When I wrote last year, we were about to take a trip to Norfolk for my niece’s wedding. We packed warm clothing, knowing we would find it colder than Cyprus. What we didn’t know was that Gemma had wanted a white wedding – and she got it! Yup, it snowed hard the day of the wedding. Somewhere Ian has a picture of the bride and bridesmaids dancing in the snow. This one is the next morning – after a very hazardous drive home. The problem was that the gritting lorry that should have cleared the A47 had an accident – it slid off the road! They should drive those things in reverse so they clear the road for them to drive on. Now you know why we moved to Cyprus!

Last Christmas was a quieter one than we are used to – just us and two friends – Jim & Marcia. Marcia was born a Dorrington – so we’re very, very, very distant cousins. They moved to Cyprus in the summer of 2008 and we’ve been friends ever since.We lit the fire to get the right atmosphere – even though it wan’t that cold. Unfortunately, Ian had to work, so he couldn’t have dinner with us.

New Year’s Eve saw us all at the Hotel. Ian had to work again, so we decided to at least be with him (and make his work that bit harder). Of course, being customer relations, I had to greet all our regular customers, wish them well and take a drink with them. Such hardships I have to put up with!

In the Spring, Nickie started work on the boats again. This year, they decided to rest the Jolly Rodger, so she was appointed to the bar of the Sea Star. This is a 30mt cruise boat with a lounge and bar on the lower deck and a sun deck above it. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of the boat – it’s hard to get a picture when you are on the boat. One of my favourite cruises was the sunset cruise. With the clear air here, you can get some quite remarkable pictures as the sun sinks into the sea. The surprise is that it takes just 2 minutes for the sun to sink below the horizon and only about 15 minutes before it’s completely dark. Nickie worked very long hours on the boat because they had a lot of weddings as well as cruises. It often meant Sue took her to work at 9am and I went and collected her about midnight.

On the subject of weddings, we started getting wedding parties at the hotel. This is a new venture for them and I found myself very involved – particularly explaining how the British idea of a wedding reception differs from the Cypriot. I worked hard both on that part and on finding rooms for all their guests – including typical problems like “Aunty Maude’s room mustn’t be anywhere near Cousin Elsie” and similar family problems. I must have got it right because I received several bottles as thank you gifts.

The exciting news this year is that Jo & Chris have bought a house. They have bought into a “buy & rent” scheme with a housing association. Their house is in a new development in St Neots, Cambridgeshire – fairly near to where they have been renting. Jo has been working this year in what could be termed her dream job. She’s working with cats at an animal shelter. She even gets to bring kittens home if they need special attention. She only complains about the journey – never the job! Unfortunately, they were hoping to come to Cyprus for Christmas but the funds don’t run to both – and the house is more important.

Last year, I mentioned Tracie & Steve for the first time. This year we were wonderfully pleased when they decided to come to Cyprus for a holiday. They rented a house down in Kato Paphos (the sea front) and then told their children there was somewhere to stay, all they had to do was buy their own ticket (I like her style) In the end, the younger 2 came, with their partners. Lisa has just moved in with Phil, so they were a bit hard up (just like Jo & Chris). Jason brought his girlfriend, Toni.

As Nickie was working a lot of the time, she suggested they should come out on a sunset boat trip. They enjoyed themselves – including the glass of champagne.From left to right they are Tracie, Steve, Lisa, Phil, Toni & Jason.

As you have probably realised by now, this has been a rather busy but mostly uneventful year for us. Unfortunately, it has now become a very quiet year. Due to the recession, my hotel has closed down for the Winter (first time in 18 years), so Ian & I are temporarily out of work. (resting, as the acting proffesion would say). The good news is that the Cyprus Government recognise that the tourist industry is so important, so we can claim unemployment. The bad news is, we don’t get any money for 3 months, then they will tell me what percentage of my salary they will pay and hopefully give me the 3 months money. Of course, Sue isn’t going to let me sit around doing nothing. She had her list of jobs that need doing ready almost as soon as I gave her the news. With the end of the season, Nickie is also out of work, so we are all a touch gloomy. Hopefully, next year’s news will be much more up-beat.

Hope you all have a good Christmas and New Year

David, Sue, Ian & Nicola.