Cream Teas and Baskets.

Cast a quick glance over these photos and I think you'll agree that the overall impression is of people having a good time.  This is why I count myself lucky to be a member of Bodrum's  H3A; a group of residents whose main aim is continuous enjoyable education. This learning can take the form of lecturers, travel, wine tasting, art classes, reading groups, opera visits, singing, creative writing, backgammon tournaments and more.  They are ever open to new experiences.

Following my two basket-making lessons in the summer, I hoped the group would be interested in a trip to our village to watch Raşit in action and on Sunday the idea came to fruition with 32 H3A members meeting on my terrace to hear a bit about our village's fight with the mining/cement company, walk along the edge of the forest to enjoy the view of the agricultural plain and watch Raşit make a start on a basket.

Helena modelling a finger protector/extender used when the harvest was literally brought in by hand. 

Raşit had tidied up his long defunct teahouse especially for the occasion and now finds he has a perfect workshop which may well end up as a village craft centre. There is already talk of some weaving  and wooden spoon turning afternoons in the Spring.

After witnessing a Turkish traditional craft, we finished with time-honoured British one - A cream tea.

Those not familiar with the concept were relieved to find that the cream went on the scones - they had been anticipating it going in the tea!

From Bush to Basket

Baskets Galore

http://www.hero3a.com/about-h3a/

Lunching with Ladies

We are very lucky us ladies of the Bodrum peninsula: firstly because we live in such a beautiful part of the world and secondly because for the second year running, despite the downpour and clouds that were forecast for the day, the sun shone down on us as we lunched together at the Ramada Resort Hotel.  Cardigans and jackets had to be cast aside and sunglasses fished out of our bags as we abandoned our dessert dishes and headed out on to the terrace to enjoy the November sunshine.  This was the 14th annual ladies lunch; arranged as an end of season get-together for the busy working women of Bodrum to give everyone a chance to reconnect with old friends and make a few new ones.  Jane, the brains behind the day, is my daughter Esi's Godmother and this year Esi helped give out the 15 prizes for the entrance ticket raffle.  Last year I won a massage, this year my luck was in again and I'll be nipping along to the swish new AciBadem Hospital for a free check-up. I wish I had as much luck with my premium bonds.

Last year's Ladies Lunch

D.I.Y.

Walking the dog on Monday, I couldn't help but notice that everyone was out in the fields either cutting back old growth, ploughing or  sowing seed. This made me feel doubly guilty as I came back to our garden to be faced with a raised bed that has been promised great things over the past year but has only had a watering system installed, which has made the weeds very happy but has done little to improve the garden.  So the computer was abandoned and I spent Tuesday digging over the heavy clay and Wednesday planting 11 small rose bushes.  (Why 11? because I bought 10 and was given an eleventh rose bush and a lavender plant on top).  I hope the liberal application of mature manure and lots of water will  produce the long anticipated rose bed.

After completely relining and retiling our leaking roof last week, lots of other little jobs are lingering but have been put on hold until we can visit the D.I.Y. store. My neighbours seem to manage very well without  throwing cash at problems.  If they need a gate, they build one with whatever is to hand.

Who says ladders have to be straight?

I was especially impressed with this impromptu scarecrow that went up on Monday to protect newly scattered spinach seeds. As the breeze gently lifts the skirt it does look like a ghostly farmer seeing off the wild boar.

Back to Bodrum

It's been ten days since my last blog.

(hints of my brief convent education here!) 

 This is the longest I have gone without at least posting a photo. 

When I left you I was in Dorset, eating too much of my Dad's home made bread. 

Then 5 days in the Scottish Highlands 

trying to photograph goats and rainbows and eating no bread at all. 

A night in Athens, shame everyone was on strike, and the bakers were all closed by the time I got there.

A few days in Hydra, where no one needs to strike as winter is an excuse for doing very little.

The sesame bread rings were impossible to resist.  

And now home with a busy week coming up; the second writing circle meeting, the annual ladies lunch and a H3A group coming to our village to watch basket making and eat cream teas at my house. 

 I'm sure I'll have plenty to blog about very soon and I shall be eating cake rather than bread.  

Dad's Beatroot and Apple Bread

An attachment to beetroot must run in my family. My father makes a mean loaf and his favourite recipe is apple and beetroot. I'm in Dorset with my parents for a couple of days so have had a chance to witness the production of this super loaf first hand. The dough looks a bit strange as it's rising; the damp pink is more reminiscent of the butcher's slab than the baker's counter but after 30 minutes in a 180 degree oven the crumb turns a rich gold. If you're looking for a light slice, that stays fresh for 4 days, add a bit of fruit or veg to your usual recipe.

500g strong white flour 

30 g butter

1 packet instant dried yeast (10 g)

1 small apple peeled and grated

Half a tennis ball size beetroot, cooked and grated. 

2 tblsp sugar 

 1 tsp salt  

2 tblsp olive oil 

250 ml warm water 

Rub the butter into the flour and add the rest of the above ingredients. Knead well for an elastic dough and leave in a warm place to double in size. Knock back and allow to rise for a second time, then knock back again, divide in half and put into two well buttered loaf tins. When the dough has risen for the third time, pop the tins straight into the hot oven. I've eaten more bread in the last two days than the last two weeks. It's the saving of my waistline that I'm off to Scotland tomorrow.

Happy Baking

October 29th - Republic Day

Flags go up all over Turkey to celebrate 90 years of the Turkish Republic.

Some are traffic-stoppers.

Bodrum Cup Silver Anniversary

In the winter of 88/89, I worked as an English teacher in a small  agency in Bodrum called Era Yachting. The mild mannered owner, Erman Aras, was one of the nicest bosses I've ever worked for; always smiling and pleasant, thoughtful and innovative, he made my 6 month placement very enjoyable.  While I was there, I overheard him discussing plans to start a sailing race at the end of the season.  As an ex-yachtie I was a bit sceptical as everyone knew that the classic Bodrum yacht called a gulet was not a sailing vessel, some of them didn't even have sails and those that did, would only hoist the canvas on a long downwind cruise and anyway, Bodrumites were seafarers but not traditional sailors.  Erman Bey thought differently and the first Bodrum Cup took place in October 1989. It has happened every year since and this October celebrated its Silver Anniversary.  Era Yachting Club went on to start Optimist sailing classes for Bodrum children, some of whom have gone on to international sailing success, and the first ever Sail Training Ship in Turkey was built in Bodrum; on Sunday, I watched it power ahead to win honours at this year's Bodrum Cup.  If Mr Aras was a Brit, he would surely have an MBE by now. 

I started to write this post on Friday, regretting the fact that due to work commitments or bad planning, I had never taken part in a Bodrum Cup, but thanks to Turquoise Secrets owner, Fiona Thomas, I enjoyed seeing the final leg from a privileged position aboard the Tall Ship Johanna Lucretia. My sailing days are over as I no longer have the muscle or agility to get around a sailing yacht, I almost didn't even get on as the Johanna Lucretia has no gang plank and despite an attempt to give me a leg up, there is no way I can haul my bottom heavy figure up 2 meters. Luckily a very nice lad in a tender whizzed me around the quay to get on at a lower point,  (to applause from a neighbouring yacht. I hope their photos don't turn up on Facebook).

No doubt now that gulets can sail. 

Owner/skipper of Johanna Lucretia,  Rodger Barton

Gulet and trandil (double ender) proving they can sail close to the wind. 

All this sail hoisted and lowered by just Rodger and Josh

Josh proving that Tall Ship sailing is a young man's  sport.

After the race at Yalıkavak Palmarina.  

We had a great day but the poor skipper, Rodger was doubly handicapped, first by the race committee and secondly by having only one able bodied crew member to handle over 300 sq m of sail, but he still managed  a 4th place on the final leg.

http://www.johanna-lucretia.com/vessel.html

https://www.facebook.com/TurquoiseSecrets

http://www.ekim-turquoisesecrets.com/en/

Exercise that writing muscle in Bodrum

I write this blog because I enjoy writing. Sometimes I'm happy with the result and press the publish button, other times I write a couple of paragraphs, edit down to one and then push delete. I started blogging because I wanted to exercise my writing muscle. I know from experience that composition begets better composition and a blank page will never get filled if you just stare at it. I carry on writing this blog because I have "met" so many creative, original, expressive  and slightly bonkers "friends" and am now a blogger groupie and proud of it.  Recently however, I have felt myself getting a bit stale and hackneyed and in need of a better workout. SO, I am very happy to announce the start of a new writing group in Bodrum. Calling ourselves a Writing Circle, we will meet twice a month for a couple of hours a session  and practice our craft, be it prose or poetry, in an atmosphere of mutual creative criticism.  It is not a class as there is no teacher. Neither is it an English lesson as we will not be correcting grammar.  My fellow co-ordinator Martha Patrick and I are looking forward to our first meeting on Monday afternoon where we will write briefly, share our work and decide how we want our writing circle to develop. 

Martha is a student of the Amherst Writers and Artists method which I am looking forward to hearing about. Pat Schneider, founder of AWA, encourages writers with these words in the introduction to her book, Writing Alone and With Others:

Whether your purpose is artistic expression, communication with friends and family, the healing of inner life, or achieving public recognition for your art - the foundation is the same: the claiming of yourself as an artist/writer and the strengthening of your writing voice through practice, study, and helpful (as opposed to damaging) communication with others. . . . 'A writer is someone who writes,' wrote William Stafford. . . . Every one of us is a writer. You are a writer. You are an artist. Accept it, celebrate it, and practice it for the rest of your life.

If you would like to join us please leave a message below or email backtobodrum@gmail.com

Seasonal perfection

It is such a wonderful time of the year.  The morning mists hanging over our village briefly turn us into a magical kingdom. 

I wish I could make myself get up this early every morning just to watch the transformation. 

Walking the dog through the scent of newly-damp baked earth, pine resin and wood smoke is bliss.  If we could capture this fragrance in a  bottle it would spread happiness wherever sprinkled. 

(tomatoes have come down in price too - hurrah!)

Bayram Best Wishes

The Muslim world is celebrating the first day of Eid and the majority of families in our village are settling down with their roast or braised lamb or goat with their nearest and dearest.  We are relaxing with a G&T and wondering what to cook for dinner. My daughter is not with us as she works in the tourist industry so today is just an ordinary working day for her. We do however have my Mum staying so we can at least say that we have had a "family day".   I went to the market on Sunday with the intention of filling up the fridge to last us through the holiday period but after my first couple of purchases, I was so incensed at the prices that I  ended up buying only half of my list.  Tomatoes were 1.5 TL a kilo last week but 4 TL this week.  My usual bunch of flowers had gone up 100%. When I questioned my lack of change from a 10TL note , the trader smilingly told me that it was a religious festival so of course the prices rise. I know religion has been blamed for most things but I haven't heard it used as a reason to fleece the general public.

While on the subject of fleeces, we passed a trailer load of sacrificial fleeces on our evening walk.  Animals can no longer be ritually slaughtered in gardens and public places which is good news as I hated the sight and smell of streets running with blood. Now each village or town has designated slaughter areas with a butcher on hand to dispatch the animal quickly and hygienically. Quite a queue had built up around ours and an enterprising neighbour had set up tables and chairs and was serving tea.  One tradition hasn't changed though; the fleeces in this area are still all donated to benefit the Turkish Aeronautical Association (Türk Hava Korumu) founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk  not just because the chief of staff of the Turkish Airforce is a local boy made good, but this is where fleeces have always been sent.

T H K