I achieved my goals over the weekend. I did the writing I wanted to do, and I put together next year’s Symi Dream calendar, using 12 of Neil’s photos, plus one for the cover. We now have to wait while our proof copies are sent, and as long as they look as good as usual, I’ll put up to link so you can start stocking up. We’ve never had a problem with them before, so they will be fine. We’ve tried to keep the price below €20.00, which sounds like a lot, I know, but it’s print-on-demand and only available online, and there’s nothing we can do about the print costs or delivery charges. Still, there will be a link in the right-hand column in a few weeks.

Bobby
I’m also pleased to report that my godfather’s biography, Bobby, was #15 in the Amazon Memoirs and Biographies charts over the weekend, which is a fair old achievement for him. I also wrote to Dame Shirley Bassey’s team, because he went out with her first manager, she and Bob were friends, and she gets a few mentions in the book. I thought she might like a copy. You can help boost Bobby up the charts by taking a look, buying a copy, and leaving a review here: https://mybook.to/bobby

Talking of reviews, there have been some excellent ones put up so far, so, thank you for those!

Other Things

The island is busy, the harbour is lined with boats, and the festival is underway. Live Greek music up in Horio last night, more in Yialos this week, and the Symi Theatre has put on their annual play.

I am onto draft two of my next book which is taking shape in an unusual way, for me. It’s going to be dark, amusing, intriguing, and one for the mystery lovers who also like cross-story connections. (What happened to a minor character in ‘Deviant Desire’, the very first book in these three series, is what drives the villain in this story set over four years later.)

I’m also pleased to report my cold has just about gone, and I’m left only with the sore nose which, I believe, has more to do with the general summer dust than it does anything else. I dusted the house yesterday, but before I did, I thought I’d put on a mask, only to find them all too dusty to do any good, so they’re going in the wash. No sooner have you got rid of the stuff from the surface than it’s back again. Mind you, with the doors and windows still open, the temperatures still in the 30s, and some breeze now and then, you can’t avoid the dust. At least it’s no Saharan at the moment; that’s even worse.

Enough of that. There are words to bash out, housework to do, books to publicise and fun to be had. Let’s see what the week will bring…

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There’s a photo that’s been doing the rounds on social media for a couple of years now. It’s one of Neil’s from a few years back, and it shows the sunrise over Pedi. It’s from the same batch/time as the ones posted here today. The thing is, some sites and individuals have shared it claiming it’s theirs, or haven’t put a note to say it’s not theirs, leaving others to assume it is. If you’ve seen it, you know the one I mean, and I only mention it because I happened across the rest of the same shoot this morning, and thought I’d post these. They were taken one June. They’ve reminded me I need to get the Symi Dream calendar finished this weekend, that’s my priority.

Another may be to finally go for a short walk. I’ve been laid up with a daft cold for two weeks, but last night was the first night I was able to sleep without breathing through my mouth and waking up at all hours feeling like I’d swallowed a sponge. Hopefully, tomorrow, I’ll take a stroll and maybe even take some new photos for this blog.

The rest of the weekend will, as usual, be taken up with writing, and I have nothing else planned but that. Oh, and maybe some more YouTube video watching for research. Yesterday, I took a walk along the River Fleet in London. Rather, below London, because it was covered over a couple of hundred years ago, and is now part of the sewer system beneath the city. I watched a video about the history, system, Joseph Bazalgette and all that (didn’t know he also worked on the Tower Bridge design and other important things, we only hear of him for his sewers), and then went for a walk. Someone had kindly been down there with a camera and recorded several minutes of wandering through the tunnels with no sound other than the constant sound of water. Fascinating to see what I’ve recently been reading about, a labyrinth of large and small tunnels, some incredibly deep, some tiny, weirs, storm gates, mechanics, the lot. Very far removed from the images today, but it’s where I have to go later this morning as I press on with the next chapter.

So, I’ll go and make a start on my day, and will wish you a pleasant weekend.

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A little self-promotion this morning following a review of my book, ‘Bobby’ which appeared on Amazon yesterday – the review, I mean, not the book. That’s been out for a few weeks.

‘Bobby’ is the biography of my godfather, written by me based on interviews where he told us his life story. I started on this project 20 years ago, but only this year was I confident enough in the fact checking to knock the thing together and put it out there.

This is the story of one gay man, born in 1919 in Tooting. Bobby’s colourful life crossed paths with King George VI, Sir Winston Churchill, the Dalai Lama, Shirley Bassey, David Bowie, Quentin Crisp, Ruth Ellis, and numerous other crowned heads, politicians, entertainers and leaders of society. However, he came from the underclass of the homeless, drag queens, and illegal lovers. There at pivotal moments of the gay 20th century, this previously unknown gay man’s richly fascinating career has previously slipped under the radar but is now getting the limelight it deserves.

Here are some excerpts from the latest review: Lovingly crafted, exceptionally well written and well researched. This is a startlingly interesting read, with a wealth of beautifully observed detail of ‘ a time past’, yet it has a contemporary voice that quite entranced me. The descriptions of Bobby’s early life have all the resonance of the memoirs of the Scottish writer Molly Wier, and at times capture these lost days and ways as succinctly and as pungently as Flora Thomson did in the ‘Larkrise’ books. More than 5 stars required. (Thank you, Dr Gardner.)

Thanks also to everyone else who has taken the time and trouble to read the book and leave a review. As usual, my serial stalker has been out and about and bunged up a three-star rating, but at least this time it was a three and not a one. I don’t know who this person is, but they make me laugh. No sooner do I put a book on Amazon than they’re there, often before they’ve even had time to read a page. I imagine a jealous and frustrated oik who thinks he can do better but never does, so satisfies himself by giving other writers one and two star ratings without even reading the book.

Anyway, none of that matters when you have words like Lovingly crafted, and exceptionally well written in your reviews.

If you want to see what all the fuss is about, you can find ‘Bobby, a Life Worth Living’ via this universal link that should take you to your nearest Amazon outlet for the Kindle version or the paperback. It’s on Kindle Unlimited too.

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My cloud storage has this thing where it shows you photos from this day in (my) history, in today’s case, last week through the years. With a distinct lack of anything else on my mind apart from chapter 17, which I will get to later, I thought I’d have a browse through and see what I was up to this time last year and the year before and so on.

One year ago, apparently, I wasn’t doing very much. There are a few photos of the back of the village, so I assume I was going for walks in the morning, something I’ve not done for a couple of weeks thanks to this flu/cold/thing.

Two years ago, there’s a shot of us two at Georgio’s, not sitting at a table but wandering about so I don’t know what we were doing then.

Before that, there are loads of images of sunrises over various parts of the island, including Nimborio at dawn, so I assume Neil was over there on a very early morning walk. Then, there’s a post from 1970… That’s what it says! Apparently, I released the book Deviant Desire last week in 1970. Well, probably not as I would only have been seven, and that book actually came out at the beginning of March 2019.

This thing’s all over the place, because it shows me the year before, 2018, in the UK (which might have been right), but then shows a picture of a house I used to live in in the 1970s with the date, 2013. I reckon it’s when the images were last modified. Anyway, the point is there is no point, just an excuse to show you some old photos.

I do have an up-to-date photo as well, taken yesterday evening as we were crossing the square, showing some of the local children at their games. This photo could have been taken 40 years ago in any other country where it was once safe for children to play out alone, like we used to do. It reminded me of the times people from the UK ask what time zone we are in here in Greece. I always say we’re two hours ahead and 40 years behind – in a good way.

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Highlight of yesterday? Buying a new shower attachment from the Chinese shop and finding out we do actually have water pressure in the shower, at least, we do now. Other highlights? Writing a chapter of the next book, being able to breathe through one nostril for half an hour, meeting a 14-year-old violinist already at grade eight, and watching a documentary about Earnest Shackleton – well worth watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3YnAQiI4Cw

Today’s highlights may well include not looking at Facebook. I use it mainly for publicising the books and things, and for watching short videos of people falling over, cats, and, for some reason, construction sites gone wrong. One of the things that puts me off is the way it lies to you. I know we’re all fed up with the adverts, especially when it advertises the thing you just bought on Amazon or Skroutz, or wherever. What’s the point of that? I use the X and hide as many adverts as I can be bothered to hide as a way of teaching the thing a lesson. But that’s when it lies.

Me: I don’t want to see this advert. (Clicks X)

FB: You shan’t see this advert again.

Me: Good. (Scrolls)

FB: Here’s that advert we said you wouldn’t see again.

Me: Hit’s X.

FB: You shan’t see this advert again.

Me: Believe that when I see it. (Scrolls)

FB: Here’s that advert we said you wouldn’t see again.

And so on. It’s the same with ‘people you may know.’ How on earth am I likely to know the friend of a friend’s mother’s cousin in Pakistan?

So, today’s highlight may well be not looking at FB for a while and reading my book about Sir Henry Irving instead. That, admiring the new shower attachment, and writing a chapter should see me through what promises to be another hot day.

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