Blogging, is it for posterity?

Why do people have a blog, I have asked myself that question in the past. However, this posting has been prompted by Alan on Nb Buggerlugs who said "I know I have been very quiet over the past few weeks, well since we returned to the mooring. One reason is that things are very quiet and the other is I am not sure that anyone is reading this stuff."

So I thought I would do a reply to Alan, but done on my own blog.

Some people might have something worthwhile to write and in that case it would be something good for others to read. Some people have a diary that they like to keep - I look upon blogging as a form of diary keeping, for voyeurs looking over your shoulder to read. The reasons for having a blog are as varied as the people who feel the need to write them. But if it gives you an additional interest and you take some pleasure from doing so, a lot is gained and why not! Remember, if you don't write then no one will read!

I have just purchased a copy of a book entitled "Letters to my grand children" by Tony Benn - A politician and diarist I have long admired. Tony says about the book "As a diarist I have chronicled the time through which I have lived in meticulous detail: but all that is history. What matters now is the future for those who will live through it. The past is the past but there may be lessons to be learned which could help the next generation to avoid mistakes their parents and grandparents made. Certainly at my age I have learned an enormous amount from the study of history - not so much from the political leaders of the time but from those who struggled for justice and explained the world in a way that shows the continuity of history and has inspired me to do my work. Normality for any individual is what the world is like on the day they are born. The normality of the young is wholly different from the normality of their grandparents. It is the disentangling of the real questions from the day to day business of politics that may make sense for those who take up the task as they will do. Every generation has to fight the same battles as their ancestors had to fight, again and again, for there is no final victory and no final defeat. Two flames have burned from the beginning of time - the flame of anger against injustice and the flame of hope. If this book serves its purpose it will fan both flames."

Tony Benn is in a way, the Samuel Pepys of our generation. (The detailed private diary Pepys kept from 1660 until 1669 is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London.) Maybe, having a blog is one way that you can write letters to posterity and for your children and your children's children.

Some people want others to read their blogs, because it allows them to build up a passive friendship. Friendships, which are at the same time, kept almost at arms length. Maybe the blogger is shy and retiring - just like me! When a blogger gets the occasional positive comment, the comment often serves as encouragement to go on to bigger and better things. If you enjoy someones blog, tell them so - if you have a different viewpoint tell them so. You have the opportunity to encourage, to correct and to befriend the writer.

Blogging for me is historical, I love history in all its flavours. The internet is part of a new technological revolution. - We might have missed the early part of the industrial revolution but we were around for the latter part of it. The internet content is being chronicled already, it is being backed up and indexed. Personal blogs will have much more of an impact in the future. Some concerns have been raised over the historiography of the Internet's development. Specifically that it is hard to find documentation of much of the Internet's development, for several reasons, including a lack of centralized documentation for much of the early developments that led to the Internet.

"The Arpanet period is somewhat well documented because the corporation in charge - BBN - left a physical record. Moving into the NSFNET era, it became an extraordinarily decentralized process. The record exists in people's basements, in closets. So much of what happened was done verbally and on the basis of individual trust." Doug Gale (2007)

Already there is a growing Internet Digital Archive being created. It is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission: "universal access to all knowledge." It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and books. The Internet Archive was founded by Brewster Kahle in 1996. With offices located in San Francisco, California, USA and data centers in San Francisco, Redwood City, and Mountain View, California, USA, the Archive's largest collection is its web archive, "snapshots of the World Wide Web." To ensure the stability and endurance of the Internet Archive, its collection is mirrored at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, making it the only library in the world with a mirror. The Archive allows the public to both upload and download digital material to its data cluster, and provides unrestricted online access to that material at no cost.

Internet Archive ethos "Most societies place importance on preserving artifacts of their culture and heritage. Without such artifacts, civilization has no memory and no mechanism to learn from its successes and failures. Our culture now produces more and more artifacts in digital form. The Archive's mission is to help preserve those artifacts and create an Internet library for researchers, historians, and scholars."

My blog will still be around because of the "Internet Archive" long after I have gone on to bigger and better things. (Either with or without angels' wings, but I will not be surprised if it is in a warm place!) What the reader will get in later years is a potted history of my take, on my life, in my times. A first hand look at what my thought processes were. As well as what the issues were, that motivated me. The reader will get a taste of my humour, a sense of my outrage and a sense of my values. If those people are the children of our children, and ones that I may never get to meet - I can't think of a better way of talking to them without the use of an Ouija board!

Yet blogging (a form of graffiti of a kind) has been around for thousands of years. Often done for a reason that's has been lost in the sands of time. The cave man who blew powdered stone dust over his hands on to a cave wall (to leave the outline imprint of his hand) was leaving a statement. It tells us something about him in a tangible and at the same time almost in an ethereal thought provoking way. That’s not to say that my blog with have this effect - but my blog - and your blog - and the thousands of other blogs - which are based on a common theme - will give enormous insight into our leisure time spent on the rivers and canals. Leave them a few pictures in your blog, to let them see what the old curmudgeon looked like. Don't forget to smile!

In the case of film and still photography, these represent an artistic and historic treasure that must be preserved. They can help to provide pictorial evidence of the way thing were. There is a lot of truth in the old adage "A picture speaks a thousand words". Our blogs will one day provide the historian and possibly family members of the future, contemporary evidence of our time. left for them to read in a tangible and hopefully for family members, in a slightly ethereal way.

This also asks the question: Is what you write what you would like to leave behind for posterity?

Later....

Ground Anchors.

I need to spend some time on Rosie getting her ready for the winter months ahead. How many times have I said that? Today, we purchased from Aldi (£3.00) one of those passive de-humidifiers to see if we can keep the internal moisture level down. However, as we are on mains electrics on the mooring, we also have a small electrical (green house) heater which we can set to come on if the temperature gets below a predetermined  level.

I enjoy shopping at Aldi as they often have those useful items for an impulse buy. I think they see me coming! Today I also purchased one of those corkscrew ground anchors for tethering the dog. This set me to thinking about looking for a couple of heavy duty corkscrew ground anchors for mooring the boat, when on soft ground towpaths. We had a problem in February where I had to get up and check the mooring lines during the night.



One that might just fit the job is the Arrow AK600 Corkscrew Ground Anchor Kit. The intended use of these is to protect your outdoor storage shed from strong winds. The AK600 Ground Anchor Kit includes four corkscrew type anchors, four corner gussets and four locking washers to secure your shed or boat to terra firma. The blurb says that this model is great for anchoring small, medium or slope-roofed sheds.

For larger sheds/boats, consider the Arrow Model AK4 Auger Anchor Kit. Easy to install. Includes four 30" heavy duty steel augers, and 4 cable clamps. Force of 1500 lbs is required to remove anchors from ground. However, the installation is easy! No digging or concrete pouring required. Just twist augers into ground.

Another alternative that I found on the web was the Ironwood Pacific™ Land Anchor. Which is a heavy duty corkscrew auger anchor. Made with zinc plated steel. The screw-in ground anchor also includes an eyebolt. It utilizes a helix design to provide strong holding power over straight mooring stakes or other corkscrew designs. It can be turned into the ground to the desired depth and turned out when time to leave. Also included is a nylon carrying bag that enables it to be conveniently stored.

As pointed out by Rachel, of Naughty Cal there is a further anchor item available called a "Rhond Anchor". (Rhond apparently is a Norfolk colloquial name for the bit of bank between the river and the flood bank) Shaped like a fishing hook with an eye and ring to attach a mooring line.

I learn something new everyday.

Later.....

Autumn

I took the dog for our morning constitutional, the sky had a bit of a sunrise, but it was all a bit lack lustre. However, the autumnal colours on the trees came shining through and they are truly spectacular. This is mother nature at her very best. Yes, I know its cold, yes, I know it wet.  But at the same time the autumn is a time of great natural beauty - it just needs you to pop you nose round the door and to take a long long look. Nature is the worlds best artist by far.

On the way to the salt mine, it was raining twice, tree leaves and water. Now if you're not a motorcyclist you might not be aware that when wet, a leaf on the road is like ice. So if you are following a biker over the autumnal period and until all the foliage has cleared from the road. Give them a bit more respect on the bends in the road.

Later.....

Class War

Contrary to what you might think, and despite my reputation as a crusty old curmudgeon. I am a live-and-let-live sort of person. Well, I am live-and-let-live with the exception of those walking along the towpath on the dog poo delivery service.  Also not forgetting the fly tippers and the jobsworth IWA "you can't moor here brigade". Also, just so that they don't feel left out, I should also include the water point and elsan hoggers. I also in all fairness give exception to those squat gnome like, maggot drowning, litter spreaders. I should also like to  include the boating naysayers, bull-shitters and members of the towpath Taliban. Just in the interests of fair balance.

Today, its the turn of those cretins oft referred to as the "lycra loons" mounted on those newfangled velocipedes. All taking part in what has seemingly become the towpath velodrome. For years in our generation of bike clip wearers, we had the "cycling proficiency course" with a certificate and a nice enamelled badge at the end. A course that we ran in schools to try to turn unruly little ruffians like you and me, into gentle cycling folk. 

Whatever happened to the good old Sturmey Archer, chain guards, mud guards and comfortable sprung seats. Today, its designer lycra skin-tight suits, plastic crash hats, high-speed, off-road, light-weight, light-flashing, bell-less go anywhere machines. The only proficiency they gained today is in ignoring pedestrians and shouting "coming through". And that's just the little ones on their tricycles. CaRT's educashun seemingly did not work and so I propose to go back a few years to identify alternative methods of enforcement that does not include mantraps and piano wire. Though in all fairness mantraps and piano wire do have their uses.

No, lets go back to a more genteel, stiff little fingered, tea drinking time. A time before hob-nobs were biscuits, a time when a cake was smothered in full fat cream and jam. When hats were oft doffed to ladies of a certain class. And thrown into the ring with ladies of a different class.  A time when people cycled out together of a Sunday and children ran and played with the latest hoops that were all the rage. Lets get some etiquette back into cycling.

Whoops - hold on a moment. What's this etiquette I hear you say? Let me whisper into your shell like ear - according to the Daily Torygraph "Debrett's, the modern authority on etiquette and taste, has launched a Code of Conduct for Commuters to remind cyclists that pedestrians always have right of way." Huh! When did  Debrett's go modern, this is the best kept secret since pointed little pinkies were in vogue?

The Torygraph says: 'British Waterways, [who they?] who maintain the nation's canals, have approached the high-society experts after receiving complaints from irate pedestrians who claimed that speeding cyclists refuse to slow down as they commute to work causing crashes and collisions by the previously peaceful canals.'

ADVERTISING

Now Debrett's, the modern authority on cycling, class, etiquette and good taste, has launched a Code of Conduct for Commuters to remind cyclists that pedestrians always have right of way. They also hope to encourage walkers to be mindful of other users to avoid incidents of towpath rage. In a nod to old-fashioned values the code suggests that all towpath users "Should be considerate to each other". The guide also adds: "A smile and a 'thank you' is courteous if someone has let you pass."

It advises cyclists to warn walkers of their approach by using "two tings" of their bicycle bell. It also suggests that those on foot listen out and are ready to move aside to allow bikes to pass. In addition to offering advice on how towpath users treat each other Debrett's also demands that people never drop litter and that dog walkers always clean up after their pet.

Jo Bryant, an etiquette expert from Debrett's, said: "The towpaths are a lovely escape from the hustle and bustle of the roads and pavements of the city. They should be a more tranquil and relaxing place to travel along. But it seems that some people are forgetting their manners and speeding past other people, or refusing to move out of the way. Here at Debrett's we hope that these top tips will be a gentle reminder to towpath users, and encourage a return to more polite and amicable behaviour along waterways."

Debrett's also suggests that at busy times neither cyclists nor pedestrians should wear earphones which might prevent them from hearing the presence of others. The code warns cyclists that they may have to dismount while going under narrow bridges if someone is already travelling the other way. In London one accident hot spot is the Regent’s Canal, a route joining East London and the city which is very heavily used by cyclists and walkers particularly at peak times in the early morning and evening.

A spokesman for British Waterways said: "We have seen a huge increase in recent years in the number of people using canals as a means to get to work There was a big spike following the 7/7 bombing in London when people were looking for a different way to travel. As a result we have more people using the canals than ever before. Britain has more than 2,200 miles of canals with the largest concentration found in London, Manchester and Birmingham. Britain's canals are used by over 13 million people each year for walking, cycling, angling and boating."

So there you have it, Debrett's apparently have a cycling code of conduct. That's all the problems sorted then! When pigs fly....

Our holiday on Rhodes.

As promised today I'm writing about the holiday....

The flight left on time and we arrived in Rhodes on a sunny Wednesday afternoon after an uneventful flight from “Robin Hood” airport in Doncaster. We left at 08:10 and arrived some four hours plus two time-zones later at 14:10 Greek time. Our trip to the hotel by coach included a short sharp shower, the first rain on Rhodes for seven months, is this to be a portent?

After unpacking we were soon out for the count on our bed, fast asleep. Later, we both surfaced and had a shower. Then went down for our evening meal. Which I might add, we enjoyed sat out in the warm and humid evening. However, there were no crickets chirping and none of the Greek feta cheese on the menu, so my holiday as not yet started. With luck there would be Greek yoghurt and honey available at breakfast in the morning. I was not disappointed!

The first evening we befriended Dave and Linda a couple from Stevenage. We sat out until late chattering. Because, we had already had four hours sleep – we were not ready for bed! Sorry, Dave and Linda but me and the Memsahib are inveterate chatterers – I think that when we were children we were both immunised by nurse using a gramophone needle!

Thursday.  We were up and about quite early, with no real plans to what we would do that day. The sun was out and it was soon quite hot. We had a short bus trip into Lindos, the main town in the area. It was very busy with visitors and so we started to wonder aimlessly around the narrow streets. Streets that were filled with endless trinket shops, all selling over priced junk. I purchased sunglasses and a floppy hat. We abandoned the aimless amble from shop to shop and went for a six mile walk along the coast instead.

We noticed the weather starting to close in, high speed storm clouds started to draw near. We looked around for a bus stop to re-trace our steps. We met up with another couple who had just arrived on the island. In their rush, they had left their Euro monopoly money at home. So they were heading for the hole in the wall in Lindos. After a friendly chat whilst waiting for the bus we discovered that they were also bikers.

After returning to Lindos, we started out to visit the Lindos Acropolis. However, as we has just done a six mile walk along the coast road. We then had a change of mind and decided not to climb the steep steps because of the likelihood of heavy rain. We ran into Dave and Linda from our hotel, they were on a hunt for cake and ice cream. Later we found out that they had been successful.

We wandered around again for a while in the narrow shop filled streets. However, we soon abandoned that to go and have a look in the local supermarket. Good move! Whilst we were inside, we could hear the heavy rain battering on the roof and see water pouring in next to the checkout!

The no camera moment.

Why is it that you see a once in a lifetime photographic event when you don't have a camera with you! So, I shall have to describe the scene. Whilst walking along the coast road, we were passed by a small flat bed truck. On the back was a “Lindos taxi” or Donkey. It was facing forward looking over the roof of the truck. The donkey was perfectly happy with this mode of travel and seemed to enjoy his large ears being battered by the wind. The donkey had a harness which was used to strap him in place and to make sure that he would not fall off on the corners. (He was like a biker and leaned into the corners) However, he chose the moment that the truck passed us to take a dump onto the road. It was almost surreal, even the couple we met at the bus stop remarked about the skate-boarding donkey that had passed them!

Note. Lindos taxi. Because the streets of Lindos are so steep and narrow. Donkeys are used to ferry people and goods round the town. So all the donkeys in the area are known as Lindos taxi's.

Our hotel is about a mile or so south of Lindos on the coast road. It is run as a family style business. The staff work long hours and nothing is too much trouble for them to deal with. The room is clean and airy well decorated and the grounds are very well tended. Mags has already made friends with a couple of the hotel cats and there is a big friendly dog (called Morro) as well. In our eyes a family run hotel that includes cats and dogs is a rare treat and one we will tell everyone else about.

There are also Owls in the trees and a few well fed Frogs in the garden as well. The pool is quite good, a bit on the cold side but well tended. The local bird life in the garden seem to be quite tame, especially the pied wagtails. So far the list includes Pied Wagtails, Grey Wagtails, Jay, sparrow, a small olive coloured tit, Collared dove, a variety of lark that I have not identified, Spotted Flycatcher and the black and white European Carrion Crow.

Friday. Was a round the pool day as Mags took in the sun and because I dont like to baste in the oven. I did some reading in the shade. We are also planning to hire a motorbike as soon as we know what the weather holds in store for the next week or so. Mourning doves were added to the list of birds seen. We started to give names to the cats.

The young male kitten was named “Bandit” as he seemed to be wearing a mask and like all kittens provided us with hours of entertainment. “Mom” was a very pretty female cat (and also the mother of Bandit) who we thought might be going to have another brood of kittens. But it turned out in the end that she was just a fat happy cat!

Saturday. Saw us go for a walk down to the beach and explore along the tide-line looking at the flotsam and jetsam thrown up by the sea. I enjoy trying to identify points of origin of items I find. Several bottles we picked up, came from Turkey, one marked as Marmara which is the area close to Marmaris. Another modern bottle was marked as Raki made in Istanbul.

There was a great deal of clinical waste washed up on the beach as well. Syringes and those special rubber sealed glass drug containers were to be found. There was an old pill bottle with the date 1917 and a faint logo on the shingle worn base. There were many discarded tin cans and tons of plastic items all along the high water mark. I also found an old shell that had been fired at some time in the past, however it had been defused and was quite safe.

Later we spent the afternoon chattering with Dave and Linda as they prepared for their journey home this evening. A thunderstorm complete with torrents of rain and hailstones helped to keep everyone indoors for several hours. All as predicted by my favourite website for the weather - Weather Underground.

Sunday. We had a walk to St Paul’s bay and then into Lindos town. The weather has been hot and sunny so we were drinking large amounts of water. Lindos was packed with tourists and the road up-to the Acropolis was very busy so we gave it a miss, again!

On the way back, we stopped to watch some football for a while, as the local team took on a visiting side. We were there for about a quarter of an hour in which time the home team gave away a couple of easy goals. The club supporters offering (unintelligible to us) free advice. However, the gesticulations they were making went some way towards explaining the meaning!

Monday. We had a day out walking the peninsula that was used as the backdrop for the film “The Guns of Navarone” Written by Alistair MacLean. The Guns of Navarone was made into a movie in 1961 starring Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Quayle and Stanley Baker.

The weather was very warm and was accompanied by a slight drizzle that dried almost as soon as it touched you. So it was ideal for a good walk. It is a very long strenuous trek to reach the end of the peninsula. Some of the way is along good surfaced roads and tracks. However, it is easy to get side-tracked into going in the wrong direction. We had to retrace our steps three times before we finally reached our destination. I took a few photographs, along the cliff edge. However, as we made our return trip back by a different route. We found signs saying it is a military area and photography is forbidden!!

We came across a goat feeding on a small tree, the goat was on its hind legs and its front legs was resting on a branch. This branch was hanging over a 50 foot almost sheer drop and we were standing underneath. The goat made its way sidways, along the branch back to the main trunk to get back on the cliff top.

The high-light of our day on the headland being a wonderful Gyre Falcon that put on a display of effortless thermal and cliff up-wind riding as it slowly migrated south. We also came across a flock of sparrows that were hawking into a cloud of flying ants that were emerging from the nest. They were in such a feeding frenzy that they were oblivious to out presence. Later, Mags stopped to feed a small cat, that came to greet us. We soon had a posse of pussies surrounding us, that I called the “Magnificent Seven”.

Tuesday. I awoke with a start at 5:30 this morning to a mind-blowing thunderstorm. Sheet lightening that was almost continuous flash-flash-flash with less than a second between them. This storm continued for about an hour. The wind had been building over night and the tranquil beach was converted into a maelstrom of breaking waves. Later in the day the wind eased down a notch or two and we went beach combing along the high water line.

I found two small plastic boat fenders which if we have room to spare we intend to bring back with us. We had a walk towards St Pauls bay in the early afternoon to give us a light workout to ease the aches of yesterdays ten mile up-hill trek. On the way back we could see the weather building for yet another another storm. It arrived just after we reached the hotel.

Weather Underground is predicting 50/70 mm of rainfall for our area in the next two hours.

The visibility was down to less than a hundred yards and the thunder and lightening are much more spectacular than this morning. The electricity has been on and off a couple of times at the hotel so it does not bode well for tonight’s meal. Good job we fetched a couple of bottles of wine, several chocolate bars, a couple of packets of crisps and a big pack of chocolate biscuits as emergency rations!

The hillside at the back of the hotel has turned into a waterfall. There are mopping up operations taking place in many places around the hotel. Our balcony has about 50mm of water and about 25mm to go before it comes into the room. We are busy placing towels under the doors to stem any possible inward flow.

The storm took two hours to pass overhead. The very heavy rain has now abated to a light steady rain and the thunder and lightening has moved away. Phew! The rain was very close (10mm) to coming into our room via the balcony. I found a couple of small drain holes and prodded them clear of accumulated rubbish. The waves were quite spectacular down on the beach - which in turn for some reason seemed to be quite free of tourists.

Two hours later the storm returned and dropped the missing 20/25mm in less than an hour!


Drat, the hotel has lost its broadband connection!

Wednesday. The end of our first week.

Today, we started out with overcast sky, however, within the our the sun had returned. We went beach combing again. The path down to the beach had been swept clear of accumulated stones and pebbles by the sheer weight of water run-off. A large swath of the beach had been cleared of sand and pebbles and taken back to the bedrock. We found a few small oval fishing net floats that we collected to use as floating key fobs for our BW keys!

We spotted what looked very much like a Wheatear, but I was not 100% on identification so it will have to wait until I can check the photo against one of my birding books. I also found a stunning Yellow Wagtail in the hotel garden as I was having a walk round.

Later we had a walk into Lindos, we wandered around the town and beach area for a while. We avoided the rush of tourist going up and down the path to the acropolis. We called in to one of the local super market for ice cream before walking back to the hotel. A couple of local boy racers racing down the road on quad and solo motorbikes (both without exhausts) startled a small flock of goats. The goats put on an amazing display of sure footed gymnastics as they effortlessly climbed a sheer 100 foot cliff face at high speed.

I managed to restart the hotels wireless router and get the broadband link back-up and running again. I never cease to be amazed by IT numpties. Every setting on all five of their linked access points were left at the default login/password pair. I thought I would say nothing to the staff as the holiday is not over yet, but I must give them a reminder on the last day. In the foyer is a PC for the hotel patrons to use. The guests are given the administrator login and password on request!!!!

Enjoyed a long chat with Julie and Keith a couple from the West Midlands, who we befriended a few days ago. Keith is quite smitten with Bandit the cat. Keith and Julie would have loved to take him home to the UK. Bandit was doing his best to help them make up their minds by curling up purring with contentment on Keith's lap! He is such an endearing little character is Bandit and so is Keith!

We finished off the evening by watching my beloved Manchester United stuff it to the opposition on television. We shared the television coverage along with Christiano Ronaldo the ex Manchester United and European player of the year!!! Well, "Eri" our bar man was a  doppelgänger for Ronaldo. Plus Eri is a Man United-ite so he must be a good man.

Thursday. A long walk along the beach and a scramble amongst the rocks where I took some photographs of the first flowers of the season. All this as well as doing our usual beach combing. The weather was bright hot sunshine which continued until the late afternoon when the heat boiled up some clouds. However, this helped to make the high humidity a bit more comfortable. Tried the pool for the first time today – Bracing is another word that comes to mind.

A new kitten arrived in the hotel grounds. "Ringo" as we have called him is a ginger male, with a very long tail complete with six pale rings. His tail seems to be held erect just like a Madagascan Ring-tailed Lemur.

We scavenged off the beach quite a few small cork fishing net floats - these are to be used to turn our BW keys into floaters as I have already lost one over the side of the narrowboat - just a few moments after I purchased it.

We also found a small florescent yellow marker buoy as used in the local marinas. Plus a slightly larger red fishing buoy. One  that has an integral winder for a rope. This type is used by the local fishermen for lobster pots.

Friday. Today is the Memsahib's birthday. We went down to the beach and had a few leisurely hours swimming in the sea and at the same time watching the antics of the goats on the cliff face. We spent some time with Charles and Terry another couple from the “Yorkshire contingent” who seemed to have invaded the island. The hotel provided a couple of special cocktail drinks for us to celebrate. Mags had one I did not drink mine. However, Mags also slept quite well!!

I love the Little Gecko Lizards that seem to be in every crack and cranny of the rocks. Their colour helps to give them protection from predators - Though we did see a few being picked off my the sharp eyed Kestrels.

Saturday. We hired a motor scooter and almost did a lap (120 km) of the island. It was warm in the sunshine but a little on the cool side whenever travelling in the shade. After our evening meal we sat out to enjoy the last of the days warmth and a glass or two of the local “el vino collapso” whilst exchanging “holiday” experiences and stories with the other guests.

It turned out that another couple lived within a short distance of us. (just across the Dearne Valley) As the saying goes – its a small world. One of the other guests had spent his working life in banking (boo-hiss) He had been deployed through his work to various parts of the UK. In each place had had acquired some of the local vernacular so to speak – It was quite funny to hear him telling stories as either a Scouser, Brummie, Wolverhampton or even a Bolton/Chorley-ite seemingly at will.

Sunday. A lazy morning started with a large breakfast and then I settled down to watch the formula one, what a disappointment. Rain and a procession led by a Mercedes sports car turned a race into a farce. Mags had chosen the better option of going down to the beach to feed one of the guard dogs followed by topping up her tan round the pool. After the F1 had finished we went out on the bike to do some sight seeing up in the central mountains. Rhodes is in the main very unspoilt and has some interesting archaeological sites to visit. The beaches have not been over developed with a plethora of fast food “tavernas” that can be found on many other Greek islands.

We were attracted to the centre of the island where we had seen a very large lake. It is man made and slowly filling with water off the mountains. There is a very large dam currently under construction. When full, the lake will be 8 million square metres in area and around 40 metres at the deepest point. We met up with one of the Greek workforce on site, who was very proud of the project. He was also able to practice his English, German and Spanish with us and some of the other visitors. Unfortunately, he happened to be a Leeds United supporter. I was however, able to reassure him that given sufficient time he would recover his senses.

Monday. I'm starting to get Poppy pangs as I am missing our canine family member that we left behind at home. Here is "Molly the thug Pug" who was guarding a petrol station just south of the Rhodes airport.

Talking about pets, I have some news on “Bandit” the hotels accidentally acquired kitten. A guest at the hotel who has been smitten by the kitten has decided that she wants to give him a home. So the process of extracting Bandit to a new life in Switzerland has begun.

Worming, neutering and Bandits jabs are all on the cards. On another note, Mags continues to feed the other hotel drop-in cats. Left-overs are being smuggled to favoured feline friends by various guests as I write.

When we left the UK, be brought with us some Foxes glacier fruit sweets. It seems that the liquorice and blackcurrant variety are unavailable on the island. After a chat with one of the sweet-toothed hotel staff, we have now been relieved of our carefully conserved stash.

Today, was the big one, a full lap of the island. This reminded us of doing a full lap of the TT course on the Isle of Man) Rhodes is 77km long and 37km wide. This lap took most of the day because of the frequent stops we made to take photographs along the route.

Tuesday. We took the bike back to the bike hire centre and then had a lazy day. Starting off by reading down on the beach where we spent some time watching a Kingfisher. We ambled back to the hotel and did some more reading around the pool. I also downloaded a couple of new books onto the Kindle. Not doing bad so far with 5 books polished off. Later, we heard a Kestrel calling quite loud. We arrived in time to watch the brave Kestrel dive bombing a large female Buzzard and shift her out of his territory. Nice sunset this evening as the clouds helped to make the afterglow over the "Navarone coast" last much longer than normal.

Wednesday. Up early and suitcases packed. Down for a large breakfast before heading off to the airport. Made a few purchases in the airport duty free and then settled down to wait departure. An hour before scheduled take off came the instruction to go to the gate and board the plane. We were in the air half an hour before our scheduled take off time. The flight path was diverted to the east, we flew over Turkey to avoid some heavy turbulence over the north of the Aegean.

The high spot of the holiday was the hot if sometimes spectacular weather.

The low spot of our visit was the state of the beaches, especially  along the south west coast of the island. The human habitation around here is very sparse. Yet, the beaches are full of the detritus of our human everyday living. Plastic of every colour, bottles and crates, old shoes and many other items of our throw away society all end up in the sea and ocean.

In all fairness Rhodes and its beaches are much the same as many other beaches around the Mediterranean. The water on the south west coast is chrystal clear. In the inter-island ferry dock we could clearly see fish and horseshoe crabs on the the bottom at a depth of 4 metres. 

The scenery on Rhodes can be nothing less than breathtaking. However, what piques me more than anything else is the legacy we are leaving behind for our children. Several feet in depth of nylon, polythene and plastic from end to end along a 70km stretch of coast that will take hundreds of years to break down.

Later.....