A voice shouted up from the courtyard below. It was Katerina, our landlady, who has been so welcoming and helpful since our arrival on Samos.
"Yes I do" came the reply.
"Oh good, I picked these myself this morning from the garden".
Katerina presented me with a carrier bag full of pomegranates, some the size of large grapefruits.
Now it's been a long time since I sat down with a pomegranate, as a child my mother would present me with half of one and a pin. On reflection I think it was a ruse to keep me occupied for half an hour or so. The only other time I have tasted them has been the liquid variety out of a carton or in an exotic display of other fruits beautifully presented in the chill cabinet of Marks and Spencer. Undeterred, I began to think about the correct way to tackle this ancient fruit - what did we do before the internet? A quick search on google and I was watching a 3 minute video on you tube. Armed with this knowledge I set about tackling my pomegranate. Mmmm maybe I need some practice.
A visit to the supermarket is a pretty straightforward experience wherever you are in the world - or so I thought. Having taken a notion to do some baking, I looked at the various packets of flour on display and decided that I should check with some of the ex pat community here on Samos before buying the wrong one. I was informed that the colour of the packet was the reverse of Britain ie plain flour was blue and self raising was red. OK next trip to the supermarket a packet of "S R" was bought. Although not a master baker, I like to think that after years of providing cakes for family, friends, whist drives and cake stalls, I can produce a batch of scones and the odd chocolate cake without too much difficulty.
"Do you need weighing scales?" Harry asked.
"No, of course not, it will be fine".
Somehow the mixture didn't feel right but I pressed on. I flattened the dough out with my hand and used a glass to cut out the scones, brushed them with egg and milk - perfect. I put them in the oven and waited like an excited child for the magic to happen. The scones, if I can call them that, resembled something that had just emerged from a potter's kiln. Not the light fluffy golden brown scones that I have so effortlessly produced over the years - OK maybe I need to talk to my Greek friends about the colour of the packets!
Harry decided that he needed some transport.
"I'm off to buy a motor bike - there is an end of season sale and they are offering 25% discount".
I didn't take too much notice because 1) Harry doesn't have a motor bike licence, not too sure if that would make any difference here and 2) somehow I can't see Harry on a bike.
A little time later Harry returned, pleased as punch, with his new purchase. I had to admit, it did look rather smart and now it takes pride of place in the sitting room - doesn't need fuel, just the odd polish.
Most days Harry and I manage to get out for a walk, usually on what we call the back road.
It makes pleasant strolling and we bump into the locals and sometimes stop for a chat of sorts. After a particularly stormy couple of days we came across a tree which had shed most of it's fruit, mandarin oranges, on the ground. A little old lady heard my groans of "Oh no" and she beckoned us over to her. She was salvaging what she could from the tree and invited us to help ourselves. It was only afterwards as we walked away with pockets stuffed with the fallen fruit did I wonder if it was her tree on her land or was she just foraging.
We had been warned about frequent power cuts here on Samos and were advised to have plenty of candles just in case. So when Katerina told us that there would be no electricity the following day, due to maintenance work, we were well organised. Harry even put the alarm on so that he could get up to make a cup of tea before the scheduled early morning cut off. Harry was somewhat amused when some time later he found his dizzy wife plugging her phone in to recharge the battery. What can I say - maybe I had too much sun yesterday.
Electricity restored, Kath is not losing her marbles and even managed to produce her scones!
So that's all our news for now. Our next blog will be in a couple of weeks and we will have more about the island as we begin our walks. Until then, love to you all.
Kath and Harry xxx
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