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MARCH
WEATHER.....
Continued
to be very cold, and very wet. Several good days and more sunshine, but
the 365/365 sunshine idea remained a myth! Our logs were now heading
from low stock to none at all very rapidly. But the increasing sunshine
raised optimism!
Current Chania
Webcam
Current Cretan Weather
Link
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Variable weather was improving - Spring herald!....
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Bright yellow Oxalis pes-caprae carpeting the
grape vineyard sets off the startling white crown daisy on a
hillside.... |
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Astratigos Village Life.... Getting some.. XVL
Keep
the whitewash coming!....
If you have never seen a typical Greek newly whitewashed village you
have never been blind! Even Santorini, with it's sky-blue church domes
and darker blue house shutters gives a little relief if the sunglasses
are still on your dressing table, and your hang-over still on your head.
But, take my word for it, the blinding white of newly applied whitewash
to Cretan houses as Easter approaches is something comparable to what
only intrepid explorers to the Poles have to compete with. Not being an
intrepid explorer and expecting to experience a traditional Cretan
Easter places the uninitiated at a serious disadvantage in the
'should have gone to specsavers' dark glasses game....
But there is no reason why you can't do it yourself, whitewash that is,
as long as you have been warned not to try this one at home - and of
course heeded the warning!
First get the right week
(it may take that long) - Megali Evdomada (Holy Week) is the one
you want - the week leading up to Good Friday. Second,
get yourself some arms - sorry -tools - the arms (and
ammunition) come later - seriously! A good stiff broom and some sort of
large cutting implement - a Greek hoe - which is used with a downward
chopping action is a good start. You need these as the real action
starts not with whitewashing but cleaning up outside the village church
and the street outside your house - and anyone else's which may be
overgrown with grass or weeds! Don't take this personally as the Cretan
village is still community enterprise...
Third - use your own arms - cut; chop; scrape; and brush until the
entire village is clean. Fourth, buy a few chunks of whitewash.
These will be delivered on the ubiquitous pickup - weighed by the kilo
and sold by the euro. It may at first seem strange to be buying lumps of
very white rock (chalk) to paint with, but worry not - you don't chalk
with it. Just get a kilo or so, and some glue...
Fifth - get ready! Old
clothes are the very best as you are going to get whitewashed - I
mean it - whatever you do to stay clean and dry. Wet and white.....
Sixth - mix the whitewash with 500 grams or so of the rock into 10
liters of boiling water - it will dissolve the 'rock'. Stir in about
100grams of 'glue' - from any hardware store or the builders yard (I don't
know what it is, but there is a suspicious lack of horses on Crete, and
it sticks, and smells, like horse glue!). Take one very long brush -
looking suspiciously like the one we brushed up with but on a six to eight
foot pole - dip into the whitewash - and brush. And brush. And....
Brush anywhere (and everywhere) you can see last year's artwork or anywhere looking like
it should be white! Avoid the windows and doors, especially if you are
working on the church. Especially if you are working on the
church!! Priests do not like the doors and windows to be
whitewashed. Avoid doing so, especially if you are a carpenter in your
other life. Otherwise, whitewash everything in sight...
At first you will think that you have fouled
up the white mix during the making. It will look, on application, very
very much like milk. And you can certainly see through it quite clearly.
As it dries it will look like wet milk drying - not anything like
whitewash. Now is not the time to concern yourself, whitewashing
churches, houses and walls demands serious physical effort. You will
sweat. This is normal. Especially as during Megali Week you should fast
- or at least limit yourself to bread and fishes. Well, maybe a
little wine.... No wine? Think about it... Easter; bread; fishes;
water - Ok? Ok, make the water into wine! Make some! Just don't drink too much
at once.....
By now it will be Friday. The village (and villagers) will be
about three-quarters whitewashed and unless you have taken heed of the
advice about the water - sorry - wine, perhaps a little overhung. But,
having reached Megali Paraskevi (Good Friday) you can rejoice... Oh,
dear, did I say rejoice? I meant mourn, for today is the day Christ
died. Tonight we will carry the bier, covered with flowers around the
village (or at least the church) to mark his death.....
By tomorrow, Megalo Sabbato, (Easter
Saturday) however, we will be eating Kalitsounia (cheese pies), maybe
drinking a little more wine, and getting ready for the church service
which marks the rise of Christ from the dead, (Christos Anesti), when at
midnight the Holy flame (flown in from Jerusalem - Athens - Crete et
al) will be shared with the congregation via their Easter candles. We
will then try desperately to carry the lit candles home without their
blowing out, and use them to mark a crucifix over our doorways. Good
luck for the following year! After burning Judas on a bonfire
during the service that is - and expending vast amounts of ammunition and
fireworks to mark his demise. Then, fasting over, we will eat, eat, eat
and drink - the wine of course...
Then, on the seventh day, Megali Kiriaki (Easter Sunday), we will
prepare our lamb for the barbeque - wearing very dark glasses against
the brightest whitest whitewash you have ever seen!! Enjoy!! |
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In the News
Reviews...
On the fast-track...
Greece has approved several new projects in the billion euro league,
including two on Crete - a wind energy station and a new wind farm, as
part of the "Fast Track' approval process. The projects will now go
ahead....
Link to Story.
But one fast-track...
May not be at all welcome to conservationists on Crete - the project
that has become well known as the Cavo Sidero peninsula project on Crete
led by the Minoan Group - a British company. The application for
fast-tracking is reportedly on course. The project is valued at 100
million euros and the company makes no bones about Greece needing the
money. If approved, in perhaps six weeks, further delays may be
impossible...
Link to Story.
Another 'fast track'...
Please forgive the pun -
Is, however, far closer to the hearts of Greeks. As London wields
buckets and spades to finish preparations for the 2012 summer Olympic
games, almost 3000 years after the first event took place in Greece,
preparations are well advanced for the ceremony of the lighting of the
Olympic flame. The flame is lit at Ancient Olympia, southern Greece
using the rays of the sun. Once lit the torch will travel to London for
the opening of the games - after it has completed an 1800 mile journey
around Greek town and cities, including Crete....
Link to Story.
But there is still
trouble at the mill...
Because Greece's main social security fund IKA has
possibly lost as much as 20 million euros because of an employee
operated scam. Crete has been implicated in another scam...
Link to Story.
Which looks like getting worse...
As as many as 12 medics may have been involved in a scam at
the Iraklion branch of IKA regarding bogus sick-notes involving 7,250
days off work between 285 workers, and bribery...
Link to Story.
All of which adds to the economic woes...
With Greece still
topping the Euro league death rate in road traffic accidents. Although
the death rate fell to 10.2% compared with the same period last year, 78
people died in RTA's, 78 were seriously injured and 985 suffered minor
injuries. At a cost of 14 billion euros to Greece - it was
revealed at a conference by an insurance company in Chania, Crete...
Link
to Story.
But some news is definitely very good!...
As London unveils a special map of it's transport system - naming
several tube stops after Olympic athletes. A plethora of stars such as
Cassius Clay (Mohammad Ali); Carl Lewis; and Steve Redgrave - to name a
few. But for Greeks a name that will live on, probably forever, is that
of Pyrros Dimas - gold in 1992 (Barcelona); gold
in 1996 (Atlanta); gold in 2000 (Sydney); and bronze in 2004 (Athens) - more than 10 years
later! I was there with my TV every time - it was, every time,
absolutely stunning... "Dimas, Dimas, Dimas, Dimas"...
Well done Transport for London (TfL) - well done Bromley - 'In London,
get off at Pyrros Dimas'...
Link to Story.
If you want to be a real Olympic
collector...
Try this for an Olympic size. Christies (London) auction rooms will
auction the silver cup won in the first Olympic marathon (25 miles)
in Athens in 1896. It was won by a Greek - Spyros Lewis. The cup has
been in the Louis family for 116 years, and is being sold for the
benefit of his children. Estimated to be worth 160,000 pounds sterling
it is being sold by his grandson, Spyros Lewis....
Link
to Story.
But a Commemorative Euro!...
After all the woes and some wailings about the Euro zone, its loans
(among others) to fund the latest bailouts for Greece, we now have it -
an impending launch of the commemorative euro by the Bank of Greece!
It's a two euro coin celebrating ten years of euro. There are several
sets commemorating various Greek events, plus gold and silver collector
coins. The 'Athens News' story includes a large photograph of outgoing PM
Lucas Papademos holding up a large box - presumably containing a set.
Anyone for a euro - or two....!?
Link to Story.
But beats even this...
A Greek resident of Cork, Ireland with her family, was refused
boarding to an Irish airline (en-route home) at a Spanish airport unless
she submitted to a language test in both Greek and English in
order to establish that she was in fact Greek ('as many people in Greece
travel on false papers'!).... Lucky they didn't speak Gaelic!
Link to story.
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