Finding Nimmos (in Rhodes)
I was wandering around Rhodes on Wednesday after spending the night there on Tuesday so as to be in time for an appointment the following morning, when I had that thorny problem of where to have lunch. I wanted to go to somewhere I’d not been before but somewhere close to the Commercial Harbour so I wouldn’t have the worry of being late for the boat which was at three. Heading through the Old Town I also realised that I wanted to avoid the busier places, the kamaki and the shouts of ‘Hey mister, do you want to meet my daughter?’ when I remembered a taverna right next to Acandia Gate that I had passed in on my way across on the Tuesday. ‘Not been there before,’ I thought, ‘and it’s handy for the boat.’ So I duly arrived at a new taverna (under new management that is) called Nimmos.

I took a seat, ordered a beer and browsed the menu and then a few minutes later a familiar face popped out from inside; someone I recognised from Symi. It soon transpired that this was Aris who used to work at Manos Fish Taverna. And then another face appeared, George who used to work at the Nireus Hotel, again on Symi. It transpired that both chaps and their wives had set up the new taverna, Nimmos, only this year and were in to month two or three of the new business. We chatted and then I ordered my dinner and very nice it was too. The prices are good as well, only €2.00 for a big beer, €1.00 for a coffee, €1.50 for a glass of wine. I did eat as well, gigantes and a moussaka, both perfect and well-priced (€5.95 for the moussaka, other dishes like giouvetsi are €5.95, a pork chop for €6.20 – you can’t go wrong).

Apart from the good food at sensible prices, the taverna is right by the gate. Hardly any cars came past, a few mopeds, lots of people walking, so there’s lots to see, and it was only 20 minutes after that to walk to the boat. And then only because it was right at the end of the harbour. If you were heading for the Panagia Skiedani it would be even closer. So, if you arrive from the airport and want to eat before your boat, you can eat there and only have a short distance to go afterwards, enough time to recover from the big portions, no ned to bolt your dinner and run, and Aris even offered to give me a lift on his motorbike, though I don’t think that offer is part of the usual meal deal. You will find Acandia Gate on the maps easily enough and Nimmos is just next to it, inside the Old Town. It’s a family restaurant with an upstairs terrace as well, so more views from there. I also thought it would be handy for people on a cruise ship as they are also moored not far away.

There were other interesting things happening in Rhodes: Saffron for a curry with friends on the Tuesday, no need to book at the Lydia – a good room at a low price, holiday makers starting to appear, a bit windy on the coast so the sunbathers were around the other side of the bay, people were swimming and diving and I caught a glimpse of the Blue Star coming over and snapped it just between the famous deer of Rhodes at Mandraki.

And on that note, this weekend marks the last visit of the Blue Star Diagoras to Symi/Rhodes and the Dodecanese. It’s off to work in Morocco, taking trips out to the Canary Islands and the Balearics, according to one source. It will be replaced by another ship, perhaps the Paros (fast and punctual) or the Naxos (don’t know that one) or another. We will find out on Wednesday no doubt. And that should also be my last trip to Rhodes for a while, I hope. Not that I don’t like it, it’s just a bit of an added expense. But next time I am there and waiting for the boat, I know where I will be eating; Nimmos.

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I’m not here and neither are the boats
It’s one of those days when I am not here. I’ve left Neil working and gone to Rhodes for a quick check up on my last check up (nothing to worry about) and, by now, I should have had a pleasant night in a hotel and hopefully an Indian meal at Saffron – a bit of a treat. Meanwhile, here is yesterday’s morning view, at six a.m.

And here are lots of shots of the speedboats leaving on Monday. These were carrying doctors who held a clinic, I am told. I hope they had their equipment well stowed as they finally took off at a bit of a speed. They passed the Poseidon as it came back from a trip and I saw it going out again on Tuesday. Looks like the round the island excursions have started, as long as the weather is calm and there are enough people.

I’ll leave you with these images, which are a bit similar I know, and make this a short blog as I’m not really here anyway. I may not be here tomorrow either, we will see.

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Kalimera, kaliespera, yasou, yasas or wot?
Normal service has been resumed. After a weekend of rain, sometimes quite heavy, the sun was back on Monday morning when I got up at six. The sterna is now full of free water, the plants have had a watering, not that some of them wanted it, and most of the Sahara dust has been washed away from the roof and courtyard.

It’s back to normal in the harbour as well. I popped down and up yesterday to fetch the rent money and get my tickets for Rhodes. Another day another day-trip for me, this time for a check-up follow-up follow-up. I’m going to go on Tuesday afternoon to save the rush on Wednesday, potter about (perhaps have an Indian meal if the finances will stretch) and then have my appointment mid-morning on Wednesday and come back on the Blue Star in the afternoon, nice and leisurely like.

But, down in the harbour. Work has started to clear the customs house building that went up in flames last week, and the flag is still flying high above it, as it did throughout the fire – very Greek spirited of it I thought. I’m not sure what the rebuild timeline might be, time will tell, but there was a group of workers there working hard as I passed. It was one of those mornings of saying ‘Kalimera’ to everyone; on the steps going down, around the harbour (the new bar staff in certain places have finally realised I am not going away, I’m not a day-tripper and don’t need the ‘please come in’ dialogue). Around to the bank, and passing Takis’ leather shop (six kalimeras needed there to greet all his staff) and up and down the other side of the harbour.

We’re often asked what the greeting should be, kalimera, yasou, yasa, ti kanite, mia xara, ya, kali-something else, and I usually apply the rule that, if it’s the first time I’ve seen someone then it’s kalimera (good day), second time it’s a yasou (or yasas deepening on whether the situation is singular and friendly or plural and polite, higher status or not). I reserve kalispera for after siesta time, kalinixta for on the way home at night, kali messimeri for specifically wishing someone a good lunchtime period, kali doulia for wishing them good work, and so on. I was getting quite pleased with myself and my kali-mera-ing when I noticed that some people got to me first with a yasou, which rather threw the cat among the pigeons of my greetings plan. Thinking maybe it was because the time was moving on towards midday, to the next person I saw I said Yasou! And they replied with kalimera. It’s all very confusing. I think, just say whatever comes out; ya, is a common one (hi), but not to the mayor or a priest. Actually, I think I know the mayor well enough know to greet him with a ‘watcha me old cock,’ though it might confuse him, and some of the priests are content just to slap you on the back and laugh for some unexplained reason.

So, leaving you with all that to ponder, I shall say kalimera (adjust it to your own time of day depending on when you are reading this) and have a quick check over what I have just written to make sure I’ve left some typos in for you – kali-typo! – and head off into the rest of the day. You should find a blog here tomorrow, but maybe not on Thursday, depending on what time I get back from Rhodes and whether I feel like writing something or not. Whatever you are doing, have a kali day.

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“Brilliantly observed and a wicked wit”
We’ve had a rather damp weekend here on Symi with rain over the weekend topping up the sterna, watering the plants and not deterring anyone from going out and having a good time. We were treated to a lovely meal out at Georgio’s on Friday – thank you Miss P – and that came hot on the high heels of our dinner invite on Thursday. For the rest of the weekend we stayed home and the plan is (as I write this on Sunday) to get up early on Monday and do a quick half hour walk before settling into work. The price must be paid!

We’ve spent some weekend time on the cover for ‘Remotely’ and below you can see a small image version of the full cover. The spine is yet to be sized, and this is only a first draft. I know there are some designers and artists out there who might have a few words to say about my layout, and I’d be interested to hear them (as long as they are positive) – the blue bar across the top is an RC publications thing – though I’m not 100% sold on the colour yet.

What doing this exercise did throw up for me though was a new review of Symi 85600 on Amazon which I think is worth repeating in full:

Symi 85600 (Notes from a Greek island)

[ 5.0 out of 5 stars – Absolutely brilliantly observed and a wicked wit!

9 May 2016
Format: Paperback | Verified Purchase

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…and again…and again… I want to be buried with it – which may well be sooner than I think since I nearly died laughing during some of his witty observations! ]

Thank you very much. Let’s hope that leads to a few more sales. If you are a Facebook user you can find more info about my books and writing things as I post them on my James Collins Author page; likes and shares and comments all welcome. https://www.facebook.com/jamescollinsauthor/

But now, back to the ‘Remotely’ cover which, as you will see, contains some of that fabulous review. ‘Brilliantly observed and a wicked wit’ – I rather like that. I’m going to have a good week now, and I hope you are too. Hashtag wickedwit! #wickedwit (no idea what purpose that serves but the advice is to hashtag everything – but it’s not a hashtag it’s a sharp sign!)

Click the cover image to make it bigger:

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Symi, where you can expect the unexpected
I gave myself a day off on Friday, kind of. I read some proofs of ‘Remotely’ and then went to Yialos to do the usual things: bank, post office, buy some snacks for some guests coming for pre-dinner drinks, then cat litter and cat food from the pet shop (for the cat, not the guests), back up the steps, made lunch and chilled out on the sofa in my study. A place I don’t very often sit; it made for a change of view.

The wind was up again, there were some clouds about but it was still warm; and there was dust in the air, apparently, blown across from north Africa. It did look a bit hazy but nothing to write home about. The harbour was fairly busy, there had only been one day boat in. The Blue Star had come in a little late and seemed to take a long time going out again, the Express was waiting for it. The Sea Dreams moored up alongside in the harbour, so I assume there was a swell or strong wind down there or something. The Nikolaos X came in at its usual time, and the Panagia Skiedani too, so we now have three regular day-trip boats from Rhodes each day.

Neil had one of those ‘things’ happen on Thursday. He was at the bar, working, and had two sisters as customers come and sit and chat. They were staying in Rhodes but live in Liverpool. They had been told to come to Symi for a day (they were staying for two) and to visit the Rainbow Bar in Horio, which they dutifully found. They had been advised to take this excursion but a man in Liverpool who knew the bar. Neil described him and asked if he barked like a dog to surprise people as a practical joke. They said, ‘That’s him!’ and he said, ‘That’s Liverpool, George, we know him.’ So not only does Symi’s charm and fame spread far and wide, but so does the fame of the Rainbow Bar (and ‘Liverpool George’ who is a regular visitor and Symi supporter). What are the chances eh?

As for my weekend ahead, I have nothing planned but some work on ‘The Saddling’, the next story on the ‘must write that book’ list, and some work for my college course. I had some great feedback on my action scene assignment last week, and this time I have to write two different openings and two different endings for the same story, in this case a screenplay – as that’s what I was interested in learning about, though I could have chosen stage or radio play. The basics are the same really and the course covers all kinds of scriptwriting, it’s up to us students to decide which. I think the story I have chosen would make a better film, so am going with that medium.

And that’s about it. The end of another week on Symi, with the custom house fire, the changeable but warm weather, hot days, sunny days, a little overnight rain, some breezes and cloud, a walk in the hills last Sunday, nephew George heading off to a new adventure in Rhodes, some book work and other things, a lovely meal with neighbours on Thursday (thank you for that and for bringing my camera back), and some guests on Friday. I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend but, as I’ve said before, when you are on Symi, the only thing you can expect is the unexpected.

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