Unplugged

Rain stopped play on Friday and yet also started it. Basically, the trip to Rhodes was off as we didn’t fancy being drenched all morning, the air was vibrating with thunder, and the weather was not good, to say the least. Didn’t fancy walking down a waterfall (Kali Strata) to wait for the boat in the rain, though there is a shelter at the new quay now. At the other end, it would have been a case of shopping in a downpour, and none of it was urgent, so we decided to stay at home and go this week instead, weather permitting. On the other hand, it’s amazing what you get done when you daren’t have your internet plugged in…

Okay, so no stories were written, but I was able to continue work on last year’s Christmas present, a figure model (Dracula). I had started this in early summer, but the paint started to dry in the pots because of the heat, and winter is a better time for such things anyway. So, I picked it up and carried on at the kitchen table for most of the morning and today, Sunday, it’s nearly done. I’ve not made one since I was 12 or something, and the results now are pretty much how they were then, but it keeps me off the streets and gives me something to do during bad weather.

The storm passed over during the day, and it’s been wet/dry ever since. A bigger storm and worse weather are scheduled for Monday when I need to call into Yialos to pick up a piano, as you do, but as I don’t drive, that may have to wait until things improve. Meanwhile, the bookshop is holding onto the large parcel for me, and I hope it doesn’t clog up their shop too much. Saturday was a better day weather-wise, and I was back online as it was safe to plug the computers back in. I was unable to unblock a block I had/have on a story I am working on. 60,000 words in, and I realised I’d tied myself in knots with too many clues and too deep a mystery, so it’s a case of starting again, hey ho! And it is to that adventure which I must now return before the next storm blows in and everything gets unplugged again.

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Village in Winter

Today, just a couple of shots of the village in winter mode. Quiet, cooling down, laid back, neighbourly, but still carrying on as usual. There are fewer people about, of course, but the churches, supermarkets and cafes continue to be the hubs of the village and places where people meet to catch up with news and share info. The village square continues to be the place for children to meet and play after school, and it’s safer now there are fewer mopeds driving through because there are no, or very few, tourists visiting. We have had a cruise ship call in once a week over the past couple of weeks. Apparently, it holds around 96 people, but we’ve watched it from the balcony and never seen anyone get off. I think they disembark, get straight onto coaches (out of our line of sight) and then head to Panormitis for the day, but that’s only a guess. So, generally, quiet and cool and dry, but bad weather is forecast for tomorrow when we are supposed to be going to Rhodes. Note: there may not be another post here for a couple of days, but if it looks like it’s going to be really wet, we’ll postpone our trip until the weekend after. Anyway, the photos of an empty village…

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Highs and Horrors

Yesterday was something of a mixed day with highs and horrors. A couple of weeks ago I found a good offer for a new smart TV, online at Kotsovolos. It’s a 39-inch screen one and was down in price to under €200.00, with free delivery, so I thought, I’ll have that. And now we have it. Exactly two weeks later, I had a phone call from ‘Michaelis delivery’ as he is known in my phone, saying that he was at Taverna Zoi, so I nipped down there, picked it up, carried it home (not heavy), and there we go. A new, big, TV that seems to be working fine – except I haven’t got the hang of the remote control yet, it switches to command the Roku we have plugged in, and then I can’t get it back to control the TV so I’ll be going back to the instruction book later to figure that out. That was one of the high points, as was dinner in the taverna in the evening.

The horror is coming up, and if you’re not a spider-fan, you better look away. We were in the square having a pre-dinner drink when some little chap came wandering past just behind us on the steps. I usually only see these things in May and October (at least, that’s what I tell myself every other month of the year) but it’s been so warm, I guess they are still out and about, working on building sites and doing whatever it is they do. After the shock of finding one in the bedroom the other morning, we had a visit from another last night. Neil posed with him to give you a rough idea of scale, and I think it’s safe to say, this is not the biggest one we’ve ever seen. It wandered off again later, and no harm came to it. I’ll just leave the image with you as I get on with my day.

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Shop thoughts

I thought you’d like to share a bit of a shopping experience with me in a couple of photos. The caged birds aren’t to everyone’s taste, I know, but it’s a custom in this country and we respect local traditions, or at least we can’t complain about them as, well, who are we to complain? I like the sound of birdsong as I shop, it’s better than the cheesy pipe music they drone out in some places. We’re going to Jumbo on Friday (Rhodes) where they will on doubt be playing Christmas music including the Jumbo song. I thought this soundtrack thing was meant to make shopping more relaxing? Last time I was in Jumbo with their seasonal offerings blaaring*, it made me want to leave the shop, not stay longer and browse. Ah well.

Still 20 degrees in the courtyard during the day, washing out, drying nicely, calm breeze, grey sea at times if there’s cloud cover, but all rather warm and lovely at the moment. Someone reported the sea being about 24 degrees yesterday and said they had a lovely, warm swim, and it’s still possible to sit out in the square of an evening. We’ll be doing that later before going to dinner with a friend who leaves tomorrow. We’ll be off to Rhodes ourselves on Friday for the day and night for a bit of shopping and a couple of other things, and that’s going to constitute my holiday for this year.

Meanwhile, day to day life potters on around here. Looking after the house, getting those odd jobs done or, in my case, getting someone who knows what they are doing to get them done. Hopefully this weekend the leaking water tank, WC and kitchen tap will be sorted, and there will be fewer niggles for me to fuss about.

[* The word blaar or blarrin‘ etc., is Kentish dialect for bleating, going on, making a racket etc., Readers of The Saddling series will know this.]

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Monday wind

Woke up to a bit of wind – outside the house, you understand – after a warm and calm weekend. On Friday, godson #1 came to spend the afternoon while mum was away. We had lunch, watched Jumanji and had a piano lesson before he left. On Saturday I was able to get some writing done, and then, after a day’s work, we went to a quiz at the Sunrise café which was good fun, and on Sunday, I did some more work on a book before taking the rest of the day off. Some light shopping in the morning, watched some of The Crown on Netflix and popped out for a drink in the square in the later afternoon, early evening. It was still warm enough to sit outside, though in jackets and shoes – the shorts and sandals have been put away for the winter.

So, a quiet weekend, and now it’s back to work. There are only a few appointments in the diary for this week. Must pay the rent today, having dinner with a friend tomorrow night and we’re thinking about going to Rhodes for some shopping on Friday. That’s about as exciting as things get around here at this time of year and it suits me. Plenty of time to be in the ‘study’ with my research and writing, and unusually for this time in November, there have been few times when I’ve needed to put on the heater, though it’s starting to feel colder inside the house than it is outside. The wind is from the south and west, so it’s still not too cold, but once it changes to the come from the north, we can expect to be cooling down considerably.

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