THYME FOR HONEY

Kalymnian honey say the experts (of Kalymnos!) rivals Attica’s finest…

Taste it and I doubt you will question the truth of this claim.

Made by bees that browse in buzzing clouds on thyme, the honey produced on the island is a rich red-gold with a subtle strength underlying the delicious sweetness.

This year, however, the liquid gold is less plentiful as a result of the fact that, early in the season, too many days of fierce sun burnt the thyme bushes and depleted the pastures on which the Kalymnian honey-makers graze…

But find it if you can and savour this divine distillation of burnished summertime, poured over Greek yoghurt and fresh fruit, perhaps, or just spread thickly on caraway seasoned bread…


Today, however, any bees attempting to do their job are going to seriously have their work cut out…

Clouds on the mountains a few days ago - a rare sight in summer - were, in fact, a prelude to a change in the weather.


Temperatures have dropped from nudging F110 to what bizarrely feels like a slightly chilly F85 and gale force winds have whipped up the millpond stillness of the bay at Emporios into a mass of white-crested waves that are now crashing, rather than lapping, on the shore. Anyone brave enough to go for a dip in the choppy waters will find themselves stingingly sandblasted on the way in or the way out - or both!

Whilst such weather changes are an annual feature - albeit usually a tad later - it is comforting to know that Kalymnians who have lived their entire lives on the island talk about the climatic developments with the same level of bemused astonishment as does the Englishman at home!