Some people are braver than others. Admittedly today has been truly beautiful weatherwise, and so we were compelled to have lunch out at the Konaki on the seafront, but as for taking a dip, I was still of a mind to leave it a few more weeks before sampling the sea temperature, so I passed on that one. Not so my beloved, whose head you can see in the above photo. Mind you, she did admit when she came out that it was flippin’ freezing, but that tingling sensation you get all over your body when you’ve towelled off and put some clothes back on is really great, not least because it allows you to feel super-smug (well, that’s my way of looking at it!).

Today has been cloudless and the sun has reminded us of just how fierce it’s going to become as the weeks wear on from here on in. The clocks went forward last night, as we in Europe all know, and so the lighter evenings are upon us too, so we’ve just come in from an early evening sit at the small table on the upper garden area, full of anticipation of visits to the beach for our iced coffees, combined with cooling dips during the summer months, of outdoor showers taken after a spot of gardening in the coming summer temperatures and of throwing all the windows and doors open for hours on end to let some air circulate through the house whenever there’s a hint of a breeze.

There was some kind of a charity run on in town today, which for some reason we’d not known about, so as we hit the waterfront there were all these far too fit people jogging along showing the rest of the world just how fit they were, or weren’t, depending on who you interpret the pronoun ‘they’ to apply to. We settled into our chairs at the Tortuga coffee bar to watch with bemused expressions as the runners filed past, some of whom I have to say, didn’t look like they’d run in quite a while. Those, of course, were the ones bringing up the rear.

To be honest, today was one of those days when you simply have to take stock of where you are in life and then count your blessings, and I have to admit, in all humility, that I have more than my share. As we strolled the sea front and then sat down for a lunch that was as good as it always is at Gianni’s Konaki taverna, everything about the day shouted “You ought to be grateful for what you have and where you live.” And, boy, are we. As I’ve probably rattled on about before, the Konaki is just perfect in so many ways. Giannis, the owner and very hands-on manager, is a portly guy in his late fifties with less teeth than he has gums, and a hairline that’s easily given up on having any close relationship with his forehead. He’s always in good humour and, as he arrived at our table, Yvonne said to him, “So, what are we having, then?”

With no hesitation whatsoever, Giannis got his pen and pad ready, grinned and said, “Green salad, gigantes, kolokithokeftedes, and a bottle of Retsina.” Exhibiting a satisfied grin, we affirmed that he was correct and he was soon coming back with a small dish of chopped tomatoes and cucumber, some tiny green olives and a delicious tuna salad dip. One of his nephews (who often wait at table when they’re busy) came along too with a basket of the softest, freshest bread we’ve ever eaten in a restaurant on a Sunday (taverna bread is notoriously often slightly stale on Sundays, as the bakeries aren’t baking), plus a bottle of water and two long glasses. We were all set up for what to us is the perfect light lunch, just a few metres from the gently lapping Mediterranean Sea, and the tantalising prospect of many months to come during which we’ll be doing likewise as often as we can. Small wonder I called this post ‘Appreciation.’

While I’m on the subject of appreciation for what we have in life, the paper tablecloths in the Konaki show a simplified map of the island, and so I snapped a photo before the food arrived. I’ve since added a small red circle (Photoshop, I freely admit. Well, actually, since I gave up work, I’ve switched from the extremely expensive Photoshop to a brilliant alternative called Pixelmator Pro, which I can thoroughly recommend) and it shows where we are very privileged to be living this past three and half years and counting…

As you can see from the above photo, more by luck than judgement we’ve ended up living in the narrowest part of the entire island of Crete, which we’ve come to appreciate all the more as the time’s passed since we found our cozy little house. That red circle is about where we live. Setting out in either direction from home, we can be on a beach, or at least at the coast, within ten minutes, north or south. It’s such a bonus, because if the wind’s strong from the north (the prevailing direction), we can head south, and if it’s in the south (much less often) we can head north, if we’re looking to have a swim in flat-calm waters or drink a coffee or eat out without everything being blown off the table. We never planned it that way, but it’s yet another aspect of living here that we’re grateful for.

Here are some more photos from the seafront today (I reckon they ably show why I’m gushing on about how fortunate we are to have our little life here these days)…

Back home this afternoon, I went out and picked a few mandarins, which further made me think about what a relaxing and pleasant way that was to pass a few minutes in the warm March sunshine…

Many moons ago, back in the UK, I was a fairly keen motorcyclist. I don’t have the kind of cash these days that I’d need to buy the kind of bike I’d like, so we stick with four wheels, but on Sundays the Greek motorbikers usually get out on the road and go for a jolly, and the weather today was perfect for that purpose. Back on Rhodes they used to do a complete island tour quite often, and even from a kilometer up the track where we used to live, you could, if you were out in the garden, hear some of them thundering past on the road through Kiotari, sometimes going a tad too fast, if I’m going to express my view. Anyway, as I was waiting for my very courageous wife to get changed after her swim, a few Greek bikers arrived beside where I was standing and parked up, in order to go off for something to eat. My attention was immediately drawn to a very classic-looking machine that soon had me salivating. Among the huge Japanese bikes (nice, but two-a-penny), there was one bloke who evidently had some excellent taste and discernment. He parked up his Triumph 900, which I took to be a Bonneville, and on close inspection saw that it was decalled with the name “Scrambler,” which I believe is a variant in the Bonneville range. Anyway, it was quite evidently tenderly cared for and immaculately clean and sported some very impressive ventilated disk brakes front and rear. So, just for those very few who read this who might just appreciate it…

Well, you know, someone out there might appreciate that!

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And here’s the link to the new short story “Outage.”