I last posted here on July 2nd 2021. That’s a pretty long lunch break even by Greek standards, so, I thought it was high teatime I started again, at least for the time being. There are reasons for restarting the blog, and this time, there are some rules. Or, if not rules exactly, then guidelines. First, the reasons.

Reasons

Two years ago, I was retired enough to be writing as a full-time job. I still am, but now I am a little more retired than I was before. As well as keeping this blog, I was also writing freelance, but of late, that freelance work has either ended or slowed down to such an extent it might as well have ended, and that means I currently have no income other than what I make from my books and a small pension that doesn’t quite pay the bills. Contrary to popular belief, just because your novel hits the top five in a tiny niche on an Amazon list doesn’t mean you’re able to live like those famous novelists of novels and films. Those cravat-wearing, South-of-France-living dandies who give dinner parties and have Vanessa Redgrave as their publisher. Quite the opposite in fact. These days, I even have to send my husband out to work so I can afford to live.

Therefore, the blog is back to serve my self-publicity. You can see a list of the four Symi books on the right, and there are links to my Amazon page where you can order oodles more words from my typo-writer. As I write this, I am working on my 41st full-length novel. (It’s actually 37 novels and the four Symi books.)

While you are there in the right-hand column, preparing to order Kindles or paperback or adding the books to your Kindle Unlimited, you will also notice a chap called Jackson Marsh. That’s also me; it’s the pen name I am currently writing under. As the blog continues, I shall be talking more about him, as he’s my best-selling persona, and the stuff he writes isn’t what you might think it is. I mean, it’s not all naughty nookie and all that icky stuff about people falling in love. Jackson is currently my full-time job, often getting me out of bed at 3.00 in the morning to work through until 10 or 11, and again for an hour or so in the afternoon, depending on the temperature. He also has a twice-a-week blog that I need to maintain, and if you want to explore and bookmark it, you can find it here: www.jacksonmarsh.com

Rules

For those who are new, and those who may not remember, here is what the blog is about.

First, what I am not. I am not a news agency, reporter, investigative journalist or gossip, so don’t expect anything sensible or scandalous, negative or nasty. Nor am I a travel agent, and thus, am unable to deal with random and accusatory emails such as, ‘I can’t believe there is no boat to Symi after my flight arrives! I must stay a night in Rhodes! Is there a boat I can take! What can I do!’ May I suggest, use fewer exclamation marks, and don’t take your lack of forward planning as my responsibility? Nor am I a trip advisor able or willing to recommend an apartment for a family of sixteen for one night on some obscure date a year next August. I don’t recommend restaurants. I am not an A to Z, a Kelly’s Directory, the Yellow Pages or Tourist Information.

I don’t get out and about much, so I’m not a roving cameraman who attends every church event, party, dance, concert, the opening of an envelope, and late night happening (late for me is 21.00). Similarly, I am not a typist, and as I have a kind of word blindness caused by bashing out between 4,000 and 6,000 words a day, you can expect many typos and odd speelings, becasue that’s how I am. I don’t have an editor, and as long as you now what I’m trying to say, who gaves a big rat’s arras?

What You Can Expect from the Symi Dream Blog

Random posts about random things. From one or two posts per month back in the sepia days of 2005 (I think it was when I started this), I was up to six or seven posts per week before I took time off. From now on… We’ll have to wait and see. It depends on what mood I am in when I wake up, what the time is, how much I have on that day, and whether I’ve got anything to say. Even if I haven’t, I might say something. It’s like the sign Michaelis used to have on the door of the Meltemi bar; if I’m here, I’m in, but if I am not I am probably somewhere else… Something like that.

It’s just me. This is simply a platform for me to get random thoughts out of my head in the early morning, to post some pics of the island and what I see, to talk about everything and anything, and to publicise my work and jolly up some support for it. Don’t expect an in-depth analysis of Symi politics, life, and traditions; even I’m not pretentious enough to suppose I am capable of that.

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Wittering off

Yesterday’s short blog post was titled ‘wittering on’, and today’s, appropriately enough is ‘wittering off.’ That’s because I’ve decided not to keep this blog up to date so much from now on if I update it at all. There are several reasons for this, and the list is below. Mainly, I’ve been doing this since more or less every day 2005 in one form or another, and it was set up originally to promote the Symi Dream business. We’ve not had that since 2015 (or was it 16?) and since then, all I’ve been doing is wittering on and off about all manner of nonsense just for the sake of keeping the blog running. These days, things are different for me, and my time is spent, as you know, writing books in order to make a living. Writing a post here five times a week has become a distraction, and it doesn’t actually help me sell any books, so… As they say in USA TV-Land, ‘you do the math.’

I may make announcements here now and then and post them to the Facebook page, but if you want to follow life on Symi, then I highly recommend Adriana’s blog, and a search on Facebook for groups and pages with Symi in the title. There are loads of them with proper news and updates, information and useful things, plus regular images. These pages will stay up so you can look back through posts and photos, and the email address will stay active for a while at least, and I’ll be over on Facebook if you want me (inserts smiley wink). So, thanks for following all these years, and I’ll leave you with some of Neil’s photos, beneath which is a brainstorm list of my reasons for pulling back the reins on the blog.

If you want to know the reasons, I’m stopping this hobby after 16 years, here we go: Not much to talk about apart from what I am writing and the weather. Not many new or interesting photos to share, just snaps for the sake of it. I feel I have to take photos when I’m out and about. I’m constantly having to think of something to write. It takes from 20 to 40 minutes of my day to sort out, download pics and put up posts. I’m only giving rambling chit chat for the sake of it, and not much news about the island. These days, it’s not as easy to share the posts around social media; Facebook requires me to switch accounts, add a link and so on, whereas before, I could click a button on the post and it would be shared directly to the FB page. Now, it’s a pain I can do without. Then there are the enquiries that come in as if I were a travel agent, and other enquiries about the island asked as though I were an expert. I’ve started doing a BSL course, and I’d rather spend 30 minutes on that per day. I’m trying to make a living by writing books, and the fewer distractions I have the better. Oh, and I don’t get paid though it costs me money to host the blog. I could list other reasons, but mainly, the time has come to let it go.

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Wittering on

Happy first of the month to you. Had rather a successful day in Yialos on Tuesday, collecting post and pottering about, having lunch at Meraklis, and later catching a cab back to the village in time for Neil to start work. I’m not saying it was hot, but…

It was pretty warm. It was also pretty quiet to start with but later, after the day boats arrived, things became busier, so hopefully, some shops did some business. And talking of business, I have to go and do some in Rhodes on Friday. Luckily we have plenty of boats and crossings to choose from, and there’s one back in the afternoon which isn’t too late, and which will suit me just fine.

I need to go back the following week too, to pick up my biometric card, a process which, for some people, has meat a two-hour wait on a staircase, and in this heat. This process has been relatively easy for most of us. Just imagine what it is like for refugees who, apart from anything else, don’t speak Greek and are not used to the way things work around here—two offices to visit, maybe more, 101 pieces of paper, forms to fill out, waiting, fingerprinting, no appointments so more waiting, being turned away when the office shuts, and ‘Come back tomorrow…’ Looking forward to that visit next week, not. Except I am, because once it’s done or once we’re turned away if we can’t get in to pick up a card (how long does that take?), then I’m off to find an 18^th birthday present for our godson, so I shall be shopping with a purpose.

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