Merhaba benim arkadaslarim!!
Well heres number 5, I am sitting here in the sunshine writing this one after 3 days of horrendous rain again! Its fascinating watching the resort come to life after the 'winter', everywhere is being spruced up for the tourists - yes and prices are rising as we speak!
Its been a time of frenzy here over the last month or so, its been election time for local mayors and other officials. Now in England theres a certain sense of responsibility and determination when you purposefully stroll into your local school and vote isn't there? NOT HERE!!
Its frankly been like the whacky races, mini vans with huge speakers on them
belting out their election promises and also playing what appears to be inspirational music - it always makes me want to break out into a gallop.
Transit vans pasted with images of the candidates all over town, there are flags
everywhere lining the streets in party colours and rallies attracting hundreds of Turks in the streets complete with riot police!! I had to climb over a wall
the other day to pay my electricity bill at the shop because I couldnt get past the party faithfuls! A huge poster of the current mayor of Didim (Mayor Kamaci)
was removed the other week when it was reported that there was now a bullet hole on the poster through his forehead!!
(Polling day has now come and gone and Mayor Kamaci is reinstated.) The actual
day itself was a bit of a damp squib after all the build up, no celebrations down the main boulevard that I could see! Talking about bullets, my friend has
lived here for 4 years, about two years ago she was walking her dog and stopped for coffee at a local cafe, she heard a shooshing noise go past her and when
she turned around a turkish man had been shot in the knee
A man ran past
her gun in hand and she shouted to some men who had gathered around the wounded man and said 'there he goes - get him!!' To which one man replied -
'he has a gun.....do you want to chase him?!!'
On a completely different note, it has also been a time for a trip to the hairdresser, a trip most expats dread here, there are many kuafors here offering all kinds of beauty treatments- its big business - but you cant guarantee that the person you are putting in charge of your silky locks is trained! In England I along with many other women stuck to one hairdresser for years as she knew me and my 'needs', finding that special person here proves far more difficult, putting yourself in the hands of a person who speaks no english too..........nightmare!!! Two friends and myself decided to go as a job lot to a kuafor who seemed to know what he was talking about when we grilled him for 30 minutes - we made appointments for the following day. Now me being me went armed with my phrase book open at the page 'a trip to the hairdressers' Not my friend Sandra who got there before us and was halfway through her colour when we got there. The kuafor would only do us one at a time, (he said he only had two eyes) so Dot and I had no choice but to sit in anticipation to see Sans new look - yes, you guessed, she went from mid brown/ fair to CANARY YELLOW!!
I nearly fell off my seat when he whipped the towel off her head!! Dot and I made assuring noises and said things like 'oh it will tone down when
he has dried it...not!! One week later and I can still spot her up the street from 300 yards!!
And on another completely different note, well 'note might be the operative word' I am afraid I have some bad news - through no fault of my own and under the affluance of inkahol I have become a ............karaoke queen

I only go out once a week of an evening but after 11pm at my
'local' there is karaoke, a lot of bars do karaoke here, love it or hate it, its popular amongst locals and holiday makers alike! Now I have been known
in the past to sing the odd morose Carpenters song but it must be the water here or sunstroke - NOT NOW!!! I am now referred to as Lesley Presley to my adoring
public, unfortunately my voice is more suited to singing blokes songs so it must be a bit mind boggling to witness this quite sedately dressed lady with
matching accessories and specs, yes the one that makes those nice cards screeching Great balls of Fire at the top of her voice, or my other famous rendition of
Jailhouse Rock - Well, I think I'll stick around while I get my kicks - LETS ROCK!!
Talk to you all soon!!
Lesley xx
Well heres number 5, I am sitting here in the sunshine writing this one after 3 days of horrendous rain again! Its fascinating watching the resort come to life after the 'winter', everywhere is being spruced up for the tourists - yes and prices are rising as we speak!
Its been a time of frenzy here over the last month or so, its been election time for local mayors and other officials. Now in England theres a certain sense of responsibility and determination when you purposefully stroll into your local school and vote isn't there? NOT HERE!!
Its frankly been like the whacky races, mini vans with huge speakers on them
belting out their election promises and also playing what appears to be inspirational music - it always makes me want to break out into a gallop.
Transit vans pasted with images of the candidates all over town, there are flags
everywhere lining the streets in party colours and rallies attracting hundreds of Turks in the streets complete with riot police!! I had to climb over a wall
the other day to pay my electricity bill at the shop because I couldnt get past the party faithfuls! A huge poster of the current mayor of Didim (Mayor Kamaci)
was removed the other week when it was reported that there was now a bullet hole on the poster through his forehead!!
(Polling day has now come and gone and Mayor Kamaci is reinstated.) The actual
day itself was a bit of a damp squib after all the build up, no celebrations down the main boulevard that I could see! Talking about bullets, my friend has
lived here for 4 years, about two years ago she was walking her dog and stopped for coffee at a local cafe, she heard a shooshing noise go past her and when
she turned around a turkish man had been shot in the knee
A man ran past
her gun in hand and she shouted to some men who had gathered around the wounded man and said 'there he goes - get him!!' To which one man replied -
'he has a gun.....do you want to chase him?!!'
On a completely different note, it has also been a time for a trip to the hairdresser, a trip most expats dread here, there are many kuafors here offering all kinds of beauty treatments- its big business - but you cant guarantee that the person you are putting in charge of your silky locks is trained! In England I along with many other women stuck to one hairdresser for years as she knew me and my 'needs', finding that special person here proves far more difficult, putting yourself in the hands of a person who speaks no english too..........nightmare!!! Two friends and myself decided to go as a job lot to a kuafor who seemed to know what he was talking about when we grilled him for 30 minutes - we made appointments for the following day. Now me being me went armed with my phrase book open at the page 'a trip to the hairdressers' Not my friend Sandra who got there before us and was halfway through her colour when we got there. The kuafor would only do us one at a time, (he said he only had two eyes) so Dot and I had no choice but to sit in anticipation to see Sans new look - yes, you guessed, she went from mid brown/ fair to CANARY YELLOW!!
I nearly fell off my seat when he whipped the towel off her head!! Dot and I made assuring noises and said things like 'oh it will tone down when
he has dried it...not!! One week later and I can still spot her up the street from 300 yards!!
And on another completely different note, well 'note might be the operative word' I am afraid I have some bad news - through no fault of my own and under the affluance of inkahol I have become a ............karaoke queen


I only go out once a week of an evening but after 11pm at my
'local' there is karaoke, a lot of bars do karaoke here, love it or hate it, its popular amongst locals and holiday makers alike! Now I have been known
in the past to sing the odd morose Carpenters song but it must be the water here or sunstroke - NOT NOW!!! I am now referred to as Lesley Presley to my adoring
public, unfortunately my voice is more suited to singing blokes songs so it must be a bit mind boggling to witness this quite sedately dressed lady with
matching accessories and specs, yes the one that makes those nice cards screeching Great balls of Fire at the top of her voice, or my other famous rendition of
Jailhouse Rock - Well, I think I'll stick around while I get my kicks - LETS ROCK!!
Talk to you all soon!!
Lesley xx


