Writing

Not so long ago, we used to work all day every day and never see a computer. No, really, we did. I'm not talking about gardening either, I'm talking about retail financial services. Guess what? It just worked. Read an old money changer before he got thrown out of the temple.

The Forde MoneyChanger
This was 1988, not the middle-ages. There were computers in the business, in the head office. Not for me, though, I worked on the counters.
Writer, interrupted.Stuart Lennon

Having been displaced by Covid, notebooks are back in my pocket (or my very fetching man-bag.)

The Return of the Pocket Notebook
I resolved to make more time to get out and about without a specific reason and this, in turn, has led to a revival of my pocket notebook use.
Writer, interrupted.Stuart Lennon

I got a tour around a golf course soon to open here in Cyprus.

Limassol Greens
If the greens are kept hard and fast, windy conditions will be a real challenge. Some of the bunkering looked intimidating, and there’s plenty of water around and about. I look forward to playing it. Particularly as I’ll be able to walk it.
Writer, interrupted.Stuart Lennon

Shopping

My protracted battle to locate a purchase seems to be approaching its climax. Just as the merchant, (in Germany) agreed to open an investigation with their service provider, my service provider, Cyprus Post, found my padel racket, balls and bag somewhere. Behind the BBQ perhaps? Whether it will get as far as my local postman and when - well, that remains to be seen. Next week? If it turns up on Monday, that will be a month and a day since I ordered it.

Some books ordered in the UK are faring better. The sender uses different send points - so I'm expecting three packages, two of which are allegedly on island - where is uncertain, but... fingers crossed. They were ordered mid-April. I think I may become a patron of the bricks and mortar bookstore down in the city.

Adulting

Fearless, I'm going full grown-up. Applying for a passport and looking to trade in a UK driving licence for a Cypriot one. Proof of address in Cyprus can be fun. There are at least six variants of my village's name. Two of them appear on road signs within metres of each other. Local compliance officers are relaxed about it. Passport officers in Balbriggan? We'll see. Today was a spectacular fail, as I entered the Department of Transport this morning laden down with my pre-translated and prepared paperwork.

"You have an appointment?"

"Ummm...No."

"Make appointment." He gestured to a notice with a phone number and e-mail address. I took a photo and trudged back to the car.

I've spent years lamenting that all admin in Cyprus requires presence in person, and a willingness to navigate incomprehensible offices with arcane methods of not queuing, and now suddenly, I can e-mail for an appointment?

Adulting is hard.

Tinkety-Tonk old fruits and down with the Nazis.