To Cut a Long Story Short

by Stavros Allanopolis

  Interestingly, Stavros discovered that Greeks did not really understand an Auction.

  All the items for auction were on display and numbered. Many Greeks came to the viewing and asked,

  “How much is item 7?”

  Anyway, the auction got underway and lasted for almost 90 minutes. It was a very energetic and at times humorous affair. Some bargains were secured. Every item sold, and this event exceeded its target.

  The final result is the most important. Stavros had set himself the target of raising 1,500 Euros for GAIA across the whole programme, and the result was just over 1,800 Euros raised. Success by any standard!

  TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT ….

  …. It’s Business As Usual + More Expense

  June 2013 was proving to be very busy and, almost like business as usual, was to incur more unbudgeted expense.

  First problem of the month was that the Berlingo’s power steering did not appear to be working properly. A visit to the garage confirmed that it required a complete new steering rack and power steering reservoir.

  Panos, the garage owner said to me,

  “When does the Warranty expire?”

  I smiled back at him and confidently answered,

  “It does not expire until17th July.”

  His face said it all; damn!

  “Ok.” He said, “Leave it with me and I will fix everything.”

  Phew! One mega cost avoided!

  Second was the arrival of our friends Pete and Sally. Were we pleased to see them! Their arrival would mean that would take a few days off to spend time with them and we love having them around. More to the point, we loved having Pete around to continue painting the railings.

  Of course we now had even more of them for him to paint; the completion of the perimeter to the whole property.

  Pete was happy for the relaxation in the peace and quiet of the early morning. The sunshine at that time of day (compared to the UK), and also he enjoyed seeing MiMi enjoying herself being free; off the chain.

  MiMi seemed to sense something because she would sit near him and watch him as he painted, as if to say “thanks.”

  Each afternoon, Pete and I would walk MiMi and Bella up the mountain olive groves; they loved to run together. Usually we would go at around 6pm and the sun was still hot.

  It was on a Wednesday when we were on our walk that Bella disappeared for around 15 minutes or so. We kept calling but she failed to return. MiMi had gone off with her too; over a wall and away into another olive grove.

  MiMi eventually returned but still no Bella. We decided to take MiMi back to the car parked nearby and to return to look for Bella.

  As we were walking up the hill towards the car, we looked up and there on the top of the hill was Bella. She was standing there looking at us.

  She was covered in blood!

  My mind raced. Had she been shot? No. We had not heard any shooting.

  Had she found and killed something?

  Had she got into the meat store of a nearby restaurant and had her fill?

  Had she been trapped by something? Barbed wire?

  As we approached her, she was sneezing violently and pawing at her nose. Close up, we saw that her nose was bleeding and the blood was all over her front because as she sneezed it sprayed over her coat.

  We deduced that she must have got something up her nose.

  We got her back to the car and drove home where Valerie and I cleaned her up and had a close look to see if we could see what it was. We couldn’t see anything obvious.

  By 9pm that evening, Bella was still sneezing and obviously in some sort of pain in the nasal area. We called Kostas (the Vet) and he told us to come to the surgery in Kalamata by 9am in the morning.

  How about that? He answered the phone at 9pm. He and his wife Eleni are such great, compassionate people.

  Bella had a restless and ‘noisy’ night. We drove to the surgery and arrived on time. Kostas immediately examined her and declared,

  “We must give her a general anaesthetic as I have to look inside her nose. This is the only way.

  An hour later Kostas emerged from the operating theatre with a smile on his face and said,

  “Success! We were lucky. Look what I found.” He was holding a pair of tweezers in his hand and in the tweezers was a whole grass ‘dart’ and stalk.

  It seemed she had inhaled the dart and it had stuck right up in the top of her nose.

  He explained that if we had arrived another couple of hours later then she may have breathed it all the way into her lungs. If that had happened then it would have become life-threatening. Further, she would have had to go to Athens to be operated on to see if it could be removed. The cost would have been in the region of 4,000 Euros!

  His fee? Just 90 Euros (versus 4,000 Euros in Athens).

  Bella was lucky. We were lucky!

  Within days Bella was back to normal, but every day we were walking her we were nervous when she entered any of the tall grasses.

  It was time for Sally and Pete to leave. It’s always a sad day. We love having them here. They do not come often enough and when they do the time goes too quickly. Mind you, we knew that they would return in 2014 because Pete hadn’t finished painting all the rails!

  TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT ….

  …. Old Age Beckoned And With It Comes The Pension Money!

  Stavros’ birthday is on the 30th June and this year he would be 65 and would qualify for the UK Old Age State Pension; a regular income at last!

  When Valerie and Stuart married it was on the 1st of July. Two important days next to each other; This was by design.

  Stuart knew that Valerie would never forget his birthday (it is not in her nature to be forgetful), so he knew that if ever he forgot their Wedding Anniversary then he would get 24 hours’ notice of it when Valerie said “Happy Birthday.”

  Cunning huh? !!

  To celebrate his 65th Birthday, Stavros and Valerie went with four close friends to a Gypsy Jazz concert at nearby Sonnenlink (a Bio Hotel up in the mountains with an amphitheatre where they present a broad spectrum of musical entertainment).

  They had a great time sipping ‘bubbly’ as the sun set and listening to the changing rhythms of Jazz renditions in the Gypsy style.

  The following day was their Wedding Anniversary and Stavros had a surprise for Valerie.

  Secretly, he had commissioned a glass Butterfly for mounting on the wall of the front terrace.

  Anna and Giorgos own a gallery in Kardamyli, and Anna makes all the glass works and jewellery herself.

  Between them, Anna and Stavros had worked on the design of the butterfly and Anna had crafted it by hand.

  Within minutes of opening the package, Stavros mounted the butterfly on the wall for Valerie to enjoy. He had planned the place to site it and the mounting required and Anna had built the mounting holes into the design.

  Photo: Glass Butterfly Mounted On The Wall

  It looked great! Better even than Stavros had envisaged. Valerie loved it at first sight and marvelled at the way the sun shone through the glass. It was a ‘match’ to the ceramic butterfly mounted on the other side of the window (a previous Wedding Anniversary present).

  Stavros also picked a rose from the garden to put on the table that evening; ever the romantic!

  Photo: Rose In The Glass Vase

  Stavros decided on a unique Birthday and Anniversary present for himself.

  He decided to lay new stone paths and create a thistle feature close to the gazebo.

  Different or what!

  By now, Bella and MiMi had developed the habit of racing around the paths of Meerkat Manor’s garden. The paths were quite narrow and in consequence, on the bends, they would often career into the plants. New, wider paths would reduce the incidence of plants being damaged.

  Bella also had a tendency to climb up into the flower pots by the gazebo, so the pots were removed and a stone circle with a large thistle planted in it should, with a bit of
luck, put an end to this practice.

  Photo: New Stone Circle And Thistle

  TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT ….

  …. July Heralded More Expense – This Time It Is The Berlingo

  Once the paths were widened and the stone circle created and planted out, life went back to daily routine; dog walking, gardening and dog walking.

  A funny thing happened on 19th July.

  The circumstances were not funny but what followed by way of Greek ‘living’ was.

  As Stavros was passing a car turning off the road into the petrol garage, he changed down into second gear with the intention of accelerating past the turning vehicle. As he did so the clutch cable snapped!

  The Berlingo was now going nowhere. However, he could not have broken down at a better place; right outside Takis’ garage.

  Stavros got out of the car and went to find Takis who in turn, upon inspection, confirmed that it was indeed the clutch cable.

  “What time is it?” Takis enquired.

  “12.30pm.” replied Stavros.

  “Good. We can order a replacement from Kalamata and get it put on the 1.15pm coach to Agios Nikolaos and we can repair it.”

  Just like that.

  “Please get your papers for the car’s model number etc.” Takis called out as he headed for the telephone in the office.

  “Good.” He said, “It is ordered and it will be here by 14.45pm and the car will be repaired by 4pm. Sit down here with me. Wait. Chat”

  This was quite incredible by any standards, yet alone Greece.

  I wanted to go home, but I sat down and waited the two hours plus until the coach arrived. It stopped outside the garage and the driver tossed the parcel onto the forecourt and carried on down into the harbour of Agios Nikolaos.

  See. Coaches around these parts are the local parcel and courier service too!

  My heart sank though when I saw the shape of the package. It was a box and it should have been a long ‘pole like’ package containing the clutch cable.

  Sure enough it was a set of clutch plates in the box. Right model year for the Berlingo but the wrong part!

  Takis looked at me.

  “They made a mistake. All is not lost my friend. My son is in Kalamata and I will ‘phone him and ask him to collect the cable and bring it home with him.

  The ‘phone call was made and the confirmation of collection / delivery was confirmed.

  Next Takis ‘phoned the parts company in Kalamata and re-ordered the correct part; the clutch cable.

  “Manual or Automatic?” they enquired, and we confirmed that the cable required was for a manual gearbox.

  “Giannis will be home by about 7pm with the cable. I will call you when he is here.” Takis declared.

  “Thanks. I’ll walk home and wait for your call.” I replied.

  Because I wanted to get the job done as quickly as possible, I didn’t wait for him to call. I returned at 6.30pm and waited with Takis. I had taken some beers to pass the time and cool off. Just as well that I took a six-pack as he had three friends sitting there with him.

  They were fully engaged in ‘heated’ Greek exchanges (not arguments but enthusiastic exchanges), and I sat listening and waiting and contemplated this extra ordinary life I live here.

  At around 7.20pm Giannis turned up and proudly presented me with the ‘pole like’ package. Great! However, upon closer examination it was not so great; it was too short!

  They had sent the cable for an automatic gear box!

  “All is not lost my friend,” declared Takis. “We will now order the correct item. The parts shop does not close until 8pm and I will get them to take it to the coach station for delivery tomorrow morning. It will be here by 6.30am and your car will be ready by 8am.” This was said in a mildly boasting tone. Takis is not only a helpful man but very proud of his ability to solve problems.

  Thought!

  This situation had been quite tricky. Where would I have been if Takis did not speak English? If I had tried ordering a clutch cable, I dread to think just what might have been delivered!

  Sure enough, when I arrived at 8am the following morning I found that the car was fixed and ready to go. Quite amazing.

  “How much?” I asked aware of the fact that I had not asked the cost in the first place.

  “I don’t know. No rush. Pay me later. Yassas!”

  Now, this is what the Maniots are all about and how their helpfulness and friendliness attracted Valerie and I to the region in the first place.

  The footnote to this ‘adventure’ is that it took five weeks before Takis told me how much it had cost to repair the car. I would pass by every two or three days and ask, “How much?” and the response was a ‘shrug’ accompanied by, “I don’t know. There is no hurry. Pay me later.”

  How could I pay him later if I didn’t know how much I owed him?

  Eventually was answer was forthcoming, “45 Euros for the cable and 15 Euros for the labour. 60 Euros total.”

  What? !!

  I paid with indecent haste before I found out if he had made a mistake!

  Later when I asked the Citroen garage how much it would have cost they advised 60 Euros for the Cable and 120 Euros for fitting. Total 180 Euros.

  Looking back it was quite comical, but at the time it was quite stressful; the incident itself, and then not knowing how much it cost.

  TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT ….

  …. Even More Expense – This Time It Is The Income Tax – Again!

  You may remember that on last year’s Tax Statement my tax was calculated and then the Government added a 53% ‘deposit’ on the next year’s tax? Well true to their word, it did appear at the top of my statement as a ‘credit’ against the tax due for 2012. So far, so good.

  Well, not quite. The tax calculation was made and a figure confirmed as due. However, this year, and again ‘for my convenience’ the ‘deposit’ required against next year has risen to 81%!

  Now, if that is not bad enough, during 2013 to date I have had no work whatsoever, so I may not be due to pay any tax, but they have the deposit!

  TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT ….

  …. August 2013 Was To Be A Very Happy Month And Sad Too

  For the last two weeks, most days, by mid-day the temperature is above 40C / 104F and today is once again a very hot day. Valerie and I worked in the garden, albeit at a slower pace.

  There seemed to be a pattern to the Menagerie’s lives too.

  Owen, Minstrel and Snowball slept for most of the day, finding their different spots in the shade of the trees around Meerkat Manor.

  MiMi and Bella would have their walk in the morning, followed by breakfast and then stretch out somewhere in the garden to sleep in the warmth of the sun.

  On the evening of 14th August, the pattern changed a little. As usual, Owen came in through the window of the bathroom to get his supper. This was normal. He would sleep all day, come for supper and then go out ‘on the tiles’ all night until he returned in the morning for his breakfast, and he would usually go out and patrol the walls of Meerkat Manor before finding a comfy place to lie down and sleep for the day.

  Photo: Owen On Patrol At Meerkat Manor

  That evening, he ate his supper but instead of heading straight out he sat there purring and somehow enjoyed me stroking him. Not like him at all. In recent months he had become quite curmudgeonly. This was quite a surprise. In the end, he stayed for around 20 minutes then headed out into the night.

  Over dinner that night I told Valerie how nice it was for him to stay and enjoy being stroked.

  Come the morning of 15th August it was time to celebrate Bella’s Birthday / Arrival at Meerkat Manor. Wow! Was it really a year? Had she really grown from a 5 day old puppy weighing just 300 grammes into this 43 kilos / 95lbs dog? The answer was a resounding yes! Here she was, against all the odds, a strong, lively and loving dog.

  Happy Birthday Bella Baby.

  Photo: Bella At 1 Year Old

  She ha
d a special ham bone as a birthday treat (MiMi got one too!).

  Wow! What a year! We marvelled at how far Bella had come. She is now growing in size and weight at an alarming rate. She is already bigger than MiMi. Every day we wondered just how big she would eventually become? Scary to speculate!

  Photo: Bella At The Door On Her 1st Birthday

  Owen didn’t return that night for supper. We were not overly worried as he had done this before. However, Owen also didn’t return the following morning for breakfast. Now we were beginning to be concerned as this was the longest ‘absence’ on his part. Owen didn’t return for supper that day either. We were really worried now, so I set out with a torch to go and look for him. Looking all around the olive groves near to the house and calling his name, there was no sign of him. The search proved fruitless.

  The following morning as I set out once again to search for him, I found him. Stretched out in peaceful repose in the garden next door. He looked fast asleep but on closer inspection, he was dead. Oh Owen.

  On reflection, on the night of the 14th he was trying to tell me something. He was saying,

  “Dad, it’s time. I’m going now. I love you. Stroke me a while before I go. You and Mum gave me a great life. Especially here in Greece. Thank you”

  Cats do this. They go away to lie down and die. So lonely.

  We were devastated.

  We tenderly collected him, wrapped him up and buried him in the second garden, close to the wall where the tap is.

  I got Nikos our builder friend to build a stone plot for him and we planted a flower for him to keep him in the shade in his resting place.

  Sentimental? Certainly! He had had a good life and was just over 16 years old. He had come a long way from being a rescue kitten. We adopted him at six months old after he had recovered from being badly treated; a cigarette stubbed out in his eye and being kicked in the stomach. He had half of his stomach removed, lived to tell the tale and moved in with us.

  We miss him. We regret that we didn’t see this coming and that we didn’t have the chance to say goodbye and tell him how much we loved him, and how much happiness he had given us over the years. So sad that he had to die all alone.