We failed to avoid the World Cup match last Sunday - The Aphrodite bar/restaurant had brought a TV in just for the occasion and we arrived just as the match was ending to be greeted by Caroline as long lost cousins. Anyway the football fans soon dispersed and we had a very pleasant meal there and a natter with Steve and Caroline at the bar in the garden afterwards.

On Monday, Jeff's little old gardener man came again. His name is Ahmed, he's 60 and is completely deaf, but shouts at us in very good English. He certainly knows his trees, he pruned our young olive tree so that it now actually looks like an olive tree and not the poor neglected thing it was. Ahmed is full of wisdom and sound advice and has taken Jeff under his wing. Between them, albeit Ahmed doing the lion share, they cleared loads of rubbish from the garden again, it is beginning to look so much better, even without any plants.

The pool filling also started on Monday. A neighbour named Gargarin has an all sorts business supplying hard core, top soil, machinery and water. He has a couple of battered old tankers and one of them arrived at 9am to start filling the pool - this was the first of what was to be 9 tanker loads, taking over 2 days to complete.

On Tuesday he brought a big saw and joined Ahmed in pruning the carob tree into shape. It is now totally transformed, what previously looked like a huge bush is now a handsome tree. Ahmed said that a tree is like a man, if he doesn't shave he gets a big bushy beard, once shaved a man looks much smarter, it's the same with the tree. The carob now creates wonderful pools of shade in the garden, so much so we were driven into building a hammock we had bought from B & Q last summer and shipped out with our goods and chattles. This took most of the afternoon but now provides a very comfy place for 40 winks after lunch!

Ahmed words of wisdom today to Jeff - it is good to sometimes walk alone then your thoughts do not get interrupted.

Mehmet's pool men came and commissioned pool - all in working order, chemicals in and in 2 hours from now we can swim (2pm). That was the plan - but we had arranged to meet the proprietor of a pool cleaning and maintenance firm at our house at 5pm, so it was necessary to go off and do a bit of shopping. If we are quick we could swim before he comes. This didn't happen either! No sooner had I put my swimming costume on than Veli arrived.

Veli is an East End boy whose father was Cypriot. He is a builder by trade and decided to move out here 4 years ago when people were first beginning to show an interest in property in N Cyprus. He still has a building business but has now added the Pool Maintenance business too (and I don't doubt he has fingers in other pies too). Boy, could he talk, he told us of his garden, his well, his building projects and much, much more! His wife/partner was with him, Carol and she could hardly get a word in. His maintenance team were in the area and came and checked the pool chemicals. It was decided that more were needed and duly added. This meant that we couldn't swim until about 8pm!

We eventually got into the pool at around 10pm after our supper had settled and we enjoyed a deliciously refreshing swim.