Gosh It’s Hot!

Yesterday it was 47’ on our kitchen patio. We have been unable to reduce the temperature in our lounge below 31’ for the past two weeks now. I will never get used to living constantly with a thin layer of sweat all over my body and being in wet clothes all the time. And as for the amount of water we drink in a day ... !

When we sit in cool lounges watching the world weather on television, we tend to marvel at warm places; the Mediterranean climate within a range. Beyond a certain level it is too hot for comfort and in some parts of the world humidity if also an issue. For those thinking of moving abroad it is worth remembering that in most cases the weather temperatures are a given average from weather stations in an area. Most weather stations are located at airports, because of the obvious need to know. How many airports do you know that are not windy? The wind chill factor tends to underplay the real temperature of living in the nearby town or city where air-conditioners pump out hot air into the streets and all manner of vehicles, refrigerators, cookers and just people add a few degrees to the reported temperatures. We do not suffer from that sort of neighbourliness, but living tucked into an exposed piece of rock half way up a mountain means we have a direct line to the unrelentless sun!

After being used to living in a green land where primarily rain is a possibility I had not realised how much that shapes one’s lifestyle, attitudes and even health. Thus coming to spend time on an island which has about the greatest hours of sunshine of all Greek islands, where for the most part it doesn’t rain between mid-April to the end of September, we have had to learn a new way of life and develop new habits to retain our sanity.

At Kalithea Villa we are not on mains water or sewage and thus have to rely on water we collect during the winter months. The house has seven roofs at different levels where water runs down the levels from one to the other and finally through pipes into one of two large underground sternas. It was not long before Waldo realised that the flat roofs allowed water to stand and subsequently evaporate when the sun returned. Thus he devised a clever means of connecting pipes which means that now all water from the top levels is collected in pipes rather than just splashing to the next level; this way we have increased our collection levels by about one-third. Water is precious and we cannot be without it; thus conservation is essential. We restrict visitors to no more than one shower per day – and even then to ask beforehand ‘do you really need it’? Gone are the days when things are swilled under running water. Washing up is a once a day affair, by hand. When drawing hot water, the first run of about one litre of cold water is put into a plastic bottle and later used for making tea, or put into the ‘fridge for cold drinking water. Used water is poured over plants. Toilets are flushed only when necessary, and the cisterns are much smaller than in the UK; the equivalent of putting a brick into the tank. By these measures, which have now become habits, we manage to eak out our water until September and the first torrential thunder storm. What is amazing is that we have, as far as possible carried over these personal water saving habits, put in a water meter and our water bills in South Wales are now one-fifth of the charges given us as an unmetered property. That saving alone pays for both of us to have two return trips to Greece, including any accommodation needed en route.

The house is not a traditional island house with small windows and balconies with side walls and tiled roofs. It is not built to keep out the light and to provide maximum shade. It is a modern property built in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright’s beach houses. This means it has stark lines, lots of big windows, open patios all around and facilities to let in as much light as possible. The lounge alone has two large windows, two sets of double patio doors and two sets of windows the equivalent of unopening double patio doors. Above all of these runs a series of four large oblong windows, meaning that we have a run of about 12 metres of floor to ceiling glass edged by two large windows. The room juts out of the house and the outer glass walls are jointed together like the sides of an old thruppeny piece; designed to catch light and sun from every angle! Thanks Frank!

The previous owners had tried to limit the amount of sunlight coming into the top windows, for sunlight = heat, by covering the glass with a reflective film. We had added blackout blinds which we keep opened for most of the time between May and September. In the morning the nets and thermally lined curtains are kept closed, until about 2pm when the sun is behind the house. It has taken a lot to turn our British attitude of ‘it’s a shame to keep the sun out’ into ‘please, please put as many barriers between it and us as possible’.

Kitchen doors are open all day to enable some breeze to come through, but must be closed before dusk to ensure mosquitoes and inquisitive, hungry or just lost little creatures don’t come in. Apparently it is only the female mosquito that bites. This is the only time when I don’t say ‘go for it girls’! On the whole Waldo and I are not much bothered by mosquitoes, but then just a single mosquito can wreak havoc in one night! We do not apply mosquito repellent and rarely get bitten. Friends who come to stay slap on this foul smelling stuff and we then spend breakfast times counting the bites! The best repellent we have found is a solar-battery powered little device which I bought on board a BA flight to Athens. The clip can be left on a side table, attached to a belt or handbag and emits a tiny high pitched sound, only audible if you place it right next to your ear. Apparently this sound emulates that of a male mosquito, I’m not sure whether ‘he’ is angry or rampant but either way the biting female flees at the sound!

The only way to really combat the heat is to live at night. How many tourists hit the clubs and bars in the evenings so busy they do not realise there are few Greeks around. Then after a long lie in they eventually rise and wander down to the beach to top up the tan, commenting how it is that Greek men particularly just sit around all day drinking coffee. What they do not realise is that if they would be up between 4 – 5am and mid-day they would see fields being ploughed, undergrowth being cut, walls painted, canopies fitted, anything that requires manual labour is done at this time. From mid-day to around 8pm is time for sitting, eating, sleeping, and watching TV, all in the shade or inside an air-conditioned room. Then, after a shower and a coffee it is time once more for work, maybe catching up with paperwork, business meetings and then an evening meal any time after 9pm, but more likely about 11pm until about 1am. In fact I read somewhere in a European Commission that Greek people work, on average, the longest hours in the European Union. Now they do work long hours, but then there are ‘lies, damn lies and statistics’ to which we might tag on ‘and Greek government statistics’!

Nevertheless, I fall into this lifestyle quite happily. When I had a business base in Athens my working day would start with an appointment anytime between 7am and 8am. I would work through to perhaps an early working lunch. I would sleep from about 2-3pm until about 7.30 – 8.00. After that is was time for business meetings in a cafe bar somewhere rather than an office and then I would meet up with friends around 10-11pm until anything from midnight to 2am. Waldo finds this split day difficult and spends grumpy hours unable to work because of the heat and often tired but unable to sleep. As the summer progresses so we eat later and later as I am unable to even boil an egg as the excess heat is too much. So we live on salads from an overworked 30-year old Kelvinator (any non-American under 60 ‘Google it’ to find details of this gem of a machine).

Coming from a land of warm beer and hot bacon butties we have had to adapt a lot. First one bottle of water is kept in the ‘fridge, then as our consumption increases two are needed. Cold fizzy drinks or alcohol just cannot be consumed in the quantities that our dehydrated bodies demand, thus water is the order of the day. Cooked breakfasts have never been a part of our diets, except for special treats. But as the temperature rises so does our taste for fresh fruit and so peaches, apples, pears, oranges with muesli and yoghurt replace our hot toast for breakfast. Lunch is usually more water. In the evening our meals get later and later as I am unable to even prepare a sliced tomato without salt sweat dripping down my forehead and blinding me. So it’s salads or something that can be quickly prepared and put in the oven and left to its own devices until ready, or a meal such as a risotto which can be prepared on one pan. Gone are the meat and three veg, all requiring a separate hotplate plus gravy which requires me to stand near the cooker and stir! And then as they say, ‘if you can’t stand the heat’ yes, I ‘get out of the kitchen’ and it’s off to a taverna or a friends’ house.

I’m sure that the Greek gregariousness stems from the heat. Where houses are close together in narrow streets to provide shade in the summer and warmth in the winter, when windows are kept open to catch the slightest welcoming breeze even though curtains may be closed to keep out the hot light, sound still travels. It is not possible to not hear the sounds of neighbours’ lives; parental rows, mothers scolding children, grandparents talking to themselves, lovemaking even, all sounds carry. When it is such an effort to prepare and even cook a meal it might as well be for 4 as 2, for 8 as 4. And, if we know from eavesdropping or the rumours that spread from eavesdropping that some friends are going through a hard time, why not invite them round for a meal? Or simply why not invite someone round, knowing that sometimes in the future you will have a preparation free evening as they reciprocate the invitation. Yes the heat has its compensations.

A friend of mine in Athens says that just the simple act of inviting friends around for a meal in British summer is fraught with stress in a way that is unimaginable in Greece. At first I didn’t understand what he was talking about until he recounted staying with friends in the south of England and being part of the lead up to the event. A simple decision was made: we’ll have a barbecue a week next Saturday. The head count goes up – we don’t have enough chairs and tables outside. So invitations are made and certain people asked to bring some of their own garden furniture. The host and hostess started working out what food would be provided; then it dawned on them ‘what if it rains’? Nikos could not believe the permutations and combinations of possibilities: raining so hard everything had to be inside, raining just enough to require sitting down inside but some of the food could be cooked on the barbecue under the umbrella, fine weather and all could be outside. Within these possibilities were discussions on cooker capacity, cutlery, china and glasses to use for we Brits tend to use china inside and picnic style products outside. Last minute telephone calls are made as to whether or not the furniture is needed; it’s not raining with you, well it’s pouring down over hear, we’ll not need the chairs. He could not believe what he perceived as the stress. Realising that this was something that was played out as the norm in thousands of households throughout the British summer, the pressure of what Waldo calls ‘the big heater’ paled into insignificance. The Greek housewife will say to people ‘come round for a meal tomorrow’ (a week next Saturday is far too distant to comprehend). She knows that if she decides on a barbecue it will be outside, doesn’t even consider an alternative. Because the outdoor lifestyle is the norm the family will have enough tables and chairs already located in a shady spot; the china, cutlery and glasses are the same and the only choice is what to prepare and cook. Easy!

‘The big heater’ has its other uses too. I can put in a load of washing in the machine in the morning and by mid afternoon everything is dry. We have had a few occasions with visitors when we have had ‘change-over days’. With just one flight a day from Athens, we have taken one lot of visitors to the airport and waved them into the departure lounge, rushed to the arrivals lounge to welcome newcomers. The sheets have been washed, dried and put back on the beds before going to the airport. I recall a friend of mine telling me of watching Indian women working in pairs, washing their saris and then with each one holding a corner, to stretch the material out flat, by the time they had walked round in three circles, the sari was dry. I’m sure that one day I’ll need to get Waldo to help with that drying technique!

One thing I have to be careful of with ‘the big heater’ is sunburn. I have to wear a scarf or wet towel around my neck every time I put clothes out to dry. In the past I have actually had a sunburned neck just in the time it takes me to peg out one washing machine load! Neither of us sunbathes now or in the past. It was of great concern at the back end of last year to discover than I had a small skin cancer – fortunately now all taken out and clear. But given the extent of time some people spend in the sun I was a bit peeved; why me? But I find it extremely sad that whereas the older generation of Greeks will never present their skin to the sun, choose to live in the shade, nearly always cover their heads, and revere pale skin; now a younger generation are following the commercialised fashion for a suntan. What are they storing up for themselves? My skin cancer specialist explained to me that my cancer could have resulted from being exposed to too much sun just on one occasion as a child – and yes I do remember getting burnt on a beach on a south coast holiday when I was about 8 years of age. He asked me if I had ever seen a baby with freckles. Now I’m the last person on earth to ask about babies, having a morbid fear of them! (I have only ever held two in my life. The first was a friend’s child who was thrust into my arms when I went to visit her a few days after the birth. I was so shocked I came out in a cold sweat, nearly dropped the child and handed him back immediately. The second was my sister’s daughter Amelia. Whether it was because she was family or what, but when I met her first, again in hospital, I did feel an immediate bond with her and willingly allowed my sister to put her in my arms. But even though I held her many more times the feeling of fear nearly outweighed the love. I was so glad when she grew up, at least to toddling stage, and became like a mini-adult!)

The skin cancer specialist explained that babies do not have freckles until exposed to the sun. Each freckle is an indication that the skin has been damaged – seared by ‘the big heater in the sky’. I was always led to believe that because my hair was red/auburn and my skin pale that it was natural that I would have freckles. What I didn’t realise was that actually my fair skin has been regularly damaged over the years and the freckles, a thing of beauty to some, are actually the scars of ignorance in the fight against the sun’s rays. So now I wear a floppy hat whenever I go out in the day, where trousers, socks even, and long sleeved tops or use a cotton pashmina whenever I am out.

But living in the heat is a challenge and there are plenty of compensations in the lifestyle. However, it does fascinate me how the grass is always greener ... . In the grey days of British weather we cheer ourselves up with calendars, pictures, postcards and even ornaments decorated with scenes of sunny climes, palm trees, golden sand, azure seas and shining suns. In our minds we can refresh our psyche with a momentary glance and imaginary visit. But the trip is in our minds, it is not within the physicality of the heat, and thus we enjoy it and are renewed with a mere warm glow. Here in Greece the scenes are quite different; alpine slopes, snow covered forests, green pastures and lakeside landscapes dressed in autumn colours. In the sweltering heat we dare to imagine to cool feel of snow, feast on the sight of green, and drink the fresh waters.