A weekend in August…

And a couple of dance videos at the end… First, let me take you back to a weekend in August. An early morning walk to Nimborio, an evening up near the church of Ag Stavros in the village, and a goat ready to serve in its own dish. The kinds of things you do and see on a weekend, and, in this case, the images that you see below.

I’m having a calmer day today, Tuesday as I write. I have work to be getting on with, but that can wait until this afternoon; two hours per day on a screenplay, and a couple more hours a day on my own work, another novel perhaps… We were taken out to dinner on Monday night. Thank you, Hillary! It was such a special night, great company and, of course, wonderful food at Haritomeni.

Actually, another thank you but a more general one: to everyone who has approached us and said, ‘Thank you for the blog.’ Apparently, we are required reading at 8.30 on a Monday morning as the trudge back to work begins, and at other times of the day, and not just in the UK either; we’re worldwide. Please keep checking in, sharing the posts that you like and particularly sharing the links to the books; it helps to keep us going.

And talking of going, I am going back to work now but, before I do, Allan and Julie, who photographed and videos our civil partnership day in September, have said it’s okay for me to share a couple of videos. You may have already seen these, but if not, here is our buffoon-first dance from the party on Nimos, and our slow dance. Both were danced to my own songs, one from a musical, and one from cabaret. The special moment that happened halfway through is one of those memories that will last forever.

A few photos

I was in a bit of a rush yesterday, what with one thing and another. By the time I had done the one thing, it turned out that there was another other to do, and then I had to go and do a thing I’d forgotten about, and other things… In the end, I thought, ‘A few photos for tomorrow.’ So that’s what you have. Am off now to do a few other things I should have done already.

Clouds and Clothes

The seasons are changing, there’s a chill in the air in the early mornings, some clouds about and yet it’s still warm enough to sit outside in the sun. I was in shorts on Saturday afternoon but had to put a jumper on when on the balcony on Sunday morning. The forecast, on one site, shows the temperatures in the mid and low 20s through the week, the cloud clearing and the winds being light; and another shows this weather continuing through the month, but still no rain. Mind you, it is October, so a change in the weather is to be expected.

The day boats continue to come in. There were five of them on Saturday, plus the catamaran which delivered several visitors who were staying. Others are making their way home after a summer on Symi, and some of the tavernas and bars are thinking about closing. We will soon be into real autumn/winter mode and all that the season brings with it after a long and often very hot summer. But the holiday season is not over yet. The tavernas in the village continue to be busy, the bars too in the evenings, and there are many boats in the harbour as this seems to be a popular time of year for sailing.

It’s also a popular time of year for people to book next year’s holiday before the package places get taken up, and while flights are often cheaper than they are nearer the time. Some of the independent travel companies may also have special offers, so it’s worth searching around. There are some very popular villas and apartments on the island which get booked up well in advance, so the advice is to start planning now before it’s too late. As I always say, when booking independently, try and check the boat connections before you book the flights. It’s difficult, as schedules aren’t available this far in advance, but they tend to remain pretty much as they are and have been. Except, for those who haven’t been for a couple of years, there are now fewer evening sailings from Rhodes to Symi, so be aware of that. The catamaran does sail back from Kos to Symi in the afternoons, and you don’t always have to think only of Rhodes as your nearest airport.

Here’s wishing you a good month ahead. A month during which I have few plans apart from working on a screenplay, tidying up a book and making sure it’s on track for a November release. I only have two appointments in my diary for this week, both involve food and friends, so they are things to look forward to, but sometime soon I’ve got to take on the wardrobe challenge. This is the time of year for sorting out the summer from the winter; find the jumpers and hoodies and long trousers, and put away the lighter summer clothes. Find a duvet, hang the door curtains, dust off the heaters, put away the fans, that kind of thing. It’s one of those jobs that only takes an hour to do after spending three weeks not looking forward to doing it. But it must be done, and so I must be gone.

Symi Saturday Photos

As it’s the weekend, here are a few photos taken in the last couple of day. As you can see, there are still plenty of day trippers visiting the island, the weather is still good and the sea is still calm.

Stars and sticks

A few random photos today taken a couple of months ago. When I sit on the balcony, and the sun passes behind the house, I am aware that the air has definitely chilled down a little. Not too much, we’re not into the fully-clothed, blanket-wearing season yet, but you can tall that there’s a difference.

For some reason, on Wednesday, I woke up early, and I am talking five in the morning. Fully awake, I went onto the balcony to check the stars. They were still there. The night was so clear I could see some of the Milky Way, a rare event from that position due to the light spill from the harbour. I’d not noticed that Plough in that position for a while, upside-down you might say, appearing as a question mark. Behind me, if I leant precariously over the railing I could see the Seven Sisters and other constellations I don’t usually get to see, and I thought that perhaps I should get up early on more occasions and take in the view. Perhaps walk up to the hills and around the corner to avoid the manmade light and see the stars in all their glory. Then I decided against it. The last time I did that, only a couple of weeks ago, was at Agia Marina when I left the birthday party we were attending and walked up the steps to the other side of the small island. Here, there is very little light pollution, and I was just marvelling at the magnificence of the Milky Way when I heard Neil fall off a wall and damage his bad foot, again.

No lasting damage was done, just a bad sprain, but he did need a walking stick for a while. I found him one at the ‘Rhodes shop’ as I call it, down in Yialos near Elpida’s café. This shop sells unusual tourist equipment, like suits of armour, models of knights, long knives that would never be allowed anywhere near a charter flight, and other classy trinkets. The most useful thing I found was the walking stick collection. Declining the Gandalf model (they’d sold out, actually) and the cobra’s head top, I went for a brass handled, sturdy affair and presented that to Neil.

A few days later and he was off to walk to Pedi with his son. Walking shoes, shorts, a canvas bag over his shoulder, Trilby hat and cane, he looked like he was off up the Matterhorn in 1932. Very dapper.

Anyway, all that came from nowhere and that’s where I am off to now; nowhere in particular. I have a few more sections of ‘Symi, Stuff & Nonsense’ to check through before making a few edits, and I want that job done by the end of the week. After that, I must concentrate on a screenplay, so I’m off to get on now. See you tomorrow.