Symi blogs in the top 25
Here’s some news for you. Feedspot has announced its list of the top 25 island blogs and websites in the world – these are blogs written by people who live on islands and which are all about island life. There are two Symi blogs listed among the top 25 in the world, Symi Dream and Adriana’s Symi Blog from Symi Visitor. Bravo them/us and well done all the others considered among the top 25 in the world.

You can see the award over there on the right and click through it to find other blogs that were also in the list. It’s great that Symi features twice in one list of 25; let’s hope it brings the island some more publicity and tourism.

Meanwhile, we were out and about on Monday for an afternoon walk to the church at ‘To Vrisi’ along the side of the Pedi valley. It was a peaceful, cold and calm day with blue skies and a little warmth when you were in the sun. We set of after lunch for the stroll which our Fitbits measured at roughly two miles each way, from our house. Up there we met a local chap who runs in marathons doing his daily walk (he also does daily runs of some amazing length). We were also hoping to check out a friend’s new drone, but there was some connectivity problem and, after a long walk and sitting in the shade for a few minutes, it started to feel very cold, so we left them to it. Maybe next time. We filled up our water bottles from the tap while we were there. ‘To Vrisi’ is the nickname for the monastery which has a natural spring and literally means ‘the tap.’ (Real name of the monastery is Zoodochos Pigi Vrisi, the lifegiving spring – or similar.)

It was good to get out of the house again after what feels like weeks of staying in, keeping warm and eating everything in sight. We are planning more short walks as we build up to some longer ones, my legs are not used to the exercise, but there’s the promise of stormy weather ahead for the rest of this week, and especially over the weekend so that may hamper us. It may not happen of course as these things are not always accurate, but I definitely need to get out and about and away from the typing at least three times per week from now on.

The images you see today were taken by Neil as we were walking and there are many more to share with you. Lots of long shots of the Pedi valley now looking green and fertile after some rain – we could still do with more. Plenty of the view across to Turkey and the wind turbines there, the views from the hillside and along the road. Looking at the countryside at this time of year all I see is grey (rocks) and shades of green, sometimes the blue sky, and the brown roofs of the village houses. Up close of course they vary from stone to white to all kinds of blues and yellows and other more ambitious colours. Even in winter there is colour on Symi, perhaps more so than in the summer when the sun bleaches things out, turns the ground to dark red and earthy shades. But the colour of the sea and sky stay the same – only with less grey in the summer.

I won’t go rambling on today but I hope you enjoy the photos from Monday; there will be many more over time of course. Don’t forget to check to the other island blogs who were listed in the top 25 by following the link over in the right-hand column. It’s the gold medallion, the other link is to another of our top listings.

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Alarming
I read something the other day which sounded like a good piece of advice. Every day, write down something good that happened to you that day, or that you did for someone else, and put it in a jar. At the end of the year you can take them out and remember all the good things that happened during the year. I suppose I do a similar kind of thing with the blog, though not every day. Maybe I well keep a jar, or a diary, and jot things down once per week and see what I have at the end of the year. If I remember to do it.

Which reminds me, I must go and buy a diary. I was going to get myself one before Christmas but then thought, ‘No, last year I bought one in Prague and then received four for Christmas, so I will wait.’ Of course it was the one thing I was not presented with this year, so, next time I am in Yialos, I will see what’s available. I assume you are all set with yours and your Symi Dream calendar (see over there on the right).

New Year’s Day, the feast day of Saint Vasilis (and his mother, Emmeleia and others), was observed on Symi with people having their own family days. There was a party at Georgio’s and some fun and games afterwards at the Sunrise Café. We were with the godboys and family for fun and feasting, games and mayhem as usual, and wandered home in the very chilly air around nine in the evening. Morning came far too quickly. We have this new alarm clock that I’ve not yet figured out. The time was set for 6.30, the usual time for getting up when not on holiday, but it only went off once, before Christmas, and then with the snooze set to repeat three times at five minute intervals. I fiddled with it the other day and got it working again – I’d plugged the mains cable into the earphone socket and the batteries were starting to wear down. Yesterday it went off at 6.30 with some music from a memory card we’d plugged into it and that was fine, except it wasn’t. I’d wanted to get up at 7.30 for a kind of half-day, but no, at 6.30 there we go with a few bars of a song, turned it off, five minutes later it’s back again, three times until it silenced and I went back to sleep. An hour later my other alarm, set on my tablet, started up with its Vienna Boys’ Choir singing me a Good Morning very cheerily and the cat wishing we would let him in, very loudly. After two repeats of that one, I gave in and leapt from my bed into the eight degrees of the bedroom.

So, later today, I will find the alarm clock instructions and see how I make it work properly and prepare myself for ‘back to work’ time – 6.30, Monday to Friday. Even when you are self-employed, or especially when you are self-employed, a regular routine is the thing. It’s the only thing that keeps me on track; leaving it for later, with no boss wielding a big stick, is always a temptation. But no, from now onwards it’s back to 6.30, work, writing, blog, lunch, walk, writing and then chilling out (literally in our north-facing sitting room) for the evening. Let’s see how long I can keep that routine going.

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Symi Dream anagrams (‘Is my dream’ included)
We all have plans and hopes for the year ahead wherever we are: time for a change, new directions, new ideas, fresh starts, no more… promising to do this or that. All I know is that I plan to have a new novel out this year and a new book of travel stories and Symi anecdotes, all mixed together. Watch this space for developments.

New Years’ Eve was spent at home with the godboys who were visiting with their mum for dinner and some TV, some merriment and a quick stand on a cold roof at midnight to see the… Well, it was a quiet one. A few church bells, a couple of flares in the harbour, a solitary dynamite, a lone firework from somewhere over towards Pedi. Economic issues probably had something to do with it. In New Years of the past there have certainly been more bangs and boobs [that was a typo I left in for you, it was meant to read ‘booms’] and whistles and ships’ horns blaring; there were no commercial ships in the harbour last night, no Symi I staying overnight as in the old days, nothing like that, so it was peaceful and clear (loads of stars) and a little on the chilly side. But, inside it was warm and friendly and everyone everywhere is looking forward to a better year than 2016 brought the world.

Having said that…
Did you know that ‘President Trump’ is an anagram of “Red Mr Putin’s pet?”

It’s also an anagram of “Permitted Spurn”, so, as it’s clearly allowed, that’s what I am going to do, at least until the madness of the USA and the shambles that currently seems to be the UK start to get the better of the world. I’m not even sure if I can write ‘the UK’ anymore, maybe it should just be ‘the K’ as it doesn’t seem very united. Come to think of it, it’s not a kingdom either, it’s a queendom, so maybe we should just call it ‘the Q.’ And you can decide for yourself what that stands for.

Did you also know that ‘Theresa May’ is actually an anagram of ‘Smeary Hate’, ‘Ate my share’ and ‘Yea! Ms Hater’?

Well there you go; and there I’ve been and I aim not to return to the subject for a while at least. So, I will head off into 2017 with you, hoping that you will follow the simple rules of appreciating Symi Dream:

1. Enjoy and share
2. Ignore typos
3. Tell everyone to buy the books (listed on the right >>)
4. Click on the adverts if you want to help pay for the blog hosting.

(It doesn’t cost you anything, the random advertisers pay. I shouldn’t actually ask you, but as long as no-one is looking…)

I will leave you with a few choice anagrams of ‘Symi Dream’ to get your new week, year, diet, resolutions, off to a good start.

Symi Dream: Admires my… (blog posts?) Mad misery… (hope not) Die smarmy (probably will do, one day) May’s mired… (couldn’t resist that one) Is my dream… Re my maids… (been watching a lot of Downton Abbey since Christmas) and several others that are too rude to post here (as they all involved the word ‘rim’).

As you can see, I have a lot of time on my hands this morning but it is running out, so I must get on, get back to the routine and start finishing one of those promised books. Look out, this year, for ‘The Saddling’ (a kind of rural Gothic mystery/thriller – I do like to mix genres) and ‘Symi, Stuff & Nonsense’ (a selection of travel and Symi anecdotes).

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Symi 2016
Here we are at the end of another year. I always think that I will put up a summary of the past 12 months on my final blog post of the year but I can never remember everything that’s happened. But, here are a few of the things that have made 2016 memorable for me. (And some random images I’ve not used yet.)

Obviously, the Brexit thing was a biggie and something I am totally against. I was against it from the start mainly because the advisory vote was swung by a tiny percentage of the population who were misled completely as to what it was all about. And I mean that on/by both sides. This only served to fuel my distrust of certain British newspapers which are the things, it seems, that are running (and ruining) the country. But enough said about that. The second major world disaster was the similar thing that happened in the USA – and I won’t go into other political disasters around the world; we can only watch on with horror as the fallout from all of that works itself out in the future.

But, on a happier and more personal note: Neil and I decided to be married after 19 years. About time and many people thought we already were because we were ‘married ‘ at Machu Picchu back in 2007, but this will be a Greek civil partnership in September with a celebration to be held here on Symi. More details will follow once we have sorted out the legalities early in 2017. Along with that came the news that Neil is able to apply for an Irish passport, which is currently in the process of being administered; no final news on that yet. Next year will also see the 15^th year anniversary of us living on Symi, another cause for celebration.

During the year, we had family visits, from Neil’s brother, my nephew, my mum, and also from many friends both new and old. It’s always good to see returning visitors coming to the island to chill out, get their ‘Symi fix’ and help the island along in these difficult times. I went to Tilos for my ‘writing retreat’ and had a good time, wrote lots and ate lots. I was able to work hard on ‘The Saddling’ which should be out in a few months.

That one follows on the heels of ‘Remotely‘ which is still doing well and has already gained several five star reviews on Amazon; all very rewarding and I’m just glad I got that story out there and that so many people seem to be enjoying it. I was also able to get some work started on ‘Symi, Stuff and Nonsense’ a new compilation of travel tales and ‘moving to Symi’ tales which should be out later in 2017. In other creative news, there’s still no news on ‘The Thirteenth’, the film that was filmed on Symi three years ago now. The final cut was achieved in the year and the production company are now trying to find a distributor to take it on and sell it. Maybe we will hear more during the year.

There were many other memorable days and times through the year: boat trips and evening excursions, long walks (not as many as in previous years), dinners with friends, trips to Rhodes for medical adventures and a trip with the cat, seeing people off at the airport, welcoming others. Hot days trying to keep cool and now cool days trying to keep warm, birthday parties and name days, singing sessions and new glasses, lunches and work, passing a scriptwriting course (with a distinction), Neil starting on his O Level (or whatever they are called in these modern days) and many other good times I have this moment forgotten but which will come back to me later and stay with me.

And blogging, of course, trying to think of something interesting and vaguely Symi related to say each day even if it’s only to say that I’ve spent the day at the desk, which I do a lot of these days. I will attempt to keep that up as we go into 2017 and hope I won’t bore you too much with my random rambles. I shall, naturally, endeavour to keep you amused with my dreadful typos; my typing is getting so bad now that I have over 2,000 autocorrect words in my custom autocorrect thing so all I am really doing is thumping keys and hoping they fall into some kind of readable order.

So, on into 2017. Thank you for bearing with me and returning to the blog. Remember that if you want to support it you only need to buy a book or click one of the few adverts we have at the bottom of posts, spread the word about Symi to everyone and help us bring a few more visitors to the island to keep it all going. I will leave 2016, and you, with the one simple rule of life which, if we all stuck to, would ensure a peaceful and happy life for all: be nice.

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Other things and books
Other events had been organised over the Christmas period: Double-feature at the Symi cinema (Mandeio’s cafe), an event for children in the town square with Santa and fairground rides, candyfloss and other fun and games, music from the church PA system, services, individual parties and feasts, and live music in various bars and tavernas. A lot goes on on this small island, it’s just a case of knowing where to look for it.

Today’s photos, by the way, were taken on Wednesday as we ventured out for the first time in days, and there’s one of Thursday’s morning view, to show you your weather update. It’s been raining a bit, which is good for the sterna and the farms, and the outlook is for cloud, wind, and some sunny days over the next couple of weeks, and a return to the colder temperatures we saw before Christmas, around six to nine degrees.

As for gifts received, there are too many to mention but there’s one that necessitated me rushing to Amazon, card in hand, to find a new book: Learn to play the concertina. Neil gave me an Anglo, 20-key concertina to add to my collection of musical instruments I can almost get a note out of. (The home orchestra now consists of a piano, two clarinets (Bb), an alto sax, an oboe, two recorders, a Romanian recorder, a flute (which I still can’t get a note out of despite over 40 years of trying) and the new concertina.) Thing is, I have no idea how to play it except to know that when you want one note you press inwards, when you want another you pull outwards and you never press or pull without pressing at least one button.

I downloaded a Kindle version of a book which has the basic fingering but a) it’s too small to see the details and b) my screen doesn’t stay lit for long enough for me to work out which is my left hand little finger key one – pull, and my right hand fourth finger – push; but it’s a start and I can now play the first few notes of a Christmas carol; ‘Once in Royal D-a-a-vid’s…’ I will have to wait for the book to find out Royal David’s what, and from then on I shall be annoying the neighbours for half an hour each day as I learn to push and pull my way through a selection of tunes for six-year-olds on a daily basis until I have the thing mastered. If anyone has any tips…

And so, it’s back to the writing and ideas for a new book of travel tales, ‘Symi, Stuff and Nonsense’. Meanwhile, I have had feedback from one beta reader of ‘The Saddling’ and am awaiting feedback from the second reader. I’ve already had helpful comments like, ‘I didn’t see the point of this character.’ What?! He’s my favourite and he’s there to show… And all that. But there are comments too, such as, ‘wonderful descriptions of the landscape’ set against ‘I thought the descriptions of the landscape here slowed down the pace; it took nearly one page for this character to cross the bridge.’ So, it will be a case of sifting and considering, re-writing and refusing to rewrite as I go through the fifth draft next month.

And so, with the rain now falling about the house (though it does feel warmer) and the last of the chocolates to get through in time for the diet (falls about laughing), the fridge to de-trifle and the cupboards to restock, I shall move on and consider writing another section for the new book so that I can get that first draft done before I start on draft five of the one before while jotting down notes (in one of my new notebooks) for yet another story to be told. Have a nice day!

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