The Boys in Blue Again!

The Boys in Blue Again! - a tale of two visitors who got on the wrong side of the law - some names have been changed!

Photo of old Georgioupolis courtesy of Nikos Kokolakis

There was a young English couple, staying in Georgioupolis for the winter. I had not met them before or even known of their existence, for all the smallness of the village. We met one day at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to Hania.

Looking towards Georgioupolis from the Rethymnon road in the winter.

Tom was in his early forties, with shaven head and sported an ear ring(Which was unusual at that time). Tilly was only eighteen, thin, with long straggly hair and an unhealthy pallor. They told me they were living in a small rented cottage which had no proper heating or washing facilities. During the summer they had been living in a tent on the far end of Kallivaki beach, near the river. Neither of them was working much. Tom, simply did not like work it seemed and Tilly was unable to hold down a job for long due to ill health. Her health, it seemed to me, was unlikely to improve living in such conditions.

Early one rainy morning Tilly came to see me. Wet and shivering she was in a state of great distress.

“Tom has been arrested,” she gasped out.

I sat her down and made her a cup of tea from my carefully hoarded stores.

“What on earth has happened?” I asked when she had calmed down a little

“Somebody told the police that we had drugs in the house.”

“And did you?”

“Of course not!”

Even soft drugs carry a very heavy penalty here in Greece.

“Well, they did find a fragment of a leaf in the car,” she continued” but that was from when Tom was in Germany.” I raised my eyebrows.

“What happened then?”

She took a sip of tea and told me the whole story.

“It was the middle of the night and we were asleep. Suddenly we heard banging on the door and shouting. As you know we don’t speak much of the language. We didn’t know what was happening. The next thing the door burst open and four armed policemen burst into the house. I was terrified. I was only wearing a very flimsy nightie and felt totally exposed. One of them had what looked like a Kalashnikov!” She lit a cigarette and continued, her hand trembling, “They started to tear the place apart. The officer in charge was that policeman that calls into the taverna where you work and sits drinking coffee for hours.

“We have a whip hanging above the bed, for decoration", she continued, " and he asked me what it was for.”

“I bet he did!” I exclaimed, trying to hide a smile.

“I wanted to go to the bathroom,” she continued, “and asked if I could. He said yes, but the policeman with the rifle must come with me. I’ve never been so embarrassed in all my life.” She was still shaking and I put a dash of cognac in her tea.

“By the bed we have a pile of ‘men’s’ magazines, - you know, - and they asked if they could borrow them. They told me they’ll bring them back in a couple of days.”

I couldn’t help showing my smile now “ There’ll be a lot of reading going on in that police station in the next few days” I remarked.

“They arrested Tom. He’s in the cells at Vrysses Police station. I don’t know what’s going to happen. That chief policeman was very nice to me though.”

“Probably something to do with your skimpy nightie,” I commented.

“Do you think so?”

“Tilly, you are so naïve. He’s still a Greek man, even though he’s wearing a uniform. Just be careful.”

Fortunately, after a few days, Tom was released from custody.

“How did they treat you?” I asked

“Not bad,” he admitted “They were very generous with the ouzo”

“That follows” I replied “It’s that area commander” He's the one who rode a motor bike into the taverna and nearly knocked over the stove.

“We haven’t got the magazines back yet though.” He commented disconsolately.