Hanife, our formidable landlady and the matriarch of an old, monied Bodrum family dropped by with produce from her prodigious garden. She regularly provides us with various treats such as just-picked fruit, freshly baked pastries and sticky honeyed dough balls. There’s an age old and noble tradition in Turkey that if a neighbour presents a gift of food on a plate you must respond in kind. A plate must never be returned empty. Our habit is to return the dish with the rent money. Canny Hanife doesn’t seem to mind judging by the smile of her face.
Perking the Pansies 
Isn’t it nice that she ‘sweetens’ the pot of paying rent you’d have to pay anyway with her little gifts?! Can’t say I ever had a landlord do such a thing. Lucky you and Liam!
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Wish we’d thought of that years ago when our landlords lived above us. It was a constant stress deciding what to put on the returning plates and often we ended up with stack with just the top one filled. Some of our contributions eg curry or cooked red cabbage were met with some bemusement!
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