Lee boxes at the Coal exchange

Back in our hometown of Cardiff we heard News of my cousin Lee and his first amateur boxing contest. Lee boxed at Cardiff’s historic Coal Exchange in front of a crowd of 400.

The evening was a charity event and Lee won his bout on points. Lee is trained by former featherweight World Champion, Steve Robinson.

A trip to Lofou

We took a trip to the mountain village of Lofu with our friends Mary and Steve. Lofou is a very picturesque village with lots of cobbled streets and lanes to explore.

We stopped off for lunch at the Lofou tavern, we enjoyed a hearty meal in the tavern's courtyard which is traditionally decorated and a cool haven from the midday sun.

Elton John Tribute in Pissouri.

We walked down to the village square to watch the Elton John tribute act by Andrew Oliver who performed a variety of the Rocket Mans songs. The Vranka restaurant laid on a splendid buffet to accompany the evening’s entertainment.

A visit to Agros

We took a drive into the lower region of the Troodos mountains, our first stop was for a frappe at the village of Trimiklini. We continued on to the picturesque village of Pelendri, where local workmen were busy building the ornate walls of the village.

Our final destination was the village of Agros which is

famous for its roses which adorn the local streets and parks. We visited the rose factory which produces an assortment of gifts made from rose water.

Manjo’s Opens

This week a new bar/restaurant called 'Manjo's' opened in the Village. Their first theme night was a tapas night complete with complimentary jugs of Sangria.

We wish them every success with their new venture.

The Triple birthday Bash

We went to a birthday party held for three friends of ours, Simmo, Dom and Adie. The poolside BBQ was well attended and Yanni roasted a suckling pig.

There were some interesting speeches and a good deal of singing and all 3 of the main men had a cracking night of Celebration

A day at The Races in Nicosia

This week we went on a coach trip to Nicosia racecourse, around 60 people boarded the coach for the trip to the Island's capital. A private marquee had been arranged for us and a superb buffet was served.

In the horse racing stakes, Lady luck did not smile on us until the final race when Mandy and Rob's horses ended in a photo finish with Mandy's horse winning by a nose.

Dragon Ideal Gardens.

This week Mike and I helped a friend construct a small garden. We cleared weeds, laid a porous membrane and then laid  3 ton of chippings.

We built a water feature and planted a variety of shrubs and trees including a Yucca and banana tree. We now plan to add a water feature to the rock garden.

Puppies in Pissouri

Recently we have had some new arrivals in the village, one of Theo’s dogs has given birth to seven puppies.

Lots of Oooh and Arrrrring when people come to see them, as you can see from the photo's, they are very cute.

Ade’s Birthday BBQ

A birthday BBQ was held to for our friend, Ade, to celebrate his birthday. The bash was held at Tina and Paul's house in Pissouri.

There was a good turnout of guests and Yannis cooked a superb Pork Souvla.

Bottles of the local Zivania firewater were cracked open to wash down the superb food.

The Band of the Royal Marines.

The Pissouri amphitheatre was the setting for an evening concert by the Band of the Royal Marines. The band entertained a full house with a variety of music from Verdi to the Beatles.

After the concert we visited the 1911 club with a number of friends for liquid refreshment and to discuss the night's entertainment.

New wheels arrive

We drove into Geriskipou to pick up our new cars, Mandy is now the owner of a Subaru R2 and Rob now drives a Honda HRV.

On the way back to Pissouri we stopped off at Aphrodite’s rock to commemorate the occasion by taking a couple of photographs of the cars.

We finished off the weekend with a nice BBQ at a friends house (Lisa and Dom), the wine flowed, the food was superb and we all ended up improving or Greek dancing.

Our Container arrives

Today our container arrived with all our possessions from the UK. The truck bringing our container was a tight squeeze through the streets of Pissouri and a number of locals came to see and voice their opinions.

Our 3 moving men were Mario and the 2 Georges and they brought with them a telescopic lift that enabled them to pass everything through a bedroom window with the minimum of lifting. We soon began to unpack and it felt like Christmas had arrived as we opened our boxes.

Concert in Episkipi

Along with several friends we drove over to the British army base at Episkipi to see a musical concert.The show was opened by the Royal Welch pipe and drum band.

A guest choir from the Welsh village of Ynysybwl entertained the audience with a varied repertoire of Hyms, African American field songs and modern day pop songs

The Royal marine band followed and were in Great form as they played a variety of music from big band swing to Jazz.

The night was finished off with a fish and chip supper at the Paramali StationTavern

Coco channel arrives in Pissouri

We went to the Pissouriana to celebrate Mandi's birthday, a night's entertainment was laid on.

Top of the bill was a drag artist "Coco Channel" who belted out a few Shirley Bassey numbers.

A superb buffet was served and the dance floor was soon

buzzing with the local shaking thier bootie.

Football tournament in Pissouri

The Easter celebrations concluded with a football tournament at the Pissouri football pitch, a number of local teams entered and a good crowd turned out to give their support.

Easter Sunday.

The Easter celebrations took place in Pissouri square where the village council laid on food and drink.

A large crowd were entertained with traditional music, folk dancing and local games.

Rob won the Egg and spoon race and was presented with a souvenir medal although there was some dispute concerning if he completed the course.

Our friend Theo then invited us to a small family gathering at his local bar.

Theo is pictured with his Wife Xena and his daughter, Rafiela.

Good Friday in Omodos.

Good Friday morning we drove up to the picturesque village of Omodos to see how the locals celebrate this traditional holiday. The local church of The Holy Cross was packed full with local residents. The Church was decorated with colourful gardinias and numerous candles.

We then sat outside the local coffee house in the cobbled village sqaure and watched the young children play with their sparkler fireworks.

We then took the chance to wander through all the tiny backstreets of the village that are dotted with old village wineries, small tavernas and lace shops.

Pissouri Cycle paths

The Pissouri Cyclepaths are a committee of friends who have come together with the collective aim of raising money for the more than worthy charity ‘Friends’ Hospice in Paphos.They plan to cycle around the Island of Cyprus in November 2007.

More information can be found at thier website at

http://pissouricyclepaths.googlepages.com/home

Job interview in Limassol

We drove into Limassol where Mandy had a job interview with a local hospital. On the road outside Pissouri we came across a car that had rolled into a drainage ditch and ended up on its roof.

Our first stop was the main Police station to get a Police check for employment, we then headed down to the Fish Market to buy fresh sea bream and salmon.

We are now using a jeep for our travels as the car in for a replacement windscreen.

We asked friends if they had a spare tv and DVD player that we could borrow until our container arrives, as usual they all offered help, we now have 2 TV’s and 2 DVD players plus a large box of movies.