Holidays not yet over

The holiday season is not yet over. We had a cruise ship call in yesterday. I’m not sure how many people were on it, but I hope they spent well, stayed safe and enjoyed themselves.

I’ve heard people talking about the cost of their flights (from the UK), and some prices sound remarkably low. There’s plenty of accommodation to be found on Symi, and the ferries are still running. Well, they run all winter, but it’s a limited service apart from the Blue Star which keeps its three-days per week schedule and will do, as far as I know. If you’re thinking of a half-term break, just make sure you check the ferries against your flights so you can get the timing right and don’t have to spend a night in Rhodes. Mind you, Rhodes also has plenty to offer, and I heard the Plaza is offering good rates for rooms. The Plaza is one of the hotels many Symi travellers use, but there are plenty of others nearby (not all of them open right now, perhaps), and it’s a handy location for the ferries.

Meanwhile, up here in the village, everything is still open, though bars must close at half-midnight, tavernas are still serving, the supermarkets stay open all year, and the bus is running. I mention that because I’ve seen a few posts from people asking what Symi is like in the winter because they are thinking of taking a winter break here. That’s great, and you’ll experience island life as it is, which is: no taxi boats to beaches, no beach tavernas open and many others are closed. But, there are still taverns and bars open, shops, though not tourist shops, and everyone is welcome to festivals and events when they take place. My only tip would be to make sure of your flight/ferry connections, and be prepared to be stuck in Rhodes or here if the weather turns really bad. It happens occasionally but don’t let that put you off. It’s all part of the adventure.

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By the seaside

Today, I thought I’d share some of Niel’s photos. These were taken over the weekend when he went for a stroll to Yialos and around to Nos. As you can see, the season is changing. On some mornings, there’s more cloud and grey, though there are still sunny days and the sea stays warm enough to swim until November, or December depending on how hardened you are.

We had some rain overnight on Sunday, though I’m not sure how much or exactly when, but the courtyard and balcony were wet when I got up. The courtyard was acting as a temporary dormitory for seven cats who had been to the visiting vet under the SNiP programme. They were from our local bin area, they’d been SNiPped, if you see what I mean, and a couple had also had life-saving operations for things the vet found going on inside. As I write (6.00 yesterday), we’re waiting for the sun to come up before we take them up the road and release them closer to their home. I have to say, they’ve been very quiet all night, which is something I wasn’t expecting.

My tasks this week? Well, I am working on the second draft of a prequel to my Clearwater Mystery series, and thoroughly enjoying myself sifting through unnecessary adverbs, repetitive pronouns and subordinate clauses, or some such. I’ve done a fair amount of research for this novel, delving into the world of London’s East End in the 1880s, and my stack of research books and online papers has increased. I’ve also been sifting through the National Newspaper Archive to find original reports of certain events, and dipping into Dickens’ sketches of London life, though it’s slightly earlier than the period I am writing in. My latest afternoon TV viewing has been YouTube and a couple of documentaries about the horrors of the Victorian workhouse. The thing that struck me during all of this was how easy it is to draw an analogy between then and now. It seems that, for some, not a great deal has changed in the last 140 years. My next story in this series will be set over 1889/1890 when the world was living and dying through a flu pandemic. Interesting.

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Save the Symi Music School: Update

As of yesterday morning, the Just Giving campaign to save the Symi Music School had reached £8,200, 41% of its target. That’s excellent, but there’s still a way to go. So, in an attempt to help, I’m reposting my initial blog in case anyone didn’t see it. You can share this by using the social media share button at the bottom of the post. Thank you.

Save the Symi Music School

Regular visitors to Symi spend time sitting in the square watching the world go by. It’s a popular thing to do, and a lovely way to relax and pass the time. As you’ve been sitting there, you may have noticed young people passing by with strangely shaped cases on their backs, or a rucksack, and you might have wondered what was inside. Well, in some cases, the children are carrying guitars or a bouzouki, perhaps a violin, and in their other bags, they have their music and theory books. Obviously, the pianists don’t carry their instruments around, as a piano layer myself, I’ve tried it, and it never ends well. Anyway…

You may remember, the other day, I mentioned the Symi Music School and its current financial appeal. Well, today, I have the link to the site where you can donate. Simply put, we need to raise £20,000 to save the school. Also simply put, without it, the children of Symi won’t learn music as, I believe, it is not much taught in the schools.

I remember, when the current pandemic broke out, many people went on Facebook saying they wouldn’t be coming to Symi this year, and they were supporting the island by lessening the risk of bringing C19 to what is still a bug-free island. Obviously, the businesses have missed out on masses of custom this season, so if you still want to help the island, donating to its music school is one way of doing so from afar. Think about what you saved by not coming, and think about how much you usually spend on just one evening out on Symi. Why not send over that amount? You can do it via the page linked in this post. The money will replace that usually provided by the parents of the children who can’t pay this year because they have businesses that haven’t made money because of the lack of tourism. Where a couple of tourists might have spent €50.00 on one night out (some on an afternoon watching the world go by at a bar), the same couple can now send the same amount directly to the education of the children they might have seen passing on their way to a music lesson. It makes sense to me, and I’ll be sending a personal donation plus a percentage of my Symi book sales.

The donation site tells you all you need to now in Greek and English, and some of the pupils have made a short video which you will also find there.

Imagine, when the Symi Festival can restart, you may even find yourself here, listening to one of these upcoming musicians on stage and know you helped put them there.

You can find the page by clicking here. The young musicians of Symi will thank you.

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Friday Photos

How about a courtyard update to accompany some Friday Photos?

As you might know, I’m not very good with plants, so I can’t tell you exactly what all of these are. The big droopy thing probably needs a trellis, the succulent whatsit has done well this year, and so has the chilli which is a second-generation plant grown from seeds taken from one of Yianni’s plants behind the Rainbow. The little one next to it came from V&M’s plant shop at the top of the Kali Strata and has been banging out chillies all year.

The other photos are, as usual, random.

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A little fall of rain

There was much talk of a storm on Tuesday night, but what we ended up with was a shower around half-nine in the evening. It wasn’t enough to thoroughly water the plants or fill the reservoirs, but it was an indication of the changing season. The next day, there were still a few clouds around in the morning…

The bathroom floor got wet, but not because the roof leaked, although it will do unless we get up there and paint the roof, but because I’d left the window open. It won’t be long before the shutters are mainly shut against the wet and cold, and we’re hunkering down for the winter. Before then, however, the sea is still warm, the season is on-going though gradually fading, and we have visitors on the island, some staying, some coming in and out with the day boats.

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