Symi Summer Colours
“The colours of my life
Are bountiful and bold,
The purple glow of indigo,
The gleam of green and gold.”
The opening of ‘The Colour of my Life’ from the musical, Barnham, and one of my favourite songs in the show. I was thinking of it on Tuesday when we were down in Yialos doing some bits and pieces. The hills of Symi may now be a palette of brownish, greyish shades, but there are still many clouds to be seen.
It was a successful trip to Yialos, almost. One ATM machine had no cash in it, but another one did, and we now have four. Alpha Bank, National Bank, one by the pharmacy on the south side of the harbour and one outside the techno-shop opposite Meralklis in the side street. Neil’s next year Symi Calendar had arrived at the post office along with some cutlery from mother – very nice and thank you! I was also waiting for a new Smartphone to arrive, one as recommended to me by my 14-year-old godson because I have no idea about these things. I checked with the bookshop as I bought some new pens, but no courier delivery there, so I also asked in ACS, but no, no delivery there. I wasn’t expecting it just yet anyway but hey presto! It had just come into the newsagents via Speedex. Yippee! A new toy to play with.
I went to collect a new keyboard from Smart Symi (the techno shop), I tend to mash through one a year, and bumped into the ACS guy and told him I’d found my delivery. Panormitis then did the thing with my SIM card and put in a micro card for extra storage, but I didn’t have my PIN number for the SIM as it was at home. Apparently, I could just enter the PIN when I was home, and all would be well, and that’s where the so far successful day became ‘almost’.
After lunch at To Spitiko with some friends who were leaving on Wednesday, we took a taxi up with Konstantinos because we had the cutlery, keyboard, phone, pharmacy supplies and a pair of shoes that had been sent via us to deliver to a neighbour up the road. Some time at the Rainbow Bar and finally home to enter my PIN. Well, I’d ordered the phone from an online Greek shop, as advised, and it was charged and switched on and… In Italian. The screen was obvious though, put in the PIN and away you go, except it didn’t. Each time I pressed a number, the Italian lady inside the phone read it out for me, but nothing appeared on the screen. I tried again and still no. Or, as they say in Italian, no. Not even a riprova which, a translator tells me means try again. Turn it off and start again… No, can’t turn it off. I hit the red icon to spengi and nothing happened. In the end, I gave up and put it back in the box where the Italian lady kept talking even though the lid was closed. She still mumbles something every now and then, but I am learning to ignore her. I will take it back to Panormitis later (it’s Wednesday as I write) even though I didn’t buy it from him he will help out, because he’s good like that.
But enough of all that. I have to pop down town again to sort the phone and later, must see about finding new balcony chairs as the cheap canvas things from Jumbo only last one season and I’ve just fallen through one, and we’re now down to only two. So, a day of shopping and sweating lies ahead followed by what was going to be an afternoon writing but some friends from Greece/Canada have just arrived, and we will be meeting up later…
