Summer heat, Greek style…
August 24th, 2009 by adminIt’s a long time since I wrote my blog, but my excuse is a long absence in Greece, where it was, of course, hot. Here in the temperate climate of the UK - and especially the northern counties - it’s easy to forget how hot that hot is. Before my departure, my elderly neighbours were complaining how they couldn’t sleep in the heat of the English summer. The average night-time temperature was 11c, with a daytime maximum of 19c…
Greece was, as always, wonderful - the sea so blue and perfect for swimming and snorkelling, the kafenions shaded and the drinks served extra cold, the food fresh and imaginative. But there are two things I spend more of my Greek time on than anything else - people-watching, and suffering from boat-envy.
The Greeks - especially in the island villages - can be quirky people. They do things differently there, and they are allowed to do things differently because their lives are not constrained by absurd Health & Safety regulations. Amongst the more interesting sights I saw (all in the notebook, of course) were two men struggling to carry a brick wall and an eighty-year-old man re-hanging shutters by straddling an upstairs windowsill (he drew a small crowd, but no-one offered to help: no-one wanted to spoil the show).
I fell in love - as usual - with several dozen boats, yachts, cruisers, call them what you will - not the flashy gin-palaces that fill the Mediterranean ports in summer, but the toys of the uber-wealthy, all quiet good taste and understated style - the boats where the crew spend the time the owner’s family is ashore busily giving the chrome and brass an extra polish. Those beautiful boats made me think of their owners’ lives, and how far removed they are from the concerns of us ordinary mortals. In fact, they gave me an idea for Book 5….
I’m pleased to say, by the way, that I finished book 4 - The Lady of Sorrows - two days before I went to Greece. I’ve had the thumbs-up from my agent, so it should be at the publishers for their approval this week. Fingers crossed….