Cretan Diary - Chapter 15

Thursday - Kalamity in Apokoronas!

October 1, 2009

Jenny poached the eggs for breakfast then, in a "senior moment", placed a lap tray on the still-hot oven top, with inevitable results.

Meltdown!

A normal lap tray
A melted lap tray displaying its balls - like me after a shower.
Tiny polystyrene balls everywhere! (Jenny was worried that her bum looked big in this picture and asked me to remove it.)
Somebody had to clear up the mess. You can now make jokes about me sucking up to Jenny or sucking her balls ... or something. (Does my bum look big?)
After clearing up, then eating cold breakfast, I walked uphill to buy bread. (You don't need to see the picture again, do you?) past the barking dogs  It was "allee mia zestee mera" (another hot day). I bought a can opener - which turned out to be a bean slicer. (I thought it looked weird but Aspasea assured me that it was a can opener. I think she saw me coming.) Oh, and I've discovered that the buttons on my watch no longer work. I took it apart and reassembled it but it's no better. In fact now it's in 24 hour mode and the alarm is set for 2:30am. I am not going to be popular. Aspasia told me the Greek word for "skint" but I've forgotten it. I must get her to write it down. It could be very useful. On the way back down the hill I met our next door neighbour, Kelvin. He told me he was having an aimless stroll. He'd been kicked out of the house while his wife had her hair "done" by a mobile English hairdresser. (You can't escape from them! I bet they even have mobile English hairdressers in deepest Africa.) We sat on a wall and chatted for a while. Jenny had told me to stay away while she cleared out the cupboard under the stairs.
When I returned, she had almost finished the clearing out. Now she had to put it all back again.
I did some work at the computer then suggested we go out for a while as it was a nice day and I'd had enough of computers for now. We (she) drove (I use the word in its scariest sense  ) to Georgioupolis, calling briefly at Eleni's house on the way. Jenny discovered that the car has a fifth gear but it's only useful for going downhill. Luckily, the brakes seem OK.
Here's a question for readers of "New Scientist" magazine: Why do the lemon pips repeatedly rise and fall in the lemonade? We pondered this question over our club sandweetziss weeth cheeps, but reached no positive conclusion other than "it's the bubbles".
After lunch, Jenny needed a paddle. You can do that here. Back in England, whenever Jenny needed a paddle, we had to drive for hours to reach Southport or Birkenhead (shudder) or Whitby. It was an expensive habit. But here it's cheap, quick and easy (and warm). I may even take it up myself. But I might look silly in a skirt.
It's a hard life - all this sunshine and water to deal with. I sat down and listened to "Who's Next" on my iPod. Good job I put that factor fifty on. Here's Jenny, staring across Georgioupolis Bay. (It's now October and STILL blooming hot!)
I couldn't skive off for too long so we drove back home where I answered more emails and scraped the oven top while Jenny did some essential reading. ---> Then I had a nap. The heat is exhausting.

Jenny made me a sandwich with Greek sausage and pickled beetroot (which probably isn't Greek) and salad. This evening I dismantled my watch again and managed to get it back together again minus only one microscopic circlip that held a button in place. The buttons all now work (result!) so I'm hoping that the loose one won't fall out.

I've dismantled and oiled the annoyingly squeaky toilet door handle mechanism and left my computer converting a "Some Like It Hot" DVD to an iPod video file for Eleni to watch when she visits the UK.

Chapter 16 - No Car

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