Rhodes trip 1
Hello. Although I’ve no great photos from my trip to Rhodes there are some pics I took on the way in and way out on the boat. The Panagia Skiadeni was packed on Sunday night; I guess a lot of Rhodes folk came over for a Sunday on Symi. The Blue Star Patmos on Wednesday was also fairly busy with Symi folk, but it’s such a huge boat that five of us more or less had the upper deck to ourselves. It was great weather, and still is, though cloud is forming as I speak (on Thursday). Today (Friday) is Oxi Day and there’s a parade in Yialos later this morning. This will be Harry’s first parade in school uniform and he’s very excited about it.

I have to say, we had a very good week last week, a week full of good news and interesting things. For a start, Neil found out that his exam is to be on the day before he is due to be at his niece’s wedding. The story is: he’s doing a home course, an IGCSE in ‘Global Citizenship’ and at the end of the modules is a written exam that he has to sit at an examination centre in the UK. He found a place and asked them if they could help him, they replied the next day saying they could and telling him what was needed. The set date for the exam is the day before the wedding that he was due to be at anyway, and 20 minutes down the road. So that was a result.

On top of that, he’s also had news recently (as I expect many of you know already) that as his mother was born on the island of Ireland he is an Irish citizen and can apply for a passport. There are a few certificates to get, many of which we already had, and he has to prove his address – always a nightmare on Symi where the streets have no name, well, only some do. The very helpful folk at the Irish Embassy in Athens suggested an affidavit, or similar, and we contacted, via the Vice Consul in Rhodes, an Irish/Greek solicitor who set everything up. When we were in Rhodes we met up and called in, with her, to the notary – literally right next door to our hotel – who set up the declaration and witnessed his signature; all done and dusted in ten minutes and for only €50.00 – the solicitor will translate it for us as the embassy wants it in English as well.

And while we were there we called in to see the very helpful people at the British Vice Consul, mainly to say hello and have a general chat but also to get advice on civil partnerships in Greece. The Vice Consul wanted us to let our blog readers know that they are there for us British citizens and they are arranging more meetings with local communities on Rhodes and other islands in due course. This is to inform people of what their role is and what they can and can’t do for us. Meanwhile, if you have a question, simply email them. There are things they are there for and others that they can’t deal with, but if in doubt, ask. They are lovely ladies and very helpful. The Vice Consul is opposite the Germanos and Public shops in Rhodes new town, around the corner from the Lydia and Plaza hotels, so it’s easy to find. Website here.

There are a few other nice little stories from Rhodes to tell you, but I’ll save them for tomorrow. Sorry about the rather dull images but I was taking a holiday and kept forgetting to take my camera out. Hopefully I’ll get some walking and photographing done over the weekend and have something more Symi based on Monday.

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Book reviews and a break
I am taking a few days off from the blog now and will be back either at the end of next week, or the week after. I’ll leave you with some random Symi photos, some recent reviews of a couple of books, and links, in case you know anyone who might fancy one, and also a link to Adriana’s Symi Diary in case you want to keep in touch with what’s happening on Symi while I am not here. I am here, I just shan’t be here, if you see what I mean. Back soon!

Symi 85600
I loved this honest and highly amusing account of leaving it all behind and heading to a Greek island. James has a brilliant command of the English language and makes it altogether much more fun than English language ever was at school! If I was to follow in James and Neil’s footsteps then this is the book I would tuck under my arm and head to Greece with. I cannot wait to read it again.

A must read if you’ve ever thought of moving away from it all and starting afresh. James writes accurately about the trials and tribulations of living on a small, beautiful Greek island with humour in such a way that not only can you not help but fall in love with the island AND James but makes you wish you could do it too despite knowing the pitfalls that go with it.
Also by James and his partner Neil Gosling, ‘Carry on Up the Kali Strata’, further tales of life on a small island.
Look out for James’ fictional story, Jason and the Sargonauts, a laugh a minute.

The Judas Inheritance
It was with some trepidation that I started this book as I know James Collins and enjoy reading his whimsical and slightly caustic blog about Symi and also his other lighter read Jason and that Sargonauts. I need not have worried. The writing relies on your imagination to picture the ‘evil’ and is a fine piece of psychological fear writing rather than the currently more popular slasher type.
James manages to skilfully alternate between a first person and a third person narrative, no mean feat in itself, and the final third of the book is a page turner reminiscent of Stephen King at his best with a final twist on the ferry home which I did not see coming.

Remotely
If you agree with Robert Frost that God seems to have a keen sense of humour, you will love this comic novel of showbiz ambition and intrigue sparked by the arrival of a Reality TV show in a small homophobic community. James Collins has an unerring eye for the absurd and the grotesque and Romney Marsh appears to be a cornucopia of both.
There is more than one laugh on every page, so be prepared for helpless giggles wherever and whenever you read it.

I was expecting a thigh – slapping, giggle a minute farce in a similar vain to James’ ‘Jason and the Sarganauts’. Instead, it was a very humourous but thought provoking story of how humans deal with the reality of being in another person’s shoes. This isn’t just a gay romp, it’s also about why the straight guy is such an angry young man, the intricacies of his relationships with those around him and coming to terms with his families secrets.
James has done a wonderful job of making the reader both laugh at and think about what makes us tick.

Thank you to everyone who takes the trouble to write reviews of books, it really does help us out.

Here’s the link to Adriana’s Symi diary. And a few more photos. Have fun!

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Blue Star Patmos
We’re almost getting back to normal now after a wonderful three weeks with mother visiting. I say almost as I’m going to be away for a few days early next week, and then we will be back to normal – or what constitutes normal around here.

I went over to Rhodes on Wednesday on the Blue Star Patmos for the first time. That’s an impressive ship! It looks too big to make it into the harbour and dock and yet it does. Once you are on it, up in one of the lounges, you hardly feel it moving and it is also very quiet inside. It has three outside decks at the back and at least five cafes that I counted, plus a self-service restaurant and an a la carte one and a shop. On the way back I wandered around it for ages saying hello to various Symi folk I knew and still met up with others as I disembarked, others that I’d not known were on it. It’s quick too and not expensive to buy a ticket. I’ll be on it again next Wednesday.

In other, more personal news, those who read here but don’t follow us on Facebook might not yet know that we have had confirmation that Neil is an Irish citizen, as we thought he was, and that he can apply for his Irish passport. We’ve been dealing with a very helpful lady in the Embassy in Athens who is helping him through the application process, and now a very helpful solicitor in Rhodes who is also going to help with affidavits needed (to do with Symi not having street names, our bills being in the landlord’s name and so on). These, or this, will satisfy the Embassy that he is who he says he is and lives where he says he does. Once that’s done, we will just be waiting on the form and a couple more documents which have been ordered. After that… well, he will be European twice so if the UK goes ahead with the…. and you know my feelings on that travesty, then he will be able to stay in Greece with no hassle if the situation for UK citizens changes in the future.

That’s a great relief but it doesn’t stop me worrying about everyone else who may have their European citizenship taken away from them following a very unfair, badly run, ill-informed and non-binding vote that gets taken as ‘the majority of the country’ and all that rubbish. So, it’s a case of ‘we’re all-right, Jack,’ at least for now.

And talking of Jack, he’s all-right too, though getting more and more demanding and noisy and grumpy with age. Meanwhile, it looks like the season is more or less over though day boats are still coming in and out. Neil will finish work at the bar on Saturday ahead of his winter family visit and we can start to settle down for the winter. This means, this weekend, putting up the thermal curtains, finding the winter clothes, making sure we’ve money for the heating bills, finding the warm slippers and electric blanket… Lots to do before the writing  season really kicks in, which I am hoping it will do as of next Thursday.

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Simply 10 random photos today.

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Minerva
Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and other handy things, the Greek equivalent is Athena. It is also the name of a nicely old fashioned (the interior) cruise ship that called into Symi on Monday, early in the morning. Its arrival attracted the attention of the Alarm Cat who wanted to make sure everyone on board was up and ready for their day.

The cruises they offer include distinguished guest speakers such as: “Rear Admiral Namechange CB CBE, who will deliver engaging talks relative to your itinerary.” Can’t wait for that one – snoozing off over my fine dining “of international dishes to tempt you” while learning all about double ended crankshaft sprocket maintenance and the benefits of a well lubed intake valve. No, I’m sure he is a wonderful speaker and I just realised it said ‘engaging talks’ I thought it said engineering talks. I need to get out more.

Anyway, that was the highlight of Jack’s day yesterday, that and a good long snooze on the bathroom roof once he’d got over the fact that he only had three breakfasts and stopped whining about it.

Just to keep you in the loop; I’m away on Wednesday so there may not be a blog on Thursday, then I’m away the following week for three or four days so I’ll have a bit of a rest then too. But before all that, here are a few more random photos from recently.

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