Sorry, have to mention Brexit

First, though… Remember: Monday 25^th (today) evening, 7.30, at the Sunrise Café, a meeting with Ilias M Tsavaris to discuss your thoughts on the island. This is the first consultation of this year’s mayoral elections specifically arranged for non-Greek residents. Elias is one of the candidates running for office this time around. The last date to register to vote at the Town Hall is March 28^th. Get on the register before then, or you will lose your last democratic right to vote anywhere post Brexit.

Sorry, that was the first mention of the B word, and here are a few more.
With March 29^th approaching, time is running out for you to get your papers in order in case of a no deal Brexit. Brits abroad seem to have been mainly forgotten by what’s left of the Government over there and although Greece has officially said those here, registered and in the system will be protected, there’s still that clause which suggests they will reciprocate whatever the yUK government does to Greek nationals living in Britain after the historic mess really kicks off which, of course, could be anything, So, I say do what you can to protect yourself now. As far as I can see (and I’m not an official source, so do your research), you will need to have a few things in place. The list below is off the top of my head and may exceed what you need, or it may miss something, so the main piece of advice is to ask at the KEP office, the citizen’s advice department if you like. They are the one most geared up to know what’s going on. In fact, I’d say our KEP office knows more than the yUK government, but that’s my personal opinion. Here are some ideas of what to have in order, kept safe and ready to present if needed:

Residency permit issued by the police station.

ΑΦΜ number – your tax number which you will need to get a residency permit any most other things like telephone, mobile etc.

AMKA number (a national insurance number) if you are or have been in the national IKA or other health/social care system.

Up to date UK passport, of course.

Proof of sustainable income. If working for someone else, ask your employer or accountant. If you have a pension then proof of that.

Greek driving licence. You can change your British one to a Greek one via the KEP office; after 29^th March you will need to resit a test in Greece if you haven’t swapped. Like any other driving license, you can use your Greek one to drive just about anywhere in the world following the rules of whatever country you are in. Some people have been worried that they can’t use a Greek licence in the UK after March, but I don’t see Greek people with driving licences having any trouble right now, and it’s the same thing.

Health insurance cover. You will need to have in place some form of health insurance. Self-employed Greek national scheme (whatever that’s called now) or IKA if you work for someone else. Or private insurance, which is what I now have. Apparently, your (forgets official name) ‘E111’ as they were called years ago will no longer be valid; that’s the temporary, reciprocal health cover for holidaymakers.

I’d also advocate making sure you have a Greek bank account with money in it (you need €330 + to get your residency card).

As I said, there may be other things, in fact, there probably are, but as far as I can see, the basics are: Residency card, health insurance, income, tax number, driving licence, proof of income and address – and in that last case, on Symi where an actual house address is hard to come by, I have a notary-sworn affidavit stating my address, and a mobile phone bill (which not every department accepts, hence the affidavit).

And on that note, I’ll leave my self-styled parish notices with the news that Neil now has his residency card issued under his Irish citizenship so if you also have two passports and one’s a decent European one (which is anything but British) then I’d change your residency registration to base it on that passport and not worry about any of the above.

Symi election 2019

Before we get to the regular Symi Saturday Photos, here are two news items that will be of interest to people living on the island and visitors alike. The election of a new mayor and council is due to take place in a few months, and the process has already started. I’ve been told that three candidates are running this year (though I don’t know all the details yet). One of the candidates, Elias, has arranged a meeting with non-Greek nationals living on the island, so everyone has a chance to let their views be known and ask questions. This meeting will take place on Monday 25^th February at 7.30 pm at the Sunrise Café, Horio. It will be a chaired meeting, and everyone is welcome to attend.

Also, for those who want to vote in the election who haven’t yet registered, you have until March 28^th to do so. You need to do this at the town hall. It’s been so long since I registered I can’t remember what you need to take, but go and visit the KEP office (downstairs at the town hall building, front, door on the left), and ask there. After March 28^th… who knows? This could be the last chance for British people to register. You will need to have your residency card in place, but if you’ve been living on Symi for more than three months, you should have done this by now anyway.

Okay, and now some recent and older, random photos.

Building, decorating etc.

Some harbour shots today. As you can see, there is work going on, on the streets and on buildings. There is always something going on somewhere, rebuilding, starting anew, repairing or renovating. The winter, when it’s dry, is a good time to get on with it. It’s not as hot, but there is less daylight. In the height of summer, builders tend to work shifts, starting early in the morning, breaking off at the hottest part of the day and returning in the evening. Winter time seems to be more nine to five, or seven to six more like.

You can also see that the sea was calm. There wasn’t a breath of wind, and the sea was like glass. Good sailing weather if you’re going about without sails, and the boats have been running as normal recently after the bad weather and storms of January (December, November and some of February). It’s good to have some respite from the elements.

If you were following our own ‘renovations’ and the office-to-study transformation, you will be interested to know that the woodwork has now been done in the workhouse, both of us have our new furniture (almost) and carpets, and my new velvet curtain is up at my window. I will get a photo at a later date as I am waiting for my chair to be made and delivered, and that may not be here until May so you will have to wait. We’ve also had the bedroom done, and it’s now has a warm colour and looks 100% better. If you’re on Symi and want a local decorator who works expertly, quietly, conscientiously and well, let me know, and I’ll put you in touch (it’s Kevin, for those who know him). He even fixed a leak on a pipe, a light fitting that didn’t work and put up the curtain rail after we made a mess of it, so that was a bonus.

Kali Strata thought

I just had a look at a couple of photos I took yesterday on my way to Yialos and back and realised that three of them are rather stone dominated. That made me ask, how many individual stones are there on the Kali Strata do you suppose? I have heard many people say that Symi isn’t the best place for a children’s holiday – as we’re not your typical seaside, all-inclusive, waterpark type holiday destination, and people say there’s nothing for children to do. Well, that’s wrong for a start. Apart from everything that’s on offer here (beaches, sea, walking, boat hire, the sea-sports, boat trips, day trips, walks, modern playgrounds, safe streets, impromptu football games in the square – everyone welcome to join in, the festivals, music, shops and more), there’s a game you can employ to keep your children entertained. Give them the task of counting the stones in the steps of the Kali Strata. That should keep them busy for several days.

Seriously though (as most of the above was), when you stop to think that just about every street and path on the island is made of stone. Most of it comes from the island itself, and not to mention every house, drystone wall and so on, there must be millions of individual rocks/stones in use, and they didn’t get there themselves. The Kali Strata was mainly built in the 19^th, and early 20^th century, I’m told, which means an awful lot of people found, dug out, cut, carried, laid and grouted every single one of them over time, and the work is still going on.

So, with that early morning thought, I’ll keep rocking, post this and get back to my daily routine which is mainly made up of sneezing, blowing my nose (still), and keeping warm. It’s back to that time when it’s sometimes warmer outside than it is inside the house – when you’re in the sun at least. Beautiful weather but still not quite enough sun to warm the stones of the house so they hold the warmth inside. But we’re getting there.

I’m staying here

“Delighted that the Greek Government has confirmed that in the event of no deal the rights of UK nationals already living in Greece will be fully recognised and guaranteed…”

That’s from an article in Ekathimerini, and the quote is from the British ambassador to Athens. There has been a lot of speculation on various forums and lots of people scrambling to get paperwork up to date which has led to all kinds of assumptions and panic – not necessarily on Symi, but in the wider picture. The fact still remains that no-one really knows what’s going on and that, of course, is thanks to the shambolic mess the yUK government has made of everything over the past few years, but this piece of news is good to read. It does go on to say, “…will be fully recognised and guaranteed, in line with the reciprocity offered by the UK to EU citizens,” so that could mean anything. The yUK could change its mind, seeing how it seems to be descending into right-wing hell, and that could leave us here abroad in a different boat. I doubt it, but one of the great achievements of the Brexit movement has been to undermine stability (you know, business, economy, youth future, countrymen abroad, trade, blah-di-blah), so it wouldn’t surprise me if the YukGov somehow cut us off completely. After all, already, if you’re a British immigrant abroad, you can’t go back and immediately find assistance from your homeland; you’ve done the dirty by exercise your right to not live there for a while so you’re made to suffer.

Whether it all comes to pass or not, us immigrants already living here can just Carry On Regardless, that’s exactly what I am going to do. Thanks to all this uncertainty I’m going sit back and watch the yUK fall into a mire of its own making – or not – and enjoy the spectacle from over here.

Anyway, I didn’t get up at 3.00 this morning just to ramble about Brexit, but I couldn’t think of anything else, except to show you photos of yesterday’s view. The sea, obviously, and then the new view from the end of our balcony. Now the allergy-tree has gone, and the ruin is being cleared, we have a new vista, at least until the ruin is renovated.