I MISSED ST GEORGE'S DAY!

Oh flipping 'eck I missed St George's Day. It had nothing to do with the name 'George' being a no go area in our house. Honestly, I just forgot. So for all those with the name of that dragon slaying Saint - Χρόνια Πολλά.

I've had a busy weekend. It started Friday lunch time when I went to the garage for my car, which I was told would definitely be ready for 1 p.m. Thank goodness for that, I thought, Rethymnon in comfort, here I come. Of course the car was not ready as promised. I managed to hold on to my temper but I can tell you, I was not a happy kangaroo. I could quite easily have punched whatever, or whoever crossed my path. Anyway, it was no good being angry, we just cushioned Valentino into the old motor and thundered our way to Rethymnon, hoping that bits wouldn't fall off the Samauri on the way. Orchestra practice started at five this week, so we had to get a move on.

The good news is that we made it (there and back) and had time to take a stroll before the hard work began. Boats! It doesn't hurt to dream a little!

MEET MAISY

Day three and Zouki is starting to make friends with her new companion, Maisy. Poor little Maisy was found in a terrible condition and nursed back to health by foster parents. It seemed that nobody wanted her, and she is so loving. She's seems to like cello music, so that's good.

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH - MY POEM OF THE DAY

ODE TO A MARKETING WHIZ
Oh soft the sweet computer calls you by
And flirting bids you sit for hours on end,
'Clicking on' and 'keying in' which I, shy
Of talking by machine my right defend
To play Sudoku, watch TV or sew,
And silently do pass my day (and night)
Alone, widowed by a whiz whose bloggin'
Pays for my homely comforts, don't ye know!
And though I'd love some male attention, right,
Nothing beats a profitable 'log in'.

Jane Sharp x

LEARNING TO SPEAK GREEK - 2

Remember 'verbs' - action words. Continuing our little chat about English grammar, and how it helps you to learn Greek faster if you know your own language, I thought I would say a little about nouns.

All you have to remember here is that if you can put a name to something, then it is a NOUN.
For example: book, chair, table, man, woman, child, David, Jane. So, how easy is that? Make a list of 'things' 'objects' 'plants' 'animal' 'places' 'people' - remember, if you can put a name to it it's a NOUN.
Now, in the Greek language every noun is either male, female or neuter (don't panic!) this just means that when learning Greek nouns make sure you learn whether it is male, female or neuter. A dead give away is in the word 'the', eg. the book - το βιβλίο,

The word 'the' in English grammar is called the Definite Article.
The Definite Article in Greek changes as to whether the noun is male, female or neuter, like this:
Ο πατέρασ - O pateras (in English) = The father. The word for 'the' being 'O' (as in toe). MALE
Η μητέρα - Ee mitera (in English) = The mother. The word for 'the' being 'H' (sounding ee). FEMALE
Το παιδί - To pethee(in English) = The child. The word for 'the' being 'To' (as in top). NEUTER
(Now, in the Greek language these three ways of saying 'the' are only for single nouns i.e. the book, when there are more than one of something then the word for 'the' changes again. And just to complicate things the word for 'the' changes yet again when the noun is in the accusative (the object of the verb). But oh, we don't want to go there at the moment, you'll start having nightmares!

First we have to concentrate on English grammar. So, for now just remember that everything that can be named is a NOUN.

And the word 'the' in English grammar is called the Definite Article.

And, just for good measure, the word 'a' in English grammar is called the Indefinite Article.

So, now you know what a VERB is, and you know what a NOUN is, and you know what DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLES are. Way ye go! Next time we'll put Adjectives and Adverbs into the picture and before you know it you'll be speaking Greek.

TEARS FROM THE SUN - A CRETAN JOURNEY

LEARNING TO SPEAK GREEK

In between all that has been going on in my life with the book and Valentino, I have continued with my study of the Greek language. I must admit that it is not the first thing I do every day, but I do try to fit just a little learning in before bedtime.

If you are hoping to master the language, then do focus on learning something new every day, just one word. That way you will increase your vocabulary and be ready to takle the grammar when the time comes. As for grammar, don't be afraid of it!

Before you can learn another language it is essential that you know the basic grammar of your own language. That way, when the subject of verbs, nouns, adjectives etc. crop up, the concept will not be alien to you. It is not difficult, you have been using (or abusing) your own grammar all your life.

For instance, a verb is a 'doing word' like run, jump, cook, work, read, cry, give, take, learn. And somebody, or something 'does' whatever the verb says - I run, you jump, he cooks, she works, we read, they give, it takes and you learn (talking to more than one person). So make a list of all the words in your own language that you can think of as verbs.

THE NOW/PRESENT TENSE - I am running/I run. It is happening at this moment, now, at present.
EARLIER/PAST TENSE - I ran/I was running. It happened earlier, an hour ago, yesterday, last year etc. I ran, a straightforward action in the past. I was running, implies that something else was happening at the same time. I was running to the shop when I tripped and fell.
LATER/FUTURE TENSE - I will run. Obviously something that will happen in the future, it could be I will run to the shop in a minute, I will run for charity next year etc.

OTHER TENSES - Now, there are a few other tenses, but three are enough to be going on with. Learn these three tenses in Greek and you will be making giant strides to communication.

Look up the work 'run' in your dictionary - τρέχω, this means I run/I am running (NOW)

For starters learn the Present Tense in Greek. That is those words that are 'doing/action' words, in other words VERBS. Grammar is as simple as that, so go for it and you will be speaking Greek in no time (give or take a few years)!

I LOVE VRAHASSI - READ ALL ABOUT IT!

If you would like to have a copy of 'A Brief History of Vrahasi' you can download it free, in either Greek or English. See opposite to obtain your copy.

Αν θέλετε το βιβλίο 'Ιστορία του Βραχασίου' δωριάν, κάνετε κλίκ απέναντι.

An e-mail will be sent to you, confirming that you have asked for the booklet, you will then click to download your copy.

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

As it is National Poetry Month you may like to take a look at my poetry blog (see links). If not here is my poem of the day:

Conversation with a Parrot

"Tell me about God," said the parrot, who had heard people talking,
"He's a creator," I said,
"A creator?" said the parrot,
"Yes, he made everything," I said,
"He?" said the parrot,
"Yes, he made me and you," I said,
"He made me?" said the parrot,
"Yes, you," I said,
"You?" said the parrot,
"Every inch of what you see, God made," I said,
"What you see, God made," said the parrot,
I had to agree - he was a very smart parrot!

It's a sort of 'thought for the day'.
Happy Sunday, Jane x

AH THE GOOD LIFE IN VRAHASSI

How is it that visitors always arrive just as you've finished all the hard work! It went like this - load the logs - unload the logs - stack the logs. All that to burn off enough calories so that I could drink a beer. Hope you enjoyed your hike up Anavlohos Mike @ Co. Enough calories burned for a whole crate eh?

MY EASTER 2010

Easter Eve in Malia - Christ is Risen, Judas is burned, the Devil has been frightened away by a thousand explosions, and we returned to Vrahassi at about 12.30 to find its streets empty, doors closed, not a bowl of Easter soup anywhere!

We spent Easter morning with our Greek friends in Sisi, spagetti in the pan, chicken pieces roasting over a half barrel of burning logs, the lamb slowly cooking over the barbecue, shepherd boots and shepherd knives, loud Greek music and perfect hospitality.

Our afternoon in Vrahassi was not quite the same experience but we joined a big table of revellers in the centre and enjoyed traditional Easter lamb and painted eggs. The weather was glorious.