AGIOS FANOURIOS - 27 AUGUST

Just a little note to say that yesterday was also the Church Feast of Agios Fanourios. Not much is known about this Saint, but apparently an icon with the grizzly details of his death, was found in an old church, way back. The pictures were so graphic that the church assumed that the man, named Fanourios, died a martre's death. He was therefore made into a Saint and is known as the Saint of lost things.

It is tradition, on this day, to make a special cake to put inside the church. The cake should have 9 ingredients: 1 glass orange juice, 1 glass sugar, 1 glass oil, pinch salt, cinnamon, ground cloves, walnuts, sultanas and flour.

If you have lost something, then you must make a cake and take it into the church where you will ask Agios Fanourios to help you find it. I wrote a little poem when one of my neighbours lost her ring, she made a cake, took it to the church, said a prayer and that night, even though she had turned the house upside down, gone through all the rubish and was about to lift the floorboards, she opened the bread bin to take out some bread for supper, and there was the ring. She said she had washed the bread bin out whilst looking for her ring, and that Agios Fanourios had answered her prayer.

Agios Fanourios if you please
Return to me my ring
And if you do, I promise you
That to the church I'll bring
A cake with nine ingredients
Especially for you
So please Agios Fanourios
Make my wish come true

Ooh! Makes yer wonder doesn't it?

JILL'S BIRTHDAY AT A TAVERNA IN SISSI

I always seem to be battling with Greek noise! Will people never be quiet for a moment? We spent a lovely afternoon in Sissi yesterday. Jill's gathering was lovely, it was very nice to see people we hadn't seen for ages. And it didn't stop there. At about 3 p.m. Pete and Cindy arrived, the bride and groom, just married in Agios Nikolaos. Being invited as their guest also, we simply swapped tables and carried on having fun.

So, Happy Birthday Jill, and Congratulations Pete and Cindy, Happiness Always, Love Jane x

TRADITIONAL HOUSE IN VRAHASSI

It is a must to visit if you are in Vrahassi. When I first came to the village, many of the things in this house were still being used daily. I also love the music on this video. Thanks to the owners of the Maria Hotel in Sissi for this production.

OH GO ON, IT'S WEEKEND, HAVE A LAUGH!

TOUR BUS DRIVERS IN CRETE

When bus drivers trough their spaghetti
They don’t use much etiquetti,
They shovel it in, dribbling oil over chin,
And grow more obese and more sweaty.

While looking for no-show slips
I came across other odd bits,
And to my surprise they were quite a large size,
Now I wonder which driver they fits.

There’s a driver, we all call him Elvis,
His head is much bigger than pelvis,
But if inches you seek, though it may take a week,
His wick, they do say, more than 12 is.

When a driver is ready for action,
He proves to be quite an attraction,
For he has the right gear with an exit to rear,
And firestone with just the right traction

There once was a driver called John,
Who polished his bus till it shone,
He rubbed it each day, and some they do say,
That its lustre is second to none

Most drivers I know are quite calm,
They wouldn’t do anyone harm,
But the language they spout when they curse and they shout
Reminds me of Animal Farm

Some drivers with long legs you’ll find,
Are usually most courteous and kind,
And, truth to tell they’re as sexy as hell
Especially where legs meet behind

Some drivers they drive with no fear,
The highway they’ve made their career,
Like knights of the road they ferry their load
As though on some far planisphere.

When a driver says ‘taka-taka,’
I think of a man with on knacker,
He’s usually Greek and unwashed for a week
And the answer I give is, ‘Malaka.’

There once was a driver called Josh,
Who said jolly-dee golly-gosh,
I’m sporting a tash and I’m ready to flash,
But I can’t find my old mackintosh.

O Manolis offered a bed,
In the rear of his bus, he said,
But I looked at his kecks and I knew he meant sex,
So I told him I’d rather be dead.

At the water park drivers will drool
At teenagers just out of school,
And some of them long for a tart in a thong,
Even though it’s against the rule

A tart with a bare posterior,
Thought she was oh so superior,
But her pink cellulite was a terrible sight,
And it moved like an old spring interior

Have a good summer all you reps out there. I've done that, got the T-shirt!
Love Jane x

SO HOT I CAN'T GO OUTSIDE!

Remember the music night in Sissi. This is Alexander in rehearsal.

It has been such a busy time since then, I have been getting my poetry ready to make into a proper collection. I have also been re-writing my first collection, A Year in Glenridding. It is out of print now and I thought to re-vamp it. The village is quietening after the holiday visitors but it is still busy in the evenings down in the square. Work continues with the paving, it's a bit of a struggle using some roads but a small price to pay for the benefit of lovely pathways through the village. And it is still very hot. Still it is August and not really a surprise. I was listening to radio Cumbria today, and they were saying that it was raining. At the same time I was writing what I had written in 1993 when we lived there: 'It is August, the rainy season in the Lake District, it has rained every day throughout the month.' I had to laugh, because of the rain I could not go out, so I had chance to write, and because of the extreem heat here, it is impossible to sit outside so the result is the same. I can sit at my computer and work.

I also listen to radio Leicester, I like the Tony Wadsworth show, midday. I was all set to listen to him live in Skegness when I was summoned to a bookshop in Xersonissos to show them my book. They put it on their shelves. The bookshop across from Halkiadakis supermarket. Anyway, worth missing Skegness for I think.

I just love these pictures that I took at Milatos last week, the light was not good but they captured the moment.

Tomorrow I will try to get my article about 'Erotoctritos' onto my webpage. Knights in armour, love, passion, ah the stuff that life is made of! Hope you are all having a good August. Join me on facebook (I don't play games) but enjoy the social contact with so many people. Oh, and thank you for watching my blog, if you have any ideas as to what I should write about on here, let me know.

Meanwhile I'll get out there tomorrow and take some more pictures.

Love to all, Jane x

THEY WERE ALL MY CHILDREN

A PLAY BY ARTHUR MILLER

Theatre in Sissi - at the school - 9 p.m. 29th August - Don't miss it!

ΘΕΑΤΡΙΚΗ ΠΑΡΑΣΤΑΣΗ ΣΤΟ ΣΙΣΙ
ΤΗΝ ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗ 29-8-2010 ΚΑΙ ΩΡΑ 9 μ.μ. ΣΤΟ ΔΗΜ. ΣΧΟΛΕΙΟ ΣΙΣΙΟΥ ΠΑΡΟΥΣΙΑΖΕΤΑΙ ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ Ε.Θ.Ο.Α.Ν. Η ΘΕΑΤΡΙΚΗ ΠΑΡΑΣΤΑΣΗ « ΗΤΑΝ ΟΛΟΙ ΤΟΥΣ ΠΑΙΔΙΑ ΜΟΥ » του Άρθουρ Μίλερ.ΧΟΡΗΓΟΣ : ΝΟΜΑΡΧΙΑΚΗ ΑΥΤΟΔΙΟΙΚΗΣΗ ΛΑΣΙΘΙΟΥ.ΕΙΣΟΔΟΣ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΗΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΙΑΚΟΣ ΣΥΛΛΟΓΟΣ ΣΙΣΙΟΥΗ

Ερασιτεχνική Θεατρική Ομάδα Αγίου Νικολάου παρουσιάζει στο Σίσι ένα από τα αριστουργήματα της παγκόσμιας δραματουργίας : " Ήταν όλοι τους παιδιά μου " του Άρθουρ Μίλερ.Ο πρόεδρος της ΕΘΟΑΝ και ένας εκ των πρωταγωνιστών του έργου Κωστής Κεφαλούκος δήλωσε μεταξύ άλλων σε συνέντευξη του στην εφημερίδα ΑΝΑΤΟΛΗ ότι το συγκεκριμένο έργο επελέγη γιατί δεν πρόκειται απλά για ένα δράμα . Αυτό το έργο προκαλεί στο θεατή σύνθετες σκέψεις , προβληματισμούς και έχει στοιχεία αρχαίας τραγωδίας που μεταφέρονται από το συγγραφέα του με τη σύγχρονη γραφή στο σήμερα , αν και γράφτηκε το 1947. Το έργο ανεβαίνει σε σκηνοθεσία του Γιάννη Ξανθογεώργη. Τους ρόλους ερμηνεύουν με την σειρά που εμφανίζονται οι : Γρηγόρης Πρωτοψάλτης (Φρανκ), Μανώλης Απιδιανάκης (Τζιμ), Μανώλης Σγουρός (Τζο Κέλλαρ), Γωγώ Ζερβού (Σιού) , Σοφία Κοκολάκη (Λύντια ) , Κωστής Κεφαλούκος (Κρις Κέλλαρ) , Γιώρος Ρουσόγλου (Μπερτ) , Μαριάνθη Μενεγάκη (Κέιτ Κέλλαρ) , Αντη Αργυράκη (Άννυ) , και Δημήτρης Χατζηφωτεινός

ART EXHIBITION IN NEAPOLIS AUGUST 9 - 22

Local artist Jane Vogas was very happy at the opening of her art exhibition which took place last Monday evening. With another week to run there is still time for you to see her beautiful paintings and pottery work. Also exhibiting are members of Jane's pottery class. The exhibition is being held in the old gymnasio, next to the big church in the centre of Neapolis. You can pop in between 12 and 2 in the afternoon, or else between 6 and 10 in the evenings. Whilst you are there visit the other rooms where there are photographic displays, painted glass, and a room devoted to antique costumes and home furnishings. There is certainly plenty going on round and about this August.

15 AUGUST CELEBRATIONS IN MILATOS

What a wonderful evening we had last night. We ate kleftiko, we drank wine, we danced and we enjoyed the company of our friends. Thought you might like to share the event. Jane x

THESE ARE THE VRAHASSIANS I CAME TO KNOW AND LOVE

You have probably seen this video, but I thought it deserved a place on my Blog. It was taken high up above the Monastery of St George/St Dimitri, where there is the remains of an old oak forest. The song has words from Erotocritos, which is a 'heroic' verse romance of more than 10,000 rhyming fifteen-syllable lines. It was written by Vitsentzos Kornaros (1553 - 1617), the greatest of all the Cretan poets. He was born near Sitia, the son of a Venetian-Cretan aristocrat. The 'Erotocritos' was written about 1587 and first published in Venice in 1713. It reflects the Cretan civilization and life during the 16th century. Included in its verse are serenades, amorous escapades, stories of courage and the significance of virginal purity in woman. The 'Erotocritos' sets great store by true love, friendship, courage and patriotism. A translation into English was made by Theodore Ph. Stephanides, published by Papazissis Publishers of Athens.

JACK, EMMA AND MARIA IN VRAHASSI

JUST A LITTLE MOMENT TO TREASURE

Pity about the dark, but I love this commentry by Jack, my grandson, taken whilst on holiday in Vrahassi.

CHRISSI ISLAND - NOT A PIRATE IN SIGHT!

The Ancient Cedar Forest

I went where there were trees

Before the pirates came,

Leaving charred embers,

Now bald petrifaction

Like bleached skulls remain

Uncovered skeletons,

Earth-skeletons exhumed

By earth-breath,

And earth-tears

Weeping for lost trees

Not a pirate in sight! We took the 12.30 p.m. boat from Ierapetra and travelled south 8 miles to the beautiful Island of Chrissi (Gold). It took us about an hour to get there, so naturally we downed one or two beers on the way. There was a bar on the boat and sandwiches and snacks for sale too. Chrissi is almost flat, it covers an area of about 5 sq kilometers, and once off the boat we crossed to the other side of the island. After a few hours on the golden sandy beach, swimming in the turquoise see and generally having a desert island afternoon, we caught the 5.00 p.m. boat back to Ierapetra. We could have stayed another hour for there is also a return boat at 6.00 p.m. There were lots of happy campers dotted about between the remains of a cedar forest, and I sort of wished that we could stay the night. Oh well, we shall just have to return - life in Crete eh? By the way, the 'we' was David, my daughter Jo, my grandson Jack, and Daddy John.

No 'Tears from the Sun' on this trip to Chrissi - and no Smee either! (Smee is a character in my book).

YOVA AT AQUA PLUS WATER PARK

JANE PLAYS PIANO IN SISSI

The wind was a bit of a problem, but Joanne made sure that my music stayed in place. I was very nervous and made a few mistakes but I enjoyed every minute of last night's music event which was staged on the harbour at Sissi. I was so pleased to have been the first person to play, because after me came a most wonderful pianist, Spiros Souladakis, then a host of very professional singers. For me the highlight of the evening was when Spiros accompanied Angeliki Kostaki, who sang pop music both in Greek and English. Angeliki is the daughter of Maria and George from the Pink Flamingo Taverna, in Sissi.

A big thank you should go to the members of the Cultural Committee of Sissi, who organized the event. Tasty souvlaki was available, and drinks. The fun will continue this evening (Sunday 8th August) with a programme of Greek/Cretan music, all played by well known local musicians. This is a first for Sissi, and I am sure that it will become an annual event. I think I had better start practicing for next year, now!

WELL DONE MUSICIANS OF SISSI AND VRAHASSI!

LOCAL MUSICIANS PERFORM IN SISSI

Just to let everyone know so you can come along to what will be a couple of great summer musical evenings in Sissi. See you all there:

CONCERT
of LOCAL MUSICIANS
SATURDAY AUGUST 7 and SUNDAY AUGUST 8
9:00 p.m. SISSI PORT (MOLE)
There are more than 25 local musicians participating.

Saturday August 7
Classical Music
Greek Artistic Music
Latin, Pop, Rock

Sunday August 8
Cretan Traditional Music
Rebetiko
Greek Popular Music
FREE ENTRANCE
Organized by the Developmental Association of Sissi


ΣΥΝΑΥΛΙΑ
ΒΡΑΧΑΣΩΤΩΝ ΚΑΛΛΙΤΕΧΝΩΝ
ΣΑΒΒΑΤΟ 7 και ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗ 8 ΑΥΓΟΥΣΤΟΥ 2010
9:00 μ.μ. ΣΤΟ ΜΟΛΟ ΤΟΥ ΛΙΜΑΝΙΟΥ ΣΙΣΙΟΥ
Συυμ μ εεττέέχχοουυνν π πεερριισσσσόόττεερροοιι α αππόό 25 τ τοοππιικκοοίί μ οουυσσιικκοοίί
Σάββατο 7 Αυγούστου
Κλασική Μουσική
Έντεχνη Μουσική
Μουσική Λάτιν, Ποπ & Ροκ
Κυριακή 8 Αυγούστου
Κρητική Μουσική
Ρεμπέτικα
Λαϊκά
ΕΙΣΟΔΟΣ ΔΩΡΕΑΝ
Διοργάνωση: ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΙΑΚΟΣ ΣΥΛΛΟΓΟΣ ΣΙΣΙΟΥ

DON'T MISS SATURDAY 7 AUGUST - MUSIC IN SISSI

Work continues on the paving of the streets in Vrahassi. They are looking splendid. What a face lift. And... we have solar powered lighting in the square. It's catch up time. When the tourists flood in next year they will find Vrahassi a most enchanting Cretan village to visit.


Now I'm panicking! I have just been told that I am to open the music evening on the harbour in Sissi, on Saturday night, with my piano and cello music. It will be alright on the night, as they say. Anyway, in the meantime I have my family to take my mind off it.





So, don't miss the event of the year, Saturday, 9.00 p.m. on the harbour at Sissi. Come and join in to help me along. I need support for my cello debut. What is it they say, the pleasure is in the participation! See you there, then.





By for now, Jane, shaking in Vrahassi!

Blogwatchers in Sissi