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Introduction
If you caught up with last month's offering, you will realise that all in all, it was a pretty good month for us. “Will it last?” we keep asking ourselves. The immediate weather forecast (for the next 10 days) looks as if the fine sunny weather is going to continue.
That will be good with Corinna, Dave, Lauren Rebecca and Ryan about to descend upon us. Apart from the fact that there is nothing like a good downpour to dampen kid's spirits, it would be nice if Dave's first impressions of 'Faulty Towers' and its environs were formed in blazing sunshine!
August is traditionally a busy month on the island as it is when we expect an influx of tourists from mainland Greece and Italy. I am sure that we have mentioned in the past how Athens virtually closes.
On a personal note, we have the start of the Premier league to look forward to, not to mention our forty - first wedding anniversary! Also the visit by Corinna, Dave and the children, should keep us occupied for the first couple of weeks.
The temperatures have been so high that we have almost abandoned our vegetable garden. We are going to have to put some serious work in later to get it ready for next year not to mention planting some veggies that will see us through the winter. Tricia's kitchen / herb garden continues to thrive on account that she isn't as lazy as I am!
Then there is TBW. We only have one matter that we need to finalise with her. The problem is that it will almost certainly prove expensive for one or other of us and going on past performances, she will do her best to shirk her responsibilities again. To be truthful, we feel like a bit of a holiday ourselves and will probably not push too hard for the immediate future.
Right then, let's see how this month treats us!
August 2008
The hot sunny weather continued into the 1st August. Our main mission of the day was to go into Corfu Town and stock up with sufficient food to cater for the forthcoming plague of locusts. Oops! I meant Corinna, Dave and children’s visit! It was whilst returning home that we received the first surprise of the month! On answering my mobile, we learned that the previously ordered futon which was due to arrive the next day at the earliest was in fact arriving inside an hour and a half. Surely not? This IS Greece after all!
We returned home and unpacked. Sure enough, the futon arrived as promised. We were amazed particularly as the futon had to be obtained from Athens and it is August after all! At least there was now somewhere comfortable to sit downstairs. Sorry but we didn't get around to it before Louise and Steve arrived. Nothing personal guys. Honest! With an early start the next day, we were off to bed at a more respectable time than usual.
We were up at 3am on the 2nd August in order that we got to the airport in time to meet the family's flight. As it happened, they were only 20 minutes late. Not bad for a charter flight.
Given that there were seven of us to be transported we took both cars. Some of our recent visitors will be aware that Tricia doesn't get to drive much (her choice) and she was definitely not looking forward to this night run. I don't know why as she coped admirably. Mind you, she didn't put up an argument when I suggested that Dave and the kids came home with me!
As was to be expected after a night flight, everyone was pretty shattered by the time we got home. Dave, we learned, had been up since 5.30am the previous day. I reckon that he deserved to be tired! We all had a pretty relaxed day ending with dinner at Gelati's.
Suffice to say there were plenty of trips to the beach over the next two weeks! The kids remembered Avlaki and voted to go there whenever they were given the chance. Corinna, with memories of sand in her eyes as a child put up no objections and Dave ... well it was his first visit to this end of the island and so he took it all in his stride. Needless to say, we have included some images from the beach.
The kids, particularly Ryan, were keen to see some of the tortoises that frequent our land. Of course, every time I came across one whilst walking Jake, it was gone by the time they arrived at the scene! They eventually saw one which Dave found wandering near the pear tree.
We managed to relieve Corinna and Dave of the children on two or three occasions. It is true what they say! Children are much better with their grandparents in the absence of their parents! We won't tell anyone what dire threats were issued if they didn't behave! It's amazing what those words, "No ice cream" can achieve! Hopefully, Corinna and Dave took advantage of the opportunity!
I was given the opportunity to show-off with the barbecue. We were actually surprised at some of the things that were particular successes. You cannot believe just how many pitas one family can devour! Then came the night that Tricia was volunteered to make spaghetti bolognaise for seven people.
Rebecca volunteered to help her Nana. Then came the first objections. "I don't like things with lumps in," followed by, "I don't like carrots." Regardless, she continued to help. Then Tricia reached for the wine bottle to give the sauce a healthy slug. "I'm not allowed to have wine," came the plaintive cry. Tricia explained that she wasn't going to tell if Rebecca didn't and besides, it was her 'secret ingredient'.
The meal started as it often did with cries of, "I don't like that!" ... even before the food had been tasted. Tentative mouthfuls were tasted and slowly a momentum built up culminating in all three children having seconds and the remainder being split between them. Then Rebecca announced the secret ingredient!
So parents, there you have it. If your children are reluctant to eat their food, try a generous helping of Lidl's Californian red wine. At least, they may sleep better! It may be difficult slipping it into the cornflakes though!
We managed to get a couple of excursions in to Mount Pantokrator and Old Peritheia. This provided a few photo opportunities. The trip to Old Peritheia provided a disappointment. Corinna and the children were really keen to replenish their supply of local honey. Would you believe it? We got to the hives and the owner wasn't there. We later heard that there is an epidemic wiping out colonies of bees all over Europe. We hope that our local swarms haven't been affected.
Their last day here was spent on Avlaki beach and followed by large ice creams at 'Ice Dream' Well Tricia, the kids and I had ice creams. Corinna and Dave were relegated to doing the packing whilst we all filled our faces. It was too hot to take tubs all the way home for them ... honest!
We were up at 2.30am on Saturday 16th August to take the family to the airport. We arrived in good time only to find that their flight was delayed by fifty minutes. This meant a queue outside the airport before they could get into the departure lounge. Fortunately it was early and a warm morning. Had it been later in the day, it would have been unbearable.
Having said goodbye, Tricia and I made our way home with me taking the lead in the old Ford and Tricia in the (air conditioned) Volkswagen. Everything was going quite er .. serenely ... that is until we came a bunch of yobs on scooters. They were quite noisy to say the least and bear in mind that this was reasonably early in the morning. I (more or less) ignored them as too did Tricia. I had almost forgotten them as we approached Tzavros Junction. They were in front of me and behind me being quite stupid.
Then Tricia clearly decided that 'enough was enough'! Let's just say that all they (and I) saw of her for quite some distance was her tail lights disappearing in the distance. (I was reminded of that frequent quote from the old American police drama, 'Hawaii 5-O' which went something like, "Burn rubber Danno. Don't let them get away!" We both made it home unscathed!
The rest of the day was spent at home. In the evening we decided to go out for dinner to Maestro Taverna. It seemed like a good idea at the time!
We were returning home when Tricia spotted that the moon didn't look as it should. We suddenly realised that this was the commencement of a lunar eclipse. It was well on its way to becoming a total eclipse by the time we arrived home. I managed to take a few photographs, none that were spectacular. I have included what was about the best in the photo gallery.
Our laziness continued into Sunday, 17th August. The highlight for us at least was watching Chelsea's opening match of the Premiership season. A serious trouncing of Portsmouth 4 - 0 was about as good as it gets especially as Manchester United were held to a draw on their opening match!
The very hot weather continued. On the 19th August, I managed to catch Yiorgos our builder in the kafeneion. I knew that he wanted to fly to Athens next month and that he was keen to find some work to fund this. The solution seemed simple to us. If he built some columns for us, we would get his tickets for him! He liked the idea too and promised to call around the next day to check the job out. Suffice to say, he failed to appear! He promised to come the next day. This time he did come. ... Mainly because I hijacked him on his way to take his wife, Eleni, to work!
Yiorgos agreed to do the work and left, promising to turn up the following Monday as he was doing another job for neighbour Angelos which he would finish by the weekend.
Having been hailed as something of a success in the table building stakes by Tricia, I now have to build another for the kitchen with the added proviso that it should be the same width as the outside one so that they could be joined in the event of additional seating being necessary. Ho hum! Still, I shouldn't complain. It's a long time since I have been declared a success. I think it was the 11+ exam if I remember correctly! I was sent off to locate the necessary leg braces. Fat chance! However, I was assured by local carpenters that they were available but suffice to say that everywhere they sent me drew a blank.
I returned home empty handed and was given a new task. - Pressure wash the flokati rugs. The temperature was 36°C but I don't think that this was a punishment!
The evening, after dinner, was spent in the kafeneion with Philipos. It was the first time that we had been there together for ages. It was 12.15am by the time that we left. The temperature was still 26°C.
The 22nd August was as hot as ever but I really wanted to tackle some of the outside jobs that were building up. Rebuilding the collapsed dry stone wall on the land seemed like a good idea as it was in the shade of an olive tree and therefore in 'dappled' shade. The task was set about with surprising enthusiasm. Tricia approved of the finished result. Unfortunately, my back did not! I had felt a twinge part way through the exercise but paid little attention. By the time evening fell I could hardly move. Surprisingly, Tricia was unscathed after what can only be called an ironing marathon!
The next day saw me suffering with a very painful back and receiving a surprising amount of sympathy from Tricia. I had been expecting the usual chastisement along the lines, "You should have stopped earlier," or "You're not as young as you used to be!"
My pain reminded me that we had not spoken to Peter and Carol for nearly a month on account of us both having visitors. Those who have been keeping up with life in Corfu will recall that he had slipped on the steps of the local bank and had last been seen with the most monumental bruised ... er ... posterior. (No he didn't fall on account of the weight of his wallet and yes, he did show us the bruise!) A quick phone call remedied our oversight and we were pleased to find that Pete's bruising had cleared. In addition, we were pleased to receive an invite for dinner the next day!
That evening, we decided to go out for dinner. We had intended to go to 'O Servos' but discovered that they had closed down. Our second choice was to visit Angelos at 'Liberty's'. It proved an excellent choice. It had been quite a while since we had visited Angelos. We were pleased for him as we found that he was busy. For eating in a fish restaurant, Tricia and I made unusual choices for main courses. Steak! We can report that they were as good as anywhere and better than many!
Sunday, 24th August was again hot and sunny with temperatures reaching around the 32°C mark. It was a very pleasant day. Firstly we were able to watch Chelsea beat Wigan 0 - 1 and secondly we had a really nice dinner at Peter and Carol's. In between all this fun, the June newsletter was almost readied for proof reading and publication ... nearly!
Monday, 25th August was the August Bank Holiday in the UK. If we recall correctly, temperatures and weather in general didn't quite reach the hot, sunny, 34°C that we experienced! It wasn't a holiday here and I chose to renew my search for the leg braces required to make the second table for our kitchen. This was to prove a fruitless exercise. Oh yes, Yiorgos the builder failed to appear to build our columns and no explanation was forthcoming. Suffice to say, I didn't go chasing him for one.
The temperatures were marginally hotter still on Tuesday, 26th August. This was appropriate really being that this was also our 41st wedding anniversary. We started the day with a swim at Avlaki and very pleasant it was too.
Later, I successfully crashed one of the computers which was going to take a little working out to recover. I spent most of the day on this task.
In the evening we went out for a celebratory meal at the Eucalyptus Taverna in Agios Stefanos. The location is stunning and we had a table at the waters edge. Very 'Shirley Valentine'! The food was first class and the wine equally good. We were the last but one table there that evening. We should hasten to add that this was only a little past 11pm. - very early by Greek standards. It appears that most of the clientele were British villa dwellers who tended to dine early and retire to their villas for an evening of relaxation. Well, that was the explanation tendered by the excellent waiting staff!
The 27th August saw Tricia slaving away in the kitchen garden until the wasps and mosquitoes finally became too much for her. I paid the price for the excellent cleaning of the flokati rugs and was detailed to pressure wash our two large rugs in readiness for winter. This proved a bigger task than the flokati rugs as these rugs retained far more water and consequently took quite a lot of manoeuvring to get into a position where they might stand a chance of drying ... even in temperatures of 32°C in the shade! We both needed a lazy evening to round the day off.
We consider that we chose the wrong day to go into Corfu Town on the 28th August, mainly on account of the fact that it reached 40°C. Although we were only replenishing depleted stocks, it proved to be a long day. It happens that way sometimes. We had one bit of success on returning home, I recovered the previously crashed laptop!
It was still hot and sunny on the 29th August but there was the first sign of slightly reduced temperatures. It was the first time that it had dropped below 30°C for a very long time. Still, it didn't stop us having a nice day on the beach at Avlaki.
Having finished our swim, we paid a visit to our old neighbour from Vlachatika, Dimitris, who now runs a horse riding school in Avlaki. There was an ulterior motive - we wanted to get his permission to take some manure for the garden. We were just leaving when Tricia let out a yelp. She had been bitten by a horse fly. It didn't waste any time swelling up and she ultimately spent a few very uncomfortable days as a result of her mishap.
That afternoon, John Knowles stopped by. He and Jackie had only just returned from the UK following his successful heart bypass. He looked very well and assured us that he also felt really well.
Later that afternoon, Tricia tackled the kitchen garden again and, as usual, she over-did it. Now she not only had the pain from her bite to contend with but the added discomfort from an aching back. For the first time in a very long while Tricia went to bed early and I watched a movie.
The temperatures remained a little under 30°C for the remainder of August. We did a little work in the vegetable patch and this time it was my turn to get a few insect bites! Tricia finished the month with a bit of a stomach upset which really laid her low. Even watching Chelsea manage a 1 - 1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur didn't improve her disposition. (We really should have won that match!)
Conclusion
All in all, this was not a bad month. The first couple of weeks were taken up with Corinna, Dave and the children's visit, and the remainder was spent winding down. We managed a fair few decent meals out, the highlight being our anniversary dinner at 'The Eucalyptus'.
The Premiership had started reasonably well for Chelsea and saw them leading the league after three games. Arch rivals, Manchester United were ... nowhere to be seen!
The only thing of any consequence that remained outstanding was our final act (we hope) with TBW. Still, if you recall our introduction to this month's epistle, we had more or less decided not to push too hard on that front. We felt that we needed the break. I don't think that this was a mistake. Next month will be different though!
We have other friends visiting the island later next month and hope to see them , particularly as it is a great excuse to visit the south of the island which is something of a change for us.
Finally, we have included some images of a plant that suddenly appeared in amongst the dead grass alongside our drive. Remember that apart from a couple of showers we have had no rain since May. Can anyone (David or Eda maybe) enlighten us as to what it might be?
That's it! Finished for another month!
Take care and hopefully we will see you all soon.
Bob & Tricia
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