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Fires on Rhodes

Reported on eKathimerini.com this morning:

Firefighters struggled to douse more than 60 blazes that broke out across the country yesterday, including a large fire north of Athens and another that was burning the island of Rhodes for a third day.

One of yesterday’s most serious fires was on Rhodes, where strong winds continued to fan a blaze that broke out near the central village of Laerma on Monday. The fire, which spread southward over two days, is believed to have burnt at least 1,000 hectares of forestland. Local firefighters said that the elderly and very young local residents had been evacuated from their homes as the flames came very close to the village limits. “We really struggled to save the village from the fire,” Rhodes Prefect Yiannis Machairidis told Kathimerini.

The television news this morning reported that "the fires had not affected the tourist areas of the island", but all the same it’s not good news. The wind must be in a different direction as no strangely coloured clouds have passed over Symi since a couple of nights ago when the fires first started.

Photo from eKathimerini.com

As for other news…
Today is the name day of Ann (Anna, Annita, Anneta, Hanna), Efpraksia and Olympias and tomorrow Paraskevi (among others). Actually tomorrow is Paraskevi - Friday, the church of Ag Paraskevi can be found by taking the path out of the village heading across the valley towards Xissos and the main road. I walked there a couple of years ago with Irene who told me that Saint Paraskevi was the ’saint of eyes’. Appropriate when you sit and look down at Yialos below and take in the wonderful views from the path and the church.

This photo was taken (two years ago) from the path on the way back from Ag Paraskevi.

Ah well, the wind is up today and cooling things down, from my desk I can see white on the sea and the curtains are billowing as the breeze blows through the house. No need for the fan today.

Vine news

I realised we hadn’t had a photo taken looking up the steps from the shop for a while and I know one of our regular viewers is interested in her vine so here it is:

As for the other vine that everyone has been talking about, the Rainbow Bar vine… Still not sure, we will have to wait until next spring to see if it has recovered. Meanwhile the bamboo matting that is now beneath it keeps the sun away. Making the bar once again a cool place to sit. Not that we have much time for that these days!

Fires

I was wondering last night, as I sat on the terrace reading, why the cloud coming over the Vigla was a strange colour. It was fairly unusual to see a cloud at this time of year let alone a purple/grey one. Our sub editor down the lane sent me a message this morning to explain - fires in Rhodes. Here is the link: http://news.ert.gr/en/c/7/34088.asp

The new Symi site is progressing well and will soon be ready for people to take a look at, comment on and hopefully contribute to. Another couple of weeks and all will be revealed. Meanwhile, a photo:

This one (sold as a limited edition) is from one of the calendars; this small version shows pixilation for some reason but the original sized photo doesn’t.

Transport

Just a couple of photos from yesterday.

On the bus, leaving Pedi. And something you don’t see very often…

By royal command

Neil’s brother arrived yesterday to stay with us for a week. He’s one of those handy house guests who look after themselves at home and entertain the village when out and about. He is a keen reader of our bliary and so I’ve asked James (yes, another one) if he would like to write a post one day this week - as a visiting contributor. Watch this space. He did say that he missed a certain feature and so, as a special favour, here you are:

So, the week starts here - what delights lie in store I wonder, with two Goslings in the house anything can happen in the next seven days; time will tell.

Radio news
Chatting to Miss DJ last night over dinner at Zoi’s, she told me that she will be taking a radio break for three weeks, this Friday’s show being the last before she has her holiday. You can hear it broadcast on line by going to www.anes.gr and clicking the link at the top. The English language show is 6.00 to 8.00 pm Symi time (that’s UK time plus two hours — and minus roughly fifty years). But the radio plays 24/7 with Dimitris, Irene and others presenting live shows and music playing when the studio is unmanned.