Smelly Elle's fantastic diary: Weight Loss? What Weight Loss?

[Jim]

It's like the national "sport" of Cyprus

I know elle, that's where I learned to play, when I was stationed there.

 

[Gemstone]

:talk017:
WOW!!
You Really Are
A Friday Girl
You Rock Fine in 09
:talk017:​

 

[elle2585]

Heehee Cheers Gem

Ahaaaa, Jim, I seeeee Where were you stationed? I don't look particularly greek, but sometimes i do get the odd "where are you from?" or "are you greek/italian?" but once this very good looking black guy walked up to me and went "are you from Cyprus?" So i said "blimey, that's pretty exact, INDEED I AM :O" (or something to that effect). it turns out he was posted there too and can spot a cypriot a mile off. I can too but i'm actually from there lol, twas pretty amazing nay, significant, that he spotted me, the non-mediterranean looking woman, in the crowd.. i was absolutely chuffed x

 

[Jim]

I've been to Cyprus 3 times elle, well not counting holidays over there. The first time I went was as a young Para when the Turks invaded, I was guarding Nicosia airport, stayed there until the UN took over control. I very nearly married a nice Cypriot girl there.

I did a 2 year tour in the late '70's at Dhekelia and then in '85 at Akrotiri, so I know Cyprus pretty well. We were considering retiring there but then we fell in love with Montpelier in S. France.

 

[elle2585]

Dhekelia Garrison eh? I come from Xylotimbou? The village nextdoor?..that's where i stay in the summer when i'm over there. When I go to the beach I go to Dhekelia because it's got the nicest environment, it's much more peaceful and there's a tasty fish and chip restaurant! Ooh, not forgetting the cafe and the shop where I can speak English freely and not have to figure how to say things in greek haha. And of course can catch up with english mags and newspapers during my hols... I've never been to the south of france, although i am gagging to go... x

 

[elle2585]

oh. p.s. my dad is originally from a village in famagusta, he lived there from the ages of 6-16 (so barely knew any English when he came over here haha and was made to sit his o levels almost straight away poor man). He was on holiday over there in 74, think he was almost 20, and they'd taken my aunty's best friend Sharon from over here with them. Thankfully my dad's uncle had tuned into the bbc world service and knew what was coming so he made them all go to his house in Larnaca before they were, well, essentially, screwed. However, they were still stuck in Cyprus for ages with poor Sharon! When they finally started letting us over the border we went to see his old house but they'd knocked it down, it was just a load of rubble.. massive shame as i'd wanted to see it. x

 

[Gemstone]

Really troubled times Elle - the rest of us don't realise what it's like really do we?

 

[elle2585]

Well i suppose we all see what's on the news and all that, like what's happening now in Gaza. But the ordinary people, the joe blogg national who's the most affected and isn't sure what they've done to deserve it, they're the ones who feel it worse. I wasn't alive for another 11 years, so i really havent got a clue what it felt like, but it is still gutting for me when I drive into Nicosia and see the massive turkish flag lit up on the mountain range just north of the capital, rubbing it in lol. My nan was in tears when she realised her house had gone. But hey, I suppose there's worse things that have happened in the world eh? x

<--- as such haha

 

[Gemstone]

It makes a big difference whe YOUR family is a part of all that. I had some friends back then who had family in Cyprus. The woman was a young mum of 2 herself who was worried about her own mum and others. I saw the anguish but could only imagine how it felt x

 

[elle2585]

It's such a tiny little country haha but noone will leave us alone because we're perfectly placed! We're at the edge of three continents! Ah well, excellent place to be from though, the weather is superb, the language, the food, the traditions - lovely x

 

[30FlirtyGirl]

I went to Cyprus for my honeymoon and went to famagusta.. well as near as you could (a small tourist cafe on the border). The flag was really clear, dont they paint it each year to make it stand out? It was really upsetting what happened from reading all the news clips they provided.

It was just a ghost town

 

[abz]

I still don't. I have no clue about what happened in Cyprus. sorry...

abz xx

 

[elle2585]

What you saying sowwy for heehee? Jist of it is the Turks invaded in 1974 and basically threw most people out of the top half of the country and took over their homes, schools, everything. Lots of people are still missing. There are many people who are 'refugees' within their own country, they have set up home in another village - i suppose it was quite hard because cyprus is very much about village life. it's where all your family are, where most people would have worked etc etc etc... Anyway, there's lots of politics behind it and a few conspiracies that people have surrounding it, much of which i don't even know myself (which i suppose is quite bad of me really) but it's quite long winded so i wont go into it. just that at the moment the top bit of the country is very much turkish and is a bit eery, like it' never moved on from 1974. Infact my aunty was freaked out that a lot of the bombed derelict hotel buildings that were shown on the tv back then are still there now. And they finally let greek cypriots back over to go and see it again a few years ago. but we can't move there or anything, and there are also major issues with land and all that. x

 

[Jim]

Xylotimbou, I remember it well elle, lovely old taverna and some great food.

 

[elle2585]

yup was it still called Bambos Restaurant back then lol? It's got a lot more in it now.

Guy's it's so ironic, did my usual sweep of the bbc news pages and there's a story on cyprus, theyre apparently having talks to try and unify they Island today. Here's a 2 minute video clip if you're interested: BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Unity hope for Cyprus talks

x

 

[elle2585]

And here's a 3 minute one for abz sort of explaining things lol. right, lunch methinks xxx

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7595217.stm

 

[Jim]

I don't think it was called Bambo's elle, I'll have to as Colleen, it was on the main square. Mind you that was a long time ago and it was a small village then. I should imagine with the amount of development that has gone on it's much larger now. I have a friend who lives in Karia.

 

[abz]

thanks for the news in brief elle i'll watch the clip when i'm not at work.

am listening to the verve while i work at the moment. not sure i'm supposed to be but all my colleagues have naffed off to the other end of the office and i can hear my phone and see anybody coming so i don't see the harm, ha.

abz xx

 

[elle2585]

haha me and Palvi slyly stick music on when the boss is out of the office, as we're really close by and he doesn't like it usually. then the minute he returns we turn it off - im on watch cos i can see his parking space from my window. x

 

[abz]

ha. sneaky one elle. saying i could see everyone. one of the guys i work with managed to walk up to his desk behind me and make me jump hee. am just listening through one ear now so i can hear him if he needs me for anything...

abz xx