Had one of those mornings yesterday, not helped by it being Yiannis’ birthday the day before, and he slipping in another full glass every time you thought you were able to go home. But that’s another story, and one I don’t remember much about. Anyway… Neil had shared some more photos on OneDrive, and I was going to show them off today. However, when I went to the shared folders section of our cloud storage and tried to download them, I only got the folder and not its content. Odd. I checked my own photos and couldn’t download them either. Checked the disk space, fine, checked various settings, fine, and went through a whole raft of things put up online by some techie person who knows about these things… and nothing. Folders, not contents.
So, I went to OneDrive help and, of course, my question wasn’t covered in its list of FAQ, so I wrote it in the ‘other’ box or ‘ask the bot’ or whatever it’s called. The automated message came back, ‘please enter your error code.’ I replied, ‘there is no error code, just empty folders.’ The message came back, ‘please enter your error code,’ I replied, ‘There is no error code.’ The message came back, ‘please enter your error code,’ and I shan’t print what I wrote next.
So, today folks, and until I can figure out why I am unable to download from OneDrive, you will have to make do with some more random shots from the existing files. Btw, I had recently had a Firefox update, and that’s the only reason I can think of for the appearance of this overnight problem, so I will investigate that when my headache has calmed down.
I was just browsing through my photos folder and thought I’d post some random shots from the collection. These are just my ‘happy snappy’ efforts taken in idle moments while wandering aimlessly about. If you want to see top-class photos, you need to check Neil’s images on Facebook. We used to share more to our Symi Dream page there, but since Facebook has introduced a new page/profile system, it’s no longer easy to cross-post. I mean, if Neil added some photos, I used to be able to ‘share to your page’ in two clicks, ditto if I saw something from a page I belong to as me, which would help that page and mine if I shared it. Now, working on the laptop, you can’t just click and share; you have to save that URL, go into your page profile and make a new post. I can’t auto-share from the blog to FB either, and if I try and share a personal post to any of my pages when using my phone… Well, forget it. I don’t know why they’ve done this, but I assume it will have something to do with them making money and to be honest, it puts me off even having a page on FB.
Anyway, that’s why you may not see so much shared content on the Symi Dream page anymore. I have, of course, written a strongly worded letter to The Times (and Facebook) about this, but, also, of course, it will make no difference at all. Moan over with, here are some random shots from my recent aimless wanderings.
Village square at nightWaiting to be jabbedFrom up in the village.A cruise ship in Rhodes.Upper village.Earlier this year.Morning on the way to Pedi.Yialos last week.
We get it from time to time. I mean the Symi wind, and we had it for three or four night’s running at the end of last week and over the weekend. The days were a little blustery, but the wind turned to force five, rising seven from the northwest and west in the late afternoon. That caused the shutters on that side of the house to panic a little, and we ended up with most of them closed. It was warm enough until after dark, and even then, not cold, but it’s blown the vine about a bit, and the bougainvillea petals now adorn the corridor inside the house like bridal confetti. As soon as you sweep them up, more blow in because now it’s warmer, the door is open.
By Sunday morning, however, there was no wind, and we had a glorious sunrise.
While out a wanderin’, I often come across an amusing oddity, and I’m not talking about any one person in particular. I am talking about things found by the side of the road. A glove, a solitary boot, an empty medicine vial on one occasion, and today, some polka dots on a plastic… something. I have made it my mission to now photograph these distractions and post them when I find them. So, today, I bring you a green polka dot jug in a tree.
As you know, I live most of my life in another world writing stories. At the moment, and for a year or two now, I have been living in the past, 1888 and 1889, to be precise. Recently, I have been in 1890, and for my current work in progress, I am investigating the Hackney Workhouse as it was around that time. I’ve found some very useful online resources, but not yet a physical book about workhouse conditions and experiences from the late 1880s, so if anyone knows of one, please do let me know. On Saturday, I was checking out an old plan of the place and realised I have actually been inside it. Not as it was then, but as it was 100 years later in the 1990s when I lived in Hackney. Part of it became the Hackney Hospital (where Marc Bolan and Ray Winstone were born) in Homerton High Street. So, it was interesting to see the map of how it used to be.
Another interesting picture that popped up over the weekend (below) shows the house I lived in in my later teenage years. This is in New Romney and was once a large, grand dwelling. It’s still an impressive building though divided into flats. We had the top floor in the roof. The large window on the left was the kitchen, the turret was part of the sitting room where my piano used to sit in the large bay window, and the bedrooms were at the back. I am not sure when this photo was taken, but since then, there has been an extension on either side, and the ‘hat’ on the turret has been changed and isn’t as pointed.
On that note, I’ll leave you to start your week and return to 1890.
It’s all go this weekend. Neil has started work back at the Rainbow Bar, so that’s put us back into the regular summer routine, and let’s hope it continues and we don’t get locked down again. It would help enormously if visitors would wear their masks as they are required to do by law, but when many locals don’t, and the authorities don’t seem bothered, what chance do we have? Anyway…
My desk is busy with arranging the publication of my next Victorian Mystery, ‘The Clearwater Inheritance.’ This is book ten in a series and paves the way for a follow-on series which I have already started writing. I have the covers, and over the weekend, I am arranging the layout, so the book should be ready to upload to Amazon early next week.
If you’ve ever wondered what it is like to be married to a writer, you might want to check out this blog post. http://jacksonmarsh.com/i-married-an-author/
In it, Neil tells all. It’s a fun read and quite sweet too. There will be another post on that same blog on Saturday, this time, about book covers.
And while that’s going on, we’re also arranging the images for next year’s Symi Dream calendar. As you can see over there >> we have this year’s still on sale for anyone who wants to collect the images, and as soon as next year’s is ready, I’ll change the link and details. The 2022 calendar features images from all over the island taken when Neil was out walking to far-flung places, so as well as Yialos, Pedi and the ‘usual’ places, there are some gorgeous views you might not have seen.
Work, books, calendars… What else is happening? I heard we’re getting an additional Blue Star ferry from next week – on a Tuesday – which will be very helpful, and I also heard the Patmos is being replaced by a couple of other boats for a while at least. The Sebeco continues to run daily, and we have the Stavros ferry which, apparently, is so subsidised, it’s free from Symi to Rhodes and back. (Correct me if that’s wrong.) The Poseidon is doing its ‘around the island’ trips three times per week, everything (more or less) is open, and some beaches are overcrowded with sunbeds, though most are currently empty.
To end the week
The other day, I was walking up the hillside when I found a chicken crossing the road, and I wondered why it did that. Later, I bumped into the Partridge family climbing over rocky mountains and tried to get some snaps. If you can find them in these photos, go to the top of the class. There are a couple more snaps for you, and I’ll see you next week.
After the fingerprinting was done, I had plenty of time before my next appointment, so we wandered around a little while, window shopping and bumping up the step-counter on my phone. I think we’d already walked four miles by then, and we were to manage 10 by the end of the day. A walk along the seafront showed hundreds of sunbeds, mostly empty at that time of day, with a good few meters between each umbrella and people already at work waiting for custom. As the morning went on, the streets became busier, but still not as busy as they would have been in ‘normal’ times. Later, there was time for shopping, and I needed new shorts and shirts, because last year, I didn’t bother as there was nowhere to go apart from the Rainbow Bar (which opened yesterday, btw). So, my personal shopper took me hunting in various clothes shops.
There was no need to book an appointment as you had to do a few weeks ago, but masks are compulsory, and every shop had hand-san all over the place. Some also had a card system so they could monitor how many were in the shop at one time, and H&M had a rather hunky security guard on the door who refused to frisk me. Shopping as a man is easy. You go in, see something you need, say ‘That’ll do’, pay and leave. The checkout lady at M&S once said to me, ‘You men are so fast,’ because I’d gone in, gone upstairs, found what I came for and was down again within five minutes. She seemed quite grateful or impressed. No idea why.
In the Old Town later
I had my optician’s appointment at 11.00, but I was early, and it was hot outside, so I thought I’d wait inside Optical House, where Mr Loukaidis gave me a coffee while he got himself ready. Full check-up, update on my vision, frames chosen, and all done and dusted in a friendly and professional atmosphere, and where, each time I go, I feel like I am being treated as a member of the family. Glasses will be delivered (for free) to Symi via courier as soon as they are ready. Perfect. And on to lunch…
Trying to get the menu to work. I ended up with the old-fashioned printed version.
As you might see, I didn’t take photos of everything, but we had lunch at Koukos, a guesthouse/café/bar in the pedestrian street, sitting outside enjoying the shade before going our separate ways for the afternoon. Jenine had an appointment elsewhere, and I just wandered gradually back to the harbour. By then, I was walking like a cowboy recently off his horse, suffering from what my nephew calls ‘chaffage’, but as long as I stopped now and then, I was fine. I took a pit stop at Nimmos, just inside Akandia gate, where Aris from Symi and his son run a traditional taverna. Odd to be served by a chap who was three when I first met him and who is now a six-foot, strapping man with fluent English, and we had a good catch-up. After that… More walking, a trip to Pappou where I scoured the shelves and finally found four packets of Typhoo tea (that’ll do for the next couple of weeks), before heading to New Mouragio, the taverna on the corner by the harbour gates. There, I asked for a glass of wine and turned down the offer of something to eat. The waitress was horrified that I was drinking wine in the afternoon without food (I was still full from lunch), and so I ended up with a massive free plate of mezethes and, for some reason, half a litre of white. Luckily, Jenine returned and helped with both. It’s only a five-minute walk to the boat from there, if that, so there was no stress when it came time to head home.
When you ask for a small glass of wine in Greece.
There will be more from me tomorrow, but I have no idea what that will be.
