Apricot Madness

2008
Let me explain Apricot Madness... In 2007, on my first visit to Kibris (Turkish Cyprus), the annual village zirdeli (wild apricot) festival had recently been revived. The home of the proprietor of the DIY shop in Esentepe was next-door to the wedding park housing the amphitheatre. Never one to miss an opportunity, he put some chairs and tables out and set his wife and his mother to work providing refreshment for the revellers.

And that was the start of the Zirdeli bar and restaurant. After a while the DIY shop faded away but Senol (pronounced she-nol) continued to find it "no problem" to help expat Brits with all the services mentioned in this song. I later found out that he would also supply logs for your wood-burner. But, in the evening, with Shenol presiding, Zirdeli was the venue in town for food and entertainment.

The high spot of many an evening, whilst the clientele were dancing on the tables, the waiters would fly lighted serviettes in memory of scud missiles. Not surprisingly, one client remarked the closeness of the words Zirdeli (apricot) and zidali (madness).

Sadly, Senol's taste for very loud music upset his old regulars and, not surprisingly, the neighbours and by 2020 Zirdeli was locked and bolted. Senol has moved on but his "no problem" philosophy lives on wherever you go in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus.

As you listen to the chorus, imagine that you raise a glass and drink ... to Shenol.
Chorus:

No problem, no problem… everything is sorted

Leave it to the master “jack-of-all-trades”… to Şenol

Verse 1

When you’re feeling hungry, go eat in his garden

Mama and his missus will prepare the food

Though the store is closed, his heart is always open

Listen while I tell you just what he will say

No problem…

Verse 2

If you need a plumber, all you do is call him

When your lights have faltered, power he restores

Sells a generator, gets the current flowing

Listen while I tell you just what he will say

No problem…

Verse 3

When the earth needs moving to landscape your garden

He will bring the stonework and wrought iron too

Many years in England, he can speak our lingo

Listen while I tell you just what he will say

No problem…

Verse 4

If your house needs painting or garden irrigation

Driveway needs a surface, anything at all

He can always do it – maybe NOT tomorrow

Listen while I tell you just what he will say

No problem…

Repeat last line and finish