I once read a book by Paulo Coelho in which one character told another to always walk looking at the horizon, not at your feet. I expect there was some spiritual message behind that, or a good reason, and I tried it to see if it changed my outlook on life. It made me change my attitude towards people with dogs, and councils who didn’t fix their paving slabs. However, standing there scraping my shoes against a broken paving stone to get the dogdo off, I did have the chance to look up and admire what I could see of the horizon. Since then, I’ve always told people to stop now and then and look up, as I mentioned on the blog the other day. We tend to walk looking down, and in some places, that’s a necessity. I rounded a corner on my walk through the village yesterday and nearly trod in a stack of cat sh*t, and I mean a good three-inch high pile some animal had swept into one place. In other parts of the village, I found myself stepping over the remains of some dog’s yesterday’s dinner its owner had charitably left there for a small child to pick up, play with and eat. In other places, I was permanently looking down to avoid falling down steps or tripping over water pipes. The lesson here is to stop now and then and look around. Look up to see what’s above the standard Boots shopfront and you might see a Tudor building, or don’t gawp at the unaffordable price of houses in the estate agent’s window, but look to its second and third floors and you might see a stunning piece of Gothic revival architecture.

The point of all that was to say the opposite. Also, look down, especially when you’re on Symi. I was standing outside the taverna last night, waiting for Neil to join me, and I noticed a carving on the stone I was standing on.

There are many instances of this kind of historic graffiti dotted around the island, just as there’s a growing number of post-modern depictions of penises and some fundamental instructions on what to do with one’s fundament; people, it seems, will always want to leave their mark, just like dogs and lampposts. Some of these engravings depict boats, some are names in that classic “carve your initials in a tree” kind of thing, and others are patterns. What interests me are the dates that sometimes appear with them. In today’s case, not only did ΝΠΚ leave his/her initials, but he also left the date, 1939.

I’ve darkened the photo to try and bring out the letters and date more, and it’s not that easy to see, but you get the picture…?

I’ll keep my eye out for more of these when I remember and post them here. You can find this one at the top of the Kali Strata opposite the arched door into Georgio’s.

That’s me for the week. Off to Rhodes for the day tomorrow, so I’ll be back here on Monday.

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Just a few photos today as I don’t have any news to tell you, not unless you want to read that I have put an undercoat on the bathroom window ahead of painting it later today. That’s about as exciting as it got around our house yesterday, so here are a few shots of Yialos instead. If you’ve eaten at the Trata (Trawler) you might like to see what it looks like in winter. If you’ve ever walked on the road, you might have wondered if it will ever be repaired decently. And, if you have ever walked around the backstreets and alleyways, have you ever looked up to see what you are missing above?

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This is timely. Yesterday, I popped down to the harbour for a dentist appointment. A pleasant walk down the Kali Strata in the sunshine (it was warmer outside than it was in the house), taking some photos which I’ll share over the next few days, and off to the courier. Not to collect new teeth or anything, but to collect this new keyboard I am mistyping on. It will take me a while to get used to it, but at least I can see the letters. Anyway, off to the dentist for a clean. Last week was for a filling. Everything is back to normal now.

Then, this morning, I read in the paper about a new NHS dental practice opening in the UK, and hundreds of people, old and young, queuing up to register or get treatment, so many people that the police had to come and supervise the line, and many didn’t stand a chance of getting in. Sounds like things are in a dreadful state. Last evening, I was chatting to a friend in the yUK who had been quoted £10,000 for some work which here would cost €1,000. When I told her I paid €50 for a filling, her teeth nearly fell out in shock. So, my advice is, when you need something doing, pop over here and get it done during your holiday.

That’s that, and hopefully, I’ll be teeth-issue-free for a few more months, and I’ll go back for a clean and check in five. I celebrated my clean teeth by going to one of the hardware shops and buying the wrong kind of paint for our courtyard window (I can use it on the gate instead, as it’s metal paint), taking a taxi home, and plugging in my new keyboard. Later, my piano pupil presented me with a nearly complete piece of grade 4 music he’d started on only three lessons ago, so I was more than happy, and we took another look at Fur Elise, or Furry Fleas as it’s become known. That, too, is coming along very nicely, so nicely, we may even begin on the second, more complicated section in a week or so.

All that was topped off by a couple of hours at the model-making station with me wrestling with masts and booms, and across the table him putting together a sequential twin-turbo, flat-six, 2,849 cc engine. Very relaxing, especially with Neil pottering around the kitchen putting together a salad for tea. That was a stroke of foresight as Yiannis rang to invite us for a drink and as we hadn’t seen him for a while… At least we ate when we came home. So, quite a lot to fit into one day, including finishing off a draft chapter, feeding the stray cats, and half an hour playing ‘Sherlock’ on my tablet. Today, I fancy, may be less frenetic but no less ideal.

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We now have a transformed outside wall. I know. About as interesting as watching paint dry, which is kind of what this is. The bathroom, which is accessed from inside the house, is an extension into the courtyard, and for the last few years, the paint has been flaking off. The concrete was cracked, and the wall needed skimming and all those kinds of things beyond my ken, so we called in an expert. He worked on the two walls for two mornings and hey presto! Everything is gleaming white, sealed and safe again.

During the overnight pause, when the old was off and the new was waiting to go on, Neil was out there with his camera seeing faces in places that most of us don’t notice, and found a figure in the stripped and sanded wall, as only he can. I pointed out to sharp teeth and evil face (that I see) and he put it up on Facebook for anyone and everyone to comment on. Amazing how many people see many different things.

I’ll get you a view of the pristine white wall soon, but needless to say, it now makes the rest of the courtyard walls look dull in comparison, but they will have to wait for when we are working before repainting, as to paint involves buying things. What I do have for you though, is the same old view from the house. The shutters have been closed for a few days, to keep out drafts and chilly breezes, but they were open for a while at the weekend. As you can see, it remains calm and sunny, though around our north-facing house, the daytime temperature is struggling to get about 12 or 13, and it feels even colder inside.

Things to do today and this week: dentist again this morning, collect package from courier (new keyboard), piano lesson, maybe modelling after. I ordered Harry a new model last Monday and it was here by Friday. The joy of ordering from Athens rather than Amazon. Later in the week, we’ll be in Rhodes for a day, so there will probably be no blog on Friday. Other than that… I am 80k words into the next book and heading towards a thrilling last act.

Oh, on which note, if you fancy clicking the link at the end of this paragraph, or the image below, it will take you to a list of Historical novels (two by me) in a special promotion. They’re all on Kindle Unlimited, and you don’t have to buy anything, but the more clicks I get from my link, the higher ranking I get at a place called Book Funnel. It costs you nothing but looks good for me, that’s all. So if you fancy it click over to find some ideas for your next historical action, adventure and military history novels. Thank you!

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Yesterday, I had to visit the dentist, which is never a trauma, not here, not financially nor in any other way. The only downer about it was that it was cold, and my feet hurt by the time I got there. The treatment was quick and painless, and I’ve to go back on Monday for a general cleanup. That’s one thing.

Another was that I noticed what looked like a school class in one of the coffee shops. This isn’t an unusual sight, because, as I understand it from the god boys, the schools have to provide a certain number of day trips out per year. (Or something like that; don’t quote me, because January 30th is also the feast day of the three patron saints of education, and this was February 1st, so…) Because it’s not that easy to take a day trip off the island and be back in one school day (8 to 2 pm-ish), the classes have to make do with a day out on Symi. As you can imagine, for most, that’s like spending a morning down your local high street, or at the mall you usually go to on a Saturday anyway. But still, it’s a social thing, and I have seen students with clipboards carrying out surveys, visiting the castle and museum, and so forth.

On the way back up the Kali Strata – a feat that was performed at an impressive rate of knots I have to say, because the cold weather had necessitated the need for a bathroom not three minutes after setting off – I encountered a group of younger children coming down. Another day out perhaps, this time from the junior school, not the high school. A couple of the teachers and assistants said hello because we recognised each other, and that was followed by a few very polite ‘Good morning’ from some of the students. I replied in English because they had taken the trouble to identify me as such and use my language, and I also used theirs and replied in Greek for the same reason. How sweet and polite.

Of course, no time for photos, and it wouldn’t have felt appropriate to take any, so you’ve only got general shots today. I’ll try and get something of interest over the weekend. Right now, I am typing in fingerless gloves, and creating all manner of new words with my clumsiness. (‘Greek’ just came out at Geerl, as in, ‘Hey! You go geerl!’) I am also going fast because we have Laki coming to fix something in the kitchen and hopefully start on the outside bathroom wall which needs redoing, so, I have to go and move the kitchen around to give access, and do that kind of sensible householder thing. Have a good weekend. See you on Monday.

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