Gary Speed, Proud Welshman

One of the good guys in football, a great loss to the football World. I just needed some way of paying my respects to a great Welshman.

4D's Birthday Buffet

To finally Conclude the end of 4D's birthday week, Del and Josie and their family organised a Birthday Buffet at their house in Pissouri. While a lightening storm raged outside, the guests enjoyed some lovely food, old family videos and Georgia's home made games.

That it for 4D's birthday this year, roll on the next one...its the Bigee !

Pipe Smoking for Beginers

A Educational, Informative and amusing video for the discerning Gentlemen smoker.

4D's birthday Trip (Part 2)

On day two we headed down to Girne (Kyrenia) harbour to visit the impressive  Castle. We walked along the battlements which give spectacular views of the surrounding area.

We then visited the dungeons and the impressive museum that holds the relics and  remains of a Greek merchant ship dating from 4th century BC.

After a light lunch we wandered over to The Deja vu cafe where the locals tempted us into trying the local Shisha pipe,  a mixture of water, tobacco and natural flavours, we opted for the Apple flavour.

To finish off the day we headed over to the local Chinese restaurant to help Steve celebrate his Birthday in style, I won't go into the reasons as to why he ended up with a damp chair !

On the final day of our trip we decided to return to Nicosia via the "Five fingers" mountain range which climbs through the pine forest to a height of 740m. The views of the coastline from on top of the mountain are superb.

  

4D's Birthday Trip up North ( Part 1)

To Celebrate 4D's birthday we drove up to the North of Cyprus, our base for our visit was The Ship Inn. We arrived in Girne (Kyrenia) in the middle of a huge electrical storm. The deafening claps of thunder reverberated around the Pentadactylos (Besparmak) mountians and the lights from St Hilarion castle looked like lava tumbling down the mountain cliffs.

The next morning the storm passed over and we made our way West to the town of Guzelyurt (Morfou), the town had a colourful Saturday open air market where locals turn out to buy their fresh fruit and veg.

We then walked over to St. Mama's monastery named after the Patron saint of Tax evaders. Mamus died about 275 AD and legend said his sarcophagus was washed ashore where a peasent found the remains and was told in a vision to the spot where the monastery now stands.

Leaving Guzelyurt when drove East to Morfou bay, a totally unspoilt area of natural beauty with its long sandy beaches and home to nestling turtles.

Next stop was the small village of Korucam which is home to the only Maronite village in Northen Cyprus, the village is dominated by the large Roman Catholic church. Directly opposite the church is The Yorgo restaurant which is run by Maria Skoullou, the Keleftiko and salad meze is to be recommended and Maria is a wonderful host and likes to tell her guests about the history of the village and the Maronite people.

The final leg of the day's trip was to Cape Kormakitis which lies at the Northern tip of Morfou Bay, we had to hike several Kilometres to reach the headland and on our arrival we toasted the end of our journey with a nip of so zivania.

We have had 3 days of Constant rain here in Cyprus and  a lot of people have caught the bug that is going around the village, including us, time for a break to recharge the old batteries.

Bonfire Night

On a mild November evening we made our way  over to Episkopi Garrison for the annual bonfire and fire works show. The large crowd was also entertained by the band of the Army Air Corps.

We then returned to Pissouri to celebrate Joesy'e birthday with a couple of drinks and a lovely chocolate cake at the Spari bar.

A visit to Apoel Nicosia Supporters club

Rob, Steve, Warren and Derek made their way up to Nicosia to watch the Champions League match between Apoel Nicosia and FC Porto.  The lads arrived without tickets and despite their best efforts to wangle their way into the stadium they were thwarted at pitch side by security staff.

Plan B was to head over to the Apoel supporters club, the home fans made the lads welcome and when the home side got a last minute winner the fans in the club went Loopy.

Diveathon

Pissouri's top dive instructor (4D) took part in a 24 hour diveathon that was organised by Pissouri Bay Divers. The event was held at the Ampeli taverna and all proceeds raised went to SSAFA (The British Soldiers, Sailors and Family Association.