For those who like to know these things, it was 30° in the courtyard at 04.30 this morning, and it looks like we’re in for another warm day. I know! All you talk about is the weather. Well, not all, but it is one of the few things everyone has in common with everyone else, so it’s only natural, and, I hope, of interest to people who know the island and/or don’t, but are heading this way, or just interested. Anyway, it’s not the only thing we have in common. There is also, it seems, health.

I think any gathering of people over a certain age (i.e., 50) should come with a law that says no-one in the group is allowed to talk about their ailments for more than five minutes, and only then, when they first join the group. When I go down for coffee at the bar, I often hear or fall into a conversation about ailment-related this and that. Someone is asked, ‘How are you?’ as a greeting, and the next thing you know, they are telling you. We’re British. We don’t really mean, ‘How are you?’ we mean, ‘Hello.’ Of course, the British have a variety of replies to the question, such as, ‘Fair to middling’, ‘Could be better’, ‘Mustn’t grumble.’ All of them an implied negative.
It’s the same as some other general greetings when you want to avoid a question, ‘Turned out nice again,’ spoken with something of a surprise. ‘Hot, isn’t it?’ (Said with an element of astonishment, even though you’re in the south Aegean in summer.) ‘You’re looking well!’ Also said as if the speaker had never expected to see that person living again, while actually meaning, ‘You’ve put on weight.’

Anyway, I am one of that group, and have been for a while, and yes, there are times when the enquiry is genuine, and one is concerned for someone’s health because they were recently unwell or injured, and that’s fine. But when it comes to comparing scars, hospital treatments, medications and the diagnoses given by qualified doctors, Google and now the planet-ruling AI, it can get far too technical and self-indulgent for my liking.  So, a rule of thumb from now on is to turn these greetings the other way up, so as to avoid the necessity to then listen to a half-hour soliloquy concerning someone’s recent run-in with a gall bladder operation, bunion, or worse. ‘Hello’ is a succinct and vague way of greeting a group of over 50s. You might say, ‘Greetings,’ or something more florid according to your personality. As for replies, they could be, ‘Middling to good,’ or just ‘Good’ instead of fair to, or simply, ‘Not grumbling,’ to which you can silently say to yourself, ‘Makes a change.’

Afternoon coffee time can become like a script meeting for Emergency Ward 10, or for the younger, General Hospital, for the very young, Casualty. (Showing my age here, but ‘mustn’t grumble.’)

And, of course, I am also a culprit of this, and as such, let me tell you about yesterday’s trip to the dentist. Imagine that on my return, someone asked me, ‘How was the dentist?’ I reply, ‘He was very well, thank you.’ That then forces them to ask the real question, ‘What happened?’ Even if they’re not interested, you still tell them, but in a succinct manner, as I can now: All good. Left home at 10.10, walked down (unnecessary scene setting), was in the chair at 10.30 as arranged, twenty minutes later, the root canal was done, and I was heading for the bus. Sorted. No pain (didn’t even feel the injection), a nice chat, no aftereffects, popping back Monday for a check and permanent filling, and to settle the €100 bill. Also shared a few jokes, headed off a conversation about football, and asked after the family.

And yes, that is all true. For those who have to wait months for such a thing and then pay thousands, or can’t even get to see a dentist, or can’t afford to, I’m sorry. Bring your root canals and other dental waterways to Symi where we have the best dentists to ever encounter the inside of my gob. Perfect.

And on that note, I’m off to get my fixed teeth into the weekend by starting work on a new project. That is, once I have uploaded the last of my Delamere Files series to Amazon, which I am going to do now. Collete, Anne and other great friends who support my novel writing endeavours, keep an eye on the Series page on Amazon; the book should be there in a couple of days.

As my character, Ben Baxter from Shadwell, would say, ‘Have a gander at the page, mate.’ Here’s the universal link: https://mybook.to/DelamereFiles  

People often ask, ‘How do I get to the museum?’ To which, I reply, ‘Sir, you have to be of interest and very old,’ because I’m like that.
No, of course I don’t. Well, I might, but… Not long ago, when the bother-in-law was visiting with a friend, that friend met up with us in the evening, and we asked what he had done that day, and he told me he had been to the museum in the village, and what a delight it was. I don’t know why I should have been surprised, but I was, and then I wondered why, and I think it was because I’ve often heard people bemoaning the lack of signposts (there are several), the number of steps to get to it (ditto), and the fact that there are few signs directing foot traffic up to the village from the harbour, and no tourist information kiosk or office down there, where one might be of use to day- and longer-stay visitors alike. Those obstacles are clearly easy to overcome, because no-one had given this chap directions, and he had found it on his own.

I’ll tell you how to get there, but, sadly, thanks to my PC eating my file of photos, I don’t have any appropriate images of the place to hand, so you will have to imagine the scenery.

The first stage is to reach the village: Bus on the hour from Yialos, get off at Kampos, the village bus stop by the kiosk, you can’t miss it, and, if unsure, ask the driver to tell you when you’re there. From there, you follow the signs, or, if you don’t see them, walk up the slope by Scena to Taverna Zoi, and turn left.
Or, if walking all the way, it’s a case of up the Kali Strata to the village square (Taverna George & Maria, two bars, orange and green chairs). Keep going, and look for the blue signs or the metal ones on stands. If you can’t see them, and they are not a permanent trail, just keep on through the village as if you are carrying on up the Kali Strata (stopping for refreshments on the way, perhaps). Pass Tavera Zoi and the supermarket next door, and keep going on the same path until you can’t go any further and must turn left or right.
Turn right and up under the arch, and then left.
Again, keep going until you can go no further and must go left or right. Turn right, up the slope (there are definitely signs on the next corner), and, at that corner, turn left again. Then, it’s straight on, around an S bend, avoiding the badly parked mopeds that can get in the way, up the steps, keeping an eye to the left to look for an anomaly, a property with the name plate ‘15b’ (I think it’s 15, I can’t remember, but it’s at the end of a short alley that you don’t take), keep straight on up the steps there, and you’re actually beside the museum buildings now, and at the top of a short but serious set of steps, you come to a small ‘square’ with a large dark red building to the right, and the museum entrance to your left. Double metal gates, a sign on the wall, and sometimes a paper sign stating a phone number in case the place is closed. If it is closed, you can phone that number, and someone will pop up like the shopkeeper in ‘Mr Ben.’

It’ll cost you €5.00 to enter, and for that, as witnessed by the friend of the in-law, you get a fantastically restored and fascinating set of buildings, which are themselves museum pieces. The buildings are 18th-century, there are two large houses, one once a sponge-boat captain’s mansion with a pebble courtyard included, and there’s also a small servants’ house in the grounds. The last time I was there, the museum was being renovated and wasn’t quite open, but we were still invited in for a look around, and it was, indeed, a spectacular improvement on what had been before. This was several years ago, and now, everything is fully restored and open. However, I believe it is still closed on a Monday, and usually open from eight to two on all other days. If that’s changed, someone might let me know, and I’ll update this or post an addendum.

There is one other rule of thumb to bear in mind when you’re on the trek: if in doubt, ask someone. Local residents will be only too happy to tell you where to go (in a charming way), and it would be a shame to miss the museum, because, as far as I know, we only have the one. The nautical museum has gone to or back to the Church, and the private museum by the Yialos basketball court… Well, I have been, but I am not sure if it is still operating. Again, someone else might know.

So, there you are – and, as I have used the title in this post, and as some lovely folks yesterday told me they were reading it, you might be interested to take a gander at ‘Carry on Up the Kali Strata’, a collection of bits and pieces about Symi that I wrote for the Symi Visitor years back. Here’s the link to Amazon .com, but it’s there on other Amazon sites too:

Carry on Up the Kali Strata.

Ps: There are other ways to walk there, but too many to mention. The easiest is to start at the village square heading towards the mountain and, from Taverna Zo, go straight on until you can’t, then turn right, 1st left, last right, first left, up and bingo! (Write it down now before you forget.)

Something of a windy day yesterday. The open shutters battling against the rocks that hold them open, kitchen windows, even when closed, rattling unless a stone pestle and mortar is pushed up against them and even then, not always successful. A variety of foliage blowing in from the Windy City; dead vine leaves scuttling across the floor, bougainvillea flowers, unspecified pieces of someone else’s garden, even the odd plastic big bag coming in over the wall. V-shaped twigs from the tree next door. In the shape of divining rods, they cling to the broom bristles, and fox the vacuum cleaner, and appear in tedious abundance all year round, it seems.

Below in the bay, white tops to the waves, the sea a dark blue, as it often is when windy, but day boats coming in, the Stavros arriving at the clock tower, presumably due to wind. Ferry announcements and horn blares being carried up on the gusts, which slam open windows without warning and manage to enter from the north and south at the same time.

Collard doves perched precariously on the electricity cables, fluffed up more than usual, fewer sparrows foraging in the courtyard, but plenty of bugs caught in the updraft, mosquitoes included.

Inside, there’s no need to put on the fan, not with the window open at the front and the door at the back, creating a wind tunnel that Airbus could test in. Television up in volume a little so it can be heard, roof tiles rattling now and then, the unused air con unit up on the tower vibrating, and the trundling truck, now into its second year, back and forth, dumping rocks into an ever-increasing pile, recently so high, I expected to see ‘Winnie’ buried up to her waste in it, and being direct by Samuel Beckett. Interestingly, that play is called ‘Happy Days’, and the days are happy, despite the wind. I am sure sailors were loving the challenge.

Ironically, as I was working in the afternoon, I had to have the window shut and the fan on, because the workhouse was too warm otherwise, and when I opened the window, everything else slammed, the lightbulb swung, and my map of London (1894) took flight from the music stand.

All this, and we were out to dinner at the Kali Strata so Sam could celebrate his 23rd birthday by cooking for us. Lovely.

It seems to me that so far this summer, we have been getting away with it. We’ve not yet hit 40° in the courtyard, but we’re getting there. I noticed 37° the other afternoon at around four, but the humidity wasn’t too high, there was a slight breeze, and the temperature was just on ‘pleasant, but only for now.’ This morning at 04.45, it’s registering 28°, but after a windy night, doesn’t feel too bad. The office, being little more than a concrete block is still clammy and warm, even at this time of day, and so the fan is on, but otherwise, all is currently bearable. Mind you, I’m one of those who stays in all day working, and if I go out, it’s later in the afternoon or early in the morning, and I’m not seeking day trips of beach days, or even swimming.

Anyway, all this talk of summer and heat soon makes you forget what the colder winters are like, and the other day, I was thinking of the differences, the pros and cons of each season if you like. It’s either winter or summer, with spring and autumn bringing almost incidental changes from one to the other, but there are benefits to both seasons, domestically speaking.

For example. At the height of winter, the bed is made up with a sheet, duvet and a blanket or two. As spring changes to summer, first, off comes the blanket, and later, the duvet, leaving only the duvet cover or a sheet, and then, by summer, nothing at all. Come autumn, the process happens in reverse. This means the winter offers the chore of making the bed every day, while in the summer, you lie on it, sleep, and get up and get on.

In winter, it’s sometimes a case of sleeping in your clothes too, or at least some of them, for extra warmth. Going out involves dressing, adding layers, a coat, hat, gloves and all the accessories. In summer, I have three shirts and two pairs of shorts to choose from, so that’s easier, and there’s no need to spend time putting on socks and trainers, when sandals will do. So much less of a faff. Winter requires heating and the cost that goes with it, draught excluders at the doors and windows, towels down where the windows and roof leak even when treated and painted, and everything is closed against the cold. Summer? Doors wide open all day and sometimes all night, and the fans running because we don’t have air con. ‘Oh, you must get it!’ people say in that annoying way with the ‘must’ emphasised and said in a way that I find patronising — as if I hadn’t already thought of that, costed it (‘Oh It’s not expensive, you must…’), and decided against it. We have two units, one in my office, which hasn’t been used in 10 years and one pointlessly in the mousandra which we have never used. The fans do for us, thanks. This now being summer for sure, I put the spare one in the bathroom yesterday; as another concrete block, it doubles as a sauna at this time of year.

Summer does bring the worry of fire, of course, especially as we are surrounded by trees, grasses, and overgrown ruins and have no mains water supply with which to deal with any localised issues. We always keep two or three buckets of water on hand, but they are for days when/if the water doesn’t come in and the tank can’t be filled (bank holidays mainly), but you still have to think of precautions. No such worry in the winter. Summer to autumn offers plenty of sweeping practice as the vine, bougainvillea, and others shed dead leaves from June through to November, throw them on the flagstones from where the wind drives them into the house. The warmer months also bring the dreaded Symi spiders prowling and scuttling across floors, walls and ceilings with no warning; ditto the roaches and other bugs. You don’t have to worry about them in the winter so much, which is just as well, as you’re too busy keeping warm.

Still, no matter the temperature, there are no complaints, just an interest in the differences each season brings. Right now, for example, I roll around the house topless all day, with a modesty shirt on hand for when Michaelis comes to read the electricity meter, or Louise comes to sing, and in the winter, I have to type while wearing gloves. (Thermally heated by plugging them into a USB port on the laptop. The wonders of modern invention and cheap online shopping.)

And right now, at 05.15 with the fan running, I’m only my second cup of tea (a constant all year round, tea), and things are just perfect. We’re in for higher temps soon though, ‘they’ say, and I’ll let you know how that goes.

PS. It’s not started well. I just uploaded one photo, went to my folder of Symi photos, selected the one I’d used, deleted it, and the whole folder went, never to return. It was on a data stick, and before you ask, it’s done this before, and no, I can’t get them back, not even with retrieval softwear. Other files went too, like my photos of our Christmas trip last year, though, luckily, I have a copy of them. Ah well. I’ll have to start the collection again.

Hello, and welcome to Monday.

But first, back to Friday: Down to Yialos to collect a couple of packages. At first, I thought it was quite quiet for eleven or so in the morning, but when I paid more attention, I could see there were more day visitors than I first thought. This might be called the vanishing visitor phenomenon. Several day boats arrive through the morning, park up, and disgorge, and you see lines of visitors on the far side of the harbour trundling towards the main part of town, and a gaggle on the other side disembarking by the bus stop. There, the guide might take their charges to stand inconveniently in the convenient shade of the bus stop, where the bus is just about to reverse in to, and there stand while they listen to the guide’s set patter while holding up the 10.50 from Pedi (via Horio), but they don’t care and they ‘Won’t be long’ as one guide informed the bus driver one day as he chatted on. Then, this lot, too, streams towards the main part of town. Another large group might gather for a while beneath the new cover at the new and improved waiting area by the stop, while another boat arrives on the other side of the port. Then, the party recently released from the Panagia at the Petini port trudge along the road towards town like so many pink and privileged refuges, and as you watch from your place at Pacho’s, you realise that, in the words of Sondheim (almost), ‘Another hundred people just got off of the boat.’ The place is as busy as all get out, and thriving.

But then, two minutes later, you wonder where they’ve all gone.

It’s as if they have been sucked into the ether or backstreets never to be seen again, or have simply vanished, leaving the quay relatively quiet. Of course, they are continuing their tours in shadier parts, like round the back, and in the square, beyond the clock tower maybe, and many will dive straight into a café or taverna, or head off to a beach, depending on time. It still amuses me though, to see at least, what? a thousand people on either side of the harbour, and then, suddenly, hardly anyone.

I had the opposite experience on Friday when waiting outside the post office. One minute, just me sitting there putting on my new sandals just arrived at ACS, while Neil is in the PO collecting a parcel…

Next second, here comes one of those vanishing parties. It appears, passes and within seconds…

Whatever. On to lunch at Trata, and, for me, a simple affair of tuna salad and some gigantes. Neil went for his current fave, Psaronefri (pork tenderloin, this version with hot peppers to your required heat). The gigantes (white beans) were in a tomato sauce as they should be, but this recipe had in it a touch more olive flavour than others I’ve tasted, which elevated the dish, as they say on Australian MasterChef. Very nice, and just enough. Although we were there early, the taverna was soon just about full (by not long after midday), having soaked up some of the vanishing visitors.

As an aside to this pointless post, I have once or twice been asked for my recipe for gigantes, and it’s really very easy, so here’s how I do it.

Buy dried white beans (in plastic bags in Sotiris supermarket and elsewhere). Soak overnight. Change water. Boil until about half done (can take a while, but keep an eye). Meanwhile, make a tomato sauce. Then, bung beans and sauce in slow cooker for a few hours until done. Add some dill at the last moment. Sorted.

I, as you can tell, am not in line to be a MasterChef contestant. However, it is a simple thing to prepare, and I use the slow cooker rather than bake them in the oven because, let’s face it, we can’t afford to use an electric oven around here these days.

Stay tuned for more stunning recipes, like how to elevate a tin of tomatoes, and the pitfalls of making Marmite gravy…