Birds and bells, the sound of Symi
A little bird watching from the balcony yesterday produced the results below. I’m still checking with the experts but it might be a serin? I’ll correct that if I’m wrong, but it looks similar to some I found on Symi Flora And Fauna.

We see various kinds of birds from here, though there are a lot more to be found up in the hills. Apparently the autumn migration has started, so we can expect more than our usual pigeons, seagulls and sparrows for a while now. From the balcony we can also see the hawks, kestrels I think, and every now and then other ones that I can’t identify; small brown birds smaller than a sparrow that look like wrens only slightly larger. We also hear the owls, there were a couple having a good old debate outside the open window the other night, and recently I’m sure I’ve heard a thrush. Could be a blue rock thrush, perhaps? Getting photos of them is often difficult as they are all so quick.

We also saw clouds yesterday and the weather report, having already changed since two days ago, shows cloud for today, in part, with heavy rain up on the mainland, but no rain expected here. But you never know…

Other sights and sounds from the balcony keep me going through the day: the whistles in the harbour, anchor chains falling, ships’ horns as they come in, the bell on the train, the clop of the horse’s hooves as it trails its carriage around the harbour, the mopeds on the road, the rising arpeggio of the town hall ‘boing, boing, boing’ and the announcements that follow. We hear the sea lapping sometimes, early in the morning before the boats start pulling in and out, the wind in the trees nearby, the sound of cats fighting and discussing (loudly) possible mating proposals, neighbours passing, greetings from down below, cicadas in their season and various church bells, some from behind in the village where they sound quiet, and some along the lane and from the church opposite at Harani. We don’t hear the harbour clock anymore as it’s been stuck on 11.45 for well over a year now, but we can see it. We can even hear chatter from below (careful the things you say) and the neighbour’s washing machine, hoses being used to wash recently washed courtyards, the occasional dog barking and sometimes distant music from somewhere… out there.

The weather has changed; there’s a feel of autumn in the air, thanks to the passing cloud, but that should soon clear and leave September and October as warm and pleasant as you’d expect. But it smells fresher and calmer now and not as humid, most of the time. The fan is off, there is a discussion about when to put a top sheet on the bed and today is the first time in a few months that I have to wear a shirt as I sit by my open window and type away. But there is still a long way to go before the end of the season. I’d better get bird watching and see if I can find you anything else that might be of interest. If only they’d sit still long enough for me to go and find the camera, turn it on, remember to take off the lens cap, realise I’ve turned it off, turn it on again, put the strap around my neck and then… oh it’s gone.

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A quick note on September
There was some mild excitement on Saturday when the clouds brewed up over the sea and over Turkey (Neil’s photo, below, was taken on his tablet). Later, as we were having dinner, I noticed some flashguns going off down the lane and though it was a bit odd. Then they were going off down another lane and I realised it was lightning. I thought the thunder might have been my tummy rumbling but it wasn’t. A few spots or rain have since been reported but otherwise, there was no downpour or storm here and the weather is set to remain warm and sunny.

This gives me an opportunity to carry out a long range weather forecast by visiting a website to see what they have to say about things. September is a popular month among northern Europeans who often pay return visits to the island at this time of year. Checking one weather site I see that they are reporting Symi September weather to be sunny all through the month with ‘increasing cloud’ on 30^th, and temperatures up at 25 or so. Apparently October is going to be the same, though down to 18 degrees towards the end of the month, and there are only a few days with cloud. I guess they go by previous years’ forecasts as they are predicting a thunderstorm on November 6^th, which seems a bit precise as it’s so far ahead.

Still, the weather is warm and sunny, there’s a bit of a breeze at times which has now taken away the humidity of July and August and the sea is calm, so all is fine and dandy there. In other news, well there isn’t really any other news. I spoke too soon when I said we were in for a quiet week apart from the birthday party; we now have guests on Monday, drinks on Tuesday, dinner on Thursday and two engagements for next week – not that I am complaining of course and don’t worry, we do work during the day so we’re not just lounging around waiting for the next social gathering. This is what September is like.

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Symi To and Fro
Sunday morning on Symi… A whole day ahead with nothing much planned and so the questions is, what to do? I’ve been asked to write a piece for a new site that might be of interest to you, the Greek City Times. The site has several sections including news, lifestyle (travel) and Culture and I’ve been asked to write something about moving to Greece and what Symi has on offer. Not sure how many words yet, I mean, I could fill a book, as you know, but they probably don’t want that much. So, I am going to put my mind to that this week.

Also this week we have a small birthday gathering for Neil on Thursday, I say small, it did at least start small, now it’s up to 20 people on an evening out, down to Mythos in the harbour, so we are looking forward to that. There are, as yet, no other engagements in the diary for the week so I am looking forward to a few quiet days at home, for a change. I may even be able to get up and out for a dawn walk. Famous last words.

We were out twice over the weekend (so far). In Friday we walked down to Pedi with a friend and had a meal at Tolis, the taverna on the left hand side of the bay. This taverna serves traditional Greek food with a barbeque going, mezethes and oven dishes and is nicely priced. There was a breeze down there and it was the first time since May that I have worn a long sleeved shirt. The sleeves were soon rolled back up again later when the breeze died down. We caught the bus back up at 22.30 and joined people in the village square for a nightcap. On Saturday, after a blissful day of pottering around the house and doing very little, we went to Yialos and had dinner with other friends at Bella Napoli. This is an Italian restaurant with a wood over for pizzas, other interesting dishes based round seafood and chicken they also do steaks with sauces; I went for the chicken with gorgonzola and very nice it was too. We caught the 23.00 but up to the village afterwards and joined others in the square for… well, you know the routine.

It’s all rather quiet at the house at the moment as Jack, the Alarm Cat, is out on a field trip. You might have read last week that he went out on Wednesday night after an unsettled day at home. We think he is in the mood for a wander, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same time as last year when he went on an eight-day holiday and came back looking healthy and refreshed. We’re not unduly worried about him, he’s big enough to look after himself despite being deaf, and he knows where his home is should he want to come back. He might have gone back to his old house again but if so, he won’t recognise it as it’s now been, or is being, renovated. I am sure he’s fine so there’s no need to worry. The mornings are quieter without the alarm call, though the fan is still running in the bedroom, and the window is open so the sounds of the road filter in and we can’t hear him much in the mornings against those sounds anyway.

And so, here we go off into the week with only one engagement planned and a lot of writing to do as I start to work up ideas for the article and for a new book of travel tales. The working title for this one at the moment is ‘Symi, to and fro’ as it’s about travel stories as much as it is about living on Symi. I best get typing, have a good day.

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Symi Saturday Photos
Just giving you 10 random images today as a Saturday Photo collection. Have a good weekend and I should be back with you on Monday – hopefully with some news about something, or at least a bit of misinformed gossip about… well, anything really. If not, I will make it up. Have fun!

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Club Med 2

Yesterday we had the Club Med 2 visiting Symi. It sat around off Nos beach and shuttled its passengers back and forth to the harbour from around eight thirty in the morning. Apparently, this boat is a ‘five-masted computer-controlled sailing ship owned and operated by Club Med and operated as a cruise ship.’ I hope they are not running it on Windows 8.

It takes up to 368 passengers and has a crew of 200 and, according to its page on its own website, it has ‘free seating in the restaurant.’ Now then… What if it didn’t? What if you had to pay extra to sit down? Would you stay standing during your ‘most delicious cuisine’? Would you loiter at the back of the ‘Gourmet table status’ of two of its restaurants? Would you slouch against the buffet refusing to pay for a seat that is, after all, a basic necessity when booked onto a cruise offering ‘elegance and comfort.’ Non-free seats would not suggest either. I just thought it was a bit of a non-advert that, ‘free seating in the restaurant.’ it’s like calling out to your bar or taverna customers, ‘Free tables!’ or even, ‘We have toilets.’ Kind of goes without saying.

We very nearly had a free meal in Georgio’s the other night, so enthusiastic was the discount we were given. It still must be one of the cheapest places on the island to eat, though we always seem to score a big discount at Meraklis as well, one of our favoured lunch stops when on a shopping spree in Yialos. A ‘spree’ in most cases consisting of a bag of cat food, cat litter, and other cat related items. And talking of cats, he’s gone on walkabout again. At least he has as I write, which is actually Thursday morning. He slipped out while we were feeding the strays up the road on Wednesday night, leaving the gate open, and he’s not come back yet. He often does this and there is no cause for alarm, even though he is the Alarm Cat. He’s been out before, for up to eight nights and still come home when he was bored. That time he looked very well fed and looked after, so I expect he’s got another staff of servants somewhere in the neighbourhood. (Perhaps he was n the Club Med 2?) He was in a strange mood all Wednesday morning, not settling and being very noisy, but eating and attacking his dirt tray in the usual fashion, so he wasn’t ill or anything. No doubt he is causing mayhem among the local chicken community and will return when he’s ready.

Going back to the Club Med 2, as I am on their site, I thought I would see how much a jaunt on it costs. You select a date and then it asks how many adults (2) and there’s a drop-down for children which starts off at ‘No kid’ which I thought was rather abrupt. You then click on to get a quote. My selected date (next Monday) was not available so it suggested one for me. If I left after the 7^th September I could get a cruise for $5,432.82 (I assume the $.82 cover the cost of your chair in the dining room.) This was, by the way, a ‘special offer’ down from $5,964.90 and was for two adults with ‘no kid.’ I clicked on ‘Continue’.

Next you have to select your cabin and there are those with a woman sat on the bed waiting eagerly for a man with a tray of orange juice (these are the ‘cheap’ ones; I think the idea of breakfast in a room makes them more appealing) and then there are suites that are devoid of females and breakfasts but have a lot of space. I had the choice of a Club Cabin (might get a bit noisy), or ‘2 Separated Cabins’ which are, I assume, for those couples who like to go on holiday to argue. There was then the Deluxe Cabins (deck F) and what I thought said Amateur Suite for those of us who are not experienced in spending over $10.000 (special offer) on a holiday, but it turned out to be Armature Suite. This confused me even more when I checked the definition of ‘Armature.’ : armature ˈɑːmətʃə,-tj(ʊ)ə/ noun: armature; plural noun: armatures 1. the rotating coil or coils of a dynamo or electric motor. any moving part of an electrical machine in which a voltage is induced by a magnetic field. a piece of iron or other object acting as a keeper for a magnet. 2. an open framework on which a sculpture is moulded with clay or similar material.

At this point I stopped looking at the site just in case I hit the wrong button and committed myself to an expensive holiday in the ‘Rotating Coil Suite’ – even if it was a special offer – because apart from all else, they have a fitness centre on board and I don’t want to go there, I’m on holiday! But still. It looks lovely and it’s still sitting out there as I write. I just hope some of the guests are spending their ‘special offer’ savings on Symi.

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