Even without my, pretty pathetic, assistance, George and his team completed the olive harvest today as I sat in the hospital. Last year it took us 5-6 days, this year it was just three. The sacks now lie at the village press whose boss greeted me like an old friend, forgetting that my Greek is somewhat weak but gabbling away happily. Tomorrow afternoon we press.
I shall take 16 litres in a can back to England for Christmas presents (Foxy Bex I have not forgotten) and personal use for the next 12 months. The rest I shall sell and that will cover George's wages, a bus fare back to Athens and maybe my flights. That is not really the point. Unless you are here to water your trees in the summer you know you will have one good year followed by one bad year and this is a bad year. I'm in this for the long run and so it is important to me that I pop in to see my gun toting friends in Kambos regularly. This is where the Mrs and I plan to retire, it will be our community.
Anyhow, I am in Greece to attend to a number of matters. There is a meeting tomorrow with the architect. We finally have a forestry permit, now we need a building permit and then the Greek Hovel can be rebuilt so that it meets the sanitaery requirements of the Mrs and my daughter. And so that Paul Scott, Andrew Bell, Thierry Laduguie, the Pizza Hardman, Richard Poulden, Matt Suttcliffe, Paul Atherley, Harry Adams and others can pop over for holidays as we have oft discussed. The Hovel will be renamed Write Minds (in Greek). Its a pun - geddit? When it is rebuilt, the Mrs and I can stay here every summer to tend the olives.
There is also a meeting tomorrow on global shorting conspiracy matters and I plan to spend Saturday in Athens filming a video outside the headquarters of an AIM listed company. I wonder if you can guess which one? From Athens with Love - the sequel.