I know, I know, I say this every year, but it’s exciting to see everywhere opening up and getting ready for summer. I’m nothing if not predictable and, as I’ve probably said in every blog post about the subject that I’ve ever posted, by the time we get to this stage we’re itching to be feeling too hot, to be able to take our coffees on the beach and to feel the need to go into the sea to cool off. By the time October’s well towards the back end we’re always saying the opposite: Bring on the cooler days so we can get our jeans on again, so we can do some country walks and a long session of gardening without fearing an attack of sunstroke.

Last week it was our wedding anniversary. Now, I’m not at liberty to tell you how many years because I don’t relish the thought of being killed. See, it’s like this, if you factor in the age to which my beautiful and lovely wife admits to being these days, along with the actual year in which we tied the knot, then we’d have been married quite a few years before she was born. You see my dilemma don’t you fellas? Yeah, thought so. Still, all that aside, we did receive a couple of lovely surprises, one from more than 2000 miles away and the other from just down the road. Over in deepest Wiltshire in the UK my sister and her hubby are currently going through a very hard time, since my dear brother-in-law has some major health issues to deal with and it’s a huge worry for the both of them. No need to go further down that route here, but I only mention it because we considered that they probably had some much larger things on their mind than our little old wedding anniversary this time around. Yet how lovely when a local flower shop in Ierapetra telephoned to tell us they were about to deliver a bouquet. When it arrived, the attached card contained some beautiful wishes, written in a Greek hand but with English words. It was from Jane and Martin, my sister and hubby. Plus, the Greeks, one has to say here, are superb at presentation, always making even the simplest of gifts look a million dollars. They love to wrap things in coloured paper, tie a silky ribbon around it where possible and, if it’s edible, pack it in a very impressive box made of coloured and often printed cardboard.

Thus the first of our surprises brightened an already beautiful day…

Cut flowers, of course, are very ephemeral. You look at them, appreciate them, then they’re gone. But what thrilled us about this bouquet was that the spray included a nice purple burst of Sea Lavender. Now, if you know anything about that, it’s sometimes also called the ‘everlasting flower,’ because if you put it in a vase and let it dry, it retains its colour for years. It’s the ideal plant to use in a dry display because it’ll remain vivid for ages and ages, so we’ll have a hard time forgetting this loving thought from my dear sis and hubby all that distance away.

The second of our surprises was when a couple, probably our best friends from nearly 18 years in Greece, turned up halfway through the evening with a large, quite heavy box. When we opened it…

Now, this kind of ‘cake’ isn’t anything like the ones you’d get in the UK. In fact they usually call them ‘tourta,’ and when you cut them they’re layered inside and very, very rich and gooey. What added that little bit of pzazz was that it came with a sparkler, which, of course we immediately lit and the video shows the result. The only problem we had with this was, as a rule we don’t eat this kind of thing, but then neither do our friends Timotheo and Sylvia, but the occasion demanded something a bit out of the ordinary, eh? We all tucked into a slice, accompanied by coffee (a given) and then the rest went into the fridge. There was no way that the two of us could ever get through the remainder, so Maria and Dimitri down the lane were only too pleased to help us out when we took a large chunk down to them. Maria told me how much she thought this kind of cake costs, which further increased our appreciation for the kind of friends we have here!

We went out on the day too, and we had lunch (no surprises here) at the Konaki, on the beach. As usual an excellent meal was taken and we didn’t have to tell Gianni what we wanted to order. He already knew.

Another year has rolled around, and here are a few photos from the past few days…

Above: In the village of Stomio (well, the outlying parts) there are lots of hothouses (thermokipia) and, OK, they’re not everyone’s cup of tea to look at. But one has to hand it to the owners of this farm, because look what an amazing effort they’ve made to make the entrance to their place look nice.

Above: Now isn’t he (or she) a beaut, eh? We have a small plant tray of water on the floor outside, mainly for the cat to drink from. However, most nights if you go outside in the small hours, you’ll find this little (well, not so little actually) chap, who’ll actually get into the water sometimes, but then will hang around the area eating bugs. For the latter reason alone he’s very welcome any evening! We’re fairly confident that he’s a European Toad.

Above: In Ierapetra Old Town earlier today. A Jacaranda is just bursting into flower.

Above: ‘In need of some modernisation‘ would be an estate agent’s description of this house. It’s one of the diminishing number of truly characterful old houses in the Old Town area. Lastly, the photo below is of our young friend Eirini (Amanda), who’s a very talented seamstress and dressmaker. She’s just opened her new shop in the town, offering an alteration and dressmaking service. She can take things in, take things out, and make an entire wedding dress or morning suit from scratch. We wish her the very best of success and I was touched when she and her dad asked me (as a retired graphic designer) for my input in designing the logo. Another friend had come up with the chosen typeface, and I did the rest. The needle below, along with the simplified mannequin above, hopefully conveys to the passer-by what she’s all about. If you live in the area, she’s just along the street from the main Post Office. If you do go there, tell her John sent you!

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