Symi Sunday and some Monday thoughts
I went out for a very short walk on Sunday, mainly to see what was going on in the immediate neighbourhood and to try and get some photos for you. This is real Symi in the winter stuff: the cat having a wash on the roof, children playing football in the square, the occasional cat wandering around and following me… and very little else.

The Rainbow bar was open in the evening, though we didn’t go down – we do call in there in the winter from time to time. Usually it’s before we head to the taverna for a dinner on evenings when we have nothing in, or just feel too lazy to do anything at home. So far, we’ve been two or three times, but there will be more visits over the next few months I am sure.

On Monday morning I noticed a lot of teenagers walking past the house during school time and wondered what they were doing. You don’t actually feel any worry when you see a group of teenagers, not around here, not like you might do in other countries. They are more likely to offer to help you carry your shopping than to play knock-and-run or cause any trouble. You can even walk through a group of lads, late at night, outside a bar, and not have to clutch your handbag to you (not that I have one) or feel in the slightest bit concerned. I have to say, Greek teenagers are probably the most pleasant in that age group I have encountered in the world. Well brought up, polite, responsible and, at times, having the appearance of adults. I was at a parade last year, waiting for my 13 year old godson to march past. I was looking out for what I’d expect children of that age to look like and then thought, ‘Oh, they must have missed out as we’ve cut straight from juniors to the 18 year olds…’ Only to realise that I was looking at the right class. Many of the boys and girls are mature in appearance and in behaviour; the second being a credit to their parents and schools.

Anyway, why was I talking about this? I’ve just been distracted by the helicopter coming in to land; it’s not its usual practice day… Ah yes, I know what I was going to say: A couple of years ago we found ourselves in Belgrade for a few days and visited St Savas Temple, the largest Orthodox church in Europe (it said, actually the one in Tbilisi is bigger, I have since learned). There was a large crowd of teenagers outside waiting to have a look around and they were quiet, calm, chatting, taking photos, making notes, listening to their teacher and generally being studious. They were, of course, Greek.

I’ve just checked the helicopter again and can see a white van there which looks like it might be the ambulance. I hope the patient is okay. We don’t often have a medical evacuation, but when it’s needed, our air ambulance is there within a few minutes and the Symi ambulance is called in for transport up to the helipad. It’s good to know we’re looked after here, by the authorities, medical practitioners and even the teenagers. (Btw, I think some of the school classes were attending a special January 30^th church service and were heading back from it when I saw them.)

A bit of an EasyJet squeeze
Here’s an observation for you. I was just booking a flight for Neil, to the yUK, for a wedding and a GCSE exam, in May. I checked out a few options: Aegean – one change, land at Heathrow; EasyJet, direct, land at Gatwick; Thomas Cook, direct, can’t remember where that one ended up but it was more expensive. The EasyJet time leaving Rhodes was fine, the leaving Gatwick time was 6.30 in the morning, which means being there around 3.00 am and still needing an overnight in Rhodes (unless there comes a boat on the schedule nearer the time) but he’ll still be under 50 by then so that’s fine.

The thing with the charter flights is that you have to add on hold luggage to your booking, and pay for reserving a seat, having a meal, breathing the air and so on, and I noticed EasyJet did a slight reduction if you booked return hold baggage rather than booking each journey separately, so we did that. The flight was booked and the details printed. I noticed that at the bottom of the page, the details read:

“Checked baggage

1 checked bags between all passengers combined up to a combined weight of 20kg.”

Now hang on a minute. Apart from the fact that ‘bags’ should have been singular in that sentence, I can see a problem with this. With around 180 people boarding the same plane, don’t you think 20kg “between all passengers” is a recipe for disaster? I mean, 180 pairs of swimming trunks will probably fill it, let alone the weight of 180 ‘light cardigans for chilly evenings’ or the amount of sun lotion that flies between the yUK and Greece on each flight. I foresee scenes akin to a Cecile B DeMille movie about Egyptian slaves, with everyone cramming around the one piece of checked bags ‘between all passengers’. Imagine the mayhem as Mrs Daily Mail wants to cram in her mace spray in case she encounters anyone who is not white, or the fights that will break out when Mr Sun wants to fit in his rashers of bacon (Danish, you understand, none of this foreign rubbish), or as Mr Express insists that his union jack beach towel gets priority as it’s far superior to the Germans’ towels (which were, incidentally, made in Leipzig, Mr Express’ included). And then there’s the issue of how come we’ve paid the carriage for everyone else’s thongs and after sun… Not that many people traveling from Rhodes to the yUK will be taking after sun in that direction at that time of year, or any time of year, but still…

Of course, it means ‘between all passengers on that booking’ and it wouldn’t hurt to add those few words into the algorithm so sarcastic writer’s like me didn’t pick up on what could easily count as misinformation.

But that was how my Sunday morning was spent; checking flights and accommodation not only for that trip but also for some guests flying out for our Civil Partnership in September. (Sevasti Studios, via Olympic, have some good rates for that time of year, as do many others.) I know it’s still a long way ahead but, the sooner you book the cheaper it is and the more manageable it is financially, paying for things in advance so there’s no last minute drain on resources nearer the time.

If you are thinking of travel to Symi, then you should check out Andy’s blog at Symi Visitor which keeps us all up to date with news on ferries and flights and other travel matters. And remember to pack your things and thongs in your own luggage.

Mainly about computer things
I’ve been rather computer based this last day or so. I’m searching through the many replies I have had on People Per Hour, a site where freelancers can post their credentials for those looking for jobs to be done and where those looking for a designer (in this case) can put up what they are looking for and then see what they get in. I’ve had loads of replies for The Saddling cover designer already and shortlisted it to four, after only 24 hours. Being (usually) polite, I have written a pleasant rejection, with reasons, for those who are not suitable; many have sent in very corporate designs and covers, which are not suitable in style, while others have sent lots of covers, all very good and varied and, more importantly, creative. In a few more days, or when submissions dry up, I will have to decide. Meanwhile I’ve written pleasant holding letters to the four so far shortlisted.

While doing that, and realising I will have to come up with the ‘back blurb’ pretty smartish, I have also been marvelling at Facebook. Well, not marvelling so much but I do find myself staring at it in wonder from time to time. I notice, for example, that now it wishes me a good morning every day, for no apparent reason. Another thing that makes me laugh is when it shows up ‘people you may know’, and there’s a photo of cat, or a cartoon, or a baby. In other cases, there’s a person’s face and I look at them, and the name and think… Why? Why might I now this person? It happens that we have a mutual friend in common and that, apparently is enough for me to want to share the ins and outs of my daily life with them. It doesn’t matter that, to use Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, is a far-flung acquaintance of a school friend I’ve not seen for 35 years, lives in Dubai, and has nothing in common with me, other than they have linked up with some stray blast from the past.

Along with all that comes the way that (depending on how you use the dreaded Facebook) total strangers can invade your posts or comments. The number of times I’ve been told to ‘get over it’ recently, to do with Brexit of course. ‘You lost, deal with it.’ Yeah okay, so if you voted on something you felt strongly about and lost by the difference of 3% of the voters, on something that was only asking for your opinion that then got turned into the ‘will of the people’, you’d keep quiet and not continue to stand up for your principles? Fine, you do that. I won’t. ‘I say,’ said the leader of Poland in 1939, ‘Looks like someone’s taken over our country. Damned cheek! Not what I wanted but, hey ho! That’s how it goes, we’ll get over it.’

If you can’t stand by what you believe is right, then spend your life sitting down but don’t expect everyone to do the same.

But the reason I started mashing on about FB is that I decided to sort my posts out and, from now on, anything I share that is to do with Symi/Greece will go to the Symi Dream page. Anything I share about writing will go to the James Collins Author page and anything that’s to do with daft cats, people caught on video having accidents, politics, my personal outrage at Donut Rump, Nigel Führage, Terresa Mayday-Mayday-Mayday-CQD and those other dangerous clowns, will stay on my personal page (as long as I remember to do this). So, if, in Facebook, you only want to follow the me/Symi relationship, or the me/writing one, you don’t have to put up with my personal principals and views, unless you want to, in which case you are very welcome. And, when I say ‘you’ I mean sas as opposed to sou, vous as opposed to tu, or you as opposed to you.

While I have been chatting, I’ve had several more replies come in to my request for a book cover designer, so I best go and be nice to them and see what they have on offer. No such thing as a quiet winter here on Symi.

Windy weather
(Some photos from Neil today.) At least that wind blew the rain away ahead of forecasted time. I did have to go up onto the upper roof during the afternoon and remove some old plastic chairs the landlord had tied down up there for some unknown reason. They had come a bit loose and were vibrating each time the wind howled from a certain direction up to force seven or eight. It was like a train coming through. The aircon unit was still vibrating at times, also a slightly unnerving sound, but there’s not much I can do about that. With all that thundering wind I didn’t feel or hear the earth tremor that we had during the night. But then, I was asleep.

Wednesday was cloudy and then brighter, colder but dry. The sterna, after checking it, is not as full as I thought it should have been, so I’ve left the tap open in case we get any more rain and I’ve dared do some washing in the hope that it will dry; we can always hang it in inside where we have to squeeze by it to get anywhere. Half the courtyard detritus has blown into the laundry where the door is always open so the cat has somewhere to go at night; he has a choice of two towel-lined halves of the cat box and one old post office box to lie in, and a pile of washing if he can get himself up onto the machine. Doubtful; he has trouble getting up onto the sofa these days, often having to take a run-up at it before he can scramble the west face of the three-seater before coming to land. Bless him.

Yesterday I put up a ‘work needed’ post on a reputable website where one can find designers for book covers and I await any replies I get. I just need to write and intro for the next book and it’s ‘done’, I think I said this yesterday. So now I can enjoy a few days off from inspiration to catch up on other things and take breaks from my desk – my back will love that, it’s been complaining a little recently. Later, we are popping out for tea. And after that, no plans for anything for the next few days, so I should be able to get some reading in, maybe some walking if the weather wakes up a bit. All the while I am telling myself to leave it alone: the last draft, I mean, not the weather. It takes a while to let a thing rest and put it out of your mind, but I will try.

Home news, rain and books
Yippee! More free water in the sterna. Unfortunately, it’s too wet outside to use the washing machine and get things dry, so I’ll have to wait for this rain to pass before doing that. From my window, I can see the waves breaking on Nimos across the bay, the shutters are creaking on their hinges and will have to be closed later when I’ve finished work. The rest of the house shutters are closed (bar one) giving us a permanent night for day feeling like you see in old Hammer Horror films but in reverse. I was told that when they did their ‘day for night’ shooting they used to use blue filters over the camera lens, so they could shoot out in the wild woods of Transylvania (aka Buckinghamshire) no matter what time of day it was. Today, here on Symi, it’s all grey and a little bit windy, wet and, although it’s not cold, it’s certainly a day for staying in.

Which is unfortunate as I have to go shopping. We’re down to a couple of carrots and some dubious beans in the fridge. Although there are some frozen leftovers in the freezer, they are more dubious than the has-beans. So, after I have posted this ready for tomorrow (today), it’s on with the walking boots, my only waterproof footwear at the moment, and the overcoat and down to the supermarket for some supplies, chat and fun – as that’s what we always get when we go the supermarket. It’s the only place to hang out. I reckon if Sotiris put a coffee bar in there he’d be full up all day long.

The morning (Tuesday) started off well as I woke up to realise that I have, at last, finished the last draft of ‘The Saddling’, the next James Collins novel to be made ready for the printers. Nothing is ever finished though – I still worry about lyrics for shows I wrote 20 years ago and wonder where I put my copy so I can change the occasional world here and there – but it’s done for now. All I need to do now is wait for the editor to check the latest additions, send me any typos etc. change them, send it back unformatted and ready for setting, then work on the ‘front matter’ which will, for this novel, include an explanation of some of the dialect I have researched and used, and a glossary. Meanwhile, I am looking around for a freelance cover designer and the editor has sent me to a site where you can post jobs needed, or search for freelancers and see examples of their work, and where an hourly rate is stated or negotiated. I’ve found so many that look good I don’t know where to start. So, it’s not exactly finished, but it will rest there for now.

A few days off to catch up on housework and other things and then on to the next travel book, which is already in draft preparation. That should see me through to the summer unless any other ideas leap to mind and so it will soon be all go again. Just as we like it.