I now have four ‘reels’ up on the Symi Dream Facebook page, if you use the platform and want a few 30-second snatches of Symi views. The latest one was taken on Saturday from the top of the village. It was a glorious day, as you will see. The only problem is trying not to capture the sound of my breathing. I’m more than capable of walking up through the village to the very top, then out onto the road and on and up without stopping or getting out of breath, but when I do pause to shoot a short video or take a picture, I am breathing hard, and it’s not that easy to hold your breath for 30 seconds after such a climb. So, you will have to excuse any heavy breathing, feet crunching on gravel, or the wind (not mine) as it blows past the phone I am holding.
After that stroll up to the quarry and back, I spent the rest of the day being pampered. Our godson came to cook dinner for everyone and has lessons from Niel in several kitchen activities, such as how to make a batter mix and Yorkshire puddings, how to make stuffing and stuff a chicken, and how (not) to make a cheesecake. It tasted sublime but didn’t set. While they were doing all that, I did an hour’s piano practice to set a good example to my pupil and entertained the other godson and their mum when they arrived. After that, all hell let itself loose in the kitchen with a wonderful feast, and after, some classic British comedy sketches from YouTube. I think the boys were a bit worried we might make them watch Monty Python again. The last time they gallantly sat through ‘The Meaning of Life’, which they described the film as ‘Disturbing,’ lol. (I think they secretly enjoyed most of it.)
Another generation-or-two-gap thing… We have a gramophone Neil bought from the antique shop in Yialos some years ago. It was made in Italy in 1920, discovered in a Symi house many years later, and ended up being for sale. Some good friends have brought over 78s in the past, so we have something to play, and we played it for Harry who, being only 16 has never seen a record player, not even a modern one. So, having explained what records were, we wound the thing up, put on a random 78, and away you go. The record was Rock Around the Clock, so not our oldest recording, but enough of one to have Neil and Harry dancing. Then came the questions about how it works, how the sound gets onto the disc, what the disc is made of, and all that tricky stuff that makes you wish you hadn’t had the idea in the first place. We looked it all up. The most gobsmacking thing of course was that there were no leads, no electricity needed, and you could listen to music without having to have an internet connection. What will they think of next?
Just to finish: We popped out for a drink on Sunday night, and while at the bar, exchanged weekend news with our companions. We were talking about Yorkshire puddings when Irini asked, ‘Why are they called puddings?’ That’s something else I was unable to answer and now, I will have to go and find out.
