Having an excellent crop this year we recently we loaded up several crates of olives into our pick-up truck and took them to the olive press. There they were processed into golden green, virgin olive oil and, once again, I was reminded of how perfectly the double-cabin Toyota Hilux we drive suits our needs.

It is a large diesel vehicle with great all-round vision and, as well as all the features of any other modern car, it has four-wheel drive. With such a large area to keep clear of weeds, it has become a virtual work-horse for us. Sometimes it looks like a giant haystack – piled high with dried grass and branches on its way to the Akamas. At other times it carries wood for winter fires, and picking the family up from the airport is easy with so much room for luggage, pushchairs and the like.

It used to have ‘cow-catchers’ or bull-bars at the front – so useful when driving over the rough rock-strewn ground encountered on the Akamas. Unfortunately for us, some years ago the government banned them. Apparently the nice shiny Mercedes and BMWs, driven by city-dwellers in Nicosia, came worst off in any encounter with one of these, and, as their voices were louder than the likes of we peasants who live out in the sticks, the bull-bars got the heave-ho.

Well, as fate would have it, we had an enforced seven-week stay in Nicosia for Harry to have a course of Radiotherapy, and driving in this environment is not a whole lot of fun. For a start getting here on the motorway, cruising along at the maximum 100 kilometres an hour in the inside lane, you find yourself being overtaken by massive articulated lorries, tour buses and just about everything else on the road as if you were standing still.

Then when you enter the unfamiliar city God help you if you happen to get in the wrong lane. You will be blasted by horns, overtaken on the inside and generally cut up at every junction. Everyone is in such a damned hurry and most are pretty aggressive drivers.

All this goes to make us realise just how blessed we are to live on the edge of the beautiful Akamas wilderness, where life really does continue at a slower pace. Where everyone in our small community looks out for each other, and where solace may be found in the greenery that surrounds us, the brilliant blue of the sea and the majesty of the plum-coloured mountains that provide such a glorious backdrop across the bay of Chrysochous.

Here in the big city we met many kind and hospitable people as we find our way on foot in a strange environment, but, once in the car and into the maze of streets that make up the city, it’s a completely different story.

Bring back the ‘cow-catchers’ is what I say – and while we’re at it I’d like some attached to the sides as well as the front.

Wishing you all A Very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2012.

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