What Is Life???????

What can I say? When we went to swap books at our hotel library yesterday, we also decided to avail ourselves of the only English magazine they had….

…… let’s just say, thank goodness we didn’t actually fork out the 92p it would have cost us in “real life” ………

… as it’s stories, letters and feature pages, how shall I put it, weren’t quite us …..

…… although Nigel did muse, that with all our many adventures, we would stand a pretty good chance of getting a picture or two published, if other readers contributions were anything to go by!

However, even for the princely sum of £25, Darrell said he’d never be able to look Hugh, his best friend and mentor and expert of all things Harpers Bazaar and Tatler, in the eye, ever, again ……

……. and so disposed said magazine, discreetly in the bin as we left the beach, lest Nigel follow up any further aspirations of seeing any of our “off piste” moments in print in such a publication. What are either of them like?

Always With Us …….

A mahoosive “Thank You” to Jan the Fan, our dear No. 1 fan ………

……. as Darrell, followed by Nigel, then me have been glued to the copy of Rylan she sent us earlier on in the year and yes, we absolutely loved the chapter on and all other mentions about Eurovision!

Let’s just say, our usual beloved Victoria Hislop has barely had a second glance, so will probably, at this rate, be put away for next year to savour.

We also loved the story about how Rylan got his teeth  and his time in Big Brother (soon, we believe, to make its comeback, woo hoo hoo! ) ………

……. and so, as with all good books, such tales need to be shared with others, so having been read cover to cover, thrice over, we’ve now donated it to the hotel library to “live/ride again”!

We were tempted to exchange it for a bit of rom com frippery, but in the end we plumped for the only English magazine on the shelves ……. “That’s Life” ……. but that, believe me, is a whole different story!!!!!

Just ONE Holey Stone Darrell????

Darrell found his first beloved holey stone of the Oddity within minutes of stepping on to the beach on our very first morning and then announced that he was more than happy with just the one this holiday, because, he’d decided, after goodness knows how many years of collecting, to start looking for sea glass instead, for ……. “crafty purposes”………

Well, you could have blown me over with a feather! I can remember not even being able to leave a beach, on more than one occassion, until we’ve found just one more, but OK!

And then, on top of that bombshell,  Nigel said that he was going to look for stones with faces?

I will admit to being dubious at first, but within a very short while he’d found one ……

……. and rather scary one at that, called Sharky ……

….. shortly followed by another, that he christened “the alien”, of which he is particularly proud ……

….. he says it’s a sign?!!  A sign of what, I daren’t even ask.  The existence of little green men or UFO’s?

I suppose it’s all in the eye of the beholder, I suppose, even “Pacman” ……

They’ve now both amassed quite a collection and, not that I want to think about going home just yet, but I’ve had to warn them that as our cases were pretty much on the cusp, weight wise, when we came out, it doesn’t really leave us much wiggle room for our return journey, so they may have to be more selective as our holiday goes on….. heaven help me!

Pushing The Boundaries ……..

There is a sign up in the breakfast room that state clearly that it is strictly verboten to take any food away from it ……

…… but, what’s a young monkey to do when his eyes are a little too big for his belly? Especially when greeted, first thing in the morning, by four different varieties of Greek cake on the freshly baked goods section ……. and rather than let a queue build up behind him, as he dillied and dallied over which one to choose, decided it might be easier to just take one of each!

Now, as you know Nigel is the most law abiding person you could ever wish to meet, but after a very valiant effort he found that he still had an ample portion of said  cake on his plate that he really couldn’t manage but would have been a crime to leave, especially as he knew it wouldn’t take that long for his breakfast to go down, to make room for it …….. so checking that the coast was clear ……..

…… and shaking like a leaf, lest he be caught, he furtively squirrelled said cake in with the packed lunch Darrell had prepared earlier, terrified that his surreptitious manoeuvres would be spotted ……

……. and then endeavoured to “act normal” until Darrell and I had finished our meal, before we all headed to the beach, the little fella still quivering, for going against his better instinct!

But then at around 10.30, having calmed down and feeling a trifle peckish, out came his spoils …….

…… which were just as wonderful as at breakfast, but, he decided, not worth the risk of an unseemly expulsion from breakfast, so the exercise will never be repeated, with Darrell promising he’d help Nigel better manage his portion size for the rest of our oddity! 

What are they both like?

All Mod Cons Chez Hotel

We don’t lounge round or actually use the swimming pool chez our hotel, lovely as it is, preferring, to be honest, the unfettered expanse of the sea, being at one with nature, au naturel!

However at breakfast, in between whatever food station he is currently working his way through ……….

…… Nigel has become fascinated by the underwater vacuum cleaner they use to clean the pool first thing in the morning, before allowing anyone so much as to dip their toe in the water.  How romantic, yet so practical is that?

Darrell has also been taking some very serious notes for his best friend Hugh, mentor of all things of a chlorine, piscatory and the latest gadget type nature, as this is usually the time of year when he sets his “man what does” to erect and fill his temporary swimming pool at Le Chicken Coup for the summer.  He might just want to avail himself of one to keep said pool in pristine condition.

While I, on the other hand remain far more interested in my, as always,  wonderful Greek breakfast!  American style pancakes (Greek style) with gallons of drizzled honey, this morning, of which I managed a very satisfying half dozen, before moving on to all the other exciting breakfast comestibles. 

What are we all like?

Find A (Greek) Penny

Βρείτε μια δεκάρα ………

σηκώστε την,

Όλη την ημέρα θα έχετε καλή τύχη!

or:- Vreíte mia dekára, sikóste tin, Óli tin iméra tha échete kalí týchi!

What is he like? A penny, is a penny, is a penny, wherever in the world you are!

A Very Special Greek Oddity Tradition

As you know, we all very much love a Greek church and it’s always one of our traditions to visit the local one wherever we are in Greece.

Unfortunately, the one in Hanioti was locked whenever we tried to visit, but who can blame them, as there are always such wonderfully beautiful icons and lamps on display inside.

However, this one had a lovely, little chapel shrine outside ……..

…… so we were still able to light a candle for all our loved ones, who are no longer with us to share in our adventures ……..

…….. but who are always, always very close in our hearts, wherever we are.