BS: Kalymnos 2001

Subject: Kalymnos 2001
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 05:44 AM

Don't want to bore you all with "what I did on my holidays" (oh, yeah?)BUT, one evening what I think of as the Artistico Taverna skiffle group consisted of our host George (former professional musician, refrigeration engineer and taverna owner) on lead 12 string guitar, Clive, a visiting South African flamenco guitarist, on a beautiful second guitar, another local George (an arhitect) on hand drum, his mother Irene, a noted scuptress in bronze,on tambourine, Cecilia, a visiting Italian music journalist, siffleuse, Faith, author of the definitive book on Kalymnos sponge divers on backing vocals with Herself, our hostess, another Irene, on vocals and some mad Englishman on kazoo.
When I thanked Clive at the end of the evening for his wonderful flamenco playing and apologised for my contribution to the evening (George had insisted I sing a blues and Clive seemed puzzled I couldn't tell him what key it was likely to be in!)he said "at least you play a distinct instrument". I think I heard Herself mutter, pity it isn't extinct.
The week before we arrived (no coincidence!)a Scottish tv crew had filmed George and Irene in action, I've no idea for what prograamme, but if you get Scottish tv and see a feature on Kalymnos and Emborios in particular, watch it.
RtS (it's safe to go there now, folks, for another year).

Subject: RE: BS: Kalymnos 2001
From: Amos
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 10:54 AM

Dang! Long years since I stopped on Kalymnos, mate. Wish you'd sent me a darn ticket!!! So -- when is the reunion? I'll make a point of walking up the beach and into the taverna just as the ouzo is starting to flow.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Kalymnos 2001
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 11:21 AM

We've provisionally booked for the same two weeks: end of June/early July for 2002. Our last night was marred by police arriving to serve George with a summons for playing music after midnight (local rule, never knowingly enforced before). It was actually one of our earlier finishes. Live music is OK but we were (sort of ) Greek dancing to recorded music by that stage. The locals among us said the other taverna owners in the village must have phoned the fuzz when they closed, jealous that everyone always ends up at the Artistico for the music at the end of the evening. Herself believes it was my a capella rendition of Blue Suede Shoes that was the last straw. Well it got some of the locals doing R&R! After that everyone decided to dance (to stop me singing, no doubt). The cops privately told George to shop the other tavernas if he caught them breaking any of the rules!
Ironic, as they are all related in some way, cousins etc. ...and the great sunbed war still rumbles on from last year, but nothing else has changed, the road still stops just beyond the village, the "goatel" is still unfinished and providing shade for the goats and the only big news is that "our" Irene now has a pig as well as ducks and geese.
But I said I wouldn't bore you...
RtS (off to Tilos in Sept for a quieter time no doubt)

Subject: RE: BS: Kalymnos 2001
From: katlaughing
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 01:49 PM

PLEASE, RtS, bore us some more! Love hearing about this. We have a family here, the Vlastos', who go to Crete every winter to work their olive oil farm; it's been in their family since ancient times. He's an artist and once sent me an 11 X 17 copy of a sketch he did of their back patio with waterwell, trees, etc. It is just beautiful.

thanks for the lovely view,

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Kalymnos 2001
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 20 Jul 01 - 03:59 AM

OK, kat, maybe next week, there are a couple more possible stories, even this year's "Roger's most embarrassing moment"!
RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Kalymnos 2001
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 23 Jul 01 - 08:22 AM

OK just for kat.
One of the things I'll remember is the interaction between George and visiting guitarists. I missed Peter Price the UK bluesman, who eas there the previous week, but watching George and Clive the Flamenco guitarist play together, one of the audience said: "If this is how they play without meetng before, if they had a week's rehearsal they could fill the Albert Hall."
Another tourist regretted only discovering the taverna a couple of days before he was due to leave. When his wife said he played guitar, George immediately got one out for him and he played rhythm to George's lead all night with lots of encouragement. He told me he hadn't played in public for 10 years, this made him want to again and he thought he might come back next year with an old playing partner if their wives agreed.
It was heartening so many of the people around during my 2 weeks liked the same sort of music, the tape I'd compiled for George created a lot of interest as did the lyrics folder. One went so far as to say it would be his desert island book!
There were a couple of blokes who spent one evening muttering loudly and not joining in but I held back on my natural inclination to bang their heads together and (2nd most embarrassing moment) actually ended up leading them in a rendition of "Yesterday". I usually tease George that I don't do modern stuff like the Beatles. This version probably proved it, starting in an unrealistic key as usual, I sounded like Richard Tauber with his dangly bits caught in an antique bean slicer. However, it got these guys joining in and by the end of the evening, having discovered a mutual interest in Lonnie Donegan, we parted the best of friends.
BTW another tourist confessed to me that he had once hurled rocks at Lonnie's Spanish villa to try to silence a persistently ringing alarm in the dead of night!
RtS (Tomorrow, if Mudcat is up during my break, my MOST embarrassing moment of the holiday)

Subject: RE: BS: Kalymnos 2001
From: Amos
Date: 23 Jul 01 - 09:11 AM

the great sunbed war ....

I'm sorry but I wasn't aware of this incredible battle -- I presume, to settle the ancient argument about where the sun will sleep at night? The mind boggles!!

Or is there some other explanation for a sunbed war? Poetry before my eyes!

A

Subject: RE: BS: Kalymnos 2001
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 23 Jul 01 - 09:25 AM

Well, Amos, this is a village with a winter population of 30 old folks. In the summer their offspring return from Pothia etc (the main town)to run their summer villas and tavernas. "Our" family has the best sunbeds, solid plastic with (this year) soft mattresses. Others have less comfortable rusting metal and canvas ones.
Naturally "ours" (daughter Maria runs them as part of her wedding money- she's geting married to chef Adonis next year) are the most popular. Others feel this is unfair competition. The mayor was asked to ban them. He pointed out most of the complainants hadn't actually got a licence to run sunbeds!
Others complain about encroachment on their section of beach. One brother and sister who run adjacent tavernas have a running battle about this and he doesn't even have any sunbeds! I used it as an example of what a small village it is with small concerns which make for an entertaining holiday away from more global cares.
That doesn't stop George and myself discussing the meaning of life into the small hours when we're not singng!
One music-related aside: one of the Greek songs I admired was apparently a satire on the Monica Lewinski affair and was called American Clarinet. Which led to some question whether an English Kazoo was smaller than an American Clarinet. Herself reckoned its performance was likely to be poorer as well!
RtS (tomorrow will be the last, honest)

Subject: RE: BS: Kalymnos 2001
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Jul 01 - 11:09 AM

More, more! Thanks RtS!! I am enjoying this slice of life, immensely!

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Kalymnos 2001
From: Amos
Date: 23 Jul 01 - 11:47 PM

Ohhhh!!! I get it now!!! I was thinking of something along a more...cosmic scale, I guess. Great sunbed war, huh? Wow. THis gives a whole new meaning to the notion of provincial games...but, regardless, I would dearly love to bring my own caique up and dance along the sand waving a glass of retsina and 'Ndaximou to all!! What pleasant memeories iut brings back!!

A

Subject: RE: BS: Kalymnos 2001
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:45 AM

Final segment for kat & Amos. Picture if you will...our hero who has an unjustified confidence in his Greek, especially words for food and drink. He decides to go to the taverna on the hill for lunch. At the entrance a blackboard announces in English "Today's special: goat with lemon". "I'll have me some of that." he thinks and, being a clever dick, orders it in what he thinks is Greek. Waiter does double take. What he has ordered is "koukla me lemoni" , NOT "katsaki me lemoni". Orders again in English. "What did I say?" The waiter explains "koukla", literally "doll", is slang for an attractive young lady. Quick as a flash our hero says "I'll have some of that as well." Herself sneers: "He's bragging, especially at lunch time"!
But it didn't end there. Herself told the family at the Artistico that evening and it became a standing joke for the rest of the holiday. Maria, the daughter, who I'd always though was a nice girl (though she used to tell me off for not eating my fish-heads which they reckon is the best bit) would ask me if I wanted lemon with every dish. I tried to redeem myself by asking for "yaya me rothakino" (grandma with peaches) which went down quite well.
I got one slightly back at Herself when she asked if she should water the parlour palm in our apartment which turned out to be plastic but on the whole, I provided amusement for several days. The general opinion was that if there was a vacancy for village idiot I might fail the entrance exam!
"koukla me lemoni!" George would chuckle every time he passed me!
I bet they won't have forgotten by next year either!
RtS (Yassoo)

Subject: RE: BS: Kalymnos 2001
From: Linda Kelly
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 06:23 AM

I remember Kalymnos as a very beautiful island, plagued by feral cats at one point although they all seemed to mysteriously disappear once the tourists had gone. The police story made me laugh -we had the same problem in Skiathos where I lived for a while and my friend Barru used to get arrested every other night for music offenses -it got very tedious. Apparently the bribes weren't big enough.....