Things to notice in Yialos
Kalo mina! While out and about in Yialos on Saturday, I thought I would get a few random shots to put into my file and share with you. It’s amazing what you can see when out and about on Symi if you look up from your phone and actually view what’s going on. A few examples (which may not appear today but which will appear here over time):
Reflections of boats in the water, a man having a camera attached to his belt by means of a belt, presumably so he could film his walk around Yialos, furniture deliveries with a lad clinging on so he doesn’t fall off, the fishermen at work, the first taxi boat of the year in the water and ready to go (though I don’t think they are going yet), a tree on the back of a truck, another man perilously perching on the tall outcrop of rock taking his photos, a young chap hitching a ride in a speedboat that’s being towed around the harbour, four colours on one wall, and old man playing tavli with a younger man keeping the tradition going and handing down tips through the generations, a painted ladder drying, and that’s not to mention the interesting varieties of day-trippers and their attire. There’s a lot going on.
There was also a lot going on in our household last week, as you might have read. One of the reasons I went ‘downtown’ was to collect a courier package. I had no idea what it might be. As it turned out, it was the free washing powder and softener that came with the new washing machine, how kind. While there, we also stopped to have lunch at Meraklis, who now have a new waiter, Vasilis, working with George. We were lazy and took a taxi back up noticing on the way that the bus was back from a day out in Rhodes, it’s windscreen taped up with masking tape. Apparently, there is a new one to go on and people catching the bus on Friday night after the boat came back (with the bus on it) were able to catch a lift from the clocktower as Lakis just happened to be there. They did have to step over the new windscreen which was also aboard. I expect that will be put on very soon.
Little things, but lots to notice if you look up and around.
In my own news, ‘The Saddling’ that I have been bleating on about for at least a year now (I have been writing the story since 2012, I think), should be out in paperback this week. I am now (Sunday morning) just about to go and look through the completed book in PDF format. I need to double check with the cover designer that the estimated page count was accurate enough for the spine. It has 282 pages, so it’s a decent length read and, I hope, a good one. I’ll put up links when it’s ready and also let you know when the Kindle version is ready to go. If you’d like to keep up to date on what I’m up to with my books, I’ve started a mailing list that you can opt into. See my author’s blog at http://jamescollinsauthor.com/, And now I must get on, it’s Sunday, and there is always a lot of nothing to do on a Sunday.
