Summer in the City

For the first time in several years I am stuck in Athens in August and, do you know, it's pretty good if rather warm. The place is nearly deserted, the atmosphere clean and the roads very quiet indeed. That's the good news, but there's a negative aspect - most restaurants/bars etc. are closed for a week or two, as their staff take advantage of their customers being away to get some rest.

I like Athens in August; in fact I could almost say I love it. If it was like this all year round it would be a very relaxed place to live in, with a superb quality of life - but it is an illusion, of course. A large city could not function at this, delightful though it is, snail's pace; it would quickly grind to a halt. Illusions, however, are sometimes what makes life bearable in the large, harsh urban environments of today's world and I am delighted to inhabit them whenever they appear.

No, dear reader, before you get carried away with your assumptions, I am not a fantasist who loves living in a make-believe world. On the contrary, I am a stern realist living very much in today's world, just enjoying the odd break, the illusion, the little dream interlude. This illusory mixture of the present with the past and the future, a little temporary world to enjoy today and for the next few days, will soon be gone but is no less lovely for this.

Any visitor to Greece can tell you that August can be a very hot month indeed. Athens, with its urban sprawl, cement and tarmac environment can sometimes feel very inhospitable, but not this year - or is it just my present state of mind? Whatever the cause I'm grateful for it, for giving me some peace and quiet, for allowing me to relax in this otherwise noisy, nosy place.

Yes, I do wish more places were open, that I could afford more of them, that it was like this for more of the time - it isn't, though! I'm determined to enjoy what remains of my illusion, allow the summer heat to slow me down and do not very much, though an evening out with friends tonight - a little taverna, perhaps? - may not be out of the question.

Pour me some wine, please, and let me enjoy myself as summer illusions will soon disappear, chased away by the autumn chill.