A post about post

Morning! Just a quick post today. I was rather uninspired on Sunday, so didn’t get around to writing anything in advance. In fact, I had a whole day off; no work of any sort, just some online shopping and some pottering around at home. Talking of shopping…

The other day I sent a package to the UK; some old camera equipment for one of our nephews. I packaged everything up and wrapped it well, put the pieces (camera, lenses etc.) into an old camera bag and into an old water box. Found some brown paper, covered the box and wrote the addresses to and from, and then wondered how much it would cost to post. I took it to the post office where it was weighed, 4.2 kilos, and was told how much it would be to send it ‘snail mail’. €35.00 approx. And off it went. That was on the Friday morning.

It arrived in the UK, at its destination, on the Wednesday morning, which I thought was pretty good going, particularly as it wasn’t going with a courier. This is unlike a hard drive with a film on it that a friend of mine sent as an entry to the Cape Town Film Festival the other week. This was sent by post, from the UK, and the post office told him it would take three to four days as some kind of priority mail. What they didn’t say was that South Africa was having a huge problem with the post and there was a month’s worth of backlog. This meant the file had still not arrived with two days to go before the film was due to be shown. My friend got onto the post office and, somehow, the CEO of… whatever it’s called. A couple of emails later and the package was found (in the backlog, in Cape Town), and finally delivered just in time. I think the fact that he got a national South Africa newspaper interested in the story over there helped.

Anyway… Random postal thought on a Monday morning, early, so not fascinating news, but good news. The Greek/British postal service did me proud without me having to get the press on board.

Saturday Photos

As usual for a weekend, here are a few random photos to keep you going. These are drawn from my files and were all taken this year. It’s very random today. Have a good weekend.

Symi Light

That’s Symi Light, not Lite as in sugar-free and chemical-packed. I was trying to get some shots of the changing early morning light as seen from the house and came up with a few photos, shown here today.

I was out on the balcony at six in the morning when it was still dark and could see the stars. I’ve still not worked out how to get good night sky images, so maybe that’s a project for the winter. Later, the sun came up over the Pedi hills, as seen through the cables and poles. As the dawn continues, the light changes and casts on different places which, after sunrise, fall into their usual colour scheme and lighting pattern.

At certain times of the day, you can see things in the rocks… Did you know that if you stand on St Nicholas beach at the right time of day and year, you can see a sleeping dragon? The headland opposite, around to Agia Marina, ends with a dragon’s snout in the water. If you use your imagination, you can see a closed eye and the top of its head, all the way back to a humped body and closed wings. Honest. I have seen it, and I had not even been on the ouzo at the time.

And, if you are in Nimborio at a certain time of day (evening is best) you can see a sleeping Titan on Nimos. You can, again with some imagination, make him out from across the bay in Horio. See the image below and look for his chin, which extends just beyond the left of the frame. To the right of it you can make out a closed mouth and a nose, and one closed eye above the water; the rest of his face is under the sea, so maybe this is Poseidon having a kip. He has a parting in his hair, and he is moulded into the rocks behind him. Again, no ouzo involved, just a bit of imagination.

Anyway, that’s what I was doing yesterday morning before going to work.

That Cold North Wind

On Monday I was reminded of a song by Chris De Burgh, ‘Lonely Sky’, and its opening lines: ‘That cold north wind they call “La Bise” is swirling round about my knees…” I’m not sure if there is a name in Greek for the cold north wind that was swirling around about not just my knees on Monday, but it’s gone now.

I was just sitting on the balcony (Wednesday) watching the Blue Star come in, and later the Dodecanese Express, and marvelled at how warm it was now that the wind had dropped. Maybe we are in for a warmer autumn that first expected. I did look back on some notes and posts from years before, and a few years ago we were playing at an outdoor gig at Mandeios -Mike, Susan and I. That night I was wearing two jumpers, a coat and a pair of gloves. (And trousers, of course.) It was freezing, and that was October 10^th. On other days around this time we were deluged, and four years ago on 11^th October, we started filming ‘The 13^th‘ as it’s now called. We only had one day of cloudy, mildly damp weather during that two-week shoot, and I don’t remember being cold.

Anyway, that’s enough about the weather. Mind you, there’s not a lot else to tell you. More and more visitors are heading off at the end of their holiday, the season is slowing down but the other day we still had five day boats and a cruise ship in the harbour, so it’s not over yet. I was chatting to some visitors the other night and they, and others I know of, have already secured their boking for next year’s trip. That’s a good idea if you want to stay in a popular place or come with a cheap package holiday company. You can also go independent, and it’s not as costly as you might think. But still, it’s a good idea now to book early. I also heard that EasyJet had put their return flights to the UK up to around the £400 mark for the coming weeks. The closer you get to leaving, the more expensive it gets, so another reason for early booking.

And talking of books, kind of, I have a couple to write. My editor for ‘Symi, Stuff and Nonsense’ is back from holiday today, and I said I’d have all the texts finished by then. I haven’t, so I must get on with it.

Highlights

Highlights from my Monday. Closing shutters against the wind, battling with the leaf fall in the courtyard compounded with the acacia tree pollen/stuff that snows down on us at this time of year. A lie in until 7 am. A visit to Sotiris supermarket – the highlight of any day; fun, madness, mayhem, friendly, bonkers, cheap, a little bit naughty at times. Otherwise, a day at home writing – a couple more scenes done for a screenplay, a few ideas for a book, a bit of draft three reading on ‘the Witchling’. Some episodes on Netflix (Have you seen ‘Big Mouth’? Outrageously wonderful, but we can’t think of anyone else who might like it. If you’re easily offended, don’t watch it.) And an early night.

Highlights of Tuesday’s morning: opening the shutters as the wind had died somewhat. Watching a cruise ship come in, the Salami Filopastry, or whatever it’s called. Watching swallows overhead and seeing the sea calm down after its wind-beating and a couple of book sales on Kindle. Not many, not enough, I should say, but something to go towards paying for the next book cover. That will be ‘Symi, Stuff & Nonsense’ which will be out in November. Watch this space.

Things to look forward to for the rest of the week? A small concert at home (must dust the piano), a trip to get the rent money from the harbour – preferably by legal means at the bank. Perhaps picking up a Chrome Cast if any have come in – due Tuesday – and playing with that. Buying that special paint for the flat roof (can’t remember the name, will have to look it up) so the bathroom doesn’t leak next time it rains. More writing, less sitting at the bar in the afternoon now things are quieter, and the wind is chilly, more time at home.

There may not have been many highlights, but at least there were no lowlights.