Rain and shopping
Ain’t nothing going on but the rain, as the song didn’t say. Actually, there’s probably lots going on out there, but it’s a case of rain stopped play today. It also looks like we are in for more of the same over the next few days, so apart from a quick trip to collect a package that’s arrived, I think I’m staying in.

What could that package be? A new set of towels I ordered a while ago, a new Irish passport for Neil? Some lights for the courtyard for the summer, or the new trunk/chest of drawers for the bedroom? You may wonder why I don’t go to Rhodes and find these things. Apart from the fact that you can’t pick up a passport in Rhodes, there are other factors which mean shopping online is easier, and cheaper. No disrespect to Rhodes or its shopping, and none aimed at Symi come to that, as there are some very fine shops here, but not a lot of choice. It’s more to do with getting there, getting around once there, and the expense of being there. I’m also much more into shopping online from the comfort of my own sofa while ignoring the television and searching out ‘must have’ deals from Amazon and eBay. Oh, I am also waiting for a book, but that won’t have come by courier and the phone call this morning was from the bookshop. Just where you would expect your delivery to come to. The bookshop by St John’s Church in Yialos is one of the courier collection points, there are a few others, and some will deliver to your house.

But with the wind gusting in from time to time, the rain coming and going, and never knowing how long it is going to be dry for, staying in and watching the weather from the inside out is my preferred option for this morning. Except I really want to see what has arrived down town. While I am making up my mind, I am writing this up ready for posting and keeping one eye on the sea below and the sky above. Both rather grey, but the wind seems to be dying down.

I am glad we didn’t put the cat through a 14-hour ordeal on Wednesday when we decided to stay at home and not risk the journey. It was a very wet day too, and it rained all day in Rhodes, I am told. The boat came and went despite the weather and came back as well; the Blue Star Patmos is pretty reliable. Very reliable actually, and very quick, but it would have meant a long time in Rhodes with a cat in a box and nowhere to go apart from the hotel bars and restaurants. An additional expense to the travelling and shopping.

So, I will post this and then do a literal rain check and see how the land lies. Well, I know how it lies; downhill from here, but uphill from there, and I don’t fancy tackling the Kali Strata when it’s raining as the water teams down up to, and over, your wellington boots at times. A good excuse to be lazy – if I can resist temptation and wait another day to see what has arrived at the bookshop.

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Quick blog today
I opted for the slightly lazy approach to taking photos of the parade yesterday, the March 7^th parade. Actually, it wasn’t being lazy as I was still working at midday when the parade started, and I’d been at the desk since six, trying to finish off some articles for a travel blog site. I managed to get everything done in the end, even down to their finickity formatting rules, only to find the piece rejected as there were no H2 Headings – and yet there was no place on their system where I could insert them; they had missing icons. I’ve contacted them so expect I will have to redo the whole thing tomorrow. If they still reject it, I will share it with you instead. It was about Romania, but who cares?

The cat is fine, thank you for your enquiries. We are probably not taking him to Rhodes on Wednesday after all as the wind is forecast to be gale force eight (in gusts, and there is heavy rain on its way). Friday looks similarly wet, but maybe not as windy. We’ll keep an eye on him during the meantime and maybe take him over if things get worse – with the cat I mean, not the weather. You don’t want to be on any boat out there in a force eight, let alone with a heavy cat attached to your arm. In all probability, the wind won’t be as bad as forecast, but it’s still not worth getting stuck in Rhodes for two nights with a cat in a box.

It’s clouding over now, as I write, following a few days of brilliant sun and great walking weather. I managed a three-mile stroll through the Pedi valley the other day, which I will write about in more detail another time as there are some photos to sort first. I went out to see if I could see any interesting birds. I only saw a blackbird and lots of chickens. I don’t think the migrating groups have arrived yet, perhaps there will be something more interesting in a few weeks. But then again, what do I now about birds? Not a lot.

So, it’s now six and a half hours since I sat down to work and I’ve had enough of it. I am going to see what Neil has rustled up in the kitchen while listening to Evanescence, and then chill out this afternoon with some trash TV, and a good book for when the adverts come on.

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All around my cat
I will wear the green ribbon and all around my… And so on. A vague reference there to a Steeleye Span song from 1975 which has nothing to do with today’s blog or its pictures – which, themselves, have nothing to do with the update on the cat.

There was a visiting vet from Rhodes on the island on Sunday, a regularly, monthly visit, when he is able to. So, we got Jack into his box with only a little bit of fuss and carried him down to the pet shop. He was third in the queue but didn’t have to wait long and was vaguely interested in what was going on, though he made a lot of noise about it. The vet gave him a quick check, as detailed as possible considering, and we’ve come to a plan of action about his ears. They are not cancerous yet, but what he has could lead to it and so, here’s the plan: We will take him over to Rhodes, and the vet’s father will pick us up from the Plaza, or wherever, when we are there. He will take us to the surgery at Kremasti, as he kindly did before, and the vet will give Jack a proper check. He will need a course of injections for 14 days to clear up his missing fur issue. Plus, he will need something special for his ears, some cream to go inside and some to go on his damaged ears (not looking forward to doing that), we may also have to give him antibiotics and put one of those collars around his neck so he can’t scratch at his black bits. Also not looking forward to that and I doubt the cat is going to have it, like it or put up with it at all. The vet’s father will then drive us back to wherever – all part of the service. He also offered the service of: we put the cat on the boat, he collects him in Rhodes and sends him back on the boat later that day. But, tempting though that is for us, it doesn’t seem very fair on Jack, who hates travelling at the best of times.

So, the visit done and dusted, for now, we (mainly Neil) carried him in his box back up the kali strata where Jack decided to show his contempt by giving us some extra, rather smelly, weight to carry. We tried to avoid passing anyone in case they thought we had something to do with that, and threw away his travel towel from the box when we got home, deposit included. He wasn’t too upset by that short time in his cage, which is the biggest box we can find without using one suitable for an Alsatian, and settled down for the rest of the day.

Now we have the standard, Symi in winter, issue to consider. The best boat to get is on Wednesday when we can go to Rhodes and back in one day, and where the cat will only have to be in the box for 14 hours. If we went on Friday, it would be about the same and we wouldn’t have to get up and pack him up at 4.30 in the morning for the 5.30 boat as the Friday one is later, so that’s option number two. But, the weather looks foul for Wednesday with force six winds (not a problem) but with rain and storms. We don’t want to be carrying Mr Six-Kilos around in the rain, but the forecast often changes. So, we will decide at 4.00 on Wednesday morning if we are going to go on that day or try again on Friday. It’s not an urgent case, and we could have gone on Sunday night as the vet was more than happy to take him overnight, but we would then have had to stay until Wednesday evening. So… boats and cats, don’t mix much in the winter. But at least, after two weeks of collar, injections, creams and attention, he might be a bit healthier. As for us? Well, ordering some iron foundry gloves and a ‘hazmat’ suit might be in order.

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Symi weekend
We took one of those impromptu walks on Saturday. The kind of walk where you say, ‘Let’s go for a walk before lunch. Let’s go now.’ And, an hour later, you’re almost ready, and ten minutes after that, you set off.

After stopping briefly for a quick hello in the village, we headed out up the donkey path towards Ag Paraskevi, and on, following ‘the Wall’ to the top of the hills behind Yialos. From there you can see the other side of the island and Turkey (when it’s not so hazy) and the monastery at Roukouniotis. We followed the main road back to Xissos and then took the donkey path back down to the village. Two hours, including stops for photos and views. Along the way I saw lizards, a buzzard (?), a few chaffinches, blackbirds, sheep and lambs, goats, turkeys in mating season and other assorted wildlife, some of which I caught on camera, others were too fast. It was a warm morning, layers came off the higher we climbed, and my face was a little pink come evening.

The earlier part of the morning had been spent setting up another blog and twitter account. It’s still in its very early days, but it’s at this address if you want to follow it: www.jamescollinsauthor.com and there are links there to the new Twitter page and Facebook page. This doesn’t replace Symi Dream and that site’s Twits and Faces (or whatever), but it’s going to be about the writing side of things in more detail than I post here.

On Saturday evening we gave ‘Chess in Concert’ another viewing. If you’ve not seen it and you’re a fan of musicals, Time Rice lyrics or music by the Abba team, then you might be interested to see it. I saw the original show when it was in preview (rushes away to check the day of that…) It opened on May 14^th, 1986, and so I guess I saw it on May 12^th, 1986, or sometime around then. I then went back to see it again after it had opened, and when it was a little shorter. Little did I know that one of the dancers I was watching I would meet, in person, on Symi, some ten years later; Jane, who used to have the Sunflower café in Yialos. I also saw her in ‘West Side Story’ which I thought I’d seen at Her Majesty’s before ‘Phantom’ landed and stayed there. It was the last night of a run and must have been in the 1980s as well, but I can’t find a reference to the actual date. Anyway… That’s what we watched on Saturday, and very good it is too.

Sunday…? Well, I’m preparing this for Monday’s posting before we try and squeeze the cat into his box to take him down to Yialos to see the vet who is visiting from Rhodes. He needs a quick check up on his ears (the cat, not the vet) and his bits of missing fur. I’ve been putting athlete’s foot cream on the patches, as we have done before, and I think it is working, but as the vet is here and we need the exercise of carrying six kilos of cat up and down the steps, we thought it would be a good idea. He’s currently asleep at my feet by the heater and has no idea that in a couple of hours, he’s going to be going to the doctor. As long as we can get him in the box.

And that’s the weekend that was. I am checking the diary to see what lies ahead in the week to come and, so far, it’s one invite to tea only, so it looks nice and clear to work on pieces for the new blog. Don’t worry, I’m only going to use it when I have something interesting to say (and to publicise the novels), so Symi Dream will be here, as usual, Monday to Saturday unless I am away with my usual posts about nothing I particular and my photos.

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