Dalyan – 9th to 11th April

I didn’t have any breakfast on Sunday 9th April as I had a bit of a lay in. At 8.40am the weather forecast wasn’t looking too clever and it was Easter. I didn’t even eat any Easter Eggs and only had a sandwich for lunch. In the afternoon I heard from Cath and Keith and she had been to Sofra to pay their bill, a little embarrassed. Elite Maintenance had been round to our complex to clean the pool so progress was being made over the communal situation, but I hadn’t seen any lights on as yet.
For dinner I had homemade curry which had chicken, cauliflower, aubergine, lentils and tomatoes in, then I had strawberries and quark for afters. I got a bit peckish in the evening as I looked at flights to Vietnam and ate a slice of turkey and a couple of toffees. I was already on 176 syns but it was better than I’d been doing for a while. I would be working for the next couple of days so I was hoping for a good result at Fat Club this week. Before I went to bed I had a rummage in the freezer and took out some mystery meat so that I could have the slow cooker on tomorrow.

As Easter in Greece, where my boss lives, is a different date and Turkey don’t celebrate it, we were still working on Monday 10th April. Before I logged on I had 2 slices of wholemeal toast with Becel spread on and 20g of Comte cheese, some strawberries and a cup of Yorkshire tea. I popped the meat, which I hoped was beef, and lots of veg in to the slow cooker then got on with work. It was a cloudy, cold day and I hoped it would warm up a bit in the month I had left here. Captain Caveman had sent me a photo of Thao and her new baby who he had gone to visit in Dong Hoi and we’d got a loose plan that I would arrive on 14th May. Strangely, the first time I went to Vietnam to visit Captain Caveman, 11 years ago, it was the same date! The morning at work went quickly and I warmed up some Slimming World Minestrone soup and nan bread for lunch. I drank a lot of water and snacked on Turkey slices when I got peckish late afternoon. I finished work at 6pm, I added Oxo, red wine, fresh rosemary and Henderson’s relish to the slow cooker concoction and had it with potatoes for dinner. It was amazing and had made a few more portions.
I was doing well on the diet until I accidentally ate some chocolate from an Easter Egg and then had 2 cream crackers with 30g of comte cheese. I’d had 28 syns today so I needed to be very careful tomorrow! It was my 4th day of zero alcohol this week but I didn’t have any exercise.

There was not much to write about on Tuesday 11th April as I was busy working all day. I cracked on as there was horrendous weather forecast and I was conscious that the power could go off at any time – I was lucky, it didn’t. I had another portion of beef stew with steamed rice ( I will eat rice with anything) and really enjoyed it. I finished work at 6pm and it was absolutely tipping down so there was no venturing outside today.
Instead, I decided to use more of the beef stew to reinvent the Cornish pasty in a Slimming World fashion. I used a wholemeal wrap and filled half of it with the stew and added some sweetcorn. I brushed the edges with beaten egg, folded it over to cover the filling and stuck it down using the back of a fork. More egg was poured over, messily as I didnt have a brush, then popped in the over for 20 minutes.
When it came out, it looked great but it was probably the best thing I had tasted in a while. It was so good that I made another one and had it with my homemade pickled red cabbage then showed it off in the Fat Club Messenger group.
I had a phone call with my parents who were due to come to Dalyan in 3 weeks and I was so excited to be seeing them again.

Dalyan – 8th April

In the morning of Saturday 8th April I popped to the market just to buy strawberries for 50 lira (£2.08). I had some for breakfast with a cup of Yorkshire tea when I got back. I went to Bim supermarket in the afternoon and I only bought some essentials;

1 wholemeal loaf 10.00
6 eggs 16.50
500g of pide bread 19.00
Total spent 45.50 lira (£1.89).

I got a top up of water, 19 litres for 30 lira (£1.25) at Selçuk Market.
I was getting excited because I would get to see my parents in just over 3 weeks, then I was off to Rhodes and would be reunited with Captain Caveman again in Vietnam, shortly after that. For lunch I warmed up some of the minestrone soup and it was delicious. I’d arranged to meet Pamela and Mark at Rehab bar in the afternoon because I still had some of the bottle of red wine from Wednesday left. It also meant I got to see the lovely Angelique and Tay. While we were playing pool, I got a pleasant surprise; our friend, Babs, was back in town and had popped in to Rehab bar to see me and joined us for a drink – her cocktail was an aperol spritz. After finishing the wine in Rehab, Mark, Pamela and I went to Aşkın’s bar and we each carried some of Pamela’s shopping. We just had the one drink there before heading down to Sofra bar. It was all a very civilised evening up until then. Friends, Cath and Keith, joined us and we were talking about landlords putting rents up by more than the 25%. It’s illegal but unfortunately it’s happening to a lot to tenants here, as landlords want to get new people in who will pay more. We had a good time in Sofra bar, for the rest of the night. I made sure that in between my drinks I had a water and some of the time I sat without a drink, while Cath was double parked. Prices of drinks were still reasonable in Sofra bar; large draft beer or glass of wine 65 lira (£2.70), small draft beer 45 lira (£1.87), shot of Jameson’s 50 lira (£2.08). I ended up doing karaoke (again) which Mark took a video of. It was generally a good night until it was almost time to go home. Mark and I had been keeping an eye on Cath, when Keith fell over and banged his head on a bench. It was home time for them, we put them in a taxi which took ages because neither of them remembered where they lived but one of the taxi drivers and Ahmet, the bar man, knew. Mark said he’d walk me home but instead of going home we ended up going to Dalyano’s for a glass of wine. I got my coat zip stuck about halfway up and I couldn’t free it, so ended up getting upset. I went home by myself from Dalyano’s (which isn’t far) and Mark got a taxi home, but called me to check I was home safely. I was, but I couldn’t get my coat off until he suggested I take it off over my head and look at the zip in the morning. I think I’d got a bit emotional as I was concerned about Cath and Keith more than my coat.

Mark’s video of me doing karaoke

Dalyan – 6th & 7th April

Neither Jamie nor I recalled getting home in the early hours of Thursday 6th April. We messaged each other to slowly fill in the gaps and work out what had happened. I rarely spill a drink but my clothes were covered in red wine, my coat was on the floor in the kitchen and I had no hangover whatsoever. We were lucky to have Mark and Şükrü as friends because they had both looked out for us. I had no appetite, despite not eating anything since breakfast yesterday and that was very strange. I didn’t have any breakfast and I forced down a veggie wrap pizza at 5.30pm, the only thing I managed to eat all day. Jamie found more videos and photos, of us dancing, on his phone that we couldn’t remember. We definitely knew we’d had a lucky escape last night and were grateful nothing bad had happened to us.

On Friday 7th April I made a conscious decision to be sensible, after the events of the previous days I needed to be more careful. The weather was overcast and cold as I ate my banana, grapefruit, strawberries and quark for breakfast with a cup of Yorkshire tea. I was meant to be going for a walk but just as I was getting ready I noticed that last night’s heavy rain and storms had caused the ensuite bathroom to have a leak. It wasn’t bad but it looked like it was coming in from the door frame which needed fixing.
Before midday, the maintenance company came to do something with the pool and lights while I made a Slimming World Minestrone soup in the Slow Cooker. I needed to get back on with this diet if I was to lose a bit more weight this month. For lunch I had a turkey, lettuce, green pepper, spring onion and cheese wrap and I drank a lot of water. I’d been attempting to get at least 2 litres of water in, per day. I had Turkish class at 2pm and was pleased to see that a friend had rejoined us. After class, she and I went to the tea gardens for a couple of teas and a chat.
Back home, I tucked in to the amazing Minestrone soup but I did spoil my healthy day with 3 of the toffees from the Aussies. It was only Friday and already I had consumed 108 syns, 3 over the allowance!

Dalyan – 5th April

The Aussies were leaving for their road trip early on Wednesday 5th April so I’d been invited to have breakfast with them before they set off. The Turkish people here, tend not to get up early for breakfast and I thought we might struggle to find somewhere open.
I went downstairs, as planned, at 8am, it had rained in the night and there were checks being done on the woodwork outside, which looked great. I also had to have a look at the improvements they had been working on last night. Greg drove us to Ekin around 8.30am where we were met by a rather large slobbering black dog, called Negro, who was super friendly. The owner asked us if we could wait for half an hour while he got set up and so we walked about a bit, taking some photos of the beautiful lake.
I wasn’t going to eat the Turkish breakfast for 2 reasons; 1, it often gives me a bad stomach and 2, I had Fat Club weigh-in at 3pm. I realised it would be considered rude to just watch Amanda and Greg eat so I decided to go for it. It was my first Turkish breakfast this year! Just as it was served, it started to rain and we had to move inside. The scenic views were now no longer picture perfect and we were lucky to have seen the lake views we did, before the rain came.
The breakfast was amazing and I really enjoyed it but I knew it would mean a gain on the scales. I ate cheese, jam, honey, bread, cheese rolls, olives, chips and 2 types of savoury gözleme (Turkish pancakes), washed down with Turkish tea and a fresh pomegranate juice. We couldn’t finish it all so Amanda packed 2 small Tupperware boxes up (that’s why I love her) and gave me one with the cheese in. The total bill came to 585 lira (£24) which, considering how much food is provided, was a bargain. Of course, before we even got back in the car, I had stomach issues. Back home we packed the car up with luggage, in the rain, then said our goodbyes. Even Kitler, the abandoned cat, came to say farewell.
I almost didn’t go to Fat Club because I knew it would be disappointing but I forced myself to find out how much damage a Turkish breakfast on weigh day could do.

At Fat club, the inevitable happened; I had gained weight! It was only 1.1kg (2.4lb) but that was enough to undo the previous losses and I only had myself to blame! A more sensible person might have then decided to rectify the bad result by being really good. However, as some of you could have predicted, that was not what happened and I got a lift up to Rehab bar with Carol. I ended up ordering a bottle of wine, as it works out a bit cheaper than having several glasses. I didn’t finish it all as I had to leave to meet Jamie and Ann at Aşkın’s bar. Tay wrote my name on it and said he’d save it for me.
When I arrived at Aşkın’s, Jamie and Ann were already there and had been joined by Mark and Pamela. I ordered a red wine and we all had a nice drink, it’s one of my favourite bars to sit and people watch usually. After a drink there we moved on to Sofra bar for a bit more refreshment.
By 10.30pm, I was leaving Sofra bar with Jamie to go to Umit’s birthday drinks at Sunset bar. Our friend Annie had invited us along and Pamela was already there, as was Yusuf the pharmacist and the flower girl. I had a glass of red wine, Jamie had a glass of white. We thought we were only there for 30 minutes, saying hello to Annie and her friends. Jamie and I do not remember dancing there, having more drinks or leaving but it turns out we were there 90 minutes and had 3 drinks.

We were back in Sofra by midnight, Mark had rejoined us too, and it turned in to quite a night – not that Jamie or I could remember much of it. The photos were a big help to work out the rest of the evening but it was a little concerning.

Photo credit – Greg Le Couteur

Dalyan – 3rd & 4th April

I had Yorkshire tea and a few strawberries for breakfast on Monday 3rd April. I started my second week of work at 9am and worked until 6pm, with an hour for lunch. At lunch time I had a vegetarian picnic style one, again, to save time and I snacked on a couple of bananas.
When I finished work, I met up with Jamie for a quick dog walk and then came back to make my dinner. I decided today was going to be a zero alcohol and zero meat day so I made garlic mushrooms with onion, leeks and quark with roasted pumpkin and sweet potato. I only had 12 syns today because I snaffled some chocolate but it did mean I was already at 219 syns for the week – weigh in was not going to be a good one, on Wednesday.

Tuesday 4th April was another day of work and I was enjoying it. I just had fruit for breakfast as I needed to be logged on to the laptop by 9am. The lira had gone up to 24.03 to the pound now so was very high. While working, I made myself sip lots of cucumber infused water in an effort to detox a bit before tomorrow’s weigh-in. I had a turkey, lettuce, spring onion, green pepper and cheese wholemeal wrap for lunch which was surprisingly filling. Our pool and garden maintenance company, Elite, had started to drain the filthy pool and the green slimy water was slowly disappearing. In the afternoon a massive rain storm came and I was expecting loss of power, but I was fine. After work, I made a simple noodle dish with garlic, courgettes and mushrooms. I was doing so well to resist chocolate or booze but fell at the final hurdle as I settled down to watch a bit of Netflix. This week I’d had 239 syns (89 were on alcohol), 4 meat free days, 4 alcohol free days and 7 days of exercise. I had a feeling that I was going to have put weight on this week, though.

Dalyan – 2nd April

I was up early on Sunday 2nd April because I had organised my first boat trip of the year. It was later than last year but this year didn’t seem to be as hot yet.
Ivona, the Captain’s wife, was sick and couldn’t make it. The weather was dull and quite cold but we weren’t going to let that put us off. Captain İsmail had decided we would go to Little Dalyan, a sheltered spot behind Iztuzu beach, then the lake at Köyceğiz instead of the sea due to the threat of storms and choppy seas.
The Princess of Ekincik boat was leaving from outside River Terrace at 10am, it was costing £30 each (drinks extra) but included food for the day.
On board Princess of Ekincik with Captain Ismail and his team of 2 young Turkish lads, were Jamie, David, Christine, Nanny Kay, Viv, Paul, Anna, Amanda, Greg and me – 10 of us in total. There was only Anna who I didn’t know previously. Tea and coffee was served with fresh pastries and Ivona’s home-made cookies. We had to be quick with the cookies before Nanny Kay snaffled them as she’d had them before and was rather partial. I indulged and they have got to be the best cookies I’ve ever had. The pastries weren’t too shabby either and I had 1 each of the 3 flavours. My healthy eating was definitely on the back burner for today, although I had already decided that I would curb my wine intake in an effort to limit the damage. Our first stop of the day was at Little Dalyan so that those who wanted to, could go for a walk along the beach or even chance a swim in the sea. It was too cold and blustery for me to chance it and most were content to just be there and have a leisurely walk along the beach. Amanda and I collected shells, Jamie collected glass and it was all rather pleasant. I had a bit of a shocker as I found out that Captain Caveman had lead Anna to believe I was disabled. She seemed rather impressed that I could walk on a beach and asked if I was managing ok. When I asked more, it turned out that Captain Caveman had said I ‘didn’t’ walk because of the leg injury in April 2020, which she’d interpreted as ‘couldn’t’ walk!!

We were back on the boat just before noon and I decided to take one for the team with Jamie and sample the beverages. It was the first trip of the season so we needed to check the beer was cold and the wine was up to scratch – it was. Jamie had Drew on the phone and I tried to get a photo with him on the screen. The sun was out and it had turned out quite pleasant as Ismail was getting ready to prepare our BBQ lunch.
The food was incredibly good and there was certainly plenty of it for us all to have a good plateful.

After lunch we sailed up the river to the mud baths where Greg was the only one brave enough to sport his swimmers and get in the dome. Every one of the guests was lovely and it was so nice to just have a laugh with old and new friends. The boat is one of my favourites and I find the owners really respectful and humble too, which is nice. On the way back a few of us had another drink and we had a bit of music for ambience while İsmail served up an array of afternoon treats. There was some delicious homemade cake from Ivona and lots of fresh fruit. I stuck to my 3 red wines and was pleased with that. We all said our goodbyes after a lovely day and I walked back with the Aussies, where they invited me in for a gin and bitter lemon. We’d all had a great day on a lovely boat trip and, as none of us are sun worshipping types, it didn’t matter that it had not really been the best weather. Amanda and Greg had decided to stay a bit longer in Dalyan and would be here until Wednesday. After that, they would head up the West coast towards Bursa, then İstanbul.

Photo credit – Princess of Ekincik, Greg, Jamie.

Dalyan – 1st April

Last month had been a tough one but I’d managed to get by and I was glad to see April. This would be my last full month in Dalyan as I was planning to go back to Vietnam to see Captain Caveman next month. On Saturday 1st April, Mark rang me to see if I wanted to meet him at Tez bar at noon. I agreed and went round the corner a few minutes before. I ordered a cheese toasty and a cup of tea for my brunch which was 80 lira (£3.37). It came with chips so that was rather naughty of me – so much for being good this month! When Tez brought my tea he put a carnation on the table for me, which was nice. Mark arrived and ordered a coffee before going to meet the pool group at Rehab bar. I finished off my food and drink before getting a lift with Tez to the weekly market. It was busier than usual, lots more tourists were here now and there were more stalls open.

Here’s what I bought at the market this week, I didn’t get the individual prices just the total. Prices were going up but it was still fairly affordable compared to the UK.

6 bananas
1 punnet of strawberries
1 bunch fresh mint
4 big potatoes
8 small potatoes
3 sweet potatoes
3 leeks
1 bunch spring onions
3 onions
1 lettuce
6 carrots
5 green peppers
2 bulbs of garlic
1 bag of pumpkin
Mushrooms

Total cost 273 lira (£11.50)

I even got a free snail on my bunch of spring onions and had to take him downstairs in to the garden. I chopped some of the veggies and the strawberries, putting them in to glass jars to keep fresher for longer.
I met Jamie for a dog walk and quick soft drink in Waterfall around 5.30pm. On my way back from Waterfall I happened to see Kaan on his building site and he showed me the villa he is building. It’s very nice and I had the full tour.
My next stop was at the supermarket and here’s what I bought;

Migros Supermarket
Soup 12.50
1 Bounty 13.95
Noodles 15.90
Turkey slices 19.25
Lentils 25.90
Chickpeas 34.90
Mozzarella Cheese balls 49.90
Wholemeal wraps 57.50
Fish fingers 61.90
Total spent 291.70 lira (£12.28)

For dinner I made a veggie pizza on a wholemeal wrap and it tasted very nice. I resisted the urge to go out to meet Mark, who had gone from Rehab bar to Rodrigo’s then to Mustang. Instead, I had a no alcohol and a no meat day, for the second time this week. I organised a cheese and wine boat trip for when my parents were here and then I had an early night because it was Amanda and Greg’s last day in Dalyan and we had a big day planned tomorrow.

Dalyan – 31st March

I met Jamie on Friday 31st March for a dog walk and a bit of a treat. At the bank Halıl, the security guard, let Jamie go in to the branch with Norman and Edna. Edna loved it and went over to the counter for a good nosey. Norman sniffed out the resident cat who was not phased in the slightest. After a walk through town, we went to Ela’s Kitchen for breakfast – I’d missed it there. This time, I just had the small sized English breakfast (without egg or tomato), not the large, as I would usually. Jamie loves the Menemen there so he had that and he ordered an extra sausage for the dogs to share. The food was fantastic and meant I would only need a small lunch. The small set breakfast was 140 lira (£5.90) and Jamie’s menemen with chips was 130 lira (£5.50). The English tea (Yorkshire or Tetley’s) is 40 lira (£1.68) per cup and the freshly squeezed orange juice is 55 lira (£2.31). It’s been 15 months since I was able to go back to England so I like to have an English breakfast from time to time as a treat. I would say Ela’s Kitchen has one of the best breakfasts in town. Norman and Edna can definitely recommend Sev’s sausage and they could hardly wait for it to cool down. I pretended to eat some of it and Edna was cross with me.
Back home, I found a ribbon to tie up my bike stand, which meant I could use it again. I ate stuffed vine leaves and 5 walnut halves for lunch then, at 2pm I went to my weekly Turkish class, which was good. In the evening I made myself some veggie steamed rice then went downstairs to call for Amanda and Greg. We ended up going to Sofra bar where we met up with Carol, of Fat Club fame. She was a temporary football widow as her fella and the lads watched the match. Jamie, who was out with his neighbours (Christine and David), came to join us too. The Aussies decided to go home after the one drink, maybe they had heard about my karaoke skills. Not one to be put off having a good time, I carried on without them. Jamie’s neighbours were absolutely lovely and I got myself a third red wine to join them. The red wine is 65 lira (£2.74) a glass in Sofra bar and is a decent one. It again turned in to one of those nights where I sang karaoke; ‘Simply the Best’ definitely wasn’t, as I didn’t know it very well but it’s Jamie’s song and I had to oblige. I murdered Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ then roped Nigel into ‘Islands in the Stream’ which definitely wasn’t our best song.
I got in after midnight and accidentally ate some Easter egg chocolate because I’d not had a proper dinner and was hungry. The good thing is, though, I’d only spent 200 lira (£8.25) and was still drunk but under today’s budget. As it was the last day of the month I’d already worked out how I was doing on the March budget goal that I had set for myself. It was a miracle but I was under by 993.18 lira (just over £40) and I was delighted with that. I had survived a whole month spending less than £10 per day average – it had not been easy! My weight loss for March had not been as successful as I had hoped, I was only 1.6kg (3.5lb) lighter than at the start of the month. It was still twice the amount I lost in February but I needed to try harder in April. With the start of the holiday season here now, there was going to be even more temptation and opportunity and I wasn’t sure my willpower was up to it.

Jamie’s video of me singing Tina Turner in Sofra bar

Jamie’s video of me singing Adele in Sofra bar

Dalyan – 29th & 30th March

When I got up on Wednesday 29th March I got weighed and took my measurements. Today was weigh-in and Fat Club day but I wanted to know how I was doing. This week I’d had less syns and less alcohol but I’d also done less exercise and ate more meals with meat in. On my home scales I’d done ok but it was Carol’s scales that really counted so I had to wait until 3pm. My measurements were good though;
Bust -1cm,
Waist -5cm,
Hips -2cm.
I had cornflakes and Yorkshire tea for breakfast but I didn’t have any lunch. I spent most of the morning working out my finances and checking where I was to the March budget I’d set myself.
At Fat Club I was really pleased to have lost 1.4kg (just over 3lb) and I stuck to drinking my 1.5 litres of water for 30 lira (£1.27). The Turkish lira was now at 23.68 to the pound so was the highest it had been for a while and set to keep rising.
After Fat Club, I walked to Rehab bar where I treated myself to a beer for 60 lira (£2.54) and then tried a new Turkish wine that Tay had got in. The red wine was now 85 lira (£3.59) per glass or you could get a bottle for 300 lira (£12.69).
I messaged Amanda and Greg to come join us at Rehab and they did. We sat chatting with Mark, Kate and Pamela, until Pamela had to go shopping and then home. Our next stop was to Waterfall bar, a glass of red wine was only 60 lira (£2.53) and is just as good for the same measure. While the 5 of us were there we came up with the idea of having kebabs from the new Hatay kebab place, opposite Migros Square. Mark went off on the Mobility wagon to get them and we each had a gorgeous lamb döner for 80 lira (£3.39). It was obviously not Slimming World friendly but I really wanted one and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It was a good night and the Aussies were keen to go to Lukka bar for a last drink after we had said bye to Mark and Kate. I called at the bank on the way and we were in Lukka by 9pm. In there, I had another red wine for 85 lira (£3.59) while the others had gins. I’d gone over budget today but I’d not spent anything the previous 2 days so I was doing ok.

My cold had more or less gone by Thursday 30th March but I still felt tired and a bit run down. I had been doing quite well trying to maintain a healthy eating regime, drink less alcohol and stick to a rather tight budget throughout March.
As for the weight loss I was doing very well, having lost 6kg in total (13.2lb) and hoped to get more off before swimming costume time, this season! As for the budget, I had enjoyed the challenge, tomorrow I would see if I had achieved my goal for March.
For breakfast I had cornflakes, Yorkshire tea and an extra linden tea. I had another picnic style lunch of stuffed vine leaves, walnuts, cheese, pickled onions and falafel. I added a bit of tahini and membrillo which I used syns for.
In the afternoon Sara Savaş popped over as I’d been a bit naughty and ordered some Easter Eggs from her. It cost 150 lira (£6.31) per egg which was not frugal but such a treat. One was a Toblerone egg and the other was mint truffles, hand made by Sara.
I had pasta for dinner and had a quiet night in with a cup of tea and an early night.

Dalyan – 26th to 28th March

On Sunday 26th March I still had the cold when I got back home so I took myself off to bed until 6.30pm.
When I woke up I was so bunged up that I decided I would try something that Mark had been banging on about for some time. He had said that whenever he has a cold he puts a clove of garlic up each nostril to get the sinuses unblocked. Here, in Dalyan, all the cold medicine has pseudoephedrine in it which I can’t take as it makes my heart go weird. I was at the stage where I just wanted to feel better, I was exhausted and I was willing to try anything. I obviously googled it and various doctors advised against it but I was desperate to feel good again. I was meant to leave the garlic in place for up to 20 minutes but after 8 minutes it was doing its trick – it had actually worked!
I cooked myself chicken with garlic, onion, mushrooms and Slimming World potato wedges for dinner, using fres pieces of garlic! It didn’t look too good but it tasted really nice with it being the first hot meal I’d had since Friday. Amanda and Greg, The Aussies, had arrived at B1 but I didn’t go to meet them because I needed more sleep and to be ok for tomorrow. My new part-time job started in less than 10 hours and I was really looking forward to it.

Monday 27th March was my first day of work in over 3 months. I had Yorkshire tea and buttered toast for breakfast, before work then I had my first video meeting with my boss. I was full of cold still as we went through what I needed to do, and how, then the gaffer let me get on with it. I was hungry before lunch so I had a satsuma to put me on then broke for lunch at 1pm. I had more chicken, garlic and mushrooms with rice and then got back on with work. I’d already got some chicken casserole out of the freezer for dinner so I didn’t have to do any cooking once I finished. This was good as it meant I could fit in a phone call to my parents in the evening. It had been Ma’s birthday recently and I’d not yet had chance to speak to her. It was good to catch up with my parents and also it felt nice to be talking to them after a hard day at work!
I scoffed down my casserole with more wedges and then even had 2 biscuits with a cup of tea before another meeting. I’d already signed up for a 1 hour master class following the 4 days of challenges I’d done last week. So I dialled in, listened and took notes – it would come in very useful in the future.

I was up bright eyed and bushy tailed for my second day of work on Tuesday 28th March. It was weird waking up to an alarm and having breakfast while it was still chilly.
I went for cornflakes and Yorkshire tea, even though I knew I had to syn the cereal. For lunch I had a cold picnic style meal so that I didn’t spend my lunch hour cooking. I had stuffed vine leaves, pickled onions, steamed rice, cheese and walnuts. I’d got a chicken curry out of the freezer to have for dinner. The Aussies, Amanda and Greg had been here 3 days and I’d not seen them yet so I hoped to get to meet up after work. Strangely, we should have been having a lot of rain today but the weather was quite nice. When I finished work I ate my dinner then went downstairs to see Amanda and Greg. They had brought over equipment to get their apartment shipshape for the rental season and had already started on some jobs. After a good catch up until gone 11pm I went home for a much needed sleep. This week I’d done really well on reducing my consumption of alcohol and eating less syns so I hoped my result at Fat Club tomorrow would be favourable.

Dalyan – 23rd & 24th March

I woke up on Thursday 23rd March feeling full of flu. I was still cold despite sleeping in pyjamas and my dressing gown under two duvets. I made myself a cup of Yorkshire tea and a fruit salad to force down for breakfast. In my fruit salad were 2 bananas (even though I don’t like them), 1 kiwi fruit, strawberries and some low fat yoghurt (which I also don’t like). As I was eating the fruit, I was finding it more difficult to chew, swallow or breathe and it was getting worse. As I tried to drink the tea, the roof of my mouth was super sensitive and it felt like it was blistering despite the tea not being too hot. I went to the bathroom and got a bit of a shock, half of my face had started to swell up, my lips were tingling and my throat felt tight. Then it dawned on me, the side of my mouth I’d eaten the kiwi fruit on yesterday and today was more sore than the other side. The face swelling, and now tingling, was similar to when I ate a mussel in Belgium – I was having an allergic reaction. I was out of antihistamine tablets and so I had to go to the pharmacy to get some. It turns out allergies to kiwi fruit are more common than I’d thought.
Once I’d got the allergic reaction under control, after several cold flannels to the face and head, I felt able to eat and had a Slimming World friendly mushroom pasta for lunch. I did still have a bad cold but I could breathe a bit better and the blistering mouth was recovering. I forced more Strepsils down, had 5 walnut halves, some sugar free lemon drink, a satsuma, lemon tea and linden tea, as well as 3 litres of water, in an afternoon. I was still taking the ibuprofen and paracetamol alternatively every 4 hours in the hope I’d feel better soon.
My Mom had been told that some work had been done at her apartment and she asked if I’d mind checking on it from the outside. I got some warm clothes on and took myself round there. The walk was fresh, the work had not even been started and I noticed that our complex was much more pleasant to be walking back in to these days – Elite Maintenance seemed to be doing well so far.
For dinner I had more chicken curry with steamed rice and tried for an early night. I was coughing a lot when laying down so I was still awake after midnight.

On Friday 24th March I was starting to improve a bit! I could still have stayed in bed all day but I couldn’t because I had plans. I went to the shop to buy some essentials. Here’s what I bought and the prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Sugar free mints 12.72
Tissues 13.90
2 packets of wine gums 17.00
Toilet rolls 68.90
Total spent 112.52 lira (£4.79)

I had a banana and linden tea for breakfast then got ready for a couple of days out of Dalyan. I had vegan pasta bolognese for lunch, which was healthy and tasty.
Unfortunately, I was going to miss Roy’s 60th birthday bash at Tez bar at 4.30pm today. It was disappointing as Roy and Debbie (Darling) are 2 of my favourites, but it had been booked a while for a trip with friends to Fethiye and Hisarönü this afternoon. After a taxi ride with Fikri, from Dalyan to Fethiye and running some errands in the town we got a lift to Hisarönü.
We went to Fez bar, and the guy there took a photo of Mark and I at the entrance to the bar so that I could send birthday wishes on. I thought it would be funny to send it to Debbie (Darling) with apologies for going to the ‘wrong’ birthday venue – Fez, not Tez! I couldn’t finish the beer because I was still suffering from the sniffles. That evening, our friend cooked a lovely chicken pasta dish for dinner and I really enjoyed it.
I also decided that I would have another break from my blog for a couple of days, by which time I hoped this cold had gone.

Dalyan – 21st & 22nd March

Tuesday 21st March wasn’t such a good day as I woke up feeling like I had a cold/flu/Corona type illness coming on. It might have had something to do with the fact that I was still awake and a bit merry at 2am! I had 2 cups of Yorkshire tea and more masaman curry with steamed rice for breakfast. By lunchtime I was sipping linden tea and sucking Himalayan salt and lemon sweets because my throat felt like razor blades. I had my leftover sweet and sour chicken with chicken fried rice from China Town for lunch and it was so good, but foolish as I would definitely have put weight back on this week.
In the afternoon I paid the 5,000 lira (£213) to the pool and maintenance company, which Captain Caveman had sent over. It felt difficult because it was a lot for me to pay out upfront when I wasn’t yet working.
In addition to that I also had been told that the Communal electric was being reconnected but we all needed to pay 1382 lira (£59) to have it reconnected. I didn’t understand how it could possibly cost almost £600 (between 10 properties) to have the issue sorted when it was not our fault and the electric company had told me they were sorting it. I was annoyed and upset about this because I just didn’t have it in the budget plus we now had to put extra in to a kitty for any future bills. Of course, Captain Caveman was in the cave so I had to go along with what was asked. He had paid the communal electric for 3 years prior to all this too with no intention of him asking for the money from anyone.
In the afternoon I logged on to the 2nd day of the course I was doing, which I enjoyed, but I started to feel more ill.
I found some Strepsils in the medicine box so I had some of those and 2 slices of wholemeal toast for dinner. I went to bed feeling sickly, tired and disappointed that my Fat Club weigh-in tomorrow would not be a good one.
This week I’d consumed twice the syns of the week before, had more alcohol and 3 times as much sweet stuff.

My health was much worse on Wednesday 22nd March and I could barely speak or swallow. I didn’t want to get out of bed but I knew I needed to feel better for this afternoon’s Fat Club.
I did my weekly measurements and got on the scales at home, the results weren’t ideal. According to the home scales I was 0.85kg heavier this week, my bust and hips remained the same but I had put 4cm on my waist. As I knew the scales would show heavier at Fat Club, I decided to attempt to treat my symptoms. I had ice-cream, cream crackers and some Gouda cheese for breakfast. I could hardly manage to drink a cup of tea as my mouth felt weird. I went back to bed for a nap but was restless.
By 1.30pm I was convinced I had Covid as all my symptoms pointed towards it so I took a test. It was negative.
Before Fat Club, I ate strawberries, Quark and some cheese spread on wholemeal bread.
On my way out of the complex I noticed that the maintenance guy had moved both benches back to outside B1, I’d only asked for 1 to be moved back to where it used to be. I went to get my bike and saw that the string Captain Caveman had tied my faulty kick stand up with, had been removed and the stand was down. I wasn’t very happy because the stand rubs on the wheel when it’s up, hence why it’s tied up and the bike leans against something. I checked my basket to see if the string was in there but it was gone and so I had to walk to Fat Club, feeling crap and late.
I went in, got on Carol’s scales to find I’d only actually put on 0.6kg (1.3lb) so I was a bit happier at that. Carol could see I was quite sickly and suggested I dose up on Vitamin C and get back to bed. She’d noticed that Migros had some kiwi fruit on offer so I decided to pop and get some, as well as a few other items;

Migros Supermarket
Plastic bag 0.25
4 kiwi fruit 10.58
Bananas 17.72
2 Quark 29.90
646g chicken 58.08
Total spent 116.53 lira (£4.96)

When I got home, I had 1 kiwi fruit but it took me a long time to eat it. I forced a bit of bread and cheese down while I waited for my dinner to cook. I’d gone for chicken curry with a hot pot style potato top and it looked pretty good.
I’m not quite sure what happened after starting to eat the kiwi fruit at 4.50pm. It took me until almost 9pm to eat dinner. I’d started to feel like my throat was getting smaller, I couldn’t breath as easily and I thought I’d started to lose my sense of smell. I was coughing a lot too, my eyes seemed to want to close and my face and head hurt. I took paracetamol and ibuprofen and went to bed sucking on a Strepsil.

Dalyan – 20th March

I’d like to have been writing that I had stuck to the diet a little more on Monday 20th March. I’d consumed 86 syns in one day yesterday but today was definitely no better. For breakfast I had strawberries and then a second breakfast of homemade masaman curry with steamed rice.
At 1pm I joined a free course which was about setting up an online business. It was interesting and I quite enjoyed it, although timing-wise it wasn’t going to be something I could pursue immediately.
I noticed the gardening company had made a big difference and I even took photos and video so that I could show Captain Caveman and The Aussies. Just after 3pm, I got a message from Kate to say her and Mark were having a beer at Okyanos with Jamie and Drew if I fancied it. Drew had been to collect some seeds from Kate and, as it was sunny, they’d decided on a cheeky beer in the sun. This was my last Monday of not being at work so I think subconsciously I’d decided to go mad!

I turned up looking very tired from last night’s antics and had to have a shandy to drink. We decided to go to Aşkın’s bar as Kate thought it was open, but we were a bit premature. Mark and Kate went to Tez’s instead but I needed to pop back home and change my top. By 5.30pm Jamie, Drew and I were sat outside at Waterfall bar having another beer or 2 in the sun. Drew went to get Norman and Edna because Skippy was in and Edna would be mad if she didn’t get to see him. Mark and Kate rejoined us for one but they weren’t staying out much longer on account of them wearing summer wear and it turning a bit nippy once the sun was in. Janet and Kev came to join us and there was quite a crowd sat outside. Instead of being good and sticking to my diet and my budget, I decided to join the boys for a treat. Because I’d finally got some more money I’d been owed for a while, I agreed to tag along for a meal at China Town with them.

I ended up having 90 syns in total today because I shared Jamie’s bottle of white wine, ate prawn crackers, a spring roll, a piece of prawn toast, a chicken wing and half of my sweet and sour chicken with chicken fried rice. It was so lovely but I knew it would mean a bad result at weigh-in this week. The meal with drinks had cost me 600 lira (just over £25) so it was rather pricey for my tight budget, but it tasted amazing!!!

Dalyan – 19th March

I arrived back in Dalyan on Sunday 19th March before midday, in need of a shower, sleep and food. While I’d been away I had booked a cleaner to give the place a spruce up, it’s not expensive and she does the 3 bathrooms far better than I can. When I checked the rooms it looked fresh again. Oddly, in the biggest bedroom, there was a pink/purple stain on the bed which wasn’t there before. When I went out to collect in the washing, I noticed that the door handle on the outside fly screen had a newly broken handle too. Everything else seemed to be in order though, which was lucky as Jamie and Drew were about to pop by, just to see how I was, on their way out. I’d luckily snaffled down some fried rice and a peach flavoured quark but then I got persuaded to join them at Sofra bar.

Jamie and Drew had been in Sofra bar over the weekend and had some red wine left to finish, hence why they were only going for the one. I’d not slept much in the last 48 hours but Jamie had missed me, so I decided to go. The night turned in to one of those nights, with a few random people, but it was so much fun! There was drinking, karaoke and dancing including props such as a white curly wig and a Fire sign. Needless to say there was more red wine had by the three of us and I’m sure some cheeky whiskeys for Drew and Şükrü! There was a couple of tourists out that night who certainly got more than they bargained for and we haven’t seen them since. It was very late when we left Sofra bar and we had all had such a good time with no dramas. I’d still only spent about the equivalent of a English tenner as I’m more of a lightweight these days.

Brilliant fun on the dancefloor

More dancing in Sofra

Dalyan – 16th March

On Thursday 16th March I had 1 slice of buttered wholemeal toast, and a linden tea for breakfast. Outside, there were signs of a gardener here, Elite Maintenance had started work on our communal garden!
I had decided to be extravagant and treat myself to a very much needed hairdresser appointment as I’d not been since September. Because it’s a luxury and I’m on a tight budget, I didn’t want to spend money on my hair but it really needed sorting out. Some of the ladies at Fat Club had been talking yesterday that prices were due to go up again in April so it was urgent that I got in. Emrah’s very busy but he’d got me an appointment for noon and I could see he couldn’t wait to tackle my grey roots! I had a full hair dye, a cut, and curls (even though I said there was no need for the curls). It cost 600 lira (£25.53) which is very good value but had gone up by 34% in 6 months.
Once home, I packed and got ready for my pick up from Lukka bar as I was leaving Dalyan for a couple of days or so. I’d arranged to meet Mark at Lukka bar for a quick drink.
I was just drinking water but my lift was running late so I decided to have a beer. Of course the driver turned up before I’d had much of it so I gave my beer to Mark and said my goodbyes. I would be away until Sunday so my blog posts would have a little rest for the next 2 days.