Blue Star Paros, Für Elise and a Stylophone
A very pleasant sight from the balcony yesterday morning: the calm sea, several sailing boats coming in and going out, a few cars moving slowly around the harbour and several people waiting for the Blue Star Paros to arrive. This it duly did at eight, gliding into port as our friendly neighbourhood swallow sat and chatted on the wire about three feet from me. Overhead, our friendly neighbourhood kestrel wheeled around and, soared and watched from high above, and then passengers and lorries came on and off the boat.
[Today’s photo theme: small things in large places]
About fifteen minutes later the ship set off again. One of the quirky thing it does is play a rendition of Beethoven’s Für Elise as it leaves harbour. It has also done it while arriving and the speakers must be somewhere in the cargo bay because, when you are there waiting for the drawbridge to go down, your ears are battered by this metallic, electronic clanging. I have this suspicion that the second officer is in charge of this, or someone in the engineering department does it for a lark. I see him, or her – but probably a him as I am sure a her would have more subtlety – sitting at a small desk with a microphone set up before him and a Stylophone in his hand. He taps out the da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da (beat) da-da-da-da (beat) da-da-da-da (repeat etc.) with alarming precision, robotic timing and at full volume. Not only can you hear it from the cargo hold where I reckon even our deaf cat would hear it, but we can hear it from our house too. It keeps going until the first section is nearly done while the boat is sailing away. It does stop, eventually, before it gets to the tricky bit with the chords and the up-tempo, at which point the second officer, or assistant shaft-greaser, or whoever, puts his Stylophone away and turns his attention to other, more musical, activities, like banging the propeller shaft with a hammer or some deep angle-grinding.
But it’s good to see the boat coming in and being so on time. Apparently we are to have the luxury of this faster, more stable craft for the summer. That’s handy for me as I am due to be on it on Friday (no reports of any strikes as yet) and it means that, as long as nothing goes wrong, it should be in good time and I will arrive at my destination at around 10.00 pm, rather than the 1.30 a.m. arrival of last year.
And so on with the day (Wednesday actually) which has already seen a batch of friendly visitors leaving after their two or more weeks here and will see later, I hope, a new batch arriving. They can come over on the promptly departing 3pm Blue Star Paros, if their flights arrive in time. At the moment that, and the Friday at 7.30 pm run, are the only boats that will get you to Symi after 8.30 or 9.00 in the morning; unless you come on a Thursday and can make the 11.30 Dodekanisos. Anything else is all early ferries leaving Rhodes at 8.30 or 9.00, some going via Panormitis which is actually a good way to ensure you see the monastery on your way over. Enough rambling now, I’m going to go and play Für Elise on the piano and try and put some expression into it. I should also see if I can locate a Stylophone just in case I am on the boat and there is a call for a musician. Well, they ask any traveling doctors to check in with reception when you board, so I don’t see why they shouldn’t hunt out an alternative fanfare player for arrivals and departures. Maybe I will take my oboe on Friday and provide some uninvited wind support for fun.
