I know I have been absent from my blog for a while now, however I recently had an experience that has galvanised me back to the keyboard! What, I hear you ask, has brought this about? Well, get the cuppa sorted, sit back and get ready to be immersed in a tale of discovery, friendship, adventure and overwhelming love, all happening with the backdrop of one of the most beautiful islands I have ever visited!
My brother-in-law had the good sense to propose to a Greek girl. I say good sense because it meant the chances were very high that they would be married in Greece, and who has ever heard of a day trip to Greece? Excellent, that was this year's holiday sorted! Far more importantly, the jolly good sense because his bride to be couldn't be more fairy tale if the Brothers Grimm had written the wedding vows themselves! The stage was set for recreating that most classic of all fairy tales, and my personal favourite, The Princess Bride. Inconceivable, I hear you scream, but wait and by the end of my tale you will understand.
As with all weddings, the run up was fraught, not least because of the venue. The island of Patmos in the Dodeconese was, until a few weeks ago, a small pink splodge to the right of mainland Greece in my atlas. It was somewhere that was going to take a plane, an overnight stay and a ferry trip to get to. Not the most convenient place to go to for a wedding but sometimes these things need to be done and there was certainly some fun being planned, not to mention a wedding, so I knew it would be worth it. Today however, to me, Patmos is Nirvana, a magical place where one can imagine a marble fountain gently spewing forth the elixir of youth. Surely odes have been written about the place, the beauty of the mountains, the serenity of the beaches, the clarity of the water, the personality of the people? When they first got engaged David and Josephine told us all how idyllic Patmos is and, to their credit, that's where they left it. I like to think that they both knew that to oversell the place would be to take something away. Some experiences in life need to be journeys into the unknown, the mysteries and surprises need to be unravelled and experienced in person and in place, not on a chintz sofa thousands of miles away, with expectations hitting the stratosphere.
Only half of any experience is the place, the other half is the people who inhabit said place, and the Patmian people complement their surroundings in the same way that day compliments night. One just cannot exist without the other. One thing that our old Colonial ways have left behind is the worldwide exceptence of the English language. Mind you, as was proved by my five year old son and his new Greek BFF Koko, you don't need to speak the same language to communicate and never is this truer than in Greece. The locals on Patmos open their island, homes and hearts every season to the influx of tourists and even at the end of August, as things are winding down, the smiles were still in place, as genuine and inviting as any I've ever encountered. Everyone on the island seemed to know English on some level, always enough to greet us warmly, ask after our health with true interest and tell us how much the bar bill was! Others were able to converse for hours on end, telling us of the family they have in England, the joy we would experience on Patmos and how the island was experiencing the best weather ever for the time of year. Genuinely some of the nicest people I have ever met, nothing was too much trouble and their personalities shone through.
The seven days that we had, as with as only the very best holidays, seemed to go in a whirlwind, a mix of exploring, swimming, family time and a healthy dose of grown up revelry which included superb food and unmeasured measures of spirit! The local tavernas excel in simply prepared, locally sourced fare that actually tasted as it was meant to. I have found the world over that these establishments concentrate all their energy on providing a great time in a great atmosphere, they leave the pretensions and stuffiness to the glossy mags and five star hotels. No better an example of this was George's Place on Kambos Beach where we spent a great deal of time and where the reception after the wedding took place. George is a wonderful character who seemed to know everyone and everything (although he would no doubt deny all of it if the wrong person asked!). He sat on his bar stool, cigarette habitually hanging from the corner of his mouth, a smile never too far away, and directed his fiefdom with military precision. There was a permanent buzz about the place, the smell of freshly cooked food lingering like a blanket of morning mist, wafting over the beach beds, enticing people to sample the delights to be found inside. This is the quintessential beach bar, inhabited with all the characters that you would expect to find, the aging rocker, as brown as mahogany, festooned with beads and shark's teeth, the once bright but now faded bandana keeping the long hair out of his ouzo; the stressed city types, unwinding and re-learning the art of relaxation and yet still unable to resist the allure of the iPhone; the young gap-year types, thigh muscles formed on the rugby pitch only just being contained in the Vilbrequin shorts, unsubtly eyeing up the pretty, bronzed goddesses that are always present wherever there is sun and sand, wearing not much more than dental floss and an alluring smile; the excitable and high pitched tones of children, let loose on the beach on their own out of their parents desire to have some "us time". There was something for everyone and everyone was enjoying it! 
The day of the wedding dawned, bathed in the ever present sunshine of the island and the last minute rush began to ensure flowers were ready, clothes were pressed from the flight, speeches written (or at least started!), people knew where they had to be and when, the rings were present, the groom was groomed, and jolly smart he looked too, and this was just his list! The bride's day was no doubt equally frantic but when she walked into the square in Hora, on the arm of the proudest of all proud Fathers, she looked as though her biggest concern of the day had been what to have for lunch. She was the very picture of calm radiance, dressed in the most heavenly and stunning dress and shoes, as she made her way over the cobbles to the groom, best man, master of ceremonies and her future. The bridesmaids and pageboys were impeccable throughout, keeping quiet at the right moments and providing just the right amount of amusement during the photos! What followed was the most special service, full of laughs, emotion, family, friends and two huge bursts of song, with only a very few duff notes sung by the enthusiastic congregation! After the happy couple drove off in a vintage Willis Jeep to huge applause and a shower of rice and confetti, we made our way to the reception as the sun was just dipping below the horizon. The mood had been set and everyone was ready for a night of locally inspired entertainment and frivolity. No one was disappointed!
A long double row of candles lit the boardwalk to George's Place along the beach where the most amazing spread awaited us, but first were the speeches. They were all fantastic, saying all the right things in all the right places, however the stand out one for me was the one I couldn't understand! The Father of the Bride stood tall and proud and, facing Josephine, spoke just a few sentences in Greek and despite the fact that the majority of the room couldn't speak a word of Greek, the emotion and love in those words were clear for all and barely a dry eye was to be found. Things really got going when the dancing started and we all joined arms and circled around the dance floor to Zorba the Greek and other great classics. Seeing grown men slapping the floor and keeping an Ouzo delicately balanced on their heads got everyone cheering and chatting and when the Groom tried his hand at it, the roof was raised! The dancing never stopped and seeing my 8 year old daughter bopping away with the bride at 4.00am caused mixed emotions, pride that she was still going after such a long night and utter fear that if she was still going this late aged eight, what will she be like aged eighteen!?Sunday, when it eventually started, was spent in a haze on the beach, reliving the day before, debating as to just which particular moment was the best but agreeing that the sum of all the parts made for the most incredible memory. As the day went on, more and more people ventured into the sunlight, shades on and, rather surprisingly, a good number with pina coladas! The was a very real danger that the party was going to get going again and, as the heat of the day began to ease and the children began to flag, we left before the allure of happy hour could gain the advantage over us. We headed back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep before venturing on a boat trip for our last day en masse, desperate as we all were to keep the fantastic atmosphere going, living in total denial that somewhere out there, in the vast blueness, was reality and it was beginning to beckon!
There is nothing better that a good boat trip, and Monday definitely fitted into that category. A dedicated group of 50 or so met at a café on the waterfront and, armed with lotion, goggles and a sense of adventure, headed out to sea to unknown destinations. We headed for the furthest point first, a few of the company turning delicate shades of green as the wind got up and, after an hour or so, reached Aspronisi or The White Island. The waters were absolutely crystal clear and the rocks gleamed in the sunlight. Yet again the Master of Ceremonies, Yanni, was on hand to explain about the island (I understand a "Yanni for Mayor" campaign is imminent!). It is now a heritage site and as such the stone is protected as it used to be harvested to build beautiful houses on nearby islands. We were, he informed us in a tone not to be ignored, not take any stones with us, however we could partake in a local custom. The stone, being soft, had turned to dust in many areas and tradition dictates that once you have swum across, you cover yourself in the dust, leave it on for fifteen minutes and as you swim back to the boat, the dust washes off, leaving you feeling refreshed, revitalised and re-energised. Where was this stuff on Sunday morning! 
Our next stop was Makronisi, not one for the faint hearted as we were there to jump off a perfectly safe cliff, a cliff that you could only access by swimming through an underwater tunnel into a stunning lagoon and then a quick walk to the top. I decided not to spend too long looking over the abyss and just went for it and managed a leap that I hope didn't resemble a sack of spuds being thrown from the back of a lorry! Most just jumped, however there one or two who decided that a dive would be the correct form and showed everyone else how it should be done. 
By this time, the day was getting on and we set course for Marathi and lunch. Copious starters were ordered, tucked into and polished off before the main course arrived, two rather large fish that were taken around the tables before being set upon and devoured. There was plenty to go around, but to the horror of a few, the Greeks in the party set about tearing into the heads and were sucking flesh off cheeks and ably dissecting them to make the most of what the fish had to offer! Sitting as we were under the trees on two long tables, conversation flowing as readily as the wine, the atmosphere was building to the inevitable. The unmistakable sounds of a bouzouki flowed from the speakers and the Greek dancing began. Inhibitions had been well and truly discarded now that all knew each other and we all tried our hand at it. What we all lacked in style and grace was more than made up for with enthusiasm and the lack of any form of dignity! After our efforts, we were firmly put in our places with a faultless demonstration by the Greeks, dancing with obvious pride and joy, accompanied by clapping and cheering that reached such a crescendo that we must have been heard back on Patmos!
Roald Dahl said "those who don't believe in magic will never find it". We clearly do because we all found it in bucket and spadeful's on Patmos and I know, that like us, every other guest at the wedding will be dreaming of the day they can return. David and Josephine, when are you renewing your vows?
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