It's been a busy couple of months, and, as always, the blog always falls to the bottom of my priority list when things are a bit crazy. I'm currently directing another play which is taking up all of my time - I'm at rehearsals three nights a week after work, sometimes four nights, and when I'm not at a rehearsal I'm sourcing props or costumes or music or doing the risk assessment. Shit, I haven't done the risk assessment yet. Add that to the to do list.We have also had BBQ's (fairly damp ones), birthday meals for friends, I caught up with Leonie in Tunbridge Wells for cake and a walk (not at the same time) one Saturday, grabbed lunch at Bill's in Soho with Kate and Jo one Sunday, went to Steve's cousins' wedding in Henley (they had the same band as we had at our wedding, a fact that didn't register with me until the car journey home when I told Steve how much I had loved the band and he informed me who they were!), had lunch at Byron Burger in Bluewater with Jo and Ellie, and we also got to go and see Madness perform at the Kent County Cricket Ground which was just amazing. Shay was nearly in tears at the gig as she was so happy! Needless to say, a couple of hours to sit down and draft a post has been a little hard to find when you also add in regular life stuff like cooking, sleeping and laundry.
We did manage to get away for a couple of weeks though to my parents place in Kalkan in Turkey which was just amazing and I can't wait to show you some of the places we went to. There will be some posts up this week about some of things we did.
Sandele is the villa and it is heaven. The pool has a view straight over Kalamar Bay to Snake and Mouse Islands. We were there for two weeks, the first week with my folks and the second was just the two of us. We did nothing, apart from a couple of trips out to see some of the sights. Other than that, we rested and talked and swam and I read 15 books in the two weeks. 15. The next few editions of The Reading Nook will be fairly cramped I think!
My parents designed and built the villa about 18 months ago, and they chose Kalkan for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it is still remarkably underdeveloped and unspoiled and I really hope it stays that way. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of hotels and privately owned villas there, but there are no high rise hotels obscuring that beautiful view. We were based in Kalamar Bay (it means Squid Bay, think Calamari) which was on the other side of Kalkan town. The town itself is lovely, full of history and boutique shops with bars and restaurants open to the sky and water along the harbour, often with sofa's set out on the pavement to entice you in for a cocktail and a shisha pipe.We didn't venture into town too often though, mainly because it was incredibly hot when we were there and it just got hotter and stickier later into the evening in the town center which can be a bit uncomfortable. There was more of a breeze up on the hill and we were content to BBQ for ourselves, sit outside, listen to music and talk late into the evenings. It was perfect.
I did come home with a brilliant (and now sadly faded) tan and a catalog of injuries. We knew that the villa was not suitable for our friends with small children. Apparently it is also not suitable for people as accident prone as me. Just look at the inside - all that glass, steel and marble and steps that have a larger drop than normal? I walked into / fell down most of it and came home with an inventory of bruises down my legs, stubbed toes and a gash across my foot. At least I didn't bleed on anything white.
We ate well, finding lots of places to stock up on fresh fruit and veg, and surprisingly even managed to get hold of some of the best BBQ pork ribs I have ever had. We also got what we thought was a leg of lamb, but later suspected to be goat, which was just wonderful.
We also took full advantage of the hot tub on the roof, staring up at the stars as the light faded away behind the mountains. The second week there was an internet outage and we were completely cut off from the rest of the world for 5 blissful days. I highly recommend it. Steve was a bit more upset about this. The Ashes test was on and he missed it. 
This week I am back at work. It's raining. I'm in cardigans, jumpers and tights. The students are back soon. It feels like summer is well and truly over.Can I go back to Sandele please?
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