A Day After
Symi Dream
by James Collins
2d ago
It was something of a lovely day yesterday. A little writing, a walk, a birthday dinner with the boys, much eating and making merry, perfect. And now, back to normal and onwards, except a few pounds heavier, and with a volume of Schubert sonatas to work through, to go along with the Chopin sonatas I collected in Rhodes recently. Plenty of piano work for me to be getting on with. Thank you everyone who sent birthday wishes, and thank you to my glorious husband for making a grand piano out of chocolate and putting it on a cake first made for Franz Joseph of Austria (who appears in one of my nove ..read more
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A Picture Paints…
Symi Dream
by James Collins
2d ago
It’s a lovely day out there today, so I may well do some more of this… That’s after I do some of this… TWO Delamere House October 1892 William Reginal Merrit sat upright in his bed and made a decision. Today, for the first time in his life, he would put his left foot on the floor before his right. Yesterday, we did some of this… Followed by a couple of hours of this… And now I’ve told you all that, I’m off to do some more of this… If you’ve been following the series (plural), then you might like to know that this has just come out on Kindle and KU. Paperback to follow. The post A Pictur ..read more
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Saturday, Yesterday, Today
Symi Dream
by James Collins
4d ago
Today is Greek Independence Day, and a celebration of the start of the war of independence, 1821. It’s a bank holiday, and there will be services and celebrations because it is also the Feast of the Annunciation. Last night, Yialos and the road to Evangelismos were lined with flaming torches as part of those celebrations, and you can see great footage of this if you look at Symi TV, either on Facebook (link here) or on YouTube (link here). This morning we woke up to cloudy skies and some light rain, but yesterday was a glorious day. I took myself off for a walk around the top of the Pedi Vall ..read more
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March 20th
Symi Dream
by James Collins
1w ago
March 20th is suddenly upon me. Why is that important? It’s not, but today is one of those days when I woke up and thought I had nothing to do but edit my book. Then, I realised I’ve also got to do a piece of writing for someone else, plus this blog, my Jackson Marsh blog, and a newsletter, because I have another book appearing in a promotion starting today. Then, I also have to check some more chapters of the next book, arrange the layout files ready to send, buy boat tickets for Friday, transfer some money from my ever-dwindling savings account, go for a walk, and, later, play the piano. A d ..read more
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A Mixed Bag
Symi Dream
by James Collins
1w ago
Straight to the desk, straight to the last edit and check of the next book, and I’m happily reading away when I remember I’ve not been here and done this. So, I’m doing it now with a few photos and snippets. The carnival happened in Yialos on Sunday followed by ten minutes of fireworks, Clean Monday saw a calm and quiet day, as is today, although the King Saron came in yesterday, and there’s a large cruiser or small cruise ship in the harbour this morning. H came for his piano lesson yesterday, and we followed that with two hours at the model building station. It’ll soon be time to pack that u ..read more
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Symi Swimming Pools
Symi Dream
by James Collins
1w ago
It’s Clean Monday, the start of Lent, and we should be talking about seafood and fasting, but let’s talk swimming pools instead. Now and then I pop into some of the Symi-flavoured groups on Facebook just to see what topics are the talk of the day, and then, if they inspire me, I talk about them here. Recently there were questions about boats and ferry timetables not being available, and ‘Will there be a boat to Symi at 5.43 on August the 17th-and-a-quarter?’ and suchlike. The printable answer to which is, ‘Wait and see when the timetables come out.’ Recently, I’ve noticed a few enquiries about ..read more
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Places in Rhodes
Symi Dream
by James Collins
1w ago
Some more photos of places in Rhodes to end the week. I’ll give you more details about this hotel next week, or whenever I remember, as I took some shots of some of the buffet, and it’s very impressive. A few minutes after that, a swarm of overnighters arrived from Sweeden and Norway and the kitchen was kept very busy. As were we during the day when we walked another six or seven miles around parts of the city we’ve only driven through before. There are some stunning buildings left over from the early 20th century Italian occupation, I’m guessing, some wide boulevards, and – even better to see ..read more
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Being Brief
Symi Dream
by James Collins
2w ago
I’m being brief today as we’re back in Rhodes for three days, and I’m coming to you from a hotel room. We’ve got bits and pieces to do and one of them can only be done today, and as there’s no boat to suit on a Thursday, we came over yesterday morning. This enabled us to take our time, and to spend a couple of days at the Castellum, a hotel we’ve stayed at before. Last night, we chatted to some nomads who wanted to settle in Turkey, but now can’t, so are spending their time alternating between EU and non-Eu countries until the wife gets her/European Irish passport, when they can settle in Gree ..read more
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Lawrence Durrell in Rhodes
Symi Dream
by James Collins
2w ago
No, I didn’t see him there, of course, because he died some time ago (1990), but when I was there recently I passed by his old house. This is one of those places you might not know about, and might not think to visit, but should you find yourself in Rhodes with spare time, waiting for a ferry or something, you might want to pass by and take a look. The Lawrence Durrell House (Villa Kleobolus) is a little villa by the old Turkish Cemetery and the Mosque of Reis, right next to the Casino. It has also been described as the gatekeeper’s cottage, which it may have been, and it’s right on the edge ..read more
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Colourful
Symi Dream
by James Collins
2w ago
Today, a few colourful images to brighten up what’s started as a cloudy and windy day. 14 degrees outside at 7.00, but colder in the house and certainly colder in the office. Things will warm up though, as I set about considering the next story to write while I wait for the last one to come back from the proofreader. Meanwhile, the photos. Some streamers left over from a party or early carnival event, our first hibiscus flower of the year, a cyclamen seen with many others during a walk, a pink sky of a few months back, and the green of spring out there in the Pedi valley, or nearby, I can’t re ..read more
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