Op Tosca
Cyprus May 2001
A group of TA engineers, from all over the UK and two from Germany, had the 'bad luck' to be sent to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus for two weeks. Our task was to complete several engineer projects for the UN, from refurbishing accommodation, converting a derelict building into a patrol base and repairing patrol tracks in the buffer zone.
Down on the line, plant section had the heat, the dust and the odd minefield to hinder our work. Also the lack of manpower and equipment meant that many of the jobs that needed to be done had to be done by hand, including stitching wire baskets needed to build a couple of 'Irish' bridges.
Our site office, vehicle park and stock pile was at OP-89, although the jobs were spread out along our section of the buffer zone.
My wagon, a Cat 950F could have done with some air-conditioning, but it didn't break down and I could at least get some air out of the blowers..... hot air mostly.
I would spend all day trying to get my stockpile neat and tidy and tippers would turn up and expect me to drop everything and load them up! Did they think I had nothing better to do! Nice comfortable Mercedes tipper trucks for the drivers though.
When the wind (what there was!) was in the right direction I could have the cab opened up, when it wasn't, the dust was just too much and I had to close up and suffer the heat. Hey, but at least I was in Cyprus.
The one bit of the whole plant task where there was any shade at all, and I was back at the stockpile loading tippers. Now isn't that just standard.
Titch, Chris & me, hot, dusty and tired, but still smiling as we were just about ready to knock-off for the day and were looking forward to a shower, getting changed and a couple of Brandy Sours in the bar.
Just to prove that I did manage to get a little time off and get down to the beach at Larnica, a picture, although not a very good one.... that's the Mediterranean sea in the background there with holiday type people on the beach!