Well I need to share the last week on Kalymnos with you, so I'll put out the black olives, the local honey in the unmarked jar and the 5-star Metaxas, kathiste, sit down, enjoy.
All the way to Kalymnos Sheila was saying, "Don't build your hopes up, they may not remember us, the village may have changed, still it's only for a week."
We hadn't warned Yorgo and Irene we were coming and when we got out of the taxi, tired after a delayed journey there was pandemonium: "Oh my Gawd, Sheila, Roger Goodnight Irene, House of the Rising Sun", shrieks, hugs and kisses all round, rousted out all the kidsfrom their beach siesta, even though 5-year old hadn't seen us before. The whoele village knew we were back in five minutes! Even the lady in the village shop claimed to recognise us after 5 years.
Yorgo kept introducing me to people as "my singer" , "does very good the blues" [OK I know it's be-kind-to-the-tourist week but, hell, I'll take any compliemnt I get!].Yorgos has a brand new Yamaha 12 string which he gets fantastic sound out of, makes it sound like a bouzouki at times (he played bouzouki and guitar in clubs to pay his way though national service as a teenager). He still has the 25-year old Italian made Eko 6-string he was using last time and a small bodied "Stage no5" which he keeps strung lefthanded solely for the use of a visiting flotilla yacht captain to borrow whenever he's in port.
Irene insisted I join her for House of the Rising Sun that first night and of course I did Goodnight Irene at the end of each evening. I'm ashamed to say the kazoo did make an appearance a couple of times after herself had gone to bed but I only did Misery once (self-restraint). Yorgos has a wide repertoire of Greek and English songs, I joined him on the Bob Dylan but the newer fellers like the Beatles and Nights in White Satin were left to the younger members of the audience. He's even learned Guantanamera in Spanish (French is his second language, his English is now excellent, he was only learning it 5 years ago, Irene was brought up in US as a child so speaks American)but I didn't have the words with me so could only do the chorus!. I took him a book of 96 blues songs with guitar, piano music and words. He made me mark up the ones he should learn this winter and I'm going to make him a tape up of those which will test my recall of my record collection. It seems taken for granted we'll be back next year for a fortnight. Sheila put in the visitor's book that she'd make sure I practice my "singing" before then (she'll probably hide the kazoo as well!). We came away in floods of tears all round, bearing the taverna staff T-shirts (well, I was part of the house band and Sheila kept serving behind the bar to the bemusement of the summer help, Manoli, who'd come over from Kos and hadn't met the strange English couple before )and a litre of 5-star Metaxas.
The fact that the jumbo bottle of 3-star on the bar ran out during our week was NOT all down to me.
The road still doesn't go any further, the half-built block of apartments I called the Goatel last time is still only occupied by goats and fodder, there's one more taverna in the village which otherwise hasn't changed. Daughter Maria is getting married at Christmas and had started waiting tables, now they shut their video business in the summer to concentrate on the taverna, mine was the first bottle of wine she ever uncorked. Elder son, Nikola, was a reluctant washer-up 5 years ago, now has his chef's diploma and was helping his mother in the kitchen before going off to do National service. Apple of the eye, Themeli, 5 1/2 years of budding genius was dashing about the village like a clockwork toy, bringing back crabs he'd caught to show the tourists (scope for various variations on the theme of "I came to the Artistico and came back with crabs" jokes). Thori the goat man wasn't much in evidence as eighteen months without rain means he's got his goats all over the place where there's any vegetation and he's forever driving off with additional fodder and tanks of water for them, so it was only the four of us, Maria, and any other unsuspecting customers for the dancing once the tables had been cleared.
Coach to the ferry broke a fan belt, flight was over two hours late, no sleep the previous night after 100degree temperatures, back at work today, just finished reading my e-mails and in-tray, holding the fort while my 5 office collegues are off so I had to get this down while I'm still on a high, thank goodness we're back in Greece (Ikaria this time) in September, hope I can hold out that long!
BTW does anyone have the Greek words to "White Rose of Athens"? I've asked Yorgo to let me have them so I can learn at leats one Greek song, but he'll probably be too busy with taverna, airconditioning business (his real trade), video shop and learning new songs himself to remember to send them to me.
Right, I've finished now, large metaxas all round, wake up, it's OK, I won't sing, I promise,come back, eat, drink, enjoy,dance, Ya Mas.
RtS