Hiya,
Ed & Liz or (Ergin & Elizabeth) to most of our family.
What can I say about us, as you all know we have been married for 35 years and have two grown-up sons and two beautiful granddaughters Rose & Jasmine.
We have had many great holidays over the years, family ones and more recently a few of those one’s that you take as a couple of our age, because you feel as though time is running out and there’s just so much more to see before you unexpectedly pop off, or your legs pack up. Ed & I love to travel and once we get past that morning of total chaos making sure we have everything, even though I have been packing for three days, the toilets bleached now we are ready, front door locked yes, the excitement kicks in and we step into holiday mode.
This year it’s on another level, our trip is also coinciding with a rather large birthday, approaching much faster than would I like to admit, our plans have been drawing ever closer all put together over the last three or four months. Now we are finally ready. So let me explain why and where.
Ed’s (Ergin’s) mum & dad arrived from Cyprus to London in the late 50’s searching for a better life for their then much hoped for family. What a total shock it must have been for them in every way. Sleepy village life in Cyprus to the hussle & bussle of Atlantic road Brixton. It was quite a few years of hard work before they were able to return back to Cyprus for their first visit/holiday in 1968 to see grandparents, parents and all the brothers & sisters that remained in Cyprus and by that time they already had three little ones to introduce, Ergin & his two sisters Belgin & Zalihe. The first trip was by airplane, however the holidays that Ed remembers most are the trips that were made by car. The roof rack was fully loaded with the suitcases, all so that the boot could hold all the food that would be needed for the trip over the forthcoming three days. Yes you heard correct 2500 miles in three days. Oh, and not forgetting the little stove that would be needed to heat up all the lovingly prepared soups & Turkish foods that Ed’s mum would have cooked up beforehand. Some years the trips would be made in convoy with their Uncle & Aunts family who lived close by. The Austin Maxi car’s x 2 with a total of 4 adults & six kids Dover bound, what a sight that must have been.
I have heard all the stories about these trips many times throughout my married years, some of them hilariously funny and others extremely sad when the family had to once again say their goodbyes at the end of each trip not knowing when they would meet again.
So finally, this year our plan is to take a similar trip by car, only somewhat slower and with a few nice stopovers on the way. We hope to take you on our journey too. This time when we arrive in Cyprus, we will visit Ed’s mum & dad now retired, living once again in their beloved Cyprus.
