Page 44 - RADC 2017

Cyprus – what’s the story?
Capt Emily Summers, RADC
Background: Captain Emily Summers, Cardiff graduate, Foundation post at HMS DRAKE with Surgeon Commander Hands (Endo guru), RMAS 2016, First post – Dhekelia, Cyprus.
With little-to-no experience of life in the Army I came to Cyprus with a totally blank sheet. I’d heard many things, from “the best post”, “you’ll love it”, “make the most of
it” to “it’s quiet”, “won’t you miss home?”, “it’s a long way from the UK”. So what has happened in the first 6months?
So what’s it like living out here as a junior officer and a newly qualified dentist?
I started off living in the mess - now this
was quiet! With only 2/3 people living in
permanently and dinner totalling about 6
each evening, I was wondering what goes on here? There seemed to be more staff than guests! A small group of junior officers, teachers and civilians started to blossom and soon I had joined a swim club at Ayios Nicolios which trains every Tuesday. Though warm in the day, the nights were cold and I was thankful for my UK jumpers despite thinking it would be too hot for them!
Once settled in, I started to gauge whether
I could bring my dog out to join me – she
was thankfully being looked after by my long suffering parents but I needed to find a better solution. The mess didn’t have dogs at this time but the QM offered to find a house for us on base. Initially I thought I might miss out on mess life - what mess life? It turned out to have been
It turned out to have been the best decision possible.
the slightest ripple on the water! The team at the club are great – always happy to be out on the water, and a great source of instruction and encouragement.
Once I’ve had enough of having my arms wrenched out, I head on down to the sailing club. They have several single handed boats and a couple with space for a passenger. It’s
Dhekelia Services Sailing Club – Laser single handed dinghies
the best decision possible. When Toggle arrived, we moved into a little bungalow at the bottom of camp. She has free run of the garden during my working day and when we head out we have immediate access to the huge expanse of ‘bondu’ brush cover on my doorstep.
My days begin at 0530 – run/cycle/ swim with Toggle (she puts out a decent swimming pace across the bay outside camp – I had to speed up my front crawl!), 0630 – heading up to work, 1400 – back home for afternoon activities! The heat started to pick up around May and soon I found swimming was the only way to get a decent amount of energy burnt off the dog in the mornings.
Weekends are jam packed out here – the Watersports club is open at 0700 and this is the best time to get down there as the water is glassy smooth. I’ve tried wakeboarding and, having settled into that, am learning to wakeskate. This is like wakeboarding but there are
no bindings – the board is held on to your feet by the water pressure (like snow boarding vs skateboarding). Challenging if there is even
Me outside the dental centre (I do do some work!)
Dhekelia Officers’ Mess Summer Ball – I was on the committee for organising the event, my guests are from Episkopi and Dhekelia Officers’ Messes. (left to right: Miss Nicole Walker (SSAFA), Capt Emily Summers (RADC), Flt Lt Toby Jones, Capt Charlotte Park (RAMC), Miss Abigail Kwok (Guest))
42 RADC BULLETIN 2017
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