Another walk, another sunny day, and one that came with a couple of surprises. The first was answering the gate to Yiannis who had passed by to drop off two tubs of dinner he had made for us while cooking his own. Unexpected but well received. The second was when we were at Rainbow having an orange juice after shopping and enjoying the sunshine. I saw the water meter reader man. I’m not sure of the official title, but Michaelis is also our champion marathon runner, and I’m more used to seeing him on the news after some gruelling race he has just breezed through and, more than likely won. Now then…
A bright, clear April day
Our water meter is in our courtyard, and it shouldn’t be. A few years ago, everyone was asked or told to move their meters outside, so they could be read on all properties and not just those where the occupier was at home. That was done at our old house, but it was never done here. Since we’ve been here, we have only had it read twice, and last time, the reading man (not Michaelis) didn’t seem to have it on his list. We were chatting to Yianni about this when I suggested I go home and let Michaelis in so he could read ours. He said he would come the next day. Meanwhile, Yiannis decided to phone the town hall and let them know the meter needs to be moved. I’m not sure what our landlord will say, but I expect he will be pleased; he’s mentioned its location before but never, it seems, got around to reporting it. I believe the water company are meant to come and move it, so now, hopefully, someone will. I must ask Yianni if the message got through. That’s just two examples of village life here on Symi.
Look closely…The second group of day-trippers I have seen this year. I mentioned this tour the other day; great to see the visitors being brought to the village.
I took my walk just in time yesterday. The rainbow over the village was a sign of things to come, and it rained later. That will have added more greenery to the hillsides, already verdant and coming back to life, but it did keep me in the house for the rest of the day. On Tuesday, the sun came up in a clear sky, and I was off out for another walk.
Here are a few more photos from this week, or from this time last year, to give you an idea of who the locale looks at this time of year.
You might remember that last year I set about reorganising my ‘study.’ Well, the last part of the refurbishment arrived on Sunday, and there’s a photo of it below. On one side of the room, out of shot, I have my typing desk, a corner pod that now holds my laptop with the printer beside it and a modern, Ikea cabinet for files and folders. Under the window in the middle, I have my old trunk and an antique looking box which is also a filing cabinet, and the window now has a green velvet curtain held back with a red and gold tassel. On the other side is what you see in the photo. My father’s old desk, my new chair, the lamp and my leather-bound notebooks. I use this desk for reading and writing by hand, feeing suitable old-fashioned and almost Victorian. The floor is now covered by a deep, red carpet that almost reaches the walls. I should have gone for the full fitting as the carpet was cut to order, but left a border as the walls in Symi houses don’t always square up. Anyway, it’s done now – apart from the bookcase which is white and needs either painting a darker, natural colour or replacing with a wooden one when/if I can afford it.
The tankard is for display only
Yesterday, rather than spend the day in the chair, I went for a walk up to the old cantina overlooking Horio. A rainbow greeted me as I turned a corner on the road, though it wasn’t raining at that time. It was a pleasant morning for walking, and I didn’t need a coat. I was traipsing 1.5 miles uphill and then down again, so I was warm enough.
These walks are not just for exercise and a vain attempt to keep the weight down. (I have had to loosen the belt a notch over the winter and it’s now on hole two. Last November it was on hole three, an inch away, so I want to get back to that level at least.) These walks are also an opportunity to clear my mind and then refill it with ideas for stories, or to simply lose myself in the music I listen to and enjoy the rural scenery. Yesterday that included not only the grass and greenery now abundant on the island, but goats, sheep, dogs, chickens, a horse and the birds, ravens overhead and in the bushes. It’s also pleasant to wave at people you know as they pass in cars and on bikes. It all gives you a sense of belonging.
Back at the pod as opposed to the desk at nine, and the rest of the day is mine to create.
Happy first of the month to you, kalo mina, in Greek. It’s been a bit of a fun-house/mad-house weekend up here. It started on Friday when we went to Yialos to buy a few essentials we have lived without for several years. Though it about time we had some decent weighing scales in the kitchen, a mixing bowl, a hand-held mixer and other things now considered basics. We found everything we wanted, brought them home and eagerly unpacked to set about using the scales and whisk to prepare for a dinner on Saturday. Now then, it’s been a while since I’ve used an electric/digital weighing scale. We used to have a mechanical one, and it was a simple ‘put the thing in the bowl, watch the scale move’ event and hardly taxing. Apparently, things have changed somewhat since 1978, and the simple machine now comes with full instructions, as you will see…
Continuing to feed the strays up at te bins.
The instruction booklet is neatly set out with six main headings, To replace battery, To operate scale, To convert weight unit etc. It even has an alarm on it, presumably to remind you to stop tipping flour into the bowl after half an hour, I don’t know, but another of the instructions concerns the ‘Zero’ function. That, to me, sounds like the British government (which is very alarming, let’s face it) which also seems to suffer a zero function as in, does absolutely zero for its citizens living in the EU, but let’s not get into that mess of cabbage so early in the week. Here, after this next random shot, are the instructions for the “Zero or Tare Function.”
Thomas a Basket continues to make himself at home.
Condition 1: “ZERO” function. When total sum of all loads on scale ≤ 4% of scale’s max.weight capactity. (4%=80g when capacity is 2kg; 200g when capacity is 5kg) LCD will show “—-” or “0g” each time Z/T is pressed. “—-” means not stable, please wait a moment. “0g” and meanwhile an icon “ZERO” on lower left corner of LCD mean “ZERO” function is active. Max. capacity remains unchanged.
As do the snails and slugs at this time of year.
I kid you not. I was amused to read that “Zero means zero” and, at the end of it all, everything remains unchanged. (Ring any bells?) The scales are strong and stable, unlike you know what, so that’s a good thing, and it’s also a good job I remembered what that symbol (≤) meant although I had to go back 40 odd years to my CSE grade 2 maths to recall it. I have no idea what I am going to do with my Zero function, but I can always play with the new electric whisk.
That glorious machine helped Neil make a very tasty Bakewell tart, and it should no longer take me three days of hand whisking to make a chocolate mousse. That’s despite its instructions, which are available to me on a wall-planner sized, fold-out instructions sheet that’s mainly in Arabic but also in German, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, KK and FA (I’m not sure what languages they are). There’s also an English version, phew, but I did wonder what will happen after April 12th, May the whatever-date or 2020 onwards. Will such instructions on European bought devices no longer be printed in English? That’d be fun. Luckily, I have a photo of the Rosetta Stone, so I have a translation guide on hand. For my part, I just stick the thing in the mixture and press the button. Can’t be ≤ the difficulty of using the scales, can it?
And I think I need to get dusting.
Anyway, my early Sunday morning ramble (as that’s when I am putting this together) followed the baking-supplies shopping spree, an evening with godson #1, a morning in the kitchen and a dinner with friends where the tart (Bakewell) was well received, and where my chicken curry didn’t do too badly either. Now, it’s on with the week ahead and… yay! No plans, dates, dinners or anything strenuous so far arranged. It’s on with the writing, and now that the weather is better, back to the regular walking.
Here’s a quick summary of how to get to the village from Yialos, for anyone who is heading this way this year and isn’t too sure how to do it. There are various ways including the taxis and the bus, the main road walk and a variety of paths and steps that join the Kali Strata, the main steps leading up to the village square. There are around 400 of them, so be prepared.
Start by the souvkali shop in the south-west corner of the harbour – towards Harani Bar (on the right), Vapori Bar and the fruit stallRight at the jewellery shopAt the start, past the Kalodoukas officesLeft at the pet shop/vet’sJust follow the widest stepsSteps then flat, makes it easierRemember to look behind and to the side for the best viewsnot far nowTowards the last pushStop on the corner for the famous ‘Kali Strata Bar’ view. (The bar is gone, but there’s a bench.)Down with your head, up with your heart and you’re skimming over the top in a jiffy. (A quote from ‘Blythe Spirit’)Near the topFinally, a rest at one of the village square cafes
If you want to buy the book with the same title as this post, then check out Carry On Up The Kali Strata (my series of living on Symi, book two). Here’s the dot-com link, but you can find it in all Amazon stores so order it from the one most appropriate to you.
