Hello again and now I’m going to have a whinge about mobile phones, I-phones, Blackberries (not the fruit obviously as I quite like them) and for all you Dinosaurs out there the good old pagers!!! Please, please put them away sometimes…….not all the time but just sometimes. You will survive I promise. Just a couple of instances have happened recently that have really brought this home to me. Last weekend I accompanied my husband to the church at Ayios Nikolaos for a special service of dedication for the new standard for the Royal Naval Association, of which hubby is a member being an ex Matlot. Anyway I digress. During the service but thankfully not during the Last Post which was beautifully played by two outstanding trumpeters and I would have defied anyone not to have a lump in their throat having listened to it, a mobile phone goes off. Not just a normal ring tone. Oh know. Out blasts the Latin rhythms of “Hey Macarena” or some such tune. Now I love that song when I’ve been to a family wedding, had 15 brandy sours and suddenly decide that my roots lie in South America and that I can indeed Salsa. But not, I repeat not when I am in church. Turn it off please and put it away!!! Actually the poor woman who actually owned the phone quite rightly did not know where to put her self as 150 heads turned to see who the culprit was. Interestingly enough I then spied quite a few people dip into their pockets and turn off their phones thanking the heavens it wasn’t theirs that had gone off. Now, in my job I of course have my mobile and am generally contactable all through the day and into the evening but there are occasions where I have the courage to SWITCH IT OFF. It is something that I have had to work on and please believe me how liberating it is. The thought that no one can reach me. That I am incommunicado for even the shortest of times. Bliss But even more important than you bleeping, buzzing or Macarenaing at an inopportune time is how you make other people feel. Earlier in the week a colleague and my self had booked a meeting with a Cyprus property developer. A good property developer. Someone I like and admire. We had arranged to meet at his office for 10 O’Clock and ok we didn’t get into his office until 10.20 but this is Cyprus so no worries there. It was how he made me feel once we were in his office for I kid you not that we sat there for a full 15 minutes whilst he carried on answering his phone, messaging someone on his Blackberry and even making two phone calls. All whilst we sat there like complete, insignificant and unimportant lemons. Ok so he had his secretary make us a cup off tea but that is not the POINT. You’ve arranged to see US. So talk to US and US alone. Just for those few short minutes that we have scheduled with you. We ARE important and do deserve your time. Now if this said developer were ever to read this he would be mortified but as I am quite confident that he really doesn’t have the time to eat let alone read blogs then we don’t have to worry about that. But for those of you that are reading this please just sit and think. If somebody called into your house to visit you wouldn’t just ignore them and carry on watching the box. (Ok some of you would) but on the whole you would switch the TV off and give your attention to your guest. It’s the same principal with phones in my opinion. Unless it is life or death and the house is burning down or your dog has just eaten the cat then it can wait as there is someone sitting opposite you, face to face, in the flesh, who has something to say. So for goodness sake do the right thing and listen. And what’s more I bet you’ll feel better for it too.

Phew got that off my chest. Got to go as have an important call coming through Have a lovely weekend and speak to you next week. from the Larnaca property offices of Kaimar Consulting.