It’s been a long time since I took up the pen to write a blog. What do you mean, you had not noticed? I hope an Englishman Abroad will return to regular commentary but it will not be for a while as I am working on another writing project
Not but there is any shortage of stuff to write about in our corner of the world. No Sir! Drama abounds. There is currently considerable excitement about escalating prices. Turkey’s official inflation figure is around 70% but everybody knows it is actually over 7 million %. This means that if you pore over a menu for more than ten minutes the restauranteur will come up and update the prices.
However, b y a long way the most dramatic single scandal involves a tube of toothpaste which a visitor found on the shelves of a supermarket priced at 81TL. I remember the day when you could get a restaurant meal for 15 people, with a boat trip to follow followed by a Turkish Bath for the whole town and still get change from 81 TL. Now you get a tube of toothpaste and no ring of confidence. Forget Watergate. Forget Partygate. This is Colgate.
But talking of money, the real reason I have taken pen to paper is that the annual Mouse Island Swim is approaching. The 2022 event will be the 12th consecutive swim. Last year we opened up the swim by having two additional start points at 500m and 1km from the beach. Lots more swimmers could take part and as a result we raised over £23,000 for victims of the Manavgat fires and for the local branch of AKUT the national rescue organisation. Yes Folks, it’s Give Us yer F**king Money time, as Bob Geldorf so memorably put it
This year we also want lots of swimmers to take part. So we plan to offer two starting points from Beach Clubs on the Kişla side of the bay at around 500m and 2km as well as the traditional start from the island. We will not try to co-ordinate the finish. With so many swimmers of varying abilities that has become impractical. Last year one swimmer having already swum for 3 hours was turning blue waiting so long in the water. We will stagger the start times, then everybody will swim at their pace and come out of the water as they arrive.
We want to encourage lots of swimmers to take part again. Our charitable projects will be local this year. Three village schools have reached out to me, all with important projects which the swimmers would love to support. So this Thursday found your blogger under the shade of a eucalyptus tree in Çayköy Primary School. I was met by a lovely group of children with their hipster looking headteacher. Actually, the headteachers of all the three schools that I visited would not have looked out of place at a Metallica Convention. As I still cling on to a bit of an aging rocker fantasy myself, I am completely comfortable with that. In fact, often flirt with the thought of a pigtail. It’s only the thought of the daughters’ pain that stops me but they are mellowing with age. Chloe hits 40 next month! Tempus F**it!
Over a bottle of mineral water the children told me of the work they have done on recycling waste. They actually won an award in Italy for their project making clothes out of waste material. Now some of you lucky folk can get to see their work! Those of you who will be in Kalkan for the Launch of the 2022 Mouse Island Swim at Indigo Beach Club on SATURDAY 25th JUNE (grab that date) can see the children’s ten-minute fashion show when they will model the garments for you. These lovely youngsters will also talk of the work have been doing on pollution. In just one hour they counted three empty agricultural chemical containers that passed a particular point on the Patara River Mouth! They have aspirations to get a small Workshop built in their grounds where they can do practical work. Currently they share the use of the small dining room and have to clear everything away daily. Bless them. I was inspired.
So too with the other schools I visited, which have projects to improve the safety and quality of their environments. One school, which has no effective boundary between their playground and the road, had to put up with a positive river of rubbish (see photo) along the other side of the low wall which separates the playground from privately owned land.
These schools are aspiring despite a dispiriting lack of ambition in the wider environment. We would love it if our comparatively wealthy foreign resident and visitor community would join with the swimmers and give these schools and their projects a hefty leg-up.
Once again the swimmers will partner with the local branch of AKUT, the Search and Rescue Organisation, Çayköy First and Middle School, Kınık First School and Ova Nursery School and of course Indigo Beach Club the Home of Kalkan Island Swimmers.
So we will release more details as we have them. You can register an interest in taking part by contacting me on WhatsAp (+90 534 347 0493). If you prefer you can reach me via Messenger or email (chrisdavies_01@hotmail.com). Alternatively you can register with Mummy Ruth on WhatsAp +44 7809 112891 at Indigo Beach Club. Please supply a WhatsAp mobile if possible.
The 2022 Mouse Island Swim Appeal will be launched on Saturday 25th June. There will be a fashion parade by Çayköy Village Schoolchildren, a folk dance by children from Kınık Primary School, A charity auction and live music. Indigo Kitchen will provide a quality buffet with plentiful mezze plus meatballs or Felafel. Price 300TL of which 100 will be paid to the Appeal. There will be one or two other surprise fun events too.
The wider Kalkan Community of Friends, Residents and Citizens is a generous and giving one. Help us once again make a great weekend of it and do some good for our community.
Booking is open now through Indigo. Bring a party and have a great night in a great cause whom you can reach here
