I have this friend in England who sends me daily ‘doom and gloom’ emails, usually about UK politics and the weather. I hear there has been some snow, freezing temperatures already, and other adverse weather things going on further north than here. The reactions to a little bad weather in Britain are becoming increasingly more ‘chicken laid an egg’ these days. You know, when there’s that surprised squawking sound and a flurry of feathers, followed by running around in circles in panic because a more or less daily event has just happened. I wonder if the trains have stopped running yet (wrong kind of wheels on the tracks), or if there have been ‘Possibility of Death’ alerts because there was a sighting of a light flurry in Godalming. I’m sure I read somewhere that old people are being sent alerts because of mild temperature drops, which to me sounds like a bit of a distraction. ‘Sorry you can’t afford to put your heating on, love, here, have a free warning that you can expect it to be cold. It’ll come on your smartphone. What? Don’t have a smartphone, love? Then you’re going to be right royally flummoxed when it comes to getting your invite for a free medical check that could save your life. Ah well, I’ll put you down for a ‘Distinct possibility of freezing to death’ alert by post… Oh, we’re not allowed to send letters anymore, love, too costly. Never mind, eh? You had a good innings, just vote Reform next time, and you’ll be reet.’

Which is all a long way of saying, it’s not too bad here right now. Still no heating on, just extra clothes and a blanket on the bed, overcast these past few days, but no rain as yet. I hope it stays that way for tomorrow because I have a day away. It’ll be one of those, ‘Popping over to Rhodes for an appointment that will take 30 minutes, followed by six or more hours of waiting for the boat back’ kind of days. I may do a little shopping for the Europ-trip (which you will hear more about as time goes on), but mostly, I will be having lunch with the godson and catching up on how college is going, I hope. So, no blog until Monday, possibly, if I have anything to witter about.

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We had a planning meeting last night. It involved us two, Jenine, hot dogs, a little wine, much web browsing and some decisions, but we got through it. We were, and will be for the next six weeks, planning for our alternative Christmas. You will no doubt hear much about it over the coming weeks. Instead of spending a fortune on staying home, we’ve been saving all year to spend the same amount while visiting six or seven European towns and cities over the Christmas period. We were hoping that both boys would come with us, but only one can make it. The other is already too far into grown-up-hood and has a job over the winter. (He had one over the summer that had him chained to a kitchen seemingly for 24 hours a day, then had a week off, and then started a winter job. Blimey.)

Anyway, that was just to keep you informed. And to say, for those who read the Clearwater and other mysteries, I hope to have another set of short stories out before Christmas. I’m working hard on them, which is why I am not here so much. Keep a lookout for ‘1893’, coming soon.

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If you were wondering why there was no blog yesterday, it was because I didn’t have anything to put up. Things are very quiet for us at this time of the year, there’s never much new to tell you, and looking at the same old photos day after day ain’t that thrilling. So, you may not get a post every day over the winter, but I’ll see how I go.

Today, I am typing more errors than usual on my typowriter, because of a tuna accident. I have a plaster or three over the end of a finger thanks to opening a can of tuna for a sandwich last night, and that’s about as thrilling as my news gets. Oh, I have just been invited to take part in a book promotion, a fayre or something, by at least three places. (I am still going through the mail.) The Manhattan Book Club would be thrilled to sponsor my book in their upcoming… ‘How much will that cost me? No thanks.’ Then, I have an email from ‘Tasha’ who is attempting the ‘I saw your book being talked about in a Facebook reader group, and it immediately drew me in’ way into my gullibility. You can knock, love, ‘What has it been like developing these characters?’ but you ain’t drawing me in. Then, there’s a turd. I mean, a third. There’s this organisation in the USA who are chasing up a previously non-sent, sent email, and repeating their offer of being ‘glad to provide more details and discuss how I can support you in positioning yourself for the right opportunities.’ This one was signed: Robyn D, Organizer, Queer Women and Non Binary Book Club and Stuff.

And stuff? How desperate are these AI manipulators in their attempts to fleece, and how stupid do they think we are, eh? Sheesh.

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A while ago, I had a to-do list of what I call admin things. The list included arranging a dentist visit, authorising a new bank card, talking to another bank about another card which was ready to authorise yet hadn’t arrived, ordering a book for someone else, and so on. Well, yesterday, I was finally able to sort out the card, the second one turned up at the post office, the appointments have been made, there’s no need to go to a bank or fret about a phone call, it’s all done, and I have a whole day at home to myself. Except, I forgot to collect something from someone last night so may have to pop out and pick that up, and I am still waiting for a chair, otherwise…..

A whole day at home to potter about without worrying about anything that needs to be done, except filling the buckets in case the soldier downstairs again does his washing on a Saturday, which uses about 200 litres from our 500-litre tank. (In case you missed the water business, we only have a small tank, and we can only fill it three times a week, when the mains is turned on, we can’t get that on permanently at the moment (still don’t understand why), and we’re waiting for the landlord to reinstate the sterna. Meanwhile, we sometimes have to ration water at the weekends. We do our showering and washing while the mains water is coming in, so when it stops, we still have a full tank.) Anyway…

Enough wittering on about nothing. There are things to write. Have a nice weekend.

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This being another slow news day, I have some old photos to share. I can’t remember what time of year they were taken, spring and summer, I reckon, but they’re something to look at. Meanwhile, there was an earthquake in Cyprus yesterday. We didn’t feel anything here, of course, but we are used to tremors as much as the next island. We’re not as used to the traffic police as some, however, and no-one will be surprised to learn that the police are currently cracking down on road tax avoidance, insurance and/or license dodging, and what can only be described as helmet evasion. Over on Crete, traffic authorities have recently confiscated 3,123 driver’s licenses, including 750 for using a mobile phone while driving. (I didn’t know driving licences knew how to use a phone, let alone drive.) This crackdown has reduced fatal accidents by 60% in Hania alone. So, that’s some good news, and now some photos.

Oh, before then, it’s worth pointing out that many drivers on the island, the young ones in particular, are all part of a WhatsApp group that monitors and shares police locations, so when they’re out looking, no-one’s on the road. I think these drivers might be missing the point – that the laws are there for their safety. Anyway, it’s not my head cracking against the rocks.

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