Bats are at risk from wind turbines, researchers have found, because the rotating blades produce a change in air pressure that can kill the mammals. Canadian scientists examined bats found dead at a wind farm, and concluded that most had internal injuries consistent with sudden loss of air pressure.Bats use echo-location to avoid hitting the blades but cannot detect the sharp pressure changes around the turbine. The scientists say wind farms are more of an issue for bats than for birds. "An atmospheric pressure drop at wind turbine blades is an undetectable - and potentially unforseeable - hazard for bats, thus partially explaining the large number of bat fatalities at these specific structures," said Erin Baerwald, who led the research team at the University of Calgary.

Bat deaths around wind farms have been widely documented across Europe and North America.Two years ago, EU nations formally agreed to make developers aware of the risks, and find ways of monitoring bat migration routes.Earlier this year, a bid to build a wind farm near Bideford in north Devon was turned down because of the potential impact on the mammals. But among all this, understanding of how turbines affect bats has been lacking.The Calgary team collected carcasses of hoary and silver-haired bats killed at a wind farm in south-western Alberta.Examinations showed that fewer than half had external injuries that could have been caused by collision.But about 90% had internal haemorrhaging, most notably in the chest cavity, a condition that puts pressure on the lung and can be fatal.

The idea is that the pressure around a rotating turbine blade is lower than in the surrounding air. A bat flying into the low-pressure zone finds its lungs suddenly expanding, bursting capillaries in the surrounding tissue which then becomes flooded with blood.Birds, which have more rigid and robust lungs, do not undergo the same trauma from a sudden drop in pressure."Given that bats are far more susceptible to barotrauma than birds, and that bat fatalities at wind turbines far outnumber bird fatalities at most sites, wildlife fatalities at wind turbines are now a bat issue, not a bird issue," said Ms Baerwald.Some research groups are investigating ways to keep bats away from wind farms, and a University of Aberdeen group recently suggested radar emissions might act as a "bat-scarer".

The new research is reported in the journal Current Biology.

Having sampled the culinary delights of tender lamb served with Roast Potatoes and Greek Salad, prepared and served to us by welcoming Cypriot families I simply had to go away and try and recreate this simple but delicious meal.

The first step was to get a Clay Oven which in Cyprus/Greece is called a φούρνο (pronounced Foorno).  You can get ready made ovens but I decided to ask a local Cypriot builder to build me one whilst I was in the UK, I returned a few weeks later to find in true Cypriot style an oven built for me in a `not quite finished` state, however I was so anxious to get cooking I decided to use it.

First of all out I went with some friends in search of wood/logs to burn, we came across on what looked like some rough land several branches of trees chopped us so proceeded to load them into the back of our vehicle, only to hear and see in the distance a Cypriot chap shouting out in Cypriot and gesticulating!  We promptly put the wood back and drove off, guess they were not just left there but probably the product of some hard work sawing away in the heat.  However, we did find some suitable wood and brought it back and lit the oven.  Within minutes the oven was giving out a tremendous amount of heat and we proceeded to add our Lamb sprinkled with herbs, lemon and Olive Oil (Kleftico) along with Cypriot Potatoes basted in Olive Oil.  Within minutes the lamb was sizzling and juices seared.   In Greek, kleftiko means -stolen meat-according to legend, this dish would be made with a lamb stolen from a flock as it grazed on a hillside. The thief would cook the meat over many hours in a hole in the ground, sealed with mud so that no steam could escape to give him away.

We then sat back relaxing in the warm evening air sipping wine whilst our food continued to cook, every now and then checking to see the progress.  The food was cooking great, however, we had a lucky escape when whilst checking progress the front of the oven came away with the door attached, we just managed to save it from falling by holding it up with a branch from a tree... guess we probably should have waited for the building work to be completed!  Anyway the food continued to cook fine and we produced an excellent first-time Foorno cooked meal.   Have got loads of ideas now to try out including tandoori chicken, fresh pizzas, nan breads and Bread Loaves.   Just need to get the oven finished now, probably will be best to buy some cement/clay ourselves to finish it off... as being from England not used to the Cypriot laid back style of work! 

 
   Have attached some photographs!
 

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.

Limassol is the' wine-growing capital of Cyprus and celebrates the country's rich viticulture with the annual grape harvest festival. Scores of the island's wineries and vineyards converge on the town's stately Municipal Gardens to share some of the fruits of their labours.

The veritable feast of buffets and wine tasting attracts over 100,000 visitors every year. Tasters can take the opportunity to sample some of the island's gastronomic specialities alongside Muscat’s, pine-flavoured Retsinas - and not to forget some of the island's renowned dessert wine, Commanderia - all against the backdrop of music and dancing at the Gardens' open-air theatre.

The Official Opening will take place at the Municipal Garden on the sea front just past the Makarios Avenue Traffic Lights.  On Friday 29.08.2008,8.00 p.m.  On entry to the Festival through the main entrance, situated on the south, you will see a giant statue of a Cypriot village winegrower in his traditional local costume (VRAGAS).   This has been the emblem of the Wine Festival since the 1961. There are pavilions on both sides of the main entrance belonging to the wineries of Lemesos (Limassol): ETKO, KEO, LOEL, SODAP, and LAONA, where the visitors can taste, free of charge, all kinds of wines.   Every evening about 15,000 visitors come along to the Festival, to enjoy the happy and jolly atmosphere of people feasting with wine, delicious local dishes, at fixed low prices, local dances and songs and theatrical plays with comedy, humour and satire.

General Information

Opening hours: 6.30 p.m.-11.00 p.m.

Ticket price:
Adult: 4.50 euro including bottled wine
One FREE bottle by the wine industry of your choice among the following: ETKO, KEO, LOEL, SODAP and the Association of Regional wineries named after "BACCHUS"
Teenage: from 13 to 18 years old, 3.50 euro
Child: up to 12 years old, 2.00 euro

Wine plastic bottles: 1.00 euro each
Wine glass: 1.00 euro each
Wine glasses with stem: 2.00 euro each

Parking:
A vast parking place eastern of the Municipal Garden Theatre (Pavlides ground) is offered by the Limassol Municipality for free.

Cyprus has been making wine for about 6000 years (from 4500-3900 BC), so Cypriots have had considerable practice with the harvest celebrations. One of the most commanding spectacles of this annual event is to witness the traditional pressing of the grapes that signals the beginning of the festivities.