Symi Saturday Photos

I’ve delved into my ‘old’ folder for photos today as I found some from this time last year. They’re not very exciting, as you can see. Symi can be a quiet place in the winter, with people staying indoors out of the weather (which is currently as warm as a British June), or going away to visit family for Christmas, or going away to work a second job. It’s busier at certain times.

For example, after a music practice yesterday, we sat at Lefteris’ Kafeneion for a beer on the way home, making the most of the sunshine. This was around the time school was finishing for the day, midday, one o’clock, that kind of time. The schoolchildren come past at that time of day, parents pass as they go to collect them, the teenagers hurry past in groups on their way to their Xbox games, homework and private lessons as a lot of children have to take private lessons to secure them through the exams. What’s nice about this time of day is the way you are greeted and said hello to, in a polite and pleasant way. The rush dies down and, apart from the stalwart footballers in the square, things soon quieten down.

Not sure what the point of that was, and it has nothing to do with the photos, which are all bit bland if you ask me, but it might give you a small idea of what December is like over here. And, talking of politeness… We were at home during the week, as we are most of the time, when someone started work on the apartment below us, Some kind of building work was going on that involved a pretty hefty drill going into the walls. I think the landlord was having an aircon unit installed. We were going about our usual business when the doorbell rang, and a man stood there. He greeted Neil, who answered the door, and Neil replied in Greek. The chap then spoke English, saying, ‘Sorry, I didn’t realise anyone lived upstairs. Am I being noisy?’ Neil said, ‘Yes, but it’s okay.’ The workman was very apologetic and said he wouldn’t be long. He’d known we were upstairs because he’d heard our footsteps overhead – our floorboards are also the downstairs ceiling. How he’d heard us walking about over the sound of the drill is anyone’s guess, but still, a very decent thing to do, I thought. Seems like the work has stopped now and we’re left with only the sound of the drill that’s breaking up the stone or path one tier up from us. Not intrusive for us (you get used to hearing building work around the island, there’s always something going on), I’m just glad we don’t live in the house directly next to where the drill is being used, it’s been going on for days.

Anyway, more ramble than you usually get on a Saturday. I’m off for the weekend now, so you have a good one and remember, it’s not too late for Symi books and calendars to be delivered in time for next weekend. Wink, wink. The links are in the righthand column.

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Symi In The Pink

Not sure what that title means, but we did have a very pink sunrise yesterday – here are the photos to prove it. Window shots again but I was hurrying to get my work done before heading out to practice some carols. Which is why this post is mainly just a few images taken from up here in the village yesterday morning as the sun came up.

I hope you enjoy them, and I hope to have more words for your tomorrow.

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This Christmas

I haven’t done this for a while. Transposing music. Winter Wonderland from Eb to C, it’s only down a minor third, so should only take me back to grade five or something. Should be able to manage that before lunch. Then I have to tackle Wenceslas, jingling bells and a little donkey, which shouldn’t take me too long. This is in preparation for the carol singing next week – to which you are invited if you are on Symi or can get here by then. 5pm at Lefteris’ kafeneion on Friday 22^nd. Any and all funds raised will go to the Rhodes orphanage.

And talking of fundraising (again), you may remember that the Symi football field was destroyed in the storm on November 13^th. There’s now a campaign to raise money to save it, thereby returning one of the most-used sports facilities on the island to its previous, or better, condition. If you are feeling generous – and I know so many have given so much to help the island since that terrible night – then you can find all the details at the Go Fund Me campaign page here, and/or their Facebook page. They will match-fund the money raised at $10,000. Let’s hope there’s good news before Christmas.

And talking of that… Tree done, presents wrapped, lists made and now only some deep and even snow to transpose down, and we’re nearly there.

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One Afternoon in Late Spring

Window shots today, the photos, which is why one of them is a bit blurred. Not that the windows need cleaning or anything… As you can see: blue skies, calm sea and a boat chugging out of the harbour. It’s currently 16 degrees outside in the shade and, up on the roof, it’s like a day in late spring.

That was an expression that always baffled me when doing am-dram years ago. All these (cheap to rent) plays were set in drawing rooms, ‘one afternoon in late spring.’ In fact, I think that might have been one of the stage directions in ‘The Real Inspector Hound’, by Tom Stoppard. I may have got that wrong, I’ve not read it for a long time. Anyway, that was just an aside in a post which is itself really as aside, as there’s not a lot to tell you. Except…

The fund-raising carol singing event this year will be held at Lefteris’ Kafeneion on 22^nd December at 5pm. That’s the last I heard. I’ve offered my piano playing if it will help, though the poor old piano may not be making an appearance; it’s too unpredictable to be worth dragging even the short distance only to find it’s not working. But we will manage. The money raised, like last year, will be going to the Rhodes orphanage and everyone is welcome to come along, listen to the music and sing along if you want to. It was a great event last year, fun and also moving, and I think I might still have one photo left hanging around, let me look…

Ah yes. That was taken after the carols during young George’s rock set – very talented young man on his guitar. His audience is clearly appreciating his augmented fourths. I’ll leave you with that and turn my attention to herald angels and away managers, good kings and three ships and all that, and may see if I can slip some practice in between now and sunbathing up on the roof. (Not.)

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Weather, Shakespeare, Handy DVD

Clear skies, 13 degrees at 6.30 in the morning, we’re doing well here. Sorry if you’re stuck in snow and having power-outs where you are. The yUK never seems to get the hang of its own famous weather. There’s always the wrong kind of snow or leaves or even the wrong kind of trains on the line, so the railways fail. There’s always a problem with gritting lorries being stuck in the garage because the roads haven’t been gritted, and no-one seems prepared to deal with snow when it comes, even though you get snow there every year. I don’t know. At least here on Symi, we don’t very often have to worry about snow and ice, though it has been known in the mountains and lower down on rare occasions.

Don’t know where that came from. I was going to tell you about a bit of Shakespeare. If you have anyone at school studying ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ then you might want to get hold of a new version of it on DVD. You may have already seen it. We saw it the other day, and it struck me that if we had adaptations like this when I was at school, I’d have understood what was going, and also probably managed higher marks in my exam. Mind you, we were studying Henry IV Part Two, so it probably wouldn’t have helped to know about where the wild thyme grows and all that fairy stuff, but you know what I mean.

Apart from the cast (including Maxine Peake and Matt Lucas) it’s a good adaptation and makes the story make sense, while still in the original language of the play. Not all of it, there have been cuts, but still… Anyway, I just thought it might be a good tip if anyone is ‘doing’ Shakespeare at school and this one in particular. Here’s a link: A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Which has nothing to do with anything here on Symi except we are approaching a midwinter’s night, I guess. Clearly, there’s no other great news to tell you from up here in the village where I tend to only see the computer, the keyboard, the sea from the window and occasionally the TV in the Rainbow bar, and not much else at the moment. (Writing deadlines.) So, I’ll leave you wondering what the point of this post was (clue: there wasn’t one) and let you head off into the rest of your day.

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