More memories of the Med

From my cousin James, now a professional musician based in Germany, who came with us on our Mediterranean holidays in his early teens, and later lived and worked for many years with Karl-Heinz Stockhausen making the scores for his ultra avant garde orchestral pieces:

I tried to post this to your blog, but would need to set up some sort of
account to do so. So here's the answer. Also, I've attached the photos here, though I would not have been able to send them to your blog.

The photo of Tiercel in Spargi must have been taken just after we
arrived, when the sea was calm. Photo 4 is more like it was when we left!

Oh yes, Ngngngaio! How well I remember her. But you were doing the
reading. I was more interested in jellyfish at the time.

As I remember, I was with you on board the Tiercel for three holidays in
the Mediterranean:
1959 Corsica. We sailed up and down the coast north of Ajaccio.
1960 Corsica-Sardinia. We sailed from Ajaccio to La Maddelena via
Spargi. (I was 12 at the time)
1963 Corfu-Athens via the Corinth canal, ending up eating brains and
lobster at the Hotel Grande Bretagne (http://www.grandebretagne.gr/).
Was this really 1963? Was I really 15? That's the date on the photos anyway.

I have some dated, rather faded, colour photos of Spargi, including the
Tiercel at anchor on the fateful jetty, Vivien wading far off on an
idyllic, deserted beach, and Henry (also a long way off) on a concrete
gun battery...

Ngaio Marsh was, I think, on board in 1960. Somehow I associate her with
a fisherman's penknife which I bought (and still have) at a shop in La
Maddelena. How did we get home from there? I vaguely remember a flight
in a small plane back to Ajaccio, but I'm not sure.
I'm pretty sure Gerald Durrell was on board in Corfu. Isn't that where he
lived?

On the trip to Corfu, we went out on the train from Victoria station,
taking a ferry from Brindisi. I well remember the first class sleeping
car (red plush seats and white walls), and waking up in Italy having
traversed the Alps during the night...

My memories of those wonderful days include landing at places which were
inaccessible by road, and eating freshly caught fish at rather impromptu
restaurants on wooden jetties; tramping inland to poke about in village
kitchens looking for stew; and of course the jellyfish, which could
sometimes be seen 5 meters down on the sea bottom, looking like fried
eggs the size of large dinner plates.

Great times!
love,
Jimmy
Ngngngaio!

a fisherman'
Great times!

James