Last Updated on September 30, 2024 by Tom Kane
Fast and Furious.
Gone in 60 Seconds.
These are titles from movies that evoke a feeling of pure speed, movement, a desire to have at it and get it (whatever it is) done. That may be what the youth of today want, but for this old writer things need to be a little more sedate. I say sedate, when I actually mean slower. Life, should be lived at a much slower rate, giving us time to enjoy life.
You get the idea, dear reader.
I moved from the UK to Cyprus 16 years ago in September 2008. Life in Cyprus was something of a shock. Life was lived at such a slow rate, almost at a snail’s pace. You would often hear the term “Sigá-Sigá” spoken by the locals. In English it means “slowly-slowly“ or “take your time.” It took a lot of effort to get used to that slow pace of life, coming from a hectic 21st century society where everything was all about “Get it done now.”
Sixteen years on and the “Must do it now” attitude seems to have finally caught up with Cyprus… sort of. Yes, we do live in a faster paced world, here in the Eastern Mediterranean, but honestly, it’s only marginally faster.
The village I live in has an old world charm. My house is a renovated old Cypriot stone house, quaint, yet with all mod-cons. But the village is also a little run down. Lots of pot-holes in the roads, lots of rustic stone houses falling into disrepair as locals leave to live in faster paced (sort of) Paphos. Well, that’s all changing. The local council decided to rip up the tarmac roads and lay a new tiled surface. They started in the spring of 2024. It’s now the autumn, and our new roads are, well, a dust bowl. I mean that quite literally. The roads when stripped of tarmac were simply dust underneath. Tarmac had been layered onto a dusty surface. The dust just billowed everywhere when it was revealed. Admittedly a hard surface was laid, eventually, ready for concrete to be poured and then the new tiled surface laid down. That was just before August. Then the August holiday season happened (it’s too hot to work in August) and everything came to a stop. Then started again. Then stopped. Then started again. Parking has been a nightmare, the dust has been a nightmare and everything has happened at a snail’s pace.
I know. It sounds like I want my cake and eat it. I want things to go at a snail’s pace, but certain things need to be done a lot faster.
As a Brit, welcome to the land of Sigá-Sigá where life goes at its own pace and time is irrelevant. You either live with it, or leave. Despite the dust, the pace of life, here in Cyprus, is just fine for me. I just wish… no, never mind. I’ll sit back, lie back, sip my cocktail and be an expat on my back.
Copyright © Tom Kane 2024
How did I come to be here, living in Cyprus? Well, it was a dark and stormy night… but no. Why not read a sample of the book that tells the story of an expat’s life in Cyprus.
You can also get samples for other digital formats from Draft2Digital’s store by clicking here.
I write historical fiction novels. I have published five novels with six more planned in the Midnight Series. For more information on my books, why not join my newsletter.
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