Today you have some of Neil’s images from Sunday night’s Symi Shrimp Festivals for your photo-viewing enjoyment. It was a hot night, the event was well attended, and how those dancers keep cool wearing all that costume is beyond me. I did read, somewhere at the museum (when opened), that the traditional head scarves a lady wore would sometimes number 20 or more – how heavy would that be? (Rhetorical question, no need to answer.)
But, traditional dances, with traditional island songs and traditional Symi shrimps and products made by the Women’s Association of Symi. All part of this year’s Symi festival. Tonight in the alternative, complementary festival is an evening of opera with Michael Powel, to be held in a private garden in the village, but open to the public, starting at 9 pm, directions will be given from Syllogos Square, look out for them if you’re heading up that way. I had the pleasure of accompanying Michael a couple of years back at an ‘intimate’ concert on Leros attended by several hundred people, all local dignitaries what looked like an admiral, and a TV crew. Great voice; it’s going to be a lovely concert.
And then there is the festival of Magalos Sotiris up in the middle of the island. We have attended the evening there on a few occasions, the last time we went in the back of a flatbed truck, and, apart from a fabulous festival, we were treated to the stars and Milky Way right over head. If you’re on Symi anytime it’s’ worth getting up into the hills at night to see the stars without light pollution. Pretty and amazing, and pretty amazing.
I’ve been having my own festival of rewriting and editing on ‘Straight Swap’ while ‘Lonely House’ continues to sell and gather interest. We have some copies (in the UK) that we want to send out for reviews, so if anyone has any idea where might be good places to send them… Being over here in Greece I am not up to date much on what publications, papers, magazines, TV show, radio shows etc. might carry out book reviews, so if you have some ideas please drop me an email. Just click here. Ta.
And here’s another thing for you. I have an idea for the cover of the next book but will need a couple of models and a photographer. If anyone fits the bill and fancies being a cover model (we can negotiate a fee) or has a son, uncle, brother, cousin, friend, who would do it, again please let me know. What I want to create is something like a DVD cover (I’ve used ‘Two and a half men’ as a rough example) but showing the two main characters. I’ll go into detail if anyone offers their services, but the two guys would need to be, or look, around 19 or 20 years old, one has long dark hair (but of a rock/goth type), the other is blonde (a bit fey). I’d just need body shot of each guy posing, they don’t have to be together, I can then Photoshop around and set the cover up. Anyway, let me know if you would like to help. Just click here.
That’s it for today’s ramble, we’ve gone from Symi shrimps to Ashton Kutcher within 500 words, not bad for a Tuesday morning. A couple more photos from Sunday:
