Symi Blues

The flag is everywhere these days, even on this television aerial in Pitini.
St John's Wort - one of the last wild flowers before everything turns to summer dust.
The dust is settling on the Greek election results and while one can hardly say that New Democracy has a clear mandate to steer Greece out of the muddle there is a strong feeling that we have all peered over the edge of a cliff and pulled back just in time.  Having Syriza in the opposition instead of PASOK will certainly shake things up and perhaps when their time comes they will have the political savvy and experience to inspire the confidence of the more mature electorate. For many decades Greece has been governed by two political parties that have functioned as dynastic family businesses and this particular apple cart has had an upset from which it may not recover.  New Democracy may have won but there is no room for complacency.   What is disconcerting is the insidious rise of the right wing Golden Dawn party.  Even on tiny Symi they received 91 votes, leaving us looking speculatively at our Symiot neighbours with new eyes. In a small place such as this where most people discuss their political views openly over the morning coffee it is disconcerting to discover that fellow citizens are secretly supporting right wing extremism.   Unfortunately in a democracy every person's opinion is to be regarded as equally valid, even if it goes against ones own sense of what is right and proper.  Not all the cherries in the bowl are sweet.

On a different note, I received the following message from Melanie last week:

Symi Animal Welfare volunteers went on a hot, but successful mission to Rhodes yesterday.  The sight of 5 catboxes being taken onto the’ Dodecanese Express’ at 7.30 yesterday morning caused quite a stir.  Both passengers and crew offered their assistance in lifting the heavy boxes – one contained 2 lightweight brothers, another 3 boxes with large, hefty tomcats inside + a 5th carrying a small, young female, unwell since delivering her kittens some time ago.  People waiting at Kolona greeted the cats’ arrival with smiles and fascination.  The animal-friendly taxi drivers had no problem spotting their ‘booking’, which meant no delay in the already hot sunshine at Kolona: By 9.30am, all 6 cats had been safely delivered to 2 different vets.  By 1pm, the vets had telephoned with re-assurance that all 6 cats were fine and ready to be collected.  For the short trip from Constantinou Street to Akandia Harbour, the 6 slightly subdued cats and 3 hot volunteers occupied a full taxi.  Once again, the crew from the ‘Diagoras’ helped to carry the catboxes aboard.  By the time the ship docked at Symi clocktower,  the cats and the volunteers were all relaxed!

Well done, Symi Animal Welfare.  If the vets cannot come to Symi then this is the only solution.


Have a good week.

Regards,
Adriana





On Symi you never know who you will meet on your way to work in the morning.

There are so many places on Symi where one just stops and thinks, 'wow'.  This is one of them.

Turkish gulets departing after a night in Yialos.

Symi Blues


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About this Blog

I sailed into Panormitis Bay, Symi, by chance one windy July day in 1993 and have been here ever since. The locals tell me that this is one of the miracles of St Michael of Panormitis. A BA graduate with majors in English, Philosophy and Classical Civilisation, the idea of living in what is to all intents and purposes an archaeological site appeals to me. Not as small as Kastellorizo, not as touristy as Rhodes, Symi is just the right size. I live on a small holding which my husband and I have reclaimed from a ruin of over-grazing and neglect and turned into a small oasis over the course of the past 22 years. I also work part-time for Symi Visitor Accommodation, helping independent travellers discover and enjoy Symi's simple pleasures for themselves.

This page is kindly sponsored by Wendy Wilcox, Symi Visitor Accommodation.


Adriana Shum

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