Late September:chores and parties

 While I continue with my retrospective journal, let me take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Burns Day. Enjoy a wee  dram and may your face be sonsie as you eat your haggis - warm-reekin', rich!

September Morning chores, H. walks the dog while I go to clean out the water filters of the pool. There, among the soggy autumn leaves and drowned insects, is a small coiled snake and, from the distinctive geometric pattern, it’s a viper- Greece’s only poisonous snake. Its apparent inert  state could simply be a response to low water temperature and it could be very much alive – time to call H. – when it comes to snakes –  total wimp, me !                                                                                                                                                  Following day – a second encounter.  Snake in the grass – a term we use to express a lurking danger ; but how about snake in the pool? That’s not ‘lurking’ but rather desperately rearing its head to scale up the tiled wall, then  slithering back into the water. There I was, congratulating myself on braving the now cool water, on completion of my first lap when I saw the thing. Was it a lizard? Realizing it’s more likely to be a close relative of our water filter victim, I do the fastest-ever time to the other end and …out ! H’s assistance is again requested- this time at full throttle! Strange thing that one can make cooing sounds on seeing a little gecko with its cute little feet, without which the snake must of necessity slither and that is what gives me the heebie –jeebies.

Our last summer house-guest arrives, pal from the 70’s when we shared a flat when we became first –time residents in Greece. We’ve shared a lot and paralleled: Masters in Applied Linguistics, managing language centres in Arabia . We hold two parties in her honour to catch up with old friends. One on the night of her arrival- by 10pm we’re all wearing jackets as it’s rather cool for pool parties now. First course is my salmon ‘gougere’ – actually a large round of choux pastry cut in half, filled with smoked salmon, smothered in Greek yoghourt seasoned with salt, garlic salt and dill. This was a special request from Christina who’s about to go off to Glasgow University to do her  Master’s . The dish is light, easy to assemble once guests have arrived, easily cut and served – not as fiddly as individual salmon slices.

Our next party is for ex-students, now firm friends, from the 70’s. We hold this one on the upper balcony as we suspect the increasingly overcast skies are likely to dump their contents on any table set in the garden.  There are 12 of us in all and our doctor and dentist sister-friends arrive with a massive pan of beans baked in the oven (fournoV) in a tomato sauce. This is a great favourite (brother-in-law loves his ‘furnace beans’) and my main dish is Scottish kleftiko – my variation of a Cypriot dish, using pork instead of the usual lamb. Pork is marinated overnight in seasoned  Greek yoghurt,  oil, lemon juice and oregano. This is lightly fried; potatoes are sliced and roasted in the oven (with very little oil); as are aubergines after they have been skinned, sliced and left salted to extract bitter juices, then rinsed and patted dry.  For twelve people I prepared 20 generous portions : each  with potatoes, aubergines, pork,  (the only cooked ingredients- although I often add carrot sticks braised in soy sauce )  accompanied by onion , tomato, cabbage, feta, oil and seasoning, all placed on baking parchment then wrapped up in foil. Baked in the oven ( 180o)  for an hour, the flavours combine beautifully and the packages keep hot for ages. Guests have to decide whether they will daintily eat from the foil wrapping or dump the contents on their plates and dunk the juices with bread – the latter is recommended!

Other high spots were spent with pal pondering over our respective – and similar- sudokus and crosswords, the silence punctuated with the odd comment on the level of difficulty, of appreciation of a clever anagram or plea (mine) for assistance. That silence, as well as long catch-up conversations, I can classify as real companionship!