Here are some smaller versions of some of the images you can find in our latest ‘Symi Photos’ gallery on the photos page [click here.]

The week got off to a strange start. It actually feels like the proper start of the New Year, the first Monday of the… well of the New Year, as you’re going back to work, the festivities are over – apart from Epiphany on 6th January, and as things return to normal.

We were met by a cat with its head stuck in a tin can. Not our cat, he couldn’t fit his head in a tin drum let alone an old can of Whiskers, but a stray that had somehow found its way into an old tin can, then into our lobby downstairs, then into the wood pile where it must have been trying to extricate itself judging by the way the wood was scattered everywhere. Neil noticed it on his way to work and I think we got to it just in time. It was quite docile when I held its shoulders in one hand and the can in the other – docile because it was probably about to expire due to suffocation.

So what’s the best way to get a tin cam off a cat’s head without damaging cat or rescuer? I’m not an expert but a gentle twist (of the can) while pulling it away from the animal seemed to work. I didn’t see any damage to the cat as is fled the scene, suddenly alive again, which was lucky for it, considering how the inside of a tin can can be sharp. So, excitement over, all that’s left to do now is sort out the wood pile again.

This morning, Tuesday, also started early with early bells from the nearby churches; tomorrow is Epiphany (known as Theofania or Fota) when the traditional diving for the cross takes place. This day marks the end of the ‘twelve days of Christmas’ with the blessing of the waters, and boats that use them. It is tomorrow, in the Orthodox Church, that Jesus was baptised, hence the association with water. There’s an interesting article about this day in more detail here. http://gogreece.about.com/cs/agreekchristmas/a/epiphany.htm

Once again a big thanks to everyone for the comments and mails about the videos on YouTube, we’ll do what we can to add more through the year, and will display them here too of course.

Symi, the bay of Nimborio