and my water very refreshing but I didn’t feel well because of the cyst and just wanted to take my top off as it was irritating the soreness. After the food we sat out in the bar area, me with a Turkish tea, mom with a coffee and dad with a rather large brandy and Sprite – we even got posh after dinner chocolates too. We reminisced about the last time we had all been together with friends (Claire, Clare and Kelly) and had danced the night away here. Bistro Blue had made some improvements to the toilets and furniture since we were last here and, as always, it was still one of the best places to go in Dalyan – we love it there!
joloyolo 