Warm, Bills, Cards

So what’s new? Well, not a lot. As you can see from the photo, the amphitheatre in the harbour is coming along. I’m not sure how long it’s been like this, as I’ve not seen it for a while, but this is how it looked the other day.

Yesterday, I woke up around 3.30 to find the temperature in the courtyard was at 14 degrees. I was able to pull back the curtain in my office and open the shutters, ready to see some daylight later in the morning, and I didn’t need to put on the heating. Hopefully, we’re saving a heap on electricity bills this winter. On which note, I have now applied twice to have the bill put into my name. You can do this online now, and the process was simple. I was told I’d hear back in two days, but didn’t, so left it a week, and asked what was happening. I had another email saying I would hear back in two days and didn’t, so sent a third email after two weeks, and still didn’t hear anything. So, on Monday, I had another go through the website, uploaded the required docs and info, pressed the buttons and found myself at a different place than before. Hm, interesting… Anyway, I continued down that route, everything was accepted, and I had an email saying I would hear in two days. We shall see.

On the biometric front – the cards we have to have to replace our residency permits now we are third-country nationals, not EU citizens – I have read some people saying they had to make three trips to the police station to sort their admin. This, for people who have to travel from one island to another and maybe stay overnight because of transport links, is obviously going to be a pain in the backside, not to mention costly and potentially dangerous. I also read, though, that for us on Symi, we will only have to make two trips. As I’ve not heard anyone’s first-hand experience yet and this is all conjecture, I can’t say for certain. I know, though, that the office in Rhodes has now fully booked all its appointments to the end of May. If you’ve still not got an appointment, from June 1^st, you’ll have to take potluck by turning up and joining whatever queue there may be that day. Luckily, we’re in before the end of April.

So, that’s my early morning ‘off the top of my head’ chat. I am now returning to edit chapter five of 23 with the whole book needing to be done by 14^th. It’s a slow process involving a lot of thought and cutting, but it pays off in the end.

Share on Facebook

Arty

I don’t have much news for you today unless you really want to know that I’m now on my second round of trying to change our electricity bill into my name online, I’m searching around for a new home printer, and a stray cat sprayed in our porch this morning, none of which is earth-shattering news. Thus, instead of a ramble about nothing, here are some of Neil’s recent arty shots to keep you in touch with Symi.

Share on Facebook

Biometric thoughts

Monday wasn’t a day for a walk, at least not early in the morning when the sky was gunmetal grey, and the wind was whipping the house from all sides. The forecast showed 7 and 8 Bf from the south-east, so at least it wasn’t biting cold, but the roof tiles where whistling, and the shutters rattled. The rest of the week looks calmer and colder, so I might get out onto the hillside to do some wandering and wondering.

The ‘buzz’ in the British immigrant world right now is all about biometric permits, and I’ve been reading posts on various fora (forums) with interest. A couple of things have stood out for me. One is how people living in different areas have had different experiences. Some, for example, have not been asked for the paperwork that others have. Some people have been refused help at KEP (like the CAB) because they don’t have a biometric card yet while seeking advice on how to get one. That’s actually against the rules, and they are being advised to report such breaches to the embassy in Athens. Others have said their cards came in two days, others, four weeks. Some people have only been able to make an appointment for the end of June, which is the cut-off date, while others are seen to the following week. It depends on where you are, I guess, and how busy your local office is. We have ours booked for late April, the earliest date we could get in Rhodes.

Another issue that concerns me is people seeking out the cheapest possible health insurance to have the minimum cover required when applying for their card. These are people like me who don’t fit into the IKA system, the national health service if you like. They live in Greece, and yet don’t have health cover, and many of them are in their late 50s and early 60s, so not covered by any existing reciprocal agreement for pensioners. What worries me is that these folks aren’t covered and haven’t been for some time and some are only thinking about it now they have to. What were they going to do if they were suddenly taken seriously ill? Jet off ‘home’ I guess, but here is home, and as I am not covered by IKA any longer, I have to struggle to pay for private insurance. While I am about it, I get the best, most comprehensive cover I can, just in case. It’s the ‘condom theory.’ I’d rather have one and not need it than need one and not have it. I suspect some of these people going for their residency cards are trying to slip through the net and get the best of both worlds: A home in both countries and the right to live in either for as long as they want, just as we could pre-Brexit. Now, if you’re resident in Greece, you’re resident in Greece. If you’re not paying tax here, you’re paying it there, thus not eligible to be resident here (with some exceptions, I believe). You can’t have the best of both, and come and go to your holiday home for as long as you want like you could do before. Whatever, when, as I read yesterday, someone needs an emergency operation and to go private costs €15,000, there’s no point relying on tourists’ insurance as some try to do, nor on your cheap, basic cover from the supermarket chain or bank. Do it properly and stop trying to cheat the system, I say, for what my thoughts are worth.

Amway… Back to the drafting of the next novel, battening down the hatches, and saving the pennies for my health insurance.

Share on Facebook

February. Kalo Mina and all that

Happy first of the month to you. How quickly the days go by when there’s not much going on. They become a round of routine, even at weekends. We try and mark weekends with something special like a roast dinner just to remind us that it’s a Sunday. Otherwise, every day is the same as the last. If it weren’t for three video chats on certain days each week and the changing weather, every day would be identical.

Still, not complaining because I enjoy my daily routine of wake, read news, write blog, try and scrape some work online, write a chapter – stopping now and then for breakfast later in the morning – an hour’s walk from time to time, necessary housework, and later, some TV or model making, reading or piano practice and maybe a video chat before settling in for a film before bed. Sleep, and repeat. The weather does break things up slightly. Saturday was a mix of thunder, rain and high winds, the day before didn’t know what it was doing, but so far today, it looks like it’s going to be clear and cold.

Clear and cold means having the heating on for most of the day, and blankets over the knees when on the sofa, maybe fingerless gloves when in the office. It’s not been that cold this winter so far, not for long periods of time, so the gloves have only been on once or twice. The bedroom heater is occasionally left on overnight, by accident, and that makes for a rare treat; waking up warm. It’s also put in the bathroom now and then to take off the icy chill before having a shower (turned off during it for safety). The bathroom’s not gone as black as usual, so far, with only a few spots of condensation mould, so that’s good news. Other good news is that the rooves haven’t leaked because they were filled and painted in time for the first major winter rains.

Of course, all that can change in February, which I always think of as the darkest month, for some reason. During it, I intend to release another book, another mystery adventure and this time, set at the start of the influenza pandemic of 1889, which ran for a couple of years before fading and then coming back again later. That release will hopefully happen at the end of the month, I’ve still a way to go, but writing it is part of my routine, and it’s what I will get on with now. Have a good day, a good week, a good month, a good… well, good everything.

Share on Facebook

A few village photos

Out and about a little yesterday, through deserted lanes, up the steps to the top road, along and then up another couple of levels until I’d done a mile. Then, a leisurely walk back down the road and into the village, passing a couple of people walking their dogs, through the main village lane to the square and home. Then, back to the editing, making lunch and welcoming the husband home from his longer walk. An episode of Australian MasterChef while having lunch, and then to the kitchen. Me, to start on an old Wolfman model kit I’ve had a while, and fruit and nut cake baking for Neil. After that, to the sofa for the last episode of the Russian series ‘To The Lake’ (very good), and then a James Bond film. We’re working our way through them all in order, and we’re up to Moonraker.

That’s pretty much how our days are going at the moment, with the occasional interruption for shopping when needed. Today, after this blog, it’s a bit of work, editing a couple of chapters, looking for a suitable book cover image and contacting my designer, cooking, and later, the next bond film. So, here are some photos from yesterday to see you through the weekend.

Share on Facebook