Right, so there I was a couple of weeks ago raving about our grapes. Remember? For the first time ever we had grapes we could eat on our vine beside the patio and we were well pleased and excited. If you didn't see it, check out this post. I suppose we probably had a kilo or two, which at the time I was pretty chuffed with.
Today we dropped by to see our friend Eva, who's the head chef at the Coralli, near Pefkos, by the way. She and her family have a vine which provides lots of shade in front of her parents' house, which is two doors along from her own. As we were leaving, she said, "Take some grapes with you, we can't eat them all."
Now, just as a reminder, here again was our complete harvest (minus a bunch we gave to Wendy, next door) ...
Ever had that feeling that you've been slightly outdone? Ours were about the size of a large fingernail, Eva's? Ahem, well...
Puts our little harvest into perspective, doesn't it? Plus, these are what you'd actually call grapes. Size-wise they're almost too big to pop one into your mouth whole. It's easier to take a bite out of them first. Size matters, even in grape-world.
Time to be thankful if you live in the UK. As you'll know, I was over there a week or so ago and - yes indeed - it was warm. I have to say, though, that overnight is where you feel the difference between there and Rhodes. Whereas from around 11.00am until about 5.00pm the temperature in the UK was indeed touching something like what we get here, it was 28ºC after midnight when I landed back on Rhodes last week, whilst it was a wonderfully cool 18ºC overnight in Bath. Be grateful UK folk.
Plus, I see that parts of the UK have now had some much-needed rain, which we'd give our eye teeth for here during July.
I was sitting in the Top Three yesterday when Spiros' and Maria's son Dimitris turned up to start work. As I was busy checking my emails on the iPad at the time, I simply raised my head and called out a greeting to him. Dimitris, though, called to me to look up for some reason, and so I did. He was nodding his head in a sideways direction, as if to say, "Look!"
At first it didn't register, what I was I supposed to be looking at? Then it hit me...
The black Ford is Dimitri's car. I hadn't seen it for three months because he'd had a road accident, which had been entirely the fault of the other driver, who'd hit his car hard in the front left wing, the one nearest to me in the photo above. The windscreen had been shattered and the whole front end made quite a mess of. Now, like in the UK, car insurance in Greece is compulsory, and I'd say the premiums are fairly similar cost-wise.
There is, however, a whopping difference between car insurance in Greece and that in the UK. Looking at the car in the photo, I have to admit, the body shop did an amazing job. I remarked on the quality of the paint job especially, which truly looked exceptional. But it had taken three months for him to have it back on the road. He told me that there was still a piece that goes under the engine, you know, that kind of guard affair that protects the sump from glancing blows, which was still not fitted as it had to be ordered from Germany and hadn't come yet.
That's not what I'm on about though. The real difference is this: You have a smash, right? So, if the insurance agrees to cover it, you'd think that would bring you great relief.
Think again.
In this case Dimitris told me that the cost of this repair had been in the thousands. I'll not be more specific than that. There's no need. What I want to stress is the fact that, even if the insurance company agrees to cover the costs, you have to pay first. Yes, you pay the garage and then submit your claim for reimbursement to the insurance company. Ouch.
This means that, if you haven't got the spare cash, you may even have to borrow it, assuming you can that is, if you want your wheels back on the road. I knew a couple some years ago whose car caught fire while they were driving in Lothiarika, near Lardos. It was only many months after the insurance company had agreed to pay for the write-off (or, as the Americans would say a 'total') that the couple eventually received the money from the company. During all that time they'd had to borrow from friends to get another car. In fact, the whole affair cost them a friendship in the end, owing (no pun!) to how long the whole matter took to be resolved.
Kind of makes you all the more vigilant while driving, especially when, here on Rhodes, there's a major road accident occurring almost daily during the summer season.
I don't think I'll go out in the car right now, I think I'll just eat some grapes and sip a cool drink in the shade on the patio.
Drive carefully.
Today we dropped by to see our friend Eva, who's the head chef at the Coralli, near Pefkos, by the way. She and her family have a vine which provides lots of shade in front of her parents' house, which is two doors along from her own. As we were leaving, she said, "Take some grapes with you, we can't eat them all."
Now, just as a reminder, here again was our complete harvest (minus a bunch we gave to Wendy, next door) ...
Ever had that feeling that you've been slightly outdone? Ours were about the size of a large fingernail, Eva's? Ahem, well...
Puts our little harvest into perspective, doesn't it? Plus, these are what you'd actually call grapes. Size-wise they're almost too big to pop one into your mouth whole. It's easier to take a bite out of them first. Size matters, even in grape-world.
•
Time to be thankful if you live in the UK. As you'll know, I was over there a week or so ago and - yes indeed - it was warm. I have to say, though, that overnight is where you feel the difference between there and Rhodes. Whereas from around 11.00am until about 5.00pm the temperature in the UK was indeed touching something like what we get here, it was 28ºC after midnight when I landed back on Rhodes last week, whilst it was a wonderfully cool 18ºC overnight in Bath. Be grateful UK folk.
Plus, I see that parts of the UK have now had some much-needed rain, which we'd give our eye teeth for here during July.
I was sitting in the Top Three yesterday when Spiros' and Maria's son Dimitris turned up to start work. As I was busy checking my emails on the iPad at the time, I simply raised my head and called out a greeting to him. Dimitris, though, called to me to look up for some reason, and so I did. He was nodding his head in a sideways direction, as if to say, "Look!"
At first it didn't register, what I was I supposed to be looking at? Then it hit me...
The black Ford is Dimitri's car. I hadn't seen it for three months because he'd had a road accident, which had been entirely the fault of the other driver, who'd hit his car hard in the front left wing, the one nearest to me in the photo above. The windscreen had been shattered and the whole front end made quite a mess of. Now, like in the UK, car insurance in Greece is compulsory, and I'd say the premiums are fairly similar cost-wise.
There is, however, a whopping difference between car insurance in Greece and that in the UK. Looking at the car in the photo, I have to admit, the body shop did an amazing job. I remarked on the quality of the paint job especially, which truly looked exceptional. But it had taken three months for him to have it back on the road. He told me that there was still a piece that goes under the engine, you know, that kind of guard affair that protects the sump from glancing blows, which was still not fitted as it had to be ordered from Germany and hadn't come yet.
That's not what I'm on about though. The real difference is this: You have a smash, right? So, if the insurance agrees to cover it, you'd think that would bring you great relief.
Think again.
In this case Dimitris told me that the cost of this repair had been in the thousands. I'll not be more specific than that. There's no need. What I want to stress is the fact that, even if the insurance company agrees to cover the costs, you have to pay first. Yes, you pay the garage and then submit your claim for reimbursement to the insurance company. Ouch.
This means that, if you haven't got the spare cash, you may even have to borrow it, assuming you can that is, if you want your wheels back on the road. I knew a couple some years ago whose car caught fire while they were driving in Lothiarika, near Lardos. It was only many months after the insurance company had agreed to pay for the write-off (or, as the Americans would say a 'total') that the couple eventually received the money from the company. During all that time they'd had to borrow from friends to get another car. In fact, the whole affair cost them a friendship in the end, owing (no pun!) to how long the whole matter took to be resolved.
Kind of makes you all the more vigilant while driving, especially when, here on Rhodes, there's a major road accident occurring almost daily during the summer season.
I don't think I'll go out in the car right now, I think I'll just eat some grapes and sip a cool drink in the shade on the patio.
Drive carefully.
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