All posts by James Collins

Day to day on Symi

Just Another Humid Monday

Sunday started so humid I could smell the moisture in the air. I’ve noticed it before over the years, the smell of damp rock that somehow holds a tang of dust. The balcony rail was wet, always a sign that the weather is sultry, and there was a cloud blanketing the Turkish coast, and another hanging over Nimos. Not a rain cloud, I suspect, but a cloud of humidity, almost a fog John Carpenter would approve of.

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The previous day had been drier, and although the temperature in the courtyard climbed to 36 by the afternoon, it didn’t feel uncomfortable. Maybe I’m used to the heat. As usual, we have towels on the sofa, so we don’t sweat-stain the covers, the windows are all open, and the fans are running 24/7.

Today, I have a plan. After my usual six- or seven-hour writing schedule, we’re heading to the Dive Centre with Gson H to register him for a birthday present dive in a couple of weeks. That done, I must buy a new keyboard and mouse as this pair is driving me mad. The mouse keeps sticking on the screen, highlighting things I don’t want highlighted, and the space bar on the keyboard isn’t working properly. I think I’ve killedit because, unless I hit it right in the middle, it ignoresmycommands.It ignores my commands. You see? I’ve tried the usual tricks with the mouse; using a different USB port, updating drivers, new batteries, swearing profusely, but to no avail.

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After that shopping expedition, we’re going to go out to lunch for the first time in ages, and will probably treat ourselves to a taxi or bus up the hill because H will need to do whatever people of his age do before going to work, and so will Neil. Talking of which, the village square has been quiet during the siesta shift. Where it is vibrant in the cooler months (May, June, September, October), things quieten down in July and August because most visitors are at the beach or on a boat trip. Very sensible. However, that doesn’t mean there’s not a congenial atmosphere among those who do visit the bars, and the village square remains a very pleasant place to while away the afternoon.

No time for me to while anything. I must get on with proofing the new novel (due out in about 10 days – you will be informed), and prepare myself for the great expedition to Yialos.

Day to day on Symi

The Right Side of Bed

It’s far too early in the morning, even for me, in fact, it’s probably not even morning. It started just before two when I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and having wondered how I got there, decided it must be time to get up.

It wasn’t. I might have started on the wrong side, but I didn’t get out of the wrong side (well, I did. I had to but…) and I don’t feel tired or grumpy at all. Not yet. I do feel as though I have no idea what to write about as I get my writing head in order, so, let’s just see what comes out.

First, I thought about shopping, not that any of the shops would be open at two in the morning (as far as I know), but for some reason, I remembered I’d taken a photo in our local supermarket and meant to share it a while ago, so it’s here today. Then I remembered something I’d said to the husband when we were talking about what shopping we needed when he was going because I was working. ‘Can you get some talcum powder? It’s usually next to the batteries.’ This reminded me of when someone needed some washing-up liquid, and I told them they would find it in the wine and spirit section because it’s that kind of shop. If you want to see island life at its best, go to one of the village super markets (sic) because they offer a great eye-opening experience – and decent prices if you shop around.

You get a warm welcome.
You get a warm welcome.

After a look at the news, and half a cup of tea on the balcony, I thought I should get to my writing corner and get on with the day/night. There was not much to see from the balcony anyway; the harbour lights, the stars, a bat or two (or a couple of very small nightbirds traveling at speed), so off to the office I go, stopping to see what temperature it is outside, just out of interest, and finding it to be 28°, not bad. I always turn on the porch light when commuting from the living-in house to the workhouse. Although the streetlight outside the gate lights the courtyard and porch reasonably well, I like to scare away anything that might be scuttling or crawling around outside the front door, particularly as I’m usually barefooted. There was no scuttling or crawling today, I am glad to say.

And so, the morning routine began.

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A check of the emails via Mailwasher where I generally receive a heap of pre-marked spam offering me all things vital from loft insulation to Thai brides, and a download of those emails I actually need: daily news updates from an ex-journalist friend (scandal and sensation, end of the world stuff, things you couldn’t make up), and I switch on all the programs I will need for the morning. The PC protection comes on automatically and tells me my VPN needs renewing when I only renewed it three days ago, so I enter the activation code, and it still won’t activate, so I sign in, and fiddle about, and finally it works. There is always some such disruption before my day has even begun, but today, it was only a brief one.

Then I sit down to write something here, and this is what you get, and I scroll through my gallery wondering, apart from typos, what I can adorn the page with today, and I find photos of a cactus. Well, the Cactus Hotel in Rhodes, actually, where we stayed in May when I took the godson over for his English proficiency exam. Very nice it was too; huge room, great view, breakfast even bigger than the feast at the Plaza (and HP sauce in bottles – five-star treatment, I’d say), and right next door to the exam centre. I thought I’d post a view from the room. This isn’t the first hotel I’ve used in Rhodes this year, and I must tell you about the others sometime because although they were further out of town by about ten minutes as the foot walks, they were excellent. (Btw, I believe all the students of the English school passed their proficiency exams this year, I know the Gson did brilliantly.)

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But that’s for another day, and mine is now about to start for real with around six thousand words about to pour from my fingertips into various projects. I’ll probably get about half of them done before I have to return to the right side of the bed and catch up on a few minutes of sleep, and start the second shift later this morning.

Day to day on Symi

Silence Leads to a Chorus of Disapproval

It’s a lovely peaceful early morning after what, I am sure, was a lively and fun night. I’ve not seen images of the concert yet, and I was well asleep before it started, but I am sure it was a great success. This morning, I was up at three and surprised to find the harbour below so quiet, not that it’s usually noisy at that time, although it can be.

Why? Well, in the summer, it’s not uncommon for visitors and locals alike to enjoy late-night dining and socialising. Who wants to be out drinking and partying at four in the afternoon when the temperature is nudging thirty-six or above? Better to do it in the cool of the late evening or early morning. Sometimes, I hear parties still going on at some of the late-night bars, or on the big cruisers that moor up. Other times I hear one of the kafeneion still in full swing or winding down around three, and, particularly in August, that’s nothing new. There are other sounds to be heard, as I’ve mentioned before. The screech of the owl, the chug of a fishing boat, the hum of nearby air conditioners, and the security ships that patrol or moor up with their generators running. Now and then, I might hear and see a lone motorbike climbing the hill, and it’s also possible to hear conversations when people are talking on the quayside, or riding home two abreast.

Random photo #1: View from the sitting room yesterday.
Random photo #1: View from the sitting room yesterday.

On which note, one of the vehicle rental places in Yialos is now renting our electric scooters and bikes so you can get around quietly and in an environmentally friendly way. If people would only wear crash helmets as they are obliged to, we’d all feel a lot safer, but the non-wearing of safety gear is what I call the Covid effect.

Say what? Well, it’s like this. After the lockdown, when tourism was starting again, we had a slew of visitors coming over from countries that were worse hit by the thing than we were. They saw themselves as coming to a safe country and arrived with a sense of relief that they were free of the thing for a while, with no sense that they might be bringing it to us. Selfish? Yes. Understandable? Yes. But the same mentality applies to the non-wearing of crash helmets.

It’s all to do with excuses. ‘Oh, no-one wears them on the island, so why should I?’ Because it could be you that gets your brains scraped out on the rocks you so admire. ‘It’s too hot to wear a helmet.’ It’s also too hot to rig a pop concert in the afternoon at 38 degrees but someone did it yesterday. ‘No-one checks up on you.’ Which is like saying, ‘Unless someone else takes responsibility for me, why should I take any for myself?’

Random photo #2: Above St George’s Bay. One of Neil’s winter photos under the category, ‘Things with faces.’
Random photo #2: Above St George’s Bay. One of Neil’s winter photos under the category, ‘Things with faces.’

It’s up to you if you want to risk your mental capacity, head, or life while dashing about on unfamiliar roads on a machine you’ve only just met, and it’s up to you if you want to ignore the hire company’s advice that you take and wear a crash helmet (the new electric hires come with free helmets, so no excuse there). If you want to break the law, then that, too is your own risk.

For my part, having driven a 500 CC around London for several years, I can’t even contemplate getting on a motorbike without full leathers and a helmet, so I don’t. I wouldn’t go unprotected in any other country so why go unprotected here? Because you can. It’s not my place to point out the failings or not of the authorities, but there is something to be said for the ‘they don’t check’ argument because it’s often true. Often, but not always. There are spot checks now and then, so, be warned. But when our island’s great and good don’t even bother to wear one, ‘Because we don’t on the islands’, well, to me, that rather smacks of not good enough.

I have no idea where that all came from or why I write it aloud. I’d only been standing on the balcony in silence, watching the lights and listening to nothing, when I thought I’d post today’s photo – something with a face, and somehow, I ended up here.

Ah well, it’s nearly five now, and I must get to work.

Day to day on Symi

Stars, Fans, Covers and Rubber

August has started with more visitors arriving from the mainland, standard temperatures (rather than the excess of July), and the Symi Festival, which has its official opening tonight with Helena Paparizou on the main stage in Yialos town square/amphitheatre.

In our house, we have a couple of pinups for the month…

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The same pair will be at it again later in the month when Neil takes H for his birthday dive with Blue Lagoon Divers. This year, as he’ll be older, H will be able to dive deeper than the last time they went two years ago. And yes, they did dive deeper than you see in the photograph. Don’t be clever. If you fancy a dive either as a PADI card holder or as a newbie, you can contact BLG through their website or Facebook page, but my advice is to do so early, because it’s a popular Symi activity, and often booked up.

The photo, in case you hadn’t realised, is of our copy of the Symi Dream calendar. Neil creates one and sells them online every year, usually between October and December, and I’ll announce here when the next one is ready. I know of several people who have collected one every year since he started them when he had the shop. I can’t remember exactly what year he started them, perhaps a collector can remind me, but it’s become something of an institution. Look out for a link in a couple of months.

The images in the calendars are always of Symi, and not always of men dressed in rubber. In fact, August 2023 is the first time there has been such an image. He’s featured traditional dancers and public space scenes before, but never a duo like this. You never know, you may get another one for August in the 2024 calendar – watch this space.

While you are watching, you can have a look at another fan worm. This photo, Neil took while snorkelling at Pedi.

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And if you want to see another image, and one you have never seen before, then I’ve got a cover reveal coming up on Saturday on my other blog, www.jacksonmarsh.com A cover reveal is a bit like one of those ridiculous gender reveal parties, but without the party, and without the institutionalised colours, accidental balloon let-offs, and other nonsense. Basically, I’ll blather on a bit about the new book, the first in my latest ‘must read’ series, and show you part of the cover. Then, you click the image at your leisure and get to see the full cover. You’re meant to go, ‘Wow!’ and remember to buy a copy when the book gets released. I know, but we indie authors need all the publicity we can get, and a cover reveal constitutes a major event in my life these days. All you have to do is click www.jacksonmarsh.com and bookmark the page somewhere, so you can pop in and check on me in my other world where I do, now and then, talk about what’s happening on Symi —  and it’s not talk that I put on this blog.

Right then, off to do something useful, and think about what to tell you tomorrow.

Books & writing, Day to day on Symi

A Free Book for August

Well, a free book for five days (1st to 5th) and possibly not one you’ll be interested in, but if you click the link at the bottom of this post, you’ll get to the book’s Amazon page and see what I am talking about. Not now! Wait until you get there…

By the way, these links to Amazon often lead you to a page that says ‘Not available in your area.’ Ever had that when trying to buy a book? If so, don’t panic! What it means is you’ve gone to, say, Amazon.com (USA) when your account is based at Amazon.co.uk (UK). The book is available in your area, but you need to find it on your own country’s Amazon site. So, either copy the ISBN number from the details, or the title and author, head to .co.uk or .whatever, and search out the title that way. Then, you should have no trouble ordering the Kindle or paperback. (I guess it’s to save you postage from USA to UK, or something. I don’t really understand why Kindle downloads are affected, but we’re not here to talk about all that…

We’re here to talk about shrimps and August.

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The Symi Shrimp Festival happened on Sunday night, and by the sound of it, it was a success. Neil was called in to work the evening at the Rainbow Bar, and when I vaguely saw him around 2.30 on Monday morning, it sounded as though he’d been very busy, and the party went on until well after midnight.

We’re now in August, of course, so happy month to you; Kalo mina. (My spell check changed mina to main. It’s one of those words that when typed, has a mind of its own, so apologies if Kalo mina is ever printed as Kalo main, a little-known consequence of the Spanish colonisation of South America.)

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I’m not sure who’s coming to visit in August. If you are, leave a comment on this post on Facebook so we can look out for you. After the heat of last week, August may well feel positively chilly, though it’s usually one of the hotter months. I know it’s terrible weather ‘up north’ in Denmark, the yUK and other northern-European places, and apparently, that has something to do with the changing Jet Stream, or some such. Well, if you can, drop ‘down south’ to escape it. Rhodes is now as back to normal as it can be, and lots of businesses and individuals are putting around publicity saying just that and inviting tourists back. The island, like the rest of the country, relies on tourism, and it’s fair to say, the European press hasn’t helped in recent days. (See my post ‘Village Views’.)

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I escaped the news and my writing routine on Sunday morning and went for a short walk, taking today’s snaps as I went. This is the lane that runs off the village square. It does a couple of sharp bends and then a gentle slope and takes you around the back of the Castro to where you can see over Yialos and the hills. If you keep going straight until you can’t go any further and have to turn left or right, you will come to the Kataractis (if you turn right). These are the ancient steps/slopes down to the back of Yialos. I didn’t go that way, I had chapters to write and sofas to sit on, which is probably what I am going to go and do right now.

Enjoy August, and we’ll chat more tomorrow. Meanwhile, here’s that free book which may interest you or someone you know:

Free book on Kindle from 1st to 5th August. Click here.

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