Kalkan Turkey Forum - EnjoyKalkan.com
Kalkan Discussion => Holiday Reports and Reviews => Topic started by: Babs on May 19, 2015, 09:20:03 PM
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Well this time tomorrow we will (hopefully) just have arrived in Kalkan and be having a drink on our roof terrace. :laugh:
So, for the first time in a few years we are hitting Kalkan 'en famille'. OH and I, both daughters and husband and boyfriend. The 'kiddies' are aged 23 to 31 :laugh:, our daughters have both been many times before and the 'boys' have each been once.
Despite feeling a little apprehensive, due to many very negative reports on here and dare I say it, tripadvisor, I am very excited and can't wait to be back in the place I've come to love over the last 10 years or so :angel:
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Have a great holiday. Will look forward to your posts. :laugh:
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Can't wait to hear what you think when you are there in the flesh. Have a great stay and keep the posts coming x
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Looking forward to hearing all about your stay, Babs, and hearing your views on Kalkan as a long-time visitor. Wishing you a safe trip :)
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Hi Babs
Well you should be on your way now!!!!
Can't wait to hear your thoughts about Kalkan this year and I really hope that you have a superb holiday with the "kids". :-*
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Imagine you are all settled in Babs, hope you had a good journey and looking forward to hearing all about your holiday with your family! Am sure you will have a wonderful time :D :D :D
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So looking forward to hearing about your adventures, Babs. Hope you all arrived safely and are ready to wind down - or up?!
Enjoy every minute, lucky people!
Antler
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So we arrived last night and a smooth journey and amazingly met L and B who had travelled from birmingham as planned, they landed an hour before us and we set off to Kalkan in the smartest mini bus ever.......it was the sort of bus you could imagine being used for a hen weekend!
Our renovated old town house is amazing......if a little confusing! It has seven levels in all with the roof terraces (plural) and that's not counting the split level living area and master bedroom!
A quick drink on the jungle terrace then bed! Woke this morning to lovely blue skies, breakfast at Ada patisserie and then off to the Atlantis for a turkish bath. We bumped into,the lovely Ilhan at the new lime bar, will go back there sometime. The turkish bath was as relaxing and amusing as ever ;D. Ended with son in law whispering to one of the "scrubbers" to give younger daughters boyfriend the cold water treatment.......war has now been declared!
Snack at Fener, all enjoyed and the service was fine. Followed by a few hours on the beach.
So now to the nitty, gritty..........the area where the work is being done following the fire just makes me feel sad :( such a huge area! The work is going to be going on there for quite some time yet! There were more beds and shades on the beach but it didn't really seem season ready, quite a bit of litter but fine for a few hours.
So far so lovely......have bumped into a few old friends and been greeted in the same warm way as ever! Off to Korsan this evening, a first night tradition for us........looking forward to that! :laugh:
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Glad to hear you had an uneventful journey and all arrived safely.
What is the Jungle Terrace...? sounds like Mosquito City :P You are in the perfect location and will have a wonderful break, I'm sure of that. yes the harbour looks sad and the beach a bit unloved at the moment, but fingers crossed things will pick up this weekend in preparation for the the half-termers arriving.
Atlantis Turkish Bath on your first day - we could be separated at birth :)
The pictures Dimitris put up of Lime look amazing - its where Parc/Lemon Tree used to be isnt it? The wooden fences coming down have really opened up the space. It will be our local in a few short weeks, cant wait to see him.
Look forward to hearing more about your stay
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Glad your holiday Babs has got off to a fab start, your day sounds like you've settled in and enjoyed yourselves. We've never had a Turkish Bath as yet! but have to say it's something we have thought of doing! Hopefully the town beach can only get better as the season gets going! fingers crossed! Looking forward to more posts if you have time!
J
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Glad you've arrived safe and sound and all together.
I've never had a Turkish bath either, maybe that should be on the list for this summer. I'm a bit apprehensive about my lumps and bumps being pummelled though :)
Have a fab holiday and hope to hear again from you soon. :-*
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I would advocate a Turkish Bath on your first day....just the best start to your holiday. I always say I am "Kalkan Ready" when I've had this. There are a few places to choose from, but I like Atlantis as it reminds me of a proper old-fashioned Hamman...How much for the full works this year, Babs?
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K4E we had the turkish bath.....none of the extra massages and it was £18 and yes the Lime is where Parc Kalkan was and it does look very nice, they are also advertising music two nights a week. The building works do seem to be coming along fast but it is a scene of devastation down there, think they will be going on for quite some time.
So our first night out, sundowners on the second terrace, the jungle terrace is at the bottom of our house and is surrounded with trees and plants, hence the name! :laugh:
The Korsan was as lovely as ever and of course being our first night out we drank far too much and regretted it this morning......strategic plans have been made to prevent a repeat! ::) although younger daughters boyfriend caused great hilarity by ordering a candy floss martini in Trio......should we be concerned?! ;D
So today is my birthday.....well it's not actually, it was the day before we came away so I decided to postpone it! Breakfast at Fener followed by a day at Palm Beach.....new sun beds there and lots of staff we didn't recognise and we had a lovely day apart from the odd weather, very humid and hazy! After cards and present s we are off to Botanik for cocktails followed by dinner at Sade.......had lovely meals there last year so really looking forward to it!
Olive flies.....a whole new experience for us! Bizarrely they don't seem to be bothering me which is odd as I am usually a bug magnet but OH keeps getting covered......they seem to like white t shirts? Any tips gratefully,received!
K4E the photo was taken especially for you......I kept it warm for you! Oops it says the file is too large.......will send via facebook!
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Ah, forgot to mention the alarm! Our house has a rather complicated alarm system......during the day when we got out we have to make sure our bedroom and shower room door are closed, just those two and then there is a night setting and we have to make sure our bathroom door is open.......you can imagine what happened when OH got up to go to the loo at 3.30 am and politely closed the door!? Worrying thing is that younger daughter and boyfriend didn't even hear it.....must have been the candy floss martini effect! :laugh:
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Sounds like you're having a fab time despite your earlier fears, so glad for you and a very happy belated birthday too. How I wish I was relaxing on a lounger at palm beach club right now. 8) :)
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Just come over all jealous....our bed...all spruced up and shiny new! Lucky you - wish I was there right this minute.
So Fassbender not at Palm this year? I hope the new faces are up to the task and can make a mean Long Island Iced Tea for my personal cocktail hour >:D
Oh the alarm shenanigans....that one's set to run. I'd forgotten which doors are meant to be open when by the time I'd finished your post so add alcohol into the mix and I expect it will be fun and games.
Need cocktail favourites list please...tasting all in the name of research obviously.
Have fun at Botanik(LOVE that place..) and enjoy Sade (still not been :()
Olive flies..? try Head and Shoulders shampoo - pretty sure they have it at Yali as we were plagued when we last came in May and it was recommended to me.
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Loving the posts, thank you Babs for posting, even though it is your belated birthday! but a happy belated birthday nonetheless. Palm beach, Sade, Botanik, oh how I wish we were there too. Olive flies, yes I agree not had the experience of those before, thank goodness, because I too am a magnet for mozzies! Hope OH isn't too badly bitten!
J
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Birthday Mel at Sade was brilliant.....delicious food, everyone agreed and so many fireworks......and paper hearts popped out all over the tale, followed by a free bottle of bubbly!
Very hot today, spent the day at Patara, lovely.
Off to Mussakka tonight, looking forward to that and planning to sneak in a cheeky bit of be shopping before we eat!
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So bag shopping accomplished off we went to Mussakka......food as good as ever but are we the only people who find their service a bit brisk at times? They seem to have their favourites and gravitate towards them, each time the particular waiter who was serving us came to the table he just barked "finished!" Maybe it's us? ???
So today after breakfast at Fener, where we are finding the service better than ever( just saying!) we set off to Kas with daughter and son in law. The last couple of years we have liked Kas more but Still think its not a patch on Kalkan......I suspect you are either a Kalkan or Kas person! Lovely afternoon on the beach then off to the Fosh Terrace today.....my daughter is already excited about her favourite meal in the world.....and she's travelled quite a lot of it!
Boat trip on Moby Dick tomorrow......may give the reports a miss for a couple of days as beach, dinner, beach dinner is getting a little boring! :laugh:
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Nooooo don't stop! It's not boring at all. What's your daughters favourite meal? What is the Moby dick like as we are booked on this August? I need the answers to these questions!!! :)
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Please keep posting Babs, like Lizzie says, we are loving it too and is definitely not boring. Glad you said Fener is still great, we just love going there to watch the boats and chill out for brunch/breakfast/dinner before or after a day on the beach. We love Kas too, but Kalkan even more, although the little boat that takes you over to the beach from Kas Harbour (can't remember the name) is a wonderful day out, we will be repeating that this year for sure. Look forward to hearing about your boat trip too. Have a fab day. :D :D :D :D
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Yes, keep the posts coming...your experiences and thoughts are great. Confession time now, and hoping the forum doesn't turn on me, but we ate at Mussaka last year and we weren't bowled over.
With what everyone else posts and rave reviews from people face to face, we were expecting great things. We too were rushed. That said, matthew loved the surf and turf, so they may get another chance this year!
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Agree on the Surf 'n Turf as it's one of Oli's favorites. In it's new location this year, it will be one of the first we pass when heading into Town (if we choose to pass, that is!).
:-)
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Oh ok then! ;D
Lovely meal at Fish Terrace last night.......my daughter was bouncing with excitement, her favourite meal is prawn cocktail, with the prawns coming in a delicious curry sauce and paella......she's had it every time she's been there!
Great day on Moby Dick, quite entertaining as Deniz was sitting on the bench chatting when we turned up.....turns out he was expecting us tomorrow! Not sure how there was a date mix up as he'd confirmed by email but this is Turkey! :laugh:,a quick supermarket dash for him and a few phone calls after which the lovely Kamal appeared and we were off! Telly cloudy this morning but as we headed out to sea it got more and more promising and by midday it was service as normal! You couldn't wish for two more entertaining and delightful crew as Deniz and Kamal.....in a lovely laid back way. Deniz is so friendly and Kamal is a fascinating man with so many stories. Spotted a few turtles and a lovely day was had by all. Fair to say we had plenty of space, we had booked the boat just for the six of us and we went on the large boat that takes over twenty people!
Lots going on at the building site, haven't read KTLN report yet, but there is some sort of concreting going on now, I assume to fill the construction that has been built which will be the retaining wall.......salt and pepper still looking precarious though!
We sat and watched the beach being flattened this morning while having breakfast at the Fener......Kalkan is getting ready for those of you who will follow us!
Have just spotted a happy hour notice outside Black and Gold so going to try that for a pre dinner drink tonight and then off to Belgins Kitchen......always a favourite with good simple food......which after the amount we ate on the boat is just as well......we got a telling off for not eating everything, apparently turkish people eat so much more than us! :laugh:
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Black & Gold is one of the best bars in town IMO and THE best cocktails. I got a vip card in April which gives you an extra 15% off the happy hour price! Well worth the TL 20 up front cost
pw
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Oh no, Babs, don't stop.... I'd be devastated :(
Less than two weeks for us, I need to follow in your footsteps. I cant wait to hear what you think of Black and Gold as we are big fans of Burak and hope he can make a go of this.
So glad you had a nice day at sea
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Thanks Babs, need my fix and you're doing such a good job. :)
I love the sound of that prawn cocktail. We've never dined at the fish terrace as our girls are not too keen on fish and presume the clue is in the title and that's all you can have there? May have to try it though as it has such good reviews.
I got my wires crossed. We tried for Moby dick but they haven't replied to any of Jayne's emails yet ( thank you Jayne for doing the leg work).
Glad you had a lovely day out and fener is sounding promising - might be a bit hot in August though without any shade. Have I got this right that there are no parasols up?
Carry on having a lovely time and please keep reporting back. Your forum needs you. :-*
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Fener has parasols and large awning just no kosk area anymore :( Still plenty of shade.
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Another great post Babs, your certainly keeping busy doing some lovely things, glad you had a fab day on Mobydick, as Lizzie says they haven't responded to my emails, but maybe the address is wrong, not sure (I have sent you a pm about it). Hope that you enjoyed Black and Gold, we certainly did at Easter, although it had only just opened, it is fab, and I can imagine is great sat there watching the sun go down. We didn't get the discount card as they hadn't started them at the time, so hopefully they still will be selling them when we arrive, but to be honest the prices were really good value anyway.
Happy to hear parasols at Fener too, is the icecream kiosk still there?
J
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Still ice cream at the Fener, so don't panic Jayne :laugh: Lizilu, my son in law doesn't like fish either but he had lamb at the Fish Terrace and said it was delicious.
Mmmmm.....Black and Gold......maybe we just picked a bad evening. They were very jolly and smiley and sorted us out somewhere to sit in the lower part as they had live music last night and most seats/tables were reserved. Our drinks took ages to arrive and were really of a not very good quality. We'd gone because we'd seen a sign earlier advertising happy hour and when the bill arrived there was no discount. By this time we were late for our dinner booking so just paid and went......maybe we just hit them on a particularly,hectic evening?
Good, simple meal as ever at Belgins Kitchen and a lovely glass of red at Cafe de Mar to finish our evening.
Another day at Patara today. Tonight is "date night"! We are all doing our own thing as couples. We've managed to get booked at Small House and as we've never managed,to get a table there before are really looking forward to it.
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Oh what a shame about Black and Gold...! We love Moonlight Bar for the atmosphere and people watching but I'd never order a cocktail in there - we go to other places for cocktails and I was hoping B&G would pick up the Jimmy's custom (and fab cocktails...). It looked busy on their FB last night but also the chairs seemed to be aranged in rows....not sure I'd like that. We'll still go, because I've promised Burak we will. Maybe on a quieter night though...
I think I skipped over an earlier post - you've already bag shopped.... :o :o
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Date night, now that does sound good Babs :D, sorry Black and Gold wasn't the highlight for you, but maybe just an off night for them! Bag shopping ooh yes K4E, stupidly I have Simply Chic on Facebook, and now have my eye on the new Mulberry Piccadilly! Not telling OH yet lol!!!
J
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Jayne. I think we will have to have a trip to simply chic without the boys!
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So, date night..........all three couples had booked separate restaurants and left the house at different times, and all ended up, without any prior discussion at Botanik for pre dinner drinks! :laugh: no prizes for guessing everyone's favourite bar!
The little ones tried Gusto, where Coast was, said it was fine but not a favourite. Middles went to Gironda and enjoyed their meal and bizarrely my daughter met an old friend from school and her family. Us old dears went to Small House. Delicious simple food, 13 types of Meze followed by amazing sea bass for me and lamb casserole for OH, two glasses of wine all for 119 tl.....I'm a cheap date! We had arranged to rendezvous with the little ones at cafe del mar as we only have two keys and who should rock up but the middles!
This morning it was like waking up in a house of horrors.......gale force winds, furniture on the roof terraces blowing around, doors and windows being blown open and shut! ::)
The middles set off for a drive to Tlos and Yakapark and the rest of us had breakfast at Cafe Leon and went for a walk along the harbour wall......it was so windy we had to send well back at the lighthouse! Watched a family of turtles battling the waves, they seemed to be enjoying it.....with their heads sticking out of the water more than usual.
OH and I decided to brave the beach, after a drink at Merkez and a bit of shopping. We tucked ourselves in at the furthest corner and by mid afternoon the weather was lovely and really hot! All in all quite an odd day! Aubergine tonight.......haven't been there for years so thought we'd give it a go again.
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Loving your reports, Babs. The wind sounded dreadful today but thankfully it blew itself out and it "turned out nice again" in the words of George Formby :)
Are there any cushions on the beach beds..? I fear it was a one season wonder that started in July and ended with the fire. Does it feel more like a loved beach now, or still left to its own devices?
Good luck at Aubergine - let us know how you get on. Used to be our favourite but a couple of bad experiences and we've not been back for years.
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Watching Aubergine on the webcam! Did their canopy blow down! Hope you enjoyed it.
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Another great post Babs which has brightened up my day already! Just reading about the turtles makes me smile, they are such beautiful creatures. Hopefully the winds have disappeared today and you will be basking in the lovely sunshine again. Your date night sounded fun! We went to Small House the year before last, and the food was delicious. I hope that you enjoyed Aubergine, we are planning on lunch there this year to sample the burger menu that someone posted last week saying was fab!
Haybo - definitely a sneaky trip to the Bag Shop I think!! ;D
J
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Gosh, it did sound blustery, glad you're all in one piece!
Date night sounded fab - love that you all kept bumping into each other and small house sounds really nice. We've never been as it was always fully booked when it went viral and became a victim of it's own success on tripadvisor and EK :) (was it last year or the year before?) Hopefully it's calmed down now so maybe we will be able to get a table this year.
Hope you enjoyed Aubergine, looking forward to your comments. :)
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Aubergine was good.....not a lot of atmosphere I felt but good food. The canopy seemed fine but didn't take a lot of notice as was too busy being amused as we'd been given the sparkly blingy bench to sit on at the biggest able for six that I've ever seen! :laugh: sadly K4E not a sign of a sign of a sunbed cushion on the beach. The Bech was flattened out by a digger a couple of days ago but then everything was packed away yesterday because of the wind. The shades and beds are out again today but still a little haphazard.......mind you no one has asked for any money down there!
Breakfast at Fener agin today......could there be a nicer view for breakfast? Assuming you don't turn round and ctch sight of the building works. I understand it's all supposed to be finished by next week but I wouldn't hold my breath.....they have been taking down the wooden structure that was supporting the new wall today so maybe there is an end in sight? Bit scary watching the workers just hanging off the framework two storeys up with no hard hats or anything!
Another nice sunny day at Palm Beach today and our last night meal at The Fish Terrace to come. We don't have to leave here till late pm tomorrow so hoping that the promised thunder storms don't turn up so we can spend a last day on the beach!
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Oh no...you are going home tomorrow..? I cant believe how quick that week has passed.
Good to hear you enjoyed Aubergine - might give it another outing this year. There are so many places to go and so little time to fit them all in :(
Thanks for posting...the beach cushion has gone back in the case :(
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That's exactly why we extended to 3 weeks!
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Like Jo we are back home :(
Our last night meal at the Fish Terrace was lovely and was sandwiched between Botanik and Cafe del Mar......you know you've been somewhere too much when they ask if you would like the menu or a glass of red!! :laugh:
Our last day began with breakfast at Ada.....everyone's clear breakfast winner! Then after a little wander we pegged ourselves out on the Bech for the last few hours.....willing the sun to come out, which it did!
Last long lunch at the Korsan,mour holidays always begin and end there! Lots happening with the harbour works and The Korsan gave us a ringside view of the cement pump and the workmen who are either quite mad or very brave!!
Off to the airport in the evening when finally the promised rain came......beautiful rainbows for our journey!
Arrived home at 3.30 this morning :( and missing Kalkan desperately!
So my final thoughts.......
The building work aside Kalkan is as beautiful as ever
We had some amazing food and drink and found that in general restaurants don't seem to have cashed in on the exchange rate......all so reasonable
The people are as lovely as ever......despite some old favourites being missing.....such as Halit from Just Silver
We actually thought there were less dogs around and that those that were were very chilled....controversial??
Kalkan didn't seem quite ready for our arrival but we could see it getting busier and busier as our holiday went on.....a few business people mentioned it was quieter than usual so hope things pick up for the locals soon
We had a lovely time.......and have already planned to return next year but in October as we prefer the chilled vibe then and without a doubt the warmer sea!! :laugh:
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What are we to do now you and Jo have gone home Babs? ???
Glad you arrived home safely but rather sad that you can't continue to report back to us Kalkan deprived peeps. I'm quietly keeping my fingers crossed that possibly K4E and others will take up the baton before too long.
Glad you 2 and the kiddies had a good time in May and it's good to hear that Kalkan is getting ready for the season. It's also always good to try something different but I bet Kalkan is fab in October when the sun doesn't scorch as much, the sea is warm and the vibe chilled. I just wish we could go either sept or oct but one day hopefully we will experience it.
I've really enjoyed joining you and your family on holiday this past week Babs. Thanks so much. :)
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I'm gutted you are home so soon....seems like only yesterday that you arrived :( I've really enjoyed reading your blogs and hearing your thoughts on places new and old, thanks for taking the time to post.
Dont worry, Lizilu, I will post, but I'm not an everydayer, but in the meantime Rachey is still there....come on Rachey!
But the best news of all is Antler is just behind us and he will be like poetic Shakespeare next to my trashy Hello magazine. I cannot wait to read his blog, although I'm acutely aware when he arrives it will be almost time for us to leave...sob sob!
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Welcome home Babs, and thank you so much for sharing your fab holiday with us. So glad that you had such a lovely holiday. As the ladies have already said, am enjoying Rachey's holiday reports, and then will be looking forward to K4E's followed by Antler's and who knows who else in between may put a post or two on. :D
I can't wait for August, wish it would hurry up, as I look out of my window this morning it is pouring with rain again! Happy Sunday :o
J
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DOH! Think I was having a senior moment now I'm growing up and into my golden years! ::) Of course Rachey, how could I possibly forget. I've really been enjoying your reports - where are you? You've gone all quiet. Must be having a wonderful time and too busy relaxing and chilling to post - not that I blame you. :) :) :)
Good to know K4E and antler are hot on the trail too. :)
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So where is Halit? ???
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Is it just Halit or has the shop Just Silver gone too?
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Just Silver is still there but each evening we peered in to see if he was sitting behind his desk as usual.....we didn't go in and ask, to be fair, because I was trying to resist temptation! :angel:
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Halit wasn't at the shop much last season either....think the property side of his business takes prescidence these days