After much more ‘umm-ing and ah-hing’ they duly started on making the connection where I wanted it made.
About an hour later, the Engineers had finished the connection, packed their tools into their lorry and departed, leaving the Lineman to dial up to the OTE operator.
It worked first time! The operator called me back to re-test the connection and gave me our number; we were connected and we had a telephone to communicate with the outside world! No thanks to Bill I might add!
The Lineman left and I called Valerie down from the terrace, where she, Jeanette, my Mother and Valerie’s Mother had been ‘hiding’ whilst all this had been going on! I suggested she make the first call from our new ‘phone.
She dialled Vassilis to say we were connected, gave him our number and at the same time thanked him for helping us earlier that morning.
Giannis came to the house later that afternoon to inspect the leak; the water was still dripping, although it had previously been ‘fixed’ by the plumber.
Giannis called Vassilis, spoke to him in Greek and then passed the ‘phone over to me. Vassilis told me that Giannis now thought that there must be a leak somewhere in the studio apartment above that was leaking down through the walls, under the kitchen cupboards and across the floor. Further, to fix it would mean taking up the tiles in the studio apartment shower room; big job.
The news got worse! The marble tiles we had chosen were no longer available and would be replaced with the nearest match Giannis could find; not perfect but the only solution to the problem. Finally, that Giannis would not be able to do this job until next week. I reluctantly agreed. I was disappointed about the tiles, but the leak need fixing, and fixing permanently.
The only bit of good news was that Bill would be gone by the time Giannis arrived to find and fix the leak, for I feared that if Bill had been around he would have ended up trying to tell Giannis how to do it!
What a day! Still, we did have two positive results; a ‘phone that worked and ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ with regard to the leak.
The rest of the week passed without further incident and we toured the local area in our cars and Valerie and I showed our Mothers the villages and beaches, and we ate in some of the local tavernas.
When they went home, we experienced a mixture of sadness and relief; sadness that they were going home, and we didn’t know when we would see them again, and relief to have our peace and quiet back again.
It was an hour after they had left for the airport that we first came to realise just how much we had come to enjoy, and value, the peace and quiet that living in Meerkat Manor, and the surrounding olive groves, afforded us.
Standing barefoot on the terrace steps, looking out over the olive groves, we had our first laugh of the week. For the first time, we noticed our new sun tans; stripes on our feet from constantly wearing sandals in the sunshine of the day!
Photo: Sandals Strap Marks!
I couldn’t help but think how good an advert Valerie’s feet would have been for Nike shoes, displaying that well known ‘tick’ motif that stood out against her tanned feet!
Photo: Valerie’s ‘Nike’ Suntan Marks.
GOING ON HOLIDAY
The week after Bill and Jeanette and our Mothers had returned to the UK, we travelled to Kalamata once more. Armed with our Passports and Tax Number Certificates, we headed for the OTE office to register for an Internet connection, as they wouldn’t do this at the same time as ordering the ‘phone connection; it was frustrating having to make a second visit when it could have been done in one.
Round three to Greek culture!
Previously, we had ‘survived’ using an external modem ‘dongle’ on my mobile ‘phone on a contract with the Wind Company. The speed had been just a maximum 12 mbps, which was like going back to how it was on the original ‘dial up’ days for the Internet some 10 years earlier! Do you remember? It could take so long to download emails that you had time to go and make a cup of coffee and return to your laptop before it had completed the download!
We filled in all the forms, and a Direct Debit, for the monthly subscription and they gave us a modem and we were told that the connection would be made in about seven days. So, we then headed off to the Wind offices to serve notice on our contract for the ‘dongle’ connection. It was quite expensive to end the contract early but would be worth it for the faster speed of ...... wait for it! ...... A massive 56 mbps! The network OTE has is 3G in and around Athens and Kalamata, but outlying and mountainous regions, like Agios Nikolaos, only had 2G power.
It seems that OTE don’t have the money to install mountain-top transmitters yet! Bizarrely, it would appear that during 2008 Greece were second only to the UK in using the Internet, yet OTE were not prepared to invest the money to extend their network just yet; once again this was very frustrating!
However, true to their word, seven days later, we had a telephone call from the OTE Operations Centre and they told us that our Internet connection was now ‘live’ and to log on. They gave us a password, we inserted the CD that we had previously been given (along with the modem) into the laptop, downloaded the programme and ‘hey presto!’ we were on line!
“Yahoooo!” We shouted out together as the Google page came up. Or maybe we should have cried, “OTE!”
Oh, the luxury of speed! We quickly registered our new email address and sent emails to all our family and friends to tell them we had a telephone and that we were also online with a new email address.
By this time, we had now been ‘in residence’ for almost 12 weeks and had been working non-stop for seven days per week in our efforts to get unpacked, settled and start creating a garden. Although the results had been very rewarding and satisfying we were tired.
So, one morning I woke up and said, “Hey let’s go on a holiday!”
Valerie replied, “We can’t. We don’t have the money, and besides, I’m happy here; I don’t want to travel anywhere.”
“Well,” I said, “How about we take the car and go and visit all the little towns and villages that we haven’t ever visited yet?”
“We could go into the Mountains and we could go around Kalamata and across the Messinian Gulf to the Pilos Peninsula.”
“We could also go and visit the archaeological dig at the site of Ancient Messene.”
Eventually, Valerie replied, “Ok, that would be good.”
“We do need a rest and some relaxation. A change of scenery would be nice too.”
We spent four days as ‘tourists’ and visited many new places.
The days were quite magical; no time constraints. We toured the Pilos Peninsula; Pilos, Ancient Methone and Koroni, and we also went to see the archaeological dig at Ancient City of Messene, as well as travelling all the way down to the Southern tip of The Mani Peninsula
Each day we set off early in the morning and each night we returned home to Meerkat Manor, early enough to have time to water the plants and take our places up on the studio apartment terrace to watch the sun go down.
Photo: A Typical ‘Magical’ Sunset View From Meerkat Manor.
Most nights, holding a glass of Ouzo in our hands and smiling inanely at each other and content in the knowledge that we ‘did’ it.
We would stare at the sun setting on the horizon and look back and remember that ‘It Started With An Ouzo’!
My First Birthday At Meerkat Manor - 60 Today!
A few weeks after our holiday, on the day of my first birthday being celebrated living at Meerkat Manor, I received two amazing presents for my 60th Birthday; both very different from each other and both very unexpected!
First thing in the morning of 30th June 2008, Valerie gave me a card and said, “Your present from me is arriving later today. I hope that you will like it,” Actually, this was to be my second present of the day as the first one to arrive came before Valerie’s.
It was around mid-day and I was up on the studio apartment terrace sipping an Ouzo. I remember being very relaxed and c
ontemplating my good fortune, as I was browsing the magazine ‘In the Mani.’ In fact I was reading an article about a Wedding Planner who arranged Weddings in Kardamyli (the next but one village along the coast), and I was looking out to sea remembering our Wedding eight years earlier. As I sat there, my reverie was broken by the telephone ringing, and I went down stairs to answer it.
“Paracello?” I answered in my best Greek (Hello, how can I help you?).
“Hello Dad, it’s your son. Happy Birthday!”
“Hi Peter; thanks. How are you?”
“I’m great. I’m ‘phoning to give you your Birthday present; it’s a surprise! I’ve got some news for you. I’m getting married again.”
“Congratulations! Do we know her?”
“No. I met Mel in Melbourne (Australia) when I went out for the Formula One Grand Prix in March,” he explained.
“We decided that we were right for each other and we have decided to get married, and we want you and Valerie to come to our Wedding. Mel has dual nationality of Australian and Canadian citizenship. We want to get married as soon as possible and England will be too difficult, so it’s going to somewhere be abroad.”
I was somewhat taken aback by this news, especially as it being called a Birthday present! When he said ‘abroad,’ knowing Peter, I immediately thought of somewhere like the Caribbean.
“Peter, this is really great news. It’s a bit sudden, but you’re a big boy now (40) and you know what you are doing. However, we won’t be able to come as we cannot afford to travel.”
“Yes you will Dad, because we are going to get married in Greece. In fact, we want to get married where you live, and we want you to research it and fix it up for us; we want to get married on 30th July!”
That word ‘fate’ came to mind once again! After all, I had just read the article about Weddings here in The Mani. Somewhat taken aback by the unexpectedness of the call and the news, I nevertheless responded very positively.
“Well, what a surprise! As it happens, I have just read an article about a Wedding Planner who lives here and arranges Weddings in the village of Kardamyli. I’ll contact her to see if it can be arranged in time and get her to get in touch with you.”
“That’s good Dad, I appreciate it. Thanks. Have a great day, and I’ll call you again soon” and he was gone; just like that!
“Valerie.” I called, “You are never going to believe it. Peter just called to wish me Happy Birthday and give me his ‘present’ over the ‘phone. He calmly announced that he was getting married again and that he wants us to fix for him here in Greece; in Kardamyli!”
Like me, she was speechless. What a present!
Later that afternoon, Valerie’s present for me arrived. I heard a car approaching, and as I looked up the track I saw that it was Heather.
“Kalimera!” Declared Heather. “Happy Birthday. Here is a present from me.” She was holding out a bottle of 12 year old Ballantine’s Whisky. “In the car I have Valerie’s present to you. It is big and heavy, so you will have to help me with it.”
As I opened the boot of her car, I saw the most amazing sight! There, lying on the rug was a giant metal Meerkat! As I looked at it, I realised that it was a weather and smoke dispersal vane designed for the chimney. Wow! Fantastic! This was just what I wanted to really ‘brand’ the house. The current item was shaped like a bird. At the time Giannis finished the house we had said,
“We want one of those ‘birds’ on the chimney.”
Although Giannis had said that we didn’t need one, he nonetheless duly fitted one for us and it looked very good indeed.
Photo: ‘Bird’ On The Chimney Stack.
However, this Meerkat sitting on the floor of the boot of Heather’s car was so much better!
Photo: The ‘Meerkat’ Destined For The Chimney Stack.
I couldn’t wait to get it on top of the chimney stack and photograph it for the album!
“Darling,” I said to Valerie, “This is such a wonderful surprise. Thank you sooooooo much. I love you.”
It seemed that both Valerie and Heather had conspired to have it made some time the month before and had managed to keep it a secret from me!
Compare the old and the new – there is no comparison! Valerie could not have bought me a better 60th Birthday present; the best present I ever had! When it was in place I knew that the skyline would be complete!
Photo: Stavros With His Birthday Present.
Wow! What a wonderful present.
Photo: The New Meerkat Installed On The Chimney Stack.
It fitted perfectly and every visitor now sees two Meerkat ‘lookouts’ on the roof acting as ‘guards’ for the household! I cannot describe just how excited I was, but I do remember that rushed inside the house and I opened the 12 year old Galantine’s Scotch whisky that Heather had bought me and had a drink to celebrate!
Some weeks later, I was standing on the terrace and I noticed a fantastic Rainbow over the mountains behind Meerkat Manor. It was very strong and very clear; I went inside the house to get my camera and then I went upstairs to get a better look and to take a ‘photo.
The reflected light from the Rainbow was so strong that it turned the Meerkat vane on the chimney from black to gold.
THE WEDDING
Returning once again to the arrangements for the Wedding, later that day, I got in touch with the Wedding Planner and arranged to meet her to discuss the possibility of arranging Peter and Mel’s wedding.
The following day, Valerie and I met the Wedding Planner and explained the situation, especially with regard to Mel’s dual nationality, and that they wanted to be married on 30th July which was now only 28 days away!
She thought for a few moments and then said, “Well, it is tight, but it can be done if they get all the right paperwork from Australia, Canada and England and if they get it all approved and endorsed by the UK Foreign Office and the Greek Embassy in London.”
Within days, the Wedding Planner had sorted it all out for them and instructed them what to do, who to see and confirmed that if they followed her advice that the Wedding would be able to take place on 30th July at the Town Hall in Kardamyli as they had requested.
Naturally, they were ecstatic that it could be done, and very impressed with her knowledge, expertise and professionalism.
During the following three weeks we spent a lot of time on the telephone with Peter and exchanged dozens of emails as we worked on the details.
It was eventually decided that Peter, Ruth and Joseph (the Grandchildren) would arrive with Mel during the week before the Wedding Day.
Ruth and Joseph would camp on the plot of land for the duration and that Peter and Mel would stay in the apartment until the night before the Wedding, and then they would move into the hotel that had been booked for them and their guests. The guest list comprised of Mel’s Dad and his wife and Mel’s Mother and her husband, Mel’s brother and girlfriend and Zilya one of Mel's best friends.
The immediate concern for us then became that the plot of land did not have a secure fence around it. We felt that if Ruth (16) and Joseph (12) were camping then they would want to feel safe in a strange country, so we decided to have one built. In fact we decided to have a wall built all the way around it.
We asked Vassilis to do it for us and within days the materials arrived and work started. Virtually every construction in this part of The Mani region is made using natural stone. All the stone is delivered from the local quarry, and is broken and cut by hand. Some stones as delivered can be as much as 20 tonnes, and seeing the guys at work breaking the stone down into as many as 100 stones is quite impressive!
Photo: Stones Arriving From The Quarry.
Photo: Stones Are Cut By Hand.
The wall was built, and a gate was fitted from the plot to the track, and an arch from the plot into our garden.
Photo: Tents Erected Within The New Walled Garden Area.
All this was done in record time too. It was finished with days to spar
e before the Wedding Entourage arrived.
Peter and Mel would take up residence in the studio apartment, and Ruth and Joseph would set up camp on the plot of land adjacent to the house and be quite ‘secure’ within the walled enclosure.
In the days leading up to the Wedding, Peter and Mel met with the Wedding Planner several times to go over the Wedding details and in the evenings, we got to know Mel and to hear about her background and her family and friends that were soon arriving to attend the wedding.
On the morning of the Wedding, Ruth and Joseph got together to wish the happy couple Good Luck. Mel wanted the dress code to be casual and relaxed, and suitable for very hot weather; it was 33 C on the day!
Then it was time for the Wedding Party to walk through the street of the village to the Town Hall. The ceremony was indeed a very relaxed affair, conducted in Greek. The Town Hall had provided an outline of what the process was, what would happen, who would say what and when, and this was in English, so we were able to follow the proceedings. We knew that when it came to signing the papers that it was completed
After ‘blowing bubbles’ over the Bride and Groom, it was time for the Family and group photographs, and then for the Wedding Party to make the walk back through the streets of Kardamyli to the hotel and the Wedding Reception.
The rest of the day went according to plan. Peter and Mel wanted the whole affair to be quite casual so the Reception was held on the terrace of the hotel, overlooking the sea.
Lots of photographs were taken and we secured one with our Grandchildren, Ruth and Joseph, as they celebrated with a glass of champagne. There was a wonderful buffet laid out for everybody to help themselves and it was a lovely relaxed afternoon of celebration.
It Started With an Ouzo Page 13