Usually, when eating my breakfast, I watch a YouTube video or two. Today’s choice was the Battle of Cape Matapan which took place in 1942 in the Eastern Mediterranean to the south/east of Crete. I was unaware of this when I started to watch the video. Apparently, there was air support from Crete which helped to bring about the end of three Italian Cruisers and the unfortunate loss of over 2,000 lives of which, only three were British. This was the last battle where the Italian Fleet took on the Allied Mediterranean Fleet under the command of Admiral Cunningham, reputed to be one of Britain’s finest admirals. The Italian Fleet finally surrendered to the Allies in North Africa or Malta as a consequence of the armistice of September 1943. The Allies were keen that the Italian Fleet didn’t fall into German hands however not all of the fleet escaped.
The day started off calmly and casually at 04:55 even though I was awake and checking out the weather and news. Our walks were mostly uneventful. A mistake on my part confused another dog in the gloomy distance for Skinny, so the latter received some unwarranted remote interference. The same dog appeared later during the return leg which aroused unwanted interest from my lot. Seven dogs of which two are quite large is more than a dog can handle first thing in the morning. I was quick with my button boxes sending Skinny yelping off as if chased by the devil. Skinny is a wuss anyway as it takes very little to make him yelp. My fire was then directed to the others which quickly decided that leaving the dog alone would be a cunning plan. The dog scuttled off towards home persued by Obi who was quickly brought up short too. We continued on our way in close formation.
My plan was to go grocery shopping in Paleochora then return later to Paleochora get some food for Isabella. As I was leaving the camping I encountered a motorhome parked in the entrance so dismounted to check them in. I guided them to a spare place then left them to it as they’d read my Google Business profile and website so there was little for me to add.
My shopping completed, I returned to take money from a young woman who arrived after dark the previous night. She was conveniently located in the same area as the newly-arrived motorhome so I was able to kill two birds with one stone.
I prepared my breakfast, fed the dogs then set off for my second trip to get food for Isabella. I try to get a better quality, reduced-fat food due to her previous pancreas problems. Her food works out at €30/20kg bag as opposed to €22 for the same amount which I give to the others. The others eat less kibble than Isabella as they are not growing so have a small amount in the morning and the same again with their Doggy Dinners in the evening. Isabella needs the kibble to bulk it out or she’d think she was being starved. She probably thinks this anyway! Heike had returned from her trip to Germany, why she was there remains a mystery as she’s Austrian. She agreed to drop off two bags for me later in the day as she wanted to take in the heady excitement of a visit to Kountoura and the new roadworks. There’s a girl who knows how to live! She is the founder of PAWS in Paleochora and then decided to run a pet shop. I’ve offered to create a Google Business Site for her in recognition of her services to animal welfare. I think she likes the shop as it gets her out of the house away from a potentially acrimonious relationship.
The remainder of the day was taken up with my weekly phone home, fiddling with Heike’s business site and a brief appearance to talk to Georgia about the blocked drain in the kitchen reported earlier in the day.
I left the drain clearance in the capable hands of others and escaped to feed the dogs and prepare my supper.
Leave a Reply