I am just this second back from paying the phone bill. This used to be a case of going down to town, collecting the post, taking it back up the hill, opening it, finding the bill, going back down the next day with the bill, to find the OTE office closed, going home again, going back down the next day – rinse and repeat ad infinitum – find the office open one day, queue, pay and have a beer (somewhere else). Now, it’s a case of clicking a link and paying. Sorted.

So, the weekend… In Yialos on Friday to have lunch with the godson…

That was one of his dishes, not mine. Me and seafood don’t mix. Although we lived by the sea (and sometimes it lived in our house because the house was below sea level and if there was a very high tide or a storm it would come over the sea wall…) and although we used to go shrimping and eat whelks etc. from stalls along the seafront, I can’t do that anymore. I once had oysters in Selfridges and was off work for two weeks. My first time on Symi, I tried the Symi shrimps, and woke during the night to expel everything (if you see what I mean) and to discover myself covered in great red lumps, sweating like mad, and all rather worrying. Two cans of Fanta lemon and two large bottle s of water later, and there was no need for an airlift but I was still slightly perturbed. Can’t even stand the smell now, so no, I don’t do things that are either still in or have come from shells.

Other weekend events included watching the recording of Live Aid on the TV, and looking out for Neil who was right at the front somewhere. Meanwhile, I was driving in from Wiltshire to collect friends at Barron’s Court to drive them across town to somewhere beyond Walthamstow for a party I didn’t want to go to, and by ten that evening, I was asleep in my car. A fantastic day only made bearable by listening to Radio One.

This was the sunrise this morning.

As for any other weekend news… A couple more chapters done on the next story… we had water in on Saturday (unusually) so I was able to have a shower… I made a Caesar salad dressing… Er… Um… No. That’s it. It’s the adopted godson’s birthday today (22), and we hope to catch a rare glimpse of him for a drink on his way to work. Or, I should say, on his way back to work as he works a double shift and does approximately 12 hours a day in a hot kitchen. So, next time you’re having a seafood platter when it’s 37° outside, spare a thought for those who are preparing it for you at 40° + inside.

Share on Facebook

Is it possible to pop over to Rhodes for 3.5 hours? Yes. In fact, I’ve popped over for a shorter time. When collecting my biometric residency card a few years ago, I went on the early Blue Star, came back on the Sebeco and was home before lunch. Yesterday, was more leisurely. I left on the 10.15 and came back on the 15.30 Panagia. That gave me roughly 3.5 hours, during which time I walked from Akandia to the New Town and back again, via the optician, a spag bol at Napoleon’s, a brief rest at the Symi café in the new fish market, and a walk along the seafront because there was a very slight breeze there. Needless to say, with the temperature at 37° + and humidity at 70%, I was sweat wet before I even boarded the first boat. Not pleasant, but then I get like that when I walk to work each morning and that’s only across the porch.

I didn’t do well on photos. There was no time to stop and take any, really, but I got a few snaps from the boat. There are three sailings of this ship each day at the moment and I expected it to be virtually empty. For a boat that size, it was, but there were still plenty of people coming and going with luggage, so not on day trippers, a few young guys on mopeds and a little freight, but generally, it was a quiet and uneventful crossing there and back. The inside air con was down to -5°, it felt like, which was, at first, refreshing and then too much, so I sat up top among the noise of the engines, but luckily, the fumes were blowing the other way.

Anyhow, Rhodes was as to be expected. Busy with tourists, though Dimitris at the restaurant said it was a ‘usual season so far, not like last year when it was very busy.’ There were some cruise ships in dock, people swimming at the small beach between the harbours, and the usual fume-pumping busses carrying the inquisitive to various destinations. The authorities are extending the boardwalk around that dangerous section of road between Akandia Gate and the commercial harbour, so that’s currently even more dangerous to walk around (use the cut through at Akandia). The section at Kolona, the oldest part of the boardwalk, is quickly becoming dodgy with many loose boards, some rotten, others replaced and new, but mainly it’s getting a bit creaky and needs redoing. I hate to think how that will be by the end of this summer. And that’s about all I can think of to moan about this morning. That and the state of my chaffage – the Klunke Voks was soon washed away by sweat and I didn’t take the tin with me so couldn’t freshen up. Walking back up from the boat yesterday evening was something of a challenge after six miles and 13,000 steps.

Share on Facebook

I’m popping over to Rhodes later this morning, so no doubt, tomorrow’s blog will include some photos of that adventure. I recently had this idea to do one post a day showing the view from my office window, so you could see the change day by day. Then I realised that was totally boring because it doesn’t change much. Then I thought, I’d bung up the photos I’d got so far, so you could see what I mean. Here’s the first one.

That was on Tuesday (I can’t now find Monday’s image), and as you can see, there was a small cruise ship waiting to come into Yialos where it moored for the day. The next day…

A larger cruise ship which didn’t come in but shuttled its people back and forth instead. This was taken at roughly the same time of day and number one, but this third and last photo was taken earlier and this morning, not long after 6.00, and as you can see, it was humid out there.

That’s not snow on Nimos, it’s cloud which now at 6.52 is gradually thinning. Talking of Nimos, that is where I will probably end up for lunch later today on my way back to Akandia and the boat. It’s handy, being just inside Akandia Gate, because you don’t have so far to waddle after you’ve eaten. I’ve got a book to read for the boat journey and telling you that leads me nicely to a collection of mystery and thriller books that are currently being advertised in a special promotion. They are all on Kindle Unlimited (and in other forms) and so are immediately available. I can heartily recommend, ‘Finding a Way’ and ‘The Saddling’, though there are plenty of others to explore. Here’s the link, and I’ll be off to prepare for my adventure.

Share on Facebook

You know how it is when you wake up and think, ‘I’ve got nothing to do today, how marvellous… Oh.’ It’s water day, so there’s the washing to do, the plants to water, and I can have a shower, so I best do the exercise routine first, and I’m playing the piano at 11.00, and I want to finish that chapter, and I must sweep the courtyard, and tidy the kitchen, but that’s okay because I have nothing to do tomorrow. Oh. I’m going to Rhodes to collect a spare pair of glasses. Well, maybe Friday then… Oh. We’re meeting Harry in Yialos to buy his brother a birthday present and then go to lunch. So, roll on Saturday when I might be able to get that chapter finished at last. Hey ho!

No matter how much is going on, I always seem to end up with the afternoon calm. Even when here on holiday I noticed it, and even now, from the sitting room, I notice it. Where it can be a ‘Phew!’ moment, sometimes it’s a ‘Bored now’ moment. It’s that time when all the day boats have left and the island breaths a sigh of relief. It’s somewhere between four and five, usually. I remember it from working at the leather shop. The last day trip boat would leave, and we’d not exactly put our feet up, but unwind with some light dusting and a sandwich, the ‘hard sell’ of the day being over. Around us, the bar and taverna owners were doing the same, some slipping away for a siestas, a wash and change, others chilling at their tables, witing for the evening to start, and all around was a stillness we’d forgotten existed at the height of the daily takeover.

That was over twenty years ago when there were only a few day trip boats, like four, or something. Yesterday, I counted 13, including the Sebeco tourist runs and the Panagia, and those were only the ones I could see coming in or moored. There was also a small cruise ship in the harbour. Still, come four o’clock, or just after, when the last one left, I was still left with that sense of ‘Ahhh, peace and quiet… Now what?’ There’s be none of that tomorrow because I have a plan. Arrive Rhodes around midday, walk over to the opticians, collect glasses, walk back to Akandia for lunch, walk to boat for 15.30, back to Symi by 17.00 walk up, sorted.

At least, that’s the plan. I’ll keep you informed.

Share on Facebook

Now then, may I politely direct you the About page on this website… About. It’s there in the top menu and let’s face it, there aren’t that many menu items. Here’s a summary of the About page: The blog is here to serve my self-publicity as an author. (I sell very few books from here so, frankly, I don’t know why I say that.) I am not a news agency. I don’t purport to have a clue what’s going on and anything newsy you might read here is at least second hand. Nor am I a travel agent. If you want advice about getting here or leaving here or where to stay in between, research and find a travel agent/expert. (I am not an A to Z, a Kelly’s Directory, the Yellow Pages or Tourist Information.) What I do do is put up random photos such as this one:

Cats. Not the musical but the creatures. Last night, we watched ‘A Private Function’ in which Liz Smith says, ‘No pig here….’ Well, there are no cats here, not on this page nor in this house. Cats are something else I can’t help with. Recently the number of emails I receive about stray cats has been on the increase. I know visitors are upset when they see ill, dying or dead stray cats, but writing an email to a random website email address isn’t going to help. If you want to help them, do something while you are here, even if it’s only reporting it to a nearby shop or business. You’ll likely receive the same reply, ‘Thanks for telling me, what do you expect me to do about it?’ That’s kind of how I must respond when I receive one of those emails that makes it sound as if the stray cat population on the island is my personal fault. The only thing I can suggest is to contract either the town hall or the pet shop at the bottom of the Kali Strata, as I have no idea if there is any animal welfare organisation operating on the island now. I’ve asked on Symi Facebook groups but have no website link or email to give you. Sorry.

On which note, tourism is taking over the world. I just searched for ‘Symi Town Hall’ to get their website address, and what comes up first in the search engines? Boutique hotel guides, ‘The 10 best hotels in Symi’, Hotel Symi something in German, ‘Visiting Symi, everything you need to know…’ apart from who looks after the cats, and the Town Hall website link…

Ah, here it is, in my bookmarks from years ago (so may be out of date), The address is 85600 SYMI, DODEKANISSOS. The phone number is +30 22410 72444… And no, it’s not (yet) a boutique hotel. By the way, the website link I have is out of date and the page is not found so you’re on your own.

Anyway… That’s that, and my news is, piano lessons are now officially ended because a) it’s too hot and we always stopped in July and August anyway, and b) himself is now working, and when the season ends, is off to college in Rhodes. Yesterday, we had our last lesson, and he played Mozart for me to a standard well above what I’d call grade 4 under the ABRSM programme in the UK. So, along with the other pieces last week, the scales and arpeggios and so on, that’ll be a pass, so I must make up a certificate. Yay! And, moving on…

Share on Facebook