Wind, chillies, books

Sunday was less blowy in the morning than it has been around here of late. We had quite strong winds over us at the end of last week, but the boats still ran, and people still went to the beach. Everyone carried on as normal.

I overheard some pleasant things as I went about my usual weekend routine. There was the story of someone who went into the greengrocers shop in Horio, the ‘Fruit Boutique’ and asked if they had any chillies. Apparently, they didn’t have any in the shop, but the owner had some growing at home, so off he popped on his moped to go and collect them, bringing some back a few minutes later. Service with a smile. That reminded me of the time I asked for sage, at a different shop, and was told that they didn’t have any. The owner then phoned up her husband who was out at the farm and told him I was after some. He picked a whole bag load up in the hills, and it was delivered the next day. I must find out who owns the bank…

Those are the kinds of things that go on around here all the time, you just have to keep your eye out for them, or else have them happen to you. Like our washing machine delivery. ‘Can you give me a hand to take this machine up to the house?’ ‘Yes, I’ll just put it on my back and carry it.’ ‘Oh my! I must pay you.’ ‘Don’t be silly.’ Another favourite of mine is, ‘We’re leaving tomorrow, we have some things to pass on.’ And then follows a bag full of olive oil and wine, and shampoo and other things that will be useful to someone.

I also met several people who are reading ‘The Saddling’, and others who have downloaded a copy and have it ready to go when they have finished the book they are on. I mention this because the book has only been available for a few weeks and already it had eight reviews (all five star) at Amazon. So, I couldn’t help but show off the latest review, and here it is… Oh, I just went to copy it and found there are now nine reviews (still all five star), so that’s even better news. Anyway, if you will let me show off and perhaps tempt you towards a copy, here are the latest ones.

“His best yet.
After the brilliantly funny Remotely, James returns to the dark side of his wonderful imagination, previously shared in The Judas Inheritance & Lonely House, and this time takes the reader to a time and place that clearly he has a great personal affinity with. His superbly descriptive prose and local dialect transports us to the Romney Marshes and a community untouched by the modern world but plagued with its historic pagan ways. Along the way we meet good folk, bad folk & a “falser” villain that chills the blood. Underlying the mysteries thrown up by a genealogical search there is the gentle flowering of feelings within the hero that is treated with superb sensitivity.”

“A real page turner. From start to finish a great read. Right up to the last page the ending couldn’t have been predicted.”

Yes, very important not to give away that twist at the end! (You can see all reviews here.)

The Saddling

And I’ve started work on the second in the series, but it could take a while. This one is to be called ‘The Witchling’ and I am going to get on with some planning and plotting right now, so, I’ll be back tomorrow.

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Symi Saturday photos

As it’s a Saturday, here are some photos taken in/from Horio for you by Neil, no words, except to say, have a good weekend.

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June, busting out all over

Ah, June is here and with it comes so many returning, loyal visitors, and friends. That’s one of the problems, especially when your other half works at a popular, local bar. ‘Are you coming down? X Y and Z are here…’ And it is so hard to say ‘No, not today,’ because you want to see them. Not only that, it is a joy to see them and catch up on news, share stories and see how everyone is. One thing leads to another and, before you know it, ‘Will you join us for dinner?’ ‘We’re having a drinks do on Thursday, will you come?’ ‘We must go out to eat one night…’ And so on. So hard to resist. As Oscar Wilde said, ‘I can resist everything but temptation.’ But still, a couple of glasses of red per day are good for you, they say.

There was a great buzz at both village square bars on Wednesday night. The Blue Star and other boats had brought in many returning friends, so there was much to catch up on. You say goodbye and ‘see you soon’ to one, and then another comes along. ‘You must have a drink with me.’ And ‘Water please’ is not an acceptable answer. So, we do what we can but don’t go too far as I am still in the habit of getting up at six and heading straight to work for six hours at the desk before lunch and a siesta and then… well, often starting the process again.

June also brings with it good weather, except yesterday it was cloudy, and there were a few spots of rain. A cruise ship came in, and I was tempted to go and work my passage on it back to Cyprus, but that would take far too long. I’ve found flights now and connection details and, as soon as I can, will book everything so it’s all taken care of and all I have to do is travel. Thank you to everyone for the tips and advice. I’ve also contacted the Film Festival admin department about a room. The festival is at the university in Paphos, and I think, but am not sure, that they have special rates on accommodation there. I mean, I know they have a special rate, but I think the accommodation will be on site. If they are already booked up, there are plenty of other places nearby and not expensive so I will be able to find somewhere to lay my head for the three nights I shall be there.

Before I go, I just wanted to issue a word of warning. Some visitors arrived the other day, having booked their accommodation through Boking.com, only to find that the accommodation owners were no longer taking guests. Apparently, no-one had told Booking.com, and the couple had to find alternative accommodation and then deal with the financial fallout. Not a great way to arrive and, I have to say, it’s the first time I’ve heard of this happening on Symi. I don’t want to name the place, in case I didn’t get the story 100% correct, but it’s a small apartment block near Campos in Horio. Not booked through any of the big companies like Olympic, or Symi Visitor or Kalodoukas, but done independently through Booking.com. I think it’s always best to send an email to the place you are going to stay at to confirm your booking when using this site. Which is what I shall do if I don’t find myself being a university student next weekend.

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Still in pre-travel mode

I’ve been giving myself and a few other people a headache trying to organise these flights to Cyprus as I now have to be there on Saturday 17^th, in a university in Paphos by 5 pm. I’ve had help from all over the place, but the timing is the issue. So far, the easiest I’ve found is with Aegean from Rhodes, via Athens to Larnaca and then a bus down to Paphos. Other routes have been suggested by friends, but they don’t go on the days I need to go. And as for those flight compare sites…

Well, don’t you just hate it when you search around and you find ‘Fly direct from Rhodes to Paphos’ and head to a site, put in the details you want, being flexible on dates, and then they say, ‘no matches to your search?’ There are others that, after bringing up several pop-up boxes, then invite you to search each one on their own, which isn’t really doing the search for you, as advertised. Then you find ‘Yes, we do this trip!’ And you search there and ‘No you don’t! comes screaming out of you. False advertising or what? Good old Aegean are still the most straightforward, with a decent morning flight to Athens an hour’s wait and then an hour or so down to Cyprus. By the way, should you be interested, a taxi from Larnaca to Paphos is quoted at €87.00, which would still be cheaper than some of the ‘fast, low-cost flights’ I’ve found: Rhodes to Athens, Athens to Paphos… via Moscow, duration 13 hours. I don’t think so.

So, I am leaving it for today and will start the search again tomorrow. Meanwhile, the folks back in the yUK are still searching around for me, and I am contacting some travel agents in Rhodes. There’s been a suggestion of taking the boat to Turkey and then a bus down the coast and another ferry across to Cyprus… That would be a fun trip if I had the time and money. Ah well, on with the search.

I know it’s a crucial day in the yUK today and I hope that after today I will feel able to call it the UK again (rather than the yuk it’s become). You know how I feel so I won’t bleat on. But if things go horribly wrong, as I fear they might, I might just not mention the place at all after tomorrow, and I certainly will do all I can to avoid having to set foot in it again, no matter where I am travelling to. Whatever side you are on, just make sure you go and vote for someone.

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New Symi photos

Finally, some more up to date photos for you today, some by Neil some from me.

Also today, there is a new interview with me published on a site called Expat Focus which you might like to take a look at if you have not already seen it. Click here to open the page.

As you can see from the photos, the sun is out, and the weather is calm and very pleasant, hot in fact. There are still many flowers out, and the hills and valley are still green, though not as green as they were in March and April. It won’t be long before the shrubs and herbs turn brown under the sun, but the beauty of the island will still remain; it’s just different according to the seasons.

I am researching flights to Cyprus though I don’t know the date I will be going yet; the film festival asked what date we would like the screening on, which is good of them, and we’ve suggested a couple. So, as soon as I know, I shall be booking what I can, when I can. I must thank Jean, and also Andy from the Symi Visitor Travel Blog for giving me advice.

Anyway, a quick post today with a few more photos taken yesterday here on Symi.

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