More From Last Friday

Here are a few more images taken at the name day service last Friday. (And a couple taken afterwards where Neil was enjoying the last of the carnival silly-foam.) It’s been a warm weekend and, after some high winds on Saturday, we’ve enjoyed calm weather, some cloud, but mainly higher temperatures. It’s turning out to be a mainly settled February.

I’m not stopping long, I have the pages to put together for ‘The Witching’, and we’re aiming to have that with you in the next week, maybe sooner, maybe longer, it depends on when the layout artist can check my formatting. I’m trying to save him time by doing the donkey work myself this time, as he has many other things on right now and I’m keen to get this one out of the pending tray, as it were. So, have a glance at the images, and I’ll be back to tomorrow, probably with more weather reports and news on books.

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A Name Day Festival

We attended Harrys’ name day festival on Friday morning. If was a smaller affair than previous years, possibly because a) some people were still stuck in Rhodes and b) there is another festival for the same name up in the hills, and the weather was lovely. But so was our service and the friendly gathering afterwards which included coffee, cakes, people pleased to see you at church (even if I do only go once a year), doughnuts, bread, Jenine’s cupcakes that she provides, after enjoying the chanting and the spectacle. The more I go, the more words I understand so by the time I’m 145 I may be able to understand all of the sung liturgy.

If you’re coming to Symi and are interested to see inside a church, the best time to go is when there is a service on. The buildings are usually locked at other times unless someone is in there cleaning. You’re welcome to attend a service or part of, just make sure you dress appropriately, switch off phones and don’t chatter etc. If unsure what to do, find a stall or seat towards the back and sit/stand as the congregation does. There are certain practises which are not always, excuse me, religiously kept, such as the men sitting on one side and the women on the other. As a visitor, you won’t be expected to keep to these, but if someone does direct you to a certain place, just do as you are told. Name Days are the best festivals to attend (in my opinion), although there are many other regular services during the week. With a Name Day, you will find you’re welcomed to the coffee and cakes afterwards. You will also be blessed during the service. No need to go anywhere, someone will come with a tray of candles and anoint you with holy water – drop a couple of Euros on the tray in return. If in doubt about what to go to, ask your holiday rep or a local person and take some advice first.

When I say ‘dress appropriately’ I mean don’t go in your shorts or bikini. For a Name Day, I usually (er, always) wear black shoes, trousers, a jumper and, as Harry’s is in February, my Crombie overcoat. With that and my glasses reacting to the sun, a few people have asked me (on Facebook) if I have joined the Mafia, but I just say I am Harry’s bouncer for the day. Here are a couple more photos of the event for you.

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Τσικνοπέμπτη Symi Saturday Photos

It was ‘Meat Thursday’ the other night, or Smokey Thursday or several other variations of Τσικνοπέμπτη, the day on which the last meat is eaten before Lent starts on Clean Monday in just over a week. The town council put on free souvlakis and wine in the village square, children and some adults dressed in fancy dress, there was music and a great party atmosphere. So, your Symi Saturday photos today are Τσικνοπέμπτη photos from Thursday. Have a good weekend!

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A thing to remember

Bad weather on Wednesday meant that quite a few Symi folk are stuck in Rhodes until the next boat back to the island on Friday night. From what I can pick up from the gossip pages (Facebook) there was confusion over whether the boat would leave Rhodes and be able to dock at Symi. Some people report that they were told it wouldn’t stop at Symi and so, later on a windy and uncomfortable Wednesday night, resigned themselves to staying for two extra nights in Rhodes. They later found out that the boat had managed to dock and they could have made it home.

That’s one of the things you have to think about when a) living here and b) thinking of visiting in the winter, which you can do. Recently some others who were calling into Symi for only a few days, found their three-day stay here was reduced to one, and they were lucky to get that, what with high winds and scarce boats. I have to say, we usually do very well with the Blue Star connection, and now that we have the more stable boats, there is more chance of the big ferry docking even in rough weather. It depends on the captain, and some of the more experienced ones seem happier to try it than the less experienced ones.

Thursday dawned calmer and reasonably bright, and you will be amazed to know that I have my shutters open again and the heater is not on. We’re enjoying the warm and sometimes wet weather, and the rain is always welcome (in sensible amounts) for the garden and the water tanks. We’re not planning to go anywhere now until March, but we shall keep an eye on the weather nearer the time. Usually, when we are going on a trip where flights and hotels have been booked and paid for in advance, we leave home a couple of days early, depending on the boats, rather than leave the fate of our holiday in the lap of the weather gods.

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Dracula – read it many times.

This blog had nothing to do with Symi, apart from photos, but in reply to a question from Neil on Facebook yesterday. He asked, What is your favourite novel and why?

My reply was Dracula, which I have read many times and have three copies off including an annotated one given to me by my mum as a 13^th birthday present, and one which is a limited-edition print from the original, which Jenine and Ian gave me on my 50^th.

Why favourite? A few reasons and none of them to do with vampires. For me, it’s the construction of the story.

1, It’s told in journals and diaries, letters and memos, which not only gives you several characters’ point of view but puts you right into their story.

2, It’s a story about friendship as a group of people band together to save Main Harker, and everyone else. There are three men (Seward, Morris and Godalming) who all wanted Lucy’s hand in marriage and yet they are mates and stay that way. Spoiler alert: one of them dies, and that’s the part that moves me.

3, There’s a part in the story where the characters read each other’s journals to bring themselves up to speed. You realise, about halfway through, that the characters are now reading what you have been reading and know as much as you do. A great little gimmick that I bet most readers miss.

Just a little sidestep from the usual posts there. Have a nice day!

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