Another quiet day at home yesterday, staying in and dry as the island spent much time under rain clouds. The rain showed up an interesting anomaly in the bathroom; a puddle of rainwater beneath the window. Ah ha! ‘Tis the window which leaks,’ methinks, but, no. I felt the tiles around and beneath the window. Dry. The ceiling above, and all of the nearby walls. Dry. Window frame. Dry. In fact, everything was dry apart from the water collecting on the floor, no drips. Nothing. So where on earth is that coming from? The roof has no cracks, and the paint looks sound. All very odd, but nothing major, so on with life we go.

But I’m not going very far today. I have the proofs of the new books to check through, and if all is well, approve, so I can get the necessary files to upload over the next day or so. Then, I have some housework to see to ahead of Neil’s return avrio, piano lesson, and… That’s it. ‘Avrio’, by the way, is Greek for ‘Tomorrow’ and one of those words I use in text messages because it’s quicker to write than English. I started using words like avrio as Greeklish shorthand with friends I knew would know what I meant, and now, sometimes, I can’t think of the English word, only the Greek. Dimos (Town Hall) is another one. ‘I have to go to the Dimos,’ my message or I would say, and that makes sense, as that’s what the building/department is called. It’s actually το Δημαρχείο, ‘to Dimarxeon’ or ‘to Dimarcheio’ depending on how you transliterate the letter χ, but Dimos is simpler.

There are other words, but it’s too early in the morning to think of them, and I’ve woken up with a very obscure song from a pretty unusual musical stuck in my head. It concerns Mrs Overall from Acorn Antiques the Musical, which I watched over a week ago, and good though the show is, having just three lines of one song going around and around in your head from wakeup to whenever is something of a trial. So, I’m blocking that out, and I’m going to pame (go). I must get on with this book, then later, think about some light shopping, run the duster around the shelves, see if the washing’s dry, sweep the courtyard if it’s not too wet, tidy up a bit and think about shopping for quartermaster’s supplies ready for the boss’ return. The return may be on the Dodecanese catamaran tomorrow morning, or the evening Blue Star. I don’t suppose there’s a need to book a ticket for either at this time of year, so there’s no rush. It can all be done avrio.

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Apparently, it’s going to be raining all day today. I’ve seen lightning over Turkey already, but it’s still too dark to assess the clouds. Keen to give you my near-daily weather report, I checked out windfinder.com and the next few days look to be wet, with a break over Saturday and Sunday. That would be handy as there’s a big village wedding taking place this weekend, and it would be nice for the couple if the weather was as good as it has been of late.

It’s one of the things about living in a small place, on a small island and for so long. I don’t know the groom all that well, enough to say hello to, chat about nothing in particular, and pass the time, but I can remember him from when he was twenty years younger and still at school. It’s something of a privilege to watch people grow up in this way, which is why, maybe, I go on about our godboys so often. One of them is currently in Rome on his first out-of-country solo visit (he’s with a friend), and the other is practicing for his first piano recital (family only, Boxing Day), and both are turning into fine young men. Won’t be long before they’ve both finished school, college, and military service and are off to change the world.

On the other side of the coin, I am turning into one of those older gateposts of the place; the thing that’s been there ‘since I was born’ and who ‘must be getting on a bit by now.’ One of the ‘old’ men who sit in the same seat at the same kafeneion for the same coffee (or iced tea) at the same time. Someone the school children say hello to as they pass in the way they greet any adult who has always been there. But that’s also nice, in a way.

Enough of that. I have a day of typing ahead, some piano playing later, and an evening of reading. Meanwhile, for everyone who likes to be on ‘chicken watch’, here’s the slightly blurred view from our kitchen yesterday. I swear, more stray chickens use the lane than vehicles.

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As you can see, yesterday was another calm, still day, and the light on the sea was spectacular.

I took that photo after piano the lesson, around 3.45, just as the light is changing. There’s a period of a short while where the rocks of Nimos change colour gradually, but it’s hard to describe what colour they become as the shade is constantly changing. It’s not quite the pink of a summer evening on the hillside, but the winter sky becomes a dusty pink/grey shade, and everything looks slightly unreal. Taking a break from music, my pupil and I stood on the balcony and discussed boats, refugees, and what would happen if the world suddenly stopped turning. I gave my thoughts on what might happen, but then the conversation deepened, and the question became, what would happen if you were sky diving when the Earth’s core stopped [doing whatever it does]? I was rather glad to get back to explaining the role of the diminished fifth chord and the purpose of the melodic minor scale (which I still don’t really understand myself).

The afternoon then became an evening of pork chops (I had to get the big plates out), laughter and chat, followed by a nightcap at Lefteris Kafeneion. As you can see, the village was quiet, but it was still warm enough to sit outside without a coat. Someone else has been a little chillier where he is, has been, and is about to go.

And on that note, I’ll leave you to enjoy Tuesday, while I go and research the science of the spinning globe and what should happen if it suddenly stopped, just in case it comes up at Thursday’s music lesson.

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I know some parts of Europe are experiencing very cold weather right now, so you may not want to hear that it was so warm on Saturday evening, I was able to sit outside Rainbow for a few hours watching no world go by. I had my jacket ready if needed. It wasn’t. Cloudy? Yes. Cold? No.

I have no idea what’s going on in Vienna and Bratislava because Neil has ‘gone dark’ for the weekend. The last I heard, on Friday, he and his brother were off to Bratislava with a party of mates and were expected back in Vienna on Sunday night. It’s only Sunday morning as I write, so I may have heard of James’ 60th birthday shenanigans by now. That’s my bother-in-law, James, not me. I am here on Symi with the windows and doors open to air the house before things become too damp. As for the other half of Symi Dream, the last image I saw was this:

I was in a similar mood as I tripped down to Yialos on Friday to collect two packages, check the post office, take out some cash, and contemplate buying paint. I didn’t, but I must do so during this week, so I can paint the bathroom’s flat roof before the real rain starts, try and fix the leaking porch, and maybe even scrape and treat the outside bathroom walls before repainting. All things I planned to do while Neil was away, and haven’t got around to yet, mainly because I was writing a long article, finishing a book to be published in a week or so, shopping, cooking, looking after the house, and generally procrastinating.

So, I will be heading to town again during the week, probably not until later in the week though, unless another delivery of ordered goods arrives. The painting can wait until next weekend, when, hopefully, it will be too wet to do it. Okay, so the porch will get wet, and the bathroom might spring a leak, but we have more towels to mop up with than I have the inclination to paint things. Still, it was a pleasant walk ‘downtown’, and I bumped into a few people I’d not seen for a while, before catching the bus back up the hill. The timetable has reverted to winter times now, and the times are on the board. I’m still looking out for the Blue Star sailings for January. So far, they have only a Sunday/Monday sailing on offer, and I need the one that leaves Piraeus on a Thursday to arrive here early on the Friday. The schedule must be announced soon, as the first week of January is only five weeks away. Gulp.

Which reminds me to remind you again about the Symi Dream Calendar for 2024 (click that link to get to it). A couple of people have had trouble paying for theirs, and I don’t understand why, because I haven’t, and nor have others. Maybe it depends on how you want to pay. I don’t know. I used PayPal and that worked fine, but I have also used a standard credit/debit card. If you have any hassle, the site’s support team are usually pretty quick to help out, and the support link is at the bottom of each page on the website. Anyway, if you’ve not got yours yet, follow this link and knock yourself out. Metaphorically speaking.

You’re also welcome to indulge in my first ‘fan’ calendar. The Clearwater Calendar holds all 11 book covers from my Clearwater series of Victorian mysteries, plus their blurbs, and a surprise page for December.

That’s all I’m saying for now. I must get to the shop before the after-church rush.

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I have one planned. Or semi-planned, as I’ve not planned to do anything except to do very little. Happy first of the month, by the way! I’ve turned over the last page in this year’s Symi Dream calendar, and noted the big days for this month; Christmas, of course, and the day we leave to go to Athens between Christmas and New Year, and next Friday, which is when Neil returns from his trip to Austria. Today, he, his brother and some friends are heading to Bratislava for the weekend to celebrate the brother’s 60th in the manner in which they celebrated his 50th; with beer.

That’s their big ‘quiet’ weekend, mine will start when I finish work this morning and run down to Yialos to collect two packages, check the post office, and get some cash (yes, it’s still used here). After that, I have an afternoon of writing, which is what I intend to do over the whole weekend unless anything else comes in. Meanwhile, I’ll refer you back to the Symi Dream calendar, and remind you that, as they can take a couple of weeks to arrive, now’s the time to order yours and a few extra for presents, so you can share the unique images of Symi with friends and family.

I’m a dreadful salesman, so I won’t go on, but I’ll share the link. Just click it to find the page where you can also run a preview of the calendar: Symi Dream, Calendar 2024.

There you go. That’s me set for a couple of days of typing, some wandering aimlessly about the village taking photos if I remember, and maybe working on that Mozart sonata that has lain long neglected on the piano for a few weeks now. The air is slightly chillier today, but no sign of clouds or high wind. The Blue Star came through yesterday at some unusual time, and that could only have been due to bad weather somewhere. Now, apparently, it’s running late but will catch up on its usual schedule after the weekend. At least, that was the last I heard, and that was my last word until Monday. Here’s wishing you a good month ahead.

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