The answer was there in front of me. As I sat outside this morning drinking my morning coffee, they were happily munching away without a care in the world in the field opposite our house. After they have eaten all they want they go ambling over into the shade for a nice siesta. What could be nicer. They are then ready for their early evening work of a nice trip out to show visitors some of the coastline. When their owners appear and they are called to the gate with a loud “Ella Ella”, their ears are pricked and there is a sudden rush to get to the gate first. I am sure they are saying “pick me, pick me”. Occasionally there are a couple that can’t be bothered and they slink off to hide under the trees. Perhaps they just want to sit in the quiet and enjoy the beautiful views that surround them.
The Christmas Fair takes place each year at the school in Molyvos with the proceeds going towards items needed by the school. Previous years proceeds have resulted in new classroom furniture and much needed computer equipment, very worthwhile causes. Due to bad weather on Sunday morning I thought the Fair was never going to take place. However the stalls had been laid out in the morning and nothing was going to stop it going ahead. A final downpour about an hour after the Fair had opened sent everyone rushing for pieces of plastic to cover over their stalls. Even though some things for sale got a little damp it didn’t stop the fun. It is nice to see that in these times of hardship people still turn out (even in the rain) to support the village.There were lots of nice things on offer including a beautifully laid out stall of handmade Christmas handicrafts, a selection of toys, dolls with handmade individual knitted outfits, tom-bola, children’s clothing, gift ideas, wheel of fortune and even horse rides. There were different tables of food, donated by people of different nationalities for everyone to sample, and of course you can’t have this type of event without the obligatory mulled wine, hot dogs and popcorn. The smells of which wafted around the playground which really made you want to try them out. I can personally recommend the mulled wine. The children of the school sang Christmas songs. Santa turned up and the donkey,which was part of the Nativity setting, gave rides to the children. All in all a very satisfying event. We shall look forward to this again next year. Lets just hope the weather is a little kinder.