Windy, cloudy, sunny, a bit of everything apart from rain over the weekend, and this morning looks to be the same; grey, windy on this side of the hill and with a slight chill. That’s the weather. As for whether the wethered wether will weather this weather, well, that’s a different story. (Isn’t the language wonderful when you can make the same sound mean three of four different things by changing the spelling slightly, or not at all?) Anyway…

What kind of a weekend did I have? I had a sleepless Saturday night for no sensible reason. It was muggy and although I was tried, as soon as I went to bed, my mind woke up. I sat up reading until well gone three, and not even the memoirs of a policeman who was on the London beat in 1888 could send me off. Part of it might have been to do with the knowledge that our landlord was coming to see the house the next day, and we didn’t know what to expect. He came with his son, and lovely people they are too, but it reinforces that fact that we only have this lease until October, and after that… Who knows? Things might change before that, possibly, because the house is for sale, and I am pretty sure, now he has seen the place, he will want to change arrangements come October. This means, we are starting to think about a move, but where to and whether we will find anything are other matters. Whether we shall weather the what ifs whether things change or not… Don’t get me started on that again.

Apart from that and some writing, watching some snooker and doing some housework, we had a quiet weekend.

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I suppose yesterday’s highlight was seeing the fighter jets going overhead during the May 8th parade, the helicopters landing and taking off, and seeing a police motorbike on the island. At least, they were the highlights for our godson. For me, it was the story he told of seeing the cavalcade of officialdom in their posh cars headed by the head of the church, then the top brass from the military, and then came the island dignitaries, the consuls in their flash cars, a battered old Symi farm truck that needed to be somewhere else and didn’t care, more dignitaries and military braids… Well, it made me laugh. Typical Symi.

And nothing much to do with what I wanted to tell you next, which was to point you towards my BlueSky account in case you have also made the switch from the, to my mind, sinister looking X to the more inclusive and ‘not run by a Bond villain’, BlueSky. My profile is about my books, so it might be of interest to other authors among you. You can find me here.

And talking of books, I want also to point you in the direction of another collection of novels by indie authors. This collection concerns first in series books, those novels that start off an ongoing or related series that comes after. You can find that one here.

There’s also this one with far more on offer:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/mysthrillsus-may/2258rjb4jp

Now, back to the business in hand – the weekend ahead. We’re out for dinner tonight and then, I reckon, I am staying in to bash out the next book and watch some streaming Shakespeare, possibly I’ll go for a wander around the village to get some air, otherwise, I have no plans other than the usual. The skies are cloudy today, but that’s been the norm at the start of the days this week, and we are still under a Saharan dust cloud, as we often are. This means himself will be coughing, I will be sneezing, and I’ll have to dust the shelves for the second time in the last three years… Only joking, but if you do feel a bit bunged up or sneezy, it could well be the desert getting up your nose. I’ll leave you with one of Neil’s shots from the week, and a question. Why do we say ‘desert’ for an arid landscape etc., and ‘desert’ as in to leave, yet the pronunciation of ‘to desert’ is spelt the same was as ‘dessert’ as in pudding?

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It’s sunbed and day trip question season again on some social media, so let’s put the Q&A to (sun) bed. Yes, there are beaches on Symi, yes, they have sunbeds, no, they are not likely to be free. Do you have time to visit the beaches and ‘coves’ when on a day trip? That depends. What is there to do here on a day trip? Lots. For some ideas, see this page: https://symidream.com/symi-in-three-hours/

How long you have here depends on what boat you get across. If you want an all-day experience and have some spare cash, then take the Dodecanese Seaways as it sets off at 8.00 gets here at 8.50, returns at 16.30 (or just after 17.00 depending on the day), and gives you roughly seven hours here. Other boats are available. The Sebeco, for example, does Rhodes direct to Yialos (Symi main town), and there are several day-trip boats from Mandraki, but they only give you a few hours in Yialos after stopping en route.

I love it when someone writes into social media seeking ‘advise’ (ahem), and asks something like, ‘Is there a beach where we can go swimming?’ It’s at times like these that things become antisocial media. You get the diehard Symi-two-weeks-a-year regulars ignoring the question and answering with things like, ‘Why go swimming?’ like that’s helpful. Then you have those who have missed the point entirely: ‘A day is not long enough, stay for a week at So-kai-So Apartments’, again missing the point that the enquirer only has a day. Then, you have the helpfuls who set out a complete itinerary starting from where and when you get off the boat, how to catch a bus to the village, which café to stop in for your coffee, how long it will take you to walk down the steps and you must make sure you visit edo, eki and pantou (here, there and everywhere) along the way. Things get even hotter under the virtual collar when someone dares ask, ‘Are there any hotels with pools?’ The answer is either yes or no. The answer shouldn’t be a diatribe about why that person wants a pool, how the Aegean is on your doorstep, and how this isn’t Benidorm. My answer to many such queries is rather unhelpful, so I keep it to myself. Apart from this once: Do your own research. I spend hours researching for my books and I learn while doing so. It’s much more rewarding than simply asking someone (which is, admittedly, also research, but…).

Anyway, that’s something to contemplate while you decide whether you want to pay €7.50, €10.00 or even more for one sunbed for a few hours, or whether you just want to spread out a towel and lie on a beach like we did in the black and white days.

(Today’s photos are from Neil.)

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In the emails today… A chance to enter the KDP Storyteller Award, a message from my cover designer who was charged €12.00 for receiving a payment from me – daylight robbery as I was charged €5.00 to send it, some messages I was expecting (i.e., ‘Your money has been sent’), and the usual spam. Which veggie shrinks an enlarged… Luxury watches from $250, yet another new message from LinkedIn, whatever that is, it’s been so long since I looked at it… A business proposal from Alfred, A piano music course, and something called a ‘ringing silencer’ which sounds a little oxymoronic to me. But also arriving this morning are some photos from Neil and as they show some greenery, I’ll post some today so you can share in the sight of spring plants on Symi.

There’s an exhibition of WWII memorabilia running down in the cultural centre at the moment. This must be in the lead up to May 8th which will see a parade by the schools and other organisations celebrating the liberation of the Dodecanese. That usually starts at vaguely around 11.30 or sometimes later, maybe midday, or earlier, it seems to depend on when some bigwigs could be bothered to turn up and how long the service goes on for beforehand. I often see lines of military and others standing in the sun for a good hour waiting. That’ll be on the north side of the harbour.

Yesterday, I counted five day-trip boats on that side of the harbour, but couldn’t see what was happening on this side, no doubt the Sebeco did its runs, and maybe others, so I imagine things are busying up down there. I see and hear trippers tripping past the house during the day and afternoon, and it’s good to see them making the climb up here. While at home, in the house, it was water day, so a washing machine day followed by a piano lesson afternoon that, these days, is made up of about 45 minutes of Mozart’s sonata in C, K545 followed by 15 minutes of grade 4 theory. And you thought algebra was bad. Try explaining the rules regarding double-dotted quavers in compound time and the correct way to group in 12/8 fifty years after you were taught it. Still, only another few weeks and there will no longer be time for piano lessons because the business of working and college will take over.

And that’s me for this morning. I must go and organise another reel. No, not a country dance, but a short video advertising my books, like the one I will treat you with today…

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