Watching the Olives Grow Read online

  Photo: Roaming Goats.

  Photo: Chickens and Turkeys In A Pen.

  When we entered into the village of Riglia we came across a site that had five ancient stone threshing circles.

  Photo: Stone Threshing Circle.

  The path that we were walking along went right down to the edge of the gorge that runs through the village.

  On the bridge that crosses it, we could see the little church at the top of the gorge surrounded by orange trees and giant cacti.

  Photo: Orange Tree and Cacti In Front Of Church.

  The following day, our holiday was over and the weeding and work on the house continued! The days are bright and sunny at around 22 C, but the evenings are chilly at around 12 C, so we light a wood fire most nights. It is amazing just how cosy the log fires are. The Olive tree wood is easy to light yet, as it is very hard wood, it burns very slowly and generates substantial heat.

  We don’t watch television in the evenings at all during the months from late April until late October as the spring and summer evenings are light and warm. However, during the darker autumn and winter evenings of November until April, we will usually watch a film on DVD or a film on television in the evening. Between them, the Greek television networks broadcast at least four English language films most evenings, however, we do occasionally watch a Greek programme to try and understand the language and to try and learn some new words. Sometimes, the speed of the dialogue makes it a challenge, and you cannot ask the actors to repeat what they said!

  On one Thursday afternoon in the second week of January, I was checking my emails when I came across one saying ‘call me – urgent!’ So I duly did as I was instructed, and before I knew it I had agreed to go to Prague in the Czech Republic on Sunday; three days’ time! I was going to stand in as a Conference speaker at the last minute because someone had been taken ill. They wanted a ‘Motivational’ speaker to do two sessions on ‘Teamwork’ and how to get teams to work well under pressure. I was their man!

  The first thing I did for the assignment was to log on to the Internet to check the temperatures in Prague. Ughh! It was -6 C and there was 25cm of snow on the ground! The second thing I did was to pour myself Ouzo, take it up on to the top terrace, sit in the sun (22 C) and think about what I needed to do, whilst at the same time doing my job; ‘Watching The Olives Grow.’

  I needed inspiration! Just what had I agreed to? As I looked out over the Olive tree groves in front of the house, an idea came to me!

  So, the third thing I did was during the following morning (Friday) when I decided to expand upon the idea about ‘Teamwork’ that had come to me the day before.

  I wanted to present something different, and use an example of teams working under pressure that would give the audience something different, and maybe entertaining, to think about. I thought about presenting them with the illustration of how the Olives are harvested by teams of men who carry out very hard work, under quite some pressure as they have to harvest dozens of trees per day.

  In order to do this, I thought that I would take some photos to show the audience, so off I went off to take photos of the teams of men harvesting the Olives in the Olive tree grove just below Meerkat Manor.

  The thing about how the team works is that they are very well organised. They know exactly what each team member has to do throughout the day. They don’t check on each other because they trust each other to do their job.

  Around 8.00 am, they will arrive together in a pick-up truck; the Leader driving and the team will be sitting in the back on top of their equipment. Then they will set about unloading it and laying it out on the ground. Each team member is responsible for their own equipment. It consists of two or three triangular-shaped step ladders, copious quantities of green plastic sheeting that looks like large fishing nets, wooden sticks, hessian sacks, a petrol powered chain saw, a portable generator, and some long poles with plastic prongs on the end.

  The sheeting is used to spread on the ground around the tree and is designed to catch and collect the Olives as they are knocked off the branches fall to the ground. The chain saw is used for cutting off the lower branches of the tree and for pruning the upper branches.

  The step ladders will be used to climb up and reach into the higher branches of the trees to facilitate the pruning.

  The portable generator is for the electricity to power the ‘wands’ that are large poles with a plastic fitting on the end. The fitting rotates at speed and knocks the Olives off the branches, and they fall onto the sheets to be collected and put into the hessian sacks. When the equipment is unloaded they start work straight away; this all within 10 minutes of arriving!

  Photo: Team Of Men At work.

  The team I went to observe and take photos of consisted of five men and they really worked as a team. I concluded that they would make a great illustration for my presentation; a great idea if I say so myself!

  First of all they lay out their sheets to catch the Olives around just one tree (tree 1) and then two start to knock the Olives off the higher branches with their electrical ‘wands’ that are ‘whirling’ away at quite high speeds (powered by the electricity from the portable generator).

  Meanwhile, the Leader takes the chain saw and cuts down some of the lower branches, and using the wooden sticks, two others will start to knock the Olives off these branches (‘threshing’) and onto the collecting sheets.

  Once the upper branches are harvested using the ‘wands’, the two assigned to that job will move to another tree (tree 2), lay out more sheets and get to work again with their ‘wands.’ The leader will follow them and start all over again with the chain saw on the lower branches of the tree (tree 2).

  When the two who are ‘threshing’ have finished they will collect all the Olives laying on the sheets and put them into a sack ready for transporting to the Olive Press. Then they will fold up the sheets and, taking their sticks with them, they will move on to join the others. Before joining the others, they will lay out the sheets at the tree that will be next (tree 3). This saves the men with the ‘wands’ time when they move on (from tree 2 to tree 3). After laying out the sheets (at tree 3), they re-join the others (at tree 2) and will start the process of ‘threshing’ and collecting the Olives all over again from the branches that have just been cut down by the Leader.

  After cutting off the lower branches of the tree (tree 2), the Leader will return to the first tree (tree 1), climb up into it using the triangular step ladder, and start doing the pruning of the upper branches.

  Hence there is a ‘circular’ pattern to their team work, and they keep this pattern up for the whole day as they harvest the trees.

  They work hard and move quickly, and they do work as a cohesive team. They laugh and joke as they work; they are happy in their work. During the day, they will only stop three times; coffee in the morning and afternoon (15 minutes each break) and bread and cold meat for lunch around 1pm (30 minutes). By the time they get to the last tree, as soon as the men with the ‘wands’ finish their part, they will return to the starting point and began to burn off all the pruned branches. After the other two ‘threshers’ finish the last tree for the day, and pack the last sack with Olives, they will then go to help with the burning.

  Meanwhile, the Leader will collect all the sacks of Olives, load them into the back of the pick-up truck and drive them off to the Olive Press, leaving the men to finish the burning. When the burning and tidying up is complete, the team will sit down, take a rest and enjoy a well-earned beer whilst they wait for their Leader to return.

  Once he has unloaded the sacks of Olives at the press, the Team Leader will return to the Olive tree grove to have his beer whilst the team collect their equipment, put it in the pick-up truck, jump on top and wait for the Leader to drive them home. It is a tried and tested process that really produces the results; real Teamwork and job done!

  After taking some photos, and once again being impressed by the way in which the team of men work so we
ll, I was walking along the track returning to Meerkat Manor when disaster struck!

  As I walked along the track, I could hear a buzzard calling as it glided on the warm thermals above me. It had obviously spotted a rodent of some sort below in the Olive tree grove and was calling for its partner, as if to say “dinner is about to be caught and served, come now!” I looked up; it was a magnificent sight. Such a huge bird and it could only have been about 30 metres above me; mesmerising.

  I was so intent on watching it that I did not spot the rock in the ground. As I was looking up, and walking at the same time, I stood on this sharp rock, twisted my foot, tripped and fell to the ground in one movement! Agony! Fortunately the camera was in one piece!

  I scrambled to my feet, dusted myself down, checked the camera and proceeded to hobble back to the house. Within hours my foot had swollen up so much that I couldn’t get my shoes on! This was a disaster. This was my ‘bad’ foot too. How could I travel like this, yet alone make my presentations if I could not wear any shoes!

  Drastic action was called for so for the rest of the day I sat with my foot in a bowl of water filled with ice cubes to see if the iced water would reduce the swelling.

  Come the morning (Saturday), there was no improvement. Although very painful, I was more worried about my assignment; I had agreed and I couldn’t let them down, but how was I going to travel in this state?

  As the day wore on, my foot started to respond to the iced water treatment and the swelling was going down. However, my foot really hurt, and it seemed that the rock had badly bruised the ball of my foot. Eventually, although excruciatingly painful, I managed to get a trainer shoe on but without the laces being done up. This was progress, true, but trainers are not really the appropriate footwear for the occasion!

  After the disaster, I had a brainwave; paint the bright blue and white trainers black to make them look more business-like! Could I get away with that I pondered? Well, I decided to give it a try. Out came the black ‘Hammerite’ metal paint, and after three coats, I had shiny black trainers that might pass as acceptable beneath my suit trousers. There was no other option but to try.

  What a sight I looked in my shiny black trainers as I left Meerkat Manor at 14.00pm on Sunday afternoon, but at least I was on my way. I waved goodbye to Valerie. She was sitting on the terrace sipping a glass of wine and the temperature was 23 C, and I was heading to Prague where the temperature was -6 C. Was I crazy or what? The answer was (as the saying goes) ‘needs must’ etc.

  Whoever says travel is glamorous is mistaken. I arrived at the hotel at Athens Airport at 10.30pm, checked in and eventually turned my light out at 11.30pm. The alarm clock rang just three hours later at 2.30am to wake me up in time for the 03.00am check-in for my flight to Prague (thank goodness the airport was immediately opposite the hotel).

  As the ‘plane made its final approach for landing, it was still dark but I could see the snow on the runway in the spotlights and landing lights from the ‘plane.

  I hadn’t seen snow in over a year (when I went to Davos, Switzerland for an assignment the year before), and it still didn’t look welcoming!

  I arrived at the hotel in Prague at 06.30am and my Client was already waiting in Reception to meet me.

  I wondered what I looked like in my painted, shiny, black trainers.

  As she looked down at my trainers, I explained my predicament and she was unfazed by the shiny paint effect, and suggested we start work. It was only 7.30am, and save for the three hours’ sleep, I had been travelling for just over 16 hours!

  By late afternoon, my foot, although still very sore, was less swollen and I decided to go out for a walk to get some fresh air. I had been up since 2.30am and I was getting tired, so I needed some stimulant to keep me awake. It was still -6 C outside, however I decided the bitterly cold air would do the trick!

  As I hobbled across the square in the old town of Prague, through the snow and the slush, I noticed that some of the black paint had started to flake off my newly painted trainers; they were becoming black with white patches! This was not a welcome sight, and I started to wonder if painting them had been a good idea after all.

  Photo: Not So Shiny Black Trainers.

  As I was hobbling back toward the hotel, I passed a shoe shop and as I looked in the window I saw some shoes that appeared to be a wider fitting and that did up with laces. The shoes were not what I would usually wear, but they were much smarter than what I was currently wearing that was for sure!

  I felt quite self-conscious in these painted trainers, and even more so now that the paint was flaking off due to the effect of the snow and the slush on the pavements.

  So, I ventured inside the shop to see if the shoes that I had seen in the window would fit. I had decided that if they did then I would buy them and wear them just for my presentations, and revert to the ‘comfort’ of my trainers in between the sessions. I was successful; they did fit.

  My foot was very sore but none the less I had managed to get them on my feet and I looked and felt much better. The only trouble was that these new shoes that fitted were dark pink!

  Photo: New Pink Trainers.

  However, I should not have worried too much, as it turned out that they matched the colour of the carpet in the Conference Room at the hotel, and my Client was impressed by my resourcefulness. She gave her approval and we continued with our rehearsals. All I can say is, the need for money makes one do such strange things!

  We worked tirelessly until around 9.30pm, and then I said “enough was enough” and went to my room and ordered room service food.

  It was a long day, and I didn’t turn the light out until 11.30pm which meant that I had been travelling and working for just over 33 hours and with only 3 hours sleep. Glamorous? Not on your life, and I was due to be up again at 05.00am for final rehearsals!

  I worked all day on the Tuesday and Wednesday, and eventually the assignment was completed by 18.00pm on the Wednesday. I try to be different when I make my presentations, to generate an impact and provide a ‘show’ that people will remember me for. For this one, they won’t forget the pink shoes! Mind you, after it was all over, some of the delegates told me that they thought that the pink shoes matching the carpet were all part of the ‘act’ to draw attention to the stage!

  By now I had travelled and worked virtually non-stop for four days and had managed only 13 hours sleep over the 76 hour period; I was quite tired, to say the least. However, the Client very kindly invited me to their Conference Dinner and I’m not one to turn down the offer of food and drink just because I’m tired; especially the drink part!

  It was a great evening. Everyone was relaxing and having fun. There was even a disco after the dinner and speeches were over. Obviously I had to sit on the side-lines and watch as my foot was not ready for jumping and dancing around. At the end of the evening, my Client sought me out not only to say thank you, but also to ask me if I would meet her for breakfast to work with her on the follow up. Is there no end to this I thought!

  I duly met her in the coffee shop at 8am the next morning and as we got down to work, she asked me what time I had to leave. I couldn’t remember, so I passed her my travel itinerary which she looked at whilst I was considering the task ahead.

  She looked at the timings and said that we could work until around 11.30am, and then head for the airport to be in plenty of time for the check-in for my flight back to Athens at 14.10pm.

  I took back my travel itinerary and put it in my case and got on with the work. About an hour later, as we were ordering more coffee, I was sorting through my case getting my passport ready when I realised that I didn’t have my electronic Boarding Card with me. So, I ‘phoned Valerie and asked her to email it to me at the Concierge’s desk and then went back to my coffee and more work.

  About half an hour later, I thought that I had better go to the Concierge to get my Boarding Pass printed off, before I forgot to do so. As I sat back down at the table in the coffee shop, I was just pu
tting the Boarding Pass in my passport when I noticed the check-in time; was from 09.45am for the 11.05am flight, and right now it was 09.45am, and I was still in the hotel! I double checked, and sure enough I should have been already checking in. The airport is a 45 minute journey from the hotel; I was going to miss my flight! Panic!

  As I looked at the timings again, I realised that my Client had read the arrival in Athens time on the itinerary and not the departure time from Prague! What was I going to do? Then a ‘miracle’ happened. I saw that some of the delegates were getting into a mini-bus parked at the front of the hotel. They were obviously on their way to the airport. I jumped up, rushed out and shouted, “Wait for me!” I stuck my head through the open driver’s window and asked them if there was room for me and would they wait whilst I got my case. The answers were “yes” and “yes,” and “Be quick, as we have planes to catch.”

  I charged back into the hotel. It was just as well that I was already fully packed and that my case was in the coffee shop with me, and the bill already paid. I grabbed my case, shouted “Bye!” to my Client and I charged back out to the mini-bus.

  As I was hand luggage only, there was a good chance that I might make just it; slim but worth a try. The next flight was not until the evening and that would have meant another overnight stay at Athens Airport before travelling onwards to Meerkat Manor. This direct flight would save me hours and hours of time; I just had to make it!

  I threw my case into the luggage compartment of the mini-bus, and I jumped into the front passenger seat and put my seat belt on. A lady sitting in the back was Czech and she shouted to the driver the equivalent of,

  “Let’s get a move on as this man may miss his flight if you don’t!”

  It was good job I was buckled up. It was like an adventure movie where the driver had been waiting for this one chance to display his racing skills! Although this was a mini-bus, he was driving it just like a racing car. Remember, there was slush, snow and ice on the roads, but we were going like the proverbial ‘clappers!’