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Epiphany, thunder, Olive Trees and shops

Here are a couple of shots taken on the way back up from Yialos the other day. It was before yesterday’s rain and thunder. I’m going down to Yialos again this morning and I expect the view will look pretty much the same; clear, a few clouds and not too cold. It was Epiphany yesterday, with the traditional diving for the cross in the sea. Before and after children were around singing carols and the winner of the race to get the cross was out and about in the village, collecting money for the church and proudly showing off the cross.

The Olive Tree is coming on, that’s the new coffee shop/café that will be opening hopefully next month, where the Mikro café used to be – opposite the Hotel Fiona in Horio.

It’s been nice to get so many Christmas as New Year messages in, thanks for those, and good to see that many people are still panning a return trip to Symi this year despite what’s going on in the world, the exchange rates and so on. I think you will find a few changes, with new shops, old ones closed and some simply changing what they do. Nothing too dramatic but there should be two new cafés in the village and there will be some changes to shops down in Yialos.

Good to hear there may be a vet visit in the spring. The lanes around our part of the village are filling up with stray cats again. They are being looked after as much as people can but there is a definite increase in numbers and some don’t look happy at all.

The sun is out, I have things to do down town, the saxophone to practise and the house to tidy up. We’ve been invited to the last night at the Two As Bar tonight – it will be closing for a holiday and a re-dec – may pop in for ‘one’ if still awake at nine.

Best Wishes and A Happy New Year from the Symi Animal Welfare team

Here’s a message from Symi Animal Welfare that came in yesterday:

We have recently been in contact with the Greek Animal Welfare Fund regarding a springtime vet visit to the Island.
They have agreed to send a Greek vet + assistant at the end of March/beginning of April which is marvellous news, as yet we do not know the duration of their stay or the exact dates.  Any surgery so early in the year will of course produce excellent results which will be apparent during the summer months, it will ensure that the street cat population remains healthy and controlled.  Then, all being well, Martin will return for his annual autumn visit.

The winter feeding programme continues, our volunteers are giving their ‘adopted families’ a meal of tinned food, pasta and biscuits several times a week at their allocated station.  We have also noticed that most of the restaurants which are open have also been putting out scraps, this is as well as the cat-lovers who aren’t directly involved with  
S A W .  You will be delighted to hear that the street cats overall look well and strong, ‘cared-for’ in fact!
Once there is more information from GAWF, full details will be published.
 

This is Boogie, he was rescued at 3 days old from the Pitini area, his mother had been poisoned, look at him now! 
Thanks you for your messages of support, Melanie Sharp

Typos, new Symi cafés and how to keep warm on Symi in the winter

If you were wondering why there were more typos than usual in recent blogs it’s probably because it is so cold in the ‘fridge/study’ at the moment. Well, that’s my excuse anyway – it’s got nothing to do with the Christmas spirit! Wearing fingerless gloves and a hat, sitting here looking more daft than usual, I’m typing away and getting in and out of the fridge as quickly as possible.

It’s always a question of knowing what is the best heater to use on Symi in the winter. We don’t have air conditioning so that’s out – I don’t like it much and apparently it’s expensive. Some people have oil filled radiators and these are quite good, they say. We have an ancient two bar fire for the sitting room which is surprisingly effective and strangely not too expensive to run. Then you have the tall halogen heaters that give off a lovely glow and very little else. I have one by the desk and one side of me is toasting (as I am a few inches away from it) and the other side of me is still frozen. Warm air heaters don’t cut the mustard and the other alternative is a real fire. We have one of these and it’s on occasionally but burns wood very fast as it doesn’t have a grate but a few bricks and a shelf from an old oven. Gathering and cutting wood is a seasonable pain in the proverbial, for me at any rate, so Neil does it, from time to time. So, keeping warm in Symi in the winter is possibly a chapter for the new book.

The playground, Jan 1st

If you were wondering what that photo of chairs is about, it’s a quick shot of the seating outside the new café that has just opened in Horio. It is situated by the village car park, just below Zoi’s taverna. There is a great view down to Pedi and the children’s playground is right next door. I don’t know what the café is called yet as I haven’t seen a sign, but I’ll let you know when I find out. There will be another new business opening this year at what used to be the Mikro Café. Jenine is taking the building on, Ian is currently working on it and, when everything is up and running, it will be a café, cake shop/coffee shop that will sell things like homemade cakes, sandwiches and breakfasts, and it will provide picnics for walkers etc. With sofas, book shelves and a friendly crew in charge it promises to be a good pace to hang out and catch up on calories, caffeine and news. There are some great ideas coming your way so watch this space for more updates.

Ok, fingers slightly warmed by typing now it’s time to get on with the rest of the day.

Horio, Jan 1st

A quiet New Year’s Eve and some seasonal Symi photos

It was very quiet in the village last night. We left the fire roaring and went to the roof to see the New Year in, the bells at some of the churches rang, the clock chimed, somewhere far away some dynamite exploded and some fireworks went off… and then it was back into the warmth of the house. [A short video clip can be downloaded by clicking here or looking at the Symi Photos page here.]

There was a barbeque in Yialos yesterday and a few late night parties at some of the kafeneion, but many local people stayed home for what is a traditional family night, and day today. We’re going to visit godson Harry at his house later and spend the day there – looking forward to that.

Symi Carol singers

I’ve rearranged the photos on the Symi Dream site now and all the galleries dating back to 2005 (and before) can be found on the one page. Hopefully this will make things easier to find. There is a small gallery of nine images from the Christmas and New Year season to be found there. These include images of an owl Neil found in a windmill, some of our Boxing Day guests and some of the children who came to the shop to sing the traditional carols over the past few days.

Symi Owl

That was the year that was

I have a few minutes for a quick ramble before my hands freeze up completely so I just wanted to wish a happy New Year to the thousands of folk who have viewed this Symi blog this year. And to everyone who has posted comments, to everyone who has supported our shop and business over the last 12 months (and beyond) and especially to everyone who helped and sent good wishes when you-know-who did you-know-what to his foot, one year ago tomorrow. (Gulp! And he’s still limping.)

Symi, December 30th

What have you got planned for tonight? We’re thinking about staying in away from the temptation of bar-jumping. Instead we may go up on the roof… What?! It’s ok, it’s flat with steps going up to it. I’m hoping to take the new telescope up there to get some views of the Symi night sky – I saw detailed craters on the moon last night and there should be more moon (of the planetary kind) to see this evening. After this we’ll light the fire and have a quiet night in – unit midnight when I expect the bells will ring out in celebration of Saint Vassilis’ day. If I remember I’ll get the video camera out so at least you can hear the sound even if there may not be much to see.

Symi December 30th

This is our 7th New Year’s Eve on Symi and roofs have featured a lot. The first year, when living up at the top of the village, we went onto the roof at midnight and the children phoned us. Couldn’t hear much of what they said due to the bells. One year we stayed in and went up onto our flat roof here, another we had dinner with J&I and went up onto theirs with Champagne. One year there were fireworks. One year we were in a very crowded bar which got claustrophobic so we left. Last year we all know about, and the 7th? Simply with a few friends a nice dinner and company. (And a trip to the roof.) Just as I like it.

Symi December 31st

This year has been quite action packed for us at Symi Dream. A few high and low-lights: A week in Rhodes hospital. Three months on the sofa, playing Xbox golf. A trip to Berlin. Winning a writing award. An exhibition of the Galapagos Islands and Peru in the gallery. An exhibition by local artists in the gallery. The first year of not working at the bar. Becoming godparents to Harry. Writing for the Symi Visitor. Attending two Greek weddings and a few local baptisms. Taking up the saxophone again. Finding ancestors dating back to 1550. Working on a new book. Writing a screenplay. Starting the blog proper. Starting Symi Stories. Consistently ranking 4th on Google. Mother visiting in the summer. Seeing craters on the moon close up. Becoming an official resident of Symi. Finally having decent shelves made for my ‘study’. Making new friends, meeting up with old ones. And, most importantly, simply enjoying life in a beautiful place among welcoming people because, after all, you never know what’s around the corner.

Symi December 31st from the roof

Whatever you are doing tonight and next year, do it safely and take care. 
Xronia Polla!