Now, I know you will be expecting news and views of the birthday bash on Tuesday, but I haven’t got the pics yet, so I’ll have to give you the words and save the images for another time. Meanwhile, here are some views and shots from the other day.

Neil’s birthday was a great day and he sends huge thanks to everyone who sent cards, presents and notes and messages and jewellery. It started out with an early morning walk and jog and some work, and soon descended into mayhem. After I’d been to the dentist (need to return for root canal work over the next few weeks, yummy), we headed to one of his favourite tavernas for a light lunch; salad and fish at To Spitiko. Then a taxi up to The Olive Tree to say hello there and then to work while I sorted the house out. Meeting friends and other birthday girls (Claudia and Justine are also the same day) in the evening we headed to Mythos for a wonderful meal – Coquille Saint Symi, Chicken in blue cheese sauce, chocolate mousse, and that was just for me – and some dancing on the roof terrace ensued.

After dinner, beautifully cooked, presented and served, while the others took a taxi back up, I headed up the slope and steps and arrived at the Sunrise a few minutes later. Although I was accused of having taken a cab I can assure you I didn’t, and thus we settled in for a nightcap, reaching home at not too late an hour and that was that. Great time and good fun and maybe some pics to follow if they are suitable (unlikely).

While on the roof terrace we saw the coastguard bringing in another group of refugees, some on the coastguard boat some on a ‘Sunsail’ style yacht (not sure what they are called other than white), seriously overcrowded, but finally safe. As I look out of my window now I can see a navy boat hanging around the bay again. I am assuming it’s a navy boat, the guns and rocket launchers give it away, but I expect it is doing coastguard patrols.

I know there’s a lot of ‘stuff’ going back and forth in the press and on social media in the never-ending and no-solution argument about what one’s country should or should not be doing for those fleeing the war in Syria (and frankly I find it’s been a very useful way of weeding out friends form my Facebook Friends list – I’m all for freedom of speech but I don’t need to read racial hatred and I don’t need those that spout it as my ‘friends’), but… What was I saying? Oh yes, if you would like to help the Solidarity Symi on-going campaign for humanitarian aid to those who wash up alive on our shores, the link is here: http://www.everyclick.com/solidaritysymi/info They’re now aiming for 30k by the end of the month and looking to finance some way we can house children so they don’t have to sleep on the street or the police station veranda (if they are lucky) especially when the weather changes.

Anyway, back to the photos. Neil took these on a trip to Pedi with Harry last weekend. As you can see the holiday season is still in full swing, or as full as it gets these days. I am off to Rhodes on Monday night for a day there and to be there for Tuesday when Mother arrives for a month’s holiday, so I should probably get something posted in advance so the blog can look after itself while I’m away. Will have to think about that over the weekend.

Here’s an update at of 11.00 a.m. yesterday: it’s hot and muggy and the sky is a kind of grey rather than blue and I had two fans on me last night (can’t remember their names) as it was so hot. Neil thought he saw a snake in the bedroom (dreaming, I fancy) and I was dripping as soon as I’d dried myself after a shower.

But still, we managed a walk/run in the morning to celebrate Neil’s birthday, he opened his presents, did some work and we’re not about to decide if we dare risk a joint trip to Yialos which might end in a lunch – we are already booked in to Mythos for tonight’s dinner. I have to be at the dentist soon, 12.00 for a clean-up and stuff, so I thought I’d better put something up now ready for the morning in case we end up having a late night. It’s also Justine’s birthday, Claudia’s, it was Ian H’s last night and is Alex’s tomorrow… It’s one of those weeks.

I didn’t end up doing much on Monday night, it was so darn hot. But I did pick up some donation clothes to wash and send back to the refugee station. It seems quiet down there at the moment. I wondered if the Turkish traffickers have been put off Symi because if the tragedy of the other week, for which one of them is bound to face life in prison – or at least a long stretch. Maybe that’s why we have not seen the hundreds as we have seen recently, maybe they will be here soon. Meanwhile the charity continues to raise money for essentials and we do have some refugees here, but the quieter period is at least allowing people time to rest and clean up, and giving the police a much needed break from administration.

On another note, it’s about this time of year that a lot of British and north European visitors come out Symi and Neil used to sell many of his next year calendars at this time. We don’t have any in the shops now as we don’t have a shop to sell them from, so the only place you can get them is via Lulu on line. Here’s the link: http://www.lulu.com/shop/neil-gosling/symi-dream-calendar-2016/calendar/product-22165801.html All you need to do is click that and you will see the page.

From there you can run a preview and see the amazing images inside. Then you might need to register – doesn’t take long – before you buy things. (You can also buy my books from Lulu.) Up top, near the log in/register link you will see what store you are in; you can change this to reflect your currency, USA, Europe, UK etc., and this also affects where your calendar is printed and how quickly it reaches you. It shouldn’t be more than a few days after printing, which can take four or five days to do. Just remember: it’s best to start gathering presents for Christmas early, to spread the cost over a few months. I already have two in the trunk waiting for nearer the time.

Anyway, got to go, no time to check for typos (not that it does much good anyway), must iron a short and clean my teeth again, get my things organised and get down the hill to the chair without being too sweaty in this late burst of humidity and heat. I come, Graymalkin. Dentist calls. Anon! Fair is foul…. You’re recognise the irrelevant misquote I am sure.

Had one of those ‘Mad dogs and Englishmen’ moments yesterday. Went down to the post office around 11.30, left to come back up just before 12.00 and came up via the steep path and zig-zag as it is quicker. And yesterday the temperature in our courtyard in the shade was around 36 degrees, over 50 in the sun of course. On reaching home I kind of dripped for a while and then sat down to write the blog for tomorrow – which is today – while drying out.

I collected the draft copy of ‘Straight Swap’ from the post, this is only draft one, the one I was working on when I went to Tilos. I’ve mentioned some details about it before and won’t go on about it here, except to say I am thinking of changing the title to either ‘Remotely,’ or ‘So you think we’re remotely interested?’ as that’s the name of the dreadful live reality themed talent show TV show thing that the story is set against. Neil is going to read the draft and give me his opinion and then, when I’ve finished draft one of ‘The Saddling’ I shall go back and see what I think. I’m following the Stephen King school or novel writing at the moment and it seems to be working.

Meanwhile: today is Neil’s birthday so happy birthday to him! He’s already had his present, a long lens for his camera, but tonight we’re also going to the roof garden, Mythos, for dinner in a group of nine of us, so that should be fun. Well, it will also be a gastro-delight of course, so we are really looking forward to it. I told you, 2015 was not the year of the diet. But on that note, my new running shoes arrived yesterday and I’m intending to get them worn in as soon as I can find a suitably early morning. There will be one along soon.

Meanwhile, meanwhile, it was 13 years ago today that we landed on Symi to stay permanently. We’d come from Antiparos and Paros on an overnight boat to Rhodes and then switched and taken the hydrofoil across to Symi in the afternoon. Dumped our bags with Jane at the Sunflower, as was, wandered about, had some beers and then walked up to the village to meet Jean in the evening and book into the accommodation we’d booked for a week. A week later we were sat outside the Rainbow Bar with bags and nowhere to stay as the rental on that place had run out. We ended up knocking on Anastasia’s door and renting one of her new apartments for ‘as long as you need it but I may have a teacher coming to live there in three days or a week, or not, how much do you want to pay?’ It all worked out fine and here we are, 13 years on, in our latest rental still having a wonderful life.

That’s my news for today, a bit of everting and nothing really. And if you haven’t read the full story of moving here and what we encountered then you can find it in Symi 85600 (just click that link for the Amazon page).

I wanted to give you some lighter side of Symi life images today, and thought boat people would be a topic. So, here are some photos of people on boats and people who came in by boats and some stats I found while inter-webbing, or whatever the term is these days. We’ll be spending the weekend doing our bit at the old post office for Solidarity Symi, on Saturday morning as usual, and also seeing friends who have arrived for their holidays while, no doubt, getting on with life as one must.

I don’t want to over-do my posting of my views about the refugees arriving in Symi, I don’t want to deter visitors who might not approve of the humanitarian aid locals are providing (though they are the first on my list of people not to take out to dinner), and the over-saturation of a story in the media leads to a dulling of the problem as we know. That’s why sensible charities and organisations post to the point when necessary rather than all the time. But, I will give you this snippet of info:

“Latest estimate from the UN is 140,000 [refugees from Syria] heading through Turkey for the Dodecanese this month. Considering Greece only had a total of 130,000 from January to August, I think you can see that that’s a rather big increase.”

While I’m wittering on today, let’s return, in the photos, to Monday night’s boat trip party and excursion.

There continues to be a lot of chatter on Facebook and other places about the BBC, and others, and the use of the word ‘Refugee’ Vs ‘Migrant’ and I’m not going back into that argument, except to say both should be used appropriately. But the on-going debate does keep alive the story and the work that is going on, on Symi (and elsewhere) by residents of the island. Actually, it was some other posts that got me to thinking too, ones where UK citizens are calling for their Government to do something about the situation. I saw a nice analogy which said that all of the refuges currently in the UK could fit on one underground train. Makes you think.

But I was thinking: it’s interesting, am I an ex-pat or a migrant worker, or a migrant? I suppose one is really a migrant when one is migrating, so if you are on the move you are a migrant of some sort and, as I am well established on Symi, I’m not migrating at the moment. If I chose to live elsewhere I would be while I was getting there. I am not a displaced person either, as that suggests I was displaced by something and not through choice. Nor am I a refugee in any sense other that I might be running away from the banality of my home country’s television, the complete breakdown of intelligence that some of my home country’s newspapers suffer from, a society that bays like wolves every time one of their ‘country’s favourite newspapers’ (that have very little news in them) starts a witch hunt against a pocket of society and the breakdown in discipline that, in my old fashioned view, emanates from the lack of authority allowed by schools.

Oh Lord, I am sounding like an old fuddy-duddy. But what was I saying? Oh yes. That’s the reason I am a refugee but not because of war or persecution; though I still fit into a part of society, in any country in the world (with perhaps the exception of Holland), that is open for persecution thanks to the stirring-up of ‘newspapers’ referred to above.

This is one of those posts that’s rambling more than the head of the Outdoor Rambler’s Association on National Ramblers’ Day, so let’s change the subject. What else is going on on Symi at the moment? I have no idea, I don’t get out much – there’s a restraining order on me these days, called ‘Novel writing and other work.’ But I did get out yesterday morning at 5.45 and went for a walk up the hill to the ravine. It is good to see that this is relatively rubbish free since the council got in special equipment to clear it out a few years back.

There was some cloud about in the early morning and it felt a little fresher. Let’s hope the weather doesn’t change drastically though as it’s only early September and the family won’t have finished holidaying until half way through October. We know October can get cold and windy, even wet, but it can also stay warm enough for swimming and sunbathing. It’s all a game of ‘wait and see.’ The rest of yesterday was filled up with listening to the neighbour drill away on some small project, sounding like a dentist on a mission, and seeing friends in the afternoon and evening. The day boats came in, as did the gullets, I could hear their engines and the sound of the horse and carriage, the bell of the train and the clapping of holidaymakers as they drove past the tents and destitute by the clock tower.

And so the world ticks over like a time bomb on a slow countdown.