How about this for accidental timing? The Harland & Wolff Shipyard that has been our kitchen table for the last three months, finally closed last night after successful completion of the Titanic by a 17-year-old shipbuilder. This, quite by accident, coincided with the 113th anniversary of the ship’s accidental sinking on April 14th, 1912. (Struck on 14th, went under just inside the 15th.) Following the last of the fitting out, the ship was moved to its permanent home just off the Pedi road. If you were in the village yesterday at around five thirty you would have seen a small procession of shipbuilder and two godfathers carrying the two foot long replica to her resting place on a bedroom shelf, where, at night, the internal lights can be seen from afar.
And that is where that story ends.
Yesterday saw another accident. Well, more of a final and unexpected deterioration. Neil was cleaning the outside marble table with something called Alfa, when half of the tabletop fell away with no warning. I can only assume, ten years of being in direct sunlight did it. There were no cracks, nothing hit it, it just went. This is one of the original tables from Pat & Ali’s bar on the other side of the harbour which we bought when the bar closed x number of years ago, so it’s a bit of Symi history. We’ve turned it around, so the broken side is against the wall, and await the fate of the side that’s not yet broken off.
Meanwhile, Easter approaches, the bangers are already being thrown, the small, fizzling rockets are being launched, and more and more people are arriving for the festivities to come.
