September has arrived on Paxos and with it has come the onset of my favourite season on our little island. It was a little over two weeks ago that I first noticed the commencement of the autumn transition with a threatening storm system blowing over from our Italian neighbours. It has been five long dry months since we have seen anything in the way of what could be called genuinely uncertain weather and the long summer days have hardly missed a step. Dry and hot sunny weather has been the norm this summer so I suppose it’s only fair now we find ourselves in milder climates that we don’t begrudge such weather. After all one only need look around at just how green Paxos is to understand that at least at some point the island must get a decent spell of rain.
As I headed to Loggos tasked with giving fair warning to my guests of the impending weather and the potential consequences for what remained of their holiday there was a definite sense of autumn in the air. The slightly cooler island wind ruffled through the olive and Cyprus trees and the non-coniferous trees were already yielding to the end of summer displaying autumnal oranges and reds in their pigmentation. Olives too were developing, growing in stature ahead of the November harvest and autumnal fruits were ripening amongst the trees as quince and pomegranate developed both in size and vibrancy. As I continued y journey and rounded the sharp corners into Bogdanatika I was brought to a virtual standstill as the school which had sat vacant over the summer months was now a buzz of activity. Young Paxiot school children filed off the local bus, bags on shoulders and chatting feverishly, the bus jostling for space as cars too came to a standstill while parents dropped reluctant children off at the gates. It was a nice image, another warm reminder that this island is so much more than a snapshot of unspoilt Greece but rather a home and community to her permanent residents. Children flooded the playground and those that recognised me shouted a friendly yassou before they were ushered inside by an old fashioned school bell.
Arriving down in Loggos the growing winds were whipping up the shoreline and waves, darkened by the overcast skies broke over the banks by Roxy and Taxidi. Driving past Vassillis and the narrow promenade was being splashed and flooded as frenzied sea water ran clear of the dock. I allowed a smile to myself, for I so appreciate the onset of such weather. I have spoken before of the symphony of parts that make up the chorus of a Paxos storm, the billowing thunder, the torrential rain and whistling wind. The old houses that make up the country properties bang and creak in the midnight wind and the olive trees ache and bend. Yet for all this, such conditions rarely seem to affect people’s good will as they smile and thank you for the warning. It’s what makes the people that come to Paxos so unique, a kind of social collaboration of all pulling together that is perhaps historically ingrained on our British sub conscience. Maybe it’s this island or maybe we really are that unique as a people but either way it never ceases to surprise me how little people are out out by these turns of weather and how much they help and rally around to support despite the fact that they are here to enjoy their holiday.
Later that evening I was treated to another storm time Paxos phenomenon which always seems to delight me, the local power cut. At around half past eight as the sun slipped behind the horizon and a moody Ionian night descended over us the weather arrived; beginning with a wind that blew up the narrow streets of Gaios as it to whisper the announcement of our long awaited storm. Next came the rain, gently at first as it not to startle our guests, but rather to give us time to relocate from the outside seating to a stool at the bar. Fair warning as a storm system that so often passes us by this evening instead focussed its efforts on our island home. As the rain and wind intensified, the thunder joined in rumbling and cracking across the night sky and a little after half an hour later the electricity for the whole town was lost with a loud pop from somewhere. The bar and indeed the whole town was plunged into darkness as it became apparent that the power across Gaios was at least for now – unavailable. I was instantly put in mind of the Good Friday procession when out of respect we refrained from our conversations and music as the local church leaders and many more beside past through Gaios. But this night demanded no such deference and what proceeded was one of the best nights in Gaios we had seen all season. We were already far too invested in our little backstreet pub to let a little something like no power affect us – after all the pumps still worked!
For me September is also an opportunity to get back into my kitchen, and as much as I love the bounty of summer options one can buy and cook it is autumn that throws up my favourite ingredients. Images of being in my little cottage kitchen while my wood burner cackles in the background may be a little premature but I am at least afforded the opportunity of more time, now the demands of the season have somewhat slackened. September Sundays are time for me to get back to my recipe books and take inspiration from that which is around me. I have been excitedly making notes of new pairings and buying local fruit, vegetables from the town suppliers. Taking advantage of seasonality I buy on impulse – figs, cauliflowers, tomatoes, and fresh fish and then raid my staple cupboard for something to go with them. I have fallen in love with honey and harissa roast cauliflower as well as aubergine halves scored and drizzled with tahini and pomegranate molasses and simply roasted. It makes me happy to get back to food and even happier to write about it. It’s one of the most underestimated benefits of spending a serious amount of time here that you learn so much about yourself. You find time and space to tap into the layers of creativity that one can struggle to access within the confines of a 9 – 5 existence and it’s something I am very grateful of and do hope continues.
I think it’s only fair to say that I am terribly biased in my favouring of such weather and I only do so with the caveat that I know a nice day is never far away. So far be it for me to piant Paxos in autumn colours too early for today as I write another entry in my life in the donkey lane its is bright sunshine and warm weather rather than a whistling wind that beckons me outside from my writing. Perhaps I anticipate such weather because I know how much the island needs it or perhaps I am growing tired of the dry hot summer. Perhaps…but I think the real reason is that I know I will not experience the full delights of a Paxos winter this year. Having made the decision to do a season in the mountains of France before my return in the Spring I am bittersweet about my next adventure but perhaps one winter was enough – at least for now. In the mean time I will welcome our autumn for all it offers for my time here is growing shorter by the day and a new challenge beckons. That, however is a way off yet so for now I will take advantage of everything this wonderful season has to offer – storms and all!
Life In The Donkey Lane 