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Introduction
We must be going Greek. December and Christmas have almost taken us by surprise! "How can that be?" you might ask. It's simple really. There is no mad build up to Christmas here as we used to experience in the UK. This is partially because Christmas takes second place to the New Year in Greece as in many other European countries. St Basil (Αγιος Βασιλειος) brings the children their presents at New Year not Christmas Day. Even then, there is no mad rush at the shops. We will be maintaining our own tradition of not going out on Christmas Day but we will be open to offers over any other days!
We don't expect much else of significance to occur this month but you never know! The weather is not likely to be brilliant but we always reckon that the weather is usually bright and sunny either Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day. We will keep our fingers crossed!
Tricia has improved from her bout of sickness but is still unable to eat much. Her appetite is seriously lacking. Bella, our newish canine addition to the family seems reasonably happy with us, if a little unsure of what's expected of her. Jake has been exceptionally good with her and they can often be heard playing with one another. Adonis, the cat, still occasionally feels the need to restate his position in the pecking order of things and will occasionally give Bella a passing 'clip around the ear'!
I am hoping that this edition will be published before we get too far into 2009 and so I guess that I had better start recording what has been happening in our little piece of Corfu.
December 2008
The weather started pretty grim really. It poured overnight of the 1st / 2nd December and continued into the day. It was very grey and dreary. It was a real joy when you have two dogs that expect four walks a day!
We had a visit from friends, Debbie and Doug, who wanted to draw on our experiences of travelling back to the UK via Brindisi in Italy. I can't say that we really recommended it even though you can save a few euros. I also helped Debbie sort a few problems with her computer, not to mention updating it.
Jake had hurt one of his front feet and wouldn't leave it alone. Consequently, he has licked it raw and won't put it on the ground. We are totally unaware as to how he has picked up this latest of injuries although we aren't surprised with the number of brambles and sharp stones about. It certainly made his walks slower and shorter.
The bad weather continued but eased on the 4th December. There were some definite bright spells and the rain was much reduced to the occasional shower. Tricia was still clearly suffering from the after effects of her recent sickness. Jake's foot was causing more concern and showing no sign of improvement.
We had arranged a further visit to our lawyer in the hope that we could make progress with our ongoing dispute with TBW. As a result, much of the morning was spent ensuring that we had all the documentary evidence to hand. As the appointment was for 5pm, I was dispatched after lunch to do some shopping on the way into Corfu Town.
The meeting went OK and we left it that papers would be prepared for service on TBW along with translations for us. We must confess to being more than a little sceptical about what effect this will have. But we keep trying! It was with some mild amusement that our lawyer told me of a chance first meeting that he had with TBW. He declared that she looked like a criminal. I pointed out that this was probably due to the fact that she is - in my mind at least!
The weather improved somewhat on the 5th December. Despite being cool, it was at least sunny. The same could not be said about my disposition after a visit to the vet's and the pet shop.
I presented myself at the local vet's and described Jake's condition. I explained that a visit to the vet with Jake was to be avoided at all costs as he really acts up and becomes extremely distressed. (I omitted the part about him probably trying to devour the vet if she tried examining him!) In the event, she sold me some antibiotics and some pain killers. I also asked for something to sedate him so that we could examine the paw without having a full scale battle. In the end, I didn't use them as I read up on them via the internet and got scared!
I called in on the pet shop on the way home only to discover that the sacks of complete dog food had gone up in price by €7. Unfortunately one has little alternative but to pay the asking price. I returned home €107 lighter - hence the less than sunny disposition!
The rain and generally dull weather returned on Saturday, 6th December. This day was to be something of a test for Tricia's constitution as we had arranged to go for a meal with John and Michelle.
We started the evening in the kafeneion in Acharavi before going on to Psisimo grill room. The food was superb and to be fair to Tricia, she made a valiant effort but it was obvious that her appetite had not returned. To make matters worse, we were overcharged! Ho hum!
Jake's foot showed a little improvement on Sunday, 7th December but sadly, Tricia's appetite was still a shadow of its former self. Tricia was really annoyed because she could not say the same for herself!
The next couple of days saw the weather becoming much brighter if not a little 'crisp'. I spent a lot of the time working on the last newsletter, taking an occasional break in the garden where I have been trimming the many 'suckers' from the olive trees. Jake's improvement continued.
Tricia started to put our Christmas decorations up on the 10th December. This was accompanied by the annual fiasco of trying to get the lights working. There was going to be a visit to the Euro shop for some replacements. Like the 'Pound' shops to be found in the UK, there is never anything for a euro!
I was having the mother of all problems with publishing the newsletter which, by now, had been ready for publication for two days. In the end, I found a way around the problem, but not an overall solution. To make things worse, I was getting no response from the software manufacturer.
To add to the general gloom, Sterling hit its lowest level against the Euro. Oh how we wish that the UK had adopted the Euro when it had the chance and when the exchange rate was in the favour of Sterling! The net result is that our pensions are worth about a third less than they were twelve months ago. What's the betting that the UK will adopt the Euro when the Pound is worth less than the Euro just to spite us and people like us! Paranoid? Me?
We had our first Christmas mail arrive. - One card and two vehicle tax notices! Joy! Our deliveries of Christmas mail were to prove intermittent to say the least!
Dave and Alex were soon to be leaving for the UK for a couple of months and so we joined them with several other friends for lunch at Zephyros Taverna on Sunday, 14th December. It was a great afternoon with good food. Since we have been introduced to Zephyros, we have been consistently impressed with their home cooking and hospitality. They are highly recommended.
We managed to get home in time to watch Chelsea draw 1 - 1 with West Ham. Pathetic!
Our next visit to the post office was on 17th December. The receipt of our latest electricity bill was tempered by the receipt of three parcels. Woo Hoo! We made serious inroads into our Christmas shopping this day but realised that we had forgotten to buy what passes as a gammon joint here. Tricia was excused catering duties that night and we called in at Gelati's for dinner.
I can't believe how many times we have dined out. Thursday, 18th December was no exception! Friends, John and Michelle called in to use our internet connection to book their hotels and ferries for their return journey to the UK next month. Lunch at Zephyros Taverna seemed appropriate!
The 19th December, saw us back into Corfu Town to try and track down an appropriate Christmas present for Tricia. Suffice to say that she was allowed to run amok in our tame silversmith's shop. To be honest, I got away quite lightly! It was also a great relief for yours truly on account of the fact that we have totally differing tastes where jewellery is concerned. With ouzos and a pikalia on the Liston and our shopping completed, it was a good day.
We continued our eating out experiences on Saturday, 20th December when we visited Maestro Taverna. The food was, as always, excellent ... even if we had to send a carafe of wine back! The live music was very good and Vaso's hospitality was unsurpassable - too many Metaxas! It was a very late night and things were still going strong when we left.
Yiorgos, the builder turned up at 9.30 am on Sunday 21st December. We had noticed a leak apparently from the roof and he was sure that he had discovered the source. He scampered around on the roof with his trowels and a bucket of filler for a couple of hours before declaring the job done. We shall see. To be honest, we had only recently spotted the problem but then we had experienced extremely torrential rain accompanied by very high winds blowing from the south. We hope all is now well.
Following on from our late night, the night before, we weren't keen on doing too much ourselves. It was a Sunday after all! We did, however watch Chelsea struggle to get a 0 - 0 draw at Everton. That's probably their title chances finished now.
Tuesday 23rd December was beautiful and sunny if not a little cold. Cold weather and two days off of Christmas could only mean one thing. Our gas supply packed up! There followed frantic phone calls to our gas engineers who, believe it or not, dispatched an engineer who arrived by 12 noon. The wait allowed me time to wash the car! The engineer assured us that all was well and left us €50 lighter!
That afternoon we decided to visit St Spiridon to collect greenery for our Christmas decorations. Holly is almost unheard of here and so an armful of cuttings from fir trees, complete with cones had to suffice. We took the opportunity to call in at the bank and Skonto supermarket on the way home. We still find it amazing that a supermarket was almost devoid of customers two days before Christmas. Just like Tesco's and Sainsbury's ... Not!
The 24th December - Christmas Eve! It was bright and sunny if not a little cold. (In fact the temperature was to fall below 2°C. by the time that we went to bed.)
We had an unexpected visit from a representative of Petrogas, our gas supplier as opposed to the gas engineers. He wanted to check the regulator on the tank following our earlier problems. I took the opportunity to order some more gas which to our amazement was promised for that day. That necessitated a quick visit to the bank to pay for it!
Yiorgos the builder called during the morning - a Greek bearing gifts! Three litres of very fine olive oil and a freshly killed cockerel were gratefully received. This was particularly generous as we know that he is having a hard time and has no work. His daughter is due to be married at the end of January. This won't help his balance of payments either!
Whilst the gas was being delivered, we had our first children around to sing their Christmas songs. Actually, it was Marietta, Spiros Gelati's daughter, and a friend. For the first time in many years we were well prepared with a pile of loose change. Fortunately we also had some paper money for when we had a visit from a large group armed with bouzoukis and guitars!
Tricia spent her day slaving in the kitchen getting our feast ready for the next day.
Now I will go on record as saying that I know Tricia and she would probably still be in the kitchen at midnight if not forced out. We had discussed suggesting that John and Michelle might like to come down to Gelati's for dinner that night. I took the bull by the horns and invited theme to join us at 8.30pm. That forced Tricia into working to a deadline. Job done! We had a nice evening without staying out too late.
Christmas Day was bright and cold. - 1°C. was cold by our standards! Now what do you NOT want to wake up to on Christmas day with such temperatures and the prospect of cooking Christmas Dinner on your GAS hob? How does no gas sound?
Fortunately, I had been paying attention to what the gas fitter had done on his visit a couple of days earlier. Armed with screwdriver and pliers, I set about 'adjusting' the regulator on the tank followed by resetting the boiler. Bingo! My DIY gas fitting saw us through Christmas Day!
Apart from this minor blip, the day was perfect. The oven behaved and the turkey was cooked to perfection. At 5.3 kilos, it was exactly the size mentioned in Delia Smith's recipe and it cooked to the minute! Tricia, as modest as ever, declared it the best that she had ever cooked. She got no arguments from me! By the time dinner was over with, we were so bloated that all we could do was watch a couple of films. I don't suppose that we were any different from many other people.
Boxing Day was very quiet in our household. We spent most of the time pigging out and generally sending my blood sugar levels through the roof! Oh yes, the boiler played up again!
We watched the Chelsea - West Bromwich Albion match which Chelsea managed to win 2 - 0. At last, a respectable win.
To my surprise, we actually managed to speak to somebody at the gas engineers on Saturday 27th December. Unfortunately we couldn't get them to visit until the following Monday. Ho hum! Thank goodness for the log fire! The heating problems continued, culminating in the boiler refusing to light on Monday 29th December. Try as I might, there was nothing that would persuade the boiler to light. We were pleased to see the engineer. He replaced the regulator and cleaned the pilot. The bad news was that a) I didn't have enough cash to pay him and b) that he reckoned we need a new pilot assembly. Heaven knows how long that will take to get. Suffice to say that there was no concern about my inability to pay!
With the year rapidly drawing to a close there was really only one thing remaining to do. That was celebrate on New Year's Eve! Our choice of venue was again Maestro Taverna. We were joined by John and Michelle who were spending their first New Year here. It was a good night and if, like us, you enjoy live Greek music, it was even better.
We didn't get home until around 4am We were pleased that it was so late because our son David chose then to phone us! That night, between Tricia and I, we received a total of 31 identical text messages from Corinna. We still have not established what happened there!
Conclusion
Another year has passed in what seems like the blinking of an eye. It has been tinged with sadness following the death of Tricia's Mum and my Uncle Trevor.
The house and our landscaping projects have continued but there remains much to do.
The whole world seems to be in economic meltdown which has had quite a serious impact on us what with the drop in interest rates on our meagre savings and the dire exchange rates due to the weakness of Sterling. (My pension is paid in Sterling in the UK.) We know that everyone is in the same boat but it still hurts! We are well aware that there are those much worse off than we are and that they must be going through hell.
We still have the new addition to the family, Bella, the stray dog that decided to adopt us. She seems to have settled in reasonably well and is totally accepted by Jake. Bella still has to learn that she should be subservient to Adonis the cat who regularly puts her in her place. I am glad to say that there has been no visible bloodshed and that she still has both eyes!
Our ongoing battle with TBW continues and we have been promised the draft of a document from our lawyer that if signed by TBW should give us something approaching closure. We were meant to receive that on 23rd December. We are still waiting! As we also remind people, "This is Greece!"
We won't rattle on any further! All that remains is for us to thank all of you who remembered us with your cards at Christmas and to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Bob and Tricia
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