Cultural news
Here’s some news for our Norwegian readers, and I know we have a few.
Symi dawn still as wonderful as ever
A friend of mine has been involved in producing a film, a new, full costume production of Hedda Gabler. It’s been some time in the making but it is now having its world premiere on September 8th. There are, I believe, about 150 tickets to the red carpet event available for members of the public. The organisers asked me to mention:
It’s on 8th Sep 6pm (18:00hrs) Vika Cinema, Ruseløkkveien 14, 0251 Oslo, Norway
Cost of ticket (only 150 available) 119.25 Norwegian krone.
We’re asking people to dress appropriately for the occasion (black tie, but at least suits).
This world premiere screening is being held in association with the Henrik Ibsen Museum and the International Ibsen Festival.
Symi Cultural Centre, Yialos
There you go, if you are in or around Oslo and fancy a world premier film screening then here’s your chance. I’ve not seen the film (I’ve never read the play, shame) but I hear it looks very good and the images I’ve seen from it certainly make it look well worth seeing.
Remember, if you are on Symi, you have some free events this week you can attend if you want to:
Thursday 18th – Traditional Dodecanese night with lyre, lute and toumperleki Friday 19th – A concert with the band, ‘Master Tempo’ Saturday 20th – The tradition of Koukoumas Sunday 21st – Theatrical performance in the Symi dialect ‘Saint Avissinezos’
And the Nikos Psarros exhibition runs at the Cultural Centre until 20th August.
Greece takes care of you
Along with some photos of folk seen recently in Yialos, here’s a nice story, related to me by a friend.
“I discovered some news yesterday and thought that you may wish to put it in your Blog. I bumped into a lady recently and she told me that she had just fetched their cooked meal for the day from the Army. It seems that as her husband is a Reservist, he and his family are entitled to one meal a day from the Army. She tells me that with them both working in the summer, she takes advantage of the offer, but during the winter when she is not working, she cooks at home for the family. She said that this offer was also available to (1) The Army (2) Army Reservists (3) The Police and (4) The Port Police. This is obviously an offer from the Government to help families who are struggling with the cutbacks in wages due to the austerity measures imposed on Greece. I thought that it was a nice gesture by the Government that could be mentioned in your Blog as positive news for the people of Greece.”
Nikos Psaros, artist and friend
Quite agree and it’s not the kind of thing that makes the headlines, sadly – they are always about the poor state of affairs, not necessary the state looking after the affairs of the poor – or similar. (Trying to be word-play-ish there but not quite succeeding.)
Cheerful service at the souvlaki shop
If you, dear reader, have any positive stories to share with you other dear readers, please feel free to send them in. The email is, as always, at the bottom of the site page.
Before the exhibition
In other news from Symi, well not really news as such but… The festival continues with live performances, the Panagiri of the Virgin Mary took place on Sunday night/Monday morning and Monday was a bank holiday. It also saw the return of several Turkish gulets and their passengers, the arrival of three packed Rhodes day boats and live music at Georgios as it was a special occasion. The new fruit and veg shop in Horio is selling made-up fresh fruit salads for those wanting to take-away and it also has a juicer or two so you can pick your fruit and veg, and they will juice it up there and then. Not sure of prices. Yes, it’s been a quieter summer than usual but it’s good to see some folk are still being positive and opening new businesses, while others are trying to keep their heads above water in others.
At an exhibition
On a completely unrelated subject, I was celebrating a little on Monday as I finally finished my scriptwriting course with the South Africa Writer’s College. I had six months to complete it and came in with a couple of weeks to spare. The final assignment was a review of a script and to present a 15-page screenplay or script. I wrote five pages about James Cameron’s ‘Titanic’ after reading the script – very interesting to see what was omitted, to read the original ending, now the alternative ending and no the ship doesn’t float up from the bottom – and to see how a few words on a page lead to such huge visuals. My script submission was a 40-page screenplay. I know, a bit more than 15 but they were happy with that. After writing it, it seems to me best suited for a TV series of one hour per episode. It’s a comedy set on a Greek island, strangely enough, and, depending on what mark I get for it, I might share it on here when I get it back with my final result…
Amazon Reviews
Today I want to share a review of ‘Remotely’ with you, as I am rather proud of it. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed my books so far, and to Derek for posting this one:
Mr Collins’ latest novel is as bright and breezy as Middlestone-on-Sea itself, where this heart-warming story is set.
We are treated to an all-star ensemble cast of characters from Hilda and her “assistants” to the downright mysterious Miss P. Bullies, a sex-therapist, a theatrical agent, fisherfolk, local mafia, camp, gay, straight – they all play a part in bringing this riotous comedy to life.
There are more plays on words and double-entendres than a Carry On film or a seaside postcard. It had me smiling, giggling and laughing out loud – a real feel good story.
But the novel also addresses overcoming small-mindedness and takes an excellent swipe at the media and their unhealthy influence.
If you want to read a very clever plot and enjoy some very intelligent wordplay then buy Remotely – you will not be disappointed.”
Lonely House
A review of Lonely House: “Really spooooky and tense. Read it straight through as it was so gripping.”
A review of The Judas Inheritance: “A page turner reminiscent of Stephen King at his best with a final twist on the ferry home which I did not see coming.”
Tuesday 16th – A concert with Lavrentis Maheritsas and Mirella Pachou Thursday 18th – Traditional Dodecanese night with lyre, lute and toumperleki Friday 19th – A concert with the band, ‘Master Tempo’ Saturday 20th – The tradition of Koukoumas Sunday 21st – Theatrical performance in the Symi dialect ‘Saint Avissinezos’
If you were wondering, a toumperleki is a small drum like the one in the photo below. Neil took the photos you see here today at a village concert last week. This one was at a concert in Horio last week.
Symi Festival 2016
Koukoumas is the traditional celebration usually held at the start of May. It’s the custom where the unmarried girls of the village discover who their husband will be and it’s all to do with jewellery (usually rings), a large jug of ‘silent’ water and spoons. With traditional costume, a song and much dancing, it’s a great village sight to see. I am not sure where it will be held for the festival as yet, announcements are made on the day, but it’s great that anyone can come and watch it. Many visitors miss it, being in May, but it’s happening here on Saturday.
Symi Festival 2016i
As for my weekend just gone, I found myself in a very strange place on Sunday. I spent Saturday finishing off the last part of my college course assignment (first draft of a screenplay). After that I went down to Yialos in the afternoon to visit the bank. We’ve been doing this a lot recently as I had to get my health insurance paid and that meant several trips to take out the money. Although the card I use allows me a generous €1,000 per day (I wish I could!) at the ATM, the machine itself only allows me €300 for some reason. But still, I got there in the end and I am paid up and covered again for the next year. After that I walked back up the road, this was at four in the afternoon so it wasn’t too hot, there was also a breeze on Saturday. Mind you, I still arrived in the village looking like a drowned rat.
Symi Festival 2016
After some fun and chatting at the bar we decided we’d eat out as it was Saturday night, but Georgio’s was fully booked – great news! If you are heading for their live music nights on a Friday or Saturday, book in advance to avoid disappointment. They even have tables out on the steps at the top of the Kali Strata now, for these night, but still book. Instead, we went to see Zoi and had a great meal there. I am sure they are the biggest pork chops on the island. I had her chicken with cashew nuts and rice; very tasty, slightly sweet and you don’t get over-stuffed on chips. After that it was home and music on the balcony as we heard strains of the play performance drifting up from the harbour. But that still wasn’t the strange pace I found myself in on Sunday…
Symi Festival 2016
That happened as I sat at my desk, did my usual check of book sales and advertising things [‘Remotely‘ is still the biggest selling book of mine this month, closely followed by ‘Symi 85600‘ and some of my books are now on Kindle Unlimited, so if you get one that way, make sure you read them as apparently I make €0.002 per page, or something else equally as unnoticeable.] Anyway, I sat at the desk on Sunday morning and found I had nothing to write. Now, for me, that is a very strange feeling. (I did write this blog actually.) The latest book is out, that’s ‘Remotely’ and I will share part of the latest five star review tomorrow, the first draft of ‘The Saddling’ is done and I have set it aside for a while and am waiting for a print copy of the text to be sent (it’s cheaper than printing it myself), the college course is all but done and I have set that script aside for a few days too, to let it ‘settle’ as I call it, before coming back to it for a fresh look, and I’ve not got anything else started as yet. I could have done the housework, gone for a walk, cleaned the windows… In fact I might yet do all of those things as it’s only 8.42 on Sunday and I have the rest of the day ahead without any work to do. A day off. Now what do I do with one of those?
The ridiculousness of Amazon
First though: If you are on Symi between now and 20th August, I can highly recommend a visit to the Symi Cultural Centre and the art exhibition that’s taking place downstairs. Paintings by Nikos Psarros, all about colour and movement and with plenty to see. We went on Thursday night. I bought one for Neil’s birthday as a surprise and then he went and bought one as well, so we will have a pair when the exhibition is over. Miss DJ and George were supplying live blues music too, all rather brilliant (photos to follow next week I hope). The Cultural Centre is in the side street that runs up to the bottom of the Kali Strata and Bella Napoli Pizzeria, go past the Harani and Vapori bars (stop for a drink) and then turn right at the end. It’s open 6 – 11pm every day and entrance is free.
Pedi boats
Back to my desk and Friday brought me a ridiculous email from Amazon. I had set up an advertising campaign, only a small one, to get Lonely House some more publicity for a few weeks and here was their reply after reviewing the campaign, as they do with all of them:
“Thank you for submitting your ad campaign for review. Unfortunately, we are unable to approve your ad as your book cover violates one of our ad guideline policies. There are blood stains on the book cover image. As a result, your campaign will not be served.”
I ask you: how many thriller, detective, horror and other novels are out there and not allowed publicity because they have blood on the covers? Never heard anything so ridiculous.
Pedi beach
By the way, the latest review for Lonely House reads: “Really spooooky and tense. Read it straight through as it was so gripping.” 5 stars. Thank you!
Meanwhile, Neil did a quick walk down to Pedi the other day and so today’s photos are from him; some of the things he saw on his stroll. We are trying to get back into the habit of walking again as it has been let slip of late. I’ve managed two morning hill climbs and a Kali Strata so far, and there are more planned for the weekend. I was going to do the steps again on Thursday after the exhibition but there was this taxi, you see and, well, you know… It was after nine in the evening by then, so it would have been a bit cooler but then the taxi had air conditioning… Well, the windows were open and it was Zoi’s brother Konstantinos and he’s always good for a chat and a laugh and… I don’t need excuses! I’ll walk about a bit today to help with the weight loss campaign. Another great result this week after near starving myself for six days and walking up mountains: 0.01 kg or something. I wonder why I bother.
Windmill guard cats
So, enjoy your weekend wherever you are. I have nothing planned apart from working on the last of my scriptwriting college course, I am nearly there after six months, almost, working on it. Just a screenplay to write. I’ll get that done after breakfast tomorrow.
