The Odd Poets of Crete

I'm feeling resurrected! I still have the dress, still got the mike, and plenty more poems to share. And now I have company too. I am pleased to announce that The Odd Poets of Crete officially met last week to discuss poets and poetry, and we shall be gearing up for a reading pretty soon. So, if there are any interested poets out there who would like to join us, come to Driros cafebar in Neapolis on Monday morning at 11 a.m. Bring some of your work, or a poem which you particularly like.

Jane x

Kalo Mina - Helping Hand

MAGIC! And it is! Though have you any idea how much time has been spent by all of these musicians to reach this state of excellence? God how I would like to be involved in such a recording! Well, keep practicing Jane!

Kalo Mina Everyone,

I did intend getting out there to pick wild flowers today, but watching this video has made me all the more determined to kick ass with Valentino. Get to those scales Jane, cellos don't play themselves. And anyway, it's a bit chilly outside.

Speaking of outside, looking out of my window I can see a man on a roof fixing a water system for a neighbour. In the street his mates are preparing to barbecue. Hm... maybe I will go out after all, I've a couple of chops in the fridge, and half a bottle of...STOP! See the big picture gal, SCALES.
Okay, it was just a thought. Hope you enjoy the video as much as I do.

Have a lovely Mayday wherever you are.
Love Jane x

A Voice for the Mountain

A Voice for the Mountain

(Plans to build a hydroelectric dam in an area of natural beauty in Crete, Greece)

I speak…

On behalf of the rocks,

On behalf of the scree,

On behalf of the flowers,

On behalf of the trees,

On behalf of the birds,

On behalf of the bees

On behalf of the Gods

In the Cretan breeze,

I speak…

For worms, snails, slugs and spiders

Slitherers, skippers, hoppers, climbers,

For moths, butterflies and beetles,

For snakes, lizards, stoats and weasels,

I speak…

For the rare protected vulture,

Eagles, emblem of Greek culture,

For the ancient oaks and oleaster,

For all that face this great disaster,

Think twice before you rape and raid

This fragile land, so perfect made,

Think how its beauty once erased

Can never ever be replaced,

Think of the forests that breathe for the world,

Think what each leaf gives you as it unfurls,

Think of the mountain as home, if you can,

To trillions of beings, and understand,

They don’t have a voice, they haven’t a clue

What man and his bulldozers intend to do,

I speak out for those who don’t have a voice,

For trees and creatures without any choice

For the natural habitat of birds,

For the air we breathe, listen to my words,

It’s time to respect the earth that’s our home,

It’s time to share in this planet’s song

Just think how you’d feel at the final hour,

If you were destroyed by those wanting power

© Jane Sharp 2012

'They Will Take Our Air, They Will Take Our Mountain,They Will Take Our Water!'

"They will take our air, they will take our mountain, they will take our water." Words spoken by Dimitrie Kiriakakis, the President of Vrahassi Local Council.

And these are my words:
This is a beautiful area, if the hydroelectric dam is built in these mountains it will be an ecological disaster. Valuable trees will be lost, the ecosystem will be upset, the natural habitat of the griffon vulture will be destroyed. I hope the people in power will show some respect for the earth, the land which they have been given guardianship of. The birds cannot speak, so I will speak for them. The mountains cannot speak, so I will speak, the trees cannot speak, so I will speak: from my heart I ask, please do not decimate the environment in this way. Listen to the voices before it is too late, listen to all these sensitive people who care about their land, listen before the beauty which God has created is destroyed by man's greed. I can do very little except add my voice to those in opposition of this plan. The politicians CAN stop this French company from raping Cretan soil. I hope and pray that they will do the right thing.

Jane Sharp

May 6 Election day. Traditionally, voting takes place "from sunrise to sunset" but times are usually rounded to the nearest hour, so from 7am to 8pm. This and the number of polling stations will be confirmed later to the date.

May 17 The new parliament - the 14th since the restoration of democracy in 1974 - will convene at 11am.

Reception center? 

First migrant reception center to open in Athens in May, says minister Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis said on Tuesday that the first of 30 reception centers that Greece plans to build to house undocumented immigrants will be ready by the end of May. Chrysochiodis said the opening of the center in Amydgaleza, northern Athens, will be followed in June by the opening of another camp in Attica. Residents of Amydgaleza have voiced opposition to the construction of the center in their area. The government unveiled last month plans to build 30 centers around the country to house 1,000 migrants each.

High Winds Cause Caos in Crete

The average intensity of the winds reached 9 Beaufort (about 80 Km / h) with gusts that exceeded in some areas of 110-120 km / h.The gale force winds caused problems throughout the island, but especially in western areas while the afternoon Wednesday was prohibitive for ships sailing to Heraklion and Chania.The fire department received dozens of calls for cutting trees and removing objects from the road and there were some incidents, such as in inland areas of Chania, where farmers with their tractors took to the streets to move tree trunks that had fallen on the pavement.Inside the Wednesday night 18/04 the low barometric moved to the Black Sea resulting in the gradual weakening of the winds in Greek seas.

And the aftermath left a wonderful sculpture in my back yard. I call it 'upended kennel'. Lucky the dogs were not in the dog house at the time!

Jane x

Artists Meet in Laconia, Crete.

Silvia Leigh and local artists meet in Laconia.

Yesterday morning I attended the first meeting of the newly formed Art Group. The group comes under the umbrella of I.N.C.O. and aimes to meet once a month to discuss fine art and famous artists, hold workshops and visit galleries and museums. Local artist Sylvia Leigh opened the meeting. She welcomed fellow artists, about 20 in all, and gave a talk about the life of Gaudier who died in WWI age 24. She also described how the work of this artist had influenced her own sculpture, emphasising how the discovery of self expression had been released after seeing his many and multifarious carvings. The next meeting will be held on Saturday, May 19 at the taverna in Laconia.

Jane x