Symi Film Festival 16^th to 20^th September

The Symi Film Festival starts on Monday with a selection of short and feature films from around the world, Greece, South Korea, France, USA, Italy, Jordan, Spain, Germany, Chile and Iran are included, making it truly international.

Films will be presented at the open-air cinema at the sports centre in Horio, all showings start at 20:00 (8 pm), and entrance is free. The sports centre is just up the main road from the bus stop in Horio, you can’t miss it, but there are programmes available in various outlets that also contain a map.

As for me, I’m going to be off for a while from today. Tomorrow night I’m going up to Athens for a few days, arriving back early next Wednesday morning. I have a few things to do before then, so won’t be online tomorrow, but all being well, will be with you again towards the end of next week. Before I go, though, I thought you might like to know that the island is buzzing, everywhere seems lively and full, busy and doing well, as September is a popular month for visitors. It was very busy in the square last night and in the tavernas, which sounds to me like good news for everyone. I’m off now, back soon.

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Late night or early morning

I managed to get back to my usual routine yesterday, but it’s already gone out of the window. Yesterday: up early, a couple of hours of work before sunrise, out at 6.15 for a walk up the hill (favourite image, a goat in a tree), back down again and full of energy, chopped down some new growth of fig tree at the front of the house. We had the thing poisoned last year as it broke our sterna with its roots, but some new parts are coming back. As I was doing it, a neighbour came out and said he’d just poisoned the leaves, so no need to cut the branches. I’d just done it all, intending to do a proper job after the summer where you drill holes in the branches and put the poison in that way, but he does it by spraying the leaves. Turns out it had also damaged his sterna and the one under the house in front of us, so he will see to the rest of its demise. Good news for us.

After that, I was able to get back to this book I am trying to write. It’s not been an easy one and has been very off-and-on what with heat, visitors, the summer generally and not having a clear idea what the thing is about. I am now three chapters from the end of a very dodgy first draft and need to get it out of my head so I can leave it alone and see it in a clear light, starting again in October. That done, lunch done, piano playing for an hour, some socialising and an early night.

Today: awake at 1.00 a.m. and I didn’t want to be. Mosquitoes, mainly. Sat on balcony to enjoy the hits from the 70s and 80s from the harbour and read the news which becomes every more disturbing day by day, before hitting the keyboard for as long as I can before I go back to sleep on the sofa – if I can, and if the cicada right outside the house will let me. Unlikely I will feel up to my walk later, so there goes my routine, but you never know. So, I’ll be off to start the day now, or finish the night, whichever it is.

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The weekend continued

The weekend continued, so Monday was a quiet day at home. Say no more.

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Weekend

(It’s Sunday morning…) It’s been a fairly typical weekend so far. Husband’s birthday, anniversary, dinner with the godboys and their dad, wrote a chapter, edited a chapter, didn’t save the edits, rewrote chapter and chased a snake out of the courtyard… You know how it is.

It’s colder this morning, suddenly down to 26 degrees after a couple of months of over 30 or over 36 on some occasions, so it’s back to wearing t-shirts. It was plenty warm enough on Saturday night when we went downtown to have dinner. After a drink at Alegrito we toddled off to Meraklis to find it full so doubled back to Trata and enjoyed a mezethe meal and a good chat. After, we waited a couple of minutes for a taxi, and when Yiannis pulled in, we asked another couple who had arrived after us where they were going in case we could share. I could have sworn they said ‘Lindos’, which was perhaps somewhat ambition of them. We told Yiannis this when we got in the car, and he jumped out to check. Turns out they were heading to Nuatilos, so were able to share, which was good news all round.

The village square is busying up again as more northern European visitors come to stay. Friends old and new arriving at the Rainbow to meet up in the later afternoon is always nice, but far too tempting to stay and chat and have ‘just one more for the steps.’ I will rein it in after today so I can debloat in time for Athens on Saturday. Well, the journey starts on Friday with the evening boat up to Piraeus. I booked the cabin months ago and just as well, they have sold out now apart from one or two ‘luxury double beds’ (which I assume come with cabins). Looking forward to that, but it will mean no blog for a few days after next weekend. There, advanced warning. And here’s another one; we are back in Yialos tonight, Sunday, for our anniversary meal… Oh, by the time you read this it would have happened, so that was a retrospective warning. Anyway, enough chatter. That was my weekend, so far.

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Saturday photos

A few photos from the summer. Have a good weekend.

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