I made a few notes in my notebook for September but it seems to have been one of those months that have flashed past. I remember there were clouds around on the night of the 4th as I walked home, you could see them picked out in silver by the moon and I got excited at the thought of rain. The garden is looking very dry and grumpy though it does get watered – only the bare minimum though, just enough to keep it alive though my peppers have gone…

Neil’s father and sister came to visit, the plan being that they would be here for his 40th birthday. In the end it transpired that, though they didn’t leave Greece until the day after the ‘big day’, they actually left in the early hours of the morning which meant leaving Symi on the 5.50 pm boat. So they missed the party but at least they were here for the rest of the day – which was surprisingly sedate and sober.

I was sitting outside the bar one afternoon when someone walked by – not an uncommon event but this was the only person in the square (even Lefteris next door was inside) and she was singing ‘all I want is a room somewhere…’ She wasn’t carrying a case so I can only assume she was happy.

Having had a few clouds early in the month we then got back to the hot weather we’ve been living through for most of the summer. It became windy too, which cooled things a little but it was still like sitting I front of a hair dryer. Then the weather gave way to being hot one day and cooler the next and I didn’t know if it was a night to have the fan on or the blankets. Now though, towards the end of the month, it’s definitely cooler, in fact it’s just right with a cool breeze and nice cold mornings (well, nice for me at any rate.) Even the air smells of autumn as someone had a bonfire last night and I can still smell it this morning. Either that or someone’s set fire to a pile of rubbish in a ruin somewhere nearby.

The exciting news for me was that on the day of the general election I actually had a whole day off. No writing, no bar, nothing. My first day off since April was spent on the beach at St. Nicks – well, mostly in the taverna and a few moments in the sea. I could get used to this time off thing…

My sister and her husband came to visit for a day, taking a break from their two weeks in Lindos, and I walked up the Kali Strata eight times that week. Four times were in the two days that they were here – guess who is related to a fitness instructor. Though I can now climb it without getting short of breath. Many familiar faces are back and there’s a definite British feel to the current weeks that should last until the middle to end of October when things will start to close down. Actually some places have started already, well the Kali Strata bar has shut and Filos isn’t doing lunch at the moment because Manolis is not well – hopefully he will be better soon.

So the mornings are cooler, the days are shorter, the temperature is bearable, the sea is calm and all is right with the world as the island prepares for another winter, perhaps this time it will rain.