#1048 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Greece1 Comment
The Wednesday Catch Up

Our Greek road trip involved Hannah as our driver. Dai, an actual Navigational Officer. Yianna his Greek/ Australian wife and reader of all Greek road signs, and myself the google map reader. A car, full of people to get us to the right place at about the right time. Which we very much achieved despite many Kafenio stops, immense geographic beauty and a fair amount of mirth.

Things that we all lost in translation were the overviews of two of our overnight stops. One ‘ delightful and traditional’ townhouse had rooms decorated in the style of a high-class bordello of the ‘ Belle-Époque’ period. Concentrating on the harem end of the femininity scale.

The other intriguing townhouse surprised us with a very contemporary style, which in any language would best be described as ultra-modern swingers rooms. Along with all our other bookings, on the homemaker end of the scale, they were very lovely welcoming places to stay. As four weary travellers we could not really live up to the Town House interior design as fully as we could have.

Luckily one was booked by the English team and one by the Australian so the only thing to do was laugh.

Dai and I were at school together 55 years ago. We often reverted to our 11-17 year old selves.

When you see a pair of gold plated boots, a photo opportunity could not be ignored when we were in that juvenile mindset.

Have boots, will travel.

This was the start of our last Greek journey. Hannah had planned the route to take in one of the sinking bridges of the Corinth Canal. The rest of us had not listened to her.

We arrived at the sinking bridge.

Everyone apart from Hannah was in disbelief that such a thing could exist. Hoping for a passing boat there was much discussion.

But checking my trusty marine navigation app nothing was on the canal. We set off for a Kafenio, they cure all travel woes, actually all woes. We turned the car round on a dust bowl building site and headed off. But as we headed back to the bridge it had disappeared! Two unregistered boats were about to pass.

I took a video of it rising, sadly we had missed the sinking bridge sinking. The nattering at the end sets the scene. Disbelief all round. 4 mins long.

https://videopress.com/v/Xm2NOmFo?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Info below on the submersible bridge.

https://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/09/submersible-bridges-at-corinth-canal.html?m=1

#1047 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn pondering1 Comment
© Gill Bobber

What would your life be like without music?

In theory, rather empty, but my head has the most delightful, personal Juke Box, playing in my subconscious, on demand. Sometimes in the form of earworms, when I least expect it.

©Lee Hunt.

As I write this Avalon by Roxy Music is playing. Absolutely no idea why.

©Lee Hunt.

#1046 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn autumn, Serendipity1 Comment

How do you celebrate holidays?

I am not sure that I have a way of celebrating holidays beyond enjoying them in whatever form they take. Our most recent holiday ended yesterday as we eased our Australian friends into their hire car and set them free to explore North Wales and East Anglia without us. It has been a holiday of joyful surprises and beautiful places. Embellished with great conversations around all subjects both ancient and modern, great and small.

The picture above was taken in a small mountain village called Stemnitsa in Arcadia. Early autumn leaves edging a storm drain. I knew, when I saw it, that this image would somehow symbolise the end of summer for me. Here we are now in the middle of September and it seems only sensible to accept that Summer 2024 has slipped away. Accepting that allows me to celebrate autumn.

Not with fat, fresh figs as I could in Arcadia but definitely with the fruits of an English Harvest. I am on the hunt for Quince again and optimistic for autumn sunshine. Both things to celebrate a summer well spent and an acceptance of a change of season.

#1045 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Anecdotes1 Comment

The weekend of the most unfortunate allergic reaction. A weekend when it was impossible to hide away and allow antihistamines and time to work their magic.

A weekend when I just had to put the lippy on and brazen it out as a woman who had visited the most inept plastic surgery practitioner ever.

To think, some people pay to look like this.

Before leaving the house I tried to catch myself in a good light.  But from the curious looks I got when out in the real world I realise that normal daylight or artificial light was not as kind as I had hoped.

Thankfully my unplanned and inexplicable tweakment has subsided. I will start the week looking more like my usual self. I will never consider fillers!

#1043 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Holidays, Serendipity1 Comment

One week apart, two windows with blinds project sun into a room. This one, this morning heralds a day to be spent in a beautiful harbour and scenic village. Maybe tomorrow’s blog.

This one, last Friday, heralded a day in Spetses. A beautiful harbour and a scenic town.

Sunshine flooding a room in the morning sets the day up well. Last week we had Turquoise sea and water taxis.

Today who knows what we will have?

Both blinds are casting light on holiday clothes.

In Spetses they were contained and orderly, knowing their place in holiday hand luggage. Back home they are scattered on the floor awaiting their turn in the great post- holiday  washing cycle. Sunshine an asset in both endeavours.

#1042 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Holidays1 Comment
Back to home bedding.

Do you see yourself as a leader?

I don’t particularly see myself as a leader because I am happy to follow while observing and learning. But life has a way of sometimes clearing the path and  leadership finds me. At that point I like to be certain that i am providing a safe environment for others to learn and move forward. I worry when people push forward as leaders without the skills or understanding that leading requires.

I am back to my home bedding folds. Yesterday my last holiday bedding fold looked like this.

With the addition of a breakfast tray to bring sunshine to my morning, high up in the attic of a Greek writers house.

I was certainly NOT leading yesterday as we drove from the Mani in Greece to Athens and then on to the West Country of England after a four hour flight

I was a back seat driver on a journey from overburdened Orange trees in vivid sunshineso to a chilly autumnal dawn, with apples already falling to the ground and blackberries on dew covered bramble bushes as we arrived home in the early hours.

So much blogging to be had in the next few weeks, sometimes I will lead but other times I will follow, always pondering a random thought.

#1041 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Greece, Serendipity1 Comment

All the colours of my day. We took a trip to Monomvasia. Two reasons. Someone had said it was ‘Worth a look’. And secondly I remembered reading about the fortress town, in an old edition of National Geographical, such an old edition that the pictures were in black and white.

The understatement of black and white images and a throw away remark had not prepared me for  the vibrancy and beauty of a town hanging on the slopes of a rocky island close to mainland Greece.

Our day started very grey, torrential rainfall and a waterspout accompanied the bitter, but essential phase of coffee in a taverna.

Arrival to Monomvasia brought turquoise sea, free parking and a cheap bus ride up a steep hill.

Every corner of the town was a visual treat. Old houses still awaiting some twenty first century tweakments, or not. I do love a dishevelled building in the right circumstances.

A taverna for sale had a laconic sitting tenant with no expectation of being disturbed any time soon. Monomvasia is in Laconia.

For a touch of blue with both meanings of the word,  I realised yesterday that I really regret getting rid of all my dads old National Geographics when I cleared my old home 30 years ago. There is  something magical about  discovering a fantastic world of colour hinted at in monotone.

#1039 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn GreeceLeave a comment

So long Stemnitsa. Hello Gythio.

Both subjects far too rich to be  dispensed with in my briefer travelling ponders. Just so much wonderful stuff to ponder but no time to ponder on a road trip. Even on travelling days we like to do in excess of 10,000 steps.

For the first time in a while we have reliable wi-fi, which has enabled me to download images from my digital camera.

The digital camera is less prone to overheating so I am very glad to have had it on this trip. Which has swung from very hot to torrential rain in the blinking of an eye. My phone has overheated and failed at critical Google Map moments but so far we have hit every location or ferry appropriately.

For now I am going to share the thumbnail images of the market in Nafplion. I have yet to sort through them but they are so bright and wholesome. A Saturday morning well spent. There were one or two essential visits in mind when we planned this trip. For me Nafplion market was one of them.

And so to sleep ready to explore Gythio.

#1038 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment

Waking up on a rainy Monday morning in’the’ village. Not my village but a village nevertheless.

This village is the home village of one of my travelling companions, she has cousins on  every corner in this idyllic Greek mountain village. Her husband and I grew up in a small Essex village, in England 50 years ago. We live half a world apart. Me in Plymouth, England and him in Melbourne, Australia.

For us there has been an anecdote on every corner of this trip. Small inconsequences of our teenage lives are remembered and chuckled over.People who we knew well are fondly recalled. People we barely knew are fleshed out as we share our personal experience of them. We both went to an entirely normal secondary school, not an iota of an enhanced educational experience for us. And yet every day we have marvelled at the people we met and the quality of teaching we received.

A good foundation for lives well lived.