Finally, some more up to date photos for you today, some by Neil some from me.
Also today, there is a new interview with me published on a site called Expat Focus which you might like to take a look at if you have not already seen it. Click here to open the page.
Early morning
As you can see from the photos, the sun is out, and the weather is calm and very pleasant, hot in fact. There are still many flowers out, and the hills and valley are still green, though not as green as they were in March and April. It won’t be long before the shrubs and herbs turn brown under the sun, but the beauty of the island will still remain; it’s just different according to the seasons.
Thinking
I am researching flights to Cyprus though I don’t know the date I will be going yet; the film festival asked what date we would like the screening on, which is good of them, and we’ve suggested a couple. So, as soon as I know, I shall be booking what I can, when I can. I must thank Jean, and also Andy from the Symi Visitor Travel Blog for giving me advice.
Anyway, a quick post today with a few more photos taken yesterday here on Symi.
This is another post about me and what I am up to in the book/film/creativity arena. First though, I’ll just let you know that it’s hot here on Symi, summer has kicked in. As someone said the other day, the thermostat got turned up on June 1st as usual. So, that’s good news. Taxi boats are heading out, day boats are coming in, the around the island boat trip is running, the bus is on schedule, the taxis are at work, it’s good walking weather, swimming has started, the Pentecost celebration was held on Sunday in Ag Triada square in Horio, I think all summer businesses are now open… Everything is ready for your visit.
Blue skies
Meanwhile, a quick list of highlights of my weekend: discussing the possibility of adapting and author’s book for film, being given the opportunity to go to Cyprus for the film festival in two weeks to present ‘The 13th’ to some very important film people. Discussing a Danish translation of ‘Symi 85600’ and finishing off ‘Honestly – a Miss P novella’ (first draft), and liaising with my designer about a new cover for ‘Lonely House’ – see below, in a moment, I’ve not finished yet. There was also the meeting up with old friends returning for their stay, being taken out to dinner, starting on our courtyard redecoration (great job, Godson!), another dinner with good friends at their house, having our dinner donated to us by Yianni (there were more dinners than there were dinnertimes, so we’re having it for lunch today), good laughs and happy times in the square, Dawn’s sausage party – a birthday tradition – and several other things which, if I added them, would make it sound like we have more fun than a child with a free Disneyland pass. I don’t want to make you jealous.
Valley view
So, here is the point of this post, the new cover for ‘Lonely House.’ I’ve not uploaded it yet. Well, I might have done by the time you read this, I am waiting to get the final file from my designer in Portugal. So, if you’ve not got this one in the ‘James Collins’ section in your library, leave it a couple of days until you see this cover on Amazon and Kindle. I hope it doesn’t scare you too much…
It’s Sunday morning, and I am a bit all written out. Not in blog posts, obviously, as the last few have been on the short side, but I’ve just spent the week writing a long short story. (24,000 words, first draft.) This has been one of those things that just fell out, as it were. I am told by the machine that knows these things – a search engine – that this makes the story a novella; 17,500 to 39,999 words is a novella, apparently. Over 40k is a novel, between 7,500 and 17,499 is a novelette, and a short story is under 7,500. So, now you know.
Castro view
Novelette sounds rather polite to me, the name of a minor member of a privileged household. ‘Have you met my daughter, Novelette? She is rather plain, I’m afraid, but she’ll scrub up decently after she’s been brought out next season.’ That kind of thing. So, I have written a novelette in a week, first draft. I have to say ‘first draft’ as it’s not ready for public consumption yet, not fit for reading. I will spend this week tidying it up and then have a couple of people read it. It’s a new ‘Miss P’ story, as I might have mentioned, and it’s called ‘Honestly.’ My idea is to bang out a few novelettes (the literary kind, not the debs) all concerning the character Miss P, and put them up on Kindle for a ridiculously low price as a way of publicising ‘Remotely.’ Watch out for future developments.
A Symi path
In my Sumi news, I intended to go for a walk today, to get some new photos if nothing else, but I’ve just seen that some friends are arriving for a holiday today so I will have to go and see them. I have a meeting with the writer of one of the more popular travel guide books to discuss film adaptations of her novel, and we had such a fabulous evening last night with friends up the lane that I really can’t move very far today. I have, though, been to Cyprus.
A cut through
Well, not literally. You may have heard that our film, ‘The 13th’, has been selected for the Cyprus International Film Festival, so that’s another laurel wreath for the poster. They asked if the company was sending anyone to attend the screening and introduce the film. I’m the closest, physically (unless any of the backers happen to live there and I don’t know about it), but not the closest financially. I had a quick search around for ways to get from Symi to Cyprus as someone in the production office thought there were cheap flights from Rhodes; it’s not that far after all. Well, here’s an insight into Symi living, when it comes to travelling up the road, as it were:
Symi hills
First of all, there’s getting to Rhodes, which you can do quite cheaply if you take the Blue Star or the Panagia Skiedani. Then there’s the overnight at a hotel, and that’s possible to do for €30.00 at this time of year at hotels like the Savoy, and others. The flights I found were with Aegean (my favourite airline) and left at 05.50 in the morning, so that’s a taxi to the airport at around €25.00, and then the flights themselves. These go via Athens, which seems a bit of a long way round to me, but still shorter than some others that went via Frankfurt; I hope the pilots have a better sense of direction. Then there’s the hotel in Cyprus which the festival organisers have at a discount for those involved, so another €30.00 per night and I’d have to stay for at least two. Then you have to do the whole thing in reverse to get home, add on living expenses and then take into account any loss of earnings. I worked it out at at least €400.00 just for getting there and back, so that’s the end of that idea.
I’ve always said that when you arrive on Symi, you know you’ve travelled, and that’s one of its many attractions. I just looked out of the window and saw the Sunday morning catamaran coming in. It unloaded a [collective noun] of visitors, lots of them with cases, coming for their holidays. Excellent news, the season is starting to pick up, though there are still fewer Turkish gulets than in previous years… so far.
I received this message yesterday:
“We have been (against all odds!) officially selected the prestigious 12th Cyprus International Film Festivals which is in the top 100 film festivals out of a possible 5,500.
This is really excellent news and there is a great deal to organise. The festival was started by the government in Cyprus and they put a lot of effort into getting lots of publicity. It’s held from 14-24 June at Paphos. As it happens, Paphos is this year’s capital of European Culture and so the festival is included as part of the EU’s programme of major cultural events. This year’s festival selection panel is headed by Bill Bulter, the legendary cinematographer of Jaws and many other great movies of the period. They are definitely expecting a presence from us and they have accommodation arranged at specially reduced prices of 35 euros single and 50 euros double per night for those going.”
Sadly, I can’t afford to go, but I will keep you posted on any news. Meanwhile, what I can do is give you some Saturday Symi photos!
The boys are back. I think. I didn’t see them get off the boat, but that’s because I got fed up with waiting for all tourists to pile out. (Not complaining, it was good to see so many.) But, the football teams should now be back from their away matches at Camber Sands.
The warm weather is also back, with the temperature climbing as the wind changed from the north to come from some other, warner, direction. I have been working at home, as you know, though I have popped out for a couple of glasses in the late afternoon, to recover. And that’s about all my news for today so I’ll pop up some photos for you and let you get on. Oh, these photos are of Mary’s shop at Vapori. If you’re not sure where that is, it’s near the bottom of the Kali Strata, next door to Bella Napoli, and between there and… Well, everyone knows where the Vapori Bar is, surely? As you can see, there are plenty of wonderful things on offer here. I asked to pop in and take a few snaps, so you can see.
