Good Times With Old Freinds

On 14th September my friends Rich & Denny arrived for their 2 week holiday. I've known them both since I was about 17 years of age so that is a long friendship. They are staying at a hotel in Agios Sostis which, over the years, has become their second home.
Then on the 17th September my friend Jan arrived for her second stay with me this year & Jan, through her friendship with me, also knows Rich & Denny. So on Wednesday this week, along with my daughter Justine, we all met up together & spent the morning around Rich & Denny's hotel pool & had a really enjoyable time all catching up with each other's news while enjoying the sun & a swim.
On Thursday & Friday morning I went into Zakynthos town with Jan & Justine to try to negotiate the Greek procedure for selling Simon & Justine's car. Having been through the process myself when I bought mine, I had made some notes in case I ever had to do it again. They have decided to sell their car in light of the possible move to Australia & a buyer has been found. However the car is registered in Simon's name & Simon is currently still in Australia. We thought we might be able to go through with the process with Simon's signature on the relevant paperwork but alas that was not so. They need him there in person or a letter of authorisation that Justine can sell the car on his behalf. So we now have to wait until that letter reaches Greece from Australia. Luckily the buyers of the car are prepared to wait.
While we were in & around the town those 2 days we took a few photos & as you can see the weather is still being kind. However, it is becoming cooler in the evenings & in the early morning now.
The first photo is of Jan & me in Solomos Square ( you may notice that I've had my hair cut since I last posted a picture of me)


Here is Justine & me against the backdrop of Zakynthos harbour.

The final photo taken the next day is again of me & Jan sat on the harbour wall.

It's good to have friends to visit & I still have mum's visit to look forward to when she arrives on the 23th September to stay with me for a week.

Also on the 24th there are several friends that I know from the internet message boards that are arriving, many for their second visit of the year so I will be meeting up with them again.

Life Is Good & I Feel Great

I thought it was about time I posted an update on what is happening in my life here at the moment & as I've said in the title of this post - Life is good & I feel GREAT!

My job which I spoke about a while back continues to go well & I am as confident as I can be that I will be offered it for next season too. I am expecting to work through to the end of October this year & then have the Winter off. If any work does come along during the Winter I may consider it but I am working on the basis that I will not work during the Winter but I have plenty of plans to keep me occupied including:

* re-tune my 'proper photography' skills (once I move into my new house & unpack everything from the boxes that shipped out from England I can have all my photography books & equipment accessible again)

* sort out all my craft materials & equipment (again, once I have moved into my new house everything will have it's place & I can start making my hand made greetings cards again & I have a few other ideas to maybe develop too.

* sign up for Greek lessons

* do some travelling with my friend Debbie (already planning to go to Rome 18th - 24th December - will be booking this very soon)

I have lots to look forward to at the moment including, my friend Jan coming from the UK to stay with me for a week from 17th September & then my mum arriving for a week with me from 23rd September. It will be so good to see them both again. I also have UK friends, Rich & Denny arriving on the 14th. They are not staying with me but we will be meeting up & having a catch up on each others news. It will be great to see them again too.
Also arriving over the next couple of weeks are quite a few friends I have made from the internet message board. For most, it is their second visit to Zakynthos this year so it will be great to meet up again with them all.

I also have a new friendship developing which has put a sparkle back in my eye ;-) In connection with this, a trip over to Athens is a strong possibility for me in the near future. That is all I am saying at this time :-)) so you will all have to keep guessing.

I am also still very excited at the prospect of moving into my new house once the purchase has taken place. Everything is more or less in place, I have had to apply for a credit report from Experian in the UK to show that I have no debts & that I am credit worthy, this is to support my small mortgage application. As soon as it arrives I have to pass it to my bank here & that should be the final thing they need to approve me financially for the mortgage. They also have to arrange a visit to the property to assess it for lending against & for the insurance cover I will have with the mortgage for fire & earthquake.
Hopefully things will start to move forward once these things are done & I will keep you all informed of progress as things happen.

Just on a final note it rained tonight. I called briefly into Kev's bar for a drink after work this evening as I'd not been in to see him for a while. As I was sitting enjoying a malibu & lemonade I felt a few spots of rain which quite quickly built up to a good downpour. The island desperately needs the rain as it has been so dry but people here on holiday obviously don't really want rain. I took the opportunity to make a dash for my car, through the puddles, once the rain had slowed down & made my way home. The showers were over quite quickly but they left behind that wonderful smell of the earth that has just been refreshed by rain in was in much need of.

Well that I think is all my news for now so watch this space for the next instalment.

Fire On Zakynthos

After the devastating fires on the Greek mainland we have had one of out own tonight on Zakynthos. Fires are not uncommon here at this time of year & as with the mainland there is always speculation as to whether they have been caused naturally due to the tinder dry conditions or through carelessness of discarded cigarettes or deliberately.
This one started while I was at work in Kalamaki, the frightening thing was watching just how quickly it went from being a small blaze in the distance on Mount Skopos to becoming a line of flame running almost from the bottom to the top of the mountain. I was seeing it from the balcony of the office where I work & took the picture on my phone. (You may recall that it was Mount Skopos that I walked up earlier in the year & the report was posted here on 18/3/07) There was a strongish breeze tonight which of course helped to fan the flames. As the wind changed direction so did the movement of the line of fire, on minute seeming to progress up the mountain, then moving further down or tongues of flame spreading sideways from the main line. The ground fire crews were out in force from the start performing the brave job of fighting the fire. Unfortunately, the sun quickly went down which means that the planes that normally are alerted & sent to scoop water from the sea & drop on the fire are not allowed to fly in darkness.
It really brought home just how terrifying the fires on the mainland must have been for those affected having seen first hand just how fast they take a hold.
I must tell you also that at no time was I in any danger - I would not want anyone to be worrying unnecessarily about me, I am quite safe. As I write this, having looked out of my window at home, the glow on the horizon has now gone which would indicate that the brave fire crews have managed to control the blaze & hopefully put it out.