I’m having one of those days when I think it’s the day it isn’t. Today is not Saturday, it’s Friday, but I’ve been pottering around thinking, ‘I need to do my Jackson Marsh blog this morning,’ as I do every Wednesday and Saturday, only to realise I’m on the wrong day. Oops, better witter on about something vaguely relevant to the Symi Dream blog…

Luckily for me, Neil is now in the habit of going to Yialos most days of the week to do his gym thing and pick up anything that’s needed from the shops, bank, post office and other amenities we don’t have up here, and while he’s there, he takes some quick photos to share with you. Yesterday, as you can see, we had a cruise ship come in and float about all day while its lifeboats ferried passengers to and fro, and people explored the range of closed tourist shops, the few open tavernas, and the many open cafés. Neil met a couple on the bus who were heading up to explore Horio, and that’s always good to see because although there’s not a huge amount of shopping to be done up here, there is a lot to see and experience.

Talking of shopping, I’ve been having a tricky time trying to get a package from Germany. I ordered something back on the first of October, and it was sent by courier. The DHL service comes with tracking, so I kept an eye on it all the way from a place with sixteen syllables to Athens, and the depot there. Not long now, I thought on October 16th when it was logged as in the country/destination area of delivery. I waited, and waited, and checked the tracking… the shipment was processed on the 16th, and again on the 19th (twice), and on the 25th, the tracking told me it couldn’t be delivered. We often get a courier message like that, and usually, it means the delivery is with the local agent, but in this case, apparently not. The DHL message said they couldn’t find my address and the thing would be sent to the nearest post office. Perfect. Then, on the 31st, and again on the 1st of November, the shipment was in a parcel centre. No idea where. On the 7th it was being returned to sender because of an ‘address error,’ and on the 15th was on its way back to Germany, where it arrived on the 16th.

Meanwhile, I’d contacted the seller, but heard nothing. I’d tried to find my way through the maze which is the DHL ‘contact us’ process, one which insists on sending you back to where you started every time to think you’ve found the contact form, and I’d contacted the seller a second time. Today, I wrote again and asked about getting a refund. We shall see. If all else fails, I will have to phone them, but using the phone is something I hate doing more with each passing day, and I’m not sure whether I’ll get anyone who speaks English, because I certainly can’t speak German. There again, if that’s all I have to worry about…

Anyway… Off into the ‘weekend.’ Having thought today was tomorrow, I find myself with an extra day, although I haven’t, and I have no plans after this evening apart from working, writing, and possibly rummaging about upstairs to find the duvet. Still, no need for the heaters to go on, but we’re getting closer as the northerly breeze brings down the temperature. Now, I should go and prepare my author’s blog for tomorrow in case I wake up thinking it’s December or something, so have a good weekend.

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(The title sounds like an episode of The Hobbit, but that’s not what this is.)

Yesterday was interrupted. It’s happened before — having an interrupted day, I mean. Once, it was by a boat, on another occasion, a child, but yesterday was interrupted by a wardrobe.

Not long after we moved here, we were entertaining a couple for lunch up at the house by Ag Triada when someone’s phone rang. It was a request to lend a hand with a boat launch. Lunch was almost finished anyway, and after it, we bustled off down to Pedi to experience the thrill of helping to get a boat out of the water so it could have its bottom scraped, or something. All very ‘island’ and interesting for a couple of newbies, and our lunchtime dessert ended up becoming a couple of beers at a kafeneion.

A few years later, we were living at our second house, and settling in for a winter afternoon of TV watching when the phone rang, or pinged, or did whatever phones did before smartphones played symphonies. Crackled, I expect, or tapped out some Morse code. Anyway, our godson, Harry, had gone missing and as he was only a toddler, it was something of a worry. Not that much of a worry, because around here, you know someone will look out for him, but still, there are ruins to fall into and other hazards facing a young explorer, so, a village-wide search was instigated. The awol bambino was later discovered making himself at home in Wendy’s house, and afternoon order was restored.

Yesterday, we were preparing ourselves for the final part of a TV series when the phone chimed out its Mozart sonata, or whatever it plays these days, and we were summoned to assist. We knew this was on the cards, but thought it was to happen later in the day. You see, the Nireus Hotel is selling off everything it has within its walls. I’m told it’s currently open house for anyone to go and have a look at the furniture and some fittings, and buy whatever one might need. A friend had bought a wardrobe and it had been delivered to the lane beside the supermarket. We hurried down to find a double-door thing hanging around on the street corner, accepted Sotiris’ offer to use his sack trolley, and set about our work. Ian was with us, and between the three of us, after a little Laurey and Hardy dumb show, we took the doors off, and carted the rest of the thing down the lane, around behind the Kali Strat Restaurant, to its destination. Fine when you’re on the flat, but very little is flat around here, and there are some adverse cambers to negotiate, not to mention the steps.

As before, that interruption ended in a dessert of a few hours at the bar as a thank you, and, despite it being November 15th, we sat outside in the warm. Yesterday was a grand day. Hot when I went for a walk, and mild enough come evening to still suit the café society. Since the boat interruption, we have moved house twice, and now, our godboy Harry* is sixteen and studying for his grade four piano, so times have moved on, yet, we still have days that are interrupted by furniture, vessels and other things. In a way, that’s what the winter season is all about.

* I was going to abbreviate this, but it would have been GBH, which I thought inappropriate.

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It’s feeling a little bit chillier this morning, though it’s not as breezy as it was yesterday. As you can see from Neil’s two photos today, the weather is apt to change very quickly at this time of year. That’s one of the reasons we always take care when traveling. Not because we might get tossed about on the high seas, but because we might not get off the island at all. Years ago, we met someone at the Panormitis festival who was due to catch the inter-island ferry a couple of days after, but it was so windy, the boat came in, reversed toward the quay, then had to pull away and head out because it was too rough to land. Our friend was, like many, stuck here for some extra days. We’ve had a similar problem on the way back. It was ten years ago mind you, but we ended up being stuck in Rhodes for an extra three or four nights due to high seas. This was in April, so the unpredictability can last for several months.

The seas haven’t been that bad recently, nothing like it, but it’s always worth thinking about if you’re planning to visit Symi out of the summer season. Three or four extra days in Rhodes were not only costly but rather dull (no offence to the island). Had we known we would be delayed, we’d have stayed in Romania because it would have been cheaper. With little spending money left and an extra hotel stay to pay for, there wasn’t much left for anything else, so we walked around the seafront X number of times, read books, sat in cafes and generally bided our time until news came that the boat would finally leave.

Anyway, not to put anyone off, but just to suggest if you are heading this way, or heading back to catch a plane, you check the weather as best you can, and build in the possibilities of delays. It’s not always like this, you’re just never sure when it will be. On other days, like yesterday, the same view can look like this.

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A little wander up the road yesterday and took this photo looking down towards Pedi. I expect it’ll be slightly different today after an evening and night of rain and wind. It’s finally starting to feel like winter is on the way, though there’s still no need yet for the heaters to be dusted off.

There is the need for speed control, apparently. There’s now a sign on the main harbour/Horio road limiting drivers to 20 kph. As with many instructions around here, it’s more of a serving suggestion, but it is there for a safety purpose, because of work that’s going on to the surrounding area. That, I’m guessing, is for the treatment plant that’s going to go up on ‘council corner’, as it’s known colloquially. Where ‘it’ will all go after that remains a mystery, but then that mystery has been running for many years, though I don’t know where, and it’s not something I think of often.

Anyway, blustery and thus a little chilly today, I’ve not seen the sky yet so am not sure if I’m going to get up the hill again this morning, but I have a pile of things on the desk in need of attention. For example, an empty mug that needs refilling with tea, and an email to write. I ordered something from a company in Germany and it was sent a couple of days later via DHL. A week or so later, I started getting messages from DHL Athens saying I didn’t exist and they couldn’t deliver it to my address and it would be sent to the nearest post office. Fair enough. Then, another email saying they’d tried to deliver it, but I wasn’t at home, or something, and it would be sent to the nearest post office via Elta (again). Anyway, this continued for some time, I followed the tracking from Germany to Athens, to a couple of depots in Athens and now… back to Germany ‘unable to deliver.’ I’ve already written to the company once to suggest they use ACS or Elta, but am waiting to hear back. It’s been a few days, so another email is in order. I do have other things to do today, like work out how an unelected Prime Miniature can install a non-MP into his cabinet, especially after what the non-MP did to his country*, but that country has nothing to do with me anymore, so I shan’t worry. I shall go and write my email instead.

*Btw; I do know how that is possible, so no answers on a postcard, thanks.

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What can I tell you…? Over the weekend, I’ve watched various boats take people away from the island after the Panormitis festival. The Panagia Skiedani collected many cars and people, there was a traffic queue for the Friday Blue Star which ran all the way back to the main road, and if you’ve ever used that part of the port you’ll know that’s a fair distance. There were other boats too, but the Dodekanisos catamaran looked busy with arrivals and departures over the weekend, and on Saturday evening, just after dark, a flotilla of small yachts came in and left the next day. I counted ten of them, but I wasn’t watching for long. Not massive numbers, maybe, but for this time of year, not bad, and on Sunday afternoon, the north side of the harbour looked as busy as it was in summer, if not busier.

The weather has been busy too, with some showers (brief) and cloudy skies, but temperatures in our courtyard up to 24 at night. This will be pleasing news for the visitors who came for the day with the King Saron, or the ‘Queeny Shaz’, as I call it. Why? Who knows? It just evolved that way. From King Saron to King Sharon, to Queen Sharon, to Queen Shaz, ultimately leading to Queeny Shaz. Sometimes, you have to make your own entertainment. Like we do when we’re on the balcony watching the world go by during the summer when we play a daft game for no reason. The first one to spot the yellow bus gets a point, as does the first one to spot the train. This year, we added a particular white van to the list, which helped the score, which is never remembered and doesn’t matter. It’s just a bit of a lark.

More interesting is the bird watching. Not that I am a great twitcher, and I only recognise some species, but we keep a lookout. The robins are back flitting about the wasteland, and the black redstarts are still here along with the warblers, thrush, blackbirds, sparrows, doves, pigeons and others. I’ve heard the ravens and seen some larger birds of prey, buzzards or a kind of eagle, and I’ve seen and heard the seagulls. So, the wildlife continues to enjoy the island along with a few visitors and sailors, and us, of course, despite the cloud you see in today’s photos. There are probably more gathering above as I write. It’s still dark, but we’ve just had a brief downpour. The house hasn’t leaked, as yet, so that’s good news as we head into the middle days of November.

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