Cyprus is getting more and more popular for Weddings, with over 300 days of sunshine every year sunshine on your Cyprus wedding day is virtually guaranteed!

• English is widely spoken in Cyprus and its only just over 4 hours away. Ceremonies are conducted in English plus your marriage licence and all paperwork will be in English too. You do have to pull together certain legal documents before the wedding but the process is pretty straightforward.

•   Pictures above are from the Adams Beach Hotel, Ayia Napa, Cyprus.
• Aphrodite's island of love is a romantic choice for both the wedding AND the honeymoon plus your guests can have a great holiday too. You can even have your hen and stag parties on the island!   Lots of Hotels now have their own Wedding Chapels, plus you could choose a wedding cruise or even a party on the beach to get married so no matter what the budget is for your island wedding Cyprus has something to offer, whether you organise everything yourself, you choose a "tour operator" wedding or you decide to employ a wedding planner in Cyprus.

There are really three choices if you are planning a wedding in Cyprus.

1.      Do it yourself. If you know the island well and you have the time or friends/ relatives on the island to help you, then this option is usually the best for a cheap destination wedding in Cyprus. It can also be the best way to personalise your special wedding day.

• Book your Cyprus wedding through a tour operator. If you can't face the stress and hassle of organising an overseas wedding yourself, then this could be an option for you.

With  package holidays on the decline due to the ease of booking online, more and more tour operators are offering wedding packages. The disadvantage, of course, is that you will only have a choice of venues that are linked with the tour operator and there is limited scope to personalise your wedding day.

• Employ a wedding planner. Cyprus has a large number of specialist wedding planners based on the island. They offer various services from just organising the Cyprus wedding ceremony and transport to organising an entire package including hen and stag parties.

It will soon be Olive picking season (October to January) so how do you turn a freshly picked olive into a succulent edible one? If you have ever tried to eat an olive straight from the tree, you will know what I mean - it's VERY bitter and VERY hard.


If you use the method below, you will end up with wonderful sweet olives and you can add all sorts of herb combinations to create your own special marinated olives.   The local Cypriots tend to use other methods of "sweetening" olives, mainly using LARGE quantities of salt, sometimes they cure them by covering them with salt for a week!   If you have tried olives in Cyprus and hated them, this could be the reason why! 

• Make a slit in each olive or crack each one open carefully with a wooden mallet.

   

• Put the olives in a large bowl and cover with water.

   

• Change the water daily for two weeks to extract the bitterness and make the olives "sweet".

   

• After 14 days, drain the olives and place in a solution of brine made with 100g salt/1 litre water for every kilo of olives - leave for 2 days.

   

• Drain again and place in a solution of vinegar and water made with 1 part water to 4 parts vinegar for a further two days.

   

• Finally, drain the olives again and store them in olive oil and herbs of your choice OR a mix of 3 parts brine (made as above) to 1 part vinegar covered with a layer of oil.

I have to admit, I have a very bad track record with missed flights. Looking back I have missed far more than I should have, the worst example being the time I missed three flights in one day, no joke. I was in Ireland on business, and had been at a client site the day before, installing some new equipment. The client in question invited me to a private function that evening; they had hired a nightclub and turned it into a fun casino for the event. Free food, free drinks and Irish hospitality left me rather worse for wear by the time I staggered back to my hotel room.

I drunkenly set my alarm for 6am before falling asleep, as I had an early flight, do you think I even heard that alarm? I woke up one hour before the flight, a mad dash to the airport saw me miss it by five minutes. The airline staff were helpful; they moved me onto a flight that would be leaving in two hours. I decided to make my way up to the deserted viewing area and sleep for an hour more before boarding the flight; I woke up three hours later! The same airport staff were on hand, with scarcely hidden giggles, they moved me to yet another flight departing an hour later.

Determined to make this flight, I sat and nursed a cup of coffee, with my eyes firmly fixed on the boarding display. My flight was eventually called, and I headed to the check in. I only had my briefcase with me, so checked in no luggage. With 20 minutes to go, I walked up to the security check booth, and placed my briefcase on the conveyer belt and walked through the beep beep machine. As my briefcase came through the x-ray machine, I noticed a strange expression on the face of the person operating it. I was summoned over, and my briefcase was searched. Inside, they found my specialist tool kit, and some complicated testing equipment, they decided I could not take any of this on-board as it was a security threat (I was having a sense of humour failure by this time). They told me I would either need to leave the briefcase, or miss the flight, as it was now too late to have it put into the cargo hold. That’s right, flight number three missed! I finally made in back to England at 2am the next morning!

There can be no doubt that an economy class, long haul flight, can be one of the most uncomfortable things we put ourselves through. Although the discomfort cannot be removed entirely, below are five tips to ensure that you have the most comfortable flight possible.

·         Travel Light – Preferably only with cabin luggage, certainly if you are going no on a short trip. If you must take large baggage, keep it to a minimum, and be sure to use an airport trolley instead of trying to carry it, nothing is worse than boarding a plane, already hot and sticky.

·         Don’t Dehydrate – Low cabin pressure at high altitude causes dehydration, be sure to drink plenty of fluids before and during your flight. Try to avoid alcohol at all costs; just ask anyone who has ever suffered from a hangover at altitude how it felt and you will understand. Alcohol dehydrates you severely, exacerbating the situation caused by the pressure in the cabin.

·         Exercise- Maybe you cannot jog up and down the aisle, but you can perform stretching exercises in your seat, try to tense your muscles and relax them repeatedly. Be sure to rotate and flex your ankles frequently, as they will be prone to swelling during the flight.

·         Dress Sensibly – Tight fitting clothing and shoes will leave you feeling stifled, dress in baggy, comfortable clothes and low heeled, soft shoes. Don’t be afraid to take a change of clothing on board with you, a set of fresh clothes can be a great way to refresh yourself during a long flight.

·         Relax – Many people find flying stressful, extended periods of stress can be harmful, try to relax. The stretching exercises discussed above will help with this. If all else fails try sleeping, most airlines now supply a light blanket and a pillow. Take along something to cover your eyes, if you are the kind of person who has trouble sleeping when it is light.

So there we have it, some great tips for staying comfortable throughout your flight. Remember that the cabin staff are on hand to assist you, and are well trained in helping flyers enjoy the best flight possible, flying may be tiresome but there is no reason it should be overly uncomfortable or become stressful. Enjoy your flight and arrive refreshed at your destination.