There’s not much to tell you. So little, in fact, I forgot to put up a blog yesterday, but there wouldn’t have been much to share even if I had. I was on the balcony just now, and couldn’t help but notice how few boats there were at the end of the harbour. None, in fact. Even the coastguard boats were out, as they are at night, patrolling the seas and looking out for people. It was too early for the Blue Star, but I imagine that will be busy later today with people returning from the Panormitis festival. The Panagia Skiadeni came in yesterday, I assume on its way to Rhodes, and there was a crowd and a collection of cars waiting to board, but yesterday was also the first day in months I didn’t see a day trip boat come in. It looks like the traditional summer season is now over.
A village view
And talking of over, what have I got on the slate over this weekend? Not a great deal. I’ve finished the first draft of a collection of short stories in my Victorian mystery series, so I am looking forward to second drafting that. We’ve got some post to pick up from Yialos today, and hopefully, Neil will be able to do that on his way to the gym. Apparently, we’re in for some cloudy and wet weather over the weekend and into Monday, which will make a change, but the temperatures remain in the 20s.
Other than that, I am planning to do very little except work on a couple of projects, and watch a fair amount of TV, I guess. I want to get some sofa-sitting practice in for the winter ahead, although we do have things planned that take place outside of the house. We’re heading to Athens for a week late in December, for example, and although that’s a way off, at least it will give me something to write about.
Here’s wishing a happy Panormitis Day and festival to everyone who attends or follows the celebration. In the past, we have been to the festival in various ways. In the back of a transit van, on foot (it was a four-hour walk), in the back of a flatbed truck (a few times, sometimes sitting on the floor, other times sitting in a tied-down chair), we’ve stayed at Marathunda and visited from there, and we’ve been by car and back by bus. Some people arrive by boat from Rhodes, or from other places on Symi, some people walk, and with the weather being so calm now, that’s a good option. We’ve also, on this day, been up to Roukounotis, and/or other churches dedicated to Michaelis, and have been made welcome at every one.
Today though, I have to work in the morning, and in the afternoon, we’re visiting the family for some madness and mayhem, no doubt.
Yesterday, while Neil was off doing his ‘program three’ at the gym, I went for a stroll around the village wondering whether I should reinstate my ‘thing I find by the road’ collection of images. The things are usually odd shoes or a single glove that mysteriously appear overnight, but yesterday, all I saw was a long-squashed rat, or the shell of one, and nothing very interesting. The cloud was coming over the Vigla, but before it arrived (and it didn’t amount to anything), it was a gloriously warm and sunny morning at 24° and felt like spring.
As you can see, there’s work going on in the lower car park, which has probably ruffled the fur of the local cats who hang out there, but being cats, they’ll adapt and find the bins wherever they are put while the work is going on. I assume the work here is resurfacing, but I’m not sure. However, I am sure I have to go before I am late for work.
We’re still enjoying warm weather down here. I just went outside at 3.30 this morning, and it was rather pleasant. Mind you, there’s no wind to speak of, the plants don’t know what to make of it all, and I’m sure we’ll get some kind of winter weather before long. Meanwhile, the Nicholaos X made its last day trip yesterday. At least, I assume that’s why it sounded its horn for ages as it left; saying thank you and goodbye in the traditional fashion.
Today sees the start of the three-day Panormitis festival, and many of the boats will be routed to visit that end of the island during this week. It’s doubtful I’ll get down there this year, but I imagine it’s already busy with pilgrims and visitors, market stalls and other things set up and making ready. Wednesday will be the big holiday and main day, but events and celebrations will be going on for the next three days.
Today, I’ve a couple of photos Neil took on a recent walk over to St Nicholas Beach, or ‘Saint Nick’s’ as it’s often called. They were taken on a morning when there was some early but not threatening cloud, but like many days at this time of year, the cloud dispersed during the rest of the morning, leaving a clear sky and a sunny day.
Things have quietened down no there are very few visitors here. We can still see some pleasure boats coming in and out, but the harbour isn’t lined with them. Instead, it’s returning to the customary winter sight of local fishing boats and speedboats only, with the ferries turning up according to their schedules, but not the day trip boats. I’ve noticed that visitors eager for next season to be upon them have already begun asking about boats from Rhodes next summer. The bottom line there is, you will have to wait, as the schedules don’t get published until much nearer the time. I want to book Blue Star tickets for the first week in January, but they’re not online yet. (The Sunday/Monday sailings are, but not the other two per week; assuming the schedule stays the same as it is now.) Blue Star is the major line from Athens to here, and if that’s not putting up its dates for two months hence, there’s little or no chance the smaller lines will be putting up theirs for June and July. Calm down folks, there will be boats. There may also be the need for you to stay the night in Rhodes depending on what time your plane lands, but that’s par for the course.
I expect there are a few sore heads around this morning following yesterday’s village wedding. This was the wedding of Lefteris and Glykeria to which, I’m told, over 600 people were invited. If you were wondering, that’s ‘young’ Lefteris from the Lefteris’ Kafeneion in the village. As is the Greek tradition, he was given his grandfather’s name, which means in the four generations of the family there is great-grandfather Lefteris, his son, Yiannis, his son, Lefteris, and his son, Yiannis. It was a lovely afternoon/evening, though we couldn’t make it to the reception at the Opera House.
I’ll kick your week off with a couple of photos, including one taken later from a very busy Scena where we stopped off on the way home.
We’ve started early this year. Preparing for that joyous celebration on December 25th, I mean. I know it’s a long way off, but for one reason or another, we tend to start gathering things well in advance. This avoids the annual crush at Jumbo and other shops in Rhodes, a trip to which, although often entertaining, usually turns out to cost more than you save. Once you add in boat tickets, a decent lunch, possibly a hotel if an overnight is needed, a taxi or a bus and all that jazz, a shopping trip to Rhodes can be costly. So, I do some of my you-know-what shopping online.
Random pic from last year.
I’m currently waiting for something special from another European country, and as it’s coming by DHL, it is not going to arrive, or so they tell me. Now, I don’t want the good folk at DHL to sit up in a cold sweat and say, ‘Say what?’ because their message, ‘Package cannot be delivered’ is actually so common as to be expected. Other courier services have the same problem in that a delivery reaches Athens, and then no-one at the delivery hub knows where to send it next. I often receive an automated message telling me my thing can’t be delivered because of there being no address, and yet, a few days later, it’s here and all’s well. Maybe it’s because there are few officially registered addresses for the island? Maybe there I none, I don’t know. What I do know is, I usually get the thing a few days after being told it can’t be delivered. (Never have this problem with ACS or Elta, btw. It’s only the other services; perhaps we are between DHL agents on the island?)
Well, it made me laugh.
Anyway, that’s beside the point. This year, I’ve also used an online store which appears to bring with it something of a controversy. You may have heard of how Temu is taking over the world. According to Karen on Facebook, it’s owned by the Chinese government, and as soon as you browse it online, all your personal data is sucked from the computer and delivered directly into the hands of an evil villain sitting behind a bank of monitors in a plush office at the top of a Beijing office block. He rubs his hands together in glee as he gloats over all your lovely details, and plots the best way to control your life. That’s you and several million other online customers, most of whom are in a far more interesting place of power or finance, or who work for secret organisations and spy rings, so even if a country is data-mining your info, I doubt they are specifically interested in your info or you. Besides, my other online stores, banks even, already have all my details and I have no idea what they do with it or who they are. Lizard people working with Pukin to overthrow the West, probably, but as long as my order arrives in time for you-know-what, I don’t really care.
Yes, it really works!
Maybe this online shop is a cover for a Bond villain, as these Karens* make out, but all I know is their stuff is cheap, it arrives within a couple of weeks, and there are loads of affordable gadgets and fun things to make a party go with a laugh. There are also lots of neat things for the home that you didn’t know you couldn’t live without until you saw them. I am more than happy with my illuminated WC pan. (I giggled at it for ages, and it’s even better in the middle of the night when you don’t need to turn on the main light because the loo senses you’re near and bursts into light.) There’s also a warm glow emanating from behind the TV now I’ve stuck on a strip of tiny LED lights. My you-know-what box is already bulging with unsuitable gifts for the godchildren at at a cost of €3.50. The best thing for me is that this junk comes from inside Europe, inside the country rather, so I miss out on having to pay extra for import duty as we sometimes do when things arrive from the post-Brexit yUK.
So, I will leave the evil villain deciding what he (or she) is going to do with my €57.34 worth of savings in my bank account, and go and order that must-have ‘Multifunction silicone sink sponge rack with adjustable shoulder strap.’ (Yes, that’s a real thing.)
* Apologies if your name is Karen. I didn’t invent this misappropriation of your name. I’ll refer to you as Kevin** from now on.
