Bits and pieces

Just a few bits and pieces of news today.

The Oxi Day parades have been kind of cancelled this year – it’s Oxi Day today, btw. I heard that the parades are not taking place, but smaller memorials are. We may be treated to stirring music through the town hall speakers as we have been on other memorial days this year.

We did have a power cut yesterday, but not for long, and we’d been warned beforehand, so I had the gas burner ready. In the end, I only had the chance to use it for one cup of tea as the outage was so short. It was a reminder of possible things to come over the winter when much of the improvement and maintenance work is done to the supply. Another ‘here comes winter’ reminder came with a weather warning. Apparently, there’s a storm coming, though one weather channel shows it over us, and another doesn’t, we’re due for wind and rain tonight. That reminded me to get the old towels ready and close the shutters later today, just in case. We’ve also got to paint the bathroom roof (still not done that yet), cover the outside table and do a few other pre-winter bits and pieces.

We were out last night for a farewell meal with friends, and for a while were the only customers in the taverna, a sure sign the season is slowing. Mind you, Neil is working until November 8^th, so has another week and a half to go before he has the whole day to himself.

And an observation. I looked out of the bedroom window yesterday and thought, ‘I’m living in a farmyard.’ The window looks onto the lane, and towards the bin station which is set back from the path so out of sight. It’s home to a colony of stray cats, who were out and about, along with a tribe of nomadic chickens and their chicks. Walking through them were two goats, one the size of a pony, I swear, and the sight made me smile. So rural, pastoral even, it was a pleasant thing to see but did remind me to keep the gate shut for fear of losing our few plants to the marauding goats.

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Chitchat

Here are some photos courtesy of Neil when he was out walking.

As you can see, there’s some cloud about, but we’re still experiencing warm days, shorts weather and calm seas, though there’s a storm predicted for this week.

I’ve just finished the second draft of a new book and am doing my best to leave it alone for a week before returning to it afresh. I usually manage to last a day or two before giving in, but we’ll see how I get on.

We’re due a power cut today, a planned one, so it’s going to be a morning of reading and perhaps finally putting that washing away… I may take up my model of the Invisible Man again, dust off the pieces and carry on painting, or I may actually venture out for a walk. I get so much more done when I don’t have power and can’t write except for the life of my laptop battery. Oh, I just remembered I’ve got two laptops, so that’s about eight hours. The power cut’s only due to last for six, so I may be okay after all.

Right, ramble over, I really must go and sort the laundry…

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Philoxenia

Philoxenia in British English (ˌfɪləˈziːnɪə) noun: an act of hospitableness and welcome. The ancient tradition of hospitality, or ‘philoxenia’.
[Collins dictionary. (No relation.)]

I’m sure I’m not alone in saying I can remember the days when there used to be a queue for Georgio’s taverna, and people sat on the steps behind the two bars because all the tables were taken. Obviously, it’s not been like that this year, and it wouldn’t be at this time of year anyway. We’ve had (mainly) wonderful weather for October, I was back in shorts at the weekend, and there’s no sense of the season coming to an end. Mind you, there wasn’t much of a sense of it starting either, but the island’s making do with what custom it has. A few of us, have been going to the George & Maria taverna over the past few months, and one local resident in particular has taken several groups of friends there.

On Friday, Noufris, who has the taverna, invited a group of us to dine because he wanted to say thank you, which was unnecessary, and said there would be music which he would pay for, which was kind. Not only was it a lovely meal, it was also a lovely gesture, made even more touching when we arrived and he told us to have whatever we wanted because it was on him.

The music was provided by the incredibly talented Eleni on the doumbek (or darbuka, a goblet-shaped drum), Pavlos on guitar and Gabriel on wine jugs, glasses and an ashtray. All three sang for the other customers and us, a selection of Greek folk and other songs. I think Neil has put a video on the Symi Dream Facebook page, and my photos aren’t fantastic, but my memory of the evening is.

I just wanted to point up the generosity and kindness islanders show to us immigrants and visitors, kindness which extended to being bought a nightcap at Rainbow afterwards, as if Noufris and his team hadn’t done enough already. Of course, Neil being Neil, dressed for the occasion and his steampunk goggles were something of a smash hit. Here are some photos.

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Friday Photos

You might be able to tell from some of these photos that the weather is changing. We had rain and thunder on Wednesday night, and it was still rolling around early on Thursday morning, but not directly overhead. It reminded me to paint the flat roof over the bathroom, find the old towels and the drapes to keep the wind from under the balcony doors, and plug in the DVD machine for those time we have to unplug the internet, just in case. We’ve already got the candles handy in case of blackouts. The other photos might remind you of the flipside and how warm and sunny it usually is here on Symi.

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Something for the Halloween weekend, Sir?

(A play on the old barber’s cliché, which, perhaps, only certain gentlemen will get.) It’s Halloween next weekend, and last week I mentioned ‘The Judas Inheritance’ as a possible read for the spooky weekend to come. Well, today, I just wanted to shine a light on another novel of mine from a few years ago, ‘Lonely House.’ This one doesn’t have a Symi connection. It’s a creepy, twist-and-turn horror story set somewhere in England. It’s your classic ‘cabin in the woods’ setting. Two young drifters come across a lonely house and break in looking for food. It ends up as a case of ‘eat or be eaten’ you might say, but what I definitely would say is, ‘Don’t open that freezer!’

I received some excellent feedback for this novel when it first came out.

Having served up (oops) the excellent The Judas Inheritance which has been made into a film set on the wonderful Greek island of Symi, he now invites the reader to the Birthday Party from Hell.

Full of mystery and suspense, the storyline will keep you guessing right up till the end.

Very gripping and scary in parts and very well written.

And my favourite, talking about the two main characters: Drover and Pete are Steinbeckish in their relationship. Steinbeck is one of my favourite authors.

Anyway, as we head towards the spooky weekend, how about curling up by the fire with a creepy horror story that has more twists than Chubby Checker singing about the twist? You’ll never want to open your freezer again.

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