Dalyan – 28th & 29th January

It looked like it might stop raining a bit on Wednesday 28th January, which was good as I had to go to Fat Club and had arranged to meet friends. My measurements showed I’d put 2cm on both my waist and bust and had no change to my hips. Disappointingly, despite home cooking and less wine than previous weeks, the scales said I’d stayed the same – I hoped Carol’s scales were more favourable. I was up early and working away on my Resort Experts content for social media. When I checked how things were doing on my analytics, my ‘Top Tips for anyone visiting Vietnam’ post recently, had got lots more views and was ranked at 1 out of 10 – this was a good sign. My book sales for January were still a bit sporadic but at least I was going to get a payment in March. I’d set myself a goal to be able to survive without any money from Captain Caveman this year but I had struggled already. Even though I’d only spent £140 since getting back to Türkiye, I’d had to ask him for £30 to be able to cover the electric bill and the rest of my credit card, as I was slightly short. When I checked why I was short against my budget, I’d not accounted for the £27 internet cost as I’d paid cash and not added it to my spreadsheet – I usually track every penny/lira, too, so it was my mistake. Captain Caveman sent me £50 so I had a little extra and he didn’t mind at all. I did part 3 of the Race for Recurring Revenue and then rushed to get ready to face Carol’s scales.
Fat Club was full of surprises as I had in fact lost 1.2kg (2.6lb) which I was pleased about. When we came to pay the bill, there was an issue. Turkish Tea had gone up to 95 lira (£1.67) and a small water was now 60 lira (£1.05) at Caria Luxury hotel. That in itself wasn’t an issue but it was more the fact that 3 ladies had already left and the 2 members of staff couldn’t seem to work out the prices either. It was a right old palava and none of us now had the right amount.
I met a friend with Norman and we had a walk and a talk before dropping Norman back off at home. We then decided to try a new(ish) cafe in the Gülpınar area of Dalyan. Joy Cafe was very nice and we ordered water, tea and a lentil soup each. The prices were really good at 150 lira (£2.63) for all of that each and I’d definitely go back there again. I had to be back for 7pm as I had a client call booked in and then another session as part of the RRR, on Mindset.

Gratitude List
1. Losing weight
2. Norman and a walk with a friend
3. Joy Cafe.

Thursday 29th January was another wet and miserable day, we managed to get out but it was mainly work, the last session of RRR and making sure Norman was ok. I did manage to get Norman out for a walk but he was not thrilled and we both came back very moist.
I worked on more plans for my own trips in my lunch hour and attempting to promote my book, ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ to more people. I had no budget for ads or to pay a professional, to do my marketing so it was quite time consuming to do my own. I was learning lots and I was even starting to think about new areas that I had experience in which I could perhaps branch out in to. I was also starting to feel quite tired, and not being warm enough in the evenings. I missed Captain Caveman more than I thought I would, too.
That night, the storms got worse, power went off but luckily that was after I had eaten a chicken and pepper wrap and was only for a short time. Norman, being deaf, was not phased and slept through it once he’d been towel dried.

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. The handy Travel Planner
3. Planning more trips in 2026

Dalyan – 25th January

My first task on Sunday 25th January was to encourage Norman, who was very snoozy, to go outside. He was quite sleepy most of the day but he did have a corner or 2 of toast before napping. I got on with work and it was going to be a long day as I’d signed up for a free course which started late tonight. I had a lunch break at 3.30pm and decided to go to the shops to stock up for the rest of the week. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

BIM Supermarket
Pasta 14.00
Bread 15.00
Satsumas 18.73
Rice crackers 23.50
Sweetcorn 32.50
Bananas 41.83
2 Dido chocolate bars 43.50
Mushrooms 48.00
Wholemeal bread 52.00
Wraps 63.50
600g chicken breasts 145.19
Frozen chicken pieces 170.00
700g chicken thighs 179.53
Total spent 847 lira (£14.86)

I made a chicken and leek pasta bake for dinner which was amazing and had a few portions left for fridge/freezer. Norman put in another complaint when he thought his dinner was late as we had been back from a walk for over 30 minutes.
In the evening we watched some TV and I fell asleep on the sofa until my alarm went off for a Facebook Live session I’d agreed to join. Tomorrow was the start of a challenge called the Race to Recurring Revenue with business strategist Lisa Johnson, so I joined an 11pm welcome party on my laptop.

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. Food shopping
3. A tasty dinner.

Dalyan – 24th January

It was quite a busy day on Saturday 24th January and I was glad to get to the weekly market for the first time in 2026. On my way there, I checked my messages/Facebook and noticed some kind comments about The Handy Travel Planner, which was encouraging.

The market was busier than I’d expected but I guess folks were getting out in between the pockets of rain, as more bad weather was likely. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Stall 1
potatoes & red onions 60 lira (£1.05)

Stall 2
carrots, cabbage & broccoli 65 lira (£1.14)

Stall 3
leeks 35 lira (61p)

Stall 4
peppers 80 lira (£1.40)

Stall 5
strawberries, spring onions, tomatoes, apples, mushrooms & mange-tout
Total 460 lira (£8.07)

Stall 6
Gözleme/Pancake 150 lira (£2.63)
Total spent 850 lira (£14.91)

It was a big spend this week but I’d not got any fresh produce in since my return from the UK, so it was needed. I’d also decided that splashing out on the mushroom and cheese gözleme was a great idea and would save me cooking any lunch. I even sat at the stall and ate it in the market, like a local. I made it back to the corner of Jamie’s road when the rain came again so Norman wasn’t too pleased that his walk would be delayed.
Tonight I had plans to go to a friend’s for a curry night, which I was looking forward to. Unfortunately, one of the attendees was ill and couldn’t make it so it was cancelled.
I decided to take Norman for a walk and the rain eased off so we went right along the river. On my way back round, my friends were in Corner Bar so Norman and I joined them. I had a soda water and 2 red wines which came to 400 lira (£7) and this time I made sure I paid on card to be able to keep track easier. Norman got a chance to clean the floor of any scraps but, unfortunately, as we got halfway home, the rain came again and we got a bit wet. Norman put in a complaint about wet paws and late dinner so we had to do a video for Jamie. The night was finished off with me eating pasta for dinner and watching Death in Paradise on TV until I fell asleep on the sofa.

Gratitude List
1. Dalyan market
2. Norman
3. Drinks with friends.

Dalyan – 22nd & 23rd January

There was an almighty bang at 4am on Thursday 22nd January, following a blustery night’s storm. I got out of bed, put my clothes on over the top of my pyjamas and grabbed my house keys and phone. My first thought was that there was someone breaking in to the house and I had to get to little Norman to make sure he was safe. I put the upstairs stair light on and spread my keys between my fingers, making a fist! I got downstairs to the main door which was still locked and I could see no issue there. Norman was snoring away, undisturbed, I checked each door and all was still secure so I didn’t know what it was. I turned back to check if there was anyone/anything upstairs which could have made such a noise and that’s when I stood on the culprit!
A picture had fallen from above the door and was on the hall floor, surprisingly still in one piece. I picked it up, it was made of heavy wood and had been stuck to the wall with what looked like a flimsy bit of velcro. I was almost annoyed there hadn’t been an intruder as I shoved it in a drawer and went back to bed.
When I got back up, just 3 hours later, the day was all about Norman. It was very windy and grey outdoors but Norman had an official complaint not related to weather. He usually has a corner of my toast and he’d not had any this morning so he was huffing about it. We did a video for Jamie so that the complaint was logged and I decided to walk to the shop. Norman wouldn’t even venture outside so I decided the nearest shop would do. Here’s what I bought, with prices in lira;

Şevikoğlu Supermarket
Onions 4.08
Bread 15.00
1 simit 15.00
1 açma 15.00
Peppers 32.96
Total spent 82.04 lira (£1.44)

I did some work and started to think about a trip to somewhere else in Türkiye for a girls trip. Anex Tour UK offer me discount on my own bookings and are also really good for client bookings too. I mulled ideas over while I ate a simit with Red Leicester cheese. Norman came up on the sofa next to me and had afternoon snoozes as it started to rain heavily.
At 2pm I dialled in to the Resort Experts team meeting and, although Jamie couldn’t attend, he did send a photo to the group WhatsApp to give his reasons – he was sipping champagne on a business class flight.
Norman snored throughout the meeting as a storm came in, then I got a couple of messages from Captain Caveman. He had booked me 2 flights and was sending the confirmation; one to go back to the UK at the beginning of July, the other for a return trip to Madrid a few days later. We were off to the Mad Cool Festival for a few days – I’d never been to Madrid before so I was excited. Captain Caveman had already got us Metallica tickets in London, just before that too.
When it came to dog walking time, Norman took one look outside and knew he had to go in the garden as the rain was very heavy. He was quick but came back soaked and had to get dried off with a towel. It was gone 8.30pm when I ate my dinner of chicken with some mystery defrosted food.
I watched a bit of TV and almost fell asleep on the sofa.

Gratitude List
1. Not having an intruder in the house
2. Norman
3. Not getting soaked in the rain.

I woke up at 7am on Friday 23rd January and let Norman out, it was still rainy and he wasn’t keen. After his breakfast, I cheered him up with a corner or 2 of toast and he went back to bed while I cracked on with my morning. I had decided to throw caution to the wind and join a weekend trip to the Costa Del Sol in the summer with a group of friends. It had been quite a while since I’d been on a girl’s weekend so I jumped at the chance and I got us a good deal on the accomodation.
At 5.30pm it stopped raining so I whisked Norman out for a walk. I also checked around for any rain or storm damage as our main bathroom had quite a bit of water come in the sky light and the wall had gone damp. I put the AC on dehumidifier mode and went to the bank to get cash for the market tomorrow and to the shop to buy provisions. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Pasta 15.25
Haribo jellies 29.95
1 tin of tomatoes 49.95
Chickpeas 69.95
Halloumi 96.50
3 Quark 149.85
Total spent 411.45 lira (£7.22)

I had sofa snuggles with Norman and then spoke to Captain Caveman as he was driving to/from work. It was gone 9.30pm when I started cooking a meal, I decided to have spaghetti carbonara as it would be quick and I was hungry. It turned out well and I really enjoyed it. Tomorrow I had allowed time off for a market trip if the weather stayed fine.

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. More holiday plans
3. Carbonara.

Dalyan – 19th to 21st January

Monday 19th January was a busy day for me, not only unpacking, doing laundry and working but also getting ready for my next lot of shenanigans. I had flown back when I had, so that I could look after Norman, the dog, for 22 days starting tomorrow.
I managed to have a quick morning walk to the bank to get out some cash as the sun was shining. I also paid the internet for 2 months at Captainnet – they wouldn’t let me pay for longer as more price increases were due. On my way back, I called at the shop to stock up on a few essentials, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket

Milk 10.90
1 Quark 49.95
Pesto sauce 144.95
4 tins tomatoes 199.80
Frozen berries 229.95
Total spent 635.55 lira (£11.15)

I took time out of my busy schedule for helping a Facebook friend on a budget who was in Vietnam and needed somewhere to stay at Tet holiday. I put Chung, one of my best friend’s in Phong Nha, in touch and she offered their home at a bargain price and included the new year dinner because it was a friend of mine – how lovely of her.
Next, I started looking at flights to Spain, from Turkey, which weren’t ideal so I thought about my next trip back to to the UK. I’d probably tie in a week with Captain Caveman and then join a friend’s trip to Spain. It was all very exciting and it felt good to know I’d be having a few trips in 2026. I didn’t finish work until 9.30pm by which time it was too late for a proper dinner so I just had cheese and biscuits.

Gratitude List
1. A walk around sunny Dalyan
2. Helping a visitor to Phong Nha out
3. Planning trips for myself and friends.

Tuesday 20th January turned out to be a bit unusual. I worked from home in the morning at mine and Jamie picked me up just after lunch. When I got to his place, Norman and I had been left in charge of a painter who was just there for the rest of the day. This was going to be the longest I’d looked after Norman and he was almost 15 years old so when Jamie said bye to Norman, he told him he had to live until he got back. I also hoped he would survive and all looked promising as he could still walk quite well and had a great appetite.
The painter and I did our best to make sure Norman didn’t end up with a dark green mustache and it was so cold in Jamie’s with all the doors and windows open – I struggled to type! Norman was not impressed either as it looked like the weather forecast was showing rain over the next week or two. After doing a dog walk as far as my house, Norman decided he’d had enough and didn’t want to walk by the river. In the evening, I went to meet Penny and Phil at Corner Bar. It had now become the popular bar for Dalyan Dwellers so they were in there with Lady C, the dog. I ended up having 3 wines which were 170 lira (£3) each so prices, although cheaper than the UK, had gone up a little. The wine was Harman which is ok but not as good as the UK stuff I’d got used to. I ended up paying cash of 600 lira (£10.53) as the change didn’t come back as expected. For dinner, I had a warmed up, previously batch cooked freezer meal then had a video call with Captain Caveman. I ended up sleeping on the sofa, to keep my eye on Norman who was already snoring away!

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. Getting rid of the painter so we could shut the doors again
3. Drinks with Penny & Phil.

I was awake very early on Wednesday 21st January after an uncomfortable night on the sofa. I made a cup of tea and realised I’d not got enough bread for toast so had to make do. I worked all morning, including helping a colleague know what information to get from a new client looking for holiday quotes – my new book, The Handy Travel Planner, came in handy and I sent her a photo of the pages I use to collate this type of information. I did a video of Norman for Jamie & Drew as an update for them to see how he was doing. My phone was still playing up but was doing videos while deleting any photos I took – I was saving up for a new one.
Today was weigh day, my measurements showed that I’d put on centimetres on my bust and hips but lost on my waist. I’d not been to Fat Club since before Christmas so it wasn’t going to be a good result. I had put on 2.7kg (6lb) in 5 weeks!!! That was going to take some shifting but I would try my best to lose it in the 5 weeks I had until Captain Caveman arrived. I now needed to lose almost 8kg (1st 3lb) to get back down to my target weight. We have the Fat Club group meeting at Caria Luxury hotel, which is very nice but there was a bit of a to-do when a cup of Turkish tea had increased to 80 lira (£1.40), which I also thought was steep! The group decided we might look for another venue for future weeks.
After a dog walk and feeding, I just had pasta for dinner as I had a couple of holiday enquiries I was working on until 10pm. Tonight, I was looking forward to a better night’s sleep.

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. Seeing the ladies at Fat Club again
3. Being warmer today.

Dalaman to Dalyan – 18th January

I landed at Dalaman airport at 12.30am on Sunday 18th January and waited quite a while for my suit case, in fact I was one of the last out of the airport. I hadn’t managed to drink the prosecco on the plane so I had some to bring home, I didn’t bother with anything at Duty Free as I was going to try to cut down on alcohol. Unfortunately, while going through the nothing to declare exit, I got stopped. The staff member there opened my suitcase and, because of the last minute cramming in of produce, it was in a bit of disarray with food all over the place. The man asked me what it was and pointed at the food. I replied it was food as I was cooking dinner for my family and friends tonight. He smiled, said ok and let me go! I was so relieved because I really hadn’t want it to be confiscated.
My usual taxi man, Sonuç was on his way to the UK with his family so he had sent Engin. He took my case and we travelled back fairly quickly to Dalyan where he dropped me at the gate to the apartment complex and the fare was £30. The taxi rank at the airport is only £25 but I prefer to have a driver I know when arriving in the night/early hours and they don’t always drop you at your home when coming from Dalaman. I went in, put the electric back on and decided to unpack so that I could get the food in the fridge and freezer. Despite having to leave some back in the UK, I still had loads of lovely stuff which is either expensive or unavailable in Turkey.
I went to bed and although it was quite cold in Dalyan, it was still a bit warmer than London. I didn’t set an alarm as I didn’t have to be anywhere until later in the day. I didn’t have the internet with it being a Sunday so it was a nice quiet day. I did manage a bit of a walk round the town and to the bank. I got an update from 2 of my customers who were on a sleeper train, heading to Dong Hoi and were going to be staying in Phong Nha, Vietnam. They seemed to be enjoying themselves so far and I was looking forward to finding out how they would like Phong Nha.
At 5.30pm I popped my new Christmas and birthday clothes on and I met Jamie at Ela’s Kitchen for a Sunday dinner. I’d been a bit reluctant when he asked to book it in as I thought I’d have had enough English food but I decided to go for the Sunday dinner. It was a relatively new thing at Ela’s, with soup for starter, beef for main and cake for afters. They offer choice of chicken or nut roast at 850 lira (£15), beef at 950 lira (£17) or lamb at 1,100 lira (£19) which included the 3 courses. The food was really good and I was super stuffed, I also had a glass of red wine to wash it down with. When we went to get the bill, Jamie insisted on paying for it as a birthday treat, which was really lovely.

Gratitude List
1. Getting back to Dalyan with a suitcase full of treats
2. Having a good sleep
3. Sunday dinner birthday celebrations with Jamie.

London & Gatwick – 17th January

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

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

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

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

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

Pontecarlo to London – 16th January

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

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

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

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

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

Pontecarlo – 12th January

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

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

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

Asda Supermarket

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

*were items for me to take back to Turkey.

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

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

Pontefract, Hull & Manchester – 1st January

$Pontefract, Hull & Manchester – 1st January$

Captain Caveman and I were up and about early on Thursday 1st January, New Year’s Day, as we had somewhere to be. As Captain Caveman was in the shower I checked December’s income v expenditure and found, because Captain Caveman had been paying for everything since I arrived, I still had £41 left to carry forward in to 2026! Without him, that would have been depressing and I had questioned the rationale of still going on holiday but it was for my birthday and Captain Caveman needed a holiday. Because he’d been paid well for working over Christmas, Captain Caveman insisted ‘we’ could afford it. I needed to earn more money this year, though, as I didn’t like being poor or having to rely on Captain Caveman so much. I was so good at being frugal now that it concerned me when we did spend money. Yesterday marked 11 years since I’d left my well paid ‘proper’ job at Aviva and, although I didn’t miss it, I did miss getting paid a regular salary each month.
While we waited at Pontecarlo train station I started noting down 3 things to look forward to this year;
1. Marrakech with Captain Caveman
2. Selling (& publishing) more books
3. Trips to Madrid, Bulgaria & Brussels for festivals which we already had booked for July and September.

But first, we were off to Hull today as we had been invited to a free sporting event. I’m not a football fan but Captain Caveman is and he was chuffed to bits to be my plus one at the Hull v Stoke football match in the executive box at Hull. I was more looking forward to seeing Amanda from Anex Tour UK, our host, for a good catch up, a few drinks and an incredible 5 course meal!
We took the train via Leeds where it was so cold that I could hardly feel my legs. Captain Caveman had to get a coffee at McDonald’s, which I was surprised to see was heaving with customers. He also got us a ham and cheese sandwich for us to eat on the train.

We were carrying our bags (hand luggage only) as we were straight off to the airport later. The walk from Hull train station to the football ground was fairly long but flat and we arrived early, placing our luggage behind reception. We took the stairs up to the executive box where we were the first to arrive. Next to arrive was Paul, a travel agent from the local area, and his 2 guests. I liked Paul straight away and he had a good sense of humour – they usually do in Yorkshire. We were joined by a semi professional golfer and his partner who were actually here to support Stoke. I went to the loo having ordered a pint of tap water as I had a big thirst on, when I returned there was a large glass of red wine too and Captain Caveman had ordered a pint of Guinness. There was lots of pre match chat until Amanda and her guest arrived. I’d met Amanda on the Antalya fam trip so it was great to see her again, this time she wasn’t drinking as she had to drive and was technically working. The drinks flowed, the meal was delicious and then the football started. We had our own seated area outside but it was really cold. I was glad to get back in for halftime snacks and more drinks.

The second half went in to extra time, of 17 minutes, which may have been a record. I stayed inside in the warm and we nibbled on an amazing cheeseboard.
After much laughter, chatting and stuffing our faces, it was time to say farewell and leave. Captain Caveman and I had a train to catch to Manchester Airport. On the way, I was glad that despite the cold it didn’t rain. Unfortunately, I’d upset Captain Caveman who said I had talked too much and that he’d found me annoying at today’s event. That cheesed me off as I had thought the day had gone really well. We didn’t speak on the train – well, I’d already had my quota of chatting, so that Captain Caveman could enjoy the silence and play Bridge on his phone. I had a theory that Captain Caveman was suffering withdrawal symptoms from being apart from his phone and had decided to cause an argument so that he could get some peace and back to his Bridge.

We checked in at The Tribe hotel where we would spend the night before our flight to Morocco tomorrow. Captain Caveman then spent the rest of the night playing Bridge. We didn’t go to the hotel bar, we didn’t speak and we didn’t watch TV. The Tribe hotel cost us £98 for the 2 of us, was super comfy and included breakfast.

Gratitude List
1. Making it through a tricky 2025 on a tight budget but having no debt
2. An amazing day out at Hull FC courtesy of Anex Tour UK
3. The Tribe hotel.

Photo Credit – some photos by Amanda at Anex

Dalyan to London – 23rd December

Tuesday 23rd December was jam-packed as I was about to leave Dalyan for 26 days!!!! I was really looking forward to going back and we had so many different things planned! My flight was at 4.10pm to Gatwick so I had time to cram in just 4kg of my own stuff in to the 15kg hold luggage. This wasn’t an issue, though, as I had all my work stuff in my underseat bag and when I got to the UK, a bag of my stuff would be waiting for me. Captain Caveman had promised to bring my bag which had a few sets of clothes, pyjamas and a pair of boots!
With plenty of time before I left, I popped round to Jamie & Drew’s to say bye to Norman, with me being away for so long! He seemed in fine spirits and I promised him I’d be back to look after him in January.
Next, I went to Ela’s Kitchen for a breakfast with Karen and Andy who were on the same flight as me and were very kindly giving me a lift to the airport. We all had an English breakfast, which was a bit ironic, given where we were off to. It was delicious as always. Karen also ordered sandwiches to take with them but I decided I’d be ok without, after eating a breakfast. I spent 960 lira (£17.14) for my breakfast, a Yorkshire tea and my lift’s takeaway sandwich. Karen and I popped to the shop next door for some travel sweets and snacks – I got them as it was only 114.25 lira (£2.04) and they were giving me the lift which saved me the taxi fare.

At the airport it was a bit of a farce as I had to go back through security check twice when my boarding pass wouldn’t scan. This also meant I had to faff about with taking my laptop out on both occasions as well as shoes off! It was badly organised and no seating or repacking area. It would not have been ideal for anyone who struggled with this process.
Once at the gate, I bumped in to Dave, one of the regular boat trip blokes from Dalaman. We had a chat and a good laugh as he’s got a really good sense of humour. We took a photo to send to our mutual friends.
The plane left on time, I did a little blogging and watched some Netflix on my phone. When the drinks trolley came round I decided to have some water, a red wine and a cheese and crackers snack box for a total of 822.45 lira (£14.69). I was due to land at 5.40pm and had nodded off before that.

Once landed at Gatwick around 5.40pm, I retrieved my 15kg suitcase and said bye to Karen & Andy. I wrapped up in my hat, scarf and winter coat and headed to the train station. It wasn’t as cold as I expected but it was definitely chilly in England. I got the train to Barnes via Clapham Junction and Captain Caveman was there to meet me from the train. We then hurried to his parents’ house to drop off my luggage and then go back out.
I’d arranged to meet Stacey and Tracey, from Anex Tour Uk, in Hammersmith. Captain Caveman and I got the bus and arrived at The Swan pub first. Captain Caveman ordered himself a pint of ale and I had a pint of cider – he paid on card so no receipt but I don’t think there was much change from £20!
Stacey and Tracey arrived shortly after and we had a really good night, they are such a good laugh and Captain Caveman got on well with them too. After a few drinks we decided to order some food and I wolfed down the fantastic baked camembert with truffle fries like it was my death row meal – it was so good! I must’ve been quite tiddly when we said our farewells in Hammersmith train station as the group photo didn’t come out as I’d hoped at just before 11pm!!

Captain Caveman and I got back to Barnes by 11.35pm and I was knackered as my head thought it was Turkish time, 3 hours ahead. As I got in to bed, I saw a picture from a friend who had received her copy of The Handy Travel Planner and I was so pleased! She loves a holiday as much as I do so I knew it would be perfect for her to plan all of her adventures.

Gratitude List
1. A nice last morning in Dalyan
2. Seeing Captain Caveman again
3. Meeting up with 2 of the Anex ladies for pre Christmas celebrations.

Dalyan – 22nd December

There’d been 2 events that I’d contemplated doing on Monday 22nd December, my last full day and night in Dalyan this year. It was a friend’s birthday party at 4pm and I’d thought of a trip to Köyceğiz on the yellow boat had I been in a position to take the day off. However, it was the launch of The Handy Travel Planner and I was too anxious to sit and wait to see how it went.
Because I would be travelling tomorrow and that I would be taking some time off to see Captain Caveman, I wanted to get my scheduled social media content done for the next week or so. I spoke to Captain Caveman on video call who was already in London where I would join him at his parents’ home. We were both looking forward to seeing each other, even though it had only been 3 weeks since we’d last seen each other. Today was our 14 year anniversary too but we had already celebrated it while we’d been together in Dalyan last month.
I forgot to eat all day but by 4.30pm I was hungry and decided to warm up yesterday’s Christmas dinner. I spent the evening working and packing – I was really looking forward to my trip!

Gratitude List
1. The Handy Travel Planner was launched and ready to buy in paperback and hardback on Amazon
2. Seeing Captain Caveman was looking forward to seeing me again
3. Leftover Christmas dinner!

The Handy Travel Planner Amazon link is here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

Dalyan – 21st December

I was up and working before 7am on Sunday 21st December so that I could catch up from being slack and time away from my desk on Friday and Saturday and knowing I had to be somewhere this afternoon. I had more cruise training to do and I thought the Arctic cruises were particularly interesting. I did more prep for The Handy Travel Planner which was officially launching tomorrow and I still hadn’t seen a hard copy, myself! I also checked in for my flight on Tuesday afternoon and then got ready for some celebrations.
I had been invited to join friends for a Christmas meal at Ela’s Kitchen. At our table there were Jamie & Drew, Ann & Stuart with their family, Charlotte & Kenny plus Nanny Kay and me. My stomach was still iffy from yesterday so I decided to drink soda water and I had took my tupperware so that I didn’t waste my food.
I had the prawn cocktail for starter and it was very good. The Christmas dinner was impressive and I did have some left overs because I needed to save room for the a Christmas pudding. I did manage a glass of red wine but I didn’t feel 100% despite the meal being delicious. We had a good laugh, especially as I was sat between Stuart and Nanny Kay who are both hilarious. Nanny Kay rounded the meal off with an After Eight chocolate sliding down her face, playing that game where you have to get the chocolate from your forehead in to your mouth without using your hands.
At 7.30pm I paid my bill of 2500 lira (£44.64) including the tip and hurried off to meet more friends. I wanted to catch up with Janet & Ian before I went back to the UK so we met in Ren Garden and I had a couple of glasses of red wine at 140 lira (£2.50) each – I would miss these prices when I got back to London!
It was lovely to finish off the weekend with more friends and farewells too.

Gratitude List
1. Being prepared for my book launch tomorrow
2. Christmas lunch at Ela’s Kitchen with friends
3. Farewell drinks with Janet & Ian.

Photo Credit – Ann, Stuart & Jamie for some of the photos

Dalyan – 20th December

My weekend continued to be eventful and Saturday 20th December was another busy one. I had quotes to do for work, last minute Christmas markets were looking popular this year and luckily, even though I don’t particularly celebrate Christmas, I had been to a few of the European Christmas markets in the past.
It was cold, grey and wintery with rain forecast over the next couple of days in Dalyan. Nanny Kay had kindly given me a couple of black tops, one of which was a jumper and would come in handy for my trip to England. She had also been throwing out her plate collection so I had inherited lots of spare plates. I had to put the weekly market on hold a while because I had been invited for a tea and mince pie with Debbie & Mike. Debbie had also invited Ghislaine and had very kindly baked for us. I had 3 cups of tea while we chatted and caught up on what had been happening. I still needed to go to the market so Ghislaine offered to drop me on her way home.
I didn’t end up buying anything at the market as I started to feel unwell. I called in to the Şevikoğlu Supermarket and bought more Turkish Delight for Captain Caveman’s mom and my mom as they are both partial to it. They serve it fresh at the counter and I just spent the equivalent of a few pounds on 2 different flavours, to complement what I’d already bought yesterday in the fancy shop. On the way home, I walked past the white dogs and said hello to them, they were very pleased to see me and one got belly rubs.
My next friend meet up was with Penny & Phil (I had to pop home to pick up the Forerro Rocher first) and I was still feeling a little unwell. When I got to Ren Garden it was busy with other friends as well and we decided hot drinks and cake would be a good idea. I had a delicious brownie and a hot chocolate for 400 lira (£7.14) and we chatted to the waitress who is very nice.
I had to leave after that to go meet another friend at the Kaunos tea gardens where I had 2 large Turkish teas for 30 lira (54p). I spent most of our 2 hours there going back and forth to the toilet. It just shows that when I decide to break the Slimming World plan, my stomach does not react well to it. Back home I got messages from family and friends who had been on my mailing list to get ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ first. Their copies had arrived and they were delighted. I’d obviously not seen the actual book yet so I was really happy to get photos – they looked good! My first actual sales has started and I really hoped it would do well as I’d put a lot of thought in to how to help people have better holidays by planning.
I just had soup for dinner and went to bed early as I had another busy day coming up tomorrow!

Gratitude List
1. New tops and plates from Nanny Kay
2. Catching up with friends before I flew to England.
3. The first book sales of my new planner.

Dalyan & Ortaca – 19th December

Friday 19th December was a great day, in fact my last weekend in Dalyan this year was about to be rather eventful. I made a decision to take some time back to spend it with friends! After a walk to the bank to get cash out, I had a phone call with one of my UK friends. It was good to talk about general stuff as usual but this time it was a chance to arrange to meet up while I was in Sheffield.
My next excitement came in the form of a long awaited hairdresser appointment which Captain Caveman was treating me to. I’d arranged to go with Debbie (Darling) who I hadn’t seen for ages and we joked it was our work Christmas party. She met me at 1pm after having to rescue a cat out of her pool and we went to get the bus to Ortaca. We share the same hairdresser, Emrah, and we’d decided to make an afternoon of it. Luckily that we did, as Captain Caveman had asked if I could get Christmas gifts for his brother and his family of 5 while I was there.
Debbie (Darling) and I chatted so much and had a really fun shopping trip. We bought gifts for people and I managed to get woolly hats for all the Spillane family plus plenty of Turkish Delight.

At the hairdresser’s we had Emra to ourselves and we opened up the chilled prosecco (which we’d had in the fridge) while we waited for our dye to take. I loved it and we both ended up with a change of colour. It cost me a total of 2,500 lira (£44.64) and I felt so much better for having it done.
As I’d bought the fizz, Debbie paid for a taxi back to Dalyan and we popped in to Ren Garden for a quick wine to round off our wonderful afternoon.

I took my shopping home and picked up a coat as it had got chilly once it was going dark. I grabbed a bite to eat at home and then went back out. I met Nanny Kay in Ren Garden too and we had a nice little mulled wine and a good chat.
I’d really enjoyed switching off and relaxing as it’s not often I do, fully.

Gratitude List

Spending valuable time with friends
A trip out to Ortaca with Debbie (Darling)
Getting my hair done, drinking fizz and buying the Christmas Gifts for less than £120.