The drama is all over now. The final harvester to depart, heroic K, is on his bus to Athens and I am sitting in the Kourounis taverna back in Kambos waiting for an omlette and preparing to catch up on a work backlog in my last full day here in Greece. But an hour and a half ago it all felt so very different.
K was packed, his bags were in the car, we both buckled up and er… it would not start. It was 7.30 and the bus left Kalamata in an hour. For reasons, as yet unexplained, the battery was flat. We called Lovely Eleni to see if she could rouse Vangelis or Nicho the Communist to find an Albanian or something. K said not to panic he could catch a later flight. And then I had a brainwave… what about the battery from the olive twerker. It still had charge could we jump start the car?
K was doubtful as its leads are small but hell, what did we have to lose? Well knock me down with an olive twig it worked! By the time Eleni called back with news that neither Nicho or Vangelis could be roused, we were speeding on our way to Kalamata.
The battery should be fully charged by now and in a couple of hours, when I have written a zillion catch up articles, there will be the acid test: will it start and get me back to the hovel to tidy up, ensure the eco loos are clean and that the house is in a suitable state for when the Mrs and I next come, she having a rather sterner test of suitable state than I.
The big worry, of course, is tomorrow morning and my own departure for a bus at 8.30 from Kalamata. For a couple of hours at least I shall not think about that but it is rather [preying on my mind.