Well, I finally got home last night…

It started out quite sensibly really, yesterday. I walked down  to Yialos to go to the ATM. Had a bit of a row with one machine that pompously claimed I was not allowed any money, but got on swimmingly with the second that was far more generous, so that was ok. And then I had one of those decisions to make, ‘should I wait 15 minutes for the bus and be lazy, or should I walk up?’ I bought a bottle of water and walked. And I’m glad I did otherwise I would have missed this:

What’s all that about then? I’ll tell you in a minute.

After a few hours at home, pottering with some writing, I took another walk, this time to Pedi for lunch. And very pleasant it was too, both Pedi and the lunch. The beach was busy with sunbathers and there were several yachts in, many families out and about as it was Sunday, and hot of course. On the way I was suddenly struck by the church at Alethini, I don’t mean it suddenly lurched out and slapped me around the face, nor did I walk head first into it, I just suddenly stopped and marvelled at the simple colours and symmetry of the entrance. I’ve seen it a hundred times before and been in on a few occasions, but yesterday it just seemed to leap out at me. Maybe it was the light at that time of day, or perhaps fresh paint. Anyway, it was just another of those ‘good to be on Symi’ moments.

Later, taking the 4.30 bus back up to the village I had probably the most intimate bus journey of my life. It was so packed that, at one point, we thought someone was actually going to put themselves in the luggage hold beneath, but he turned out to be just putting a bag in there. When I got off back up in Chorio I felt like I was paying my one euro for the massage I’d just received rather than for a fare. And then I had one of those Symi afternoons where you just can’t get home.

And it wasn’t even the football match, or the music in the square that kept me out so late, but friends and chat, and dinner, and more chat, and laughs and gags. ‘I must be going now,’ ‘not yet, I’ve just ordered you a…’ and so on. But I am pleased to say I didn’t get to the stage of telling the world’s un-funniest joke, or repeating myself, I think I was very well behaved. And no headache this morning so that’s always a good sign. Even better was that there was no alarm cat going off at 6.30 this morning. I don’t know where he was but he was silent until after I’d let him in just now. Since then he’s been making up for it by wandering about shouting at the furniture for no reason. Hopefully he’ll settle down in a while and doze in front of the fan as per usual.

And back to that photo. Filled water bottles in breeze blocks? I showed it to Anne who has also seen them earlier that day and had discovered what it was all about. Apparently it started out as a line of water bottles, but they started to go missing so the blocks were put down, and the water bottles put in them… to stop people parking motorbikes outside the house. You see, it’s all so simple really.