The Thirteenth – the film based on The Judas Inheritance

Today, I was going to tell you about my riveting visit to the cardiologist in Rhodes last week, but that can wait a day – there’s nothing to worry about, so that’s fine. Instead I will share the news that Kickstarter backers, who put money into the film, should already know. That the post-production team are hopeful that the final cut should be finished by Friday this week. This is the film based on the book The Judas Inheritance which I wrote a couple of years ago now. It’s inspired by the ruins and village on Symi, though Symi is not actually mentioned in either as the location, as the story is fictitious (though the history of the island is explored, in context, in the novel). You can find a copy of the book at Amazon, The Judas Inheritance, where there is also a Kindle version. You can also search for it on Amazon.com.

The thing is that there are, appropriately, 13 backers who are eligible to have their photos shown in the end credits who have not yet sent in suitable images. I’ll put the text from the studio below in a moment. You may have received an email or update and replied to it and had an ‘okay’ back; your spam folders on your emails may have spammed the email for some reason and you’ve missed it, or you may not want to have your photo put up – in that case, just let them know. If you’re not sure then you can contact them through the Kickstarter update you should have received yesterday. And if you are really not sure, email me or contact me and I will let you know if your name is on the list.

The next thing is that if they don’t get a suitable image (which must be high resolution so it can appear on a large screen without you looking like a Picasso) by Friday, then your image will not appear. Once the end credits are done, then it will be too late to change them. So, check your spam if you know you are one of those (who put in over a certain amount) and send an image if you’ve not already done so, and if you’re unsure if the one you sent was good enough, contact them through that update to check.

The pertinent parts of the most recent update are: “We are currently in the process of putting in the photos of backers as part of the end credits. You will recall that last year we asked you all to send in your head and shoulders photos for this, and many of you did.

We have had to get back in touch with a number of people as our post-production people said they needed higher resolution copies of certain of these photos. You have to bear in mind that when projected on a full sized screen these photos could be as large as an A3 sheet of paper.

We have heard back from most of those we emailed but there are still 13 outstanding. We suspect it is possible the emails may have gone to junk folders and not been seen.

So we have today re-sent emails to those 13, using a different address. Hopefully this will reach them.

But if you have sent in a photo and you haven’t heard from us recently that it is okay please get in touch with us to check. And if you have not yet sent in a photo at all, but would now like to do so, please send it now. This is absolutely the very last chance.

Just to re-iterate: we need something like a passport head and shoulders photo (it can also be a couple together if preferred, but basically the same kind of close cropping of a passport photo). This photo needs to be at least 1 MB (megabyte) in file size. Larger is even better. If you don’t understand what this means, please get in touch. If you are scanning a hard copy photo, then please scan at 300 dpi (pixels) resolution or higher. Please contact Nigel on nigeledwards@1066productions.com with any questions about the photos, or to send in photos.”

Thank you, and more about our Rhodes trip, Symi updates and other matters tomorrow.

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New glasses Greek style
Jack, the Alarm Cat, enjoyed his birthday yesterday. He spent the day shouting at doors, sleeping in inconvenient places, staring us into submission each time he wanted to visit his bowl, filling his dirt tray before throwing all the litter out of it and, finally, curling up on us and shedding hair. So, just like every other day.

He was actually 13 yesterday, being born in 2003, but I was doing that thing where you count the number of birthdays including his actual birth day, so he’s now in his 14^th year, though has only had 13 birthday anniversaries, plus one actual birth day. So, that’s that cleared that up.

And talking of clearing things up, I will soon be able to see clearly now the rain has gone… Well, there was some rain yesterday, but not much. But hopefully next week, I shall be wearing my new glasses. While we were in Rhodes, last Monday actually and before lunch at Indigo, I had a moment of spontaneity that’s been brewing for about three years. It’s been six years since I had new glasses and so I decided to call into Optical House and get an eye test. €20.00 for the eye test and please come back in one hour. Which I did.

I saw the ophthalmologist took me up to his surgery which was fitted out with all kinds of machines and charts, and we had a good chat about my eyes. He’d taken my old prescription from my glasses somehow and, after some tests, declared that my sight has not changed much in the last six years, so that’s good news. We then discussed vertigo and I asked if eyesight can have a bearing on losing your bearings, and indeed it can. He then ran some more tests that I have never had before to see what could be done to stabilise my eye-to-brain coordination, one of the things that could cause the loss of balance when I turn around. Something to do with the messages from each eye not reaching the brain at the same time. One hour later, and still for only €20.00, we went back to the shop to see about frames and lenses.

This is where the fun starts and you are not to fall off your seat. I checked out various frames: Harry Potter style? No ta. Sporty-style, Lord no! Thick rimmed and currently ‘fashionable’? (Whoever thought thick rimmed glasses look good on anyone’s face clearly needed to see my ophthalmologist.) How about some that look more or less the same as what you are wearing? Oh yes, that’s more like it. Except they are bigger as they are vary focal and I need more glass, fair enough. So, designer frames (from Mr Ray Ban, whoever he is) and fairy vocal lenses which I know are not cheap to produce. But also we should incorporate a prism type thing to help keep me stable, yes, quite agree with that. I was just about to ask how much a second pair would be, as I wanted prescription sunglasses, when he suggested I have phototronic lenses. No, sorry, it’s photochromic, and Transitions Optical ones at that, and with a two year scratch free guarantee. So, let’s tot all that up…

Bear in mind all these additions, frames, fairy vocals, near, mid and far distant, react to sunlight, UV protection, crystalline prism to keep me afloat when the ballast shifts, and frames made specially for me by Mr Ban. I won’t tell you the price here, but it’s somewhere between €880 and €885. However, what I am buying are four pars in one (near, mid, far and sunglasses when in the sun) and also I’ve not bought a pair for six years, and the current old ones are fine for spares. I was expecting to pay about double what I am paying, so that’s fine. And after all that, the eye test was free, so it didn’t even cost me €20.00.

I hope to pick these up next week or else the week after and then, as long as it’s stopped raining, I should see clearly now.

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Health Holiday, Greek style
Hello! We’re back. I’ve enjoyed me week off and we’ve done loads during it: coursework, furniture removal, health checks, lots of eating, walking, boat trips… But where to start catching up? Let’s go through in order…

Sunday, we took the Dodekanisos afternoon boat across to Rhodes. It was fairly busy with a football team coming down from Kalymnos, or Kos, to Rhodes, and day-trippers from Rhodes to Symi, but there were, as always, seats and the journey was quick and comfortable. A short walk from Kolonoa harbour took us to the Lydia Hotel where we were given a decent room. Room 312 in this case, it’s one at the end of a corridor, so you only have one other room next door and not one on either side, and it also has a larger bathroom than many as the shower area extends across the corridor. Er, behind a wall of course; it’s not that kind of a hotel. The price is reasonable and the staff are friendly, the breakfast is a good mix of everything from healthy stuff to cakes, with a hot buffet and a cold one, and it’s very handy for the local shops and things.

On Monday we had to meet our private health insurance agent at 8.15 at Euromedica. This is out of town near Koskinou and you can take a bus, but we didn’t fancy it at that time of day so we called a taxi. It was a beautiful sunny day on Rhodes and our agent, Tsambika, met us dead on the appointed time. We had to be early as my blood tests were to be done in Faliraki so our agent drove us there and we caught up on news and gossip en route. She did all the talking at the medical places we visited and, though I’ve done these things many times before, I didn’t have to worry about a thing: sit there, do that, hold this, thank you and goodbye. And we were whisked back to Euromedica so Neil could have his various check-ups done.

We walked in to the health centre at nine and were out by nine forty-five, again with Tsambika doing all the paperwork negotiations (there were very few) and taking us to the various places. I only had the chance to read half a chapter of The Return of The Native while I waited. Tsambika had set up appointments so Neil was whisked straight in for blood test, cardio and chest and we were on the road to Kanada Street for my next appointment 90 minutes early. But that wasn’t an issue either and, again, Tsambika asked if they could see me early, they could, and 15 minutes later (not even the chance of a paragraph of Thomas Hardy) and I was out in the sunshine with a picture of my perfect chest (internal) in my hand.

The rest of the day was ours and so we opted to walk back to town. Our agent would have driven us, but there was no need, so we said goodbye and agreed I would call her the next day after my cardio appointment. So, after some wandering back through the Old Town where I had a coffee and Neil a very dodgy frappe, we did some shopping and found ourselves completely free from the to-do list by one. So, we headed to Indigo in the Old Fish Market at Mandraki. Now then, here’s a place to go and eat! It’s Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking, each chair or seat has the name of a Greek island painted on it (I sat on Kalymnos, Neil on Tilos), the lampshades are made out of hats, each table has its own quirky teapot for flowers and the food is to die for. Neil had a beef stew with the best risotto either of us had ever tasted, and I had a gorgeous chicken dish. We were treated, by the owners, to a starter of bread and homemade dips, and a sweet of chocolate fridge cake and cream. I can’t find a web page for the bistro but there is a Facebook page.

So, that takes us up to Monday afternoon. There is more catch-up to come and I will set about that tomorrow. The one thing I didn’t do was take photos. Neil might have taken a few but we felt that we were having a whole week off from photographing and writing and so you will have to make do with some images, from Symi, taken in recent days, rather than our ‘holiday snaps.’ Oh, and I just realised, it’s Jack Cat’s birthday today: He’s made it to 14 years old! Will try and get some snaps for you.

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Symi websites and a short break
Friday was all go on the boat front. The Blue Star Diagoras came in at the same time as the Dodekanisos came in, there were a few private sail-boats coming in and out so it must be good sailing weather, and there were several fishing boats coming and going too. The patrol boat was out in the bay and the sea was mainly calm and flat with rivulets of silver in and out of the blue of the sea; different currents, or different water temperature perhaps, I’m never quite sure.

But the weekend starts here and, for me, it is going to carry on all week as I am going to take a week’s holiday from blogging and will be back with you the week after next. Just a quick break so I can get some other projects seen to. We’re editing ‘Remotely’ and I have several kind folk reading the MS and sending in typos and feedback, so I want to concentrate on that for a while. It will also give me time to replenish the photo stock folder for future posts. But while I am off line…

Don’t forget your other Symi resources. You can find out all kinds of info about life on the island from blogs and Symi websites, you can check out your holiday accommodation, the boats and other things you might want to know, and you can do it in various ways.

Adriana’s Blog comes out twice per week and gives you updates and great photos of what’s going on and how things are.

Symi Visitor will give you ideas for holiday accommodation and there’s also a chat page you can get involved in, ask questions and find answers from Symi fans, professionals and regular visitors. That’s at the Symi Visitor Symi Forum. (The other Symi chat page is now redundant and has not been used for a few years, so this is the definitive and only place to chat.)

The Symi Webcam will give you minute by minute shots of Yialos and the comings and goings of harbour life.

Kalodoukas Holidays will let you see what accommodation they have around the island.

Symi Art will give you a wealth of photos to view.

Blue Star Ferries have their site where you can check out the timetable and also book ferries – it’s in Greek with an English language option.

Dodekanisos Seaways will do the same for their craft and schedule, which now includes almost daily sailings from Symi. Again, English is possible and there’s a flag symbol to click on to change the language. (Top right.) There’s no Symi boat on a Tuesday or Thursday, but you can do the Rhodes – Symi journey at 8.30 on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, returning on the 17.35 from Symi to Rhodes on the same days, with the Express coming into service from April 11^th.

For more travel info try the Symi Visitor Travel Blog. It’s always wise to check boats before boking independent flights so that you can arrange to get to the island on the same day as you arrive in Rhodes.

And there are loads of other good Symi info sites (apologies for not being able to mention them all here, there are just too many). These sites cover individual accommodation and eateries, hotels, things to do and so on. You can find them if you do a ‘Google’, or use other search engines, and there are plenty at Symi Best. So, your homework, while I am off, is to do your research and check out as much as you can about Symi and spread the word to your friends that this is going to be the best season ever to visit the island. But I want you back here on Monday 11^th bright and early and ready to read. Have a good week.

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Sunny Thursday chit-chat
Well, summer returned on Thursday; or at least, spring did. No wind to speak of, pure sunshine, warmth, heat even, and very calm. A lovely day all-round and it bodes well for the weeks to come.

Already some house owners and visitors have started arriving, thanks to Easter abroad I expect. Perfect weather for checking on your house after a winter that’s not been so wet; throw those windows open and dry the walls out, air the place and start sweeping up. I did some home work yesterday (as in work at home), finally getting around to varnishing the bedside cabinets. It’s only taken me a year. But it was such a nice morning that I was compelled to stroll to B&Q (the hardware shop) and search out a tub of varnish and a new brush, take them home and set about cleaning the cabinets and then painting them up with clear varnish.

Not long after this the cat threw a wobbly and wouldn’t stop shouting for a good half an hour. The varnishing was done outside and the stuff didn’t smell, so it wasn’t that. Neil had gone out to take some photos in the old Symi library and I think the cat was demanding to know where he was. He hadn’t a note for his absence. He went from room to room, then into the workhouse, and then up on the roof, and back again, twice, and all the time stopping to make a low meow-growl type noise that he usually uses after some other cat has been around the place. Or after he’s used his litter tray, like he was singing some kind of anthem to a well-covered hole. But there had been no other cats and his tray had not been used since first thing. Sometime I wish I knew what he was trying to communicate. He finally settled down up on the flat roof after I had opened the gate for him, in case he wanted to go further afield.

While the gate was open our landlord dropped in our water bill. We’d not had one for a year for some reason so we were expecting a fairly large one; it works out at around €10.00 per month – in case anyone was wondering how much the water costs around here. But then we have a large sterna that is usually at least half full with winter rain water, so we don’t have to take in too much ‘paid’ water. That comes on top of the phone bill, last month’s large electricity bill, a trip to Rhodes for health checks and all the expense that that entails. April could be a very quiet month on the spending front; Neil should be getting back to work at the bar, which will help, and once these bills are out of the way, they won’t come round again for a couple more months.

Anyway, it’s Thursday afternoon and still sunny so I am off to make the most of it.

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