Jane's Vrahassi

Strange Music

2012-01-28T09:38:00.000-08:00

Now, I think the pianist put emotion into the equation, thus turning the piece into something higher than just a series of pings. An interesting experiment though, don't you think?

And now for my appointment with scales and arpeggios!

It's been very cold in Vrahassi today, and in Neapolis, definitely a winter woolly day. David walked from Vrahassi to Neapolis and met me after Greek class. We had a glass of wine and headed back to our log fire. I've got to get walking myself, maybe tomorrow. Hello to the Gang and Eric, hope you are all OK.

Have a melodious weekend folks!

Love Jane x

5.3 - Earthquake Rattles Crete and other Islands.

2012-01-26T08:54:00.000-08:00

5.3-quake rattles Crete and other islands

26 Jan 2012

(File photo)

An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 rattled Crete and other islands in the south Aegean Sea.

Authorities have reported no injuries or serious damage.

The undersea earthquake occurred at 6:24am. Today, according to the Geodynamic Institute of Athens, some 244 kilometres south of Athens. A 4.4-magnitude aftershock in the same region occurred two hours later.

Earthquake expert Eftymios Lekkas, a professor of geology at Athens University, said the aftershock pattern from the earthquake was normal and not a cause for concern. (Athens News/gw)

Well, we didn't feel a thing in our house. So, no cracks, burst pipes, or shaking crockery to report.

The dogs were quiet too. 4 in a bed and the little one said...

I had my first cello lesson of the year, today, and excited about learning a new piece, Vivaldi, Sonata in B flat (47) Hope the dogs are not too disturbed by it!

Love Jane x

Want a Cheap Ferrari?

2012-01-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

On the outskirts of Athens there is a company that trades in the unhappiness of others.

A dusty Ferrari sits abandoned in a garage, while the forecourt of Auto-Credit is packed with other luxury cars incompatible with this age of austerity.
This is where the wealthy come to pawn their supercars in order to ride out the recession.
Ten owners a day hand over their keys for a three-month contract and a handful of euros.
Increasingly, many of those struggling in the crisis can't afford to get their cars back, so the business has expanded into neighbouring lots.
There's even a secret location where company founder Christos Ioannou is now storing luxury yachts, which owners can no longer afford to run.
"Of course, they are emotional when they come here," he told Sky News.
"It's their car, or their boat and a means of transport and they are only here because of their difficult financial state."
There's an ironic twist to this story, too: the number of buyers is also drying up, so he's planning on reselling the cars in the country where many of them were assembled.

The Auto-Credit business has expanded into neighbouring lots

"Some owners cannot pay for cars which are left behind and can't retrieve them. These are usually big 4x4s," Mr Ioannou said.
"There is no demand for them in Greece right now so we have set up a company in Germany to export them there for resale."
It's not the only pawn shop doing a brisk trade in Greece. If you walk down Ermou Street, the equivalent of Oxford Street in London, there are flashing neon signs everywhere, offering cash for valuables.
Jack Moore, from Newcastle, was one of the first on the block, after assessing how much gold was being hoarded by people in other European countries.
"When I first came here I was one of the first. You would be lucky if you could see two shops. Now there might be 400 or 500 shops within such a short space of time," he told me.
"They've come from nowhere."
He said business has been steady throughout the crisis, but more unscrupulous black market traders have been springing up.
It's a sign of the desperation here, where incomes of civil servants have dropped by 40%, taxes have soared, pensions shrunk and job prospects all but disappeared.
The threat of even greater economic deprivation now hangs on talks to try to keep Greece solvent with another 130 billion euro bailout.
If it defaults, Greece could soon find drachmas back in their pockets.

Thanks to Sky News for this report.

I don't think I shall be rushing out to buy a second hand Ferrari, or much else come to think of it. I'm already running my own soup kitchen for our family of 6 (Me, David, Zouki, Maisie, Phoebie, and Percy). Tomorrow it is leek and potato. Roll on the salad days of summer!
Jane x

Yannis Souladakis - we loved you!

2012-01-22T03:30:00.000-08:00

David and I went to church this morning. We don't usually do that, but today was the remembrance service for Yannis Souladakis, who died a year ago. At the time I was in hospital, and we couldn't go to the funeral, so we made a special effort to go to the service today. I am so pleased we did. Yannis ran the taverna, Platanos, together with his wife, Elaine, who still does. When David and I came to the village, Platanos was our first stop. We had walked up the old road from Sissi and at Selinari, just after the bridge, behind a concrete construction, is where the old cobbled donkey track converges with the main road. Unfortunately the last time I walked up this path, it was completely fenced off by shepherds, to make a pen for sheep. And I mean completely fenced off! No gate, no way around, I had to cross the hillside by the fields to get back on the main road. Anyway, in those days the path was a joyous way to walk into Vrahassi. It led us right to Platanos, where we met Yannis and Elaine. That was seventeen years ago. We saw Yannis become ill, but it never stopped him serving food and drinks, and always with a smile and a friendly word. He was very much a part of village life, and a part of our lives too. We found our first house by sitting in Platanos and asking around, and we shook hands on a property over a beer, with Yannis looking on. I'm sure that Yannis is resting peacefully, or else sitting in paradise with his mates.

There was a good turnout in the church today, a very young priest from Xersonissos took the service because the regular priest is apparently in Africa for a month. It was a lovely service that resounded through microphones and over the hillside. After we were invited to Platanos where we sat amongst our neighbours and ate delicious cakes and biscuits, with cognac to toast a man who is missed by all.

The church in Vrahassi is extremely ornate. In this picture the painting has not been completed. Now all the walls and collumns ar covered in icons, and a red carpet covers the floor.The smell of incence and candle wax pervades the air, and makes for a very beautiful place to visit.

And now it's back to work. David is writing on his computer; I am writing on mine. It's a lovely a Sunday and I'm full of cake - good job it's exercise day. I hope you are all having a good Sunday.

Love and best wishes,
Jane x

David Sharp and a Beautiful Winter Morning In Crete.

2012-01-19T06:11:00.000-08:00

I hope you like this video which David took a few days ago.

Love Jane x

CRETAN CUSTOM CUTTING OF THE NEW YEAR CAKE JANE'S VRAHASSI

2012-01-16T23:09:00.000-08:00

Thanks to our teacher, we had a break between classes to participate in the Greek custom of cutting and sharing the New Year Cake. A coin had been placed inside the cake, and the winner received a Greek/English dictionary. Afterwards we all got to work again. If you are interested in joining one of the classes, simply turn up at the Oasis cafebar in Neapolis on a Saturday afternoon to ask for details.

And now I am going to Agios Nikolaos to pay my electricity bill before I'm cut off!

Jane x

Get Fit For Fogies January 2012

2012-01-13T10:13:00.000-08:00

Just to show that I am still fighting the flab with the 7 minute workout. It's no big deal, just 3 times a week.

Iraklio - Heraklion A Great City to Visit

2012-01-13T10:10:00.000-08:00

Iraklio: Crete’s beating heart (article from the ekathimerini newspaper)

The capital city of Greece’s largest island offers the ideal introduction to four millennia of history

By Haris Argyropoulos
The history of Iraklio, capital of Crete and Greece’s fifth-largest city, is telling of its location’s geopolitical importance, as it lies approximately in the middle of the island’s northern coastline.
Even though there is no archaeological evidence, it may have served as a port for nearby Knossos, the island’s largest population center in Minoan times, and as far back as 2000 BC.
The first historical reference to the location as “Herakleion” was by the 2nd century AD astronomer Ptolemy. A fortified Byzantine settlement in the 6th century went by the name of Kastro. Andalusian Arab pirates who invaded in 824 were the first to establish it as a city proper, making it the capital of an emirate and building a strong fort named Rabdh el Khandaq (hence the Greek name Handakas). The Byzantines retook the city after a prolonged siege in 961 and sold it to the Venetians in 1204 as part of a deal that included the restoration by the Crusaders of the deposed Byzantine emperor. The Venetians built huge fortifications with walls up to 40 meters thick. Most are still in place. The city was named Candia and Crete the “Kingdom of Candia.” At the end of the 16th century, as the Venetians’ most important naval base in the east, Candia was known as the “Venice of the East.”
To consolidate their rule, the Venetians resettled families from Venice on the island. The coexistence of two different cultures and the influence of the Italian Renaissance eventually led to a flourishing of the arts and letters on Crete in general and accounts for the considerable number of words of Italian origin in the local dialect.
The artists of the Cretan School, which became the central force in Greek painting during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, developed a particular style under the influence of both Eastern and Western artistic traditions. The most famous product of the school was El Greco, born Domenikos Theotokopoulos in Iraklio in 1541.
The Ottomans besieged the city in 1645 but it took them 24 years to conquer it – the longest siege in history. In the final phase of the blockade, which lasted 22 months, an estimated 140,000 attackers, defenders and local population perished. The Ottoman administration ended in 1898 and Crete joined free Greece in 1913.
Today, Iraklio (population 142,000, according to the 2001 census) remains the center of Crete’s economic and cultural life, bearing all the hallmarks of its long history. Its airport is the second busiest in Greece after that of Athens, mainly on account of the charter flights that disgorge hundreds of thousands of tourists who flock to the district’s long tourist belt, which takes in almost the entire coastline but is mainly concentrated to the east of the city.
To be sure, except for historical exploration, Iraklio is not a place visitors travel to as a destination in itself. In this respect, it is much like Athens, which it resembles both in the array of monuments, its anarchic postwar development, the congestion and the lack of green spaces – but on a much smaller scale. In recent years, Iraklio has made serious and evidently fruitful efforts to upgrade and highlight its heritage, and large parts of the center are a pleasure to walk around.
Loggia, the city’s most elegant Venetian building, was for centuries the seat of government and today houses City Hall. It acquired its final form in the 17th century and received the top Europa Nostra award in 1987 as the EU’s best-preserved and restored monument.
Perhaps the Cretan capital’s best-known hallmark, however, is the 17th-century fountain with the sculpted lions complex (Liontaria), in the square across from Loggia. It is a pleasant place to sit and enjoy a coffee with a “bougatsa” (cream pie) from Kirkor or Salkintzis, two specialist shops.
The list of sights in Iraklio center is long, requiring the best part of two days. They include the 1239 Basilica of Aghios Markos – now a municipal gallery – and the Monastery of Aghia Ekaterini – the medieval university where many European philosophers, artists and writers studied and which houses a superb collection of Cretan iconography. The highlight of interest is the Archaeological Museum, which requires at least three hours.
Visitors can also admire the sculpted lions of St Mark which adorn the entrance to the Venetian fort and, from the walls, enjoy panoramic views of the sea and coast, the city and perennially snow-capped Mt Psiloritis in the background. Below the Martinengo bastion, on the south side, is the tomb of Nikos Kazantzakis, perhaps Greece’s most translated 20th-century writer and philosopher. “I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free,” reads a quote by him on an inscription.
Where to stay
Area phone code: 2810. Atrion (tel 246.000, www.atrion.gr), modern, elegant and friendly hotel near the old port; Capsis Astoria (tel 343.080, www.capsishotels.gr), comfortable, classic hotel for tourists and professionals, views over the square or the old city; Aquila Atlantis (tel 229.103, www.aquilahotels.com), near the old port and the central square, comfortable rooms with modern decor, three suites with jacuzzi; Lato (tel 228.103, www.lato.gr), modern boutique hotel on a quiet street with views of the Venetian fort.
Where to eat
Kyriakos (53 Dimokratias, tel 224.649), excellent mainstream Greek dishes, considered part of the city’s tradition, closed Sundays; Erganos (5 Georgiadi, Oasi, tel 285.629), old house with veranda, plenty of Cretan specialities; Loukoulos (5 Korai, tel 224.435), in a beautifully restored mansion, one of the best for Mediterranean cuisine; Parasies (History Museum Sq, tel 225.009), Cretan grill on the square, reservations advisable, closed Monday lunchtime; Giakoumis (Agora, Grousouzadika), well known for its lamb chops.
What to see & do
The History Museum of Crete houses numerous treasures dating to early Christian times (tel 283.219); the Cathedral of Aghios Minas; Natural History Museum, with excellent reproductions of natural habitats and photos (tel 324.711); Cretaquarium, Greece’s finest, 14 km east of Iraklio (tel 337.788, www.cretaquarium.gr); the Museum of the Battle of Crete and National Resistance (tel 346.554); the new Nikos Kazantzakis Museum will be inaugurated Saturday, July 3, at 7 p.m. in his native village of Myrtia, 15 km from Iraklio (tel 741.689).

Looking forward to my next visit.

Plan of Vrahassi Old School - 1927

2012-01-12T11:13:00.000-08:00

Εν Βραχασίω τη 16 Σεπτεμβρίου 1927...

Το παραπάνω έγγραφο που δημοσιεύεται μας το έστειλε κάποιος φίλος του Blog και τον ευχαριστούμε.
Μας το έστειλε για να μας επισημάνει τη δουλειά που έκανε ο τότε δάσκαλος του χωριού.Ένα σχέδιο που ουσιαστικά βάζει το Πάνω Σχολειό σε τροχιά ζωής πολλών δεκαετιών.
Μας έστειλε και σημερινές φωτογραφίες. Αλλά δεν τις δημοσιεύουμε γιατί είναι να κλαις με αυτά που βλέπεις σ΄ αυτές...
Πόσο διαφορετικά είναι σήμερα τα πράγματα... Please see the original post in the Vrachassi Blog

How different is the plan of the old school to pictures of it today - an empty ruin, full of weeds and memories. There are so many crumbling buildings in Vrahassi. The people of Vrahassi are so proud of their history, why do they allow beautiful old buildings to fall down like this? The old school could be saved. Let's hope it is!

Soren Lyng Hansen, cello - Vocalise opus 34, no.14 by Sergei Rachmaninov

2012-01-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

This is so beautiful, how wonderful to know that my Valentino (cello) used to belong to Soren. How I would like to be able to play like him.

The Beatles - All You Need is Love (HQ)

2012-01-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

Fabulous! It's been a wonderful hot-soup day in Crete; snow on the mountain, hailstone on the car and lots of logs on the fire.

I hope you are keeping warm wherever you are.
Love Jane x

Official Letter from Venizelos Re Neapolis

2012-01-10T05:37:00.000-08:00

The answer from the government minister Venizelos, about the closing of the Council in Neapolis. (I cannot translate this easily but thought it an important document to record - my source was the Mirabello News)

Δευτέρα, 9 Ιανουαρίου 2012

Τί απάντησε ο Βενιζέλος για το κλείσιμο της ΔΟΥ Νεάπολης

Poetry and Politics

2012-01-09T06:37:00.000-08:00

Poetry and politics

By Pantelis Boukalas for The Ekathimerini Newspaper.
Could it be that our political leaders have suddenly developed a soft spot for Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and decided to adopt his clear warning?
It sounds implausible. Nevertheless, their New Year’s messages urging us to take our fate into our own hands were reminiscent of some words we used to hear in the early years after the fall of the 1967-74 military dictatorship in Greece: “The future will not come of its own accord; we must take measures.”
If I say implausible, it’s because no members of a ruling elite would adopt the words of a revolutionary with ease. Particularly for the leadership of the Greek Communist Party (which should in theory be fans of Mayakovsky), a “cursed” poet will always be cursed -- at least until he or she has been rehabilitated, as it were -- especially a poet who committed suicide as a result of his “defeatism.”
Rather, it would make more sense to say that the New Year’s messages of Greece’s political leaders were influenced by a homegrown poet, Odysseas Elytis, especially his early period, when he felt strong enough to say: “One and two: No one will speak our fate. One and two: We shall speak the sun’s fate.”
But again, the worn-out, dry words that constitute a national address can hardly bear any relationship to poetry. For what can be the connection between the art of poetry which, being a complete stranger to limits, tries to purify words and ratify their deeper meaning, with the so-called “art of the possible,” an art which abuses and corrupts precious words and the ideas they seek to convey?
Who can talk about “direct democracy” with a straight face after George Papandreou’s ridiculous treatment of the concept? And, similarly, who will dare to talk about “transcendence” following Antonis Samaras’s use of the word in the past (it is no coincidence that the New Democracy chief has shed the word from his political vocabulary).
In any case, the New Year’s messages saw our political leaders stand in front of the camera, put on their fake smiles and read out a brief essay as if they were students taking part in a national exam.
Virtually all of them urged us to “take fate into our own hands.” They most likely meant that we ought to vote for them in the coming elections, given that each of them is sober enough to pose as the most efficient administrator of our collective fate.
But taking one’s fate into one’s own hands via a representative, in fact via a representative who will soon forget who he represents and for what reason, has no meaning whatsoever, be it in poetry or politics.

Cretan Raki Party in Vrahassi 2012

2012-01-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

I just had he one drink, it was quite enough excitement for a Saturday afternoon.

Happy Weekend folks!
Jane x

Victoria Hislop's - The Thread

2012-01-05T09:40:00.000-08:00

Threading Thessaloniki’s history - a report from the Athens News 5 January 2012

by George Gilson

1 Jan 2012

A multicultural paradise lost - where Greeks, Jews and Turks used to live in harmony - is what Victoria Hislop has on offer in her new novel The Thread, a diachronic portrayal of Thessaloniki after the great fire of 1917.

Hislop’s account of the city’s inter-cultural melange is a colourful, literary tapestry that weaves historical events in the lives of individuals, often making for a captivating read.

It is a brand of fiction that seems tailor-made for dramatisation. After all, her novel about the leper colony of Spinalonga, entitled The Island, garnered huge ratings when it was dramatised and shown on a major private television channel in Greece, making the author something of a star in this country.

The Thread is not a historical novel, though Hislop uses the skills of her former profession, journalism, to weave critical moments of 20th-century Greek history through the plot. A key event is the Greek-Turkish population exchange, following the Asia Minor disaster, when Greeks left Turkey for Greece and Greece’s Turks left for Turkey. This dramatic exchange brings some of the main characters to Thessaloniki and the novel gushes with nostalgia for the contributions of the missing Turkish population.

Hislop’s references to the regret the city’s once-dominant Jewish population felt over the incorporation of Thessaloniki into the Greek state in 1912 also reveal some of the tensions between the ethnic-religious groups, as does the novel’s mention of the anti-Semitic references in the city’s rightwing daily Makedonia.

But those tensions are usually played down in support of the leitmotif of multiculturalism running through the narrative, with the insightful portrayals of the mostly female main characters.

Hislop does not take kindly to the indigenous Greek merchant class, represented mainly through the self-centred, profit-hungry and rightwing textile merchant Konstantinos Komninos. The merchant’s oppressed wife and son, who becomes an ELAS (Greek Popular Liberation Army) resistance fighter during the Second World War, however, are treated with empathy.

A more tender portrayal is reserved for Jewish tailor Saul Moreno, whose establishment caters to Thessaloniki’s westward-looking haute bourgeoisie, Christian and Jewish. He pays his large staff well, investing his profits back into the business and, in contrast to ostentatious Komninos, stays in his modest middle-class quarters.

The book’s clarity on the Greek identity of the Greek Jews is on target, with stress on the fact that Greece had been their home for centuries and that they fought for the country in the 1940-41 campaign.

If that sounds familiar, it may be because Hislop picks up where Mark Mazower left off in his Salonica, City of Ghosts, a book examining the three communities between 1430 and 1950, and one Hislop says influenced her deeply.

That said, The Thread - whose title refers to the profession of Katerina, a refugee from Smyrna who becomes a top seamstress at Moreno’s workshop - is a sensitive and often captivating account of how 20th-century Greek history shaped the characters’ lives.

In an interview with the Athens News, Victoria Hislop describes her passage from journalism to fiction, her fondness for Greece, and her new novel.

You have worked in public relations and as a journalist. How does one become a novel writer - and what is the writing process like for you?

Writing is something I enjoy probably more than any other activity and have done since I was a child. I have my diaries that date back to when I was about ten years old - so it wasn’t something that happened overnight. And I always won the writing prizes at school, even in primary school.

So, to be honest, I am not sure what you mean by “how does one become a writer” - I think most people who are writers always were writers. In professional terms, I believe we can get better and better as writers. It’s like practising at piano - the more you do it, the better you get.

Writing fiction for me is something more exciting than non-fiction. I describe it as the difference between walking and flying. Walking is great, but there is a wonderful freedom with fiction - you can really go anywhere you like in your mind, and create any situation, any character.

You’ve become something of a legend in Greece and, more broadly, a celebrity writer. How has fame changed your life and that of your family?

I don’t think it’s changed me. I still shop in the same places, eat in the same places. By now people recognise me on the streets in Greece, and that’s nice. But it hasn’t changed my family life.

How do you think human freedom is defined against greater themes in your book of history, and relations between generations, parents and children and the past and present?

In Greece, human freedom, in terms of family ties, sometimes looks very different from the British version - this is one of the biggest differences I see here. In the UK, freedom means providing the means and support (emotional and financial) to allow a child to find his or her own way, to fulfil their potential in every respect.

In Greece I see parents keeping tighter hold of their children and I am not sure this always makes for a healthy society. Having said that, the strength of the family bond can also seem very appealing.

You’ve said you were charmed by the coexistence of Greeks, Jews and Muslims in Thessaloniki before 1917. What do you think life was like back then - was it an idyllic multicultural society?

I am sure there were some problems - there always are, in any society - but from what I have read, yes, these three cultures got on well together. The balance was ideal. Only when the Muslims left and the Jews were then heavily outnumbered by the Christians, did their troubles begin.

When did you first come to Greece and how did your relationship with the country evolve?

I came over 30 years ago as a tourist, and I have visited every year since. I bought a house on Crete about four years ago and now I am learning the language. It’s a strong bond, getting closer all the time, like any relationship.

Your previous book, The Island, was a TV blockbuster in Greece. Why do you think it struck such a chord? Did it become an uncanny parallel to the isolation and scapegoating of Greece in the eurozone crisis?

Yes, oddly, it did. This might have been why it resonated so strongly here. I saw a cartoon in one of the large newspapers here, representing a boatman taking Portugal, Ireland and Greece over to a small island, which was clearly labelled “Spinalonga”. I think the Greeks do feel they are separated and stigmatised, although they really do have plenty of company in their moment of crisis.

What are the themes of The Thread? How did you choose and shape the characters, and which one do you identify with the most?

The theme, if there is one, is that the events of history (certainly within the framework of The Thread) are closely linked and that you cannot separate yourself from them. Greece in the 20th century was a very tough country to be in. And even if I had no idea how much focus there would be on Greece when I wrote the book, it seems now to provide an explanation to some readers of the origins of Greece’s deep economic problems.

I did a lot of research on the period of the population exchange, and, fortunately, there are a lot of sources in English. I worked in the British Library, and one of the key sources was the American diplomat Henry Morgenthau, who gave an incredible description of what happened back then.

Vrahassi Christmas Carol Singers

2012-01-04T04:24:00.000-08:00

Ανάβλοχος: Φωτογραφίες από τα κάλαντα του πολιτιστικού συλλόγ...

PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE VILLAGE ORGANISATION KNOWN AS 'ANAVLOHOS' AS THEY WENT AROUND SINGING CAROLS DURING THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY.

SHOOTING IN CENTER OF VRAHASSI

2012-01-03T07:20:00.000-08:00

A 45 year old man was arrested by Neapolis police yesterday after they werecalled to the Cosmos Bar in Vrahassi.The said man, an ex-resident of the village who originates from Albania, was found to be threatening a Mr Kivanitakis with a revolver. He apparently pulled it from his jacket pocket in objection to some discussion. One shot was fired into the air as a policeman made a grab for the weapon. A revolver and live amunition were confiscated by the police.

Who was it said nothing ever happens in Vrahassi? By the way I got the report from the Anatoli newspaper, but had already been informed of what happened.

Apart from that it is really quite peaceful in Vrahassi. It's been a lovely bright day today and I've managed to write another 1000 words or so. I had a visit from the leader of the village Council to ask why I didn't attend the New Year's Day event, which was nice. I explained that the day was so cold that we simply enjoyed staying by the fire. It was very apathetic of me I know.

Keep posted for more Vrahassi entertainment.

Love Jane x

Film Show in Vrahassi -The Call of the Mountain

2012-01-02T11:13:00.000-08:00

Last week, the last week of 2011, the Cultural Association of Vrahassi "The Anavlohos" held a very significant event. In the club room at the old school the film "The Call of the Mountain" was shown. There followed a discussion about the movie. Many locals attended, and most positive was that it involved a lot of new people. The discussion that followed the film was about concerns that transcend the mundane, and debate on the issues of our country. Linking people with nature in the region, and the opportunities for a decent life with organized forms of exploitation of livestock and agriculture, was the backbone of the debate.
The chairman and the board of the Cultural Association of Vrahassi organized the event.

Those who did not attended the projection can watch the movie here.

I found this movie and comment on the Anavlochos Blog. It really is worth watching, not only for the issues which are raised, but for a look at a disappearing lifestile. The language of the Cretan shepherds has a beauty of its own. Even if you do not understand the words, you can still follow most of the film. Enjoy.

Love Jane x

Catholic Church Bazaar in Heraklion

2011-12-31T02:21:00.000-08:00

One for the road - may all your wishes come true.

My wish came true when I was asked to the Catholic Church Bazaar in Heraklion.

The streets were busy and there were plenty of Christmas lights.

Lydia lent me a festive jumper and I wore my mistleoe tiara.


Thanks to the organizers I was able to have my wish granted. And they enjoyed the music so much that they have asked me back for Easter. (It was worth all that practice!)

So, what a way to end 2011 (okay it isn't over till the fat lady sings). Lydia and Mark have organized a party at the Cosmos Bar in Vrahassi tonight. It is New Year's Eve and raining, but we are determined to end 2011 in style, somewhere. I have to say that from past New Year's Eve events in Vrahassi, I do know not to expect too much. I remember the Millenium, when the whole world was partying - Vrahassi was dead. There was no-one in the streets and I was so disappointed that we went home and set the keyboard up on the roof. Come midnight David and I had our own party and I blasted out new-age music over the rooftops. I wont be doing that tonight.

I am happy to be moving forward into a New Year. 2011 did have its moments though. We had a wonderful summer with our daughter and grandson, and their friends Sooz and Eliza, and then Jack's dad John joined us for a week. And in October we went to England where we spent time with our son, David, and his lovely family, Tracy and two granddaughters, Star and Jade. And, what a wonderful thing it was to be able to see our daughter Joanne receive her degree at Greenwich University. My sister, Joanna and her family looked after us so well, and we even managed to see our dear, dear friends, and other members of the family. If we missed you out, sorry, but there is only so much you can do in a couple of weeks.

2011 has been a year of hard work and no work. It has been a year of two dogs then four dogs. It has been a year of bad health and brilliant health. The Greek austerity measures have hit us financially, but hey, it costs nothing to smile. I have been touched by the actions of one or two people, I can tell you.

So, onwards and upwards! Our motto is 'Just Do It' so watch out 2012. There's a lot of 'Doing' to be done. I have this wonderful vision of book number two being finished, and being a big hit. I can see myself playing in Heraklion again, maybe next time with other musicians. My body is shaping up with the continuing exercise programme - remember the 7 minute workout? Well watch out for photos of the new me. I am going to grow my hair long and face the future with attitude. Attitude that shouts out 'I AM SO LUCKY'.

I hope you all have a great New Year's Eve wherever you may be. And I hope you get all you wish for in 2012. And remember, there is always some poor sod worse off than you are.

Love Jane x
P.S. I'll try to get some pics of the action but my camera is on the blink. I'll just have to vision a new one, it really is as easy as that.

Away in a Manger, Carol Singing in Neapolis, Crete.

2011-12-26T11:14:00.000-08:00

Heavy Snow Up North - And Cold In Crete Too!

2011-12-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

Inclement weather nationwide, heavy snow up north

22 Dec 2011

An inclement weather front hit the country early on Thursday, with heavy snowfall in the north of the country and on high ground in northern and central Greece, gale force winds and heavy rainfall in most parts of the country.

The bad spell is forecast to continue throughout Thursday in all parts of the country, with heavy rain and snowstorms on high ground and plains in northern and central Greece, with the main thrust in western Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, the northern and eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese Islands.

The bad conditions are expected to subside late at night in the northern Ionian Islands and the central and western mainland.

The severe weather conditions are expected to improve Friday in the northern Ionian Islands and the central mainland, but will continue throughout the rest of the country.

By Friday afternoon, the bad weather is expected to recede gradually in western and northern Greece.

Temperatures will remain low throughout the entire country until the middle of next week.

Something tells me that I will need to wear my woolie tomorrow when I go to Heraklion with Lydia and Diana. Never mind, I am so looking forward to getting a little taste of Christmas lights, and hopefully a little taste of Christmas vino too. Whoo Hoo! Might even see Father Christmas!

I may not get to blog again before Christmas, so to all my friends out there, HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!

Let's hope the rain holds off a few more days, it is looking very dodgy. High winds are forecast for tomorrow. It won't stop us having our carol singalong on Saturday, we will be inside the Oasis Bar in Neapolis if the weather is bad.

I may not have many trimmings up in the house, but I have got my priorities right - a piece of mistletoe is hanging from the little angel in the centre of our stone arch. And it might be a cup of tea if you pop in (there is not much in the line of booze this year) but my Christmas cake tastes fine (once the burnt bits have been sliced off that is). And, as you see from the photo of Lefteri's cafeneo, there is always traditional Vrahassi cheer to lift the spirits! Oh, and be warned carol singers, I spent your coppers down the market yesterday, so you might have to make do with a peppermint cream. (Home made naturally). I must say that I have had a great time trying out new recipes this week. Did you know that if you pour hot melted dark chocolate over cold yogurt and mix it together, it tastes delicious. While we are on the subject of food, I managed to purchase a frozen duck from Liddle's yesterday, so that's our Christmas treat. By the way Jayne, we are missing your pie!

I'm looking forward to 2012 the uncertainty certainly is exciting. Maybe I will get that second book finished, maybe I'll write a prize winning poem, maybe I'll pass my Grade 5 on the cello. What am I talking about? There is no 'maybe'. I WILL DO all of those things. (Providing the world doesn't end). Love to all, wish you were here to kiss me under the mistletoe. I'm sending you my kiss... include me under yours. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE ANY MISTLETOE? It's Christmas, go out and find some right now! Love is THE most important thing in the whole world. MWAAAAAAH! xxxxxxxxxx LOVE YOU, Jane x

ΗΜΕΡΑ ΑΓΑΠΗΣ 2011-ΑΓΙΟΣ ΝΙΚΟΛΑΟΣ

2011-12-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

Seems like they were having fun in Agios Nikolaos yesterday, too. I particularly like the children singing.

A Taste of Christmas Music

2011-12-19T03:33:00.000-08:00

We had a great afternoon at our friend's house, Gavin and Rosemarie's, yesterday. Loads of good food, in the sunshine, watching the Griffon vultures circling over Anavlohos. Now I have to get some practice in for Saturday.

I've been in the glums a bit, but just lately true friendship has really made me realize how lucky I am.
What have I got to be miserable about? Nothing! God, anyone who has access to so much chocolate on one day, should never complain about a thing. I'm going to get the Father Christmas hats out of our store right away - tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la lah, la la la lah!

I hope the weather is OK for Christmas, especially Christmas morning when we have our Christmas Swim morning in Malia.

Anyway, have a good run up to Christmas whatever ye may be doing.
Love Jane x

Cretan Transport

2011-12-16T02:02:00.000-08:00

No, it isn't us bringing home supplies, but there are still one or two of these motors around. At least they are good for the narrow winding streets of Vrahassi. Unfortunately the Vrahassi donkey is no more. There are one or two around Kritsa and a few on the Lasithi Plateaux. Most farmers these days have 4 x 4 pickup trucks, but with the vehicle tax increase that may change. I certainly have to think twice about a journey because of the price of petrol.

Anyway, today is our son David's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JNR. He was born in 1969 so work it out. It was the year that man set foot on the moon for the first time. I remember sitting up most of the night to watch the event on my mum's TV. There were no mobile phones, no computers, and in our house, no TV. How things have changed!

I am going to make some pepermint creams today. The weather is once more glorious if a bit nippy. Clear blue skies. Tomorrow we are off to a party at our friend's house. Then it will be the run up to Christmas. I somehow don't think I'll be running anywhere, but it will be good to see what other people are up to. There are already one or two Christmas trees twinkling away in Vrahassi houses. The two cafebars in the center of the village are festooned with a few colourful strings of lights, and I did see a model of Father Christmas clinging on to a balcony. Nice!

So, that's all today. Enjoy your Friday,
Love Jane x

Punch and Judy

2011-12-14T03:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas Pantomime. One for the memoirs!

Greeks Seek Rural Life

2011-12-14T02:05:00.000-08:00

7. STRIKES Pharmacies will be closed across the country today in a 24-hour warning strike called by the Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association, which has also threatened to suspend all credit to social security funds – meaning they will charge customers the full price for medicines - as of New Year’s Day or earlier .

Will Vrahassi begin to grow again?

Crisis-hit Greeks leave the cities for a new rural life

By Eve Szeftel
Uprooted by a national debt crisis and a deepening recession that has eaten up their jobs, incomes and pensions, many Greeks are now returning to their families’ rural past in search of a future.
Just as young graduates are moving abroad rather than risk joining the 18 percent of Greeks who are out of work, families struggling to maintain their living standards are looking for a simpler life away from the city.
Elisabeth Kokoreli and her husband Vanguelis Tsaprounis quit Athens earlier this year to live permanently in their second home on the island of Evia, where he grew up.
Although they had long been thinking about a change of lifestyle, they were forced to act after the cost of raising a family in the capital, at about 3,000 euros ($4,000) a month, far outstripped their earnings.
Now, their two daughters are settled in the local school in Vassilika and Tsaprounis, a 42-year-old painter, has set about learning the farming skills needed to make the most of the land that he has inherited.
”I am very happy,” said Kokoreli, a 40-year-old dance therapist. ”We have a better chance at a future here. In Athens, it was a constant struggle.
”It has been a big change for me, but I like this new way of life.” Her family is part of an increasing exodus from the cities to the villages, reversing a trend dating back to World War II which has seen the population of Athens triple to four million -- two-fifths of all people living in Greece.
Agricultural labour has surged seven percent since 2008, while people who work on the land now make up 12.5 percent of the active population, compared to 11.3 percent in 2008.
Many of these new recruits are middle-aged, like Ambroise Santamouris, 50, and his partner Adriana Flores, 52.
They are both journalists but have seen their industry decimated by the recession, which will next year enter its fourth year.
Santamouris lost his job at a private radio station in 2010, and in January they decided to move to the island of Tinos in the Cyclades, where he has inherited a house by the sea.
For the couple, the move was a ”question of survival”, he says, as well as an opportunity to change the way they lived.
”Most of the things that we thought were important, and which reflect your position in society, turned out to be worthless. And we couldn’t afford them anyway,” Santamouris said.
Although he would rather have retired to the island when he was ready, the prospect of finding another job in Athens, where a quarter of the 8,000 journalists in the city are set to lose their jobs this year, forced his hand.

I cannot let yesterday go by without mention of the fact that David and I once again spent the day at the Court in Neapolis. Of course it was he who shall not be named, rearing his ugly head. This time the case was thrown out. I think the words were to the effect that there was no case to answer. Still it was a bit of a strain on us. We did have a celebratory drink with friends after, and we were in bed by 8 o'clock. It was funny really, because by 3 a.m. we were wide awake. Back to normal today - whatever that is!

I am busy practising for Christmas Eve morning, when Julie (the flute) and I shall be playing Christmas Carols in Neapolis. So, back to it.

Love Jane x

TRAGIC DEATH IN VRAHASSI!

2011-12-12T08:46:00.000-08:00

Kiria Maria, age 74, lived alone. Her body was found by firemen early this morning, after a fire engulfed the whole of her house. She had not been well for some time. It is a possibility that an electric heater was the cause of the fire. Rest in peace, Kiria Maria.

Δευτέρα, 12 Δεκεμβρίου 2011

Τραγικός θάνατος ηλικιωμένης μέσα στις φλόγες στο Βραχάσι σήμερα το πρωί

Άσχημα ξεκίνησε η εβδομάδα στο Βραχάσι του Δήμου Αγίου Νικολάου.. Μία 74χρονη γυναίκα βρήκε τραγικό θάνατο μετά από φωτιά που εκδηλώθηκε στο σπίτι της κάτω από άγνωστες μέχρι τώρα συνθήκες ..

Η πυροσβεστική Υπηρεσία κλήθηκε λίγο πριν τις 6.00 το πρωί και όταν το κλιμάκιο που έσπευσε κατέφερε να σβήσει τις φλόγες αντίκρισε το αποτρόπαιο θέαμα της νεκρής γυναίκας..

Στην περιοχή σπεύδει και ο ιατροδικαστής...

Σύμφωνα με τα μέχρι τώρα στοιχεία η φωτιά μάλλον ξεκίνησε από την σόμπα που είχε στο σπίτι η ηλικιωμένη προκειμένου να ζεσταίνεται . Να σημειωθεί ότι η 74χρονη έμενε μόνη της

ΒΡΑΧΑΣΙ - THIS IS WHERE WE CHOOSE TO LIVE

2011-12-11T05:55:00.000-08:00

I thank whoever is responsible for making this video. The music is wonderful, and the pictures are fantastic. Braxasi is a beautiful place to live.

HAPPY SUNDAY

2011-12-11T04:56:00.000-08:00

It's an absolutely beautiful day in Vrahassi. David and I sat out in our little courtyard and had a perfect Sunday lunch of baked beans on toast, followed by my own baked oat biscuits. I spent the morning doing my cello practise, and I am now about to do a spot of writing. We shall talk to the family this evening on the Skype + webcam - always a joy!

While I am on the blog, I'd just like to say 'hello' to all of my readers, some of you I know, some of you I don't know. I do know that you may be in America, England, Germany, Australia or New Zealand, plus a host of other countries. When I sit here in my little house looking out onto Anavlohos mountain, the rest of the world seems very far away. But when I see the map detailing where all my viewers are, it seems very close. So, whether you are in fact in Vrahassi yourself, or further away, whether you are English, Greek, American, German, French or Swahili (is that spelt right?). Whatever and wherever you are I love you all. Thank you for taking an interest in my blog,

Love Jane x

And to the Gang and Eric, I thought of you as I was heaving on the big knickers this morning, and I hope you are all well.

Big knickers are big business for UK firm

A Cornwall-based mother and daughter are making a big success of making big underwear.
There is an increasing demand for larger-sized garments in the UK, and around the world, and business is booming.

GRAPE SPOON SWEET PRESERVE

2011-12-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

So, there's no chocolate in the house, let me see, grapes, they are good for my diet. How abou this 'grapey' recipe? Hm, just a mo while I beg a bunch of roses from my neighbour. All I can say is, it must be the full moon that's driving me crazy! Better just drink the cup of water and get to bed before I attack the buscuit tin. It was a nice thought though. Exercise day tomorrow.

INGREDIENTS

1 kilo grapes, washed and without stems
½ kilo sugar
1 cup water
A couple of pelargonium rose flowers/leaves
5-6 cloves
1 cinnamon stick

PREPARATION

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan to boil on a low fire. As soon as it boils remove all foamy scum. Cook it on the fire until it picks up some colour and the syrup thickens. Afterwards remove flowers/leaves and store preserve in jars.

LATE NIGHT SHOPPING FOR CHRISTMAS IN HERAKLION

2011-12-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

IF YOU HAVE IT, SPEND IT!
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING KICKS OFF
(December, 2011)

With a feeling of optimism, stores in major cities throughout Greece, including Iraklion, will be extending their opening hours for the Christmas shopping rush as of Thursday, December 15.

Thanks to The Khronicles on line newspaper for this information.

Stores will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on regular weekdays until December 30, while on Saturday December 17, 24 and 31, retailers will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and, on Sunday, December 18 they will be serving shoppers from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Regular hours will resume on January 3.

JANE'S CHRISTMAS POEM 2011

2011-12-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

This is what I was doing yesterday, when I should have been doing the ironing!

TOTALLY NATIVITY

The lights were twinkling on my tree,

As Christmas Eve descended,

I’d made the cake, the Christmas pud,

And praises duly rendered,

A tot of rum for Santa Claus,

And a lovely warm mince pie,

I placed beside the burning fire,

For that hungry passer by,

And then I noticed something wrong,

It was quite a mystery,

A little sheep had disappeared

From the toy Nativity,

Joseph still watched over Mary,

Jesus was there in the hay,

A small group of shepherds gathered

With wise men from far away,

The cattle were lowing softly,

A bright star above them shone,

Every character had its place,

Except the sheep, which was gone,

We can’t have Christmas without her,

I thought, she’s there every year,

The stable has to have a sheep,

Without it, it looks quite bare,

So I started to search the house,

For that little missing sheep,

I rifled through cupboards and drawers,

I upturned things in a heap,

I looked around the skirting board,

Down the sides of the settee,

I emptied the waste-paper bin,

Moved things underneath the tree,

The sheep had spirited away,

And the house was upside down,

I just couldn’t understand it,

The thing was not to be found,

And then Dave came home from the pub,

As happy a man could be,

He looked at the mess. I explained,

‘I can’t find the sheep, you see.’

‘Ah the sheep’, he said quite coyly,

There’s something you need to know,

I took it for a little walk,

For a change of air, Ho! Ho!”

He pulled his hand from his pocket,

Clenched his fist tight, gave a sigh,

Then slowly opened his fingers,

To reveal the sheep inside,

I was so happy to see it,

There was no anger at all,

We both just fell about laughing,

And placed the sheep in the stall

We shook our heads and looked around,

Our home was in disarray,

What mattered most, the lost sheep was

Found, in time for Christmas Day.

©Jane Sharp

2011

SAINT NIKOLAOS NAME DAY TODAY

2011-12-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

merambello news: Ο 'Αγιος Νικόλαος σήμερα γιόρταζε ...και ήταν πραγ...

IT WAS A TRULY WONDERFUL DAY IN AGIOS NIKOLAOS TODAY.

KRONIA POLLA to all with the name Nikolaos, I wish you a happy celebration.

Love Jane x

merambello news: Φωτογραφίες από την εκδήλωση στολισμού του Χριστου...

2011-12-06T09:01:00.000-08:00

merambello news: Φωτογραφίες από την εκδήλωση στολισμού του Χριστου...

PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DECORATED CHRISTMAS TREE IN AGIOS NIKOLAOS. (click the link above)

IT'S A JOKE!

2011-12-04T12:46:00.000-08:00

Some years ago, a small rural town in Spain twinned with a similar
town in Greece. The mayor of the Greek town visited the Spanish town.
When he saw the palatial mansion belonging to the Spanish mayor, he
wondered how he could afford such a house.

The Spaniard said, "You see that bridge over there? The EU gave us a
grant to build a two-lane bridge, but by building a single-lane bridge
with traffic lights at either end, this house could be built."

The following year, the Spaniard visited the Greek town. He was simply
amazed at the Greek mayor's house... gold taps, marble floors, it was
marvellous. When he asked how this could be afforded, the Greek said,
"You see that bridge over there?"

The Spaniard replied, "No."

Thanks Maurice for circulating this one, I love it. Jane x

THE VRAHASSIAN, Life in Crete.

2011-12-04T05:59:00.000-08:00

Love Jane x

SICK OF POLITICS? THINGS COULD BE WORSE! Rowan Atkinson in Hell - WITH SUBTITLES

2011-12-01T05:14:00.000-08:00

Thought it might warm you up on a cold winter's night.

Vrahassi was a little busier today, a housewife was scrubbing her rugs in the street, an old man was home alone on the street bench, the van-man who sells big knickers was drinking raki while his wares wafted in the mountain breeze, and an old farmer grimaced at me when we met bumper to bumper on a road designed for donkey travel. Being polite, I backed up of course. I did smile at the old guy, but he wasn't looking, must have been having a bad wife day.

I spent a very pleasant hour rehearsing for tomorrows little concert. Fourni was not much busier than Vrahassi, but just as cold. Passing through Neapolis I saw a lone policeman on a motorbike, maybe he was staking out a joint!

Oh and apparently no-one wants the cafeneio in the square (Vrahassi) so Yannis is to remain 'mine host' for the duration. A laugh a minute that will be!

Hope you were amused by the video, there was no mention of Greek people in Hell, mabe that's a whole new skit.

See ya,
Love Jane x
P.S. Thank you for your donations, 2 euros goes a long way when you're from Yorkshire!

GREECE SAVED FOR NOW!

2011-11-30T11:21:00.000-08:00

Eurogroup signs off on 8bn euro aid payment

29 Nov 2011

Eurozone finance ministers agreed on Tuesday to release an 8bn euro aid payment to Greece, part of an 110bn euro package of support agreed with the government last year, an EU diplomat said.

The joint EU/IMF payment is the sixth installment of loans to help Greece finance itself since being cut off from financial markets. Without the payment, the country risks going bankrupt.

The payment was dependent on a written commitment from Greece that it would meet its obligations to cut its budget deficit and keep finances in check.

"The Eurogroup endorsed the payout of the sixth tranche to Greece", the diplomat said.

The payment has been held up for a month because of delays in Greece's commitment to cut spending and increase taxes. (Reuters)

Meanwhile I was cooking a steak and onion pie, a broccoli flan and a roast chicken in case the electricity is off tomorrow, strike day.

Jane x

BRITAIN PREPARES PLANS FOR COLLAPSE OF EURO

2011-11-29T08:43:00.000-08:00

UK’s Plan B to Aid British Expats in Case of Euro Collapse

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Economy

Is the euro really collapsing? Does the euro zone near the end? I can’t answer these questions but the Britons allegedly prepare their Plan B to help British expats through the collapse of the common currency, collapsing of the banking system and outbreak of riots. British The Telegraph in an article Prepare for riots in euro collapse, reports that the Foreign Office and the Treasure confirmed ”earlier this month that contingency planning for a collapse is now under way ” as the Italian government struggled to borrow and Spain considered seeking an international bail-out.
British ministries seem to consider a euro collapse as an issue of a “matter of time”.

Recent Foreign and Commonwealth Office instructions to embassies and consulates request contingency planning for extreme scenarios including rioting and social unrest.
Greece has seen several outbreaks of civil disorder as its government struggles with its huge debts. British officials think similar scenes cannot be ruled out in other nations if the euro collapses.
Diplomats have also been told to prepare to help tens of thousands of British citizens in eurozone countries with the consequences of a financial collapse that would leave them unable to access bank accounts or even withdraw cash.
There is also the potential for social unrest: embassies and consulates have been told to prepare for a flood of inquiries and requests for help if the euro stops working in some countries and other currencies have to be introduced (there are a million Britons in Spain alone). Fortunately, the government can keep liquidity flowing at home in an emergency, thanks to the UK retaining its own currency. source: Telegraph

It's all a bit scary really. Ignorance is bliss, but this will affect everyone, and heads in the sand will get their backsides kicked!

Vrahassi was very quiet today. David and I popped into the cafeneio for a drink, we sat outside looking on to an empty street. A couple of old men were perched on the old bench by the statue. The travelling fish man stopped but had no takers for his fish. He was not a happy man. I had a word with Papa Niko, he was not a happy man either. The school taxi dropped off a couple of kids; a scooter carrying 3 people puttered past. Only David and I remained in the silence of the afternoon. The sun was warm, a slight breeze shook the young trees which masked our mountain view. Abandoned cafeneio chairs stood guardian to a heap of firewood, and we drank up and left with no one to say good bye to. We had obviously missed the rush hour!

Jane x

EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS LIVING IN FREIGHT CONTAINERS SENT PROPERTY TAX DEMANDS

2011-11-28T10:17:00.000-08:00

Property tax rules promised as protests surge

28 Nov 2011

Consumers wait in line at a branch of Public Power Corporation (DEI) to pay their combined electricity and property tax bill (Reuters)

The government has promised to detail rules by Tuesday on providing relief for low-income households facing the new property tax on their electricity bills.

Authorities are scrambling to keep the measure in place – and boost anaemic state revenues – amid growing protests and legal claims.

The finance ministry has said no homes would be disconnected until three-member exemption committees had been set up at every Greek municipality. The committees are likely to include tax officials and social workers.

At least six separate protests against the new tax are planned today in Thessaloniki, as more cases of bureaucratic blunders emerge.

The latest revelation came from the northern town of Grevena, where victims of a 1995 earthquake still living in converted freight containers were sent property tax demands. (Athens News/gw

As the likelihood of the euro collapse becomes more and more probable, I am watching the situation very closely. And I am seriously thinking of learning how to grow veggies. We certainly live in interesting times!

Love Jane x
P.S. And it's no good sending me food parcels, the post office is very unreliable. You could always buy me a pint however, just click the DONATE button opposite. I love you all, Jane x Cheers!

Greece: General Strike on Dec 1/2011

2011-11-27T01:35:00.000-08:00

Greece: General Strike on Dec 1/2011

Take a look at the link above.

YOU WILL BE GIVEN 80 DAYS TO PAY YOUR ELECTRICITY BILL

2011-11-25T11:25:00.000-08:00

DEI TO DOUBLE DISCONNECTION to double disconnection notice The government will grant struggling consumers more time to pay emergency property taxes on their electricity bills, it has been announced. Under the new rules, the Public Power Corporation (DEI) will now wait 80 days, double the previous period, before disconnection orders are issued on overdue accounts. Ilias Plaskovitis, general secretary at the finance ministry, said no homes would be disconnected until three-member exemption committees had been set up at every Greek municipality. The committees are likely to include tax officials and social workers.

Information taken from the Athen's News today.

AMERICAN THANKSGIVING IN CRETE

2011-11-25T09:39:00.000-08:00

I thought you may like to have a little glimpse into how I celebrated American Thanksgiving. And here is a little rendition from my poet friend Lou.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as good as mine,
Love Jane x

GET FIT FOR FOGIES WEEK 4

2011-11-23T06:40:00.000-08:00

Please let me point out that I am not an expert at this training. I do not know the correct terminology yet, but no doubt will increase my knowledge with my fitness. The idea behind the videos are to show people of my age (60) that they can become fit from being really unfit. As the months go by I believe my shape will change, my strength will improve, and my general well being will be much better. If you would like to do these exercises I recommend that you take a look at the programme and follow the advice given. 7 minute workout. Happy getting fit. Love Jane x

Rethymnon: School Children Attend Classes in a ...Church

2011-11-22T09:20:00.000-08:00

Rethymnon: School Children Attend Classes in a ...Church

Take a look at this report, the kids and teacher look very cold. There is no heating in the church. Still the kids look happy enough.

NEW BROOM WANTED IN VRAHASSI!

2011-11-21T05:59:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

It really is a beautiful day today! The sky is blue, the air is fresh, a warm November sun has brightened my back yard and my foot is on the mend. I shall be able to get around the village very soon to catch up with what is happening in Vrahassi.

One thing that I do know is happening in Vrahassi concerns the cafeneio in the square, the one which Yannis runs. Well, would you believe it, I was stopped in the street the other day, as I returned from Agios Nikolaos, and asked if I would like to take over the cafeneio. I replied very politely, 'No thank you.' Anyway, if you should be interested, or know of anybody who is, then please ask for further information at the council office in Vrahassi. I think Yannis last day is the 30th November - sombody please tell me if I have it all wrong.

Γνωρίζετε ότι μου ζητήθηκε να αναλάβω χθες το καφενείοστο Βραχάσι. «Όχι ευχαριστώ.», απάντησα ευγενικά. Αλλά ελπίζω ότι κάποιος θα το αναλάβει . Οι ενδιαφερόμενοι πρέπει προφανώς να πάνε στο τόπικό γραφείο του Δήμου στο Βραχάσι. Μου είπαν ότι ο Γιάννης θα το αφήσει στις 30 αυτού του μήνα. Αν ενδιαφέρεστε εξετάστε το.

I am going to do my exercises in a minute. This morning I helped David make a short video about his weight loss and how he has achieved it with the help of the 7 minute workout. You would think with all the physical work that he does, he would not need any other exercise, but he was quite unfit at the beginning of the summer. He has certainly changed shape, and has lots more energy. Unfortunately his video making skills proved to be a little more difficult. He spent the whole of yesterday trying to get it right only to find that his great (take 123) take refused to load into the programme selected. He was so stressed that he reached for a glass of raki (being the only drink in the house) and stormed off with the dogs in a sulk.

This morning he was up at a most ungodly hour, trying again. Hoorah! Only a few takes this time and then he left it to upload. Who needs alarm clocks when they have a man who bangs his fist on the desk and fills the morning air with a string of Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! and the occasionall Bollocks! It didn't work. I patiently got out of bed, washed, dressed and dared to enter the living room to ask if he wanted any porridge. Then I took hold of my little flip video camera, offered a solution that worked really well, and by the time breakfast was ready, the video was made, the house had cleard of all those bad vibes, and our beautiful day began.

Talk again tomorrow,
Love Jane x

P.S. To the Gang, my phone is only taking incoming cos I haven't paid the bill, so take it that your Angel letter is being returned via this blog instead. It was a lovely thought, and brought a little glow to the home. Love you lots. J x

DOG TRAINING IN CRETE!

2011-11-20T04:14:00.000-08:00

It's easy, just give them the right command. They just have to know where they sleep. Even Zouki doesn't get away with sleeping on the couch, not for long anyway.

ORDER YOUR COPY OF TEARS FROM THE SUN - A CRETAN JOURNEY

2011-11-18T10:45:00.000-08:00

Oh, and if you are having a relaxing weekend at home, take a look on Amazon for my book, there are some great deals, and it will make a wonderful Christmas present. Or you could download it onto your Kindle for a fraction of the price. Please excuse the blatant advert, but self-marketing with a zero budget is not too easy. Anyway, if you are thinking of that Christmas present with a difference, Tears from the Sun - a Cretan Journey is just what you need. Just click on one of the links on the right.

Love you all, Jane x

WALKING THE E4 IN CRETE

2011-11-18T10:34:00.000-08:00

A few years ago David and a few of our friends took 2 weeks out to walk half of the E4 from the west of Crete to Heraklion. Next year I hope to join them when they complete the walk across the island from Fourfouras to Zakros. This is the route. So, depending on how fit we all are next September, we hope to cover a good portion of this route. Eric, how about house sitting our dogs while we hike up the mountains?

The E4-route through Crete

From Fourfouras the marked way to the refuge of EOS of Rethymno at the south slopes of Psilorotis to high 1400 m. The refuge is not always open. From Fourfouras until the refuge, the hike lasts 3,5 - 4 hours and the difference in altitude is approximately 1000 m.

From here the way leads north

From here the way leads north through a rocky land steeply to the summit of Psiloritis -Timios Stavros (2454 m), reached in 3 to 3.30'. The area is arid and treeless. From the summit, one has a splendid view of the whole island. From the summit on a well stepped and marked path, one reaches & descends to the Nida plateau in 2,5 hours. Here the two branches meet again and proceed as a uniform path up to the east coast of the island. Above the Nida plateau is the Ida grotto (or Ideon cave), where Zeus was born by goat Amalthia according to the saga.

Course of the southern branch

Course of the southern branch of the E4GR (traveling-part) from Rodakino to Nida. From Kato Rodakino north directly to the village of Agios Konstantinos (20,5 km - 7 to 8 hours). 3 km later the route bends to the alpine part of E4GR. Here Rooms, Motels.

From Agios Konstantinos

From Agios Konstantinos east to Kaloniktis, Ano Valsamonero, Armeni (15 km - 5 hours). Rooms - Motels. Graveyard dating from minoan age in the village.

From Armeni

From Armeni to the biggest part of forest-route - and field tracks through the village Selli (at the chapel Agia Fotini, where the route bends to Rethymno), Charkia and Kamvoussion to Arkadi (29 km - 9 to 10 hours). Motels, lodging in the monastery.

From Arkadi

From Arkadi through the villages Elefterna (Rooms, Motels), Kato Tripodio (lodging), Margariti (Rooms - Motels), Orthes (Motels), Kalantare, Kalamas, Passaline, Choumeri, Dafnedes, Episkopi, Garazo (32 km - 11 to 12 hours). Motels, shops.

From Garazo

From Garazo to Anogia through Moni Diakouriou (Diakouriou monastery), Zoniana, asphalted route to Anogia (16 km - 5 hours). Motels, lodging, Rooms.

From Anogia

From Anogia to Zomithos (11 km) and afterwards to Nida plateau (11 km), altogether 6 hours. The uniform long-distance-footpath E4GR here extends from the Nida plateau till the east coast. Despite its consistency, there are two branches at the start, from the village Kamares, where a grotto is situated, to the border.
Branch 1. From the plateau to the summit (approximately 1000 m), then south-east till a fork (ca. 2 km), where one must follow the branch eastward. After more than 5,5 km, the path reaches a forest, turns south, to chapel Ag. Ioannis, through Gafari canyon to the village Zaros (19 km - 5,30' hours). Hotel, Motels.
Branch 2. From the summit Timios Stavros, after approximately 5 km there is a marked forking of the path to Kamares (altitude 1900 m). To Kamares (9 km - 3 hours) - hotel, Motels, bus to Rethymno. From Kamares further to Vorizia (3,5 km - 0.50' hours), Zaros 9 km - 2.40' hours).

From Zaros

From Zaros (first branch) up to the chapel Ag. Ioannis (7 km - high 900 m), Gyristi (7,5 km - high 1700 M.), EOS refuge (3 km - high 1100 M.), Ano Asites (entire 21,5 km - 9 30' hours). Only coffee shops, bus to Iraklion.

From Ano Asites

From Ano Asites mainly on field and forest tracks, partially also on asphalted roads, hike to villages Kerassia (3,5 km), Veneraton (1,5 km), Kiparissi (7,7 km), Profitis Ilias (4 km). Motels, castle. Ano Archanes (9 km -3 hours), coffee shops, bus to Heraklion, Motels. Archaeological museum.

From Ano Archanes

From Ano Archanes to Kato Archanes (2 km), Myrtia (9,5 km), Astraki (1 km), Apostoli (11,5 km), Kastelli (4,5 km) (Motels, Bus to Heraklion), Xydas (3 km) (Motels, Bus - Archaeological area), Kastamonitsa (3,5 km), Kato Metochi (9,5 km), Psychron (3 km - hotel, Motels, grotto, archaeological museum. Metochi and Psychron lie on the plateau of Lassithi, 850 m high.

From Psychron

From Psychron through the Lassithi level to Agios Georgios (2,5 km), where there is also the refuge of the mountain climbers and skiers of Lassithi Club. The Vice president of the club is the priest of the village. Here, there is a hotel and Motels. From here the path goes south, one climbs to the saddle (1800 m) between the summits Dikti (2147 m) and Afendis Christos (2140 m). Before the saddle, the path bends east and proceeds descending to the Alm Salakano (17 km from Agios Georgios), where there is only a taverna.

From the Alm Salakano

From the Alm Salakano east to Prina (18 km-5 Stds - high 550 m), Masseleri (3,5 km), Vassiliki (15,5 km - high 100 m, deepest portion of the hike), crossing of the Ierapetra-Agios Nikolaos road to Monastiraki, again climbing the slopes of mountain Thripti to the village Thripti (high 880 m - 5 km-2 30' hours), further along the slopes of the mountain to Orino (high 650 m - 6,5 km), Ghryssopigi (6,5 km), Papagiannades (9 km), Chandras (4 km), Ziros (4 km), descending to Ano Zakros (250 m high- 11 km from Ziros), (rooms, motels) to Kato Zakros through the Valley of the Dead (5,5 km-7,50' hours). Rooms, motels. Places to visit: palace. Kato Zakros lies on the east coast of the island and is where the the European long-distance-footpath E4GR of Crete finishes.

Well, that gives me something to get fit for!

It is Friday night, blowing a gale outside, and cold, but Dave and I are snug in our little Cretan house, the log fire burning away, the dogs asleep on the sofa, and tummies full of pork chops and chips. Tomorrow I will go to Agios Nikolaos to meet with my cello teacher and another student to celebrate the completion of 3 years music study. It does mean that I will have to miss my Greek lesson, however I have done my homework (and more) so hope I will be forgiven for not turning up.

I have dutifully done my 7 minute workout (don't laugh, it really is working) today, and looking forward to a lazy weekend.
Hope you have a good weekend too.
Love Jane x

BLOODY REVOLT IN ATHENS 38 YEARS AGO TODAY

2011-11-17T06:21:00.000-08:00

Recalling the Polytechnic 38 years on

by Damian Mac Con Uladh

17 Nov 2011

A tanks faces the Athens Polytechnic in the early hours of 17 November 1973 (file photo)

It’s November 17, the 38th anniversary of the bloody suppression of the 1973 Polytechnic revolt against the military strongmen that seized power in a coup in 1967.

Thousands of people are expected to march today in memory of that event, but also to reiterate the basic message of the student protesters: bread, education, freedom.

The online archive of this newspaper provides a wealth of accounts from eyewitnesses of that fateful morning in 1973 when tanks burst through the gates of the Athens Polytechnic.

In the hours surrounding the storming of the campus, 24 were killed and 886 people arrested.

So what happened? here’s a brief description of the night’s events from last year’s issue:

15-17 November 1973: University students made history by turning the Athens Polytechnic into a rallying point of popular revolt against the military junta that had seized power six years before.

Using the slogan “Bread, Education, Freedom”, they drew huge crowds around the university campus, including a convoy of farmers on tractors from the town of Megara protesting at the junta’s acquisitioning of their land to build an oil refinery.

In the early hours of November 17 - ironically, International Students’ Day - the police dispersed the protesting crowds around the campus. A short time later, a column of ten army tanks and three armoured personnel carriers unloaded 150 paratroopers in front of the main gate of the university on Patission St. The remaining students standing inside the campus fences started shouting slogans “We are your brethren” for the soldiers to join them in their uprising.

“Listen up! You’ve got ten minutes to clear the university entrance and open the gates, or we’ll do it ourselves,” the commander-in-charge of the army and police forces surrounding the university told the barricaded students over a loudspeaker.

The students started chanting the national anthem in defiance of the officer’s ultimatum. At 2.30am, one of the tanks suddenly roared forward at high speed to smash its way through the university gate, injuring several youths standing behind it. Soldiers and police immediately entered the campus to round up hundreds of fleeing protesters.

Research carried in 2003 by the National Hellenic Research Foundation names 24 people as having been killed in and around the Polytechnic campus on November 16-18. A total of 886 arrests were made.

In 2003, the Athens News asked a number of foreign correspondents who reported from Greece during the junta to recall their experiences.

Nick Michaelian, who worked for Reuters during the dictatorship, describes the period and his encounters with people, including young girls, who were brutally tortured in the most shocking and degrading ways.

Those days were dark days. Plainclothes policemen from the dreaded ESA (Greek Military Police) arbitrarily arrested and beat up young people on street corners and threw them in cells and tortured them when they thought they belonged to some resistance group. Any left-leaning person was anathema. One day, two girls showed up at the Reuters office and, asking to be mentioned by name, lifted their skirts to show us their thighs and genitals badly swollen from torture and broomstick insertions.

These young people are the real unsung heroes.

For David Glass, who wrote for a number of newspapers during the junta’s rule, all was not what it seemed in the early days of the dictatorship. There was little talk of politics in public and many people seemed believed that if they simply ignored the colonels, they would be asked to stand down at some stage by the international community:

While people in the street talked about newfound stability and were saying that now that stability had been returned, George Papadopoulos and his junta would return to their barracks, the more I mixed with the journalist community, I realised an undercurrent of tension existed in all aspects of daily life. Politics seemed to be the only topic of conversation, though openly talking about politics was taboo. Much of the discussion was generated by rumours concerning politicians who were not even living in the country.

As well, music composed by people like Mikis Theodorakis and Stavros Xarchakos, who had become my favourites, was only heard behind locked doors.

And Bob McDonald wrote what it was like to report as a foreign correspondent in Junta Greece. At all times, the safety of one’s sources was a major concern:

Foreign correspondents worked in relative safety. (The one exception was the British reporter Ann Chapman who was murdered in unexplained circumstances while in Greece on a freelance assignment). The people who ran the real risks were the correspondents' Greek sources who could be arbitrarily arrested, detained without trial, exiled or brutally tortured if the regime felt they were in any way connected with the resistance.

In an article written in 2000, former Athens News staff journalist Allan Wilson retraced the hours leading up to the November 17. Wilson, who was on Patission St on that fateful night, wrote:

Neither I nor any other witness I have ever spoken to, will forget the unwonted sound of tank treads as an armoured column first hove into sight high up on Alexandras Avenue, heading for a Patission Street thronged with Athenians in a high pitch of excitement but expecting riot police, not tanks. The sight was greeted with a mixture of amazement, fear and sheer disbelief.

The tumult was deafening, as the scream of steel tank treads scraping asphalt and torturing concrete kerbs competed with the sound of people shouting and the sound of shooting as pockets of snipers took aim at the armour from the terraces of buildings adjacent to the route taken by the tanks – Mavromateon Street below Pedion tou Areos park, then Scholi Evelpidon Street, then a by-now fast-emptying Patission Street as the column headed for the Polytechnic.

Another eyewitness was the Dutch journalist Albert Coerant. In a piece penned in 2001, he recalled the many unremembered heroes of the junta period:

Indelible images from the past cross my mind on key dates of the year, like the tanks moving into the Polytechnic on November 17, 1973, and April 21, 1967 when the military first took over. Especially images of anonymous people - not the celebrities protected by their international fame, but the unknown and vulnerable who risked so much more by opposing the junta.

He also recalled the Athens News’ founder and his stance during the dictatorship. “One paper had a huge headline, ‘We should all fight for freedom...’ Underneath, in very small letters, was added ‘said Willy Brandt’, referring to events in then-divided Germany.”

In another article, Coerant, who worked as a correspondent for Dutch and Belgian TV in Greece during the military dictatorship, recalls the hours as the tanks rolled in:

And then the most horrendous and surrealistic scene of all; one which will never leave my mind. The tanks - more than 25-arrived; as if they had to annihilate a well fortified fortress and not a university campus full of unarmed children yelling for freedom. They came rolling in at about midnight. One enormous grey monster stood just in front of the gate of the Polytechnic. From the open turret an officer appeared with a pistol in his hand.

The students begged the army not to use force and not to harm them. The officer shouted down from his tank that the Greek armed forces would not negotiate with anarchists. In the Acropole Palace, children were crying and many were kneeling and loudly praying to God to stop the madness. One of the most incredible and shameful things was that at this very instant, as the children of Greece were about to die for freedom, in the same hotel, at a short distance from the oncoming catastrophe, a room full of two hundred people, mostly women but also some men, were playing cards, totally impervious to the clamours and weeping of the youth of their country.

He also relates the repeated visits in the years following November 17 from a Greek man who seemed very inquisitive about the night’s events. Coerant would later learn that the man, who had him that he had a son studying at the Polytechnic, was in denial: his son Diomedes Komnenos had been killed by a police bullet, fired at point-blank range at the gate of the Polytechnic on November 17.

Ylva Wigh of the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter was another eyewitness. As she recalled in 2003, what she saw in the early hours of November 17 was so shocking that she was unable to speak about it for years.

Around 2 o'clock on that same night when the tank had broken into the Polytechnio and the last edition of my newspaper had gone to print, Dinos [Mitsis, former news editor at the Athens News] and I went down to the scene. From taxis, cars and open windows, we could still hear the cries for help from the radio station that the students had built inside the Polytechnio - a radio station that had a broadcasting radius of around five kilometres. For days now, it had seemed that everyone in Athens listened to that brave little channel - not even the most brutal of policemen had the chance to stop that.

Well, at that late hour, the streets were full of policemen, and we heard shots. Somewhere behind the Polytechnio, we rounded a corner and, from the horde of policemen, came a bullet passing one or two centimetres from our faces.

After that, my memories are like a surrealistic dream. We were shocked and didn't even mention our near-to-death experience. We went home to Kolonaki and sat, dazed, with the radio between us until around five o'clock in the morning when the last gasp was heard and the station was silenced.

So many things happened afterwards, and for a long time, Dinos went into hiding, chased by dictator Ioannides' police, probably for having helped to spread the news to Scandinavia.

I think it wasn't until a year after that that we talked about our near-death experience.

November 17 was the decisive event in the countdown to the collapse of the seven-year dictatorship a few months later. Journalist Mario Modiano of the Times recalled the night the junta collapsed, which was marked by the return of Constantine Karamanlis from self-imposed exile in Paris:

It was a night unlike any other night. The spectacle was magnificent and heart-warming. Above all, this was a rare occasion for a journalist to watch happy history in the making.

Constantine Karamanlis, the former prime minister, was coming home after 11 years of self-imposed exile in Paris. He had been invited to return and restore democracy in Greece.

It was one of those rare moments when all the Greeks agreed that he was the only man who could pull the country back from the brink of war, just as a seven-year-long military dictatorship was collapsing under the onus of its own blunders.

As I rushed to the airport by taxi before midnight, I could see hundreds of thousands of jubilant Athenians lining the road to Hellenikon to welcome their own Cincinnatus. Most of them held lit tapers as on Resurrection night.

It was a rewarding sight for a foreign correspondent who had watched with great revulsion and hurt Greece suffering the indignity of being railroaded for seven years by a band of uncultured and inept army officers

My thanks to the Athens News for this account.

Jane x

WORKERS CUT POWER TO MINISTRY

2011-11-16T08:46:00.000-08:00

Workers cut power to ministry; Samaras calls for exemptions

16 Nov 2011

Nikos Fotopoulos, president of Genop-DEI, speaks outside the health ministry on 16 November 2011 (Eurokinissi)

The health ministry was left without power this morning after power workers cut the electricity supply in a symbolic protest against the government’s property tax.

The property tax is being levied through electricity bills. Workers complain that they are not a tax-collecting agency.

Unionists have repeatedly refused to cut the power of low income earners who cannot pay.

Trade unionists from Genop-DEI, which represents employees in the state-run Public Power Corporation (DEI), said that it was "unacceptable " that while the state owes the PPC 141m euros, it was at the same time "giving orders for the electricity supply to be cut to the poor, the unemployed and the small-pension earners".

In a statement, Genop-DEI said claimed the health ministry owes 3.8m in upaid electricity bills alone.

Recent court rulings have said that consumers cannot pay the electricity part of the bill separately. Therefore, if they fail to pay the property tax, the PPC must proceed to cut the power. The company has also ended a practice that allowed people to pay their bills in instalments.

"We will not allow it. We will stop, in any way we can, the cutting of power in the houses of the poor, the unemployed, the pensioner, the low-wage earner," GEnop-DEI president Nikos Fotopoulos told Net television.

"Electricity cannot be used as a lever for blackmail."

Genop said that PPC is owed a total of 856m in unpaid bills, a figure it expects to surge as a result of the imposition of the property tax.

Well done those workers who cut the ministry's electricity off. How come the government has been allowed to accrue such debts? The people who work in those offices should be out on their heals - and it comes from the top! I am already thinking about how to survive if I cannot pay my electricity bill. At least we have wood for the fire, so cooking is not a problem, or hot water. My computer, I would certainly miss, but hey, Valentino Cello does not need electricity. We shall have music, and maybe visit the cafeneo more - that is unless they are cut off too. Hm, it could be a challenge of a winter!

I have done my exercises today, and had my daily porridge, so now I am going to relax infront of the TV while I can.

Have a good evening,

Love Jane x

Miss Starbeach 2011 Crete

2011-11-15T07:33:00.000-08:00

If it's as grey a day with you as it is with me, thought you might like something to perk you up. To all you guys out there, enjoy a bit of Cretan summer. To all you ladies who want to look like Miss Star Beach - It's a very narrow window!

Probably back to the doom and gloom of politics, and the strain of my 5 minute workout, tomorrow. See you then.

Love Jane x

Hello Paul, I am just about to do my daily practice, vibrato!
Lovely doggies! You will know what I mean. Oh, and can't wait to see you, I nead some fingering sorting out. Byeeee!

WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF MONEY

2011-11-14T10:58:00.000-08:00

Hello, Happy Monday!

According to a report in the Athens News today: 'In Greece, it still takes more than 10 days to start a business, about two months to get electricity, 18 days to register a property, and as many as 800 days to enforce a contract.'

And to close a business is also a nightmare. I am being charged 500 euro by the tax man to close the business I opened in Vrahassi, namely 'Jane Guevara's Revolution Bar'. It doesn't seem to count that the business never made a profit. And the problem is that I cannot afford to pay this debt and it will increase every month until I can. As I am still paying off the 500 euro charge for space to put my chairs and tables on the pavement, my debt will continue to increase. I should never have bothered!

The fact is, that there will be thousands like me who just cannot pay anything. It is very depressing!

Here is what one of our MPs has to say about it.

by Kathy Tzilivakis

13 Nov 2011 'WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF MONEY'

THE WARNING lights are flashing. Greece no longer has the luxury of waiting. Ruling Pasok MP Elena Panaritis says time is running out fast.

In an interview with the Athens News, Panaritis draws on her extensive experience as an institutional economist who has worked at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She says the current mess is a rare confluence of both crisis and opportunity - a chance to remake the Greek economy.

“What we really need now is to just bite the bullet and keep working hard,” she points out. “That’s all we need to do.”

Panaritis was one of George Papandreou’s top economic advisors. She was actually handpicked by Papandreou, who personally called her in 2009 to request she serve as one of Pasok’s statewide MPs.

Asked about the government’s decision on a national unity government to lead Greece until elections, possibly as early as February 2012, she says it’s a “mature” decision. She also said Lucas Papademos, former Bank of Greece governor, is a “good choice” to head the new government.

“I think it’s a choice of trying to connect and unite the people from the bottom up so that we can proceed with the necessary structural reforms,” she explains. “The first job facing the new government is to establish systems by which we can rebuild our trust, not only between ourselves and the public, but with our [international] donors and other European Union partners.”

If this new unity government does its job well, Panaritis believes it could finally calm Greek politics.

Until then, however, Greece will continue fighting a losing battle against speculators increasingly betting that Greece will default on its debt. There’s far less consensus these days about whether Greece can avoid an imminent and rather messy default.

Hardly anyone is expecting a big snapback. Europe’s patience has already run out. Greece’s exit from the euro - the common currency shared by Greece and 16 other members of the European Union - is now being openly discussed.

This would be a nightmare scenario, according to the economist. She says that Greece’s coffers are almost empty. The country will go broke if it doesn’t get the 130 billion euro emergency funding (a bailout package agreed by the European Union on October 26-27) and a 50 percent writeoff of the country’s huge debt to European banks.

“We will run out of money,” Panaritis warns. “We will default.”

Greece has so far succeeded in averting a domestic, European and international financial calamity. But for how long?

In a July article in The Globalist, an online political magazine, Panaritis explained why Greece’s default would be a “catastrophe”.

“It would not just be a bad turn of events, it would be a living nightmare,” she writes. “And I am being very honest when I say this. I know firsthand what it would be like. I have watched countries default back when I worked with Latin American countries in the 1990s and early 2000s while at the World Bank.”

As for the threat of Greece being evicted from the eurozone today, she says it’s “very real”.

Makes me long for a bottle of Beaujolais - better start running now!
Love Jane x

5000 EURO REWARD FOR RECOVERY OF STOLEN GOODS

2011-11-14T04:57:00.000-08:00

THIS MESSAGE IS IN ENGLISH BELOW. PLEASE READ. IT COMES TO ME VIA MR KOSTAS VIDALIS, WHO ASKS THAT I POST IT ON MY BLOG. IT CONCERNS THE RECOVERY OF STOLLEN GOODS FROM A VILLA NEAR MILATOS.

ΕΙΔΑΝ ΚΑΙ ΑΠΟΕΙΔΑΝ ΟΙ ΑΛΟΔΑΠΟΙ ΚΑΤΟΙΚΟΙ ΣΤΟ ΣΙΣΙ ΛΑΣΙΘΙΟΥ ΒΛΕΠΟΝΤΑΣ ΝΑ ΑΝΟΙΓΟΥΝ ΚΑΙ ΝΑ ΚΛΕΒΟΥΝ ΤΑ ΣΠΙΤΙΑ ΤΟΥΣ ΧΩΡΙΣ Η ΑΣΤYΝΟΜΙΑ ΝΑ ΚΑΝΕΙ ΤΙΠΟΤΑ....ΕΤΣΙ ΕΝΑ ΖΕΥΓΑΡΙ ΑΠΟΦΑΣHΣΕ ΝΑ ΓΕΜΙΣΗ ΟΛΟΚΛHΡΗ ΤΗΝ ΠΕΡΙΟΧΗ ΜΕ ΤΟ ΠΙΟ ΚΑΤΩ ΚΕΙΜΕΝΟ..ΜΗΠΩΣ ΚΑΙ ΒΡΟΥΝ ΤΑ ΑΝΤΙΚΗΜΕΝΑ ΤΟΥΣ!!!!!!!

ANAKOIΝΩΣΗ

... ΕΜΕΙΣ (Ο ΡΕΓΚΗΣ ΚΑΙ Η ΓΚΑΜΠΡΙΕΛΑ ) ΠΡΟΣΦΕΡΟΥΜΕ AΝΤΑΜΟΙΒΗ
5000 ΕΥΡΩ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΑΥΤΩΝ ΠΟΥ ΘΑ ΕΠΙΣΤΡΕΨΕΙ Ή ΠΟΥ ΘΑ ΒΟΗΘΗΣΕΙ ΝΑ ΕΠΙΣΤΡΑΦΟΥΝ ΤΑ ΠΡΑΓΜΑΤΑ ΠΟΥ ΚΛΑΠΗΚΑΝ ΤΗ ΝΥΧΤΑ ΤΗΣ 10ΗΣ ΝΟΕΜΒΡΙΟΥ (20:00 22:30)
ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΣΠΙΤΙ ΜΑΣ ΠΟΥ ΒΡΙΣΚΕΤΕ ΣΤΟ ΣΥΓΚΡΟΤΗΜΑ ΚΑΤΟΙΚΙΩΝ ΣΤΟΝ ΔΡΟΜΟ ΓΙΑ ΜΙΛΑΤΟ ΚΑΙ ΣΥΓΚΕΚΡΙΜΕΝΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΔΙΑΣΤΑΥΡΩΣΗ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΞΕΝΟΔΟΧΕΙΟ MINOS IMPERIAL

- 2 ΦΟΡΗΤΟΥΣ ΥΠΟΛΟΓΙΣΤΕΣ DELL (1 ΓΚΡΙ ΚΑΙ 1 ΜΑΥΡΟ)
- 1 ΡΟΛΟΙ ΧΕΙΡΟΣ DIOR (ΑΣΗΜΙ ΜΕ ΡΟΖ) ΚΑΙ 1 ΡΟΛΟΙ SWATCH (ΑΣΗΜΙ)
- 1 ΠΕΝΑ MONTBLANC (ΜΑΥΡΗ),
2 ΣΤΥΛΟ DIPLOMAT (ΜΑΥΡΑ)
- 1 ΦΩΤΟΓΡΑΦΙΚΗ ΜΗΧΑΝΗ LUMIX (ΜΑΥΡΗ)
- 1 ΚΙΝΗΤΟ ΤΗΛΕΦΩΝΟ BLACKBERRY (ΜΑΥΡΟ),
2 ΚΙΝΗΤΑ ΤΗΛΕΦΩΝΑ NOKIA (1 ΡΟΖ ΚΑΙ 1 ΜΠΛΕ)
Η ΑΝΤΑΜΟΙΒΗ ΞΕΠΕΡΝΑ ΤΗΝ ΑΞΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΚΛΕΜΜΕΝΩΝ .
ΜΠΟΡΕΙΤΕ ΝΑ ΚΑΛΕΣΕΤΕ ΣΤΟ ...6944547002 ..

PLEASE READ!!!
WE (REGIS AND GABRIELA) OFFER A REWARD OF 5000 ΕUROS TO THE PERSON WHO WILL BRING BACK OR WHO WILL HELP TO FIND THE GOODS STOLEN IN THE NIGHT OF 10 NOVEMBER (20:00 -22:30) FROM THE VILLA THAT IS SITUATED IN THE COMPLEX ON THE WAY TO MILATOS (CROSSROADS WITH THE WAY TO HOTEL MINOS IMPERIAL):
- 2 LAPTOPS DELL (1 GREY AND 1 BLACK)
- 1 WATCH DIOR (SILVER WITH PINK) AND 1 WATCH SWATCH (SILVER)
-1 PEN MONTBLANC (BLACK), 2 PENS DIPLOMAT(BLACK)
-1 PHOTOCAMERA LUMIX (BLACK)
-1 PHONE BLACKBERRY (BLACK), 2 PHONES NOKIA (1 PINK AND 1 BLUE)
THE REWARD IS HIGHER THAN THE VALUE OF THE GOODS STOLLEN.
YOU CAN CALL AT …6944547002

Please help if you can. Jane x

THE FALKLAND CONFLICT 1982 REMEMBERED

2011-11-13T07:17:00.000-08:00

In remebrance of all who gave their lives for their country.

Two poems which I wrote way back.

WE SHALL NOT FORGET OUR TOM – THE FALKLAND CONFLICT 1982

But we waited, our eyes

Like the lights of the weaving shed,

Silently watching the angry rise,

Black silhouettes, our heads

Among boulders bobbed blind

Through the wet, muddy bed,

And bursting, our minds

Saw the red of the Matador’s bull,

And the snorting began, and the pound

Of the charge, and the beat

Of our feet as we zapped and yelled,

And fired, and shelled, and hit -

Aaagghh! Was it Hell

We offered those beef-boys that night -

Our blood-curdling cry, was it Hell,

Like the Jehad, we fought

Till the mount was our own,

And the colours were bought

With the blood of our homespun

Pride. The bazooka man (who died,

My friend, my aide, was one

Whose northern fabric frayed:

Blown to bits by an Argy. Bomb)

Now lies in communal grave.

We shall not forget our Tom,

Mount Kent, Mount William, or Tumbledown,

Or the long slog there from

Plymouth sound, where our band

Played us out with imperial rock,

And Aunt Flo waved a flag, and a hand.

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
Chapped legs knocking,
Face icy red,
Remembering, remembering,
Remembering the dead,
Remembering what?
On that cold November day,
In the midst of dark statues
Shrouded in grey.
Like great looming tombs,
In Victorian guise,
Stiff to attention,
Tears in their eyes,
Two big bosomed ladies,
Coloured with honours,
Arms full of flowers,
And heads in fox-collars,
Stepped forward with grace
(how could they faulter)
Like virginal nuns
Approaching the altar.

All noise ceased: thought filled the skies;
A little girl prayed with tight-shut eyes.
The bugler played that familiar tune,
And the flag of the Legion was
Slowly brought down.
A motor car passed,
Again, and again,
Abide with me,
Amen,
Amen.

Copyright Jane Sharp

It has been a wonderfully warm, cosy afternoon by the fire, here in Crete.
Love Jane x

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

2011-11-13T07:03:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Truce

A poem for Armistice Day

Carol Ann Duffy · 11/11/2011 · guardian.co.uk

Illustration by David Roberts Christmas Eve in the trenches of France,
the guns were quiet.
The dead lay still in No Man's Land –
Freddie, Franz, Friedrich, Frank . . .

The moon, like a medal, hung in the clear, cold sky.
Silver frost on barbed wire, strange tinsel,
sparkled and winked.
A boy from Stroud stared at a star
to meet his mother's eyesight there.

An owl swooped on a rat on the glove of a corpse.
In a copse of trees behind the lines,
a lone bird sang.
A soldier-poet noted it down – a robin
holding his winter ground –

then silence spread and touched each man like a hand.
Somebody kissed the gold of his ring;
a few lit pipes;
most, in their greatcoats, huddled,
waiting for sleep.

The liquid mud had hardened at last in the freeze.
But it was Christmas Eve; believe; belief
thrilled the night air,
where glittering rime on unburied sons
treasured their stiff hair.

The sharp, clean, midwinter smell held memory.
On watch, a rifleman scoured the terrain –
no sign of life,
no shadows, shots from snipers,
nowt to note or report.

The frozen, foreign fields were acres of pain.
Then flickering flames from the other side
danced in his eyes,
as Christmas Trees in their dozens shone,
candlelit on the parapets,
and they started to sing, all down the German lines.

Men who would drown in mud, be gassed, or shot,
or vaporised
by falling shells, or live to tell,
heard for the first time then –
Stille Nacht. Heilige Nacht. Alles schläft, einsam wacht …

Cariad, the song was a sudden bridge
from man to man;
a gift to the heart from home,
or childhood, some place shared …

When it was done, the British soldiers cheered.
A Scotsman started to bawl The First Noel
and all joined in,
till the Germans stood, seeing
across the divide,
the sprawled, mute shapes of those who had died.

All night, along the Western Front, they sang,
the enemies –
carols, hymns, folk songs, anthems,
in German, English, French;
each battalion choired in its grim trench.

So Christmas dawned, wrapped in mist,
to open itself
and offer the day like a gift
for Harry, Hugo, Hermann, Henry, Heinz …
with whistles, waves, cheers, shouts, laughs.
Frohe Weinachten, Tommy! Merry Christmas, Fritz!

A young Berliner,
brandishing schnapps,
was the first from his ditch to climb.
A Shropshire lad ran at him like a rhyme.

Then it was up and over, every man,
to shake the hand
of a foe as a friend,
or slap his back like a brother would;

exchanging gifts of biscuits, tea, Maconochie's stew,
Tickler's jam … for cognac, sausages, cigars,
beer, sauerkraut;
or chase six hares, who jumped
from a cabbage-patch, or find a ball
and make of a battleground a football pitch.

I showed him a picture of my wife.
Ich zeigte ihm
ein Foto meiner Frau.
Sie sei schön, sagte er.
He thought her beautiful, he said.

They buried the dead then, hacked spades
into hard earth
again and again, till a score of men
were at rest, identified, blessed.
Der Herr ist mein Hirt … my shepherd, I shall not want.

And all that marvellous, festive day and night,
they came and went,
the officers, the rank and file,
their fallen comrades side by side

beneath the makeshift crosses of midwinter graves …
… beneath the shivering, shy stars
and the pinned moon
and the yawn of History;
the high, bright bullets
which each man later only aimed at the sky.

The Christmas Truce, by Carol Ann Duffy, illustrated by David Roberts, is published by Picador (£5.99). To order a copy for £4.79 with free UK p&p call Guardian book service on 0330 333 6846 or go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop

Love Jane x

NEW COALITION GOVERNMENT SWORN IN

2011-11-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

Watch Atlas sprint

by George Gilson

11 Nov 2011

Members of the newly appointed government swear in during a ceremony at the presidential mansion in Athens, 11 November 2011. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis

Lucas Papademos’ new coalition government is hitting the ground running, with a cabinet meeting following the swearing in ceremony at 4pm.

The release of a sixth tranche of EU-IMF loans, to the tune of eight billion euros, is the government’s most pressing priority. Then it must undertake the daunting task of passing and implementing the harshest austerity programme in decades.

The new government’s programme will be presented in a televised address by Papademos, during the government’s first confidence vote, expected by Sunday night.

The new cabinet is the product of 24-hours of feverish negotiations, reflecting balances within and between parties, as well as between the new prime minister and the three coalition partners.

The vast majority of ministers are from Pasok -most keeping their former posts - which retains its parliamentary majority.

But there is broad, high-level representation by the other two coalition partners: main opposition conservative New Democracy and, further to the right, Yiorgos Karatzaferis’ Popular Orthodox Rally (Laos).

In a sign of stability, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos and two of his deputies will stay on.

But it is clear that economic policy will be fashioned and monitored personally by Papademos, a former vice-president of the European Central Bank.

As deputy finance minister, a top economic advisor to conservative New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras, University of Macedonia macroeconomics professor Yiannis Mourmouras, will guarantee an input of ND, which has maintained it has a better economic policy mix than that followed by Greece’s EU-IMF lenders.

New Democracy’s fate is now inextricably linked to that of Greece’s bailout, as the main opposition has picked up the top portfolios of foreign affairs and defence.

Former European Commissioner Stavros Dimas, a moderate who until now was one of two ND vice-presidents, will undertake to repair Greece’s damaged credibility both within the EU and internationally.

He takes office at a time of economic crisis when many believe there may be challenges to Greece’s national interests. Mild-mannered, Dimas has held top cabinet posts in older ND governments.

Dimitris Avramopoulos - a former diplomat-turned-politician who has served as health minister and earlier as Athens mayor, takes the defence portfolio at a time of heightened Turkish threats over Cyprus’ hydrocarbon programme.

Papademos chose one of his most trusted confidants, former Pasok minister Tassos Giannitsis to assume the crucial interior ministry. There, he must lay the groundwork for the restructuring and rationalisation of Greek public administration. He must also undertake the painful implementation of the unified pay structure, with deep, new civil service wage cuts.

Both Papademos and Giannitsis, another disciple of fiscal discipline, were close friends and in the inner political circle of former Pasok premier Costas Simitis, who ruled with the mantra of modernisation.

The new boy on the block is Yiorgos Karatzaferis’ rightwing Laos party. He was rewarded for his long-standing advocacy of a coalition with four government portfolios, taken by his top MPs and his party’s vice-president.

Makis Voridis MP takes the key infrastructure transport, and networks ministry, at a time when the unblocking of four major highway projects is crucial for releasing EU funding and spurring development.

He will also have to deal with the huge backlash from taxi drivers and truckers against the liberalisation of their industries.

Horst Reichenbach, the head of the European Commission Task Force that will oversee implementation of the Greek bailout terms, cited the highway projects as a top priority.

The other three Laos posts are at the level of deputy minister, including Adonis Georgiadis as deputy development minister, responsible for shipping.

Many, including ND, have advocated the restoration of a separate shipping ministry, as Greek shipowners play a leading role in international shipping.

Asteris Rontoulis becomes deputy minister for rural development and food.

Former ambassador Georgios Georgiou, Laos vice-president and Karatzaferis’ closest party confidant, will serve as alternate defence minister.

Four women will sit in the cabinet: Education Minister Anna Diamantopoulou, Alternate Foreign Minister Mariliza Xenoyiannakopoulou, Alternate Interior Minister Fofi Yennimata, and Deputy Education Minister Evi Christofilopoulou. All four were in the former Pasok government.

The parliamentary debate (usually three days) leading to the constitutionally mandated vote of confidence is expected to begin later today or tomorrow.

Received after the swearing-in ceremony by the outgoing premier at the prime minister’s mansion, Papademos praised George Papandreou’s “huge effort over the last two years” toward stabilisation and adjustment.

Supermarket Shopping in Crete November 2011

2011-11-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

As a record of what some of the supermarket foodstuff costs, I took this video in Neapolis yesterday. It will be interesting to compare a few prices in a month's time from now. As you can see our local Xalkiadakis supermarket is well set out, has a good selection of fresh veg and a passable fresh meat counter. It is a clean shop and the assistants are very pleasant (except for bad hair days - and we all get them from time to time). Outside there is good parking. Generally speaking there is a variety of food and necessities such as cleaning materials, toilet rolls etc,. It is only a small shop, but quite adequate for basic weekly needs. And parking is very easy.

I am living with my limp and looking forward to a good long walk with no pain.

Last night we had friends round for supper and I overdosed on cheesecake. The result was a dodgy tummy all night. Only myself to blame! I missed Greek class as a consequence and am very cross with myself.

Hello Eva - yes it was a pleasant coffee break.
Hello The Gang and Eric, thinking of you this Saturday evening, hope all is well.
Happy Saturday to everyone.

Love Jane x

Neapolis, Crete, in November Sunshine

2011-11-10T11:54:00.000-08:00

It was so good to get out of the house today, but foot is far from being okay. I'm still limping. Maybe another week will see it right. Apart from the slight inconvenience I'm enjoying this lovely November weather. I must say that I am feeling very price conscious at the moment, as the money in my purse is not stretching very far. I filmed my visit to the supermarket in Neapolis, and I will post it tomorrow. It is really as a record of today's grocery prices. The cheapest sugar I could find was 1.12 euro, maybe it is cheaper in Lidle's but the petrol cost to get there would wipe out the saving. My bargain of the day was a half litre of wine and mezze for 2.50 euro, not bad for two people, but it wasn't anywhere posh! Still, you'd be hard pushed to find anywhere posh in Neapolis. Beggers can't be choosers as they say!

NEW PRIME MINISTER TO BE NAMED TOMORROW

2011-11-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

Meeting to name new PM ends without agreement

Political leaders are to meet with President Karolos Papoulias for a second time on Thursday at 10 a.m. after talks aimed at agreeing on the formation of an interim government reached an impasse on Wednesday.
It had appeared that parliamentary speaker Filippos Petsalnikos was to be appointed prime minister after Prime Minister George Papandreou made a televised address announcing he was stepping down.
However, a meeting with New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras and Papoulias, which began at about 6.30 p.m. ended without agreement.
The leader of the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) Giorgos Karatzaferis stormed out of the talks, claiming that he had been kept waiting in a side room while Papandreou, Samaras and Papoulias held talks in a meeting room.
Karatzaferis said that he rejected the option of appointing Petsalnikos, an experienced politician but with a long association with PASOK.
The LAOS leader said that former European Central Bank Vice President Lucas Papademos is the only suitable candidate.

Oh dear! The talking goes on!

Love Jane x

THE NEW PROPERTY TAX

2011-11-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

I DO BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE A NEW PRIME MINISTER - Mr Lucas Papademos, former Bank of Greece governor and ex-European Central Bank vice president.

The new measures to tax the population of Greece are already causing problems.

Public Power Corporation on Tuesday announced that it has set up a special hotline to deal with hundreds of complaints from consumers around the country who have received larger-than-expected bills for an emergency property tax levied through their electricity bill. According to the majority of complaints received by PPC representatives across Greece, the square meterage of hundreds of properties -- which is one of the factors in the complex formula used to assess property tax, together with the location and age of the property, and the so-called objective value, a bracket set by the Finance Ministry to control real estate prices -- was inflated. It is the job of each individual municipality to submit to PPC the details of every declared property in its domain, with which it levies the municipal tax that is also charged through PPC bills. A spokesperson for PPC on Tuesday said that the discrepancies in the new emergency property tax are the responsibility of the municipal authorities rather than the electricity provider, though it added that consumers who have any questions regarding the tax they are being asked to pay can call the toll-free hotline on 214.214.1000 for advice. In the case of sensitive social groups, like pensioners and disable people, the General Secretariat for Information Systems of the Finance Ministry has set up an SMS (on tel 54160) and web (http://www.gsis.gr/faq/faq_eta.html) service to deal with claims of over-charging. Other consumers who believe that they are being asked to pay more than their proper dues are required to pay their property tax and PPC in full and to then apply for a refund via their next electricity bill. PPC has been ordered to cut the electricity supply of anyone who refuses to pay the property tax. Property tax drive starts with problems Public Power Corporation on Tuesday announced that it has set up a special hotline to deal with hundreds of complaints from consumers around the country who have received larger-than-expected bills for an emergency property tax levied through their electricity bill. According to the majority of complaints received by PPC representatives across Greece, the square meterage of hundreds of properties -- which is one of the factors in the complex formula used to assess property tax, together with the location and age of the property, and the so-called objective value, a bracket set by the Finance Ministry to control real estate prices -- was inflated. It is the job of each individual municipality to submit to PPC the details of every declared property in its domain, with which it levies the municipal tax that is also charged through PPC bills. A spokesperson for PPC on Tuesday said that the discrepancies in the new emergency property tax are the responsibility of the municipal authorities rather than the electricity provider, though it added that consumers who have any questions regarding the tax they are being asked to pay can call the toll-free hotline on 214.214.1000 for advice. In the case of sensitive social groups, like pensioners and disable people, the General Secretariat for Information Systems of the Finance Ministry has set up an SMS (on tel 54160) and web (http://www.gsis.gr/faq/faq_eta.html) service to deal with claims of over-charging. Other consumers who believe that they are being asked to pay more than their proper dues are required to pay their property tax and PPC in full and to then apply for a refund via their next electricity bill. PPC has been ordered to cut the electricity supply of anyone who refuses to pay the property tax.

I took the above from part of an article in the Ekathemirina newspaper.

Now I am about to watch Dr Who on the telly. It was a lovely sunny day today, and my foot has responded well to harsh words.
Love Jane x

GET FIT - OR JUST HAVE FUN!

2011-11-07T12:21:00.000-08:00

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I found this video and thought it was fun - like the music too!

No it's not a 'hold up'! During my 7 minute workout today I had to do press ups against the wall. Press ups on the floor were just beyond me, I only managed 3.

I have had the Greek news on all day, but am still not sure who the new Prime Minister is. All will be revealed tomorrow.

Another fine day coming up tomorrow, 19 degrees, or there about. If only my foot was not so painful I would go out for a walk. I do keep saying 'I love my foot', you would think it would respond to the extra attention and perk up a bit. Maybe I should try a bit of straight talking: 'Look foot, just stop arsing about and MEND!' There I've said it.

So, here's looking forward to being mobile again.
Love Jane x

IT TAKES THE BISCUIT!

2011-11-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

Will the Prime Minister resign, or wont he? It is looking very dodgy at the moment. He has announced that he does not want to be head of a coalition government, yet isn't that what is being set up? I'm a bit confused, but probably nothing like as confused as those people who are trying to sort out the Greek economy.

I was up with the church bells this morning. And I did make my biscuits. Life has to go on, and we have to have our little treats.
David went to the land to chop a tree down for firewood. It should just have dried out enough by the time the real cold weather comes in January/February.

I got the cooking bug once the biscuits were out of the oven, and went on to make a veggie lasagna and a pork and apple dish. It's been one of those homely days. The sun was really warm in our back yard, so I sat out there and did a spot of reading, one of Ian Rankin's detective stories. All in all a lovely Sunday!

I hope you have had a great weekend, follow me tomorrow, it's workout day and we may have a new Prime Minister. Love Jane x

PM asks for meeting with Papoulias, Samaras

Prime Minister George Papandreou reportedly told his ministers during an extraordinary cabinet meeting on Sunday afternoon that he had asked President Karolos Papoulias to host a meeting between himself and opposition leader Antonis Samaras, during which the premier may announce his resignation.

Pressure for coalition government by the end of the day grows

s the emergency cabinet meeting has begun in Athens, government sources warned on Sunday afternoon that there is a serious risk of Greece being thrown of the eurozone unless a political solution is found within the day, while EU Commissioner Olli Rehn said Brussels is working on scenarios for Greece to exit the common currency.

Samaras: If the PM resigns, I am determined to help

Opposition leader Antonis Samaras promised on Sunday afternoon to help build a coalition government once Prime Minister George Papandreou resigns, asking him to do that immediately.

GOATS IN THE STREET

2011-11-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

As I was setting off to go to my Greek class today I saw this family of goats in Vrahassi. If it had not have been for the truck and the new house it could have been a scene from a long time ago.

I enjoyed the Greek class, though every week I realize just how much more there is to learn. Still, life is like that isn't it? On my way home I picked up a neighbour who was struggling home with her shopping. How grateful I am to have a car that is the right size to navigate the narrow streets of Vrahassi.

Last night David and I popped to the little taverna in Latsida with friends. It was a lovely evening even though we were the only customers. The food was really delicious. What a blow to hear that they are closing on Sunday for the winter. Back in Vrahassi, we had a drink in Cosmos to get the gen on the political situation. The flavour of the day, however, was basketball, and extremely loud too. Not to worry, all was revealed this morning when we listened to the news - a coalition government is to be formed. Go to it chaps!

I am disappointed that everywhere I have been lately, smokers have been puffing away regardless of the 'no smoking' ban. Still I have lived with smoke in cafeneos for 17 years, so it will not be a hardship to go on doing so. I can always stay out of them when it gets too smoggy.

Well, our wood burner is cosying up our house, and it is time for cello practice. Tomorrow I shall get up with the bells and do a spot of baking. Why not? Home made buscuits for elevensies. Don't all rush round at once. And on Wednesday I am going on a little trip to Knossos. I'll let you know all about it.

Monday is my next workout day, I didn't post pictures yesterday because I didn't want to put you off your food. It wasn't a pretty sight - then, you could say that about all the videos. Still, I am on a mission to get fit, so watch out for my chest and triceps exercise.

Oh, and happy bonfire night! If you are freezing your socks off in the drizzle, with a jacket potato to keep your fingers warm, while you try to separate your false teeth from the treacle toffee - lucky you!

And finally, Happy Birthday Sky, hope you did at least manage a sparkler!

Looking forward to tomorrow,
Love Jane x

GET FIT FOR FOGIES (4)

2011-11-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

F.O.G.I.E.S. = Forgetful Old Girls In search of Energy and Strength

The idea with this exercise is to work the leg until you have reached the limit of your strength. Then change legs and do the same with the other one.

After I had completed my 7 minute workout I enjoyed relaxing in front of our log fire, with a nice cup of tea.

With all the depression about the Greek government at the moment, I have been searching for something jolly to report. It is very difficult! Tomorrow I will find joy for sure, it is cello lesson day. Hoorah!

I'm working on a website for F.O.G.I.E.S (watch this space).

Love Jane x

Analysis: Papandreou’s biggest gamble | Athens News

2011-11-01T03:49:00.000-07:00

Analysis: Papandreou’s biggest gamble | Athens News

Papandreou, the Greek Prime Minister has announced that there is to be a referendum, possibly by the end of January, whereby the people of Greece can decide whether to accept the bailout proposals or not. Read the full article for more information.

By the way, I don't feel any the worse for my workout, I have dutyfully eaten my bowl of porridge and taken my omega 3 capsule. And now I am looking out onto a grey November day. My foot is improving as are my music scales on the cello. Our water bill has arrived, the first actual bill we have ever had since we came here. Things are on the up! There are six or more vultures circling in the cloud around Anavlohos and my dogs are sleeping in the yard.

We have only had one couple to view our house, the market is very slow, not that we are bothered, 'when the time is right the master will appear,' and when the time is right a buyer will make us an offer.

I woke up saying 'rise and shine' and thinking about it, it is as good an affirmation as you'll get.
Kalo Mina everyone!

Get Fit For Fogies (3)

2011-10-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

'SQEEZE IT AND HOLD IT' that's what the man said. Who scripts these videos?

CHEAPER ELECTRICITY OFF PEAK!

2011-10-31T06:09:00.000-07:00

As from today the electricity you use between 2 - 5 p.m. and between 2 - 8 a.m. will be charged at a lower tariff. How the electricity board can monitor this I have no idea, but I shall be putting my washing machine on during those hours from now on.

Halloween in Vrahassi 200

With going to England I almost forgot to pay a bill which I owe to the council. David rushed down to Vrahassi to pay it, but their computors were out of action. He has zoomed of to Agios Nikolaos to pay it there.

Meanwhile I have been at home thinking how I can celebrate Halloween tonight. I have got some spooky music and we could have a weird and wonderful, candlelit dinner. but hey! there's nothing new about that. Maybe I'll just put on the witches outfit and see what happens! It used to work!

TURKISH MALE BELLY DANCER DiVA

2011-10-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it's different!

Radiolasithi gr Επεισόδια στην συγκεντρωση στον Αγίο Νικόλαο

2011-10-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

And this is not Athens, this is Crete! People are protesting about the new taxes which the government has just imposed. What will happen when they can't afford shoes for their children, food for the table, cigarettes? God it's a mess! Maybe the church should sell off some of it's treasure. The new property tax will hit everybody, whether they are poor or rich. What about the old gran, on a pension, sole survivor of the family, living in the home which her late husband worked his guts out to provide. She could end up with a whacking bill. All this money taken out of the ecconomy just before Christmas certainly isn't going to improve things. And when people get hungry you know what they do? This video is only the start!

I had to show this even though I am trying to stay positive.

I'M STRONGER THAN I THOUGHT!

2011-10-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying my 7 minute workout sessions. Seems I may need heavier weights. I must be stronger than I thought I was. It's probably due to heaving all those porridge pans about! My next session is on Monday (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) I hope you will join me to check my progress. Luckily my bathroom scales are out of action, but I guess that I weigh about 172 lbs. Of course it is too much! Let's see what a difference a month makes. I have a small problem of an underactive thyroid and a teeny weeny hernia in my stomach to contend with, but apart from that (oh and the torn ligament in my foot) I'm feeling fine. I am looking forward to feeling FIT.

Wait till you see me in action on the floor.

It is a bit warmer in Vrahassi today, at least I got the washing dry.
David had an 'it can only happen in Greece moment' yesterday, when he filled up with petrol. He told me that the woman who served him had a cigarette hanging out of her mouth while she poured petrol into his motor. We are going out to dinner tonight, I wonder how many people will be smoking in the restaurant?
Laws eh? Who'd have 'em? Have a good weekend everyone.
Love Jane x

28th October 2011- The Alternative OXI-Day Parade

2011-10-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

28th October 2011- The Alternative OXI-Day Parade

The Greek people are a proud, nationalistic people and today of all days they show just what they think of the government. Take a look at this article, it is tongue in cheek, but says so much.

REALITY JANE'S GET FIT FOR FOGIES!

2011-10-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

Right! I have decided to take myself in hand and try to get fit, or at least fitter. This is the sort of thing I shall be doing - under supervision of course. I thought by sharing the experience it might encourage me to keep to my plan. The poor quality of the video is due to the dimmed light in our living room, it is a little kinder though. My first little workout was yesterday, so I shall be attempting another tomorrow. Bet you can't wait to see the next video.

As to my diet, it won't be anything fancy. I shall eat porridge for breakfast, a sandwich, or something on toast for lunch and whatever is in the pot for tea. In other words I shall cut down but not cut out. I WILL try to cut out alcohol Monday to Friday, and I will drink lots of water all the time.

You are allowed to laugh!
By the way, Yannis' cafeneo is still open, and so is Platanos. A neighbour passed by yesterday looking for her goat, it had done a runner, and David has begun to gather wood for the winter. That's life in Vrahassi for you.

To friends in Yorkshire - I have read the stories you sent with me, an e-mail will be on its way soon. Did you see how wonderful I looked at Jo's graduation?
To Eric on the boat - are you coming to Crete next year? Not fit? Join me in the 7minute workout.
Love to everyone,
Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Jane x

BACK FROM ENGLAND

2011-10-26T02:53:00.000-07:00

Hello, I am back from England, motivated and ready to go. Our new phrase of the day is 'Just Do It'. Seeing our daughter graduate from Greenwich University was the most thrilling experience. She pushed all her boundaries to obtain her degree, what an achievement. The one thing that she told me was that she had learned that there is no such thing as bringing up children, the thing IS, parents should bring up adults. It is one to think about isn't it? Nobody told me that as I was struggling to do the right thing whilst bringing up my children, but I was always aware that I wanted them to be self confident, independent and thoughtful human beings. Well done Jo!

For the other 90 pictures that we took on that day please see my Face Book album.

So, now that David and I are back home, what next? First I have to thank all those people who looked after us so well in England. You know who you are. It was a hectic trip, full of train travel and shopping, but in between we sat with friends and family, enjoyed the warmth of people we love, soaking in all the love they gave to us. Leaving them so far behind was not easy and opened a terrible wound in my emotions. But knowing that they are after all only a few hours away, does help. We all have our own lives and choices. David and I have chosen to live in Crete because this is where we are most happy. I do however wish that we could afford to visit the kids more often than once a blue moon.

And that brings me to the 'what next' question again. Well, of course there is Valentino, my cello, but, good as I might be in the three years that I have studied, I'm certainly not ready to go solo. Remember the 1.90 euro that my friend and I made at our last busk effort. I would love Tears from the Sun to be in every bookshop in Crete for the next season, but unless I find a distributor, that looks unlikely. Work in Crete for a 60 year old Enlgish woman is pushing it a bit at the moment and there is no such thing as 'Benefit' here. So, I have decided to do something very positive and improve my health. At least I can be healthy on a warm rock, if not wealthy!

I am decidedly fat, don't walk very far because I've a ligament problem in my foot, and love chocolate - it's not a very good start, is it? Anyway I have found this 7 minute workout programme on the internet, well David found it really, and what is good for the goose, as they say...

And in between the 7 minute workout, which is only 3 times a week, I shall be keeping house, doing my Greek homework, trying to master Valentino ready for a splendid Christmas Busk, and recording for posterity my success at finding a strong, healthy, enjoyable life, free of pain.

A sort of 'before' picture! Just DO IT!

I hope you will join me on my journey, maybe even encourage me a little. Then next time I am in England I will not be hobbling around, looking longingly at people with sticks and crutches, and wondering how to highjack an abandoned zimmer frame.

I'll be back very soon, with news of how the workout is going, plus whatever else is happening in the world outside my front door in Vrahassi (and beyond).

Love Jane x

For Steve Jobs - Bach Cello Suite No. 5: Sarabande

2011-10-06T05:32:00.000-07:00

This young man says it for a whole generation who have grown up with the genius of what Steve Jobs did through his creation of Apple computer systems, not to mention Pixar, the company which brought Toy Story to our screens. May he rest in peace.

EARLY MUSIC CONCERT IN NEAPOLIS

2011-10-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

A group of musicians from Russia perform a programme of Early Music in Neapolis.

The programme included both accompanied and unaccompanied singing.

David and I enjoyed every minute!

WORLD TOURISM DAY IN AGIOS NIKOLAOS

2011-09-30T00:57:00.000-07:00

Ladies of Vrahassi offer home made food to give a taste of traditional Cretan cuisine.

After parading through the centre of Agios Nikolaos, the troop of flag handlers, trumpeters, and drummers perform their skills infront of a large crowd of tourists and local people.

Meanwhile, Julie (flute) and I play on to attract people to the INCO tent, where a variety of local crafts were for sale.

Dimitris, the head of Vrahassi village council trys to encourage people to buy my books, but the hat remaines empty.

This gentleman tells Dimitri that his family come from Vrahassi and he knows all it's history... hm!

Members of INCO and prospective buyers of their work.

And the band plays on...and on...and on... into the night way past my bedtime. It was a wonderful evening. There were lots of stalls handing out local products: cheese, honey, wine, raki, beer, and olive oil. David and I ended the evening with souvlaki and chips in one of the local souvlaki shops. We had friends for company, Tomorrow David and I are going to a classical music evening in Neapolis.

And to top it all, THE FISH SHOP HAS REOPENED IN VRAHASSI!

September has been a wonderful month, warm, still, productive. Temperatures have dropped to around 24 degrees, and today there are clouds in the sky. It is so good to be able to move around without being too hot. Of course, Vrahassi is that bit cooler than the coast, but if we get too chilly we are only 10 minutes away from a warmer rock. And now I have work to do and my scales to perfect.

I hope you have had a good September. Here's looking forward to a brilliant October.
Love Jane x

Schubert Standchen (ABRSM grade 5 cello exams 2011)

2011-09-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

So...! I'm really trying! Honestly! Just not quite got the hang of it like this little girl. Oh well, how does it go? 'I CAN AND I WILL', watch this space.

Meanwhile, David has persuaded me to start this programme of exercise. It involves words like, 'biceps', 'chest and triceps', 'back and biceps', 'shoulders and abs', 'quads' 'thighs', 'hamstring and calves'. He is acting as my personal trainer - ah! we live in desperate times! The word 'dumbell' has taken on a totally new meaning, I mean 'heavy'. Anyway apparently I have to give over about 7 minutes every other day to tone my body. I just hope it improves my bow-arm technique. Time will tell.

By the way, the fish shop that opened is still closed. I did hear that it was a problem with the fish man's transport. Pity really, I was looking forward to a good supply of fresh fish.

There was a good arguement in our street a couple of days ago. Domestic, but stones were thrown. You can't beat a lover's tiff for drama in the morning. Probably all over money, or the lack of it. I suppose there will be more passion rent before the economic crisis is over. I hadn't realized that there is a soup kitchen in Agios Nikolaos. Children are without books at school, in fact there are not so many teachers either. Where will it end? How long will it be before the kids don't have any shoes to go to school in? Learn to grow veggies, that what I say. And start acquiring a taste for lentils.

Bye for now,
Jane x

The Snowdrops in Your Hand

2011-09-18T07:21:00.000-07:00

It's a bit sad but today would have been my Daddy's birthday, so I play this in remembrance of him.

It is also my sister's birthday today, so not a sad day. And tomorrow will be our grandaughter Jade's birthday. It's a family week for sure, and I am looking forward to seeing them all very soon.

My dog Phebe, not content to have stollen my black hole (it is a piece of rubber that my cello spike fits into) and chewed a piece out of it, has destroyed David's work hat, and now what is left of it is in the bin. Meanwhile Percy has spent the afternoon listening to my music.

It has been another very hot day - lovely! And now I am going to prepare dinner and maybe take a look at my Greek homework.

By the way the poetry which I downloaded yesterday is very good, and in another class altogether. 'Must try harder,' comes to mind.

Tomorrow I will be out and about, shopping, visiting friends and generally getting more exercise than today. And boy do I need it. Methinks the summer wine has gone to my belly and I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING TO GET RID OF IT! When I've eaten all the icecream in the fridge I'm not going to buy any more. I'm still full of Christening cake from our street party on Thursday evening. Still it was a good 'naming of the child'. All in a good cause!

Have a pleasant evening all!
Love Jane x

SEPTEMBER IS WHIZZING BY

2011-09-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, and especially if your name is Sophia and you are celebrating your name day today, Kronia Polla.

Well, September is whizzing by for sure! I had the most fantastic August with my family and miss them so much, but I have to say that I have been so busy since they left that I have not had time to dwell on them being so far away. Best of all, since my visit to a chiropractor, the terrible pain I suffered throughout June, July and most of August, has gone, and I am so relieved to be able to work again without popping the paracetamol every 4 hours.

Vrahassi is quiet, but that is normal. The fish shop that opened a couple of weeks ago, seems to be closed, or is it just that I don't get up early enough and they have sold out by 9 a.m. and gone back to bed?

Will Yannis close the coffee shop? Some say 'yes' at the end of September. We shall have to wait and see.

The 27th of September is world tourism day, and there is to be an Arts and Craft exhibition, with stalls for handicrafts etc at Agios Nikolaos, near the lake. I am to create a little music - if all goes to plan.

There is also going to be a Doggie Day home made cakes etc to raise money for stray animals. That will be on the 1st October (I think) again in Agios Nikolaos. 'How much is that Doggie in the Window' being practiced daily. Hopefully on both occasions my friend Julie (the flute) will perform with me.

Then there is to be a gathering of writers. On Friday the 7th October Lou Duro, editor of the Chronicles newspaper, and yours truly, invite all those interested in forming a Writers' Circle, to meet at 8 p.m. in the Dali Bar in Anopolis. Do ring me for directions, or if you would like a lift, I have room for 3 people. If the location is a big problem, then ring me to discuss an alternative venue. We plan to meet once a month to discuss each other's work etc. It will be a very informal meeting of poets, and if you are a poet you will know what that means!

Well, now I am going to bed to relax and read Jane Holland's new poetry book, Boudicca & Co, which I have just downloaded onto my Kindle at a price of about one pound something. That's why I love Kindle, it is instant, you hear of a book one day; you have it in your bed the next!

I did hob nob a bit during the summer (see photo) - but I'm not entering politics just yet!

Enjoy the weekend readers, and I promise to get back into the swing of blogging now that I am feeling soooooooooooo much better.

Love Jane x

Jade Sharp

2011-08-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

Jade Sharp I just love this picture of my two 8 year old grandchildren Jade and Jack (now to look for one with all three grandchildren on).

ROSS DALY IN MILATOS

2011-08-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

http://merambellonews.blogspot.com/2011/08/ross-daly_21.html

Oh dear I planned to go to see Ross an Kelly but was otherwise detained on the chiropractor's couch having 3 vertebrae re-alined. The good news is that now I'm all straightened out, I feel so much better. And the even better news is that I am going over to Houdetsi where Ross lives, on Friday, to attend an informal jam. How brilliant is that?

Love to all,
Jane x

Thanks for the correction George, must have been dreaming!

THE BLESSING OF THE TRADITIONAL HOUSE OF VRAHASSI

2011-08-22T02:51:00.000-07:00

http://merambellonews.blogspot.com/2011/08/e-video.html

I did take pics of this wonderful event, but the merambello news got the best shots. Anybody who was anybody was in Vrahassi last night for the official blessing of the Traditional House folk museum. If you are in the area, then I must say it is well worth a visit.

Jane x

Jane plays cello at Platanos in Vrahassi

2011-08-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed making a little music under the full moon on Friday evening. What a lovely place to play! Platanos Taverna in Vrahassi. We got there early so as not to disturb too many people, but I did have a little audience. All good practice. I am looking forward to seeing what I can achieve after another year of playing. In October I will have been learning for three years. How wonderful it was to have my grandson at my side while I played. I'm not sure the dog population of Vrahassi thought too much to it!

Tonight is the celebration of the Virgin Mary in Crete, with evening celebrations all over the island. Our closest ones are in Neapolis and Milatos. All good fun.

Happy 15th August to all.
Love Jane x

Jane, Gillian and Julie play Haydn

2011-08-09T07:29:00.000-07:00

Our first public performance! Whoopee! On to the next. We are on holiday for the month of August, but will be practicing hard come September. Unfortunately we cannot play for the Sisi music evening tomorrow, as we were only asked a few days ago and have other commitments. Maybe next year. Anyway, not playing means that I can go to the event without the stress of performing, and that is good. My family are over from England, and we shall all have a night out in Sissi tonight. So, I'm off to get my glad-rags on. Happy August!
Love Jane x

Cretan Dancing at Village Party (Part 2)

2011-07-22T04:09:00.000-07:00

They did so well! This is the first time that the newly formed dancing troup performed in public. They are all local children. I hope we see lots more of them.

Cretan Village Party 2011 (Part 1)

2011-07-20T07:09:00.000-07:00

This is part one of the little film I made at the Vrahassi evening of dance, which was organized by the village council. It was a wonderful evening of food, wine and dance (and Mark's birthday) which was made even better under the light of the full moon. The ladies of the village had made traditional dishes, such as fava, tzatziki, meat dishes, and chips (and of course, there was Mark's birthday cake). It goes without saying that the debut of the Vrahassi dancing troup was a great hit. They did soooooooooo well. Credit must also go to the organizers who coached them and encouraged them to perform with such professionalism.

The next village event will be the anual fiest organized by the football club. That is on or about the 26 July (look out for notices).

I shall have the second little video up and running very soon.

Jane x

HAPPY TIMES/SAD TIMES

2011-07-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

Friends dropped in unexpectedly on my birthday morning. It started the day well.

David bought me a Kindle. Now I can see for myself what Tears looks like as an e-book.

Two very special friends came all the way from England to celebrate with me. It was a week of fun!

We did not go on the boat but we had a perfect view from Thalassinos Kosmos restaurant, on the harbour in Sissi, where the party continued.

And then something really sad happened. Abe Glenholmes lost his life to leukeimia. We are a small ex-pat community in Vrahassi, all of us growing older together. We gathered at the small church in the cemetry to say our last farewells to this quiet man, who had enjoyed his life in the sunshine. Now we must support Elain, who will, I am sure, feel so lost. Our deepest sympathy goes to her and her family, who took care of Abe in his hour of need.

Κλήδονας | Μοχός 2011

2011-06-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

This is a yearly event in many villages. Maybe next year I will be able to attend. Anyway, I had a great Friday night with visitors from our home town in England. I caught up on all the gossip, births, deaths etc. and spent a very pleasant evening in Koutoulafari near Xersonissos. Of course it has taken me two days to get over the late night and the alcohol. It did not stop me having a 3 hour cello practice today though. Zumba on Tuesday should sort out the extra calories that I took on board. It actually threw a shower in Vrahassi today, but generally speaking it is quite warm.

So, it's time for bed, nearly 11 o'clock. Mosquito on my VDU so I'm off. Bye for now.
Love Jane x

Xania with Jane and Tears from the Sun

2011-06-21T00:22:00.000-07:00

Our very brief trip to Xania a few weeks ago. It's a bit of a different day to today, when I am in the middle of tidying up our front garden, up to my neck in compost. Still it is time to get out garden furniture out and the umbrella up. I do believe that the countdown has started to my birthday celebrations, and as tonight is the solstice, then a spot of dancing naked around our geraniums might be a good idea.

I had a lovely lunch in Sissi, yesterday, with my friend Jayne. It was lovely to be able to sit by the sea, relaxe and catch up on the latest. I was sorry to hear that June of Geoff and June, is poorly and that Joe of Gail and Joe Printing, had had a heart bypass operation. Get well soon, both of you!

I am off to Zumba dancing class this afternoon, then a quick visit to the supermarket, cello practice tonight, and that's my day. Have a good one yourselves!

Love Jane x

Greek Government June 2011

2011-06-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it is not every day that a new government gets sworn in. I just happened to be having my chicken sandwich when it came on the box. Let's hope that these good men in black will be able to sort the country out. Anyway it is Friday, and I've got that Friday feeling. David and I are going out on the town tonight, so we shall hear the reaction on the street. That is if there is anybody on the street in Vrahassi.

Did you see the total eclipse of the moon? It was awesome. Very inspirational.

The weather is still on the cool side for June. No worries I can work much better in these temperatures.

Have a good weekend everyone. To Barbara and Lorrain, see you very soon. To Barbara and Stuart, see you even sooner, and to Manolis my Greek teacher, θα σε δω αυριο!

Byeeeeeeeee!
Jane x

Φεγγαρακι μου λαμπρο

2011-06-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

As it is the full moon tomorrow, and my Greek teacher has sent me this video, I thought I would share it with everyone. I didn't know that the Greek children had their very own Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

Thanks for adding a link to your blog Eva. 'The more the merrier' as they say.

I missed my Zumba class today because I was busy writing. Just had it to do. It has been a busy few days, frist Greek class, then a quartet practice, yesterday I did a bit of busking in a street with no people (got it a bit wrong there), so today I just had to do some work.

The cooler temperatures for this time of year suite me very well, I did promise myself an aircondition unit for this summer but looks like we may manage without one. We have got mosquitoes in the mountains though, so need the zapper.

Only a few weeks now to August when the family are coming over. I wish it was all of them but if all goes to plan we will see them all this year, one way or another.

Well, have a happy full moon everyone. Not too much howling!
Love Jane x

POET ROGER McGOUGH IN CRETE

2011-05-30T07:57:00.000-07:00

Well, this was a turn up for the books! Here I am with the Patron Saint of Poetry (according to Carol Ann Duffy) Roger McGough. It was an opportunity that I could not pass up on. When I heard that he was to give a poetry reading, I immediately organized a ticket for the event. The poetry workshop which I was lucky enough to attend was a real bonus. David and I went over to Vamos, near Xania, for the weekend, where we caught the last few days of their Art Festival. It was a great weekend. For those of you who may not be into poetry, Roger used to be a member of a group called The Scaffold, remember Lilly the Pink? He has since been awarded a CBE and OBE for his services to poetry. Esteemed company indeed! If you are able to listen in to Radio 4 you will hear Roger presenting the programme, Poetry Please. So, that was my weekend, I hope yours was as enjoyable. This week I have to catch up with my cello practice in and amongst my writing. Village news is a bit thin, but about a week ago, Lefteris and Stella had their third child, a little boy. Otherwise the village is quiet, we would never know that there were tourists on Crete if we didn't leave Vrahassi now and then. I suppose the weather is the main talking point. It is still a bit chilly, and damp, rain is forcast again for tomorrow. My next door neighbour says that it is going to be the same throughout June and July. Let's hope not. I have some personal news too - our daughter, Joanne, has completed her University course, and will graduate in October. Well done that girl! A happy Bank Holiday to all. Talk again soon. Love Jane x

MY BEAUTIFUL HOUSE IS FOR SALE

2011-05-09T00:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.cretanresidences.com/site15/index.php?option=com_estateagent&act=object&task=showEO&id=492&lang=en

Yes, David and I have decided to put our house on the market. It was not an easy decision. We have put a lot of love into restoring this old Cretan house to make it a modern, functional home. I love my bathroom with its double bath, I love my bedroom with its beams and gothic window., I love my wonderful living room with the old, stone arch, I love the view of the mountains, I love my neighbours - but it is time to move on. We are not ready to retire and another adventure calls.

We will look first in Vrahassi for our next home. We love Vrahassi, the climate is the best in Crete, the proximity to the sea, the convenience of being only 45 minutes away from the airport, and to be able to look out of my window and see twelve, fourteen Griffon Vultures circling on a thermal, is just something else.

We will continue to improve our large, outside areas, where we hope to have many barbecues during the summer. If you buy our house, maybe you will invite us to your barbecue! So, take a look at the details of our lovely home by clicking the link above. Very soon, most of the big agencies will have our house on their sites, so wherever you look, you will find us.

Do tell all your friends and acquaintances; they may be looking for a life in the sunshine!

In case you would like any further information please contact the agent; or if you prefere, get in touch with me: 0030 6945 872472

And now I'm off out to Sissi by the sea, where a bookshop has requested more of my books, Tears from the Sun - A Cretan Journey. If you have not read it yet do look on Amazon, where you can now download it as a Kindle e-book for very little money.

Love to all, peace and light,
Jane x

JANE EATS SNAILS IN CRETE!

2011-05-02T04:27:00.000-07:00

You can't beat a bit of local food when you are out and about, though I have to admit that snails are not the tastiest of fodder. Given the choice I would much prefere a nice, big, juicy steak, but times are hard!

THE FUN OF EASTER!

2011-04-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

JANE'S HOLY WEEK

2011-04-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

I don't think my Holy Week has been quite the same as my Greek neighbours'. I have not been to church, I have not baked lots of Easter treats in anticipation of visiting family and friends, and I have definitely not been fasting. The only thing I can think of that I and hundreds of other women throughout Greece will have had in common this week, is a visit to the supermarket. I went on Thursday and it was obvious that quite a few people had been to the shop before me. The shelves were in desperate need of a restock. So what have I been up to this week. Well, I certainly have not been lazing in the sunshine. With temperatures well down it has been far from warm in Vrahassi. In fact my wellies have come in very handy due to the heavy rain we had at the beginning of the week. David even went out to chop more wood for our fire, it was so cold. But in a way I didn't mind the cold because I was busy with my second novel while David beavered away on the laptop preparing Tears from the Sun to be published as a Kindle e-book.

Et voila! If you look on Amazon for Tears from the Sun - A Cretan Journey, you will now find that you are able to buy my book at a much lower price, and download it onto your i-pod, or Kindle reader. I'm very excited about it.

Our little quartet is beginning to play quite well. Cello practice always has to be squeezed in at some time during the day.

We had a lovely meal out with our friends Ian and Diana. I have to say, I was the only one brave enough to try the snails.

Zumba class nearly finished me off on Friday evening, but it's great and I'm feeling fitter already. We did not see the procession of Christ's coffin being taken around the village, but my neighbour told me today that they had a new 'Taphos' this year. I am sure that can only be a good thing for the village. We did hear a few bangers going off about nine o'clock. I was still getting over the shock of having to pay 92 cents for a bag of sugar. Hey Ho!

And yesterday (Saturday) and today, with a few but not too many easter bangs sounding off in the village, David and I have been painting inside the house. We still haven't finished, but by tomorrow lunch time we hope to be all spick and span and back to normal. Things didn't quite go as smooth as we wanted today. First of all the puppies ran through the house and Percy (paintpaws) ran straight through the roller tray of white paint. Then I took the two pups with me to get more paint supplies, which in itself was a disaster. Before we had got down the mountain one of them had woopsied in the back of the car, and before we got home again, little Phoebe was sick (as a dog) all over my gear stick. It was a good job that I had gone prepared with plenty of paper towel. Back at the ranch I began to paint again and the nut fell out of my paint roller. The roller dropped, thud, to the tiles below leaving another splodge of paint to clean up. We still haven't found the nut, and can only imagine that the fairies have carried it away.

Now, all the dogs are asleep, our electric blanket is on and we are enjoying a glass of wine before bed. I wish you all a Very Happy Easter! Jane x

JANE AT MAGS ZUMBA CLASS

2011-04-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

Videos posted by fans of Zumba Mags Crete: 10 April 2011 20:07 (Front row in the pink)

JANE AT MAGS ZUMBA CLASS

2011-04-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

Videos posted by fans of Zumba Mags Crete: 10 April 2011 20:07 It has been a difficult start to 2011 for me, but as you can see, I'm shaping up for summer. Here I am (front line in the pink) shaking it all about and having a great time. A one hour session costs 5 euro. The next class is on Friday at 5.30 p.m. Contact Mags if you want to join in.

NO ELECTRICITY - NO PROBLEM!

2011-04-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

This was last Sunday, no electricity due to new cables being laid in the next village. I didn't know anything about it. Not the council's fault, as David says on the video, it was the electricity board. Anyway, thanks to our wonderful wood burning fire, we tucked in to stuffed mushrooms, stiffado, creamed potatoes, carrots, and a rich chocolate pudding. Nothing to it. Today, David and I were entertained by our Greek friends. A much easier morning, and a delicious lunch! Now I am in the middle of watching Bruce Willis in Tears of the Sun. It is absolutely nothing like my book Tears from the Sun. The earthquake on Friday shook a few houses in Vrahassi. I was outside at the time and felt it under my feet. It was 6 on the R scale and out to sea between Crete and Karpathos. The heavy rain yesterday and through the night beat into our front door and straight through it. We have now decided that our traditional wooden door will have to go. It looks good, but changes shape with the weather. A bit like me really! I am going to Margaret's Zumba class on Thursday afternoon to try to shape up for summer. The best thing about today is that it is Mothering Sunday, Mother's Day, whatever, and I got to talk to my children and grandchildren in England. Skype is a wonderful thing! I hope you had as good a Mothering Sunday as we did. Love and peace to all, Jane x

Jane's Vrahassi

Strange Music

5.3 - Earthquake Rattles Crete and other Islands.

Want a Cheap Ferrari?

On the outskirts of Athens there is a company that trades in the unhappiness of others.

Yannis Souladakis - we loved you!

David Sharp and a Beautiful Winter Morning In Crete.

CRETAN CUSTOM CUTTING OF THE NEW YEAR CAKE JANE'S VRAHASSI

Get Fit For Fogies January 2012

Iraklio - Heraklion A Great City to Visit

Plan of Vrahassi Old School - 1927

Εν Βραχασίω τη 16 Σεπτεμβρίου 1927...

Soren Lyng Hansen, cello - Vocalise opus 34, no.14 by Sergei Rachmaninov

The Beatles - All You Need is Love (HQ)

Official Letter from Venizelos Re Neapolis

The answer from the government minister Venizelos, about the closing of the Council in Neapolis. (I cannot translate this easily but thought it an important document to record - my source was the Mirabello News)

Δευτέρα, 9 Ιανουαρίου 2012

Τί απάντησε ο Βενιζέλος για το κλείσιμο της ΔΟΥ Νεάπολης

Poetry and Politics

Cretan Raki Party in Vrahassi 2012

Victoria Hislop's - The Thread

Vrahassi Christmas Carol Singers

SHOOTING IN CENTER OF VRAHASSI

Film Show in Vrahassi -The Call of the Mountain

Catholic Church Bazaar in Heraklion

Away in a Manger, Carol Singing in Neapolis, Crete.

Heavy Snow Up North - And Cold In Crete Too!

ΗΜΕΡΑ ΑΓΑΠΗΣ 2011-ΑΓΙΟΣ ΝΙΚΟΛΑΟΣ

A Taste of Christmas Music

Cretan Transport

Punch and Judy

Greeks Seek Rural Life

TRAGIC DEATH IN VRAHASSI!

Kiria Maria, age 74, lived alone. Her body was found by firemen early this morning, after a fire engulfed the whole of her house. She had not been well for some time. It is a possibility that an electric heater was the cause of the fire. Rest in peace, Kiria Maria.

Δευτέρα, 12 Δεκεμβρίου 2011

Τραγικός θάνατος ηλικιωμένης μέσα στις φλόγες στο Βραχάσι σήμερα το πρωί

ΒΡΑΧΑΣΙ - THIS IS WHERE WE CHOOSE TO LIVE

HAPPY SUNDAY

Big knickers are big business for UK firm

GRAPE SPOON SWEET PRESERVE

LATE NIGHT SHOPPING FOR CHRISTMAS IN HERAKLION

IF YOU HAVE IT, SPEND IT!CHRISTMAS SHOPPING KICKS OFF(December, 2011)

JANE'S CHRISTMAS POEM 2011

SAINT NIKOLAOS NAME DAY TODAY

merambello news: Φωτογραφίες από την εκδήλωση στολισμού του Χριστου...

IT'S A JOKE!

THE VRAHASSIAN, Life in Crete.

SICK OF POLITICS? THINGS COULD BE WORSE! Rowan Atkinson in Hell - WITH SUBTITLES

GREECE SAVED FOR NOW!

BRITAIN PREPARES PLANS FOR COLLAPSE OF EURO

UK’s Plan B to Aid British Expats in Case of Euro Collapse

EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS LIVING IN FREIGHT CONTAINERS SENT PROPERTY TAX DEMANDS

Greece: General Strike on Dec 1/2011

YOU WILL BE GIVEN 80 DAYS TO PAY YOUR ELECTRICITY BILL

AMERICAN THANKSGIVING IN CRETE

GET FIT FOR FOGIES WEEK 4

Rethymnon: School Children Attend Classes in a ...Church

NEW BROOM WANTED IN VRAHASSI!

DOG TRAINING IN CRETE!

ORDER YOUR COPY OF TEARS FROM THE SUN - A CRETAN JOURNEY

WALKING THE E4 IN CRETE

From here the way leads north

Course of the southern branch

From Agios Konstantinos

From Armeni

From Arkadi

From Garazo

From Anogia

From Zaros

From Ano Asites

From Ano Archanes

From Psychron

From the Alm Salakano

BLOODY REVOLT IN ATHENS 38 YEARS AGO TODAY

WORKERS CUT POWER TO MINISTRY

Miss Starbeach 2011 Crete

WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF MONEY

5000 EURO REWARD FOR RECOVERY OF STOLEN GOODS

THE FALKLAND CONFLICT 1982 REMEMBERED

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

IF YOU HAVE IT, SPEND IT!
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING KICKS OFF
(December, 2011)