Chapter 16 Life in Broom and our Greek Holiday 1996 So Gerry was into her final year with the OU starting in January studying the 3 rd level course DA301 Studying Community And Family History. As part of the course she had to interview both mum Alice and her aunt Ellen (Nellie) about their childhood experiences in the East End of London and we still have the written transcripts of those interviews. Gerry s grandmother apparently used to go out in the East End and play Pukkapoo, which is a Chinese gambling game. Strange that none of Gerry s family ever really gambled except Alice on the horses but only at the caravan in Nyetimber. Dave s research was having problems as Middlesex University started to restructure its School s and Dave lost his practical apparatus to finish his PhD so downgraded to an MPhil with the agreement of all his supervisors. This was not a problem because we decided that any research was better than none and Gerry was the driving force in making sure Dave completed. At this time we used to have weekend What If evenings over a couple of bottles of Retsina from Sainsbury s with Dave and the dog Cassie on the sofa and Gerry sat on the floor propped up against our Monk s Bench with her glass of wine and smoky stuff on the carpet. It was these times that we talked about our future holidays and realising our dream of retiring to Greece and, of course, discussing the next place in Greece to investigate. Gerry had changed to a different Temp Agency after a crappy booking at the London Foot Hospital and also a booking at a private practice in Harley Street where she didn t agree with the seemingly uncontrolled repeat prescriptions of a certain sexually related drug. After she had 2 large bust-ups with the doctors concerned and the agency, she quit both jobs and the agency, then found an agency that she stayed with up until 2005 when she converted her temporary position into a permanent position, for 1 year, at Great Ormond Street before we left England to begin our life on Alonissos.
Brenda was getting fed up with the pub in Hertford and Martin was extremely unhappy with the car company in Harlow so they both started to look for other jobs. Brenda had bought a house in Henlow in Bedfordshire as a safety net for leaving the pub and they moved into the house with Brenda getting a job at easyjet, which Stelios had started up at Luton Airport in 1995, and Martin getting a position as a service manager at a Chrysler dealership near to Luton. Again we grabbed all the available brochures in the early part of the year but we wanted to investigate a different island chain so we hit on the idea of going to the Dodecanese and the island of Kos where there were opportunities to take trips to by boat out to neighbouring islands. What we wanted was an island to look around and other nearby islands to visit. Having studied the brochures it appeared that although more touristed than we would normally like, Kos was the ideal choice to satisfy everyone's needs. Brenda's mother Beryl had become very ill and Brenda wanted to take her on holiday, so the area had to be flat because Beryl was having difficulties with walking. Unfortunately, before we went away Brenda s mum Beryl became seriously ill and died in a hospice from a very aggressive and invasive form of cancer, so Gerry s mum Alice had the luxury of an apartment on her own. We booked 3 apartments in a block at the back of Kos Town about a fair distance from the front. The apartments were very nicely appointed with a central courtyard area and a bar at the front with an outside terrace bordering the street. Due to its location traffic noise was minimal. Around the corner from our apartments was a large hotel with a beautiful lawn area and outdoor swimming pool which we had access to, for the price of purchasing food or drink from the pool bar. This was a real bonus because it gave us a pool and sunbathing area nearby, so that Alice could wander around if she wanted to.
Our Apartments in Kos town Kos town is a fascinating place to look round because it has the same mix of the old and new like Athens. You can be walking around an area of new buildings and come across something that is thousands of years old. The only problem we found was that the harbour front was rather tacky with bars and restaurants where you were continually accosted by staff to come into their establishments.
Gerry and Brenda Having a Girly Moment Together Out on the Town in Kos Town
Walking along the main road at the back of Kos town we came across a Roman house, which had been renovated and gives an insight into how the higher classes of Roman society lived. Visiting the area around Hippocrates plane tree is a fascinating experience, although it is doubtful whether this tree is 2,000 years old. Of course, because of Hippocrates, Kos is also the birthplace of medicine and a trip out to the Asclepion is absolutely essential. We went on a coach excursion and it was well worth the effort. Without seeing the Asclepion you cannot image the area the site covers nor the way the site is landscaped on different levels. Gerry at One of the Areas of the Asklepeion In total we went on 3 boat excursions. The first was to the island of Nissyros, the second covered the islands of Kalymnos and Pserimos and the third to Leros, Patmos and Lipsos. It is also possible to get ferries and hydrofoils out to
some of the other islands like Tilos, but there is a chance you cannot get out and back in the same day. Nissyros is a volcanic island and as soon as you get off the boat at the port of Mandraki there was a major scramble to get on one of the battered old coaches that go up to the rim of the volcano. The volcano is dormant but the surroundings are still very hot and full of sulphurous fumes. Martin and Brenda went for the volcano and Dave and Gerry went for a beer!! They both said it was worth the visit but you needed thick shoes because the ground was surprisingly hot under foot and was probably not the best place for anyone with asthma or breathing difficulties. We had a walk along through the town and out to a nice little beach at the back. This route takes you underneath the Church of Panagia Spiliani, which is set in a cave in the rocks above. To secure the front of the rock face, work had started on spraying concrete and then painting it white when it had set. Walking up through the old part of the town is lovely because the narrow streets bring beautifully kept houses so close to you. After wandering around we ate a late lunch at a taverna recommended in a guide book. The visitors had eaten most of the main dishes but we found something to our taste that was excellent. Nice island and definitely worth a stay for a few days. Our next excursion was to the islands of Leros, Patmos and Lipsos, which are all located north of Kos. The boat was much larger than the one used for the excursion to Nissyros due to the distances to be travelled in one day. Our first port of call was Agia Marina on Leros where we had an hour or so to wander around before we had to board the boat for Patmos. Mooring at Skala, the port and capital of Patmos, was a real experience because you can see the Monastery perched proudly on the top of the hill from quite a distance away. The rep. said that for a price of 10 per person
coaches were waiting to take people up to the cave of St. John the Baptist (where he reputedly wrote the book of Revelations) and then on to the Monastery of St. John the Theologian. We thought this was a lot of money and we were desperate for a beer and the loo, so while everyone scrambled for the coaches we headed off for a bar. While drinking our beers we noticed a line of taxi's opposite and Dave went across to find out how much it would cost to get up to the Monastery. The taxi driver said he would drop us at the cave and wait for us then take us to the Monastery and collect us when it closed at 1pm, and all for 20. We had an air conditioned Mercedes take us up to the cave which is about half way up the hill to the Monastery and about a drive of 5-10 minutes depending on the number of coaches on the road. We queued to go down into the cave and had a look at where Saint John was supposed to have lived and the stone with a depression in the middle that was his pillow. When we emerged into the light the taxi driver was waiting and we left about the same time as the people from the boat on the coaches. The taxi driver dropped us at the Monastery and sped off. We spent some time looking around along with hordes of other tourists and it is a wonderful place to visit. While the other boat people waited for their coaches we found a small bar with a breath-taking view of the island to relax with a drink. About 1.15pm the taxi driver collected us and took us back to the port area. We gave him a 5 tip and he was delighted as we were having saved 15. The boat left for Lipsos passed a large wooden sailing ship with 3 enormous masts. Arriving at Lipsos we moored at the end of the harbour and were greeted with a troop of young girls performing local dances accompanied by a small group playing traditional instruments. Our intention was to walk along the harbour to the church to see the famous icon of the Black Virgin. But by this time of the afternoon it was very hot and we were tired so we had drinks and ice cream at the local taverna and relaxed until the boat left.
We hired a car for the day and Martin offered to drive as he had experience of driving on the other side of the road. We had 2 main aims for the day: to see all the beach resorts along the length of the island and to visit some of the small villages at the lower levels of the mountain. We visited Tingaki first for a walk around and to dip our toes in the water. We had a drink then headed off for the mountains. We visited Asfandiou first and then took the road down to Pyli where we parked up and found a nice taverna for lunch. After lunch and a look around the shops we headed back to the main road and south to Kefalos. On the way back we stopped off at Kardamena and Paradise beaches to take the waters before heading back to Kos Town early in the evening. Gerry Posing in the Hire Car Even Though She Couldn t Drive One island we were keen to visit was Kalymnos to see the sponges and while walking around the harbour area of Kos we found a number of travel agents offering excursions at a discount price. We assumed the prices were cheaper because in September the season was coming to an end and they wanted bums on seats. As their prices were much lower than our tour company we
booked to go to Kalymnos and Pserimos. The boat we had was large and very comfortable inside and we were well pleased with ourselves. We had a couple of hours on Kalymnos and we went to the sponge sellers outside one of the factories to buy sponges. This is where we first discovered that most sponges sold in Greece come from Cuba, have an open texture and last no time at all. What this guy was selling were "silk" sponges that were Greek and three times the price, although they came with a 5 year guarantee (not in writing of course). We bought one and we have to say that 6 years later the sponge was still in good condition. So our salesman was right after all. We had a good look around the shops of Pothia the capital of Kalymnos then headed back to the boat for the trip to Pserimos. The cost of the excursion included a boat barbecue and the crew had BBQ s alight and crackling red hot when we boarded back onto the boat. They cooked a very nice variety of fish and shellfish and with bread and wine it all went down a treat while the boat was wending its way slowly to our next port of call Pserimos. Pserimos is a very small island and after the boat moored we headed along the beach to sunbathe and have a swim. The small tavernas at the back of the beach are ideally placed within staggering distance when you get hungry or thirsty. Sat at one of the bars was our rep. that was on an excursion. She was gobsmacked to see us and wanted to know how we had got to the island. When we told her she was amazed and asked us what we thought of the boat. We said the boat was absolutely fine and she told us that it was better than the boat they normally use but tour companies won't use it because it didn't have a conventional toilet and tourists won't use a Turkish loo on a boat. The remainder of our time on Kos was spent around the local hotel pool and on our last night we paid extra to keep one of one of our rooms. This was
useful because our flight was in the early hours of the morning and there was nowhere to stay until the coach came to collect us. Our flight back passed off OK and we left Kos with mixed feelings. On one hand it was very full of tourists and did not really appeal because of that, but access to other Dodecanese islands is brilliant and with more time we could have ventured further. Arriving back we went back to work and Gerry took her end of year exam and had passed her course work so was awarded an OU 2:2 honours degree in Humanities. Gerry did enrol subsequently to do a taught Master s degree with the OU but she was enjoying life so much she found it difficult putting in the hours needed every week to study part-time. Although passing 2 of the 4 modules she had problems with the 3rd one because of the course content and so, in her inimitable way, she said sod it, I don t need to prove myself anymore and gave up. She never regretted this decision but concentrated her efforts on getting Dave writing up and getting him through his MPhil viva. Gerry s mum Alice came over for the winter as usual and then we move into 1997 which was a very eventful year in many ways