At Colmar, Davide the taxi driver meets me outside the station and takes me to my hotel.
I have been visiting Colmar for 11 years, firstly from the UK and now from Greece. I use the same taxi driver and stay in the same hotel each visit. I also eat in the same restaurant every night, and I usually eat the same meal every night too! (Don’t even think about it!).
Because my routine has been the same, people know and recognise me; Taxi, Hotel and Restaurant.
That first evening, as I arrive at the restaurant, I am greeted by the same smiling waitress and shown to my table and asked, “Meme chose?” (The usual?)
After confirming, “Qui, merci” (yes, thank you) I open my Kindle to read my book. I love this place, and I love the peace and quiet as I drink, eat and read at my little table in the corner of the restaurant. The ‘quiet’ is only broken when the waitress brings me a glass of sparkling Cremant, followed by my meal and a glass of Merlot.
However, on this visit, my routine was going to change.
TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT ….
…. Mary Jane and Dan Came To Stavros’ Rescue
As I sipped my chilled, sparkling Cremant, I opened my Kindle at the page where I last finished reading. Within minutes I was fully engaged in the story again. However, also within minutes, the Kindle registered ‘recharge.’ Please be aware that your battery is almost run out.
Damn! I forgot to charge it before leaving and I had not brought my charger with me.
Calamity! Nothing to read tonight and I would have to buy a paperback after work the next day.
I was not happy, and it must have shown to other diners because, as I sat there ‘fuming’ at myself for being so stupid not to charge it up, I heard a voice,
“Excuse me. You look troubled. Hello. My name is Mary Jane and this is my husband Dan. We are from Ohio, U. S. of A.”
I looked to the table next to me and replied, “Hello.”
“Do you have a problem?” Mary Jane continued.
I did not need this ‘intrusion’ whilst I contemplated what to do without my Kindle. The book was proving to be very good too!
“Yes. My Kindle has run out of battery. I do not have my charger with me, and I am staying here for a week.” I tried to be polite.
“Well, you know what, we have ours back at the hotel. You can use it if you want. We are here on a wine tour and are here for another two days. We could meet tomorrow and I can loan it to you.” Mary Jane enthused.
Hmmn. Things could be looking up for Stavros.
I tried a smile and replied, “Well, I come here every night, so I could meet you here tomorrow, if that works for you?”
“Well, we like it here so we could, couldn’t we Dan?” said Mary Jane, looking over at her husband Dan. Dan’s reply was affirmative.
So, we reached the agreement to meet.
As we ate our meals, we exchanged information about ourselves and so on and so forth; as you do. It turned out that they were both Lecturers at Ohio State University and were on vacation in Europe. They both love wine, hence the wine tour of the whole Alsace Region and the Wineries.
As I was leaving, I gave her my business card with my details, and said,
“Thanks for helping. I’ll see you here at the same time tomorrow.”
I left them still sipping their wines and headed off for a walk around the town before returning to the hotel.
When I returned to my room, I ‘phoned Valerie to say that I had arrived safe and sound and to say goodnight.
“Who is Mary Jane who says she is looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow?” was Valerie’s first comment. “I received an E-mail from her half an ago.” She continued.
Huh! So American to send an E-mail to confirm tomorrow’s schedule!
I explained that the Kindle was ‘flat’ etc. etc. and the story of how I met Mary Jane and Dan in the restaurant and planned to meet them tomorrow to get it charged up.
As planned, we met the following evening, got the Kindle on charge and proceeded to have dinner together. Well, side by side tables.
As I was leaving (with fully charged Kindle), in true American hospitality style, they said,
“If ever you come to Ohio then come and look us up.”
I doubted that I would ever go to Ohio and told them so, but I did proffer,
“If ever you come to Greece, come to The Mani and see Valerie and me at Meerkat Manor.”
“We sure will!” They chimed in unison.
We shook hands and I left them to enjoy their wines once more. I set off for a walk before returning to the hotel, thinking. why would I want to visit Ohio? ! !
Anyway, I was very pleased to have a fully charged Kindle. It would last me until I got home at the end of the week.
It seemed like it was a long week, and a long time to be away from Meerkat Manor and Valerie, and now for the first time MiMi. I was really looking forward to seeing them all again.
For this work, I leave home on Monday at 6.15am in the morning and arrive at the hotel on Monday evening around 7.15pm. A long travel day. I finish work on Thursday afternoon at 5pm and travel to Athens, arriving 1am Friday morning. I stay at the Airport hotel and sleep for a few hours. When I awake I start my return journey to Meerkat Manor arriving around 1pm.
Hard work but needs must!
The good news that accompanied this work was that it was to be repeated again in June.
MasterCard had better look out! Stavros may yet be in a position to pay off the outstanding balance!
TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT ….
…. June Was Quite Hectic But No Unexpected Bills
Our good friends Sally and Pete arrived to stay for 10 days.
They were both smitten by MiMi and we all had a great time together. Especially Pete painting the railings! For Pete, the deal remained the same – he would paint the railings non-stop from 6.30am to 9.30am in return for me taking him a cup of coffee every 20 minutes. Seemingly he enjoys the tranquillity at that time in the morning here in Agios Nikolaos; just the ‘silence’ and the sound of the waves rolling up onto the beach in the distance. Not hard work, but relaxing. This suits Sally too as she can lie in bed until quite late, compared to her usual 6am start in order to go to work back home in the UK.
I travelled to Colmar once more and was away for a week. No dramas. Usual routine and accompanied by a fully charged Kindle AND a charger (just in case!).
When I returned, I discovered that MiMi had started to dig holes around the garden. Also, she seemed to find that it was great fun to dig up and chew the water irrigation pipes!
As I filled the holes and mended the plastic piping, I decided to make an addition to the garden; statues.
Photo: Stone Heart
Three items were added; A stone in the shape of a heart and a piece of olive tree wood that was obviously two trees growing together before they were chopped down.
Photo: Unusual Piece Of Olive Tree Wood – Twin Trunks
The third item was a piece of driftwood that I found and it was shaped like a Meerkat (depending on the angle that you looked at it!).
Photo: Driftwood Statue In Shape Of Meerkat
It was starting to get hot; hotter every day from early morning until late in the evening.
These hotter days and evenings encouraged the Cacti to flower. We had two particularly fine specimens.
Photo: Cacti Flower At Top Of A Spire
Photo: Cacti Flower And Buds Soon-To-Open Too
TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT ….
…. July Was To Be VERY Hot
For our Wedding Anniversary, Valerie bought me a T Shirt with an interesting legend on the front.
Photo: Printed On The Front Of The T Shirt
Valerie and I continued to walk MiMi three times a day through the olive groves. It was good to see MiMi enjoying the freedom and the running as opposed to being kept on the long chain when at home at Meerkat Manor.
The temperature was rising daily, and for most of July the t
emperatures (in Fahrenheit / Centigrade) were as follows:
8am: 86F / 30C
10am: 95C / 35C
Noon: 100F / 38C
2pm: 104- 114F / 40 – 46 C
4pm: 104F / 40C
6pm: 95F / 35C
8pm: 95F / 35C
10pm: 86F / 30C
Midnight: 86F / 30C
By 8am the following day the temperature was still 86F / 30C ! !
Now, that is hot ‘living’ by any standard. When we first moved to Agios Nikolaos, we found the relentless heat hard to handle. Four years on we had acclimatised ourselves. The first-learned Greek expression comes to mind, “Siga, siga. Isos Avrio” – “Slowly, slowly. Maybe Tomorrow.” That is how ‘living’ was …. When it got too hot to work then we would decide to stop and start again the following day. We had all the time in the world.
TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT ….
…. The Government Wanted More Money From Stavros
July also proved to be very ‘hot’ for Stavros but not from the sun.
He completed his tax assessment and was very surprised and concerned to read one of the figures on the Government invoice.
The Income Tax had been calculated and stated. The number was in line with the estimate. However the figure that caused the alarm was an additional 51% ‘deposit’ on the following year’s assessment. The Greek translation said that this advance payment required was “for my convenience.” ! !
I ‘phoned my Accountant and asked,
“What if I don’t earn anything next year, do I get my money back?”
She replied, “And the next stupid question is what?”
She continued, “It will ‘roll over’ and carry forward every year for the rest of your life.”
A Greek Government masterstroke in raising extra funds!
There was ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ as the following week Valerie was offered a short-term job as a Courier on an imminent coach tour in The Mani; one of 11 coaches ferrying a group of tourists visiting the region.
Every extra Euro will help pay off the National Debt.
Mind you, it proved to be very hard work for Valerie; drive to the Airport, park car and pick up at tourists at the Airport, check them onto the coaches, and travel to hotel and check them into the hotel. The round trip from home to home lasted 10 hours.
There was also work to do in the evenings. Check guests on to the coach from the hotel, drive to ‘typical mountain village for traditional dinner’ and wait whilst the tourists dined and then return them to the hotel. For this round trip Valerie returned to Meerkat Manor at 3.30am.
Who said it was an easy life ‘living the dream’? !!
TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT ….
…. 1st Of August 2012 Was A Day To Be Remembered
To cut a long story short …. It rained!
The 1st of August 2012 was a memorable day. At 2.28pm it rained! There had been a ‘rumbling’ of thunder since around one ‘ o clock, but no black clouds to be seen anywhere. Then at around 2.10pm it became noticeably cooler, a breeze developed and dark clouds appeared in the sky. The sky started to get very dark and then lightning flashes started right overhead!
“Wow! It’s going to rain,” I said.
Sure enough it did. The rain cascaded from out of the sky; large, heavy drops at 2.28pm.
Three minutes later they stopped falling, and at 2.31pm it was bright sunlight again, and ‘back to normal’ as they say!
Now it was 15th August 2012. It was around mid-day and it was 104F / 40C. There I was throwing the rubbish in the bins; Household Waste on one side of the road and Recycled Waste on the other side. As I crossed the road to the Recycled Bins, to talk to some friends, we heard some loud noises. At first we thought it was Jay birds screeching in the nearby trees, but no. Then we thought it might be cats in the olive grove, but no. It appeared to be coming from inside one of the Recycled Waste Bins.
So, I looked inside the bin and I thought that maybe it was a cat scavenging for food inside the bin (it often happens), but I couldn’t see anything.
The noise continued, and if anything it was getting louder, and had a desperate and urgent tone to it.
I started unloading the boxes and bags of rubbish inside the bin. As I did so, I caught sight of a plastic bag that was ‘moving’ and the sound seemed to be coming from inside it.
I reached in and pulled the bag out. It was securely tied, but there definitely movement from within and the sound was definitely coming from within the bag.
What could it be? As my friends watched, I untied the bag and proceeded to empty the contents out onto the road. Out slid food peelings and screwed up balls of tin foil. Also, to my astonishment, a small ‘bundle’ of fur!
I already knew that Greeks are known for not being good with pets, but this was the first time I had discovered anything living that had been discarded. The ‘bundle’ of fur had been put in a plastic carrier bag, it had then been tied up and thrown away in the rubbish bins; The ‘bundle’ was still living and in temperatures of 104F / 40C.
At first I thought it might be a kitten that had been thrown away to be killed (a common practice in Greece). Then I thought that it might be a baby Pine Marten that had met a similar fate, but it didn’t look the right colour. This ‘bundle’ was white fur.
What was it? I cleared away the peelings and the foil to take a closer look. My heart was pounding as I peered closer.
TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT ….
…. It Was A Puppy!
I lifted ‘it’ up to look more closely, and to my amazement I realised that it really was a puppy. I had it in the palm of my hand and it was yelping and struggling; kicking its tiny paws.
I put it down in the shade of the bins and looked at it thinking what to do. How could it survive without its Mother and in this heat?
“Have you got a hammer or spanner in the car?” One of my friends said, “We’ll have to put it out of its misery; it won’t survive.”
I looked up and said, “Even if I did, I could never do that. Look! It’s fighting to survive against all the odds. It deserves a chance.”
I pulled my mobile out of my pocket and called Valerie.
“Best get ready with a towel, we’re on a rescue mission. I’m on my way back to get you”
I drove to the house and collected Valerie and the towel and explained what had happened as I drove back to the bin area. I was hoping that we were still in time to try and save the puppy.
We arrived, and there it was; still alive. Just. It was clearly exhausted, but still crying and obviously very distressed. The temperature was extremely high; heaven knows what it was like inside the bag under all the rubbish!
As we stood there, ‘it’ crawled along the ground for a metre or so and then slumped.
“It’s a fighter!” I said, and gently picked it up and wrapped it in the towel Valerie had brought with her.
We had a plan. We drove straight to the house of our friends Sue and Chris who save and look after stray cats.
As the four of us stood there looking at this tiny ball of fur, we all had tears in our eyes and we decided that as it was so young that we should try and feed it with a tiny pipette and use drops of milk with honey to give it liquid and energy.
This was a very emotional few minutes as I explained how I had discovered the puppy. So much so that I said to Chris,
“I need a drink. A large Ouzo please.”
He passed it to me and I said, “Here’s to survival.”
So, we took ‘it’ home and Valerie and I cleaned it up and gave it some milk.
Photo: The Puppy
Its eyes and ears were closed, so it must have been less than 10 days old.
Photo: The Puppy – Cleaned Up
How can people do this ? ! !
When we had gently sponged away all the filth of the rubbish in the bag, it was clear that the puppy was indeed white and with some creamy / beige marking. So, we called it 'Bailey' because it looks the
same colour as a glass of Baileys Liqueur! Then, until we knew for certain, we decided to call ‘it’ a 'her' .... more dignified!
We found a shoe box and put her in it still wrapped in the blanket. She appeared to go to sleep. She was not struggling or screeching anymore and was breathing regularly rather than panting as she had been hitherto. Maybe she would survive. We hoped so.
We called Kostas (MiMi’s vet) and he was not hopeful of survival with her being so young, without her Mother and suffering so many traumas, but he said if she survived the night then he would see her the following evening.
She survived the night so the following evening we took her to see Kostas. He confirmed that she was a 'she' and was only 5 or 6 days old.
Photo: The Ruler Shows She Is Only 20 Centimetres Long
He gave us some high protein dried milk and said "every 2 hours for two weeks and bring her back, if she is still alive."
Well, we were now on her 11th day of life and she was still alive, and she sleeps in a small cage (the cat cage that Owen used to travel in). During the day she lays in the cage in the living area and a night she is at the side of the bed on Valerie’s side. She measures just 20 centimetres.
TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT ….
…. We Now Have A Menagerie At Meerkat Manor
The days turned into weeks, and our puppy was obviously growing stronger. Kostas was amazed that she survived and was very complimentary about our dedication to looking after ‘Bailey’s’ needs as she started to recover from her life-threatening ordeal and begin to grow.
Photo: ‘Bailey’s First Meal Of Solid Food At 18 Days’ Old
To Cut a Long Story Short Page 6
