203 replies to this topic

[Vic801]

Thank you Sunny, I'm actually not a very patient person usually. It's just that there comes a point where even Job would have got fed up picking his zits and would have gone off and made bean and cabbage soup instead!

[Abi]

Just to wish you luck again for tomorrow Vic, Insallah this will be the end of it all.

[Vic801]

Thank you, Abi, that's very sweet! Will let you know how it goes tomorrrow.

[aderb]

Vic

hope you get the good news you deserve today

[sunny]

Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[Vic801]

Well, we were there bright and early before 9 am and found to our dismay that tea had gone up from 30 krs to 50. Mr P tried to joke with the tea-lady that we should have free cay since we've we've been coming here for 3 years, well, either his Turkish was crap or she has no sense of humour or both.

[Abi]

So was the price of cay going up an omen of what was to follow in the court? I think you are trying to tease us and keep us in suspense as to how it all went

[sunny]

I agree with you Abi, mind you Vic has perfected the art of storytelling.

All right Vic, you've got our attention, tell us , tell us.

[Vic801]

Well, to be honest, we were assailled by friends as we left the the court and as I started to type I realised that this would not be understandable. Still half-slewed, but here goes:
When our lawyer finally turned up at 10 o'clock we found out that our case had been scheduled for 14:40. I was pissed off (US Eglish pissed) but he was even more so since he'd left Ankara at 6:45. But he knows some people and the other avukat was already ther for another case so we were slipped in between cases. Again, don't think about sitting down, by the time your backside meets the seat, they have already set the date for the next hearing.
Again our lawyer has told us we have won. Now we are bargaining about how much. If I had understood that earlier I would have said stop now. However. In our lawyer's opinion the experts' report is objective if a little optimistic. They took the value of the square metre and added on the work they saw that had been done, elektrik, su, kalorifer, kloset, mutfak etc. They estimate the value of the house plus the restoration as way above the invoices we have. So the other party will say that he took the money to spend it for the resotration. So next hearing 8th May, the judge is fed up and wants it to be over (me too!!)
What is sure:
We get back the money for the house plus 9% intesest from the date the case was statred
We get back some money from the restoartion - that will be up to the jsuge, 80% or 70% according to our lawyaer
He looooses!!!!!
And if he wants to appeal he has to put the money in a secured bank accoutn first. When I saw him grimace as he gave 10 lira to his daughter for her birthdaay, I don't think he'll do that.
Anyway, I don't believe anything until the dollars are in the pocket but you can be sure when it is official, ther will be a right old shindy on Turkey Central!!!!

[sunny]

That sounds a lot more positive but as you say, until the money is in your pocket, nothing is certain.

I hope he will have to pay your costs as well.

If I was the judge I'd take his passport off him.

So on to May 8th.

It's OK you didn't need to say 'pissed off (American English)' because 'pissed off' in UK English means the same. Pissed on its own means drunk.

[Vic801]

His passport will be blocked until he pays his debt. His retirement pay will be paid to us. And anything he earns (declared earnings, ha, ha very ha) will be be paid to us until he pays off the debt.

Pissed (UK) means drunk. Pissed (US) means pissed off. Ken? HobbitTR?? Anybody else?

So on to VE day.

[Abi]

Well things are coming together nicely and I was very glad to hear it. I wonder how many of his assets have been given to family member and friends for safe keeping. I can understand you are having a early celebration Vic and expect that you are half slewed, excellent that you will have first dibs on his pension hahaha.

I hope we can set off the TC fireworks on the 8th May and have a few cyber to celebrate.

Well you and Mr P are nearly there, good for you for bearing the pain and stress for all this time even though you must have felt like giving up on occasion.

[swabs]

Thats great news congratulations!! You have persisted and it has paid of. Am really happy that you managed to get somewhere!! x

[aderb]

congratulations, I figure with his pension and your book sales life is going to be good for you Vic!

[Vic801]

I wonder how many of his assets have been given to family member and friends for safe keeping.

I wonder too because being a crook, he doesn't trust anybody and his "friends" are giving him a wide berth.

I can understand you are having a early celebration Vic and expect that you are half slewed, excellent that you will have first dibs on his pension hahaha.
I hope we can set off the TC fireworks on the 8th May and have a few cyber to celebrate.

Well you and Mr P are nearly there, good for you for bearing the pain and stress for all this time even though you must have felt like giving up on occasion.

Well, it was an early celebration and not quite planned but it was good!

Thats great news congratulations!! You have persisted and it has paid of. Am really happy that you managed to get somewhere!! x

Thank you, we've got nowhere really yet but it feels like it

congratulations, I figure with his pension and your book sales life is going to be good for you Vic!

Haha, I'll have to get round to writing that book!

It was an early celebration but it got me thinking about Turkish men and cooking.

Somewhere along the line somebody decided that a celebration was necessary and that raki should be involved. A serious discussion was held about trout but that was ruled out because it wasn't the right season so we settled for a mangal. So everybody headed back to our place.

Now, you all know Turkish men, whenever you go to their houses they are half-lying on the sofa asking their wives for tea, sugar, ashtray... But when Turkish men get together for a mangal this is something different.

They rush into the kitchen with the shopping bags and set about preparing like busy bees. And like busy bees they have their routes planned out, nobody asks "where are the knives, plates or whatever". Nobody hits anybody's head while opening the cupboards. Salad is washed, onion is chopped, chicken wings are spiced. There were 6 men in my kitchen and all I was allowed to do was peel some garlic in the living-room!

Mr P was given the important job of opening the raki. And we started off the music. My husband's favourite:


As the evening went on:

T knows this one, he opens the door and comes and dances with me!

I can't really remember the rest, I know we went onto Turkish songs and at the end of the evening there was a very sad Turkish song with a man getting into a bus and waving and suddenly Turkish women appearing in a field doing a folk-dance and waving their kerchiefs. And the friend next to me was weeping "my village, my village". I told him that his village was only 5 minutes away but he continued sobbling all the same.

[sunny]

Thanks for sharing the music Vic. Loved them.

[Abi]

Hope you didn't have a hangover today Vic. The last bit about the man weeping had me in fits of laughter,

[lindylou]

Well Vic 8o1, alls well that ends well! Congratulations!!!

[Vic801]

Sorry not to have been more present on the forum and thank you to everybody for the kind words but apart from nursing a beauty of a hangover I've been a little busy.

So here is the next epidode and I really have mixed feelings about this as I'm not sure really how I feel about it, so your comments would be welcome.

[Abi]

You have got my attention, spill the beans. Comments as always will be forthcoming