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FEBRUARY
WEATHER.....
Continued
to be very cold, and very wet. There was the occasional good day, even a
little sunshine, but anyone seeking 365/365 sunshine was to be
sorely disappointed. Our logs were re-ordered and almost gone in no time
at all.....
Current Chania
Webcam
Current Cretan Weather
Link
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The weather continued not good....
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And, although on only one occasion, the snow came down, not even a
pretty picture - very cold, very wet slush!..... |
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Astratigos Village Life.... Getting some.. XV
And
keeping the cold out....
Last month I started by saying that 'there is nothing, just nothing like being in your own home, in front of
a roaring log fire' - et al.....
But I didn't explain how to get one. Apologies. A very serious omission
if you do not have central heating and a determined commitment to spend
money on it. But then, not many villagers in this part of Crete have
central heating of any sort, and probably no money to throw at it in any
case. So how do you keep warm?
Well you can try jogging, running and jumping, but with the weather
outside decidedly cold, and more often than not wet, your spouse and/or
perhaps your children are going to look askance at amateur gymnastics,
particularly the indoor kind. The outdoor kind might well involve a trip
to hospital for repairs - best avoided. Cuddling together in a heap only
works properly for mice or other hibernating creatures - and obvious
breaks are needed for obvious reasons. Apart from that the neighbours
may start talking... Shivering works, but not for long - and it makes
you feel cold, not warm! No, to keep warm on a Cretan mountainside you
need a plan of action ....
First, stop the
draughts. Cold draughts (excepting Guinness) will lose what little warmth you
may have left after burning the furniture.. Sorry, I shouldn't make
light of a serious issue, but living in a direct line to the sea doesn't
do much to stop the breeze - especially a force nine
complete with sea water passing itself off as rain! Remembering
the glorious views during the summer will only make the cold seem
colder. No, first stop the draughts...
But make sure that your house can breathe! Yes, I know, apparently
contradictory advice! But, if your house can't breathe it will stagnate, moulder, and get colder. And damper... To let it breathe
- fit a fireplace.
And fit a kitchen somba (stove) - a good one not a cast iron bolted
together parts one - and fit a good chimney - preferably a stainless
steel one. Saves trying to replace worn out metal type in gale force
rains.... So, now you have two appliances, both of which are hot, which will
suck in room air and warm it (and you) up. Ok, stop the draughts, fit a
fireplace - or two! Unless you are very rich - use log burners. You can
also use the ash to fertilize the garden next year when it's
sunny!.....
Get yourself a good reliable supply of good logs, but make sure that
they are cut to size. Hand-sawing is a no, no. The Texas chain-saw
massacre is very simple to replicate accidentally. If you are not
Cretan, or at least Greek, stay well away from chain-saws.
Compartmentalize. Being able to close interior doors is a real must.
Just make sure that you can open them again! And there you have it
- keeping warm the Astratigos way - it should be on You-Tube....
But, like all simple
advice, things get a bit more complicated at the implementation stage!
First off, let me say unequivocally that it wasn't my idea to get cold in the first place! No, when I came
to Crete I did so because I thought that it was warm.. The sun; the sea;
the sand; the s... All of which had been said to create nice warm cozy
glows. But there are problems....
Chopping firewood, or
cutting logs in the superheated sunshine was definitely not one of my
ambitions. Overheated wood-choppers probably clog casualty
departments on a good day.
Likewise with the sea - what am I supposed to do, don scuba gear and go
looking for a sunken (wooden) shipwreck whilst waving a woodman's axe?
Even if I found one the wood would more than likely be too wet to burn,
especially under water.
Sand. In my experience just will not burn. Remember those red fire
buckets full of the stuff just after the end of WWII? We never succeeded
in getting one to burn - not even with petrol. And we certainly never
found any trees growing in sand, so there would be none for cutting down
on the beach.
Putting the whole thing in context, all the advice about keeping warm -
carefully researched and presented with the very best of intent, just
ends up leaving us freezing cold. After stopping the all the draughts and
fitting two fireplaces and a chimney or two, that doesn't seem to leave
anyone in a very good position. At least not one that will, when things
become bleak, see me sitting in front of a roaring log fire.... It all
seems like a wasted exercise....
But wait! Yes! I see it now, I missed the
final piece of advice - what a blindingly glaring omission! As if one
could in all honesty forget that... The sun; the sea; the sand; the
s....
Well yes, that is probably the real answer - 'The s....'
But I suppose that now
I am going to have to face up to the fact that I may not be keeping warm
at all in the coming year - after all my promises to explain how to keep
everyone warm I can't remember what the final s.... means! Now, 's'....
- in five letters....... |
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In the News
Reviews...
Antiquities Smuggling...
Does not go down well on Crete as a suspected smuggler, who was also
charged with drug possession was arrested and passed to a local
prosecutor....
Link to Story.
Rape case search...
After two men allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl after luring her to a
remote spot in Messara. The victim provided a detailed description of
the men, for whom the police are searching..
Link to Story.
Attempted murder and a suicide...
In Iraklion, Crete, when an unnamed man, thought to be a German
national ambushed and shot a gym owner five times before moving to a
second location and killing himself with the weapon. The victim was in a
critical condition in Iraklion University Hospital.
Link to Story.
Atrocious weather...
Around many parts of Greece cut off as many as 90
villages because of heavy snowfall early in the month. Ioannina Airport
had to be closed and trucks were banned from the national highways....
Link to Story.
And serious flooding...
Led local authorities to declare a state of emergency in the
prefecture of Ilea in the Peloponnese after an 80-year-old woman drowned
and dozens of families were trapped in their homes......
Link to Story.
Also affected Greek islands...
As a flash flood drowned a 40 year old woman on the island of Symni,
adding to other deaths, and major weather problems throughout mainland
Greece and Pelopponese continued. A state of emergency was also declared
in the Evros region as villages were threatened, and Bulgaria warned
that two dams near the Greek border were threatened...
Link
to Story.
The 40-year-old was British...
She was a Symni resident - swept away whilst apparently attempting to
save her motorcycle from the floods....
Link to Story.
Plus, by the 28th of the month
...
Heavy snowfall and strong winds had caused school closures and ferry and
train disruptions in many parts of Greece. Ferries did not sail from
Piraeus, Laviro and Rafina because of gale force winds. Major disruption
of road traffic was reported to be affecting many areas - especially the
Pelopponese....
Link
to Story.
But then a grand blast of hot air...
As British tour operators are reported to have reacted badly to the
recommendations, reportedly originating from Foreign Secretary William
Hague, that visitors to Greece should register with the British Foreign
Office so that they can be contacted in case of social turmoil in the
country... He had told the British media that the F.O. had prepared
contingency plans (in case) British tourists were in jeopardy in
Greece.... (Good press photograph Ed.)...
Link to Story.
And British banks benefit...
As many Greeks are sending their money abroad - around 16 billion
euros of it - about 32% of which went to UK banks...
Link to Story.
Plus, another blast of hot air...
When EU Parliament member Nigel Forage was 'cut off in mid-flight' by a
German EU parliament debate chairman, when he compared Berlin's idea for
Greece to Nazi control during a debate. He was reported as saying that
'bailed out Athens was already practically an EU colony..... and that
the German finance ministry proposals (like) installing a "gauleiter' -
a Nazi party regional officer under Adolf Hitler'. In the resulting
uproar Nigel Farage stormed out of the parliament
...
Link to Story.
But then, in the end...
Whatever the news brings - when it comes round to Olympic Flame
time, the flame can only start life - and the next Olympic Games (London
2012) - at Ancient Olympia in Greece. The flame will be lit in mid
morning on 10th of May 2012 at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, North
western Greece. Where else?...
Link to Story.
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