Saturday 6th January ‘The Day of the Kings’
 
Now the whole three kings thing is quite big here in Greece. They celebrate the coming of the kings on the 6th January. Everyone goes down to the lake, some prayers are said and then some strapping young men dive into the water after a wooden cross. I really don’t know what it is that possesses people to want to go in the sea in January, even if it is the Med it’s still blooming freezing. Our understanding is that he who gets the cross has ‘Good Luck’ for the year. It’ll be the ‘Good Luck’ thing that spurs them on, as I always say you can never have too much ‘Good Luck’. Our Spanish friend (Eddies Mum) was also quite excited about ‘The day of the kings’. She told us that on the night of the 5th the Kings would visit us and if we had been good we would get a present and if we had been naughty we would get a lump of coal!! Methinks there could be some coal coming Captain M’s way!!! We awoke on the 6th and low and behold, blow me down, shiver me timbers if we hadn’t been visited by the kings (and to think we’d scoffed at her when she told us). The long and the short of it was Captain M could try harder, Deckhand K go to the top of the class. Enough said!! Captain M is trying to redeem himself and has been working very hard. Today he went up the mast which was quite entertaining, I think he enjoyed it to. Must go I have to make a stew, I can tell your impressed. Love & dumplings Mast man Miles and the cook XX P.S We are still pie gazing.
Wednesday, 10 January 2007