The aggrieved tinkle of sheepbells

The rain has swept past and the next blast is only expected to reach us sometime tomorrow. Athens was paralysed by floods yesterday morning with a decidedly dampening effect on the annual November 17 commemorative rally and demonstrations. The police reported very few incidents and the resident cartoonist of the Kathimerini newspaper produced a smug cartoon of three would-be anarchists trying to light Molotov cocktails in a downpour.

Here on Symi we had about 37 mm of rain, a fair amount of which found its way into my house, but we were spared the 'floating of the shoes' phenomenon this time round. The heaviest downpour was at about 1 am, accompanied by a brief blast of hail. After that it eased enough for us to hear the aggrieved tinkle of sheepbells as the neighbour's flock shook itself dry in the shelter of our back wall.

The weather will remain unsettled for the next few days with more rain, thunderstorms and squally conditions throughout Greece. Temperatures will continue to fall and snow is expected on most high ground. There was a brief country wide shipping ban yesterday afternoon which closed Rhodes port as well as Pireaus and it is still Force 8 out in the central Aegean with a heavy swell.

Have a good weekend. We'll be spending ours in the office, putting the finishing touches to the 100th issue of the Symi Visitor which goes to press next week.

Regards,
Adriana
www.symivisitor.com