Cretan Diary - Chapter 31

Jenny pointed out that the somba chimney had dripped sludge onto the tiles outside and splashed it on the wall. In typical Greek fashion, the job had been left incomplete so there was a drainage pipe and catch-tank missing.

I drove to Vamos hardware store and bought the necessary bits. I hadn't been charged for them originally so I could hardly complain.

Vagileea and Georgeea taught me some Greek words while I was there. I wanted to go to the auto-electrics shop in Kalives to get the car horn button fixed, as it was intermittent.

However, the man in Kalives told me that it was a dealer job because the airbag had to be disabled and removed before the horn button contacts could be reached.

I had read about this on a web page, somewhere, and it looked quite straightforward. Looks as if I'll end up doing it myself.

Here's the finished drainage system. It should catch the condensates and any rain that gets into the chimney.

It's definitely winter time - the "White Mountains" are now snow-capped.

Indoors at 7pm it's a cool 17 degrees. I've put my fleece on. I find it uncomfortably cold but I'll wait till we've eaten. I might feel warmer then!

Wednesday - Sunny but windy

November 4th, 2009

It rained overnight and the wind was so strong that it woke me around 5am. I went downstairs to make sure no rain was getting into the house but the floors were dry. I returned to my two hot water bottles and slept until 9am. I showered, ate breakfast, answered emails and set my computer to record TV shows.

We drove to Vamos to enquire about cookery lessons (closed till next May) and to look in the bookshop that sells pre-read English books. We chatted with Jim, the proprietor, then went for a book-guided walk round the town. This ramshackle construction was one of the unlisted sights.

At home, in England, the local transmitter has begun its final switch to digital today. Consequently, I had to log-on to my computer there and re-scan channels for the EyeTV Freeview tuner and the Slingbox Freeview tuner.

Here, it was sunny all day, so our water is hot! However, it was also windy. Indoors, the temperature has remained a steady 17 degrees C. By the time we ate, at 7pm, we were feeling cold and hugging hot water bottles, so I lit the somba. For a couple of minutes the chimney worked in reverse, then the heat from the growing flames won, and the smoke was dragged upwards.

Now, at 9pm, the temperaure is a comfortable 20 degrees and I'm looking out of the window at a clear sky and an almost-full moon. (I think it was full yesterday?)

I'm going to watch a recorded TV programme before bed.

Thursday - Sunny and warm!

November 5th, 2009

Today has been very mild. Almost no wind and sunny till around 3pm.

We took a walk around the village early this morning.

We drove to Georgioupolis to buy a sieve because our local shops didn't have one. We bought two, had lunch, then took a stroll along the sea front, where we saw these fishermen laying out their net.

It was actually hot on the sea front. I was afraid that I'd get sunburned.

This evening (6:40pm) it's almost 20 degrees C. in our kitchen and we've just had dinner. No need to light the somba (yet) but I prepared some wood earlier. (Well, it is "bonfire night!)

No, they don't celebrate bonfire night here. Why the heck should they?

Friday - drosiá

November 6th, 2009

That's the Greek word meaning "cool but comfortable" or "fresh" or "dew". (It's pronounced "throsseeá" with a "th" as in "the" and the stress on the "á".) The temperature remained a steady 18 degrees C. overnight. I didn't light the somba and I really didn't need both hot water bottles. This morning began with the sun shining but clouds have drifted in to obscure it. Outside it's about as warm (or "drosiá") as a typical English summer's day.

If I seem obsessed with weather, it's because I prefer to be on the hot side of cool and the house has no sensible (or easy-to-use) heating system. So I worry about being cold.

Language!

Learning another language has its pitfalls. It seems that I "drop myself in it" every time I open my mouth. I use words that sound like other words, by mistake. I get the stress on the wrong syllable.

There aren't many words in English that begin with "ks". In fact I can't think of any. Little wonder, then, that I tend to transpose those letters subconsciously. The Greek word for dog is "Skeelos". The word for wood is "kseelo". A favourite dish is "pork in the wood oven" which is "cheereenee sto kseelo-fourno". You can see why it's very easy to ask for "pork in the dog-oven" by mistake!

The word for dog "skeelos" is also somewhat similar to the word for "shit". I won't bore you with the possibilities, there!

Yesterday, while Jenny was hunting for a sieve in the supermarket, I had the bright idea of asking the girl behind the till.

(I'm not sure whether I've mentioned this, previously, but checkout girls are always deep in conversation - either with a mobile phone clamped to the ear or with another shopper or assistant. This increases the communication problems enormously.)

So, I looked up "sieve" in my pocket dictionary and it gave only "kóskino". Great, no ambiguity there!

"Chreasomai ena kóskino" I said. She gave me a quizzical look and said in English "sorree, I don't anderstand."

"Chreasomai ena kóskino" I repeated carefully, being sure to put the stress in the right place. I made sieving motions, which were probably misinterpreted, because she backed away. She shouted in Greek to the elderly shoppers down the isles. At first I thought she was shouting "save me from this mad Englishman" but it turned out to be "anyone know what a kóskino is?"

One elderly lady nodded. Apparently her husband - a farmer - used one in his fields. I gathered that it was something used to separate olives from the twigs.

Meanwhile, Jenny had found a tea-strainer sized sieve so we showed it to the shop assistant. "Katee megalo" I said ("something bigger").

"Oh!" The girl's eyes looked at the ceiling. "Thelete ena souroteeree!" (You want a strainer.)

"Theesteekos then echoumeh." (Unfortunately, we don't have.)

"Boreeta na to grapsette?" I asked (can you write it?) showing her my notepad. She spelt out the word for "strainer" for me. The elderly lady told me (in Greek) that I would certainly find one in Xania. I agreed but told her (in Greek) that it was a long way and would be expensive. At least I hope that's what I said. The word for expensive (akreevós) also means "exact" and "correct" so I never feel comfortable using it.

Evening

Jenny had a "funny tummy" all day so we haven't been out (apart from my ascent to buy bread). It's dark and 19 degrees in here. Outside it's quite dark but there's a warm breeze.

I received a reply to my email from a nice American named "Bobby". You can read his blog here:
http://bobscretanadventure.blogspot.com/