It was 40 years ago today .......how time passes!

Just imagine! To mark the milestone in my last blog post I placed a copy of my post on Facebook – I was delighted to get responses from many people I’d met along the way.

                              

Pam, my 5-year-flat-mate in Thessaloniki, and I have shared many get-togethers since then – even as far flung as Yemen and Oman. One memorable one was here and, at the celebratory table, as she opened the cake-box, she saw the Black Forest gateau bearing, instead of the requested, '20 years on’, the message:  ‘20 years  oh no!’  - perhaps more apposite?

Here we are together at one such past event.                                              

This year Pam could not make it so I decided to have diverse celebrations with old buds. My first one was with Betta, my first Greek friend, who was to become my Greek ‘sister’. During a recent assessment trip of mine to Athens, we arranged to meet for lunch. Of course, there were tears and laughter as we reminisced over all the happy experiences we shared : from front-row tables in night clubs, with gardenias gifted by the gentlemen, to crazy panayiria in hill-top villages or disco-dancing after lazing on the beaches of Andros. Wonderful memories of exciting, carefree days as a tourist!

Below you can see Betta and me on her Paleo Phalero balcony in the  mid-70s and more recently at lunch.  Can you recognise us?! Enough of the past for now!

                                                   

This summer has been one of good production so you have to rush to keep pace with the ripening process! This crate of tomatoes boiled down to four jars of sauce to be used with pasta over the winter.

                             

                     

Just when you think you’re ahead of the game, a kindly neighbor leaves heaps of his surplus at our gate, bless!   So, the onions and peppers are fried up with some bean sprouts and soy sauce, wrapped in filo pastry; these spring rolls go down really well accompanied by sweet chilli sauce.

                                                      

But our summer is coming to an end: emerging from that last swim of the season is always a sad moment. I love the Hockney-type hues of the golden leaves floating on the turquoise water.

                    

Our pampas grasses have thrown up their seed stalks, standing proud and adding to the lovely textures of the golds and  greens around.Our pomegranate tree offers the last of the produce, their seeds adding a rich sweetness to green salads.  Lettuce is only now coming on tap as the weather cools.

                                

 

This summer, for the second year running, we had an excellent almond yield. Once the husk is taken off, we set them out on trays to dry in the sun – at least, that’s the idea. Though it cannot possibly be comfortable to lie on top of such hard objects, this has become a favourite place of relaxation for Mr Mao!