Nostalgia, not what it used to be

Since I've now given up working as an excursion escort, I've been trawling through old photographs of the glory days of doing boat trips. So, here are some acutely embarrassing photos taken over the past decade or so whilst doing "Bay to Bay" and "Lazy Day Cruise", plus one or two from Halki as well. At least there are one or two passably OK ones in there somewhere.

They're not in any particular order, so I'll just caption them...

This is me with the inimitable Mihali, whose boat The 'Captain Mike' is named after him. He's a true one-off and was always a lot of fun to work with.

Babis, who runs the wonderful Odyssey Taverna in the Old Town. I count him as a true friend after all these years. Me and the better half will continue to patronise the Odyssey at every opportunity.

Arriving on Halki and making a spirited attempt at communicating our departure time for the six or more language groups that we used to have aboard the boat.

The bow of the Captain Mike (I think!)

My beloved and I with Mihali and his mum Levkosia, who makes the best moussaka in Greece. This is at their lovely traditional taverna on the front at Halki.

I've worked on some truly lovely boats, with some first class people. Here's Adonis, who owns the beautiful Magellanos, waiting for my party to board at Kolymbia.

The Magellanos at anchor.

Getting all reflective on the bowsprit of the Magellanos (Oh, yes, I know all the nautical terms. The bowsprit's at the sharp end).

My good friend Zois, who's a Rory Gallagher fan. He also runs the Babis taverna on the front at Halki. Knows a good tuna when he hears one, right?

At yet another of my fave tavernas on Halki, Maria's. Location-wise, it's one of my favourite places in the world to eat.

Manolis the TUI driver, whose heart is as big as his girth. During the school holidays his son Stratos used to come along with us and he'd serve as my "secretary," taking the tickets from the guests on the coach.

One of our many sightings of dolphins. Here it's Kalathos Bay and a mother and her calf swam around the boat for several minutes on this occasion.

Heading away from Lindos on board the "Lindos."

This is Dimitris and his sartorially elegant dad Kostas (he of the hat with ear-flaps!) on their way to the beach to collect the guests after their lunch. The Lindos is at anchor behind them.

Again aboard the Lindos, with Kostas (left) and his son Dimitri (right). These two were exceptionally nice to me during my time working with them. Kostas always made sure he had a few Fix beers at the bottom of the ice box for us, often remarking that the tourists could have the Mythos, but the Fix we kept for the crew. If you ever go on the Lindos and they're playing reggae music, it'll be from an MP3 CD that I made for them.

Another shot with Zois on Halki.

The "Free Spirit" in St. Paul's Bay, Lindos, a classic old Greek cargo boat. She's had a major refit since this was taken and is now even more enjoyable to spend a day aboard. Many people would assume such a beautifully shaped boat was built for fishing, yet many of these were built to carry goods between islands.

On board with the TUI Lazy Day cruise. That young lady serving the rather sumptuous lunch is Vaso, the owner of the catering firm that used to service the culinary needs of the guests. Those lunches were legendary and the company supplies ready meals for all kinds of businesses on Rhodes. The company's called Omorfos (beautiful) and their vans can be seen all over the island during the season. Vaso is one smart young lady.

Heading out for another hard day's relaxing on board the "Free Spirit." I sacrificed much for my guests.

The stern of the Madalena, the boat I worked on for the last couple of season. The Captain's name was Kosmas.

That's me, top right, conscientiously ensuring the safety of my guests you understand.

On board the Captain Mike, when I worked with my good friend and proud South Walean, Sharon. She would always get the party going and here I was slaving away trying to be a rapper. Hey, some of us have it and some of us don't I guess.

Yeah, I know, you were thinking "Surely that's Jazzy J Zee, or MC Lumphammer or something, eh? Eh?

The warm-down after the 'show.'

And so, there you have it peeps. My career as an excursion escort, tragically cut short by 'jobsworth' mentality on the part of some, yet holding some lovely memories for me. If you ever came along with me on any of those trips, thanks. It was a pleasure and a privilege.