From the Frying Pan into the Freezer

Why are we leaving Istanbul? And what are we looking forward to in Aberdeen? Well everyone knows about the political situation in Turkey, so you may have your own ideas about we are leaving, but perhaps you are wondering why we are jumping from the frying pan into the freezer, seeing as how Aberdeen is pretty cold and miserable on the majority of days in the year.

I guess this brings me to our decision point back in January. I must admit, after having to “mark myself safe” on Facebook for about the 4^th time in 6 months, after the New Year shooting in Istanbul, I was getting very tired of having to do so – but I knew that if I didn’t then friends and family around the world would worry. And I was getting fed up of the (mostly) unasked question of “Why are you still living there?”. We lived there through about 5 bomb attacks in Istanbul, several others across Turkey and, of course, the Military Coup on July 15^th 2016. I would love to write Barney Yarney’s Military Coup Experience, but I guess it wouldn’t sell well to kids!

But – do you know – that isn’t the main reason we are leaving. After several days of emotional, highly-charged conversations we came to a few conclusions – 1. I have missed the family very much in the last 6 years – I am fed up of never spending Christmas with them, and 2. Paul isn’t ready to retire at 62 (in 2 years time). Oh and 3. Flying longer distances on a very demanding and extremely anti-social roster isn’t good for Paul’s health or our lifestyle. So it’s time to move on. But where do we start? With the dog of course.

As with Turkish people, Turkish dogs aren’t allowed to move to the UK without jumping through a lot of hoops.  And with Brexit looming who knows what will now happen? Barney couldn’t simply fly from Istanbul to London – well he could, but he would have been kept in a quarantine cage for 3 months – so we needed to get him into Europe, sort out an official European passport, and then move him to the UK. Can you imagine the stress of that ? Far more than I could cope with. But not to worry – PAWS Bulgaria is a company owned by a lovely British couple – Phil and Sue – who offer a very unique service of picking up the dog at the front door and dropping them off at their UK destination. They stay in Bulgaria for a few days to get the paperwork sorted, then they drive them into the UK, on a long 48 hour journey – not nice for the dog, but far better than 3 months in quarantine. And guess what – they had 2 spaces left in March. So that was it – decision made. We had no job, no home, no cash reserves handy, but the dog would be catered for. Says it all really!

It hasn’t been a difficult time leaving Istanbul – although there have been a few tears – as we are very excited about what lies ahead, but we know that we are going to miss it hugely. Me more so than Paul as I have been able to do and see a lot more as I don’t have an exhausting work schedule that leaves me feeling permanently jetlagged.  I will miss the friends we have made and the International Women of Istanbul (IWI) which took up the majority of my time, and is what sustained my need to be involved in something and feel as if I was making a difference. I will miss the local people – the men in the shop next door who always gave us an enthusiastic greeting, and the men who cleaned the streets and the beach always starting our day with a cheery smile. I can’t say I will miss our nosey next door neighbour Mases though – she has been like a vulture during our moving process, sorting through our rubbish to see what we are throwing out, and walking into the apartment and looking around to see what she could have. It was funny at first, but when she walked in yesterday (on moving day) in her dressing gown and nightie that was taking it a step too far. Paul had to escort her out, asking her nor to bother the removal men. We never saw her again after that. Until after I had gone – when apparently she went through every cupboard and tried to walk out with the stuff that Paul had put aside for his temporary accommodation ! And then the janitor came in and tried to take down all the curtains !! When you leave a property in Istanbul you take everything – down to all the lightbulbs – which are cut off  with the light shade !  Our rental house in Aberdeen is thankfully far more civilised.

I will also miss the vibrant skyline. As with many things in Istanbul, it’s unique. It’s a skyline full of mosques really, as there are several perched on each of the 7 hills of Istanbul (did you know that it’s like Rome in that regard – 7 hills I mean? ) but they are all so gorgeous, some dating back to the 15th Century. And the buildings (yes some are crumbling and dilapidated) are so colourful in contrast. It’s a city with a chequered past, surviving many invasions, cultural changes, political onslaughts and much more. The city itself, and the people who live there, are very resilient – and I hope they stay that way in the current political situation.

So why are we moving back to cold, miserable Aberdeen in the far north of the UK ? Well, it seems that the things I didn’t like about living in Istanbul are the things I crave now. Being able to speak to everyone in my mother tongue – mind you – after 2 weeks in Wales  I might have to refine the accent again – and I am going back to the land of the Doric speakers. I’m actually looking forward to tuning my ear to that one again. And then there’s the exercise. We aren’t happy with the fact that we have both gained a lot of weight in the last year. It seems 3 hours dog walking a day isn’t enough, and we never did get the road bikes out. Apart from the fact that the road surface quality would kill the tyres within minutes, we had a 5km stretch of beach we could cycle on – before the crowds appeared. How boring is that ? And living with so many millions of people in close proximity we couldn’t really be bothered to go out. Imagine – the wide open spaces of Scotland, joining the Aberdeen Wheelers Cycle Club – the largest in the UK – and getting back into hill walking with the Stonehaven Mountaineering and Hill Walking Club. Another book – Barney Yarney goes Hillwalking. And the weather really doesn’t bother us (or Barney). I’m too fat for my shorts anyway and, 30 deg heat for several months gets very tiring. We’ll be very happy having BBQs in the back garden with our fleeces on, and sometimes an umbrella up.

And then there’s the friends we left behind 6 years ago. We’ve made a real effort to keep in touch with them, firstly because we like them, but also because we knew we would be going back there at some point and would need to rekindle the relationships again. We’ve already got a few social occasions lined up ! And of course the family. The girls have both got kittens recently – they are keen for them to meet Barney  – and are already discussing how it will all work out when they come to stay. Imagine – our daughters will be popping in for a meal after work, or visiting for the weekend. And yes, Christmas is already a discussion point. I am smiling hugely as I write this.

So we are now caught up. What we loved about Istanbul and what we are looking forward to in the future. The next installment will be all about the steps and hassle we have had to go through to shape the future the way we want it. 

Filling in the gaps

This morning I have left Istanbul, bound for Wales, final destination Aberdeen – for the start of the next phase in the Yarnold adventures.  It hasn’t been an easy transition as there has been so much to think about to make the move as seamless as possible, so I thought I would like to use this opportunity to resurrect the blog I started when we transitioned to Istanbul from Singapore in August 2016 – just 19 months ago. As you will know (if you read the previous blog) I love to write so, if you are taking the time to read this then I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I will enjoy writing it.

Where to start ? I need to cover the whole process I guess, from the decision point, to now (leaving Istanbul) to finally settling in Aberdeen in April. But first I guess I should fill in the gaps from where I left off – the day that Paul finished his training as a Turkish Airlines Captain, and took to the skies again.

What an amazing experience it has been. It’s the most culturally diverse experience we will ever have - and that says something after having had the privilege of travelling throughout South East Asia when we lived in Singapore. There just aren’t enough adjectives that will cover it in one readable sentence. But you will get the drift as you read on.

I guess the most notable achievement has been the adoption of a street dog – Barney Yarney. (And just wait a while on this one – my head is bursting with stuff about him – I feel the book writing phase is about to start.) As I said to Paul a while back – he is the best and worst thing we have ever done. We have tied ourselves to this gorgeous animal, made our travel lives a lot more difficult, have to commit several hours a day to walking him, and have planned the entire move back to the UK around him. But the joy he brings us (80% of the time) is incredible. I can’t wait to see him again in less than 24 hours when he is dropped off at Nanny’s and Grampa’s for a 2 week initiation into Welsh and Family life. It’s going to be a whole Barney Yarney book in itself that one. Barney Yarney goes to Wales.

Speaking of Street Dogs – I went to see an exhibition on Tuesday, with my lovely cultural friend Fiona, about the Street Dogs of Istanbul. I hadn’t realised how unique they are. This is something I shall really miss. There are around 18 million (official) people living in Istanbul, and hundreds of thousands street dogs and street cats. They have been written about by travellers as far back as the 1400’s and have 3 times been exiled to one of the islands off Istanbul over the centuries. That was horrible as they were starved and left to die. But the local people always defended them and they were allowed to breed again and live on the streets. I’m telling you – a street dog is better cared for than most refugees and homeless people. The locals keep their scraps of food and even buy dog food to feed them. We often used to stop and talk to the mad cat woman on our beach walks (This is another book actually – Barney Yarney and his Street Dog Friends). Anyway, it turns out she wasn’t mad at all, just a bit afraid of dogs and over-protective to the cats – but our one was persistent and won her over to the point that she would look for a stick for him every morning – not that he was very appreciative of it – but at least she tried. Back to the street dogs – they are (generally) very docile, love to be petted, and allowed Barney to join their gangs. They went around in small packs, keeping only to their territory. As soon as we walked into another street dog territory they would wave us on our way, and meet up with us again on our way back. Barney is going to see a heck of a difference in the UK when he only gets to play with household pets. I’m not looking forward to letting him off the lead on his first few walks. He’s going to need a re-programming exercise. First Obedience Training booked for 2:30pm on 31^st March. Not sure if she will be training the dog or the owners though !

So what else have we achieved? Once again – travel. Because of the dog (!!!) we haven’t been able to fully make use of all the travel opportunities we could have, given that we got 90% discount on Turkish Airlines flights and flew Business Class most of the time – not today though – I am getting used to life down the back again. Not so bad as they did give me a whole row of 4 to myself since Business Class was full. Nae Bad. So – Travel. We have travelled a fair amount within Turkey, but not enough – on skiing holidays, sailing holidays and typical tourist holidays. We also managed to take a cycling holiday in Salzburg and a trip to Vienna (that’s Austria done), a trip to Pisa and Florence (Italy done) and, best of all, a very cheap trip to Tokyo which included skiing (that’s Asia finished). Missed out all of Eastern Europe though. Barney gets to do that ahead of us as he’s being driven (as I write) from one end of Europe to the other – quite literally – look at the map ! That’s another book – Barney Yarney Travels Across Europe. (Although I think I might have to embellish that one as he can’t see anything from his cage in a van, and I’m not with him to see the sights.)

Speaking of sailing – Captain Yarnold is now Captain Squared. A Captain of the sky and the sea. He achieved a life ambition of becoming qualified as a Day Skipper which means we can take the girls (and their partners) on a 60^th birthday celebratory sail around the Greek islands this Summer. How cool is that? And I get to be his competent first mate, although with the family on board I think I might get relegated to the galley to do the cooking, while Catrin sunbathes, Ffion map reads, Chris is in charge of engineering, and David uses his past experience to help Paul.

I am going to stop this page as I don’t want it to get too boring for you, and will add to this in a few days, looking at what we loved about life in Istanbul and Yesilkoy.

Transition Complete - Last Post

I write this post with a mixture of success, sadness and excitement. Success because I feel we really have achieved a lot in just 3 months. Sadness because that's the transition process behind us - never to be encountered again. And excitement because our "normal"life starts today - as normal as a pilot's life (and his wife's) can ever be.

So just time for a quick reflection on what we faced when we arrived, and how we've managed.

- Set up a home - Tick. We have a lovely apartment in a lovely village. Its not anything fancy, but its ours. Filled with our own furniture and belongings, with enough rooms for visitors to stay easily, and a place to relax and entertain. We love it. Not a day goes by without me telling Paul how happy I am in my new home.

- Get registered in Turkey - Tick. Easy for Paul, the company did it. Took 3 months for me - and lots of extra "fees" to get it sorted. I've got a quiet 6 months before we have to start the whole process all over again for next year (better start saving ! ). But I'm still persona non-grata as I still can't get a phone contract in my name. Oh well - it stretches the communication skills to go and get a pe-paid package every month.

- Learn Turkish - Half Tick. Actually, I'm being hard on us here - we have a very good vocabulary base now. And I'm not sure I want to learn too much. They just speak back to you, and then we're stumped ! But I have started Turkish classes in earnest now. Had a grammer lesson this morning.  How am I going to learn to put my verbs at the end of a spoken sentence ? It was easy for my Latin A-Level as I never had to speak it - only write it. To say "I would like a white wine" you have to say "I white colour wine would like". Just as well I'm on a detox for a while as I'll need to get my head around this ! Or just resort to what I've been saying for the last 3 months - seems to work !

- Make friends - Tick. This isn't easy when you move to a new country but we do seen to have a lot of acquaintances in our little black book now - pilots on the same intake as Paul, people I've met from FB pages, my recently founded Book Group, and ladies from IWI. But it all takes time (and effort) to initiate friendships and keep them going. There are quite a few I know I will become good friends with though, and I look forward to getting to know them better.

- Find something to keep me occupied - Tick. I'm particularly proud of this. Board team member and Events Team Volunteer Coordinator of the IWI within 3 months of stepping on Turkish soil. At least Paul can go to work knowing that I'm not going to be bored or complain. 'Cos a bored Karen doesn't make for an easy life ! And I'm loving it.  Looking forward to our Christmas Festival on 29th November. Then there's a Spring Ball to be organised. And events and coffee mornings to attend. I'm also looking forward to working with some of the charities we raise money for.

Something else to keep me occupied - we're planning on getting a dog in the Spring - from a dog shelter that a friend volunteers at. Paul has written it as a comment on FB already - so that's that settled then. I'm very excited about that - a reason to get out walking on the beach a few times a day. Speaking of which - this was the view when I was our running this morning - the sand is grassing over now - its all very green down there. And the temperature is wonderful - around 13 deg. Loving it.

What else have we gained ? Try 3 kilos each !! Well we haven't actually - we are still the same weight as we were when we left Singapore (which was too heavy) but the fat seems to have shifted around ! So I started 9 day detox diet on Tuesday - I'd forgotten how hard all this dieting lark was. But the memory cells are coming back - learning whats good and what's not. My whole diet has been crap for the last 4.5 years !!!  And the roast dinners I've re-learned to cook since we moved into our new home will have to take a back seat for a while. A couple of weeks (days ???) and we'll reintroduce the odd glass of wine I hope. And roast potatoes.

And why has this fat shifted ? Because I hadn't realised exactly how arduous all our cycling was in Singapore - how many calories it burned off and how easy it was to do it. We've found a new route in Yesilkoy - its just a 5km stretch along the beach which can only be done outside of peak walking times (so about 10am or 2pm). We've only managed 3 loops so far due to all the dodging we have to do, but its better than nothing. But the cycling issue is one we still need to resolve.

So why has "normality" set in today ? Well Captain Yarnie has take to the skies again. As I write he is currently on his way back from Hamburg, on his first flight as a Turkishair pilot. He's on line-training for 10 flights - should hopefully be finished by 18th November.  Its been 3 months since he last sat in the cockpit and was very excited when he went off to work this morning. He looks so handsome in his new uniform.

To sum up -  it's been a rollercoaster 3 months since we arrived in Istanbul, and never again will we have the trials and tribulations of settling into a new country (unless Scotland becomes independent in the next 5 years !). But we have risen to the challenge and have enjoyed almost every minute of it all.

Thanks to all those who have taken the time to read this and follow our adventures. Time to switch back to good old FB for intermittent updates now. Signing off for the last time ...............

Almost There !

Wow ! I haven't written for 2 weeks. What's been happening ? I guess we've been really busy with all our visitors.

I wish I could say we've been settling into our life here - but Paul still hasn't got confirmation of his first flying date so we don't have a normal life to settle into just yet. We've really just been biding time until the day that he hits the skies again. Fingers crossed he will get his Apron Pass tomorrow (26th Oct - which is exactly 3 months since we left Singapore). Sounds as if we are being impatient (me ? Of course not!) but if he doesn't do at least one flight in October then we are back to basic pay again. Arrggghhh ! Still, there's 5 days to go yet - anything can happen in the next 5 days.

So, we enjoyed the week with my parents. They left on the 16th promising to come back next June when the sun will be shining and they can sit by the pool. We did have a lovely night with them and Colin and Vaila at Aqua Florya before they left - watching the sun set and the stream of planes on the flight-path ahead.

We had the night to ourselves on the 16th and chose to spend it with 2 Irish people we'd never met. The lovely lady, Caroline, who helped Paul through the process of finding the job in Turkishair, was in town with a colleague (who's name I can't even remember now). So off we toddled back to the Hilton Hotel near the airport - where we lived for the 2 weeks before we moved to Yesilkoy - to meet them just for a few drinks. Half a bottle of wine and 4 double gins later - at 2am - we fell into a taxi - after I was apparently riding the big sheep / ram that's outside the hotel foyer. Thankfully Paul didn't have very good control of his iPhone, so there's no photographic evidence. So much for a nice quiet night in !

Last week was spent with Colin and Vaila (with a trip for them to Cappadocia in between - for those who plan on visiting us, a 2 day trip here is definitely something to consider) with me also attending a few IWI meetings. I am now a fully fledged member of the events team, currently looking for, and coordinating, over 150 volunteers for the Christmas Charity Festival on the 29th Nov. It's so good to be back in the events management seat again !

Oh - another big tick in the box - my ikamet (residence pass) has finally arrived. This has also allowed me to tax the iPhone 5 I brought from Singapore and have a decent smartphone device with me at all times. I still can't get a monthy contract - as that involves taking a Turkish man along to the phone company and asking him to be my guarantor. Stuff that ! I'll continue with my complex pre-paid monthly way instead - which involves 3 packages - one for data, one for texts, and one for international calls ! The goalposts keep changing every month on this - but if life was completely smooth and unchangeable then we wouldn't be living in Turkey !!!

And speaking of ticks - the shower tray and doors have been replaced. After 6 weeks of waiting in fr the guys they finally came, with all the right tools and parts, to finish the job. We now have a shower that doesn't leak all over the floor - but only after Mr Y took a trip to his local hardware store for sealants to re-seal all the areas the plumbers had missed ! How they missed anything I don't know as there were 3 of them on the job !

On Friday, Paul's birthday, Catrin arrived for 4 days. Its great to have Daughter Number 2 around for a while. We had a lovely birthday meal at the same restaurant I celebrated mine in - they remembered us and it was more free ice-cream and after dinner liqueurs. There were still no other diners in there though. A beautiful 3 story restaurant with 4 staff in attendance, and no customers on a Friday night. How do they do it ? We do have a few theories but we won't go into them on a public page !

Oh - and before Vaila left she very kindly baked Paul a cake for his birthday. Finding the same ingredients as in the UK was challenging, but the taste was great. Thanks Mdme Will. Cake very much appreciated.

Oh, and since its  a day for ticking things off lists - I took the plunge and went to a local hairdressers yesterday. Its right next door, in the basement of the apartments, in the middle of decoration, and staffed by men (as are most things in Turkey). If it didn't work out then it would always grow back. Pretty funny experience actually as they don't speak English and I had forgotten to learn the Turkish for "just take an inch off all over". There were lots of women coming and going - no-one for an actual cut - most for a blow-dry only. It seems that Turkish ladies have an aversion for drying their own hair ! Anyway, the results weren't too bad. I think I'll go back there again. And according to Catrin, I don't have to dye my hair any more, as people are paying for a mid-brown with white highlights look !  So I'm right on trend with all my new grey bits :-)

I've decided that this is the penultimate blog entry. The last one will be a photo of my lovely husband going to work for the first time. Once that happens, I think we can finally say that we have settled into our new lives.

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

So - Nanny and Grampa arrived safely on Thursday night - eventually ! It took them 2 hours from touchdown to arrivals ! They should have had assistance, but it never materialised, so they had to walk the whole distance after waiting for over half an hour. Still, they got here in one piece at 11:45 pm, straight home in a taxi, and several nightcaps until 2am. It's lovely having them here. They love our new home, and my Dad has already started talking to the locals!

Once they wake up the following day they immediately chose their favourite seats - I could have predicted it ! My Dad on the balcony and my Mum at the kitchen table overlooking the pool. So we've spent 2 days around Yesilkoy showing them our lovely small town, and we went on a road trip to the Black Sea today. And it pee'd down - cats and dogs all day. It was great though as it was a good recce for me and Paul to see if there are any roads up there that are worth cycling on. There are - but to be honest, the scenery isn't worth writing home about. Perhaps the weather put us off, but we really couldn't see the attraction. Or perhaps we've just been spoiled with unlimited cycling opportunities and great scenery for the last 4 years. Still - at least we know where we can get a great car hire deal in Yesilkoy now - with Ozzie at Inter Rental Cars - Ozzie spent 6 months living with a girlfriend in Barnsley - and loves the UK. Paul had him in stitches with all the regional accents he does.

A disappointment this week with the shower - yet again. The guy finally turns up on Saturday afternoon - proudly sporting new shower doors. HE started to enthusiastically unscrew the originals before I could stop him. So I kicked the shower tray (which is the whole reason we need a replacement - our extra kilos are putting a stress on the crap plastic tray and have exposed a crack in it - causing a wet floor) and he shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know we needed one !  Paul gets more stressed than me about it though - I just laughed - he's really frustrated as this has been 4-6 weeks in the waiting ! Hoesgeldinez Turkiye.

One tick in the box though - well almost - I now have a temporary residents pass - which will apparently do until the card arrives - maybe next week - maybe. At least I can get my iPhone 5 registered here now (after I pay the tax of course) and get a contract rather than pre-paid.

So why the title - "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff" ? Well' all the little niggles and frustrations that happen to us are just that. And they are laughable really - hopefully they've made for a few good stories in the last few months.

After yesterdays bomb attacks in Ankara - 95 people dead  believe - and the possible future for Turkey - then everything else pales into insignificance. Its always the innocent people. And thanks for those who have asked after us - we are fine. We are 500 miles away from Ankara, and 10 miles from Istanbul. Hopefully our sleepy hollow will keep us safe. But if the Lira continues to fall, and the political situation worsens - who knows - we could find ourselves looking for a home in the UK sooner than we think. But no point worrying about that just now - we have a lot of life enjoyment to seek first.

Great Excitement and Aching Limbs

I'm writing this while trying to watch Game of Thrones as we realised that we haven't seen the last 5 episodes - looks like its going to be a late night again !  Not sure how we missed them - I think it coincided with moving out of our flat in Singapore, and getting distracted with all the changes we've had in the last 4 months. Anyway, things are back to normal now and, thanks to Ffion, we are able to watch pretty much what we want on Apple TV. We aren't sure what she's done. or how she did it - but she's a marvel. We can see films, series, live ITV and BBC (yes - we did watch the rugby on Saturday - sorry England), and I can catch up on Downton and Strictly. All for the price of a packet of fine chocolates from the coffee shop down the road.

So - the great excitement - obviously - the arrival of the furniture and the settling in. It's taken just 4 days, and we only have 3 boxes to unpack (they all say handbags - but they can't be - surely ? ). All the pictures have been put up and we finally feel that we are "home". In fact, the furniture fits in better here than it did in Singapore. Its brought a real warmth and cosiness to the place - which is just as well as its decidedly nippy out there at night now.  Some photos below. Those that came to our place in Singapore will recognise the furniture and pictures on the walls.

Why aching limbs ? Well, yesterday morning (Monday), Ffion left for the airport at 6am. Paul was sleeping again by 6:15 but I decided to go for a little run along the seafront - inspired by our friends - The Nannes - who sent us photos of their trek up a mountain in Bali. Made me realise just how little exercise I have really done in the last few months- I'm not sure I could walk up a hill, let alone trek up a mountain !  So off I went wearing my newly found long trackie bottoms and a cycling shirt so that I could carry stuff in the back pockets (lets face it, I won't be wearing cycling tops to cycle  anywhere very soon). It was just 7am - got to see a lovely sunrise. Well worth it.

Not being one to take things slowly (apart from the actual running - which was slow) I managed 8.5 kms - mostly a jog, with some walking. Felt pretty good when I got home. Not sure what I was trying to prove though - but I went to a spin class at night as well. The result ? I can hardly walk up or down stairs now, and I have to lower myself gingerly onto the loo ! Still - if its going to help in my goal to lose this extra weight I've put on then it will be worth it.

I had planned on doing the same tomorrow morning (Wed) but all plans have changed now as I have been invited to the Board Meeting for the International Women of Istanbul (IWI) tomorrow morning. I went to an Events meeting this morning (my first trip into Istanbul city on my own - pretty painless really) about the IWI Christmas Fair. I've picked up the roles as volunteer coordinator, and Process Improvement Coordinator. I'm feeling energised again.

Negative note though - we waited in all day yesterday, hung around all day today - and still no plumber. We've just found out that Caglan has fired him - wonder where that leaves us for our replacement shower ???

Cloudy Skies and Exictement

I can't believe its been a week since I last posted. Where has the time gone ? How can someone who doesn't work be able to fill so much time doing nothing ?? Two someone's actually - as Mr Y is on a long sabbatical at the moment as well.

Great news on that front - Captain Yarnold takes to the skies on 22nd October. He's had his roster and they are flying him hard from Day 1. In the last 9 days of the month he will be flying 8 of them - and we have no clue what will happen in November yet. Its a long time to wait - but we've been advised to enjoy every minute as he isn't going to have any minutes from 22nd Oct.

Great news on another front too - our long awaited shipment arrives TODAY ! Whohoo. My excitement is uncontainable. We can have more than 4 plates in the cupboard, have extra settees to sit on, a dining table to sit at, bedside lamps, more than 4 towels, a bed to sleep on ............. the list goes on. (It does make me a bit sad to write this though - I feel so selfish being so excited when there are so many people out there who would give their right arm to live with what we have had for the past 3 months.)

What a journey to get here. We have been delayed firstly by the Singapore 50th Birthday holiday, then by the Turkish Sacrifice Festival holiday (I estimate a 10-14 day delay due to the two), then the Customs computer system broke down and the release authorization wasn't getting signed off. Luckily Gunes in the Istanbul shipping company has been extremely helpful and has pushed it through as quickly as she can. I bet she will miss our daily chats :-). And we have incurred additional storage costs as a result of other people's holidays - but lets not dwell on that !

So - what's been happening in the last week ? Well, I can't let it pass. I tried, and I managed 4 paragraphs, but, well, I did enjoy watching the rugby last weekend. A little victory to my home nation. Thankfully I have a very magnanimous English husband who took the result on the chin - and I didn't gloat (too much). It's so great to be able to watch live events from home with just a 2 hour time difference now. No longer do we have to watch games at midnight, or catch the highlights the next day. Being so much closer to home makes me feel as if I'm not even away from home these days. We still have a lot of catching up to do with people though. And that's already started - Ffion is here at the moment (about to be put to good use unpacking boxes for the next few days), my parents have booked their flight - next Thursday for a week, Colin And Vaila overlap with them, and then stay  for 10 days (in between travelling around), and Catrin arrives the day that C&V leave. And I might plan a little trip to Aberdeen in November as I hear there is an ladies night out planned - I don't have to miss out any more !

Oh, and in October I have the first Book Club meeting, I'm off to an International Women of Istanbul (IWI) events meeting to help plan their Christmas Fair, and I have my first IWI Board meeting. I'm up and running !

We have been having a lovely time with Ffion, but I do feel sorry for her in that the sun went in a few hours before she arrived on Monday night and hasn't been seen since. And the temperature has sunk to 21 deg. And its very cold at night now - there's quite a cold wind lingers around Istanbul - its like being back in Aberdeen (love it !). To add insult to injury, the UK has been experiencing a mini heatwave which Ffion has left behind. Never mind - she can wear er new Raybans next year.

We hung around the flat all day on Tuesday, waiting for the plumber to install the new shower - you've guessed it - he still hasn't appeared.  Then we went off into Istanbul on Wednesday. We went to the Grand Bazaar first - just for a look. Ended up being stuck in a lamp shop for half an hour. After a nice chat with the owner and a cup of cay (tea), we are now the proud owners of two lovely lamps - thanks to Ffion and Catrin for buying them as our birthday presents this year.

After that we ventured next door to a carpet shop. We did explain that we weren't going to buy anything - but still managed to pass the time for another half an hour being shown a lovely array of rugs. Starting price 3500 USD. We think we can work with that when the time comes ! Its got to come down a long long way before we will consider buying one. But at least we have some ideas and a benchmark now. And it was good fun. The Grand Bazaar is huge- we barely scratched the surface. You could be in there for days wandering the streets. You have to be good at bargaining though. One seller offered me a backgammon set for 350 lira. Within 3 minutes it was on offer for 100 ! How did that happen ? Not that I bought it - there's plenty of opportunity to go back - once the bank has some money in it again. That will be 2016 then !

The it was off to Topkapi Palace. Nice enough place, with great gardens, and a lovely cafe overlooking the Bosphorous (well we think it did - it was too misty to see much ! ) - but we really aren't top tourists in Istanbul. But it was great to wander around in cooler weather, with less tourists than normal.

Yesterday we stayed closer to home and went to the aquarium at Aqua Florya - just a 2km walk along the beach from us. Now that was more up our street than 16th century palaces and mosques ( I know - we aren't culture vultures ! ). A very well presented aquarium right on our doorstep.

Last night saw us watching the Wales vs Fiji game, at home with 2 Austrian pilot friends - Thomas and Peter. With Paul around it was like having 3 disciples in the room ! Anyway, it was Peter's introduction to Rugby - I spent hours imparting my knowledge of the game onto him ! He's still none the wiser, and probably very misguided now. But he had a great time. Its a bugger that Wales didn't get the bonus point the needed to secure them a place in the next round, but I guess it will make the England vs Australia game all the more exciting now. ( I don't understand why Wales played in blue. Were the red jerseys in the wash ? I think they were at a psychological disadvantage in blue.) We've promised The Disciples a 2 game extravaganza on our bigger screen, with more seats, on Saturday night. Scotland then England.

Well, I'm off to wake up Paul and Ffion now (I've been awake since 5am planning where everything is going to go in the apartment) - they need to be on the ball for this furniture shipment arrival.

A little aside before I sign off though - we've stepped up our Turkish language learning. There's now a whiteboard next to the fridge with key words and phrases. We go around saying as many of them as we can to people, and replace them with new words when we are feeling confident. I think we are driving the bloke in the supermarket next door crazy. The 3 men who work in there often shake their heads when we bound in with enthusiasm !

Far from the Madding Crowd

I had to Google the title just now to check the spelling. In Thomas Hardy's days they obviously didn't use" maddening". I wonder why ?

Anyway, yesterday we went to the Princes Islands just off the Istanbul coast. There are 4 larger islands - the largest one nearest Asia - Buyukada - which is the one most people visit on the public transport ferry. The 3rd largest is Burgazada - where Caglan's in-laws have lived all their lives, and not a lot of tourists go there. It's about 90 mins on the ferry from Yesilkoy. The ferry only goes once a day - leaves at 9am, back at 6pm - so it's a proper day out. We had expected to do a lot of walking on our own (well, not that much really as Burgazada is only 5km squared) and just meet Caglan for a coffee. But he had other ideas.

He booked us into a restaurant for breakfast on the seafront, took us to meet his in-laws and his dogs, went for a hike over the top of the island, and then a trip around the island in his cousin's boat. So we got a great taster of island life. The only thing we didn't do was a horse-drawn carriage ride around the island - which we will save for the parental visit.

Breakfast was lovely - a "Full Turkish" - so lots of bread, cheese and salad. And the usual array of cats lurking around. An observation about all the stray animals we have encountered in Turkey - dogs, cats, seagulls, etc - none of them are aggressive or bother people. And they even mingle with each other. Its weird not seeing dogs chase cats, or cats chase birds. I guess the cats chase mice though as we still haven't seen one.

It was great to meet Caglan's wife and in-laws. They live high on the hill overlooking Istanbul. Amazing to think that 20 years ago the view you can see in the background was mostly green hillside. Istanbul has expanded at a huge rate in a very short space of time apparently.

I took this as an opportunity to practice my Turkish. I was able to tell Ali (father-in-law) that Ffion is 25 and is visiting on Monday, and Catrin is 22 and is visiting in October. I guess I must be learning something after all ! (More on the Turkish lessons later)

It was a lovely day out - the weather was great, there weren't too many people - but it was getting crowded when we left as it's still the public holiday weekend - the ferry ride was very scenic and relaxing, we met some new people, ate some great food, and found a new place to take (or send) Summer visitors.

The only dampener on the day was when we got back. We decided to cap it off nicely with an early dinner in "Food Street". We thought we would try a new restaurant - and were doing pretty well on the ordering front. Just a few hot meze dishes, a salad and a Sea-bass. We aren't drinking alcohol at the moment on account of having far too much over the previous weeks, and putting on several kilos apiece since we've been here, so the bill should have been far cheaper than normal. I knew a kilo of Sea-bass was 80 lira. So how come one small sea-bass between 2 of us was 90 lira ? I'm off to the balikci (fishmonger) later to weigh one !!! Once again another example of how they like to rip-off the yabanci (foreigner).

Still - lets not dwell on that - we got back home to catch up on some BBC-iplayer stuff - before having an early night.

Changing the subject - one little irritant we have around here is mosquitoes. There's no weekly fogging as in Singapore (not that poor Singapore has needed fogging in the last few weeks, but I did hear that the PSI was back to below 100 today - finally), and the mossies are tenacious little buggers. I have never used mossie spray - never really needed it - but now I'm covered in bites. The one who buzzed around my head at 5am this morning wasn't very welcomed either !  So - potential visitors - please be warned about the mossies.

And I said I would mention Turkish lessons - it is so so so difficult learning this language. The other 3 ladies in my weekly class have (as it turns out) had several stabs at learning this - one lady is on her 3rd set of lessons - no wonder I feel so inadequate. I'm getting to the point when I am thinking about dropping the group sessions and having private one-on-one lessons. I'll wait for Paul to get his first proper salary in first though. That pay-packet is being promised to so many things !!!! Or perhaps I'm displaying my usual impatience, and expecting to be able to run before I can walk - or being me - sprint before I can crawl !!!

Off to the gym now - a very quiet weekend lined up before the madness of next week arrives - shipment delivery (hopefully), new shower installation (hopefully), Ffion's arrival on Monday, and booking my parents' visit subject to furniture being here. The possibilities of something going wrong with that plan are quite high methinks ! Lets keep our fingers crossed for a great outcome.

FOOTNOTE - I've just remembered a story Caglan told us yesterday about his first experience of London when he was a 19 year old student. Someone showed him a furnished flat, got him to sign a huge contract, took £1000 off him and gave him the keys. When he went to move in a week later, the real tenants were there and called the police. It turns out that some scheming a'hole had broken into the flat, copied the keys, rented it out to an unsuspecting Turkish student, and ran off with £1000 - which Caglan never saw again. It made us feel pretty ashamed that this happened in our home nation actually. I guess a rip-off of 40 lira for a fish isn't so bad after all !

The CV is Back in Circulation

Yep. I've had a reason to send my CV out this morning. Not for a paid job - don't be daft - but for a volunteer role with the International Women Istanbul organisation.

To make a short story long - I have that knack - we got the dolmus (minibus) into Istanbul on Monday with Sally and Brian, after I learned how to use it on Friday. A lady got on at the other end of Yesilkoy and at next to Paul, but only after a nice young guy gave up his seat for her - which is great considering she's not old - yet another 30-something. Anyway, Beate, turns out to be a THY First Officer on the same fleet as Paul. I mentioned that I am looking for some form of charity work and, by coincidence, she was going to the welcome meeting for the IWI - so I tagged along - cutting short the tourist stuff we had planned for the Coghills - but needs must.  I met the Chairperson, had a lovely long chat, and found that there are plenty of opportunities on the Board. Lots of events coming up - including a large Christmas Fair and a Spring Ball. Sounds right up my street. All proceeds go to charity - I wonder if I could get Tabitha on there ! The first meeting is the 15th October. I updated the old CV yesterday and sent it off.  So lets see what awaits.

I've also met a new friend - Beate seems really lovely - a joint friend - someone Paul can speak pilot shite to, and I can chat girlie stuff with.

We had a great day in Istanbul with the Coghills. Its a difficult balance as we don't want to traipse around the same old places with every visitor so we are going to need to get clever with who we take where. Having seen the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace before, we didn't want to stand with lots of tourists in huge queues again, so this trip was a walk through Taksim (a very popular area for shoppers and rebellious protests) down to Galata Bridge, and on a 2 hour boat trip up the Bosphorous. It was all I could manage as I put on a pair of sandals I haven't worn since Singapore - wore them loads there with no problems. In no time at all my heels and toes were rubbed to bare flesh, and I ended up buying a new pair of sandals. This is what happens to feet that are in flip-flops and sweaty training shoes for 4 years !! I really hope that I can get them toughened up for hill walking again - when my boots finally arrive that is !

Oh - great news on the shipping front. The container is in a dock somewhere in Istanbul. The processing has started and, baring any issues, we should have our worldly goods by 2nd October. Fingers are tightly crossed on that score - and the bank account is being filled with offerings from our UK rainy day money so that we can be ready to pay whatever is needed to the customs thieves.

A lovely day yesterday - while the Coghills went off to explore Istanbul on their own - testing out the BN1 bus service for us at the same time - took just 30 mins to Galata Bridge. We were waiting in for the plumber to come and install a new shower tray and shower doors (which the landlord is unbelievably paying for). So off I trouped to the gym to get my weekly Zumba experience. I wonder when I will tire of it :-). Paul went to to the gym in the afternoon, while I watched Downton Abbey, did the ironing and shed a few tears at the end. Its going to be a shame when the series ends in a few weeks time. There'll be a Christmas Special no doubt. Oh - and the plumber never arrived. So that's next weeks problem

So - tomorrow is the Sacrifice Festival (Bayram). The offices are closed down all week, and most of the 18 million people who live in Istanbul seem to have moved out. A burglar's paradise no doubt ! It's so quiet here. We are going to go to the Princes Islands on Friday (the Boxing Day equivalent) - might even take Caglan up on his offer of visiting his family. Always something to look forward to.

To end on an amusing story that's just come to mind - although Paul wasn't amused at all. On the dolmus back from the gym on Sunday he stumbled in the aisle as it went around a corner. So a lovely young lady stood up and insisted the old man had her seat. I told him he should have worn his Captain Marvel suit !!!

Captain Marvel Strikes Again.

This week I changed my FB profile pic to Power Girl to raise awareness for Children's Cancer Awareness, then anyone who "liked" it got their own superhero. My choice for Paul is Captain Marvel.

Why ? Apart from the fact that he is indeed a marvelous man ? Well - yesterday he successfully passed his simulator test. He is through to the next stage of the job now - with 3-4 weeks off while he waits for his apron pass to come through. I know its his job, and he does it really well, but the stress levels before these 6-monthly tests run pretty high.  No-one wants to fail their sim and these guys put a fair amount of pressure on themselves. So this has been a quiet week while Paul has studied, trained, studied. That's the first one over for Turkish airlines now. Once he's cleared to fly he can get that new uniform on. Sneak preview - but not of Paul because he won't be photographed in it until his first flight. Get the hat though !!!

And he has just fixed the blinds on the balcony and done a few small DIY jobs - so Captain Marvel strikes again :-)

Its been a quiet few days but there have been a few small achievements :

Thu 1 - The official documents arrived at the shipping company safely. So now the processing can start - even though all our worldly goods are still at sea somewhere.
Thu 2 - Went to my second Zumba class while Paul was at the gym. He grudgingly agreed that the instructor could possibly be regarded as a hunk.
Thu 3 - Successfully ordered water for the water machine. I called them - said "Su lutfen. Bir numera. Naima Sokak. English"  (Water please, Number 1. Naima Sokak (our street). English). There was silence for 2 seconds til he caught on - and then said "Tamam" (OK). He was around with the water within 30 minutes. Great service ! I think it was the word English that did it !

Fri 1 - I went into Istanbul on a mercy mission to help Hannah (from my newly founded book group) as she was having her wisdom teeth out. My job was to escort her home safely. So this was a chance to try out the Number 72T bus from outside our home. I thought it only took an hour to Taksim Square. Wrong ! 90 minutes later, and a sweaty heap - I got off the bus - 1km further down-route as I should have been as my book was so good. .
Fri 2 - I did manage to make great inroads into my book club book for October though
Fri 3 - Hannah (who was absolutely fine after the teeth removal) showed me how to catch the minibus (dolmus) back to Yesilkoy - perfect. Took 40 minutes, and I had a great big seat to myself - they don't allow any more than 8 people on at a time. So I now know the best way to get to the city centre - for the huge sum of 5 lira.

Last night we went to see Karl and Burcin (Karl has been training with Paul all week) to celebrate the guys' success. Several bottles of wine later, and great fun playing with their lovely kids, we were bundled into a taxi.

We are now off to a big supermarket (probably Carrefour) to fill the cupboards with staples, and lots of wine and beer as the Coghills return tomorrow. We need to find out how we can watch the rugby world cup as well - Wales play their first game tomorrow. Its wonderful to be back in the same timezone (almost) so that we can start watching sporting events live. We can even see the Singapore Grand Prix perhaps. Now that will be weird -  a night-time race that's been a huge event for us for the last 4 years - watching it during the daytime with the time difference. Looks like it could be a great afternoon !

And we also need to plan what we will do for the next 3-4 weeks that Paul is off. We've got several things lined up though :
- Sally and Brian for 4 days
- Sacrifice festival for 3 days
- Ffion arrives for a week
- Shipment hopefully arrives the same week as Ffion
- My parents come for a week (only if the shipment arrives)
- Colin and Vaila visit for 10 days.

Thats us til mid-October !!! I guess we aren't going away anywhere for a while then ! But lots to keep us occupied.