The news from our part of the world today… I heard on the grapevine that the excursion boat, Maria, is making its first trip of the season on the 31st. I’m sure this is right, but please check in with the boat at the harbour to make sure, as this info was plucked from the shelf, not directly from the vine. What was harvested first hand, though, was the news that, currently, the Dolfin pizzeria is only doing eat-in or take away, and can’t do deliveries. If you want a job as a delivery driver, you know where to apply. The final piece of news is that it’s blowing a gale again today. Only force five on my forecast, but the trees are bending, and the shutters are complaining, the bigger ferries won’t be affected, but I’m not sure about the smaller ones.

Hopefully, there won’t be scenes like this (Click the image if it’s static):

That’s the cover for one my books, the finale to the Larkspur Mysteries, ‘The Larkspur Legacy’, but some animation thing has made the boat move. This was one of my favourite books to write. I had had it in mind from the start of the seven-book series and was writing the others with the notion that they were building to something spectacular. Why else would we need an academy for the gifted, a cartographer, sailor, historian, artist, financial wizard and so on? Because, at the end of the trail lies a massive treasure hunt that takes just about every character from both series of books and puts them in various teams. From there, it’s an amazing race from Cornwall to Egypt, to London, to various other parts of the country, and along the way people discover who they really are, who the villains are, and some even get married while some get crushed to death in a burning building… and so on.

Anyway… that was a sidestep away from local news snippets, which include the passing on of the dust cloud. We should now be dust free for the rest of the week. As you can see, yesterday things were hazy, but not through moisture, but dust. We weren’t as bad as in some places (see news from Crete, for example). Oh, and that bird you can see in the photo is a swallow as they have been back for some time.

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That was the weekend that was, and it started on Friday when I went down to Yialos and had three fillings done. We have two dentists here, both wonderful, kind and quick. Inquisitive visitors are always surprised at the prices too, particularly when compared to the UK. After that, I called into ACS to collect a package we’d already collected (doh!) and was home by lunchtime.

The Saturday highlight was the arrival of a new mattress four months to the day after we’d ordered it from the shop in Rhodes. We knew it wasn’t due to arrive with them until the end of April because it was coming from Athens and had to be made first, so that was okay. Then, it was a case of the delivery company finding the right van, time and people to collect it and bring over here, and that didn’t come together until Friday. So, on Saturday, our friend from around the corner turned up with it on a van, he and his mate brought it into the house, took away the old one, and that was that. We unwrapped it and heaved it onto the bed where it feels six feet higher than the last one.

Apart from that excitement, the only other thing of note over the weekend has been the weird weather. We’re under a dust cloud again, but it’s due to clear tonight, and yesterday was also cloudy, a mix of normal cloud and dust, giving everything a dull grey appearance. There were even a few spots of rain later in the day, and this morning, at 5.00, thunder. It’s now 6.0 and raining a little. The temperature was up at 32° one day and 22° the next. So, it’s now a question of, what next?

For me, another cup of tea and on with my notes about the current work in progress.

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Massive achievements yesterday: buying and fitting a new shower head… er… Think that was about it… Oh, no, there’s more. Spotted the first large cruise ship of the year hanging around and spending some time in the harbour before leaving again. Organised my proofreader, sent a message to my cover designer, commissioned an illustration from my usual artist, all for the next book. Oh, I also ironed a shirt for the first time in probably about a year. My favourite shirt is heading for the bin because the yoke is coming away from the rest and it’s unrepairable. Shame. It’s one of those that fits well, isn’t too hot and doesn’t need ironing. Hey ho. So, now I am down to two shirts. I did buy some more, but they both shrank in their first wash, so that wasn’t much of an achievement.

Today, I hope to achieve a few more things: some editing before a checkup at the dentist, collect a package from ACS, play the piano a bit… and that’s it so far on my to-do list. It looks like it’s going to be another hot one. The day before yesterday, the temperature started to rise, and yesterday, on the shaded north-facing wall in our courtyard, the thermometer read 30°. There’s no breeze so far today, and I’m barefoot in shorts and a t-shirt at 6.50 in the morning. Now you have all my news, there’s nothing more to tell you about this week, so I shall get on and see what I can get done this weekend. Have a good one.

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Yesterday was a varied one spent trying to finish a first draft and dithering about the ending, taking a walk around the lanes to clear the head (unsuccessfully), fiddling with some new technology in the afternoon to bring my book covers to life (that’s weird, see below), and then, rounding it all off with a fabulous evening with friends. The taverna (Georgio’s) was its usual self. You know, you have a meal, you get the bill, then the waiter rushes over and apologises for having to charge you and gives you a discount. All very Greek. There are ever increasing numbers of visitors up in the village which was reasonably busy last night despite the strong wind (not mine) which has all but gone this morning.

My walk was a standard one for me, up to the top and down the road. Or, up to almost the top, as I came out at Lavinia Studios as was, which is where I stayed when I first came in 96, and then, I walked back down via the road as per usual. Nothing very special to report from that other than it’s a pleasant walk, once you’ve found your way up to the top. If in doubt, keep climbing, because you will reach the top of somewhere at some point. It’s like when people say they fear getting lost in the lanes and not being able to get back down. Just head downhill. You will eventually end up at the sea somewhere. Best do it via a path or road, but otherwise, just be careful.

And as for today? I have something to collect from the courier, but that can wait until tomorrow as I also have piano today. I have this draft to finish, and I reckon I am only a few paragraphs away. Then, I can start writing it all again. It’s the eight book in a series, and here’s what I was experimenting with yesterday, the cover of the first book in that series. I’ll leave you to marvel, or not, at the wonders of modern technology. (There’s no sound.)

Click here for the book

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