Sunday 24 August 2014

It's a wonderful life

There are some days when you wake up and count your blessings, and this is one of them. Sitting on the terrace, with Polis Chrysochous Bay calm like the proverbial millpond and looking at the Akamas in all their beauty, with a cup of coffee in hand, it was one of those moments. Cyprus is a marvellous place to live, despite its problems and faults. We feel privileged to live here and that's a fact.

The decision to move here was not the easiest and took a fair bit of courage as well. To some of you reading this blog, who are possibly enduring the same feelings we had in the year before we moved (and we moved a year earlier than we planned), you are probably wondering how hard it was and how difficult to cover all the bases. I suppose that is one of the reasons I decided to write the book. If it helps one person to decide "Yes, I can do this" it will have achieved its aim.

Writing the different chapters has been quite an experience, taking us back to those early days (Ann is always being asked about the fine details of what we did, and which forms we filled in and what was needed). Without the help of one particular forum, this would have been so much more difficult. In putting together all the parts of our experience, with some "Hot Tips" (but I don't want to call them that - too redolent of the Macintosh Bible and images of spent matches), I hope the ebook will be a work of reference for those that decide to follow us to Cyprus.

One of the downsides of living here has been the reliance we have on the BBC for news. We have all the TV channels we could want through the wonders of our Android TV Box, but - they say distance lends enchantment to the view - I have become very disenchanted with the BBC. With their political correctness, the standard of both reporting (nowhere near as objective as it once was) and presentation, it no longer epitomises all we were brought up to admire. With reporters (far too many with incomprehensible regional accents) who do not seem to be able to say anything without "Um" or "You know" or "Err", it is increasingly irritating to watch. I do not wish to sound like some latter-day Victor Meldrew, but I find the decline of the BBC so sad.

Still breakfast beckons, and some writing awaits. The Belgian Grand Prix this afternoon and a Skype call from one of my closest friends this evening, and who knows what else.



2 comments:

  1. Someone said to me the other day that we were very 'brave' to be making this move. But our thoughts are that we have played it safe all our lives and never taken any risks, and you never know how it will turn out until you try. Planning is in full swing at the moment, and I wish your book was finished!!

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  2. When it is really hot, and the pool is beckoning, I sometimes wish that as well. In reality, I suspect it will be ready before Christmas ... this year.

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