Ramblings from Greece

 ( The title  of todays blog is inspired by the sad news that the human remains recently found,  are of the missing actor Julian Sands.) The doctor and the consumable have down their rounds and I am goi  to have an operation on Thursday or Friday. Some rods will be fitted to my leg bones and external rings added to make up a Meccano style support grid to hold the two bits of my legs together. After then I will be allowed out, probably be able to walk about on crutches. I can then decide on what to do next. I will be able to travel which is good.  I have to say the hospital is really good, the care I am getting is really good. There is free internet which is keeping me amused. No excuse not to learn Greek then! I have been overwhelmed by the level of support from my friends worldwide and kind offers of help. I will do another post after the operation.  Bed bath coming up!

  We had a nice meal with my Dutch friend last night and we got chatting to some more visitors to Sifnos. I decided on our last day together to go to Vathi and walk the other way, that is to the left when you reach the beach. It was a bit windy and Ronnie did not seem over keen on going into the sea. Where the beach ends a coastal path goes up to the next two small coves. The path wasn’t bad and Ronnie wasn’t pulling. The next thing I knew was I was on the ground in pain.  I looked at my left leg there was no bone sticking out, but if I gently lifted it, there was excruciating pain. I had broken it. I made sure Ronnie was safe and we both had water. I can only think a loose flag caused me to look se my footing.I then rang the emergency number and eventually persuaded them I was going nowhere on my own but they did not seem able to use my exact location I had taken off Google maps. I then decided to get Ronnie rescued and gave one of our friends the coordinates so he could try ...

  Last night Ronnie was happy to come along and have a meal in the town. It was still hot, we went to a restaurant which is on the second floor of a building overlooking the port and beach. The place was really friendly towards him and gave him his own little water bowl, a silver salver, made out of tin foil. As usual he stole the hearts of many people in the place, a couple that he seemed very keen on, I realised later they had two dogs he wanted to say hello too under their table. Anyway we had a little free starter, with bread and I order the lemon chicken with potatoes. I ordered my beer in Greek, she said it was ok, but the words for “a beer please” would do, instead of my convoluted “can I have a beer please”. The meal  was very good, when the Superjet appeared, Ronnie decided to look through the railing to see if his owners had  appeared on it. In the morning, he got up quite early and was goofing around, which is a good sign, except five thirty in the morning is j...

 Last night an unexpected change of plans. I was already to go out to the swanky taverna, but when I got the lead out, there was no reaction from Ronnie. Normally when he sees it, he bounds around, ready for a walk. All my persuasion came to nothing. So I had some things to make a spaghetti carbonara and Ronnie had a taste too. I think he was a bit out of sorts, as he did not really settle and was wandering around at night, wanting to be petted and so on. Eventually we got to sleep. But at three am, there was a soft “grr” noise and I could see Ronnie’s silhouette and I knew what he wanted  and I was ready for this. He wants a chew. These treats started at seven am, and he has gradually brought the time of requesting them forward bit by bit. He wandered off happy with the chew in his mouth and then came back later on. I measured the distance from my new house to the nearest beach on Serifos and compared it to how far it is to the beach here. It’s just over half a mile for both,...

Last night we went back to Vathi, with a friend, to have dinner at the Taverna we went to before. My friend knew the place very well, and the chef recognised her. We had a very entertaining evening, we got talking to a couple of girls at the next table and I think we got back to the house at midnight. Unfortunately Ronnie was overwhelmed by the number of cats around and kept trying to reach them, when on the lead. At one point, he pulled me and my chair over, so we both ended up lying in the sand. No harm done, but a touch embarrassing! My friend told us that Tom Hanks who has a place on Anti Paros, was at a Taverna in Kamares the other night, to celebrate his birthday and had Barack Obama with him. He goes there every year for his birthday apparently. We are going there tonight. ( our decision was not swayed by this news) Despite putting on the insect repellent, they are biting me on my ankles, I will have to concentrate the stuff there in the future. In the morning, I had a call with...

  After I have made my breakfast I join Ronnie on the terrace, he is on patrol looking out from his vantage point on the wall. He sees goats and sheep, the odd stray cat today we saw a Labrador that might have been the one that attacked him months ago. All at a safe distance and he makes no effort to jump into the ravine thank goodness. He is shedding fur even more than usual and his owners have this special brush for him, that you use even more than usual during the fur shedding times. Afterwards this coat is even sleeker than usual.  We walked down to the car, a lot of people are puzzled, because they think it’s Ronnie they are seeing, but the owner looks different. So I tell them what’s going on. I am not so well known here as on Serifos but the baker and a few others always say hello. The hand waving in the car, I don’t do here. I bought a jambontiropita and shared it with Ronnie, he loves them.  We drove to Faros, which isn’t too far. There is a small harbour and a b...

 Last night, we went out with the friend for dinner, who I had met for coffee in the morning. We went to the Italian place which I have tried many times before. We shared a starter and a pizza, both of which were very good. My friend chatted to a pair of Dutch guys who were at a nearby table. Not long after a Swedish couple that we know,  joined us, which was lovely too. It’s interesting how these so called Ex Pat groups develop over the years, new people come in, older ones leaves when they can’t get to the island or pass away. News is shared by word of mouth, Facebook and WhatsApp groups and so on. Meanwhile Ronnie enjoyed the meal also, and afterwards we took a wander to the Port for a view of it, the Moon and Venus.  In bed, I kept hearing a mosquito in the bedroom, which kept me awake, but I found it in the morning. All the windows have fly screens to help keep these bugs out.. The next day ( today ) we had an early start, and did what is called the loop walk. I thin...

 The Dog sitting has started on Sifnos, this time for about ten days. It’s a delight to look after a dog, I have only known well for a couple of years, but we heard a lot about him before then. It’s high summer and carrying that amount of fur is not ideal in this heat. So it’s early starts and late nights with this guy, half Springer Spaniel and half Husky. People are funny about dogs, their dogs are the best, or are almost human. In this guys case I would be agree with the owners. His only vice, for me is he winges a lot in my car, but after the walks this morning he was quiet on the return journey. A Cocker Spaniel used to do this that was very close to me. Last night, after it was cool we drove to Vathi, which is a lovely seaside and fishing village. When we got there, we had a wander along the coast, I had a recommendation from a friend on where to go.  The owner, a Greek spoke very good English and his daughter also, who had studied offshore wind farms in Athens. She ador...