This morning so far: Awake at 04.20 for no apparent reason. Cup of tea for obvious reasons. Dozing off on sofa, 04.40. Wake up again, 05.20. Second cup of tea, 05.22. Off to work at 05.30, luckily, no traffic as I pass the internet router en route, and no rain in the porch to negotiate, so a smooth journey to the desk. 05.31, return to collect mug of tea. Fire up PC and Mozart piano concertos (background music). Open email, download some new photos from Neil, turn attention to the blog to clear nighttime thoughts from the mind by putting them on virtual paper. Notice the internet has cut out – no idea why. 05.55, internet back on, and all lights on router now back from their break, so here we go. I’m able to download/upload this photo Neil took from the roof at sunset last night.

I think that’s just how it was, as in, I don’t think we had any Sahara dust over us at the time, there’s none showing on the weather map today, but there could have still been some hanging around in the atmosphere. Either way, it was spectacular. Meanwhile, the red dust has carpeted the courtyard floor and everything in it, and it’s awaiting either a clean-rain shower or two, or me with a broom and a bucket of water, when we have some spare.

Out and about, the preparations and celebrations for Easter continue. I’ve not noticed so many illegal bangers being thrown around this year (yet). The boys in the square were merrily setting off explosions yesterday evening, and there have been a few stray bangs and fizzes from elsewhere on the hillside, but the main event will come on Saturday night and Sunday. Church goers come and go up and down the lane to the various services that take place in the lead up to Easter weekend, while more and more visitors arrive either to stay with family, in their holiday homes, or elsewhere, either specifically for Easter on Symi, or simply for a holiday.

On the subject of which, I’ve seen some interesting discussions about the cost of flights, and people asking why the cost of flying to Rhodes has suddenly gone up of late. I shan’t repeat some of the replies, but if you too were wondering, I direct you to any news channel worth its salt, and leave it at that. As one can’t currently avoid taking notice of what a world ‘leader’ has done to the world in the name of distraction and making money, I am duty-bound to say that yes, I have noticed an increase in the cost of some services and goods already, and a reduction in the amount of stock on supermarket shelves. That might be to do with the weather and the way the boats were put off their timetables by storms. That’s not unusual at this time of year, but as for some prices, I would offer this advice: Avoid cauliflowers where possible. That is, unless you don’t mind paying over €5.00 for a small one that’s mostly leaves anyway. Travelling on the Blue Star the other day, I noticed that my return trip (after Seasmiles discount of 10%) had gone up from €11.00 to €13.00, an increase of €1.00 each way. Two weeks ago, the Dodec catamaran (private company) was charging €32.00 per person for one way, but it’s been like that a while now, apparently. I think the other Sunday was the first time I had used the company/route in about 10 years, and smooth and fast though it is, I’d rather get up at three and catch the 05.00 Blue Star. However, if I do, I shan’t be buying wine on the boat. They used to do small bottles (like you might have on a cheap flight) for about a fiver, but the other day, they only had normal-sized bottles, and one of them, an ouzo and a water would have come to €34.00, so we shan’t be doing that.

Islander tip: If you want to chill with a drink during the crossing, bring your own. This is quite acceptable. The other New Year, coming back from Athens with Jenine and Harry, we stocked up at a large supermarket in Piraeus, and camped out on the poop deck with all kinds of goodies from Gregory’s and a box of wine, and we were not the only group to be doing so. Mind you, from Rhodes to Symi is only just over an hour, so you probably won’t need anything like that. All the same, I think the current thinking is to check the prices of things before you buy. (A glass of wine at the Rainbow or Lefteris’ is still only €3.00, I believe.) Anyway, it’s now 06.15, and the boss (me) is telling the staff (me) that I am late to work and have to get on with the job of writing.

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Here we are in Big Week, and suddenly, the village square is alive in the evening. Boys setting off bangers, people going to and from church, and both bars with tables outside and folks to sit at them. The weather might also have had something to do with it, because we were able to sit out last night until quite late, and we’ve not been able to do that for a while now. Here’s a shot Neil took yesterday or the day before. He used to do this kind of shot on a camera, now it’s on a phone, but a new one with a much better camera and more tech in it than sent the men to the moon, apparently.

I have two pieces of news to start this week, one of which I might have told you. I had an approach from a major publisher (HarperCollins) about ‘Bobby, a Life Worth Living,’ the biography of my godfather. Since then, I have been in touch with an agent they recommended, and they are willing to consider representing the book back to HC if I can produce a ‘fresh and expanded’ version. So, as well as starting the last book in my Victorian mystery series, and preparing the one before for release this week, I shall be starting on the biography. This means trying to find transcripts from 20 years ago, reading some more social background, and identifying existing parts that can be expanded, without losing the voice, which was what attracted HC in the first place. It’s flattering, if nothing else, though also somewhat strange, because I wrote the thing 20 years ago, before I started writing fiction, and my style, I thought, has improved so much since. As with all these things, it may well come to nothing, and even if it does, it won’t be overnight.

So from today, I will have to start being stricter with myself about the afternoons. Mornings? No trouble: get up, make a tea, go to work, but after lunch? Jigsaw, snooze, television. No more. Well, maybe starting tomorrow, because we were taken out for a drink or two last night, and although I only had a couple of ouzos and plenty of water, I’ve woken up feeling like it’s bedtime already, yet it’s only 6.20. Ah, well, perhaps I’ll have a siesta after breakfast.

Here’s a shot from the roof on Saturday morning. As you can see, it was still cloudy and wet then, but the week promises to be fine up until the weekend, when, once again, we may see the return of clouds and high winds.

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Here we are at the end of what turned out to be a wet week. A wet one, and for some, a red one. You may have seen photos of Crete and elsewhere under a cloud of Saharan dust. The news headlines last night were comparing it to Πλανήτης Άρης, Planet Mars.

Click here to see photos from Reuters via the Guardian.

It may look as though someone has applied a filter, but that’s how it looks sometimes. When the rain dried yesterday, our courtyard had become a dusty sandpit, and I’ll be out over the weekend to brush and wash it away. That is, if the overnight rain last night hasn’t washed it away already.

We also had the large cloud over us, but it was less visually apparent because of the rain, but you can still sometimes taste it, see it or feel it. If you want to see what lies in store, you can find a prediction showing a map overlay of dust, rain, wind etc., by subject, at: https://poseidon.hcmr.gr/

There, select weather from down the page, and then see which aspect of the weather you want to look at. Meanwhile, here’s a local cat.

I reckon some of our current visitors might have had something of a surprise welcome to the South Aegean in the last few days. Some planes were cancelled, the boats were going and then not going, and the weather was as unpredictable and unwelcome as an American “President.” We were in Georgio’s for dinner last night, as were a few visitors. Being still the off-season, the menu last night was, ‘What d’you want?’ What have you got? ‘Salad, tzatziki, chicken, soup.’ What soup? ‘Chickpea.’
I opted for the soup, which was/is a deep bowl of chickpeas in a very tasty broth. It went well after Neil’s homemade carrot and pepper soup we’d had at lunchtime, and my task this morning is to single-handedly restart the island’s defunct wind turbine. I foresee no problems.

Ah, here’s a Symi spring flower…

And so, to the weekend. What lies in store? Today, I aim to complete the final check of my next instalment in the Delamere Files before moving on to the final book in the series. I also have to produce my author’s newsletter, which will go out tomorrow, and tidy my office – and making up my mind when to do that could well take me all weekend. Apart from that, some piano, some writing, and some reading, I have also promised myself I will spend an hour or so finally tidying up the courtyard. Weather permitting. Everything else permitting, I shall be back on Monday, which will be the start of Great Week in Greece, the week leading up to Easter weekend. Actually, in Greece, the weekly calendar begins on a Sunday, and it’s Palm Sunday this weekend, so I guess Holy Week starts then. And I start now, by popping off to prepare my newsletter. If you want to know more about that, take a look here, and I’ll see you soon.

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We have a few drips in places we don’t usually get drips, and the porch is an inch under water with nowhere to drain off, but other than that, we’re still standing. It’s too dark to see what’s going on out there, but when I went to bed at 21.30 last night, the wind was still shaking the house, and the walls were vibrating. Apparently, we had a severe storm alert message at some point not long after, and it didn’t help when a stray alarm went off at 04.15 this morning, waking Neil who’d only had a few hours’ sleep. (I think it was a hangover alarm, left uncancelled since Monday. According to his phone, it’s been going off every morning since.) But we’re up and about, and I have a lot of reading to do today and some mopping up later, by the looks. We’re supposed to be helping a neighbour move a heavy plant or two later and going out for an early dinner, in which case, I shall be eating very little. Why?

Not that you need to know, but I had something of a sofa day yesterday, recovering from a nasty bout of reflux that made itself apparent at 1.00 the previous morning. This happens from time to time, and I do all I can to avoid it. A fun one is not eating too late at night, which is why if anyone invites us to dinner and says, ‘Come at eight-for-half-past,’ I stare at them as though they were mad, and say, ‘Can we make it more like six? I know, but there you are. (I’ve also got the relevant pills and ointments, tinctures and poultices for this reflux thing, so no need to send advice, medical aid or thoughts, thanks. It’s one of those things.) Anyway… The point is, I wasn’t up to doing anything much yesterday, except a jigsaw on my tablet, some reading, and watching a few things on TV, while listening to the wind and rain from behind closed shutters. It’s like I missed seeing a whole day pass by, but I did pop my head into the courtyard once or twice to make sure it was still there.

Now then, there is something serious to report, because we did have something of a sad evening the one before last. Back in 19… I forget, but about 28 years ago, Neil bought me a Thunderbirds figure/doll, dressed, movable, ages 5 to 13, as a Christmas present. A bit of a laugh, something daft, but mainly because I’ve been a Thunderbirds fan since year forever. When we moved to Greece, we took Alan with us. That’s his name, for those who aren’t au fait with the classic TV series made for children aged 5 to 50 and beyond. He even joined us on the beaches on holidays now and then, and he has a voice that, when the button is pressed, says, ‘F.A.B.’ and ‘Thunderbirds are go.’ Bless. Well, on Tuesday evening, I moved him and his companions (he’s built quite a following over the years), so they wouldn’t get wet if the window leaked, and found, tragically, that one of his legs had inexplicably become detached. Not only was that a cause macabre, but the situation deteriorated when we realised he was trying to speak. With a weak, croaky rattle, like a dying Geiger counter, he grated out his last words… and wouldn’t shut up, so we put him in the laundry, there to go in peace, surrounded by his mates. The scene reminded me of ‘The Death of Nelson.’ It was very moving. He’s not going in the bin (though after 28 years, he could do with the washing machine), and I’ll find somewhere else for him when the laundry floor dries out. If it does.

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It’s a day for battening down the hatches, staying indoors, and, in our case, putting towels around the windows. According to the weather channels, we’re in for a force nine overnight tonight, with rain and high winds developing through the day. Yesterday’s forecast showed more severe weather than this morning’s prediction, but still, best be safe. It also showed a lot of Sahara dust on its way…

However, this morning, that screen is clear, so unless the layer for ‘Dust’ is temporarily out of order, it’s all blown away, somewhere. In that case, not so much ‘red rain’ leaving its red dust and sludge behind, but also, maybe a computer glitch. Tempus revelat omnia. ‘Time reveals all.’ We shall see. But the clouds have been hanging around a while now, itching for a fight and preparing to do their thing. This was Monday morning:

Tempus revelat omnia. That motto was found inscribed in a pocket watch that came to light during the investigation into the ‘Jack the Ripper Diary,’ or forgery, depending on which evidence you believe. Had it not been for it being found scratched inside the casing, the rest of the watch might have been more believable, as it also had the initials of the canonical five Ripper victims scored into the metal. To add a kind of ‘You’ll see’ in Latin seems a little suspect if you ask me. But on the subject of ‘You’ll see’, we’ll now see what the day holds in store. It’s still dark, so I can’t comment on the skies, but I can hear the occasional gust of wind, though nothing dramatic. Let’s hope it isn’t too bad, because I saw several visitors wandering around yesterday evening, I think, looking for somewhere to eat, and they may be in for a shock if they’ve not experienced an island storm before. Things could get wild, but there’s no need to send thoughts and prayers. We’ve dealt with bad weather before. Hey! Maybe the phrase of the day should be Tempest revelat omnia.

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