Karaoke

Tusk's last gig on Zakynthos - full house at Deano's Place!

Photos from the boat trip

All the visitors have gone

It’s been quite some time since I updated the blog … my apologies but living the rock star lifestyle is hard work! Since I last wrote, Tusk have been gigging every night except one, when we had a barbecue at the house, although it was so hot we had to sit inside with the air-con. Gigs included a guest spot at a Ride show for a Club 18-30 party in Lagana … That was an interesting night, what with Andy’s victory dance (he beat Chris at pool or air hockey or something) and when we arrived back at Deano’s Place, Munchie the barman from Craigavon was fulfilling a bet by wearing a mankini as seen in “Borat”. Our eyes will never be the same. The boys played at a beach bar on Wednesday night and Cressida arrived in time to catch the end of the show.
On Friday, Chris and Caroline treated us to a boat trip round the island. It was a long but very enjoyable day. We started at Zakynthos town and travelled clockwise. There were swim stops at Keri caves and the shipwreck beach, and there was a third stop for those brave enough to dive off the boat (everyone except me). I enjoyed seeing the coastline we’re familiar with from a different angle – we recognised the beach where we swim, the harbours where Tasha walks, Alykes and Tsilivi. It was a really lovely day and we thoroughly enjoyed it – thank you guys.
Our neighbours Barry and Elaine introduced us to the beach at Amoudi and the nearby taverna. The beach is never very busy. When it busy, it is with Greeks since there aren’t many British holidaymakers in this area. The water is as warm as a bath, and crystal clear. It is very salty and buoyant so is perfect for me to practice swimming. We have another heatwave with temperatures in the 40s and a swim in the sea is the only way to cool down. Cressida has enjoyed our visits to the beach, she is a real water baby. She has been doing some work on the terrace and is preparing for her teaching stint at Bryanston which commences on Saturday. We went shopping for souvenirs in Tsilivi – she was extremely efficient and managed to make all her purchases in an hour and a half! (I don’t think she wanted to waste precious swimming time!)
Chris, Caroline and Andy left on Monday at 5am and should have arrived back in Belfast by Monday night. Cressida left on Wednesday. We had a fun night singing karaoke in Deano's Place while David was in Lagana playing with the Ride.

Makeshift study

Am getting some work done, slowly. Cressida arrives on Wednesday night, and it will be wonderful to see someone from home with whom I can talk academia!

latest news from Alonia

David has been working hard to get gigs lined up for Tusk. He has spent a lot of time driving back and forth to the different resorts and waiting around for people who sometimes didn’t even show up. Still, they have secured quite a few gigs for the rest of the boys’ time here.

The van's exhaust has been fixed. We took it to Dimitri, the English speaking mechanic recommended by Irene. When Irene’s car broke down, he took her to Lidl to do her shopping, brought it into the house for her, and returned her car to her that evening! Dimitri brought us home so he knew where we lived then took the van back to his workshop to fix, returning it to us 3 hours later. The exhaust was broken in 2 places and he fixed these, charging only €50. And as well as being the most honest car mechanic we have ever met, he DJs on the local radio station in the afternoons when the workshop is closed for siesta!

Irene is changing her car. David took photos of it so she could advertise it in local shops and the English language newspaper. She is getting a Chevrolet Matiz which will be delivered towards the end of July. The first advert she placed was on the board outside Lidl. Irene just pinned the notice up when she was there to do her shopping and fully expected someone to take it down again since she hadn’t paid to place the advert. It was still there the next day and the person who saw it has now bought the car. So Irene and Dave have no car for a couple of weeks. Tani is helping to walk Tasha and we are taking her to the beach when we can. She is normally put in the back of Irene’s car and seatbelted in, so travelling in the van is taking a bit of getting used to. She wedges herself between the seats and looks out the windows, drooling over us. Yesterday when we were out with her, we were trying to get her back in the van and she wouldn’t go. She walked round it and we thought she was just doing a circuit of the van. When she didn’t come back we went looking for her, only to find her sitting in the back of the car next to us, the owner of which had left the doors open to let the air in. There was Tasha, sitting in (and drooling over) the back seat of a strange car, patiently waiting for us to put the seatbelt round her! The owner of the car was tending his boat and we aren’t sure whether he saw what was happening. We put her in the van and got away as fast as we could!

The water in the village has been off for quite a few days. We didn’t associate the pulsing noise in the house meant that the mains was off and the tank was trying to fill. Our water ran out just as we were about to have shower and go to a gig. For 4 days we were without running water, and were going to Chris and Caroline’s to have a shower. Thankfully the mains is back on and we are so grateful for the things we took for granted - like being able to flush the toilet!

Shadow and Tasha

Shadow has now been with Irene and Dave for 2 weeks, and has almost doubled her body weight. She and Tasha are best of friends (Shadow is merely stretching in the photo, she's not being aggressive towards Tasha!) and sleep together in Tasha's bed.

Garden

We have cut the grass and done some tidying in anticipation of our landlady’s visit this week. Sarah met us in town to show us how to pay our rent directly into Angela’s bank account. She has also got us a tax number so that we can have a phone line installed, and therefore have internet access of some degree. There are slow broadband connections in the internet cafes, but we aren’t sure if broadband has penetrated the hills of Zakynthos yet.

Tusk

Andy, Chris and Caroline arrived on Friday after 24 hours travelling. They flew from Dublin to Athens via Amsterdam, then took the 4 hour bus journey to Kyllini before boarding the ferry to Zakynthos. Amazingly, they stayed awake to go to David’s gig in Casa, then to Deano’s Place, then to the beach party!

Tusk rehearsed at our house on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Sound regulations meant that a full drum kit was out of the question, so Chris picked up the bongos for the first time on Saturday. To prevent them slipping off his sweaty knees, they were ingeniously attached to him using some garden twine and one of David's belts! The first Tusk gig in Zakynthos was at Deano's Place on Sunday night. The bar was packed, people danced, and girls joined David on stage to sing!

Successful first Swing Show

Two Pikeys hoping to get lucky?

I've got my eye on you, David!

Rudgey's departure and Rehearsing for the Swing show

Dean insists that the Swing show should go ahead ... despite only 2 hours of a rehearsal!

Rudgey has gone home, how quiet it is without him! I was quite proud of myself, I took Rudgey to the airport all by myself and it was an uneventful journey, except for a minor digression onto the left side of the road - too much to think about - Rudgey talking while trying to work out how to get to the airport - thank goodness for the deserted back roads on Zakynthos!

"Hotel McVeigh" is vacant until Friday when the next house-guest arrives. The other members of David's band are arriving - Andy is staying with us, while Chris and his girlfriend are staying in Alykes. Through Sarah, we have organised them a lovely studio, a 30-second walk to the beach! We hope they'll be pleased. Andy will have to make do with our spare room, but we're going shopping in Zakynthos town tomorrow and will buy some things to brighten it up a bit.

Spikey and the Pikeys - Deano's Place, 2nd July 2007

Monday 2nd July

The past few days have been more of the same: David recording and gigging, me pottering about and trying to do some work, and Rudgey coming and going in his little red Hyundai shoebox.

The heatwave lasted until Wednesday and I believe temperatures topped 42 degrees (that’s over 100 Fahrenheit). On the hottest days, Kefallonia wasn’t visible at all! On Thursday it cooled down to 36 degrees, 32 on Friday – a lot more manageable. There is now a cool breeze and the heat feels very pleasant indeed.

On Friday, David took a few hours off and we went for a long overdue drive through the mountains in the north of the island. At one point we could see the sea on all sides, Kefallonia was clear as a bell and so was the Greek mainland. Zakynthos really is a beautiful island.

David, John and Rudgey did a gig in the Artemis bar in Argassi. They called themselves "Spikey and the Pikeys." They are giving a repeat performance in Deano’s Place on Monday night before Rudgey goes home. Thursday was the Safari Bar in Kalamaki and Rudgey took the cordless mike down the street to talk to potential customers!

Rudgey leaves on Tuesday. The Tusk boys arrive on Thursday. Andy will be staying with us, while Chris and his girlfriend are going to stay in a studio nearby.

I don’t have any photos yet but Irene rescued a little 5 week old kitten which she found wandering in the middle of a main road. The kitten has been named Shadow because she follows Tasha everywhere she goes. Shadow was skin and bone when Irene rescued her, weighing in at 300 grammes, but she is now eating around the clock, and sleeps beside Tasha in Tasha’s bed!