At last i can sit down and give you a first real blog update. I am now sat in "34" cafe with my frappe, laptop and all is now settled and sorted.
Not done any adventures as yet around the island but that will begin this Sunday with my first full proper day off (bar open as normal in night)
So, how are all my lovely blog followers doing this July? You all good? I know, I know, the weathers shocking in the UK but what do you expect, its summer time.
So its the 10th Anniversary of Oceanic and who would have believed it, from a grotty little shack that used to be a greasy Joes cafe called "Isis" of all names that Oceanic would still be going strong 10 years later. I was only thinking the other day i have spent a 3rd of my life on this island (16 years, you work out the math for my age). This island i have traveled around over and over again, there isn't much of this island that i haven't seen or road i haven't ridden down. I have seen Kalamaki change over the 10 years, seen businesses come and go but still my little plain and simple no frills bar with no tv's or wifi still keeps up with the big boys. But that isn't down to me, that's down to you, the customer. As I've always said Its just a normal bar nothing special or great, its you that make this bar. So many people have met new friends and chatted with new people over the years its great to see the art of socializing is still alive and kicking without the trappings of modern society. So its a huge, massive, big, BIG thank you to all who have visited Oceanic over those 10 years.
Oceanic when i first took it on.
Well May and June are in the past and what a good past its been, every customer who has visited the bar this season has returned for at least another night which is great to see also this season 70% of custom are new customers and 30% are regulars which is amazing after being closed for all of last season. Would never have expected that.
So as you all know i have a new home, its the first place in my 16 years on the island that has actually felt like a real home but there is a down side, the dreaded display wall unit. Now i hate clutter and i don't really like ornaments as you have to polish them and around them, they may look nice but what a pain in the ass. My dear mum has a glass display cabinet with drinking glasses inside which never get drunk out of, Why? Glasses are for using why just have them on display? If she's happy with it then that's fine by me but i don't get it. If you got a collection of crystal, antique bone china tea sets or odd shaped vegetables i understand completely you want to show them off.
In saying this my friends (maybe enemies now) the Taggs (Emma & Lee) have started a very bad thing, VERY BAD! They have bought me my first ornament, why guys, WHY? It is going to drive me crazy having to polish that bloody unit now cause of one ornament and no i won't just close it away in the draw, you bought it for me as a present and i shall display it but god its going to annoy me.
Turtle spotting at Kev's house, can you spot it?
Also update on my Ducks, I now have 9 white Ducks, Webley, Quince, Lucy, Pandora, Fois, Amelia, Webster, Jemima and Duck. I'm now buying shares in corn.
So i had my first full pool day last week at what i think is one of the best pools and hotels i have been to, the Ilaria Hotel. Why isn't there a major tour company in this hotel? It knocks spots off most hotels i've visited on the island and i'm afraid to say this beats almost all in Kalamaki apart from maybe 1 or 2 which i also use. I may treat myself to a week here for my birthday, why the hell not, i deserve it.
Huge pool, huge pool side area, pool bar and just 20 sunbeds and 3 people, including me.
While i was homeless and living in a travel tavern i had to use a laundrette (just the once) as i was fed up of washing all my clothes by hand but after using it i remembered why i hadn't used one since the last time 12 years ago. I gave them a bag of washing with 5 pairs of socks in which i had put in to pairs. I collected my washing and went home to sort it out. My t shirts which were all new were shrunk and faded and they had lost 2 socks, REALLY? HOW? How the hell do you lose 2 socks out of 5 pairs? It wasn't even a large bag of washing and what temp was the washer on to fade my t-shirts. OH MY GOD, what the ****, A chimp could have done a better job with a wash board and olive soap. This laundrette was in Zakynthos town by the way on a back street and it cost me 15€.
Also how does a sock fit from size 6-11? Have you seen the difference in those sizes? A size 11 sock would be like a flipper on me so how god damn it does one sock fit all, just look at the pic, the black lost normal sock is a size 6-7 and the grey lost trainer sock is a size 6-11, LOOK AT IT, the trainer sock is the size of the whole normal sock, RIDICULOUS!
I want to protest, NO MORE ONE SIZE FITS ALL SOCKS!
Now time for the weird world of Zakynthos.
Parking. If all parking spaces are taken why not just double park. Its not as if anyone needs their car, they can walk home. How are these poor people who may have just parked up for a coffee meant to get out? Its not as if they can find the owners of the double parked cars. This stretched the whole length of the street.
Now i love Star Wars as you know but what the hell are these? Now i get it that they are based on Lego Star Wars figures but blimey, the X wing at the back is wilting, the Stormtroopers look like they have mop buckets for helmets and Darth Vader has piled on the pounds, must be all the Gyros, "May the fork be with you!" Get it? Please yourselves.
On the Saturday when we had a major major monsoon storm this fell on to my bar floor. Is it a huge hail stone? Is it a piece of ice from a plane? Who knows, just a good job no one was sitting outside when it come down as it was raining.
AAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHH! Greggs are here, Greggs are here! I was browsing around the frozen section of a certain supermarket in town looking for some fish and there in front of me was a beacon of delight, the whole iceland range of Greggs pastries. I couldn't believe it. These were 3.17€ but the others were quite expensive all over 5€ just for 2 items, here we have 4 sausage rolls. Now i've been real good all season so far eating healthy and lots of bran (parp) but this i just couldn't resist.
And here are those beauties all cooked and ready to eat, which i did, all 4 after i finished work, they were sooooooooo good.
Oceanic in the daytime will now be Greggs with steak slices at 5€ a piece.
We have some more additions to the Oceanic t-shirt collection with a couple of cheeky ones thrown in.
They are basically the "Anti" keep calm t-shirt. I have seen so many Keep Calm t-shirts, bags and hats being worn by tourists this season, Keep Calm and Tan, Keep Calm and Drink, Keep Calm and Jog?????? So i come up with the opposite. They are a sarcastic swipe at the Keep Calm saying.
And finally, like they do with the news, a funny item.
Here is a cat that constantly looks surprised, his expression never changes, bit like Barry Manilow.
Can you guess its name? Yep, its Kevin. At first i found the cat hilarious until i found out its name, who in their right mind calls a cat Kevin. Tiddles, Tom, Puss in Boots, Tigger, YES but never, NEVER Kevin.
So that's it for this fine longer update, so until next time.......
Serve All, Love All, Peace All, Kevlar Out!
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