Weekend catch-up
Neil has returned, bringing all manner of illnesses with him. It must have been horrendous traveling, but he’s back now and relative calm has been unrestored. Our neighbours have been wonderful; picking him up form Panormitis, bringing medicines and offering to cook. That’s what living on Symi is all about – that and a lot of other things.

The cat, as you can see, is nonplussed by it all. He’s been his usual hungry self, loud and ear-scratching, but that’s cats for you.

The courtyard is still in autumn mode. Leaves are starting to fall from the vine and I am sure the thing produces more dead ones than it does live ones; I’m always out there sweeping them up. It will soon be time to enthusiastically cut the thing back. The other plants are starting to shed and look like they are preparing for the darker days and colder weather. I’m not sure if the chilli plant is going to survive. It made some attempts to put out chillies this year, its first year. There were lots of flowers and buds, but no actual chillies to follow. Perhaps it’s a first-year thing. Yiannis’ plants at the Rainbow thrived and still has chillies on them so perhaps it’s the position ours is in.

I managed to get the house sorted and tidied on Saturday morning and spent Sunday working on the current draft of the book. I know, it takes a long time to get these things right and I am trying hard on this one. I’m being very strict with myself over my repetitions and unnecessary words, after all, if a word is not necessary then it shouldn’t be there. While I was working, a couple of Afghan guys came to the door looking for our landlord. I think they also rent a house from him. They very politely asked if he was here and I explained, in a mix of Greek and English (as my Persian is so rusty) that we hadn’t seen him for some time and he is in Thessaloniki; beyond that we don’t actually know what’s going on, we only hope he is okay. We had a quick, pleasant chat and wished each other good days. Apart from that, and cooking, washing up, seeing to the cat, feeding Neil cuppa-soups (he can’t eat much at the moment) and doing the washing, I had a reasonably uninterrupted day.

And so, on to the week ahead, with not much in the diary to talk about. The weather remains dry and warm, though many are wishing for rain as it is sorely needed. I’ve been watching kestrels over the sea and a large eagle down towards Pedi. Other migrating birds have been stopping through, unlike boats; the harbour is very quiet, though there was a stray Turkish gulet in the other day. It’s all go here. Not.

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Symi Saturday Photos
A few photos for today, taken recently, and a reminder that, if you are looking for something special for yourself or others for Christmas, then the Symi Dream Calendar is still on sale. If you have friends who are cat lovers then Neil’s Cats of Greece calendar is also there. Here are the links:

Symi Calendar

Cats Calendar

At both places you can see a preview of all the photos and change the currency with the flag icon at the top – make sure you change to your currency location to save on postage. Enjoy!

Here are the photos to give you your Symi fix for the weekend.

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Thursday…
After another very pleasant evening (thank you again A&A), I was home just before a thunderstorm passed over. A quick dash around to unplug anything vital, like routers and computers, turning on the tap so that the sterna collected some rainwater, and then I stood and watched the storm for a while before turning in.

Thursday dawned with large clouds lit up by the sunrise, all very dramatic and colourful, as you can see from today’s photos from the roof. It was a warm day and when the clouds moved on, actually felt hot when in the sun. Not that I was in it for long. I popped down to the supermarket for some supplies, and to order some water to be delivered later. It was its usual madness and mayhem with George on the till, Sultana on the weighing scales (not literally), Habib and Stavros bringing in new supplies and hoarding them above the deli counter next to the song birds and Sotiris wandering around packing up bags for delivery to those who order by phone because they can’t leave the house. The wall outside was, as it often is, piled high with everything from flour to Flora and the place was a hive of activity.

Earlier I had been on the balcony watching the coastguard boats, the only two boats in the harbour, that I could see, when I noticed a couple of kestrels above me. As I looked closer I realised there were six, out catching the bugs and things following the night’s rain. Wishing I had a longer lens, I took a snap on my small camera, so the dot you can see against the cloud here is actually one of the birds.

There was no book work yesterday as I had things to do. Shopping and preparing a meal for Miss DJ who was coming for dinner. I made a start on tidying the house ready for Neil’s return on Saturday and did some piano playing in the afternoon. Such are my days on Symi now the season has finally finished. And it has only just finished, now that the Panormitis festival is over. I expect there are still pilgrims there and the boats are still coming into Panormitis as well as Yialos, though that service will stop soon enough. We had the Blue Star on Wednesday and a catamaran no Thursday, the Blue Star is due back today, so we are still being reasonably well served with connections. Let’s hope that continues.

And now, having prepared the blog, it’s time to see to the washing and sweep some floors. I will wait for the leaves in the courtyard to dry out before sweeping them up so as to avoid a mess, and then go and feed the strays, empty Jack’s litter tray and put my feet up for a short while. Have a good day.

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Yesterday
It was a little windy as I headed down to Yialos on Wednesday, and I took the camera to get you some images of the grey day we were having. It’s been windier, but every now and then a gust came along to help me on my way.

I popped out for a drink at Rainbow on Tuesday late afternoon, met some friends and was treated to two glasses of wine by Yianni, as a way of celebrating the start of the winter season, perhaps. Afterwards, we went to Georgio’s for something to eat. It’s always good to go there out of season, sit inside and listen to the local gossip (from the staff) and feel warm. The menu is a bit reduced as you’d expect but there was still chicken in the oven, liver and chips, pork casserole and other dishes on the go and, as we were early, there was the BBQ later too. Thing is, I’m going there again this evening (Wednesday), and I wonder what will be in the pot tonight.

Meanwhile, in the harbour… Takis was moving shop. He’s closing down his older/original part of his long fontange and moving everything into the right-hand building; a way of cutting costs I think, after a difficult summer for everyone. I did what I had to do, went to the bank and the post office – where I collected a second marriage certificate for Neil. We only need one for his passport application, but they’ve sent two by mistake. I contacted them later and they assured me that the divorce cert I was expecting had also been sent, so this must have been an admin error. We’re only waiting for that, and the man himself to return with his photos and a couple of other pieces of paper, and I’m hoping we can get the application out next week.

After that, I called into the newsagents to pick up a Speedex delivery, as you do. There were some gypsies there (the local term) asking for money form everyone and being told, politely and firmly, that there wasn’t any to give. These folks must travel around on the inter-island ferries, spending a day here and the next day there as they go about their business. I woke at six yesterday morning to see the Blue Star leaving, it was either on a slightly changed schedule or running late; I guess they sailed in on that.

Then it was a walk back up the Kali Strata (must do it more often) and home for lunch. The afternoon was spent writing the next book and preparing for a social evening ahead. And that was my day. Hope yours was as fun-filled and action packed as mine.

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Jets, cat’s ears and other matters
With all the celebrations going on over in Panormitis, I spent a very quiet day at home yesterday, working. Looking out from the balcony (the day was warm a little humid and very pleasant) the harbour was like a ghost town, I only saw a few people moving about. The bus was running though. The village was quiet, apart from a few people passing the door on their way to a festival somewhere no doubt.

Mind you, we had a bit of shock when a fighter jet flew low overhead on Monday afternoon, doing barrel rolls and, I assume, wishing the island well for the festival. Crickey those things are loud.

So, a Xronia Polla to everyone celebrating their name day at this time and maybe I’ll go to the festivities next year. I have to say, it has been nice to spend the time at home, with peace and quiet, getting on with what I wanted to and needed to do, though tonight (Tuesday as I write) I may pop out for a drink at the Rainbow just to set eyes on other living beings. The only company I’ve had for a while has been Jack. Mind you, that’s often enough.

I’ve been looking at his ears and his slowly growing skin cancer. We may have to take him to the vet before long and have his ears taken off. Yesterday he scratched off one of the black scabs and left the skin exposed and bleeding. I’m keeping an eye on it for infections and I can, if I am very sneaky, get some cotton wool and dab on some antiseptic but, if you’re ever tried putting cream on a cat for any reason, let alone on an open wound, you can imagine how traumatising it is – and the cat doesn’t like it much either. Every now and then I see a blood splatter along a wall, or over the floor and wonder who has been murdered, but then realise it’s just the cat scratching his ears and then shaking his head. Ah well, a little warm water and a sponge and all evidence is removed.

So, apart from corrupting crime scenes, risking life and limb with some Savlon, or similar, and listening to the eerie silence of an apparently empty village, these last couple of days have been very productive. Not with walks and new photos for the blog, hence the old ones, but with words and stories. Perfect.

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