Boats, Islands and Owls
Sorry about yesterday’s blog, the weekend all got rather out of hand, and I realised I hadn’t had time to write anything suitable for a Monday. So, instead, here is some blurb for a Tuesday, including photos of our newest neighbour.
We were treated to a speedboat ride on Sunday, to go across to Nimos and have a look at the venue for our party on September 8th. It’s all rather barren and does, in places, look like a bomb site, but it will be our bomb site for the night. The bay at Taviri, around the east side of Nimos, has a derelict house on it and a broken down path from the jetty to the beach. It’s possible to get to the beach if you are careful, but you’ll need to wear sensible shoes. This is a bit of a pre-warning to our guests, who should be receiving an update at the weekend with final instructions. However, the jetty/landing stage itself is flat concrete and reasonably comfortable. It’s surrounded on three sides by water; the boat will be moored on the seaward and. The inland end is up against the rocks. Guests will have to be careful not to fall off and land on the rocks or the water, but that’s up to them.
It should do. No, it will have to do, and it’s plenty big enough for 70 people with seating also on the boat, as long as we are careful. Not sure how our tap shoes will cope with the concrete, there may be sparks flying off the taps, but that will add to the fun. We can always replace the metal taps later if we ever need the shoes again.
While travelling over to the island we were stopped by the coastguard on one of their routine stop-and-check duties. If you have a boat there are so many things you need to have with you at all times at sea, I had no idea: Papers, of course, to show it’s yours and registered and taxed (or whatever), fire extinguishers that are up to date, flares that are up to date, and life jackets enough for all passengers. These checks are carried out for the safety of boat users, so that was no problem and our friends had everything in order. It’s good to know that seafarers are being kept an eye on in this way. It’s also fun to be stopped at sea by one of your neighbours, but you have to remember that they are doing their job, so personal chat is best kept for another time.
Back on land and our other new neighbour, the little owl that today’s photos are of. He or she has recently moved to the area and has become less nocturnal than you might imagine. We often see him now on the next-door roof, keeping a close eye on the trees and bushes below. There are a few cats around, but I reckon he sees them as being too big for him. He watches though and can stand there for hours just keeping an eye out for dinner. We also see him at night or, rather, feel his presence as he swoops past silently, a grey blur in the dark. Friendly chap though, he was talking to Mr and Mrs Patterson, our two pigeons who use our telegraph pole, they were having quite a decent chat, probably about us.
