I have a couple of photos today that Neil took yesterday when he was in Yialos. As you can see, all was calm on the southeastern front. Cold, but calm. There’s a breeze from the north which is possibly to become a force five wind later, with the temperature being forecast as between 10° and a high of 14° over the weekend.
That’s the weather report done, and now… I was thinking about Temu, that online Chinese shopping experience that people either love or hate. I am waiting for a delivery from them, and the site tells me it is, as we speak, ‘being handed over by customs.’ Strange to think that this packet of bits and pieces is now among thousands of others working its way around a massive warehouse somewhere around Athens or Thessaloniki, and will, somehow, escape from there and find its way to a neoclassical building at the back of the town square, where the lovely folks at ACS will send me a message or call me to let me know it has arrived, as will an app. All this will be followed by 101 adverts all over my social media (and probably yours) because I have dared mention the name on line. These adverts will, invariably, be for the things I have just bought, or for items from any other online outlet that I might have browsed in the past ten minutes.
Some people are scared of Temu, some don’t know what it is, and others currently swear by it. There’s a great debate about how to pronounce the word, too. Is it ‘Temu’ as it would be in ‘tempo’? Or is it ‘Temu’ as it would be in ‘teamu’? I suppose one could refer to it as ‘T’mou’ and attempt to pass as French, or you could pronounce it with a deep southern twang, and say ‘Tay-mou,’ in which case everyone will assume you are Dolly Parton. However you say it, you can find some handy things on there. Things you never knew you needed, such as a Pop-Up Bubble/Transparent PVC Round Tent. We all need one of those for the courtyard this summer. Or even for when you next go camping. Suitable for exhibitionists and those wishing a home sauna in August.
I’m not knocking it. I am enjoying my self-warming, USB charged fingerless gloves (apart from the trailing wires), and the side-winding, retractable, thermal body belt. It’s not all plastic roses in the garden, though. The rain macs I ordered for our winter trip around Europe (think ‘As worn on The Maid of the Mist’) were as useful as rice paper condoms, and created for Chinese schoolchildren, not grown men packed out with layers of thermals from Guangzhou. On the other hand, the fabric sofa throw looks like it has come from Habitat, when, in fact, it came by camel train overland across the Hindu Kush (free delivery). It’s a bit hit and miss, but some stuff is good and affordable, while other stuff is Christmas stocking fodder, and who cares?
If I can find the thing I want on the island, via Skroutz or from somewhere else within Greece/Europe, I’ll buy that, but if not, then I’ll look for it here. Along the way, I’ll collect a random collection of things I could live without until I saw them. I am, for example, waiting for the delivery of one ten-hour ergonomic Memory Foam Office Chair Cushion, a home screwdriver set, Portable Oil Sprayer and Dispenser, 2-in-1 Olive Oil Sprayer and Pourer, an air fryer rack accessory, five pairs of socks, 8-Colour Liquid Chalk Markers, Fine Tip, Washable Window Chalkboard Glass Pens, and a pair of slippers. No sign of what I intend to buy, but they should arrive in a neoclassical building at the back of the square within the next wee,k or I get a €5.00 credit for when I am next bored and fancy a browse.
On which note, this ramble has woken me up, so I shall now get on with my day.
