And into November
It’s been a bumpy year so far, and Greece is about to go into another lockdown situation with two tiers of severity. Here on Symi, we’re classified into the lower level which means bars, tavernas etc., can stay open according to the current rules, but there’s a curfew for everyone from midnight to 5 a.m., and masks must be worn outside and in shops at all times.
Thank you to everyone who sent messages of concern following the earthquake last Friday near Samos. Symi wasn’t affected, though the quake was felt. I expect you’ve already read about it from the world’s press. I have to admit, I didn’t feel it. We were watching TV while having our lunch break, when Neil said, ‘can you feel that? It’s an earthquake.’ We turned the TV down, and I heard what I thought was a plane going over, but said, no, I couldn’t feel a thing. ‘In that case,’ Neil said, ‘there’s something wrong with me, and I’m going to fall over when I stand up.’ He was sitting next to me on the sofa. I’m usually sensitive to tremors but didn’t feel that one.
As for my weekend, it was partly about this…
That’s the special paint we use to coat the flat roofs to help stop water penetration. I was up on the roof on Saturday cleaning it off and filling small cracks with silicone ahead of Sam coming around on Sunday to paint it over. Our godson #1 comes once a week to earn some money by doing odd jobs and cleaning, and he’s far more adept with a paintbrush than I am (and far more thorough with the hoover). Godson #2 also comes once a week to learn the piano, and I have to say, little Mozart is doing brilliantly. We’ve been working for a year now, with a four-month break when we were away earlier in the year, and then lockdowns and so on, and he is more than halfway through grade one, so we’re very proud of him. Both of them actually, as #1, currently at technical college on the island, has been a staunch supporter of mask-wearing among his peers. Now 17, he has turned into a sensible and caring young man.
The other young man around the house is as caring as ever, but as for sensible… Well, this was Halloween at the Rainbow Bar…
And talking of the bar, we now have internet installed (it’s only taken about 17 years of persuasion). Neil continues to work there until Sunday, the festival of Panormitis weekend, though we’re not sure how much of a festival there will be. And talking of Halloween, my novel ‘The Judas Curse’ a horror-thriller set on an imaginary Greek island, not unlike Symi, is on special offer on Amazon until Saturday. You can pick up the Kindle version for £0.99 if you haven’t already. Just click here.
