Category: local

Turkish afternoon at the barbers Thursday

Happy Thursday!

Another day, another adventure.

I realised I posted daily for the last week or so, as something inspired me to every single day. Fingers crossed it will continue!

Today is about how I ended up having fun conversations whilst enjoying delicious Turkish tea and Turkish delight at a Turkish barbers’ shop in the middle of Southampton.

How you  might ask. Well, here it goes…

Sheba and I ventured out at lunchtime and went to the barbers she normally goes to to get a quick trim, but he was too busy.

I remembered that a couple of weeks ago our lovely boss Dave had a really nice, stylish haircut at a Turkish barbers shop near Guildhall Square.

I googled exactly that ‘turkish barbers shop, Southampton’ but nothing came up.

I randomly started talking about kismet (κισμέτι, fate/destiny), one of my favourite Turkish words.

We decided we would just go for a walk into town instead. On our way, we came across the Turkish barbers shop, which was actually called AK Grooming Room -Traditional Turkish Barbers

What were the chances! Maybe it was kismet… or maybe not.

It looked nice, clean and stylish from the outside so we went in.

We were offered a drink and we were both surprised when the lovely assistant told us they had Turkish tea! Whilst we were enjoying our tea, we started chatting to the owners.

And we didn’t stop chatting until we left!

We talked about food obviously, all the similar Greek and Turkish dishes and delicacies such as ntolmades, gyros and locoum-i (Turkish/Greek Delight) which they treated us to-proper, thick, pistachios-filled Turkish delight, it was delicious!

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We then chatted about Cyprus and Constantinople (Istanbul), how I ended up to Southampton from Cyprus, how they randomly decided to move to Southampton from London.

They invited us to visit for a cup of tea and a chat anytime.

For a moment I forgot I was in Southampton, I felt I was back home, in Cyprus. More often than not when you go for a haircut in most places in Cyprus, you end up getting to know everyone else who is at the hairdressers and chat about random things.

If you live in Southampton, fancy a proper Turkish Barber’s experience from a beverage, hot towels and face masks to great conversation and stylish haircuts and you want to support local independent shops, then give them a go!

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Today I’m grateful I spent my lunchtime having tea and locoum at a barbers’ shop with my best friend and the lovely, friendly Turks we just met.

Teşekkür ederim!

Eleni

Amaretto Tea Monday

I’m finally in the safety and warmth of my home and Monday is nearly over.

Well is over work wise, which is the what I currently struggle with.

I still have the afternoon to do my yoga (I cannot believe my 31 day yoga revolution comes to an end tomorrow!) look for jobs, learn a new song on my guitar, learn a little bit more Italian, do some reading, watch Game of Thrones, do some drawing… I love my evenings.

I’ve been dreading Monday, so I had to do something different, even if it was something small otherwise the Groundhog Day effect would have kicked in.

So after a long morning made bearable by continue listening to the Sweet Soul Sunday playlist on Spotify (check it out, you won’t regret it) from yesterday, my bestie and I decided to try Coffee Lab on London Road, since it’s one of the very few places in town we haven’t been before.

I pass by it every morning on my way to work since it first opened, 8 months ago but I never have enough time to stop.

When it first opened it didn’t look very attractive, but now it looks cosy and welcoming.

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We already had lunch so we tried their tea (although their cakes AND sandwiches looked amazing!).  And it didn’t disappoint.

Friendly staff, great atmosphere, super close to work, yummy tea and also very importantly, it smelled nice. I hate it when I leave a restaurant or a cafe and I smell of food.

We sat on the bar across the window, people watching and chatting, daydreaming as usual.

I had Amaretto Tea and it came into a pretty glass teapot. It was sweet, almond-y, warm, delicious!

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Just what I needed!

I’m definitely going again for lunch and cake.

Any recommendations for lunch breaks in the city centre are welcome 🙂

Is the little things that count and today I’m grateful I spent my lunch break at a lovely coffee place with my best friend.

Namaste

Eleni

 

Those little moments…

Happy Sunday!

Today I had zero energy when I woke up. I had to push myself to go running. Although I love it (check last Sunday’s post).

I had to stop several times but I made it. And on one of my stops, I came across the Southampton Old cemetery again. I haven’t been in a cemetery since last March, when my sister and I visited my aunt’s grave.

I’ve came across it before but never went in. Something has drawn me in today and I passed the gates and whilst looking around all the graves, the messages on the memorials, the church in the end of the path, and listening to Aron Wright’s Rest in Peace, I burst into tears.

I cried for my aunt, my grandparents, those buried in the graves right in front me, those who died in Barcelona, Manchester, Syria. For those couple of moments I felt I was grieving for everyone who lost their live, for everyone who lost their loved ones.

It was one of the most cathartic, spiritual experiences of my life.

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I’m happy and grateful for little moments like this, a reminder to appreciate the little things, the fact that I’m alive and breathing, that my family and friends are well and happy.

So here’s to those little moments.

Eleni

 

Local and homemade

My uncle rarely gets a cold. His secret was ‘Να τρώεις ένα κουτάλι μέλι κάθε πρωί!’

Have a spoonful of honey every morning, that’s the secret.

And of course he meant homemade, pure, delicious honey, not a store, mass-produced syropey one.

I love anything local and homemade and I was over the moon when I recently discovered a colleague’s husband was a beekeeper and luckily had a couple of jars left from his most recent produce (I have actually brought homemade honey all the way from Cyprus last Christmas that ran out, thank you aunt Sophia!).

Yesterday I bought one of those few last jars. And it made my day. Fresh honey produced in Bishopstoke, who would have thought!

It’s all about convenience and ease nowadays and we end up spending our money on chain supermarkets, shops, cafes instead of supporting local and independent.

I have mentioned it in blogs before but this post is solely dedicated to it. Supporting local businesses, services, farmers, jewellery makers, anything unique and independent.

You are not only benefiting your community and your city but yourself too.

Freshly made bread from your local bakery, fresh meat from the butchers, homemade honey with no preservatives, vegetables grown by local farms, delicious coffee from your local shop taste better AND are much healthier.

Yesterday I was extremely tired and didn’t get much sleep the night before. So I treated myself to coffee from Mettricks. I could barely stay awake let alone decide what coffee to have. So I let the barista chose for me. And he didn’t disappoint. I could have gone to Costa or Starbucks at work. It would have probably been a bit cheaper, but it wouldn’t have tasted as delicious, I would have had much fewer options to choose from and I would have just spent more money on large worldwide chains that will never be in any financial risk.

So that’s my message for today. Support local!

Happy Saturday!

Eleni