Another Symi weekend
Kalo Mina! And what a pleasant weekend it was. We were invited out for dinner on Friday night by some friends who were leaving on Saturday. Georgio’s taverna was supplying live Greek music as a background to our conversation and mild feast which included, chops, chicken in cream, prawn starters, homemade humus and various other dishes; all very nice. It was a later night than we are used to, but a memorable one. Thank you to our hosts!

On Saturday I was able to get a little work done before we had to head into Yialos to get some shopping. Mainly cat food as, as you may know, we have a very fussy and rather spoiled animal. I took photos of various Yialos shops, at random, to use on the blog and there are a lot of shops to choose from. We bought our vegetables this weekend from Lucas’ store in the side street beside Taxas Supermarket. Apart from the fact that they were plentiful and fresh, the shop is again using paper bags, much more biodegradable.

After that we treated ourselves to lunch as we tend to do once a week and got chatting to a Greek man and his son at the next table. That always makes for an interesting time, discussing life on Rhodes and his family who were from Symi. Neil asked the son, Yiannis aged 13, if he knew what he wanted to do when he left school. No, he said, not yet. You don’t have any idea at all? Neil persisted. Well, I want to be a marine biologist, he said. Sounds to me like he knows exactly what he wants to do.

Back in the village we chatted to one of our neighbours for some time before finally making it home for a film. I saw some of ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2’ which I would highly recommend. Favourite quote? The part where some asks, “How do you know?” and gets the answer, “Telephone, television, tell a Greek.” I think this sequel is actually, somehow, better than the first.

And on Sunday I was able to finish checking through the first draft of ‘The Saddling’, my next novel. It’s been a bit of a productive year, though this one is far from finished. And that leads me on to remind you that you can now get the comedy, ‘Remotely’ on order from Amazon. (Kindle versions in a few weeks.) If you like the occasional times when I am mildly amusing in my blog, you will appreciate some of the funny moments (with a hint of pathos) in this body swap comedy that takes a sideways swipe at all those TV talent shows like X Factor and so forth. You can order a copy of Remotely here.

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‘Remotely’ hits the shelves
The news today is all about ‘Remotely‘, my latest offering to world of novel comedy which is now available at Amazon. I know I’ve been banging on about it for over a year now as I wrote it, some of it was written on Tilos, the rest was written on Symi, and it’s all set in a place not unlike Littlestone-on-Sea, on the south coast of Kent. A place I have called Middlestone-on-Sea because just along the coast from Littlestone is Greatstone, and my fictional community live somewhere in between. There’s also a theatre in it that I borrowed from Folkestone, the Leas Pavilion Theatre which I once worked in, and which was used for filming of the French/British TV series, ‘The Tunnel.’

That’s the setting, what’s the story? I’ll put the blurb here in a moment so you can read it if you want to. First though, I’ve already had people ask about the Kindle version and yes, there will be one as I know many people these days use that format. The text has to be reformatted for Kindle and that’s going to take them a couple of weeks, but I will let you know when it’s ready. Meanwhile, if you’d like to support a struggling writer please feel free to order an Amazon copy, or pass the link on tor friends and family who might like to read it and, if at all possible, please put up a review on Amazon when you’ve read it.

The first person to be seen reading a print copy on Symi wins a drink!

We now have to do some publicity work, starting with the newspapers local to the area where the book is set – newspapers I appeared in when I was younger and doing lots of Am-Dram. (I wonder if they still have the photo of me as Ali Hakim in Oklahoma!) Any other ideas for publicity would be welcome as would as many shares and reviews you feel able to do on Twitter and Facebook and all those kind of places. Thank you!

The book is not going to be for everyone, not every book is, and it’s not really suitable for under 18s due to the language some characters use, but it is fun and if, like me, you are fed up with the banality of ‘reality talent shows’ and the like, then you might like some of the pops that some of the characters take at that genre of mass-appeal TV.

Anyway, here’s the ‘Remotely‘ blurb (most of it is also on the back cover) and the link to where you an order a copy from Amazon.co.uk – it should filter into worldwide Amazon stores before long.

‘Remotely‘ pokes fun at British reality television.

Britain’s newest and most pointless TV talent competition is coming to Middlestone-On-Sea. ‘So You Think We’re Remotely Interested?’ has taken Friday night viewers by storm as it streams live variety shows from remote, provincial theatres across Britain. The theatre with the most audience votes wins regeneration and revival, and lord knows, Middlestone-on-Sea needs both.

The dying seaside backwater rests its hopes on the performance of two ex-best friends, gay Gary and straight Stag. The visiting celebrity judge, the mysterious and timeless Miss P, knows that for all to be well, they must mend their broken friendship. But there is no success without trial. She magically swaps Gary and Stag into each other’s bodies.

Secrets are learned, comedy ensues, and yet the community remains divided. Rifts must be healed, differences accepted, and bodies swapped back before the season grand finale in four days’ time otherwise Middlestone will lose everything.

“Once you start on James Collins’ coming of age, body-swap comedy, you won’t be remotely interested in putting it down.” G. J. Mugwatch MP

Some Amazon reviews for James Collins:

“Brilliantly observed and a wicket wit.”

“Lots of laughs and loads of page turning moments. Yes, it was hard to put down.”

“Another unputdownable book that had me engrossed from beginning to end, and chuckling.”

“Finished this book yesterday and oh so amusing, would love to see it as a film.”

“More, I want more! I truly could not put this book down.”

Order ‘Remotely’ here and have a good laugh.

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The A to Z of Symi activities
[Oops! This post was meant to be for Friday, but I posted it early by mistake – ah well.] Thinking about it, there are various types of visitor who enjoy holidays on Symi. It’s a question of beer, bar, beaches, boats, bouzouki or beefteki. It’s often a case of swim, sea, siesta, stroll, songs or saganaki. There are so many things to do you can more or less pick a letter and find a list of things that begin with it and select your activity from there. You could even use your name as your guide.

Jaunts, Ambling, Moussaka, Eating and Sun = James, for example. Culture, Outings, Laziness, Lounging, Internet and Sea = Collins, and strangely sums me up, apart from perhaps Sea, which I don’t see a lot of even though my surname starts with a C, if you see what I mean. The point being, that for such as small island there’s a lot to do, so I wondered if I could set myself the challenge of an alphabet of activity to inspire you when you are on a Symi holiday. Here goes:

A, Afternoons in the sun

B, Beaches to sunbathe on

C, Culture at the nautical museum and the summer festival

D, Driving a moped into the mountains – rather, around the mountains

E, Enjoying a stroll around the harbour

F, Finding food at any of the wonderful tavernas

G, Going for a walk along the hillside or through the valley

H, Hiking further afield to Tolis or one of the monasteries

I, Imbibing a beer or ouzo and watching the world go by

J, Jumping on a taxi boat to one of the further beaches

K, Keeping your suntan lotion and after sun in the fridge (tip)

L, Letting all your worries slip away as you watch the boats coming and going

M, Melting in August

N, Not worrying about work and home

O, Ordering your favourite ice-cream at one of the ice-cream shops

P, Playing cards under an orange tree with a cool drink

Q, Quietly pondering that novel you always wanted to write

R, Rambling over the hill to Nimborio for a quiet taverna and a swim

S, Staying up late to hear live music

T, Taking a ride on a jet-ski or the big yellow sofa thing

U, Unwinding after a stressful time at work

V, Viewing any of the mighty views from up in the village

W, Wondering why you haven’t actually come to live here permanently

X, Xοιρινές μπριζόλες (pork chops) for dinner with a salad (I know, but you try it)

Y, Yachting from Yialos to Pedi and back

Z, Zapping some great photos (or mosquitos)

A bit of nonsense but a game you can play at home; draw up your list, get over here and play.

Meanwhile, there was a concert in the main square on Wednesday night with fireworks, and the Symi Shrimp Festival, with free shrimps, dancing and wine is to be held in the village square on Sunday night. The newly restored PA system has been in full ding-dong with its four note intro, its message and its four note outro, very often with no message in between for some reason. The day boats continue to come and we’re all wandering around saying ‘Zesti’ (warm) as we head towards August. Bring it on. [See you on Saturday.]

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Quick news update from my Symi desk
Although it has been quieter than a normal July so far this year, when we called into Yialos on Tuesday I was pleased to see how busy it was. The large cruise ship from Cyprus was in as were the three day boats and many of the bars, cafes and tavernas were doing good business. Let’s hope we see more of this. The Blue Star came and went on Wednesday on a calm and slightly misty sea…

One of the things I picked up on Tuesday was my health insurance renewal. Now I am no longer in the Greek Ika system I choose to have private heath insurance as having none is not worth the risk. I’m pleased to say that after my checks and things earlier in the year the premium has not gone up by very much at all, I only wish that I’d done what I intended to do and saved a little each month as now I am scrambling around to find it – but I will, as they give you three weeks or a month to sort it out before you’re not covered. I’m nearly there.

We also picked up the phone bill which now, thanks to Cosmote and their office in Rhodes, is the cheapest it’s ever been, around €25.00 per month for 12 Mb broadband and phone line with, it appears, free calls included. Mind you, we hardly ever use the phone and these days I am more inclined to leave my mobile at home when I go out as well.

The weather has been hot, to say the least, and a little bit muggy, but great weather for beaches and boats, not that I see much of either, and the evening in the square have occasionally enjoyed a slight breeze. BTW, the Symi Shrimp Festival is on this Sunday in Horio Square, usually starts around 9pm.

And on the book front, I should have news for you on ‘Remotely’ very soon; we are just checking the print quality of the cover and waiting for one book to arrive before letting you know all about it. It is on Amazon now, if you want to take the risk (I submitted the cover but had no reply form Amazon about its quality which should mean it is fine and it looked fine on their on-line checking system where you can see if it all fits correctly – and it did). If you do, then simply do a search for ‘Remotely’ James Collins and you should see it. Once we’ve been through the print version we will work on the Kindle version and that could take a few more weeks to come through as there are formatting things that need to be done.

Remember, if you’ve read any of my books and liked them, the more reviews that go up on Amazon the better – for me! So don’t be shy, put up a few words and click the stars, giving your honest feedback and help others find books they might like to read. The best seller so far this month is ‘Lonely House’ which is a change from ‘Symi 85600’ as that’s usually my best seller, bless it. Anyway, that’s my news. Have fun and enjoy the pics, some of which were taken from up here to show a nicely busy harbour.

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Symi Animal Welfare, Summer report July, 2016
Today we have an update from Symi Animal Welfare and some photos they have provided.

“On Symi the heatwave has been relentless since early June… and in these high temps the island cats prefer to find a shady place to sleep during the day, venturing out after the sun goes down, around 8.00pm to hunt for food in their habitual feeding places, hoping for some tasty scraps from kind tourists dining at the local tavernas, and the less fortunate cats are usually seen around the bins area in the port and the village. Although food is easier to find in the summer months, the cats’ appetite is often reduced by the heat, so many of them appear thin, but that is normal at this time of the year.

However, all cats need to drink, and we would like to remind all our friends & visitors that it is very easy to help the island cats by providing, in your area, a plastic container of water    for them, in a shady place, and you will see how they come to enjoy a refreshing drink, and give you a thankful look. Any plastic recipient will do, perhaps an empty ice cream or   margarine container? and one of the best is the (cut off) bottom part of a 10 litre water container, that makes a really good size bowl.

We would like to remind everyone that we will continue to promote and fund the feline neutering programme that we already have arranged with 2 vets in Rhodes. Any island resident who wants to take their cats over for neutering should first contact Suzan or Antonella at SAW. Finally, as we rely entirely on donations, we would like to thank all our supporters for their generous donations to SAW in 2016.

Best wishes & happy summer from the SAW Team,
Suzan, Antonella, Christina, Hazel & Tove.”

Symi Animal Welfare, website, donations and information.

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