Tuesday, 18. November 2008 - 11:01 Time
Its a GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!
Hello my fellow women in Turkey :-)
I’ts been a while since I’ve had the time to blog so, apologies!
So, what’s been happening? Well the best news by far this year has been the opportunity for us to raise money for a mobile well woman clinic to service Didim and its surrounding areas. This will include the traditional Turkish Villages and the less fortunate women in Turkey, the ones with large families on low income and no health education.
We kicked of the fundraising with the “Open Day” on the 1st November which we held in collaboration with the Didim Belediye. It gave the local businesses and craftspeople the opportunity to showcases their wares and services and I have to say they were outstanding in their support of WIT and the fundraising cause. The total raised at the event was an amazing 1,700ytl and I really must thank the local business’s for donating generous prizes for the raffle. Well done guys and well done to our Magi who, not content with that, press ganged them for more prizes!
The event was opened by Serife Kamaci, the Mayores of Didim and she was accompanied by her husband the Mayor who gave a speech on the importance of health and advocated WIT with the council’s full support. Serife is very keen to get more Turkish ladies involved and will herself be joining WIT as a high profile member.
I’m not sure how many we had through the doors but we sold over 200 raffle tickets and Greg the Sausage King sold out of his spicy chicken baps (I was guilty of 2 of those!). He was rather popular and his stand churned out inviting smells that had mouths watering and a queue all day long! The ladies from the Ozel Bodrum Hastanesi were kept busy taking blood pressure levels at which I got a high score! Possibly a combination of spicy chicken and the stress of the open day planning!! We also got to meet ladies new to Didim who got here just in time to showcase their wares: Haley from Aphrodites Retreat with a great selection of Body Shop products and Abee with her origional Art, both of whom generously donated prizes for the raffle. We also had 3 major players from the travel companies here in Didim: Gordion Travel, Maxi Tours and ZaZa Tours all of which donated great prizes from car hire to day trips to some lucky punters.
Our jumble stall was ran by committee members, Zilpha our Glamourpuss and Cindy, our stylish Treasurer and it competed with The Sausage King crowd wise. Each time I passed the pile had got noticeably smaller. I’m not surprised, none of it was “tat” so thank you to all who donated and especially Clare, Kim, Carol & Jaquie as I sorted some of your jumble and I know a lot of it was like new!
We have certainly gathered speed since the first meeting in November 2007 and have achieved so much in just one year its rather frightening. Fortunately, there are some fantastic women on the committee who give freely of their time and skills to keep our monster from going on the rampage! We also have some wonderful members who jump in at short notice to help us achieve our goals, some of whom have been cajoled into joining us on stage in December for our production of “Snow Ak and the Seven Mustafas”. As well as being a bit of fun and a wind down from the fast pace of the last year, it’s also our next fundraising event with all proceeds going toward the mobile clinic.
WIT belongs to us all, committee members, club members and all women who set foot on these shores. We all need adequate screening for good health and while some may say the greatest thing you can have is wealth, wealth is nothing without health. With good health you can achieve anything and as with anything, prevention is always better than cure. Help us help you by supporting WIT and spreading the word.
As 2008 draws to a close, I think It’s safe to say, WIT is a success. The reason I would say is because there are no ulterior motives or hidden agendas, we are all working toward a common goal. For 2009, we hope with your support we can meet the health screening needs of the female community and take that goal as a great score for the team!
Until the next time xx
Thursday, 25. September 2008 - 09:29 Time
Aint No Stopping us Now
For those of you reading from across the world, you will be pleased to hear that you are no longer suffering alone and we too have had some rain! Believe it or not, it was a blessed relief as there is only so much of this relentless sunshine you can take!
Our last meeting was somewhat confused due to the fact we had organised a night out the following evening and some people assumed that would be the meeting instead of the planned party. Both the meeting and the party night were low on numbers BUT, what we lacked in quantity was certainly made up in quality!
We still have not managed to find a bit of kit that is portable and will serve as a pa system for our speakers. It’s not like we can just nip down to Argos and pick one up, oh no! So, it continues to be a bit of a problem and we may well have to get something brought over from the UK. Its ok for the likes of me with big lungs and a voice to match but for our more refined members and speakers it’s hard going, so, if any of you have any suggestions, please let me know.
The WIT night out was also the night of my Birthday and I managed to get Mu along by sulking all day because the first words out of his mouth were not “Happy Birthday Canim”. It works a treat doesn’t it, a bit of emotional blackmail! There were some very glamorous ladies painting the town red by the time we got there and if I had to give a prize for best dressed it would have been split between our lovely Claire and her black and white Grace Kelly attire and the lovely Gillian in her pink Jessica Rabbit number. WIT WOOOO girls ;-)
The music was spot on, courtesy of Kim’s fiancé Paul as he blasted out a range of old school and seventies classics that soon had our Dancing Queens on the floor. Talking of Dancing Queen, when he played that particular Abba gem, I watched as the floor filled with a group of ladies diverse in age, personality, shape and size as they got their groove on and became as one. Watching the smiling faces, all of them happy and looking like they didn’t have a care in the world it made me immensely proud and glad to be a woman. There’s something special about the female race girls and when you get a group like WIT together, well the song surely should be: “Aint no stopping us now”
Until the next time, keep grooving :-) xxx
Wednesday, 13. August 2008 - 15:57 Time
Creating a Monster!
Well ladies, it’s now August and I am buggered if I know where the time has gone. So much has happened since I last wrote that I have no idea where to start.
Operations have come and gone and scars have now turned white, some of us finally have some decent bras, committee members have come and gone to meet the changing needs of the group. And most importantly, our membership base has grown and the hits on our website are coming from as far away as Sri Lanka!
WIT spin offs have been set up and there is now a WaIT Watchers group and a Friendship Circle and if you look carefully, you may even find some of us working out at the Gym.
While you are here, don’t forget to check out the lessons for ladies as we have some very appropriate retorts to be aimed at those ever persistent Turkish Males! (Thank you Shirley x)
The next planned social event falls on 29th August which just so happens to be my birthday. If you are free, would love to see you at CKT’s on the night.
Our little WIT baby needs constant attention but our committee mothers are up to their eyes in it with their own busy lives in the summer so please forgive us if our website is a little behind and please bear in mind we are all volunteers!
Never thought I would say it but roll on winter when we will all have more time to dedicate to the feeding, burping and changing of our little monster! ;-)
Wednesday, 4. June 2008 - 13:14 Time
How Time Flies
“Time flies” An expression you hear often, along with “life is too short”. Both statements ring true for the majority of people.
How the time has flown since our one and only meeting in Roka. The one with the bikini sale, the inspirational Margaret Peterson, a lady with a small voice and a huge presence and of course the temperamental microphone which decided to work 5 minutes before the end of the meeting! Still, we managed didn’t we? We always do don’t we? Why? Because that’s what we do us women, we cope with any situation that is flung at us and we make it work somehow.
Our planned trip to Kos in May never got off the ground and it was decided that we would be better waiting until our very own port opened at the Marina to save us a 5am alarm and bleary eyed journey. However, it seems the majority is now in favor of a visit to Samos. Having done a visa run to Samos I can tell you it’s the size of a postage stamp and about as exciting! Still, I’m sure our ladies can breathe some life into it for a day and of course, as usual, I’m up for any excursion and will safely ensconce Mu’s credit card in my purse.
Out last meeting took place at the Orion Hotel down in the second beach area, the venue is close to being excellent, with just a few tweaks to make but its looking like we may have a home for the season.
Having talked the pants off you for the past 6 months, we decided to bring our members up to speed with the topics previously covered and ensure everyone was aware of the services available to them (all here on the website). Zilpha Griffiths gave an informative talk on her ‘plastic surgery’ consultation with the charming Professor Songur and we will see the results of that at the June meeting. I also had a consultation and have decided that now I am on the precipice of the hill, I will not go down the other side without a fight! So, I’m booked in for a little nip tuck myself ;-)
Having got the serious stuff over and done with, we sat down for a bit of a social outside around the pool. Dinner was offered at a very reasonable 12ytl a head and consisted of tomato soup with melted cheese, the type that dribbles down and sticks to the chin making conversation a tad difficult, a roast chicken dinner which really should have been on a smaller plate as the combo resembled a small island in the middle of the pacific as viewed from a satellite and a milky rice pudding for desert. A few alcoholic beverages helped to wash it all down as us ladies networked and got to know each other a little better and I will now not forget to ask for ‘cotton ball walls’ next time I’m in the chemist (thanks Christine!).
What we didn’t realise was the hotel was having a bit of a Turkish night so out came the young belly dancer and before you knew it, several middle age men full of beer and bravado had their tops off and were wiggling their substantial pub trophies around to drunken cheers from their companions. There followed a silver shirted karaoke singer doing Neil Diamond impressions, which, lets face it, even after one rendition of the smoke throated original, begins to grate on the eardrums (apologies to all Neil Diamond fans). By the time he switched to Louis Armstrong’s “it’s a wonderful world”, the wine had lubricated our ears somewhat but I couldn’t help wondering if he needed a doctor for that throat the next morning.
It was a good night and I hope, enjoyed by all. I personally prefer it when things go slightly array as it’s the little hiccups that make it less boring and predictable because as we all know, life really is too short.
See you all next time :-) xx
Thursday, 17. April 2008 - 16:00 Time
Sarhos in Sirinci
Id been really looking forward to the Sirinci trip, since the last WIT escapade in Izmir so I was not a happy bunny when a week beforehand the dreaded flu bug invaded my personal space, my sinuses, my ears, my throat, my chest, and not content with all that, added a nifty little fever to boot. Flu with all the knobs on you could say. But, the gods were kind and I was just about well enough to take my seat on the coach along with the rest of the gals.
The journey was pretty non eventful and I spent most of it just bobbing along to the rhythm of the coach while staring out of the window (apart from the sheer mountainside drops we encountered).
The Aritmis Restaurant was a joy of old stone and threadbare carpets. The tables were laid outside all of which had spectacular views of the sloping mountain town, its stone and white houses cutting into the ancient rock while pine and olive trees shared root space in the fertile earth.
Its was a beautiful place to sit and eat and even if the food was not really to my liking the view more than made up for it. I was on a table of abstinence by the looks of it, myself and my 5 compradres all drinking water. I suspected however that some of the other tables were filled with highly trained athletes worthy of an AA membership!
After lunch it was time for a bit of retail therapy. The clothes designers that supply Sirinci were definitely alive and kicking in the 70’s if the cheesecloth tunics were anything to go by. They were also very clean as every shop had an obligatory basket of Olive soaps. Intertwined with these little boutiques and bath houses were the wine shops. Wine in every flavor imaginable with free tasting......
Myself and Ann wandered around aimlessly until we passed a little jewelers and I spied some of my ladies inside so in we went for a nose. It was a lovely little shop and had some great pieces that were too good to resist for the ever so glam Zilph. The kindly owner offered to look after our bags while we went to view the church up the hill and it was well worth the climb. We did stop and treat ourselves to some freshly squeezed orange juice in the little cafe afterward to energize us for the trip back down.
Back at the jewelers to pick up the bags, something shiny caught my attention and before you knew it the shop owner had it wrapped around my wrist. Satisfactory Ooos and arrrs from the girls almost had my purse out when the owner produced another shiny. This time there were big ooooos and arrrrrrs and even a ‘now your talking’ from Cindy. The game was up, he knew he had us and produced more shinys to match attaching one to my neck and placing the other on the counter. The smiley man then weighed the goods and told me the price. I fished Murats credit card out of my purse but before I handed it over I made a courtesy call to my husband and whined that is was nearly my birthday (well 4 months away). Kerchingggg, purchase safely ensconced in my handbag along with my sea green pashmina a bargain at 10 ytl, my 3.50ytl bottle of lavender oil and an obligatory Nazar hanging thingy (Evil Eye).
Time for the coach and homeward bound. I have to say there were some valiant ‘tasting’ efforts throughout the day but my nominations for the top places go to: The naughty Trickett in 3rd place, our Samantha in 2nd and without a doubt 1st place goes to Julie Collins cos no matter what wine shop I was passing, she was in it!
See you all soon xx
