Jenny McIntyre's articles

I've been home now for over a week, almost two weeks really, but I am missing Mandi and also the way of life I led when I was there. Even though we are at least 10 degrees Celsius cooler here, it's so much easier doing things without that awful humidity out there. The problem is that I don't have transport and so I feel very isolated and stuck here. The weather is gorgeous and it would be so nice being able to just go to the beach and watch people or go on a little journey to somewhere nice. So…

Well it goes without saying doesn't it? I'm so proud of the people my children have become. Today it's Tony who's started me off again. When he was a teenager, he'd wanted to do media work, but being a single mum, I couldn't afford to send him to the Higher College, so he only did the basics and then went on to work for an insurance company and eventually as a Customs Officer for 25 years. Then he was made redundant and he took this opportunity to go back to College (at 48 years of age) and at t…

Are you ready for this? I suggest you have a cup of coffee and be in a comfy chair while you read this - if you don't think you can wade through a lot of drivel - then you are excused!!!!! Where was I? - Oh yes - I'd had an ice-cream then we went back to Mandi's house to finalise the packing and to go to the airport. As I walked up the driveway, I was welcomed by the garden cats - I miss them very much - they were so sweet and loving. Well after a quick change of clothes and finishing pack…

Well the holiday is over and I'm back home!! I so enjoyed my stay with Mandi and Dogan and if anything, this trip has made me even more determined to move to Turkey to be with them. I'd go today if I could, but the heatwave is still there, so I'm quite happy to stay here in 20C heat - but there's blue skies with the odd fluffy white cloud but it's cool enough not to be sweating and being uncomfortable. I did manage to fit in a few swimming sessions though, in fact a couple of hours before I l…

Oh I've only got 2 days left of my time here in Turkey. Five weeks have just flown by. There were so many things we wanted to do, go on a boat trip, go to Pammukale (salt lakes), visit Kos - instead we were faced with very unusually hot days with very high humidity. This meant that we were too exhausted to do much. Mornings were spent indoors, then in the afternoons we ventured out to the pool to cool down. It was such an effort to even walk down their driveway to collect the car, that I had to…

Hiya folks, my holiday is almost over, but I must say - it hasn't been as wonderful as I'd hoped - in weather ways I mean!!! It has been so hot - 34C - 37C every day with up to 85% humidity!!!! I find it hard to breathe some days, so we don't go out every day. Today, however, we did go out for a swim. We were so hot, inside as well as out, that only a swim could cool us down. So we drove to the hotel, and as luck would have it, there was a spare parking space in the car park. So we were in luck.…

Sorry I haven't written for a while, but to be honest, I've been too busy trying to stay cool here!!! The high temperatures here really do take it out of you. We are like wet rags before we even start the day!!! I have only recently been diagnosed with COPD, so the hot weather isn't too good for me. I had hoped I'd be able to walk around with my walker, but to be honest, I'm exhausted just walking down Mandi's drive!! I had hoped to have become rather browner too - but it's too damn hot to sit i…

Last night Mandi and I went for a car ride to the next town on the coast, Turgetries. We decided we'd have a meal and watch the sun go down - great. This is a great house at the top of the mountain overlooking Yashi Bay - the beautiful view they must have. Three years ago there was an awful brush fire from the other side of the mountain which almost burnt this house to the ground, but for some reason, the fire diverted and completely missed them, thank goodness. The road down…

Well today was a sort of half and half day weatherwise. This morning it was beautiful blue sky and so Mandi and I decided to go to the hotel pool for a swim and a bit of a sunbathe. As it had rained for about 5 minutes last night, and there is a lot of dust around, when Mandi went to collect her car (it being dark blue) you can imagine how awful it looked. It was if it had been in a sand hill. Being dark blue, of course it looked worse. I know how Mandi feels about driving around in a dirty car,…

Yesterday Mandi and I went for a ride with the intention of catching a sunset at Turgetries, which is a village on the other side of the promontory to Yashi, where she lives. Well the sunset became a bit wishy washy as you can see... Turgetries is surrounded by an incredible amount of small islands, all uninhabited, and it faces west, so sun setting behind islands does make for superb sunsets. There is a lovely long promenade which enables pedestrians, disabled bikes etc, walkers…

Just a quickie before we go out to see if we can catch a sunset - not a lot of clouds around though, so it might just be a sun-glow!! This is little Fluff, one of the two little kittens that Mandi's cat has had. They are 5 weeks old now and are tearing up and down her apartment. They are so sweet, and developing so quickly now. On one of the rare occasions that he was still - (I say "he" - we can't tell just yet!!!) - Mandi managed to capture a gorgeous little picture of him. So soft…

Well I should say, Turkey is full of colour most of the year. Bouganvillea is like a weed here, it grows everywhere, up walls, winding its way up trees etc. It is a weed I'd love to have in my garden, I can tell you. The variety of colours is just amazing. I think I've already mentioned the different colours, white, pale pink, deep pink, lilac, deep purple and in rare occurrences, orange!!! We went for a drive around yesterday, and the roads were lined with loads of jasmine trees/bushes. Oh…

There are other kittens and cats who live in the garden here. Mandi and Dogan have made beds for them under the outside stairs, they've put blankets and cushions for them. They also are fed twice a day and fresh water supplied daily. There are about eight regular cats, who come when called, who had appeared when tiny kittens having been abandoned by the mother cats. This is Gingie - so called because she's ginger and white. She was one of the first to arrive, she was so small, she's g…

Just wanted to show you these two adorable kittens. They are growing so quickly and have started to get their own personalities. The grey tabby is more adventurous and also more vocal, the grey and white is more affectionate and shy. I mean how adorable are these?

Just a quickie to let you know that I've arrived in Turkey at long last, after trying for the last 3 years. The plane ride was great. I'd forgotten the feeling you get when they crank up the engines and you start going for it - buildings, other planes and fields shoot by and then you start rising and everything falls away. Amazing feeling. I took a video of it, which I will post later, and then I took some great views of the mountains before the sun went for a sleep!!! I believe it was the Do…

Today we used the hire car and went out to see the sea!! It was so lovely being able to just go wherever we felt like it. We first went to Westward Ho!, okay the sun was out but the wind was so "keen" (cold). The tide was almost fully out and there were many people kite surfing. This is where people go on surfboards but hold onto kites. The kite catches the wind and the surfer whizzes over the sea. It must be very exhilarating and today there were loads of people trying to kite surf. I did manag…

At long last - we will be mobile for the rest of the week. We've been stuck in the home, well apart from the time Mandi walked down to the town, but the walk back up the hill nearly knocked her out!!! It's been a lousy week, weather-wise because it's gone really cold and it's rained at least for some of the days, but it always clears up in the evening, with lovely clear skies and therefore it's damn cold with the risk of frost. So today we went to hire a car. I had to ask my neighbours agai…

Well Mandi arrived last night or should I say early this morning?!!! It was close on 5am by the time she came in. My neighbours had been brilliant and gone to pick her up from the airport, which is just over 100 miles away, and her plane didn't land until just after 2am!!! I can't thank them enough for going for her, and bringing her safely to me. Well we both had a lie-in and had only been up a couple of hours when Emily arrived!! Those two got on so well and soon we were all chatting and laugh…