Have you ever had one of those days? Yes? No? Well today was probably it, at least the first half but let me deal with yesterday first. It didn’t rain. Once again by midday the sky was an endless blue and today it appears is to be the same. So I watered half the garden and will do the rest today (that which hasn’t been done after having hosed down the dog!). At last I’ve broken through the 50000 word barrier with the new work. It’s only taken about five months or more which is tortoise pace really but maybe it will quicken up now. Considering I already have a template for it there is really no excuse for being such a slug. So had an evening of telly starting with Mr Attenborough’s programme on snakes which was terrifying and, although I didn’t get to see that venomous bugger the tiger snake whilst I was in Australia I now know what he looks like, and why he’s called a tiger snake when there doesn’t seem to be a stripe on his body is beyond me. He just looks a dirty brown. Maybe this one had been rolling in mud. Then came a movie with Gene Hackman – The Heist which was fun - another gold bullion story with a double cross and a double double cross and a double double double cross and a double double double double cross and may be even a fifth double cross but I lost count and lovable Gene baby being the biggest double crosser of them all ended up with all the gold. This was followed immediately by a film called Fracture with Anthony Hopkins doing his full Hannibal the cannibal acting and doing it very well. I have to admit in the first few minutes I was tempted to switch off but I’m glad I stayed with it because in the end it turned out to be a pretty good movie. So it wasn’t to bed till two and today I wanted to drive down to Souda to send Douglas the book via the ferry. So, today … First of all I woke up with the screaming slithering squitters! Now what have I eaten that could have caused that? Nothing I can think of so maybe it’s a follow on to the sore throat that only lasted a day. It is that time of the year I suppose with the change in the weather. You know it’s getting colder when the cats don’t want to stay out all night. Okay, so I am going to chance driving to Souda and, having fed the animals, I disappear into my bedroom to get ready. Merrill is suddenly kicking up the most fearful racket barking non-stop so eventually I decide I had better go and find out what all the fuss was about. I walk into the breakfast room and stop dead when confronted by a rather large ginger dog at which Merrill was doing all her barking and virtually hopping up and down with excitement. The dog seemed placid enough (though you never can tell) and for a while we just stood looking at each other, then I gave it a pat. It didn’t seem to mind that, in fact might even have hoped for it, but no encouragement was going to get it to move so I wrapped a large towel around it and carried it to the garden door. It weighed a ton but I deposited it on the doorstep and slammed the door before it could re-enter, hoping it would just go away. No way. Back in the breakfast room I saw Roussell the cat outside, her back arched, every hair standing on end and hissing for all she was worth. No way was she going to have this stranger in her garden. I tried to call her in but she hared off around the corner in hot pursuit of the interloper. I later found her on a garden wall still doing her best in persuading the stranger to leave. Keppel on the other hand nearly had the screaming squitters as well and disappeared down the stairs into the library because that damned dog was back and now in the courtyard, paws up on the doors, looking through the glass. Of Betty there was no sign. Anyway, I couldn’t hang around. I wanted to go to the bank before moving on to Souda. The dog was back at the garden door and sitting there waiting to be let in. Fat chance. I gathered my bits and pieces and set off. Clipped the offside mirror against the wall but otherwise reached Kalyves without further mishap only to see a dozen cars outside the bank and knowing it would be crowded I moved on. But wait, could something else have gone wrong with the morning? It had. I felt in my trouser pocket. Empty. I hadn’t picked up my plastic wallet with taftotita, (resident’s permit) driving licence and, most important, money, in it. I couldn’t send the parcel if I couldn’t pay for it. There was nothing for it but to either (a) go home and pick it up (it was so stupid in the first place because the car key was on top of it) or go back to the bank so back to the bank I went. The cashiers had reached number 69 (a goodly number) and my ticket was 84 so it was sit and wait time. Although there were two cashiers only one was attending to the waiting customers, the other was catching up on whatever business she thought or felt needed catching up with and no matter how many entered the bank to be served she was not going to be distracted come hell or high water. Typically Greek. Anyway, eventually number 84 was lit up and I got my 200 euro at a good exchange rate. It cost only £160.28. So on to Souda. More cars than ten municipal car parks so eventually I parked in the supermarket car park. I was going to shop there for animal food anyway. Walked back to the Anek office and my left hip started to hurt like hell, something it hasn’t done since I can’t remember. Then down to the ship, the latest in the line. She is HUmungeous! With her car deck empty you could really appreciate her size, as long as a football pitch I warrant. Back to the supermarket. Man strimming the verge on the harbour side of the road creating a huge dust cloud so I walk on the other side and he decides that’s where he will now strim. Move on covered in dust. At the supermarket not a trolley to be found. Goodness only knows where they were because there certainly weren’t enough customers to be using them all. So it was a hand basket which anyway was probably just as well as I would have to carry it when I got home and I didn’t want it to be too heavy (as it was it nearly killed me walking up the steno!) Attendant at the cheese counter doing a similar trick to the cashier in the bank. She had much more important business to attend to than take care of customers. At the checkout another long long queue. Bought a Snickers to give me a sugar high and some instant energy before I faded out. Driving home clipped someone’s car with offside mirror and fled at 120 k’s. He didn’t follow me. Either he wasn’t prepared to drive at that speed or the damage was so negligible it really didn’t matter. No sooner got in when, luck this time, the deadly squitteroodys struck again. And had the doggie gone? Had it hell! It was still sitting at the courtyard door waiting patiently to be let in. And I think I had better finish this blog on that very minor cliff hanger.