Memoirs of GD Fell

Kantara

Sometime in the early part of 1962 I found out that there was a holiday cottage to be let for the season in Kantara Village. The season was, the whole of the summer period, that is, April to October. There were one or two small snags with the cottage, for instance there was no gas or electricity, consequently no fridge and any cooking would have to be over charcoal or primus stove. There was no running water, so water would have to be carried from the village pump for both washing and drinking. Margaret and I talked it through and decided that it was worth the while to take the cottage. We bought a tilley lamp which was a pressurised paraffin ignited lamp which gave out quite a good light. We had a primus stove and heater, both of which were powered by a gas cylinder. I borrowed an ice box from the Anchorage Club which was not being used so we were able to keep the food and drinks cool and so we were set for the summer.

I was working shifts and it was decided that I would take the family to Kantara when the weather was hot and I would return to work and then rejoin them each cycle. The shift system in force at that time was …

Day 1 -  1pm to 6pm.
Day 2 - 8am to 1pm, 6pm to midnight. Off watch then until midnight the following day, and then work from midnight to 8am. From 8 o’clock you had the rest of the day for sleeping. The following day was your day off and the day after that you started back on the next round of watches at 1pm.

This meant that every four days I was able to finish work at eight in the morning, travel to Kantara, sleep, have the following day with the family and the following morning travel down the mountain to start work again at one o’clock in the afternoon.

After each night shift, after I’d finished work at eight o’clock I would go to the ice factory in Famagusta and load up with a block of ice about three feet by eighteen inches by nine inches to take up the mountain with me to put in the ice box. This ensured that we always had cold drinks, and that the food was kept fresh. Incidentally, I never realised how many friends I had until we took over this place at Kantara and I’m sure the fact that we always had cold drinks on tap had nothing to do with it.