There and Back Again

On top of Kelston Roundhill, about half a mile from Bath Racecourse, UK.

Well, I've been back in the UK for a week and returned home to Rhodes last Wed-Thursday, touching down at just after midnight Thursday morning, the 19th. As always, I have mixed emotions about this 'flying' visit, as it was primarily to be at the funeral of my dear wife's sister, who sadly died at the early age of 68. She looked much younger too, which makes the whole thing even more tragic.

Seven days staying on the outskirts of my home town (or rather, to be precise - 'city') of Bath meant I was able to do some superb walks along the Cotswold Way, which skirts the area where my brother-in-law lives, known as Upper Weston, and trails up to the Bath Racecourse and beyond (it's actually over a hundred miles long in its entirety). On more than one occasion I was able to take my brother-in-law's oh-so-lovable dog Chico with me...

What I was struck by this time, was the fact that much of the English countryside and the roadside verges were almost the same colour as the Rhodean hills and fields this summer, owing to the lack of rainfall there.

Viewpoint from the far corner of Bath Racecourse, with Kelston Roundhill clearly visible.

The British countryside hasn't looked this "Greek" for many a summer.

The regulation refreshment stop, of course primarily to give Chico a bowl of water. But I had to pass the time while I was waiting somehow. This is the garden of the Blathwayt Arms, situated right beside Bath Racecourse.

During my stay, apart from spending long hours simply talking with my host, I was also able to wander into the city for a few odds and ends that I wanted to bring back with me. Just some small stuff was needed, since I was travelling only with hand luggage, which is so much less stressful if you can do it. But whilst in the city I was faced with a dilemma that reminded me of how uncivilised it still is in cafés and cake shops in the UK. I don't want to knock it unduly, I still love the place of my birth and thoroughly enjoyed the vibrancy of the street scene there. The city centre is brimming with outdoor areas for enjoying a snack or a drink. There are street musicians and fire eaters, human statues that would knock those you see here in Rhodes into a cocked hat and side stalls selling crafts and local produce. There are several excellent music venues, one of which is playing host on August 3rd to the excellent blues-rock band Catfish, who I had the pleasure of watching on the lawn at the Lindos Athena hotel a few weeks ago. If you're in the Bath area during early August, I thoroughly recommend getting along to the Komedia (formerly the Beau Nash cinema) to see them. I was blown away.

No, returning to my comment about what I consider to be 'uncivilised', I'll illustrate. If you're alone and you feel like taking the weight off your feet while you enjoy a cup of coffee at an outdoor table, you are faced with a major problem. Here in Greece, and indeed across most of Europe, you simply find a free table, park your bum and await the table service. The only exception here in Rhodes that I'm aware of to this entirely logical and 'civilised' way of doing things is at the Rhodes branch of Starbucks, and I won't go in there on principle.

In the UK though, you have no choice but to enter the store/café/establishment an queue at the counter to be served your choice of drink or snack. I arrived at the bottom of Burton Street and noted that outside the West Cornwall Pasty Co's premises there were two empty tables. Now, there was no way I could guarantee that I'd be able to sit at one of these because I first had to go inside, order my Americana and then be told once I'd paid (talk about illogical), "We'll bring it out to you."

By the time I'd been through this ritual, one of the free tables already had a couple of people sitting at it, while another of their party had come inside to queue beside me. Exiting the building, having now paid for my coffee, I was relieved beyond belief to just make it to the other table before a couple of other people nabbed it. See, it's OK (in a way) if you're with company, because then one or more of your party can nab the table while someone else goes in to place the order and pay, but if you're on your own, well, I was faced with the real possibility of some young spotty waiter or waitress (not sure if one could really call them that, since they don't actually 'wait' at tables) exiting the building with my coffee on a tray, only to find that I had nowhere to sit. I ask you, in all sincerity, when are the café and bar owners in the UK going to get it? I mean, if they can bring your drink out to you while you hopefully grab a table in expectation, then why the hell can't they simply take your order at the table anyway? 

I 'get' one fear that I'm sure is a factor here -  they fully expect a percentage of people to scarper without paying. But there's a simple remedy to that, and it's the one employed in Cardiff's vibrant 'café quarter', and that's simply to take payment along with the order. It's a sad state of affairs, though, when fear of people clearing off without paying overrides the desire to provide a civilised service. All across the continent, and - of course - here in Rhodes, the system works on an element of trust, and by far the majority of customers deposit the money on the table when they get up to leave. In the UK they'll happily bring your drink out to you, plus clear the table after you've left, but actually wait at table to take your order, well that appears to still be beyond them. Grrr!

So there you are, that's my gripe out of the way. One thing I did love about being in the UK this time was the temperatures. Everyone was complaining about the heat, but it felt to me like I had the air-conditioning on all the time - out of doors. Lots are comparing this summer in the UK to the summer of 1976. Frankly, in my opinion that's a bit too hopeful. I was living in Bath back then and I remember that the skies were cloudless for three months. It was a truly Mediterranean summer in 1976. This year, yes it's not rained all that much, yes it's warm, but the skies are frequently cloudy with sunny intervals. I rarely saw a completely blue sky whilst I was there.

Not that it mattered much, since it was, nevertheless, wonderful to be able to eat breakfast and evening meal out on my brother-n-law's secluded patio.

Next post will probably be back to life on Rhodes...