New Year resolutions?
Not being one for New Year’s resolutions, I didn’t make any. But what I did make is a new Facebook page. Just what the world needs, another bloomin’ FB page, but this one: https://www.facebook.com/jamescollinsauthor/ is about my writing and my books. Rather than having several pages, one for each book, I am slowly getting rid of them and will have just this one about my work. Apart from the page for ‘The Thirteenth’ (which isn’t run by me but which I help administer from time to time) and the Symi Dream FB page, any other of my writings will be showcased and discussed on my new Author page. (Sounds a bit grand that, but am following the publicist’s advice.)

So, if you are a Facebook fan and user, you might like to pop over there and have a look and give a like and a share perhaps? Over time there will be more on it; I’m going to put up bits and pieces about the books and reviews every now and then, and also put up any news about them, such as new ones published, new reviews and then the occasional, ‘You can buy it here’ type posts. This page will be different to my personal FB page where I catch up with family, old school friends, my home town and all those folk I’ve never met but who are FB friends.

So, that ‘target’ has been met and the page is live. My second target of the year has also been met. (He goes to check his corporate action plan and marks off ‘Achieved’ against the task. This is going to go well at his appraisal.) Day four of the New Year and already I have finished ‘Straight Swap’, third draft, on target. All that remains to be done there is have my proof reader go through it, let the editor take his time (probably a few months) to go through it, work on any finals and then get the text ready for publication. More news to follow.

Symi news? Well, it finally rained again on Sunday evening and overnight. The hole by the rainwater-to-sterna feed in the roof that I thought I had fixed, leaked again but not as much as before and only into a corner of the utility room where there is existing evidence of water innage. (Innage is a word I like and may have just invented in this context. I know that ‘Inning’ (in Romney Marsh terms) means to irrigate, so yes, there was some water irrigation event happening during the night which we might call an ‘innage.’) Perhaps there is a problem with the roof at that point. Investigations will be forthcoming. [by the way: Innage (n) The quantity of goods remaining in a container when received after shipment. Aeronautics. The amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tanks of an aircraft following a flight. Thank you.]

There was a rainbow over Harani on Monday morning, though the morning was dry and cloudy. The house was not as cold, though still not exactly basking. As I write, Monday, midday, Neil has popped down to sea level to see his accountant and hopefully settle the, hopefully, final bill on the business, check the post office and stock up on Jack-cat food. I’ve been working on ‘Shocking the donkeys’ as there is no rest for the wicked and I have been slightly wicked over the Christmas period thanks to Sotiris and his stock of blue cheese, and Jenine’s cooking. But I have been avoiding the wine and keeping a clear head for my writing days, which are most days; and that was not a resolution, just a work thing.

So, the sea is grey, the sky too, there is some light over on ‘the red rocks’ and the catamaran has been and gone. After lunch I intend to do some wore work before attending a small party tonight. The new Year on Symi has gotten off to a good start without any resolutions but with a few tasks added to the action plan: Publish two new books this year, one again inspired by Symi (regulars will note characters and places when they read it), the other inspired by my home town and old school friends. And if there is a resolution to be admitted, then it is to use the word ‘gotten’ a few more times just to outrage the likes of Allan and others, for the fun of it. Snigger.

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Back to the routine

Sunday morning and cold, clear and sunny – no sign of the promised rain or clouds which may have served to warm us up a little. Six degrees in my office this morning (Sunday) and today I am wearing a fetching little ensemble from the ‘Nec’ collection. Nec being short for Necessary: Toasties, slippers, two pairs of jogging bottoms, t-shirt, jumper, hoodie with hood up, fingerless gloves and the whole thing topped off by the dressing gown, the heater is on two bars beside me, I’ve turned on Neil’s PC for when he wants it and also the heater in his office where the door is closed keeping the heat in.

It was a case of straight from the bed to the dressing gown to the shower this morning; well, almost straight there. First job is to let the cat in (who has been strangely quiet of late, none of this six a.m. nonsense recently, he’s not been up and shouting until after I am out of bed). Second job, feed the cat, third job, hang around near the cat so he thinks you are having breakfast with him, and then I can get to the shower. Only problem with this is that when the water is hot, which it is, thankfully, and the room is cold, which is very much is, the shower curtain starts to creep inwards towards the wet body by some kind of physics that I don’t understand. Doesn’t do it when it’s warm, only when it, and the curtain, are cold. So it’s a bit of a rush to get done before you get enshrouded in cold, synthetic material.

From there it’s a quick dry in the bathroom and then back to the kitchen, kettle on while getting dressed in the various layers. Then out to the porch to be greeted by the fresh smell of the cat’s yesterday’s meal, sweep up the spare litter he’s thrown out of his box while digging for somewhere better, and across to the office to start the heat-up process. PCs, on, kettle boiled and now I’m dressed so I can start to warm up while attempting to type in fingerless gloves.

Saturday we took a walk up to ‘To Vrisi’ as it was such a sunny day and we have been inside rather a lot of late. We walked up through the village and out on the top road, down and then along and up to the church. Just like the early morning walk/jog route. Which I will get back to when the weather is bearable again.

The rest of the first weekend of the year was spent ‘a la table’ (eating), ‘a la bureau’ (writing), and ‘a la boite’ (watching the TV, not a literal translation). Plans for the week ahead? More of the same I expect, though we have an invite out for Monday night, there’s still a health insurance bill to pay which needs sorting on Monday and we must go shopping at some point. Other than that, I’m looking out on a flat calm sea, with the sun bouncing off Nimos and Harani opposite, the houses are dazzlingly bright in the early, low sunlight and there’s not a breath of wind. Of course, this is Sunday still; it could have all changed by the time you read this.

One of the bus stops which isn’t on the usual bus route. Not, however, the famous bus stop mentioned in Bus Stop Symi by William Travis. Not sure if there are any copies still for sale, but worth a read if you’ve not found it before, if you can get a copy. Click here to see what’s available.

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Update: I did that think where I thought today (Saturday) was tomorrow (Sunday) so I didn’t think about a blog until it was too late, so I shan’t be adding plaything today (Saturday) apart from this to say I should be back with you the day after tomorrow (Monday.) Carry on enjoying the New Year. Thank you.

Happy New Year from Symi
Happy New Year, Xronia Polla, and all that from Symi! I am writing this on New Year’s Eve and my feet are getting rather chilly, even though I am wearing slippers, toasties, trousers, a t shirt, a jumper, a sweatshirt and a dressing gown, and the heater is on. But at least we are not flooded or being stormed on and the sun is out, the sea is flat-ish and all is right with the world as we leave 2015 and enter 2016.

I’m not one for NY resolutions, but I am one for setting myself goals. This coming year I aim to: Get ‘Straight Swap’ out there for you to read. Follow that with ‘Shocking The Donkeys’ by the end of the year. Start back on ‘The Saddling’ and get that first draft finished. That’s three major projects. I also need to rid myself of this holiday excess and get back to early walks, or later in the day walks, I feel like I’ve been in this house for two weeks without getting out, which, fabulous though it is, is not exactly true. So, writing and saving money are the aims for the year.

For all those who follow such things, I have also started fiddling with a new Facebook page. Rather than have a solo page for each title (of my books) I decided to put them all together in one place. The pages for the novels and books will start to disappear, along with their many ‘likes’, sadly, but news and info about them will be put on the one page from now on, and you can find that here: https://www.facebook.com/jamescollinsauthor/ There’s not a lot there and I am still working on it, but a new page for 2016 felt right. I will still have my own personal page and the Symi Dream page of course, and a couple of others that I am only one admin of so can’t get rid of, but it feels good to be tidying up a bit in the social media area.

I’m not going to stay long or get dewy-eyed about the year that’s just gone, a good one though it was, but I would like to say thank you to everyone who has: read the blog, sent emails and messages, contributed to the blog with guest posts, pointed out typos, been to the house for drinks, bought us drinks and meals on Symi, bought books and calendars, made this year so special and one to remember. The highlights? So many… Um… Let me think…

Birthday parties, beach parties, long walks, short walks, sunrises, publishing a new novel, starting on two others, moving house, working for myself (no bar work), visiting Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Belgrade and Rhodes. The view from the new house, helping the refugees, mother visiting for a month, nephew George visiting for a week, my Christmas dressing gown (so warm!), invites to baptisms, walking to Panormitis (and the sit down with a beer at the end of that walk), meeting new people, making new friends. There, that’ll do, Donkey, that’ll do.

So, onwards in to 2016 and with great plans ahead. We’ll keep on blogging even if it is only to give the weather updates and view from the windows. We’ll be here on Symi, no holidays planned, no money! We’re not planning to go anywhere else so keep reading the pages, keep reading the books, keep spreading the word and have yourself a great New Year. I will leave you with a few photos from my recent holiday and a quote from the up-coming new novel, ‘Straight Swap.’

“Friendship is the love that celebrates our differences.”

Happy New Year from Symi

Happy New Year from Symi!

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Symi in the winter
Wednesday morning, sitting with my dressing gown over my knees, the heater on my feet, fingerless gloves on, at the desk, with the gaps around the window taped up to keep back the breeze that blows through and looking forward to a New Year’s weekend. We went for a walk on Tuesday afternoon, just down to Pedi through part of the valley and around to the new jetty, where work has been continuing of late.

This is turning out to be a quiet week, which is a good thing after the madness, mayhem and food-fest that was Christmas. It is now starting to turn into a dark week as well, as we’ve closed several shutters around the house as the wind picks up. Not that it’s been gale force or anything, but when the wind blows, so the temperature falls. I expect it’s still reasonably warm in the sun, and on the north side of the harbour which faces south, but I’ve not been down there since before Christmas, so I wouldn’t know. The sun was out yesterday, but still, you can feel that winter is starting to creep back at last.

Doing a quick check of the weather sites I see that Wednesday night is/was meant to be around four degrees, with the temperature dropping to two degrees on Thursday night. Better check out the Symi winter bed-wear collection which has, in the past, included shoes, overcoats and woolly hats under electric and several other blankets. I kid you not. If you have ever wanted to ask, ‘What is Symi like in the winter’ but been too afraid to ask, then this blog will give you some idea as the winter progresses. This is also our first full winter in this house so it’s a bit untried.

The old house wasn’t too bad for heat (though it wasn’t so good for keeping out the rain) and we could heat one room and shut doors, light a real fire and then let the heat spread out by opening doors later in the evening. But here we have one long building with no internal doors. Curtains are up to try and isolate the sitting room where we spend the evenings. This room, which faces north, also has a mousandra balcony overlooking it, through now this is temporarily sealed off with large thermal curtain liners, which are helping. We’ve fixed the hole in the oxeye window which was letting in drafts, and also the gaps under the balcony doors, where the shutters are now shut. But a few feet away from the end of the sofa is the front door, including half inch gaps beneath, which now has a curtain across it too. There is also the plastic sheet contraption to try out which should keep some draft from entering the porch.

But, once again my ramblings have been taken over by a weather report. So, what else is happening around here in the winter? Well, so far, for us, it’s been work, walking, shopping and staying in. Symi in the winter is what you make it, and it could be a quiet and lonely place unless you have people with whom you can socialise. Although Greek living comes with the temptation to sit in bars and people-watch as the day goes by, it’s not so inviting in winter when many bars and tavernas are closed, the shops are struggling for fresh produce and you don’t really feel inclined to sit outside and watch people, even if there were any people passing by to watch.

Thus, we are settling in for the start of real winter and that could well include many days when I stay at home, write, watch TV, read, cook, serve the cat and do little else. What blog posts may come? I wonder, for days when I’ve done nothing.

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Rubbish and updates
Took a little walk on Monday afternoon and topped up the file of ‘photos to be posted.’ It’s now completely full (not) with about 20 images, so my plan is to get out there and get some more and really stock up the file. So, on this walk…

We stopped to feed the cats at our feeding station and then walked around the road to the back of the village, passing the other group of strays at the other bins. The bins don’t look that glamorous on Symi, it must be said and there’s no such thing as a recycling area with different coloured tubs for different things. Not like in some places I’ve been to recently, like airports, where each set of bins numbers about 15. Green for papers, yellow for plastics, red for ammunition, pink for unwanted child’s toys (unless 100% plastic in which case in the yellow one), a rainbow painted one for pure linen, plaid and anything from Marks & Spencer, paisley for all other material, white with a hint of apple for paint pots and a bastard-amber one for everything else. Yes, I’m all for recycling but there’s so much choice. Unless you’re on Symi, where you have a skip or a wheelie bin and make do. And yes, bastard-amber is actually the name of a colour, I quote: “Bastard-amber is the name of an amber-coloured spotlight used in theatres to produce a warm peach or pink glow on stage. It’s often used to recreate sunlight, or to give the illusion of dawn or dusk.”

But that’s how it is and that’s how it goes. You find all kinds of interesting junk at the bins too. I’ve known people restore furniture and build new pieces from what’s been found at the bins. They get emptied at least once a day and the area gets tidied up too. I often see the guys early in the morning when I am on my early walks (summer). I hate to think what time they start in the mornings, I’m often out at about at 5.30 and they are coming back from the tip (and recycling plant, as I was told there was some kind of recycling going on up there).

Anyway, I didn’t start today’s blog in order to talk rubbish, though I am sure there are critics out there who say that’s all I write. And talking of writing (rubbish or otherwise, time will tell) the new book ‘Straight Swap’ is now in what’s rather trendily called ‘the beta stage.’ I have no idea what that really means but for me it means it’s being proof read and also, chapter by chapter, being sent to the editor – finally. Mind you, he just had a huge computer disaster and loss and is rebuilding, so he may not be able to start on the edits just yet. Meanwhile…

Meanwhile, next on the list is now ‘Shocking the Donkeys’; the book version of the film script. Not quite a novel, not a screenplay but a mix of both, I aim to get this out by mid-next-year, as it’s a smaller project than a full novel. It will depend again on the editor. This is the story of Greece’s first gay wedding – not the actual one that took place on Tilos and was immediately annulled by Church and State alike (a few years ago now), but a made up one set on an island not unlike Symi. Now that the Greek Government have been kicked into line and forced to allow civil partnerships between same sex couples, the ‘Donkeys’ is slightly out of date, so will be updated. That’s next on the table, so keep your eyes peeled. Meanwhile-meanwhile, it’s back to work for me and have a nice day!

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