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OCTOBER WEATHER
..... Seasonably
Unseasonable! Some exceptionally nice sunny weather with temperatures in the
early 30's on occasion. But now Greece in general, to say nothing of the
Cretan olives, are in desperate need of rain.
Chania Webcam
Current Cretan Weather Link
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END OF AN ERA...
Old Co-op Building at Kolimbari awaits demolition
See picture
panel - center below.
Astratigos
Village Life.... Reality..
Isn't really like that! All the
tales of village life in this column appear to be like something from
'Gulliver's Travels', with an occasional dip into competition with 'Alice
in Wonderland' and 'Tom Sawyer'! Unreal..
It isn't really like that in
reality is it?
Just to stir the pea soup a little - in an attempt to
clarify things, yes, it is.. And no, it
isn't..!
All the happenings in our published stories of Village Life really have happened in
much the way related, no exaggerations and only the names changed a little
sometimes - to obviate the highly unlikely anyway possibility of coach
parties of worshippers arriving to buy a home (second or not!) right here in
Astratigos...
They may of course already be here - there in Astratigos (I say 'there'
because there are two villages named Astratigos on Crete). Astratigos here,
where I am, and Astratigos there, where I am not..... But they may be! Not
my fault and maybe deliberate on their part... Here and there, easily
confused...
Astratigos here usually seems peaceful enough to be lying-in-state. Dead!
But how then can my house look newly painted, sitting quietly bright white
in the Cretan sunshine? How did the four new houses (locally owned) appear?
Like mushrooms perhaps, out of the ground in the early morning dew? How did
the tons of logs, winter fuel, get into the courtyards? Those sacks of
olives sitting outside houses? Where did all those sheep come from -
the other side of the moon?!
If they did it must have been from the other side... Which is why you didn't
see it. In much the same way that many people passing through don't see
anything here. It takes perhaps no more than two minutes (more like one) for
a slow moving car to enter, pass through, and exit the village on the main
route. Not even time to see if the sheep are alive or are stuffed replicas!
So how do you get to see the other side? I proffer but a couple of ways...
The first is to do something which you would find embarrassing! Nip behind
the church in the square in search of an answer to the call of nature...
There are no amenities there - and before you don't let this deter you - when you
look up you will more than likely find more than sheep watching you - that little window in
the back of the church overlooks you! If you are lucky only the cleaner or
caretaker will see you. If you are unlucky it will be the priest! They don't
always leave the doors open... Even worse, the doctor may arrive whilst you
are around the back (that little hut at the front is her office) - and when
you attempt to return to your car the yard in front of the church will now
contain her patients - the one's with the curious looks or knowing smiles..
'Kalimera'!...
A second is to attempt to reach the communal bin in the village square
(undiscovered) to
dispose of something that can be embarrassingly misunderstood if noticed...
Only this morning I picked what I thought (and I live here) an absolutely no
chance of being seen moment to fill a couple of clear plastic bags with
empties. Empty wine bottles from a summer of visitors... Not from me - I
use a barrel. I had almost reached the bin when a local pickup zoomed
down the side road into the square, the driver waving and grinning (and no
doubt counting the empties!) - immediately followed from another direction
by another pickup - this one containing a group of neighbours returning from olive
gathering. The neighbour sat on the bulging sacks in the back was waving merrily
(and no doubt also counting the empties!)...
And we all know who emptied them, don't we?! Been on a right old binge eh?
Sober Christian to raving alcoholic in five seconds flat - faster
acceleration than a Porsche... Oh what a bit of gossip to enjoy...
Caught. Found guilty. Sentenced. In less time than it takes to blink an
eye. Which explains why you personally didn't see it all happen as you passed
through. You just passed too quickly to take it in, or weren't trying to hide something from the locals. And only
locals can appear at exactly the right time. And that is because they were
there all the time - you just didn't see them...
Pause a little, look
around and the happenings will appear... But wait! You did see the sheep.
Why the sheep and nothing else? Well, if you look up on a clear day at the
right time of the year you really can see the other side of the moon! Go on.
try it...
It isn't really like that in
reality is it? Oh, but it is, really.... |
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In the News
...
Earthquake Aid...
Hundreds of people from the 3,600
who claimed compensation for structural damage to their properties in the
6.5 Richter scale earthquake in June have been asked to provide proof of
entitlement..
(Item 4)
Link to
Story.
Suspicion of Murder...
A 30 year old male arrested on Crete on suspicion of murdering a30 year
old woman whose body was found near Olynthos, Northern Greece...
(Item 2)
Link to Story
Robbers and Coppers....
The
quantities are no joke - 1.5 tons of copper and Aluminum plus 2 tons of
electrical wire from a store in Chania...
(Item 3
Link to Story.
Heroin over prison wall!...
Must be a championship shot putter - 50 gms by air...
(Item 5
Link to Story.
But the bill is clean...
The EEC finally given the Cretan landfill at Kouroupitos a clean bill of
health. Which is very good news...
(Item 6)
Link to Story.
Chania cabbies to attend seminars...
800 Cretan cabbies to learn how to improve their services... Should be
good!...
(item
6)
Link to
Story.
And neighbourly relations can be ...
To say the least, somewhat fraught with difficulties, as in the rest of the
world, when it comes to boundary disputes. The difference on Crete is in the
guns...
(item
3)
Link to
Story.
Rather dangerous...
Especially when much of the population cooks and keeps warm using gas of
the bottled variety...
(item
3)
Link to
Story.
Some dangers being unforeseen...
As a dog in Chania breaks loose and savages a child - who required
plastic surgery..
(Item 4)
Link to Story.
And others are just so very sad...
Especially when Cretan celebrations turn to gun violence and another life is
lost...
Link to Story.
But violence isn't confined to Crete....
Athens is also fighting a rising crime wave. 10 Robberies in the last
month, innocent people killed or seriously injured - an increasing tendency
to the use of violence - has resulted in efforts to put an additional 500
police on patrol. Rising unemployment is cited as a cause...
Link to
Story.
Whilst strikes bring the capital to a halt...
Almost every form of public transport was either crippled or severely
reduced as disgruntled employees of Olympic Airlines joined a large scale
workers strike - and a nationwide general strike has been promised...
Link to
Story.
And even universities are not exempt....
As the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki found when it attempted to
sell surplus fuel back to it's suppliers - but found, like Old Mother
Hubbard, that the cupboard was already bare - by perhaps 8 million
litres!...
Link to
Story.
Plus there are water shortages too.....
But also plans to help overcome at least some of them by recycling
hundreds of tons of waste water discharged daily from an Athens sewage
processing plant...
Link to
Story.
But, out there on the horizon....
Perhaps a ray of summer sunshine - depending upon whose interpretation
you prefer to believe. The GNTO (The Greek National Tourist Organization)
says that tourism rose by 2.6% during the first nine months of 2008.
SETE (Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises) says there was a drop in
tourist revenues by 4% in the same period. More Balkan origin tourists
against fewer Northern Europeans....
Link to
Story.
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