I had purchased all the tools that I would need for house and garden maintenance. The only tools that we couldn’t source were English-style garden spade and fork; they don’t exist in Greece. So, we now had our first items for visitors to bring out to Greece for us!
During those first six weeks in The Mani we were discover a vast array of wildlife; there are an abundance of snakes, scorpions, centipedes and spiders, and they all bite! Almost as soon as we arrived, we were advised never to put our hands where we couldn’t see them, particularly when gardening and moving stones and lo
We were also advised to wear thick gardening gloves because the bites were poisonous, and although not life threatening, most bites were extremely painful to endure and resulted in swelling of the bitten parts of the body. The scorpions come in both black and white varieties measuring between 3cm and 6cm. And the centipedes by comparison are enormous at up to 12cm and are quite vicious if provoked!
The thing to remember is not to take anything for granted and to be very deliberate and careful in your movements in the garden; ‘look twice and move once’ before you pick anything up or move anything in the garden! Given my history with the bad luck of having an allergic reaction to a bite, from what was almost a microscopic spider, I am particularly careful when lifting rocks!
One ‘creepy crawly’ we had never seen before was the ‘smelly worm.’ This creature is dark black and grows to about 6cm at its largest, and is a type of millipede; totally harmless. It loves the damp and can cross floors and climb walls and traverse across ceilings with ease. However, it gets its name from the fact that if you squash it the smell given off in the process of dying is utterly awful!
Of course, I didn’t think that these guidelines applied to watch where you were about to sit down. One day, I almost sat on an amazingly large and very scary looking black and orange spider that was almost 10cm across!
Photo: A Really Scary Spider.
STRESSFUL TIMES!
There are a lot of derogatory things written about Greek culture and Greek workmen e.g. GMT which stands for Greek Maybe Time i.e. maybe it will get done on time or maybe it won’t! Well, we can tell you from personal experience that the Greek Long Distance coaches leave exactly on time; in fact, to the second as stated in the timetable, so GMT does not apply to them! Also, the same can be said for the time that offices close; right on time or early even, just when you need them the most in those last few minutes of the day!
There are numerous tales too about poor workmanship in the construction and building of houses; however we have no such complaint, well not until it came to the plumbing! Giannis built us a wonderful house; the construction and finish are excellent. However, the plumber who was contracted to install the plumbing of the sinks and heating system appeared to take the view that if anything leaked then the answer was to tighten the joint even tighter with the wrench. If that failed to stop the leak, then his answer was “it will dry out in time,” but as we all know, a leak is a leak!
When we compare some of the problems that others have experienced with the building of their houses, we know that Giannis had built a really super house, and the standard of design and workmanship was excellent. True, some angles and levels were a little crooked but we didn’t mind, after all this was a ‘Traditional Stone House’ and quite unique. It was not a mass produced ‘bland’ building.
However, and it was a BIG however, the sink fittings were not water tight, nor were the joints of all the plumbing points. Most of the sinks I managed to fix myself, using silicone glue and sealant, and others I had to replace the fittings to make them water tight.
Further, we now found that the joints of all the plumbing points sprang leaks when the water pressure increased! We had already learned that the mains water supply gets cut off frequently, but now we were to learn that although most days the pressure is fine, but sometimes when it is turned on again it is running at three times the normal pressure, which meant that we would get leaks from the joints!
We were into the seventh week living in our ‘Paradise’ and the water was switched off (without notice) for three days. When it came back on again I read the meter and instead of the usual 3.5 bar it was off the meter; over 9.0 bar! When I awoke the next morning, and went into the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea, I found myself walking into two inches of water on the floor! Obviously we had a serious leak. What to do? Call the plumber of course, and of course he came and guess what? He tightened all the joints even tighter and said “leave it to dry and it will be fine again.”
The water seemed to stop leaking for an hour or so, but then started to leak all over again. We called Giannis and he said he would come and look at it soon. We were a little concerned as our first visitors were due to arrive in just three days’ time. He came, along with the plumber and they toiled away mending some joints and replacing others altogether. When they had finished, Giannis told us that it was fixed and all would be ok. The leak which was above the sink had made the inside of the kitchen cupboards and our adjoining bedroom wall quite damp. He advised us that it might take a few days for all the walls to dry out.
Reassured by this news, we started to turn our attention to the arrival of Bill and Jeanette, my Mother and Valerie’s Mother.
Bill had agreed to ‘chaperone’ my Mother (aged 86) and Valerie’s Mother (aged 76) to come and visit us.
As we had already declared, in our ‘Exit the UK’ plan, the studio apartment was not going to be the destination for cheap holiday accommodation, so we rented some studio apartments for them in nearby Lefktron village in Stoupa. We found a house that had been converted into apartments and booked three next to each other for their stay.
We met them at the airport when they arrived, and Bill hired a car and we went in convoy to their studios to unpack and then onward Meerkat Manor for them to see it for the first time. Bill and Jeanette had seen it of course before we moved in, but they were surprised by the ‘transformation’ that we had achieved in making it ‘home.’
Even our start on creating the garden had surprised Bill and Jeanette, as the last time they saw Meerkat Manor the garden was just an area of hard, red soil covered in weeds! Now they were seeing the entrance area from the gate and start of the paths filled with pebbles and edged by stones. Also, some of the trees and shrubs that we had planted were just coming into flower and indicated to them the promise of what was to come; our vision of a Mediterranean Garden!
Both our Mothers were amazed at the beauty of the area, the house and our views from the terraces. Valerie duly gave them the ‘guided tour’ of the house and the studio apartment, whilst Bill and I sat on the upper terrace; Bill sipping a beer, and me an Ouzo (old habits die hard!) and enjoying the sun.
At this time of year, the temperatures are beginning to rise and during May, every day is around 30 C. Incidentally, by now, Valerie and I were getting used to the heat and enjoying it, but wondering about the prospect of summer temperatures that would reach the low 40 C’s and last for around eight weeks. Bill said that it was very hot; hot enough for him just then, but he wondered if he could stand it very much hotter.
They were here for seven days and the time seemed to go very quickly. We showed our Mothers as much of the surrounding region as we could; taking trips in the car to ‘see the sights’ just like proper tourists. We introduced them to Smokey Joe’s bar and grill, Freddi and Suella’s taverna and of course Aaggi’s Bar on the waterfront by the harbour!
At the beginning of the week, I had cautioned my Mother, “If you go out for a walk from your studio apartment, make sure you walk in the middle of the road.”
“Why?” She demanded to know.
“Well, just behave like Greeks do. They walk in the middle of the road until they hear a car coming because the edges of the roads are very uneven and often just fall off into a ditch!”
Two days later, I got a ‘phone call from my Brother Bill, “Mum’s at the Doctor’s; she fell into the ditch!”
Valerie and I immediately drove over to see what had happened and how she was. She was badly shaken and bruised, but no bones broken. The Doctor had wanted her to go to the hospital for a check-up just to be sure of her condition, but she refused. This is one feisty woman! Two years previously (aged just 84) she had fallen off her step ladder, from where she was hanging curtains, but was up riding her bicycle within two days despite having her wrist in plaster!
“Mum! What were you doing? I told you to walk in the middle of the road.”
“Well, I was so carried away admiring the view that I didn’t notice that I had strayed to the edge of the road and I just fell off!” She explained.
Fate? Well, she had the accident right on the steps at the edge of the Doctor’s house and she was attended to within minutes!
The next ‘happening’ was two days later! From that day to this, I can swear that it was the most stressful day of my life living in The Mani!
I awoke to find that the leak had started to flow again across the kitchen floor and this was not good news. I said to Valerie that I would cook breakfast and then ‘phone Vassilis and ask him to ‘phone Giannis and try to get him to come and look at it again and fix it; for good, I hoped!
When Bill arrived for breakfast, he looked at the water seeping out from under the plinth of the cupboard beneath the sink, and he determined that it was coming from under the tiles and wanted to start digging them up straight away to fix it. There was no way that I was going to allow him to start digging up the tiles around my feet as I was cooking a ‘Full English’ for all six of us, In fact there was no way he was going to start digging up tiles at any time, nor for that matter try to ‘repair’ anything!
He was now becoming quite insistent and quite getting on my nerves as he went around the floor ‘tapping’ and listening for water flowing. A stressful feeling started to creep up on me, but I persevered with the cooking.
Then, just as I was about to serve the breakfast, a lorry and three pick-up trucks arrived at the end of the drive; they were looking for Meerkat Manor.
It was the OTE engineers who had arrived to install the telegraph pole for our landline ‘phone and Internet connection, and they were accompanied by the Surveyors, the local Lineman and the Supervisor; these three in the separate pick-up trucks.
It had only been a few days since we had registered for, and ordered the connection which they said would be ‘a few weeks,’ but here they were! I left the breakfast preparations for the moment and I went out to see them and see what they needed to do.
The Surveyor wanted to come into the house and see how Giannis had completed the telephone wiring inside the house and find where the outside access point was for the telephone supply line to be connected to.
The circuit wiring met with his approval, but he couldn’t find the access point. Together, we went around the inside and outside of the house looking for a wire sticking out of the brickwork; but we found nothing!
The Manager then made an appearance and said that they couldn’t continue without any access point, and that they would have to cancel and come back next month.
Whilst this was going on, I could see the engineers working at the end of the track. One was up a telegraph pole situated on the main track and the others they had already started to unload a telegraph pole by our plot of land and were preparing to erect it. Hey! Our own telegraph pole!
What to do? I ‘phoned Vassilis and explained the situation. He said he would ‘phone Giannis and call me back. A few minutes later, Vasssilis called back and told me that Giannis had not made an external access point! I thanked Vassilis for making the call and asked him to also tell Giannis that the leak was leaking again and could he come to fix it as soon as possible, and he said he would.
“Eferisto,” I replied, in my newly-learned Greek (“Thanks”).
By now, my stress levels were beginning to rise because all the while I was talking to the OTE men, I didn’t know what Bill was up to; he is never one to take “no” for an answer and he always knows best, as he is always telling me! His most regularly used expressions are, “What you don’t understand is ......” and, “What you need to know is .... “
It was then that the local Lineman took control. He came into the house and walked around with me, just to double check that there wasn’t an access point, and we also did the outside circuit of the house; still we could not find a connection point. So, he went to talk with the Manager and they had a ‘noisy’ discussion. One of the things about the way Greeks communicate with each other is that it is always at a high volume of speech, and to non-Greeks (outsiders) it always sounds like a raging argument! They stopped talking, looked at each and turned and smiled at me. They could do it after all.
The local Lineman spoke a little English and he said, “I can fix the access point for you and the others will put the pole up, and we will have you connected in about an hour. Do you have a telephone handset?”
A ‘phone handset? Panic! Why should I want a ‘phone handset? To get connected Dummy! Thank goodness that I had the foresight to buy one after we left to OTE shop to make the application, and I duly went and found where I had stored it and gave it to him and he went off happy. Seemingly, the Manager went off happy too because he got in his car and drove off. This left the Engineers to get on with installing the telegraph pole at the end of the garden.
Where was Bill? And what was he up to? Sure enough, he was up to no good; on his hands and knees still inspecting the floor tiles!
“Bill!” I shouted, “Leave it all alone. Get out while I cook breakfast. Now!”
Somehow, I managed to get the breakfast cooked and I took the plates up stairs to the studio apartment terrace. At that precise moment, I felt like I needed a strong drink; alcoholic! We sat down to eat breakfast and from our vantage point, we could see the Engineers hard at work. I didn’t notice Bill finish his breakfast and slope off down to the garden.
The next thing that I can remember is looking up and seeing Bill, cup of coffee in his hand, standing there trying to tell the Engineers how to erect the telegraph pole! These guys have probably been doing the job for years and here was Bill trying to tell them how to do it better! (Bill is the man in the white baseball cap and white T shirt has his back to the photograph).
This installation was a work of art. They drilled a hole two metres down into the ground.
The diameter was just 3cm wider than that of the telegraph pole. Next, using the crane on their lorry, they hoisted the pole up high and dropped it neatly into the hole; a perfect fit.
Photo: My Brother Bill ‘Supervising’ The Installation.
As it was in so deeply and tightly, it needed no cement to fix it in place, and it appears that this is the traditional way of erecting electricity and telegraph poles in the region.
Next one Engineer was up the telegraph pole on the main track and another was up ‘our’ pole making the wire connection.
I despaired of Bill but left him to it and got on with eating my breakfast and longing for that drink, but little did I know then what was to happen next would be even more stressful!
I heard drilling; a big ‘powerful’ drilling sound, the type that drills make when going through stone!
I looked up, well down actually, and there was an Engineer drilling a hole in the wall below the terrace and into the storage cupboard under the stairs.
“What’s going on?” I said, to no one in particular, however, Bill was back on the terrace and he answered.
“They are drilling a hole to take the connection wire into the house and I suggested that it was best to go in under the stairs.”
I looked out and saw the cable snaking its way across the garden plot, over the front terrace and down the side of the front terrace to the front of the house where they were drilling.
Over the terrace? Whatever next!
“What? No way! My stress levels were now at a peak, and I shouted at the top of my voice, “No way!”
I jumped up and
again shouted at the top of my voice, to nobody in particular, but at the same time to everybody,
“Stop! Stop that drilling right now!”
I rarely swear, but I was so incensed with Bill interfering, and his stupidity in suggesting that a cable passed over the terrace; at head height I might add! What an eye sore that would have been if left like that.
I don’t think the Engineers understood English, but they must have understood the anger in my voice because they stopped drilling straight away.
I went down the stairs and into the garden and The Lineman came over and I told him that he was not to connect the ‘phone line like this. I told him that I wanted it taken to the rear of the house and cabled in through the back wall of the house and into the telephone socket on the wall next to the television socket already installed there.
He and the Engineers were not happy. They were not happy? I certainly wasn’t happy with this state of affairs!
More to the point, I wasn’t happy with Bill, and I told him so in no uncertain terms! I swore at him again and I went and had that drink to calm my nerves which were by now highly frazzled!
A few minutes later, I calmed down a bit and came back outside into the garden again and found that after my outburst out-burst, the Lineman and the Engineers had stopped work altogether. I went up to them and explained as best I could to the Lineman that going across the terrace was not acceptable.
I explained that I wanted the line positioned to the top back corner of the house, and then down into the rear of the house, and through the wall there immediately behind and below where the television was located on the wall in the main room.
It Started With an Ouzo Page 12
